#ESR1

A new generation of coupled watershed-lake water quality models operating at multiple scales

Host institution

Aarhus University, Denmark.

Project description

On a global scale, lakes and reservoirs are important instruments in flood mitigation and for water supply and recreation. These surface water systems can be highly dynamic and respond quickly to watershed runoff and weather forcing, meaning that water quantity and quality can change rapidly in response to extreme events.

Despite the close connection between lakes and their watersheds, only few model projection systems address both entities in an integrated solution. This project will integrate state-of-the-art watershed modelling with state-of-the-art lake and reservoir ecosystem modelling, and enable integrative projections that can aid water managers with adaptation to climate change.

The project will take advantage of open source models, including the new SWAT+ watershed model, and the GOTM-WET hydrodynamicecosystem model, which are generic in the sense that these may be applied to any location in the world based on open access data (e.g. the globally available Harmonized World Soil Database by FAO, and the GlobCover land use maps from the European Space Agency). The project will be supported by AU and VUB, thereby utilizing great expertise in the open source model cores (SWAT+ and GOTM-WET), which are to be integrated into a new innovation solution

Secondments

Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium. 4 months.

ESR

Anandita Agarwal