Integrated hydrologic–economic decision support system for groundwater use confronting climate change uncertainties in the Tunuyán River basin,Argentina

This study presents an integrated hydrologic–economic model as decision support system for groundwater use and incorporates uncertainties of climate change. The model was developed with the Vensim software (Ventana Systems) for system dynamic simulations. The software permitted the integration of economic variables along with hydrologic variables, in a unified format with the aim of evaluating the economic impacts of climate change on arid environments. To test the model, we applied it in one of the upper Tunuyán River sub-basin, located in the Mendoza Province (Argentina), where irrigation comes from groundwater. The model defines the best mix of crops and the total land use required to maximize the total river sub-basin monetary income, considering as a limit the amount of water that does not exceed the natural annual aquifer recharge. To estimate the impacts of climatic changes, four scenarios were compared: the business as usual (with the number of existing wells) in a dry year with a temperature increase of 4 °C; the business as usual in a wet year with an increase in temperature of 1.1 °C; an efficient use of wells in a dry year and a temperature increase of 4 °C and an efficient use of wells in a wet year with a temperature increase of 1.1 °C. Outputs calculated by the model were: land use per crop, total sub-basin net benefit, total sub-basin water extraction, water extraction limit depending on river discharge and total number of wells required to irrigate the entire area. Preliminary results showed that the number of existing wells exceeded the optimized number of wells required to sustainably irrigate the entire river sub-basin. Results indicated that in an average river discharge year, if wells were efficiently used, further rural development would be possible, until the limit of 350 million m³ of water extraction per year was reached (650 million m³ for a wet year and 180 million m³ for a dry year). The unified format and the low cost of the software license make the model a useful tool for Water Resources Management Institutions, particularly in developing countries.     

南水北调西线引水区近50年径流变化趋势对气候变化的响应

选取南水北调西线工程引水区5个水文站与相应气象站近50 a径流、降雨、温度、日照时间序列资料,首先对自相关性显著水平5%的序列进行去白化处理,运用Mann Kendall法进行趋势检验和突变分析,并通过Spearman法和双累积曲线图形法对结果进行验证。此外,运用Pearson方法分析径流与各气候因子间的相关性。结果表明：50 a来,引水区年径流量变化趋势总体不明显,但近10 a来,除直门达水文站外,其余4个站有进一步减少的趋势;雨量和日照时间变化趋势并不明显,温度有较显著升高。总体而言,气候变化是流域径流量变化的主要影响因素,未来径流量变化还需从气温、降水、径流、冰川等时空分布特性综合研究     

Future heat-related climate change impacts on tourism industry in Cyprus

Tourism is a vital sector of Cyprus economy, attracting millions of tourists every year and providing economic growth and employment for the country. The aim of this study was to investigate the impacts of projected climate change in the tourism industry in Cyprus (Republic of Cyprus) using both “Tourism Climate Index” (TCI) and “Beach Climate Index” (BCI). TCI refers to tourism activities mainly related to sightseeing, nature-based tourism, and religious tourism etc., while BCI represents beach tourism that constitutes 85 % of tourism activities in Cyprus. The projections of climate change impacts in tourism are performed for 2071–2100 period, using regional climate model output employing the A1B greenhouse gas emissions scenario. The 1961–1990 period is used as the control run to compare the respective results of the future projections. The significant warming anticipated in the distant future (increases in annual and summer temperatures close to 4 °C) will have adverse impacts on Cyprus tourism industry regarding sightseeing tourism. TCI results for the distant future period show only acceptable conditions for general tourism activities during summer in contrast with the good/very good conditions in the present climate. Conversely, this type of tourism seems to be benefited in shoulder seasons, i.e., during spring and autumn; TCI and hence tourist activities improve in the distant future in relation to the present climate. On the other hand, concerning beach tourism, future projections indicate that it will not be negatively affected by future climate change and any changes will be positive.     

