Climate change is regarded as one of the most important challenges humankind faces today. Groundwater has been an important buffer against climate variability for millennia, providing a secure water-supply in many parts of the world. Despite the potential role of groundwater storage in climate change adaptation strategies, the actual impact of climate change on groundwater resources remains highly uncertain. The pathways through which changes in natural (e.g., evaporation, transpiration and rainfall) and human factors (e.g., groundwater abstractions) impact groundwater resources are only partially understood due to the complexity and the many (unknown) feedback mechanisms of the subsurface system. This session aims to focus on the questions: How are different processes affected by climate change and how do they impact groundwater resources? How to implement climate change in our groundwater studies to predict its impact? How can we understand the behavior of aquifer systems close to their limits?

We are looking for a broad range of studies on above listed aims, with a special interest in processes and models. We especially encourage (but do not limit to) contributions from one of the following topics:

- Impact of climate change on groundwater recharge (e.g. through changes in rainfall, evaporation, transpiration, etc.);
- Impact on salinity and water availability in coastal aquifers due to sea level changes and dilution;
- Impact on groundwater extremes (both droughts and high groundwater levels);
- Changes in dilution potential or leaching potential for contaminants including pesticides and nutrients;
- Studying the feedback between groundwater and climate through coupled models;
- Human impacts on groundwater resources under a changing climate;
- Methodological studies showcasing how to implement climate change into subsurface models, including uncertainties of the projections;
- Comparative studies using different approaches/models to study climate change impacts.

This session is co-organized by the Commission on Groundwater and Climate Change (CGCC) of the IAH.