Extreme hydroclimatic events are expected to increase in both frequency and intensity as a result of climate change. Groundwater systems are particularly vulnerable to these events, yet their medium- to long-term responses remain insufficiently understood. Consequences such as reduced aquifer recharge, sustained groundwater depletion, and groundwater quality degradation can induce cascading impacts including land subsidence, threats to freshwater availability and food security, and saltwater intrusion. It is therefore essential to advance our understanding of the full spectrum of these processes and their impacts, as well as to improve our ability to represent them through physics-based numerical modeling and machine learning approaches. Such knowledge can foster the implementation of effective mitigation and adaptation strategies to safeguard groundwater resources and ensure their sustainable use. These strategies can vary from improved forecasting and modeling of the impacts of extreme events on aquifer systems, to targeted engineering interventions and sustainable management practices.
This session invites contributions that provide insights into innovative methodologies, field case studies, or novel perspectives investigating the qualitative and quantitative impacts that extreme hydroclimatic events exert on groundwater systems, and their cascading environmental and socio-economic effects. In particular, we welcome studies that address: (i) evaluation of the combined effects of climatic extremes and anthropogenic stresses on groundwater quantity and quality; (ii) comparative analysis of field observations and methodologies unraveling system responses across different spatial scales and climatic contexts; (iii) development and application of physics-based, machine learning, or hybrid modeling frameworks for simulating past, present, and projected aquifer responses under extreme hydroclimatic events; (iv) characterization and modeling of system memory and recovery dynamics; (v) identification and evaluation of potential management, mitigation, and adaptation strategies to enhance groundwater resilience.