Water, Climate and Cities (online course)

Water and energy are indispensable for all lifeforms and needed in almost all human activities. Climate, water-energy cycles and biophysical systems are connected in complex ways, so a change in any of these induces a change in another. Climate change adds a big pressure to (national, regional and local) authorities that are already confronted with the issue of sustainable water and energy use.

Challenges resulting from climate change related to water are mainly related to having too much or too little water. In turn, the amount of water plays a pivotal role in how the energy cycle and thus the climate and its change manifests themselves, thereby often creating an accelerating feedback effect.

Thus water-related issues play a pivotal role among key regional and global vulnerabilities. Therefore the relationship between climate change and water-energy cycles is of primary concern and interest.

This course introduces relevant processes and experimental as well as modelling tools related to climate (change) for assessing, analysing and evaluating the impact thereof on the spatial and temporal distribution of water and energy fluxes. Specific attention is given to urban environments.