COOPERATION BETWEEN IGCP AND UNESCO WATERDIVISIONPROPOSAL FOR THEMES OF MAJOR COMMON INTEREST
IGCP was established in 1974, and has included a number of projects, attaining
project number 523 in 2005. The programme has been successful, and has produced alarge number of scientific papers, scientific meetings and training courses, a broadinternational network and a positive impact for society is based on this fundamental
research. An international evaluation carried out in 2003 concluded that the output
was comprehensive especially in relation to the levels of funding. The funding to eachindividual project has decreased considerably during the past decade, if the inflation
rate is taken into consideration.
In the IGCP Guidelines it is clearly stated that all projects shall be relevant forsocieties. Many of the projects have included a strong applied component. Also theinternational evaluation of IGCP highlighted the importance of outreach, andrecommended that there should be an even stronger focus on applied science.
In March 2005 IUGS appointed an ad hoc committee to examine the future of IGCP.
The mission of the group was to give recommendations regarding:- How to modernize IGCP, including its scientific Board- How to make IGCP more society relevant- How to ensure a dialogue between IGCP and other UNESCO scientificprogrammes- How to raise the funding for IGCPIn the final report from the group, groundwater is identified as one of the more
important tasks of IGCP in the years to come.
The main purpose of this document is to establish a dialogue between IGCP andUNESCO Water Science efforts. Our joint important task is to work together in orderto create a future scientific activity that is on a high scientific level, at the same time
as it contributes to a better understanding of our water resources.

WATER SCIENCE IN IGCP
IGCP has its strong focus on geology. Within the field of water science it means:- An understanding of properties of groundwater system; where is the water
stored and how does it flow
- An understanding of the interaction between underground fluids, rocks andminerals- An understanding of the dynamics of all water on the Earth’s surface overlonger time intervals (more than a decade)- An understanding of sediment transport and deposition in rivers and lakes- Sustainable management of water as a natural resourceThis has always been and will remain some of the specialities of the geologicalcommunities. In IGCP projects the fields above have been included during manyyears. As an example one notes IGCP 184, “Palaeohydrology of Low Latitude
Deserts”, which lasted from 1981 – 1985.
According to the speciality of IGCP, projects should focus on the geological part ofwater science. Basically, this can be grouped into two main categories:- Groundwater- Palaeohydrology
Within both these fields there are some urgent needs for research.
It is only recently that IGCP created a group directly focussed on water. This wasdone in 2003, when a fifth working group of IGCP was devoted to hydrogeology.
This was to acknowledge that groundwater is a very important resource on the Earth,and that it, accordingly needs special attention.
GROUNDWATER
The great importance of groundwater is recognised by scientists within both the fieldof hydrology and the field of geology.
• Groundwater is the largest freshwater resource on the Earth’s surface• Groundwater forms an increasing part of the drinking water resources
worldwide
Groundwater is closely linked to the geological formations, and is therefore a main
research topic for a number of geologists. In particular the International Associationof Hydrogeologists, which is an affiliate member of IUGS, promotes such studies andform an important network for hydrogeologists all over the world.
Since the creation two years ago of the working group of IGCP on hydrogeology, theanswers to the calls for proposals are both few in number and not of the generalinternational standard we normally require. It is important to improve the situation,and this is partly the reason why we wish to pursue collaboration between IGCP
Groundwater and the UNESCO Water Division.
Most studies of groundwater have been related to groundwater as a drinking water
resource. Well monitoring, water quantities and qualities have been in focus.
Less focus has been on the long-term dynamics of groundwater systems. However,there are also other important tasks, which are of great importance in hydrogeology,
some of them are listed below.
Several factors explain the lack of response to the call for groundwater projects inIGCP:• There may be a too weak scientific focus of the calls for proposal;• Although the number of people working with groundwater in the world isquite large, the scientific community of hydrogeologists is rather small,compared to other geological communities.
• The same small society already has a considerable support from importantfunding from several international programs.
• There is not good enough distribution and information concerning the calls forproposal. IGCP has traditionally not focused on groundwater at all, and it willtake time before the community of hydrogeologists become aware of IGCP.
One very important task is to define specific scientific niches where IGCP funding
could generate good scientific results of great practical importance. We believe that
this generally requires that
• The scientific themes are so broad so that a larger part of the earth science
community can feel associated with the problems to be studied.
• Definition of central fields for collaboration between groundwater specialists
and geologists should be defined, in order to bridge the gap between the twocommunities.
