Title: Climate change, urbanisation and hydrological impacts

Authors: Woonsup Choi

Addresses: Department of Geography, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, No 220 Davenport Hall, 607 S. Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL 61801, USA

Abstract: This paper is a review of recent studies that addressed the hydrological impacts, especially on streamflow, of climate change and/or urbanisation. Articles published between 1996 and 2002 on this subject were reviewed focusing on research methods and results. The main issues addressed with regard to research methods include development of climate change and urbanisation scenarios, assessment of urbanisation, hydrological models, and geographical scale. With regard to the results of studies, combined impact of climate change and urbanisation, linearity of runoff response, and impact on flood were addressed. Overall, there has been significant development in this area, and much of it can be attributed to technological advances. Modelling tools for climate change and urbanisation are becoming more reliable and popular. More studies need to be performed about the combined impact of climate change and urbanisation, and the linearity of runoff response for the theoretical development in this area.

Keywords: climate change; urbanisation; streamflow; runoff response; hydrological impact; flood impact; geographical scale; modelling.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGENVI.2004.006054

International Journal of Global Environmental Issues, 2004 Vol.4 No.4, pp.267 - 286

Published online: 27 Jan 2005 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article