近50 a长江流域暴雨日数时空变化分析

利用1961~2010年长江流域逐日降水资料和DEM数据,结合Mann-Kendall趋势法、变差系数法以及GIS空间分析等方法,分析了近50 a长江流域年均暴雨日数时空变化特征。结果表明:长江流域年均暴雨日数基本呈自东向西递减的规律,且随着海拔升高,年均暴雨日数逐渐减少,两者呈显著负相关关系;长江流域上游高原气候影响区年均暴雨日数小于1 d;而中上游中亚热带湿润气候影响区大于2 d;随着纬度的增加,暴雨开始时间推迟,结束时间提前,持续时间减少;年暴雨日数的变差系数与年均暴雨日数满足幂指数关系,相关系数达0.97,为显著相关。表现为年均暴雨日数大(小)的地方,变差系数小(大);除长江中下游中部和四川盆地及其周边地区年暴雨日数为减少趋势外,其它地方均表现为不同程度的增加趋势。鄱阳湖水系、四川(雅安市、峨眉山市、万源市)、湖南(安化县、南岳区)、湖北(洪湖市、英山县)年暴雨日数多且变差系数小,洪水、泥石流等灾害压力巨大;为有关部门了解长江流域洪水等灾害的发生机制、提高灾害预测预报能力、制定防灾减灾政策等提供科学依据。     

Vegetation dynamics and climate change on the Loess Plateau,China: 1982–2011

Monitoring the dynamics of vegetation growth and its response to climate change is important to understand the mechanisms underlying ecosystem behaviors. This study investigated the relationship between vegetation growth and climate change during the growing seasons on the Loess Plateau in China by analyzing the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) derived from the Land Long Term Data Record dataset from 1982 to 2011. Results showed that growing-season NDVI had increased at an annual rate of 0.0028, particularly in the semi-arid and semi-humid regions. By contrast, the NDVI first increased from 1982 to 1994 (0.0013 year^?1, P < 0.05) and then decreased from 1994 to 2011 (0.0016 year^?1, P < 0.05) in the arid region. Temperature had a positive effect on NDVI in most periods within and across seasons in the semi-humid region but had no significant effect in the arid region. Precipitation had a positive effect on NDVI in the arid region in summer and in the semi-arid region in autumn. Summer precipitation was important for autumn vegetation growth in the arid region, whereas summer temperature increased autumn vegetation growth in the semi-arid and semi-humid regions. Further analyses supported the lag-time effects of climate change on vegetation growth on the Loess Plateau. Precipitation shifts had 15- to 18-month time lag effects on vegetation growth in the three climate regions. Vegetation NDVI had a 17-month lag response to temperature in the semi-arid region. Human activities should not be neglected in analyzing the relationship between vegetation growth and climate change on the Loess Plateau.     

安康水库下游径流演变及水库运行对径流影响分析

利用1970～2010年水文数据,分析了安康水库下游安康水文站径流的年内、年际变化,并运用Mann kendall[JP]趋势分析方法探讨了径流变化趋势和突变年份;在此基础之上,以安康水库蓄水运行时间为界线,通过绘制径流 降水双累积曲线,剥离降水和安康水库以上流域人类活动对其下游径流的影响,得到安康水库运行等人类活动对下游径流影响程度,从而为揭示水利工程建设对河流影响提供定量化参考。研究表明：近40 a来,安康水库下游径流量呈现减少趋势,且水库的建设运行等人类活动使径流发生了由多到少的突变,使径流年际间变化趋于平缓,其对径流的直接影响程度高达838%,是径流减少的最直接、最主要的因素     

Spatial variability of precipitation in Spain

The spatial variability of annual and seasonal precipitation in the conterminous land of Spain has been evaluated by using correlation decay distance analysis (CDD). The CDD analysis essentially explores how the correlation between neighbouring stations varies according to distance. We analysed CDD independently for the decades 1956–1965, 1966–1975, 1976–1985, 1986–1995, and 1996–2005 using only those stations with no missing values for each decade. To this end, 972, 1,174, 1,242, 773 and 695 complete series were used for each decade, respectively. In particular, for each station and decade, we calculated the threshold distance at which the common variance between target (i) and neighbour series is higher than 50 % (r ²  = 0.5) to evaluate whether current density of the climate data set captures the spatial variability of precipitation within the study area. Results indicate that, at an annual scale, neighbouring stations with 50 % of common variance are restricted on average to about 105 km, but this distance can vary from 28 to 251 km within the study area. The lowest variability is located to the SW and in winter, while the higher spatial variability is found to the north, in the Cantabrian area, and to the east, in the Mediterranean and Pyrenees, during summer. Our results suggest that current density of climate stations (those operating in 2005) is good enough to study precipitation variability at an annual scale for winter, spring and autumn, but not enough for summer.     