• Information about IGCP should be announced in various newsletters(UNESCO Water Science Bulletin, IAH Groundwater eNews, etc.) andinternational journals (EOS, Episodes, etc.);
Proposition of some themes corresponding to these criteria (these idea were discussed
during WHYMAP Meetings):• Water and basins: monitoring groundwater systems in sedimentary basins witha collaboration between hydrogeologists and petroleum geologists using
expertise of the latter;• Water and space techniques: use of remote sensing (space gravity , cf.
GRACE time-variable gravity observations) to evaluate hydrologic variables
and changes in groundwater and produce basin-scale estimates of terrestrial
water storage with a strengthening of the collaboration betweenhydrogeologists/climate modellers and space-observation scientists;• Water and tectonics: understanding the role of fluids circulation in fault
behaviour, earthquake nucleation and, more globally, the hydrogeologic
responses to earthquake;• Water and geochemistry: use of geochemical indicators to understand gradualor catastrophic changes in groundwater resources;• Water and climate changes: develop predictive models of the modification ofground-water recharge and discharge in relation with different global warning
scenario.
• Geological and structural control of groundwater accumulation• Understanding the underground part of the water cycle, inclusive
groundwater-dependent ecosystems.
• Groundwater-rock interactions, including karst processes, groundwater quality
and vulnerability• Characterization of groundwater reserves (reservoir modelling).
• Enhanced aquifer recharge (minimize evaporation losses, increase security ofwater supplies).
• Water science and mining• Geomedical aspects of water (geothermal and thermal groundwater).
• Exploration of transborder aquifers.
Groundwater is in many cases a non-renewable resource. Groundwater balance isclosely linked to climate variability, and in many parts of the world the water is
extracted from fossil aquifers, where very little or no recharge occurs today. Therefore,
an understanding of the entire groundwater system (recharge, flow paths, anddischarge) is necessary in order to secure such critical resources.

Furthermore, global climate change will to a great extent change the present
groundwater budget in many areas. During desertification present recharge-systems
may become fossil and discharge of groundwater into rivers may drop drastically. A
good example is the warning signals for the Colorado River, where the river discharge
has decreased over a number of years. These questions are closely linked to studies ofpalaeo-climate, where palaeo-groundwater in many cases is one of the components
studied.
Climate change in combination with sea-level rise may result in a dramaticdegeneration of coastal groundwater bodies. Recent studies in Greece have shown thatafter a few years of drought, and a high extraction of groundwater, a major intrusionof saline water has occurred into some aquifers. Modelling of the same aquifers has
shown that it will take hundreds to thousand of years before the original balance is reestablished. A detailed understanding of the groundwater dynamics over time isneeded to protect the important coastal groundwater resources.
Dating of groundwater is still a field that needs more research. Here, an
intimate cooperation between hydrologists, hydrogeologists and geologists is needed.
We, therefore, strongly recommend a co-operation between UNESCO Water
Science Division and IGCP, with particular focus on the following themes:• Studies of regional groundwater systems with restricted and climate-dependent
recharge• Establishing the recharge/discharge relation in groundwater systems during
different global climate variability scenarios. Conceptual and mathematicalmodelling focused in preventing and attenuating consequences of climaticchange• Artificial recharge for groundwater systems.
• Coastal groundwater resources under stress: urban hydrgeology, sea-level rise,risk of contamination. A large number of big cities obtain fresh water supply
from coastal aquifers.
• Modelling of coastal groundwater systems during sea-level rise.
Groundwater in biodiversity is closely related to other important areas, climate change
and land degradation. Projects targeting dynamic management of groundwater
systems represent crosscutting issues (water, land, wetlands habitats etc) and could
facilitate integration between ecology and earth science.
SURFACE HYDROLOGY
There should also be a communication between IGCP and UNESCO Water Sciencefor projects related to surface waters. The world faces the situation that there are
extreme situations with too little water (droughts) and too much water (floods).
Recently very much attention has been on floods. Studies of floods are importantbecause they:• Are the most frequent of all natural catastrophes• Affect almost every part of the World• Affect a great part of the World’s population because so many people live
along rivers and on flood-plains• Have castastrophic effects that are closely linked to the man’s manipulation ofnatural systems
Throughout the geological history mega-floods have occurred all over the world. Thefloods have had major impact on geomorphology, and during the Quaternary also onhuman societies. The cause of the floods varies, from drainage of ice-dammed lakes
to the huge rainfalls associated with tropical cyclones.
