Special issue on climate change impacts and mitigation on water quality and ecological health in aquatic systems.

Abstract

The increase of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is projected to cause climate change and global warming. The understanding of climate change impacts on water quality in aquatic systems (lakes, streams, reservoirs, and estuaries) is fundamental in providing better environmental strategies and mitigation methods to protect ecological health of aquatic systems. Water quality is a critical issue due to its direct influence on public health, biological integrity of natural resources, and the economy. The climate change leads to possible changes in local and global weather conditions, such as higher air temperatures and variable precipitation (both intensity and magnitude). Climate conditions affect hydrology in watersheds and then water quality conditions in aquatic systems. To make the projection on future climate, various General Circulation Models (GCMs) of the earth’s atmosphere have been developed. These GCM models simulate time series of climate parameters that can be used to create future climate scenarios for hydrological and water quality studies in watersheds and aquatic systems.