Connectivity and hydrological functions of aquifers and connected wetlands

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A consensus is now emerging that climate change will impact groundwater availability throughout the world. Water table declines not only affect groundwater resources but will also impact environmental flows for aquifer-connected wetlands and modify irrevocably their hydrologic functions (recharge, storage, transmission, contribution) with potential irremediable consequences on water resources and ecosystems. Yet our understanding of aquifer-wetland connectivity, functions, and resilience to changing conditions is too limited to promote adaptation strategies truly based on integrated water management.      The long-term objective of my NSERC Discovery Grant (DG) research program is to understand the general mechanisms governing aquifer-wetland connectivity and hydrologic functions to anticipate their vulnerability to anthropogenic pressures (pumping, drainage, changes in land use) and climate change, and ensure their resilience. My specific objectives are : 1) to assess hydrologic connectivity between aquifers and wetlands, 2) to quantify their hydrologic functions, 3) to disentangle impacts of anthropogenic pressures and climate change on hydrologic connectivity and functions. The proposed research will unfold in three closely intertwined and mutually nourishing parts to reach my specific objectives, with a combination of field studies and modelling.      Part I will expand the use of natural tracers to assess aquifer-wetland connectivity, elaborate a flexible approach to assess connectivity at different scales, and produce a new aquifer-wetland connectivity typology. Part II will quantify groundwater fluxes to and from wetlands, quantify the driving conditions of hydrologic functions, and define indicators of hydrologic function strength. Part III will provide indicators of human impacts, disentangle direct human-induced changes from climate change impacts, and provide new knowledge for adaptation measures water use conflicts reduction.      The original combination of state-of-the-art field and modelling approaches in this research program will produce benchmark new scientific knowledge, publications in high impact journals, and much-needed indicators hydrologic functions and vulnerability that will promote the development of new research initiatives and be transferred to stakeholders through workshops and outreach activities. The methodology will be transferable to similar post-glacial geological settings, in similar humid climatic conditions and context of climate change found in many Nordic countries.      These original contributions will be made possible through the training of HQPs who will evolve in a unique multidisciplinary team and be prepared to face the complexity of field and modelling work common to environmental studies. This research NSERC-DG program will set the stage for significant changes in how we address integrated water management and thus contribute to protect groundwater and wetlands for future generations.