Unveiling the dynamic of water-electricity conflict within and beyond megacity boundary.

Electricity demand in megacities may exert substantial stress on water resources, which is often expressed through the water scarcity footprint for electricity consumption (WSFE). Conversely, water scarcity may constrain electricity production, leading to increased vulnerability for megacities electricity production. The WSFE and the water related vulnerability of electricity production reflect two aspects of water-electricity conflict. This varies over time by both the amount and location of electricity production. However, no studies have conducted time-series analysis to evaluate the trends of these two indicators, both in terms of severity and spatial characteristics. Our study focused on evaluating trends in water-electricity conflict both within and beyond megacity administrative boundaries. China's four provincial-level megacities, i.e. Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Chongqing, were chosen as case studies. The results show that water related vulnerability of electricity production in Tianjin, Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing was diverse and can be classified as extreme, severe, moderate and minor, respectively. Between 2006 and 2016, the WSFE of Tianjin experienced an increasing trend, and its water related vulnerability of electricity production remained at the highest level. Beijing's WSFE has decreased, but its water related vulnerability of electricity production has increased. These differing trends highlight the need for joint reductions to both WSFE and water related vulnerability of electricity production in mitigating water-electricity conflict.

Intercomparison of ten ISI-MIP models in simulating discharges along the Lancang-Mekong River basin.

Water resources are of strategic importance for socioeconomic development. Many hydrological models (HMs) and land surface models (LSMs) have been developed for water resources assessment. However, systematic evaluation of discharge simulation from multiple models is still lacking in the Lancang-Mekong River basin. Here, we evaluated the performances of ten HMs and LSMs by evaluating their simulated discharge against observations at the basin scale. The selected models were within the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (ISI-MIP2a) framework driven by Global Soil Wetness Project 3 (GSWP3) climate forcing data. Five discharge percentile series were used to evaluate the model performances for low, mean, and high flows. The intercomparison according to four statistical criteria revealed considerable differences exist in model performances for different discharge percentiles, indicating a large uncertainty caused by the choice of models with different degree of physical complexity and sensitivity to the quality of the input data. The models generally performed better for high flow than for low flow. Furthermore, the models generally performed better in downstream than in upstream, with the exception of close to the estuary, where complex processes involving interactions between freshwater and saline water are present. It is not surprising that the two calibrated model (WaterGAP2 and WAYS) are superior over the other models. This systematic intercomparison provides insights into the model behaviours and accuracies in discharges predicting with varying intensities, which can aid in quantifying uncertainties in water resources simulation at the basin scale.

Assessing the interlinkage of green and blue water in an arid catchment in Northwest China.

Water resource assessment is crucial for human well-being and ecosystem health. Assessments considering both blue and green water are of great significance, as green water plays a critical but often ignored role in the terrestrial ecosystem, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. Many approaches have been developed for green and blue water valuation; however, few approaches consider the interrelationship between green and blue water. This study proposed a new framework for green and blue water assessment by considering the interactions between green and blue water and the connections between human and natural ecosystems in an arid endorheic river basin where hydrological cycling is dramatically altered by human activities. The results show that even though green water is the dominant water resource, blue water is also critical. Most of the blue water is redirected back into the soil through physical and human-induced processes to meet the water demand of the ecosystem. The blue and green water regimes are found to be totally different in different ecosystems due to the temporal and spatial variability in water supply and consumption. We also found that humans are using an increasing proportion of water, resulting in decreasing water availability. Extensive water use by humans reduces the water availability for the natural ecosystem. Approximately 38.6% of the vegetation-covered area, which is dominated by farmland and forest, may face a moderate or high risk of increased conflict and tension over freshwater. This study provides crucial information to better understand the interactions between green and blue water and the relations between humans and nature by explicitly assessing water resources. It also provides crucial information for water management strategies that aim to balance humankind and nature.