In January 2000, coastal and lowland Mozambique experienced a period ofcatastrophic flooding. The floods were caused by a huge amount of rainwater in the
big upper catchment, with a confluence towards the low-lying floodplain. The flood
could not easily have been predicted, because there is a lack of historical
documentation of floods of this magnitude. Local settlements were destroyed, withdisastrous consequences for the local population. Afterwards, many flood victims
were offered new properties in safer localities. In September 2005 New Orleans
became almost completely flooded as a result of the rise of water level related to thehurricane Katrina. The catastrophe was to a great extent the result of humanmanipulation of the Mississippi River and its delta. The flood history was well known,
and a catastrophe of this magnitude had been forecasted by a number of researchcommunities. The effect was almost the same in both cases, and people prefer tomove back to their old homesteads, which will be at risk also during future flood
events.
Many other parts of the world have experienced mega-floods during the pastdecades. Whether or not these are related to global warming is a question that is muchdebated. In many parts of the world, and especially in Africa, there is a great lack oflong flood records. There is no documentation about the link between climate eventsand the magnitude and frequencies of the big floods.
In order to understand this question it is important to look at palaeorecords:
Have mega-floods been more frequent during warm than cool climate episodes? And
if so, in which part of the world is an increase to be expected during a possible future
global warming?
A mega-flood can result in major erosion along the river course, with asubsequent deposition of the eroded sediments. However, in parts of the rivercatchment it is not easy to trace the flood even a few years later. To understand thefrequency and size of ancient floods it is, therefore, important to know where to look
for the flood sequences and how to identify them. This expertise is in particularneeded in many developing countries.
A catastrophic flood may be of a magnitude never experienced before in acatchment. Direct measurements of flood magnitudes do normally not date back morethan a couple of hundred years. Flood statistics and flood frequency curves can,therefore, not account for the really big events. Furthermore, modern flood monitoringis linked to a restricted range of climatic situations. In order to understand what can beexpected for future climate changes, it is, therefore, of great importance to gain
knowledge about very big floods, which can be identified by studies of sedimentrecords and landforms.
It is important everywhere in the world to get more knowledge about flood
sediments, and to know how to convert such information into a flood magnitude scale.
Many scientists who study palaeo-floods have been very concerned about this fact.
Further work to make palaeo-flood frequency curves comparable with modern flood
frequency curves is a very actual task.
We, therefore, strongly recommend a co-operation between UNESCO Water
Science Division and IGCP on the following themes:- Flood sediment records for the last few thousands of years, with particularreference to rivers in Africa. This should be organised as collaboration between
African scientists and international experts.

- Link between palaeo-climate and palaeo-floods, with particular reference toareas in the world where such data are lacking.
- The relation between palaeo-flood magnitudes/frequencies and modern flood
frequency statistics, in order to link them to the same scales.

ACTION TOWARDS A CLOSER COLLABORATION BETWEEN
IGCP AND UNESCO WATER DIVISION
Decision about the profile of the new IGCP will be taken in 2006. We believe it is ofgreat importance that a dialogue about water science starts early in 2006, and thatplans for cooperation is in place well before the deadline for new project proposals for2006. The cooperation is of particular relevance during 2006-2007 when UNESCO
focuses so much on water science.
We believe that IGCP should in a more active way announce groundwater in order toattract more project proposals. We need a considerable increase in the number of
proposals before water science becomes an important part of the whole IGCP
programme. Groundwater is also an important task under the Year of the Planet Earth,and an active announcement in 2006 is needed to ensure that groundwater in IGCP
has reached the desired level before the start of the Year of the Planet Earth.
We mention three prioritised topics in IHP, where we believe that the geologicalexpertice in IGCP is particularly important:
Groundwater and global change:a. The understanding of groundwater systems under climate conditions different
from the present. Here the knowledge about past climate variations is crucial:
When and under which circumstances are the large groundwater aquifers
recharged.
b. What will be the development of the large present groundwater systems underchanged future climate.
Coastal groundwater aquifers:
a. What will happen with the coastal aquifers during a rising sea level. The
understanding of this requires an understanding of coastal erosion andsedimentation processes in the past and at the present. This should becombined with detailed remote sensing, which in many areas can show detailsof the changes over the past 50 years.
b. How long time does it take for a coastal freshwater cone to adjust to abrupt
climate changes or abrupt changes in extraction of groundwater? Modelsindicate that this can take many centuries. Understanding of past global sea
level variations as well as past climate variations is necessary in order for asustainable management of coastal aquifers.
Transborder aquifers:
Transborder aquifers require a very detailed understanding of the undergroundgeology. This is critical for the management of the aquifers and for allquestions related to the rights to explore the groundwater