Researchers unveil interactive map showing how water supplies will shift over time: 'A tool to prepare for changes'

A new tool is making it much easier for everyday people to see how changes in water availability will actually affect them, 

The Hydrology Working Group at Goethe University Frankfurt and the French company AGEOCEG worked on the project, which was summarized on Phys.org.

The "Explorer for Climate Change Impacts on Water Resources" is an interactive map showing the world in detail, down to a resolution of about 50 kilometers (roughly 31 miles). 

It shows how the availability of water will change over time in different parts of the world, including renewable sources, groundwater, and the movement of water from Earth's surface to the atmosphere.

The map is very sophisticated. It takes into account multiple models of water systems, as well as several possible future scenarios regarding the world's pollution and increasing temperature. 

It shows a reference period from 1985 to 2014, then three future time periods for comparison. Users can view not just an expected average, but a range of possibilities in each scenario.

"Our application is based on simulation results from an international multi-model ensemble that makes climate impacts comparable across different levels," said Dr. Fabian Kneier of the Hydrology Working Group. 

"We account not only for uncertainties in the climate projections but also in the hydrological models," Kneier continued. This was only made possible through close collaboration between science and practice — across disciplinary boundaries."

There are plenty of uses for this application. People outside the scientific community could struggle to even imagine the possibility of water scarcity in a hotter, drier future. 

For an ordinary member of the public, it's a way to get educated about climate issues that will impact you. For students and teachers, it's a resource that could lead to further discovery. For policymakers, it's a tool to help inform the best decision-making for the future.

"Water is one of the key resources of our future — with the Explorer, we are providing society with a tool to prepare for changes early and knowledge-based," said Professor Petra Döll, head of the working group.

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