Climate change adaptation through Groundwater Flow understanding – How do we find Nature-based MAR solutions?

Climate change adaptation through Groundwater Flow understanding – How do we find Nature-based MAR solutions? Judit Mádl-Szőnyi Eötvös Loránd University Email:.judit.szonyi ttk.elte.hu Brigitta Czauner, Tímea Trásy-Havril, Zsóka Szabó, Ádám Tóth, Márk Szijártó, Soma Oláh, Szilvia Simon MITIGATION OF THE IMPACT OF EXTREME HYDROLOGICAL EVENTS. IT IS CRITICAL ENSURING SAFE WATER SUPPLY FOR HUMANS AND ECOSYSTEMS. SURFACE WATER BODIES AND ECOSYSTEMS ARE VULNERABLE TO EXTREME EVENTS. THE PRINCIPAL WATER RESERVES ARE FOUND IN THE AQUIFERS. GROUNDWATER CAN BUFFER THE EFFECTS OF HYDROLOGICAL EXTREMES BY MAR. MAR PROVIDES LOCAL SOLUTIONS, REGIONAL FLOW SYSTEMS ARE NOT CONSIDERED Hydroclimatic extreme events – Why the hidden groundwater is so significant? GRACE-FO NASA ITRC MAR The problem The aquifer systems have a vast storage capacity to mitigate the undesired effects of extreme events. The effects of climate change on groundwater flow systems have mostly yet to be discovered. The widely used Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) solutions fill up aquifers, but provide only local solutions and do not consider the natural groundwater flow processes. So we miss the possibility to use natural flow systems and find a nature (flow process)-based adaptation to climate change and groundwater overuse. Goals 1. Display a newly developed principle of Nature-based MAR solution 2. Demonstrate it for the study area of the Duna-Tisza Interfluve, Hungary. 2.1. Problem of the study area 2.2. Forecasted effect of climate change on groundwater flow systems. 2.3. Using the regimes (R, D) of different (local-regional) flow systems for MAR purposes 2.4. Numerical simulation of wetland rehabilitation by MAR from a local R area 3. Conclusions 1. The Nature-based MAR solution 5 The basic concept •Different flow systems and R and D areas are characterized by deeper and shallower water tables and negative and positive water balance, respectively. •Natural differences in flow systems can be used to balance drought and flood by combining them with MAR methods. 6 (ClimEx-PE 2023) RR -Regional Recharge LD - Local Discharge LR - Local Recharge RD - Regional Discharge (-) (-) (+) The NaBa-MAR approach oCombines the information for groundwater flow systems and the knowledge of MAR solutions. oProvides a new Nature-based MAR approach (NaBa-MAR). oThis solution applies to the regional or basin-scale adaptation of extreme hydroclimatic events. 7 (Szabó et al. 2023) 2. Application of the NaBa-MAR approach for the study area of the Duna-Tisza Interfluve 2.1 Problem of the Study Area 8 2.1 Problem of the Study Area 9 Location of the Study Area (Kohán & Szalai, 2014) DD D R Reasons for groundwater level reduction (based on Pálfai, 2010 and Nagy et al., 2016) Groundwater level decrease (1982-2022) (Carlos Andrés, 2023) Thank you for your attention! The research was funded by the National Multidisciplinary Laboratory for Climate Change, RRF-2.3.1-21-2022-00014 project. The authors would like to thank the European Commission and the Ministry of Culture and Innovation of Hungary from National Research, Development and Innovation Fund; the Irish Environmental Protection Agency; the Dutch Research Council and the Agencia Española de Investigación, for funding in the frame of the collaborative international consortium ClimEx-PE financed under the 2022 Joint call of the European Partnership 101060874 — Water4All.