Human and environmental health are threatened globally by the individual or joint impacts of legacy contaminants such as trace metals and emerging pollutants including pharmaceuticals, fluorinated compounds or micro- and nanoplastics, as well as pathogens including viruses and bacteria. Hydrometeorological extremes can further exacerbate human and environmental health impacts by altering contaminant and pathogen dynamics in the water cycle. While there is increasing understanding of the toxicological and ecotoxicological implications of exposures to these individual or combined stressors, mechanistic understanding of the hydrological processes controlling the (de-)activation of pathogens or contaminants as well as the environmental conditions that affect their toxicity are poorly understood.

Moreover, in our climate adaptation strategies to hydroclimatic extremes, the implications for ecosystem and human health are often overlooked or ignored. Hydrological science can contribute to better prepare society for One Health Challenges by understanding critical water systems and improving and designing appropriate solutions.

We therefore solicit contributions that specifically investigate hydrological controls on the fate, transport and exposure to pathogens and contaminants (from geogenic and agricultural sources, as well as legacy and emerging pollutants) across surface water and groundwater systems. We also invite presentations on the hydrological impacts on physical water quality parameters of health relevance such as water temperature and oxygen content.

This session integrates interdisciplinary innovations covering field and lab experimental as well as model-based approaches in order to improve understanding of the drivers of human and environmental health risks as well as technical and governance approaches for One Health solutions that cross traditional disciplinary boundaries.