Estimating the effect of nitrogen fertilizer on the greenhouse gas balance of soils in Wales under current and future climate

The Welsh Government is committed to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agricultural systems and combat the effects of future climate change. In this study, the ECOSSE model was applied spatially to estimate GHG and soil organic carbon (SOC) fluxes from three major land uses (grass, arable and forest) in Wales. The aims of the simulations were: (1) to estimate the annual net GHG balance for Wales; (2) to investigate the efficiency of the reduced nitrogen (N) fertilizer goal of the sustainable land management scheme (Glastir), through which the Welsh Government offers financial support to farmers and land managers on GHG flux reduction; and (3) to investigate the effects of future climate change on the emissions of GHG and plant net primary production (NPP). Three climate scenarios were studied: baseline (1961–1990) and low and high emission climate scenarios (2015–2050). Results reveal that grassland and cropland are the major nitrous oxide (N₂O) emitters and consequently emit more GHG to the atmosphere than forests. The overall average simulated annual net GHG balance for Wales under baseline climate (1961–1990) is equivalent to 0.2 t CO₂e ha^?1 y^?1 which gives an estimate of total annual net flux for Wales of 0.34 Mt CO₂e y^?1. Reducing N fertilizer by 20 and 40 % could reduce annual net GHG fluxes by 7 and 25 %, respectively. If the current N fertilizer application rate continues, predicted climate change by the year 2050 would not significantly affect GHG emissions or NPP from soils in Wales.     

Sensitivity of typical Mediterranean crops to past and future evolution of seasonal temperature and precipitation in Apulia

The region of Apulia, which is located in the south-east tip of the Italian Peninsula, has a typical Mediterranean climate with mild winters and hot-dry summers. Agriculture, an important sector of its economy, is potentially threatened by future climate change. This study describes the evolution of seasonal temperature and precipitation from the recent past to the next decades and estimates future potential impacts of climate change on three main agricultural products: wine, wheat and olives. Analysis is based on instrumental data, on an ensemble of climate projections and on a linear regression model linking these three agricultural products to seasonal values of temperature and precipitation. In Apulia, precipitation and temperature time series show trends toward warmer and marginally drier conditions during the whole analyzed (1951–2005) period: 0.18 °C/decade in mean annual minimum temperature and ?14.9 mm/decade in the annual total precipitation. Temperature trends have been progressively increasing and rates of change have become noticeably more intense during the last 25 years of the twentieth century. Model simulations are consistent with observed trends for the period 1951–2000 and show a large acceleration of the warming rate in the period 2001–2050 with respect to the period 1951–2000. Further, in the period 2001–2050, simulations show a decrease in precipitation, which was not present in the previous 50 years. Wine production, wheat and olive harvest records show large inter-annual variability with statistically significant links to seasonal temperature and precipitation, whose strength, however, strongly depends on the considered variables. Linear regression analysis shows that seasonal temperature and precipitation variability explains a small, but not negligible, fraction of the inter-annual variability of these crops (40, 18, 9 % for wine, olives and wheat, respectively). Results (which consider no adaptation of crops and no fertilization effect of CO₂) suggest that evolution of these seasonal climate variables in the first half of the twenty-first century could decrease all considered variables. The most affected is wine production (?20 ÷ ?26 %). The effect is relevant also on harvested olives (?8 ÷ ?19 %) and negligible on harvested wheat (?4 ÷ ?1 %).     

气候变化下21世纪上海长江口地区降水变化趋势分析

近百年来,以全球变暖为主要特征的气候与环境发生了重大变化,在此条件下,气候变化对自然生态系统的影响越来越大,特别是对水资源的负面影响尤为明显,包括水资源数量、质量及其时空分布,水资源开发利用程度,供用水结构以及产水、供水、用水、耗水、排水之间的关系等。上海长江口地区是我国经济发展核心区,而南水北调东线工程实施后,长江口的流量,以及海水的入侵都会直接影响到上海的发展,因此未来百年该区域的降水量在气候变化影响下的变化趋势对区域发展有着一定的影响作用。利用IPCC 数据分发中心提供的CCCma模式的4种模拟结果,分析了在全球气候变化下,由于人类活动影响、温室气体增加等共同作用时,长江口地区未来50～100年的降水量变化情景。结果表明,降水量总的会呈现上升趋势,并且降水强度的变化也越来越明显。     

Potential influences of global warming on future climate and extreme events in Nigeria

