The development of water flows in a warmer climate is a key issue in many areas of society today, such as water and energy supply, safety and the environment.
“Future scenarios show that intensive rainfall will generally be more common in the future when compared with the present climate. But our tools and simulations need to be developed if we want to project highly localised effects, for example,” says Jonas Olsson, a hydrology scientist at SMHI.
New tools for hydrological climate impact
A far-reaching research project has now begun with the aim of developing a new generation of tools for hydrological climate impact. Refined simulations can for instance better predict climate effects on water flows, flooding and the waterborne transportation of nutrients and pollutants.
They can also help to study the climate’s impact on freshwater resources, not only in Sweden but across Europe. One important part of the process is finding a better way of linking current high-resolution projection models for climate and hydrology.
The project, entitled HYDROIMPACTS 2.0, will run over five years and is a collaboration between SMHI, Lund University and Luleå University of Technology. The project is being funded by The Swedish Research Council Formas.