Nature-based solutions for mountain water security

全球约有15亿人依赖山地水资源。热带安第斯山脉的情况尤其如此，安第斯山脉高山上的天然“水塔”对当地和区域的水安全至关重要。气候变化正威胁着这种水安全，影响着数百万人的生计。社会较贫穷阶层面临的风险最大，对山区的可持续发展构成根本挑战。为了设计充分和公平的气候变化适应战略，迫切需要更好地定量了解山地水文，特别是气候变化对冰川、湿地和地下水储存等关键过程和系统的影响。该项目将以最新的、基于物理的生态水文模型的最新进展为基础，结合利用现场和遥感数据的创新水文监测来实现这一目标。然后，这些新知识将被整合到当地水资源规划和管理中，重点是利用研究小组广泛的政策联系网络，优化部署基于自然的解决方案，例如湿地恢复。更详细地说，在项目期间，我们将对安第斯山脉的水、能量和碳耦合动力学进行首次超分辨率模拟。我们将使用一个基于物理的生态水文模型来模拟水在陆地表面、土壤中的运输、冰川的动态演变和植被对水循环变化的响应。我们将利用以前在该地区的研究项目中建立的地面站的现有数据和卫星遥感数据建立大陆尺度的模拟。利用IPCC的最新预测，我们将详细了解气候变化下该地区水和碳循环的命运。最后，模型的结果将被转化为工程行动，因为它们将被用于该地区基于自然的解决方案的设计。

Globally, around 1.5 billion people depend on mountain water resources. This is especially the case for the tropical Andes, where the natural "water towers" of the high Andes are critical for local and regional water security. Climate change is threatening this water security, affecting the livelihoods of millions of people. The poorer segments of society are most at risk, posing fundamental challenges to the sustainable development of mountain regions .To design adequate and equitable climate change adaptation strategies, a much better quantitative understanding of mountain hydrology is urgently needed, and especially the impact of climate change on key processes and systems such as glaciers, wetlands, and groundwater storage.This project will build on recent advances in state-of-the-art, physics-based ecohydrological modelling, in combination with innovative hydrological monitoring using in situ and remote sensing data to achieve this goal. This new knowledge will be then integrated into local water resources planning and management focusing on the optimal deployment of nature-based solutions, such as wetland restoration, using the extensive network of policy contacts of the research group.In more detail, during the project we will perform the first hyper-resolution simulation of the coupled water, energy, and carbon dynamics for the Andes. We will use a physics based ecohydrological model that simulates the transport of water on the land surface, in the soils, the dynamic evolution of glaciers and the response of vegetation to changes in the water cycle. We will set up continental scale simulations using available data from in-situ stations established during previous research projects in the area, and satellite remote sensing data. Using the latest projections of the IPCC we will then provide a detailed understanding of the fate of the water and carbon cycle in the area under a changing climate. Finally, the results of the model will be translated into Engineering action as they will be used to inform the design of nature-based solutions in the area.