This study investigates future impacts of global warming on climate and extreme climate events in Nigeria, the most populous African country that depends on rain-fed agriculture. Past and future climate simulations from 9 GCMs were downscaled (using a statistical model) and analyzed for the study. The study considers the impacts of two emission scenarios (B1 and A2) on the future climates (2046–2065 and 2081–2100) over ecological zones in Nigeria. The model evaluation shows that the downscaling adds values to the GCMs simulation, and the results capture all the important climatic features over the country. The model projections show that both B1 and A2 scenarios change the future climate over Nigeria. They significantly increase the temperature over all the ecological zones, with greatest warming (between 1 and 4 °C) over the Sudan (short grass) Savanna in March. The warming, which increases the occurrence of extreme temperature and heat wave events over the entire country, enhances the frequency of the extreme rainfall events in the south and southeast and reduces the annual rainfall over the northeast. Since heavy rains and floods are major problems in the south and southeast, and drought is major problem in the northeast, the global warming may further aggravate these environmental problems in future. These could have negative impacts on agriculture and further threaten livelihood and food security in the rapidly growing country. Hence, there is need for further studies on adaptation and mitigation strategies to address the impacts of global warming in Nigeria.     

汉江流域气象水文变化趋势及驱动力分析

汉江流域作为南水北调中线工程的水源地,流域水文情势因调水工程和一系列补偿工程发生了重大且长期的调整,分析汉江流域气象水文变化趋势及驱动力对汉江流域水资源的可持续利用和制定合理的水资源管理政策有着重要意义。综合应用Mann-kendall法、累积距平法、降雨-径流双累积曲线法分析了汉江流域近50 a的气象水文资料。结果显示：年降雨量在汉江上游和下游流域呈增加趋势,中游呈减少趋势。年均气温和年蒸发量在全流域呈上升趋势。1965 ~2016年期间汉江上游流域的水资源基本能满足人类活动的用水需求,但汉江中下游流域水资源不足,且人类活动的用水需求在1977年以后一直呈增加趋势。确定汉江流域水文突变年为1990年和2008年,据此划分汉江流域的水文期为基准期,变异Ⅰ期和变异Ⅱ期。采用累积量斜率变化率得出气候波动和人类活动对汉江上游和全流域水文变化的贡献率在变异I期分别为26.1%和73.9%,33.8%和66.2%,在变异Ⅱ期分别为19.3%和80.7%,43.7%和56.3%。人类活动是汉江流域径流变化的主要驱动力,汉江上游的径流受人类活动的影响大于汉江全流域。在变异Ⅱ期,人类活动对汉江上游流域径流影响增加了6.8%,但对全流域径流的影响减少了9.9%。     

The ecological implications of land use change in the Source Regions of the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, China

The alpine ecosystems in permafrost regions are extremely sensitive to climate change. The headwater regions of Yangtze River and Yellow River of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau are on the permafrost area. Aerial photos of the Source Regions of the Yangtze and Yellow River taken in 1968 and three phases of TM images acquired from 1986, 2000, and 2008 were used to analyze the spatial alterations of the land cover and corresponding effects on the environment guided by landscape ecology theory. Firstly, land cover types were divided into three classes and 11 subclasses. Analysis results revealed the trends and magnitude of the eco-environmental changes in the regions over the past four decades and showed a continuous degradation of grasslands and the extension of desertification and salinization. Secondly, five landscape pattern indices (i.e., NP, MPS, PR, SHEI, CONTAG) commonly used in landscape ecological studies were calculated, and results showed that this region had become more centralized and diversified. Finally, the factors causing the degradation of alpine grasslands were analyzed. The regional climate exhibited a tendency toward significant warming and desiccation with the air temperature increased by 0.03 °C per year and relative stable precipitation over the last 40 years. And the temperature of permafrost in 0–20 cm soil layer obviously raised by 0.2–0.3 °C in the last 40 years. The combined effects of climate warming and permafrost variation were the major drivers for the changes of landscape in alpine ecosystems.     

