PrintClimate change is creating major consequences for water resources through its impacts on the planet’s hydrology.
- Hydrology is the physical science of the distribution, movement, and quality of water in the Earth system.
- Water resources is the term which refers to the social science of the human use of water through agricultural, industrial, domestic, recreational, and other activities.
To put it another way, our impacts on water are a bit of a double whammy. Because anthropogenic climate change is altering water’s distribution, movement, and quality, climate change is also causing humans to adjust the ways we use water.
We'll spend a fair bit of time exploring the impacts of climate change on water resources and understanding how these impacts vary from place to place. But first, it takes a look at the physical impacts of climate change on hydrology so we approach that exploration with a solid foundation of its root causes.
This diagram shows the close interaction between hydrology and water resources, with a focus on the potential impacts of climate change in California. It is not always clear whether an element of diagrams like this one are indicating hydrology (say, groundwater as a component of the hydrologic cycle) or water resource (say, groundwater as a resource used by people).
Credit: California Water Boards (Public Domain)