葛洲坝对长江径流过程的影响

水流是河流生境的主要决定因素之一,影响生物群落的组成和多样性。河流径流过程及特征可以通过水文参数值及其统计特征来反映,包括水文值的大小、发生时间、持续时间、发生频率和变化特征等。水利工程会改变河流天然径流过程。采用IHA法对葛洲坝的河流径流过程影响进行了评价,结果显示总体上葛洲坝水利枢纽对河流天然径流的改变不大,但其一定的削峰坦化作用可能是上涨率和下降率等参数值在建坝后发生一定变化的原因。     

Spatio-temporal analysis of climatic variables in the western part of Bangladesh

Monitoring and detecting trends of climatic variables like rainfall and temperature are essential for agricultural developments in the context of climate change. The present study has detected trends in annual and cropping seasonal rainfall and temperature data for the period of 1961–2011 using Mann–Kendall (MK) test, Spearman’s rho (SR) test and modified Mann–Kendall test that has been applied to the significant lag-1 serial correlated time series data, and slope has been estimated using Sen’s Slope estimator for twelve meteorological stations located in the western part of Bangladesh covering about 41 % of the country. Almost 71 % trends explored by MK test in annual rainfall are statistically insignificant, and SR test also complies it. The spatial distribution of rainfall trend shows insignificant positive trends in major part of the area. Significant positive trends both by MK test and by SR test at 95 % confidence levels are observed at rates of 8.56, 11.15 and 13.66 mm/year at Dinajpur, Rangpur and Khepupara stations, respectively, and the Kharif season rainfall of these stations also shows significant increasing trends except Dinajpur. On the other hand, significant decreasing trends in annual rainfall are found at Bhola (?11.67 mm/year) and Rajshahi (?5.951 mm/year) stations and decreasing trends in rainfall dominated the Pre-Kharif season over the area. But, 83.33 % of the stations show rising trends in annual mean temperature with significant positive trends (as observed by both MK test and SR test) at Rangpur, Bogra, Faridpur, Jessore and Bhola stations where the rate of changes vary from 0.013 °C/year at Faridpur to 0.08 °C/year at Bhola. Most of the trends in Rabi and Pre-Kharif seasons of mean temperatures are not statistically significant. However, all stations except Barisal show significant rising trends in temperature in Kharif season. To cope with this changing pattern of rainfall and temperature, effective adaptation strategies should be taken to keep up the agricultural production that is related to livelihood of the most people and to ensure the country’s food security.     

Projected burden of disease for Salmonella infection due to increased temperature in Australian temperate and subtropical regions

ObjectiveThis study aimed to project the future disability burden of Salmonella infection associated with increased temperature in future in temperate and subtropical regions of Australia in order to provide recommendations for public health policy to respond to climate change.MethodsYears Lost due to Disabilities (YLDs) were used as the measure of the burden of disease in this study. Regions in temperate and subtropical Australia were selected for this study. Future temperature change scenarios in the study were based on Australian projections, developed by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO). YLDs for Salmonella infection in 2000 were calculated as the baseline data. YLDs for Salmonella infection in 2030 and 2050 under future temperature change scenarios were projected based on the quantitative relationship between temperature and disease examined in previously published regression models. Future demographic change was also considered in this analysis.ResultsCompared with the YLDs in 2000, increasing temperature and demographic changes may lead to a 9%–48% increase in the YLDs for Salmonella infection by 2030 and a 31%–87% increase by 2050 in the temperate region, and a 51%–100% increase by 2030 and an 87%–143% increase by 2050 in the subtropical region, if other factors remain constant.ConclusionTemperature-related health burden of Salmonella infection in Australia may increase in the future due to change in climate and demography in the absence of effective public health interventions. Relevant public health strategies should be developed at an early stage to prevent and reduce the health burden of climate change.     

Climate variability and changes in the major cities of Bangladesh: observations,possible impacts and adaptation

High population density, inadequate infrastructure and low adaptive capacity have made the urban population of Bangladesh highly vulnerable to climate change. Trends in climate and climate-related extreme events in five major cities have been analyzed in this paper to decipher the variability and ongoing changes in urban Bangladesh. An analysis of 55 years (1958–2012) of daily rainfall and temperature data using nonparametric statistical methods shows a significant increase in annual and seasonal mean daily maximum and minimum temperatures in all five cities. A significant increase in climate-related extreme events, such as heavy rainfall events (>20 mm), hot days (>32 °C) and hot nights (>25 °C), is also observed. Climate model results suggest that these trends will continue through the twenty-first century. Vulnerability of urban livelihoods and physical structures to climate change is estimated by considering certainty and timing of impacts. It has been predicted that public health and urban infrastructures, viz. water and power supply, would be the imminent affected sectors in the urban areas of Bangladesh. Adaptation measures that can be adopted to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change are also discussed.     

Drastic reduction in the potential habitats for alpine and subalpine vegetation in the Pyrenees due to twenty-first-century climate change

Recent climate change is already affecting both ecosystems and the organisms that inhabit them, with mountains and their associated biota being particularly vulnerable. Due to the high conservation value of mountain ecosystems, reliable science-based information is needed to implement additional conservation efforts in order to ensure their future. This paper examines how climate change might impact on the distribution of the main alpine and subalpine vegetation in terms of losses of suitable area in the Oriental Pyrenees. The algorithm of maximum entropy (Maxent) was used to relate current environmental conditions (climate, topography, geological properties) to present data for the studied vegetation units, and time and space projections were subsequently carried out considering climate change predictions for the years 2020, 2050 and 2080. All models predicted rising altitude trends for all studied vegetation units. Moreover, the analysis of future trends under different climate scenarios for 2080 suggests an average loss in potential ranges of 92.3–99.9 % for alpine grasslands, 76.8–98.4 % for subalpine (and alpine) scrublands and 68.8–96.1 % for subalpine forest. The drastic reduction in the potential distribution areas for alpine grasslands, subalpine scrublands and Pinus uncinata forests highlights the potential severity of the effects of climate change on vegetation in the highest regions of the Pyrenees. Thus, alpine grasslands can be expected to become relegated to refuge areas (summit areas), with their current range being taken over by subalpine scrublands. Furthermore, subalpine forest units will probably become displaced and will occupy areas that currently present subalpine scrub vegetation.     

Transformation of a lowland river from a meandering and multi-channel pattern into an artificial canal: retracing a path of river channel changes (the Middle Obra River, W Poland)

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, a significant change in sedimentation took place along the middle course of the Obra River (W Poland): a “natural” channel bed was replaced by three artificial canals. Before that time the Obra River bed had been characterized by various river patterns (braided, meandering and disappearing in wetlands). GPR (ground-penetrating radar) surveys and the analysis of satellite and aerial images were carried out to retrace the natural river course near the village of Kopanica. The GPR, ground-truthed with core data, revealed that at least two types of the river pattern had been functioning here before the period of the hydrotechnical works: a large-scale meandering pattern (width-to-depth (w/d) ratio ranging from 15 to 40) and a relatively smaller-scale multi-channel pattern (w/d = 11–22). Possibly, the transformation was caused by forming a series of large floods followed by in-channel aggradation and avulsions. Next, the multi-channel pattern was artificially transformed into the North Obra Canal. This paper discusses possibilities of a creation of network of channels that were active after the construction of the North Obra Canal in the beginning of the nineteenth century. Such intervention would increase natural values of the presented section of the Obra valley. The presented study also shows that a detailed analysis of history and evolution of a given river course is needed before undertaking any restoration works.     

Present to future sediment transport of the Brahmaputra River: reducing uncertainty in predictions and management

The Brahmaputra River in South Asia carries one of the world’s highest sediment loads, and the sediment transport dynamics strongly affect the region’s ecology and agriculture. However, present understanding of sediment conditions and dynamics is hindered by limited access to hydrological and geomorphological data, which impacts predictive models needed in management. We here synthesize reported peer-reviewed data relevant to sediment transport and perform a sensitivity analysis to identify sensitive and uncertain parameters, using the one-dimensional model HEC-RAS, considering both present and future climatic conditions. Results showed that there is considerable uncertainty in openly available estimates (260–720 Mt yr^?1) of the annual sediment load for the Brahmaputra River at its downstream Bahadurabad gauging station (Bangladesh). This may aggravate scientific impact studies of planned power plant and reservoir construction in the region, as well as more general effects of ongoing land use change and climate change. We found that data scarcity on sediment grain size distribution, water discharge, and Manning’s roughness coefficient had the strongest controls on the modelled sediment load. However, despite uncertainty in absolute loads, we showed that predicted relative changes, including a future increase in sediment load by about 40 % at Bahadurabad by 2075–2100, were consistent across multiple model simulations. Nevertheless, for the future scenarios we found that parameter uncertainty almost doubled for water discharge and river geometry, highlighting that improved information on these parameters could greatly advance the abilities to predict and manage current and future sediment dynamics in the Brahmaputra river basin.