Water Balance And Climate Change
(Model tools: mGROWA, GROWA)
In recent years, the deterministic water balance model mGROWA (Herrmann et al., 2015) has replaced the empiric GROWA model (Kunkel and Wendland, 2002) for simulating and projecting the water balance at state and river basin scale in Germany and the Mediterranean region, see Bender et al., 2017; Ehlers et al., 2016; Herrmann et al., 2017; Panagopoulos et al., 2018.
At its core, mGROWA combines grid-based simulation of soil water balance (evapotranspiration, leachate movement, irrigation control, runoff formation, etc.) in high temporal resolution (days) and high spatial resolution (e.g. 100m x 100m) with grid-based area-differentiated separation of runoff into direct runoff components and groundwater recharge based on the BFI-procedure implemented in the predecessor model, the empiric GROWA model (Kunkel and Wendland, 2002; Herrmann et al., 2009; Tetzlaff et al., 2015).
mGROWA model results find their practical use and exploitation mainly in (ground)water management planning at the state level (Ertl et al., 2019; Herrmann et al., 2015; Herrmann et al., 2021), in model chains to determine nutrient loading in large river basins and other administrative units (e.g., Schmidt et al., 2020; Wendland et al., 2020; Wolters et al., 2021), to determine potential irrigation needs in agriculture (Herrmann et al., 2016b), and to assess current and future groundwater droughts (i.e., periods of below-average groundwater recharge; Herrmann et al., 2016a; Herrmann et al., 2020).
Key research projects:
Period | Funding institution | Project / topic |
2022-2023 | Behörde für Umwelt, Klima, Energie und Agrarwirtschaft der Stadt Hamburg (BUKEA) | Modelling of a close-to-nature water balance based in the Federal State of Hamburg on the mGROWA |
2020-2023 | Umweltbundesamt (UBA) | Impact of climate change on water availability / Adjustment to aridity and drought in Germany |
2020-2023 | Landesamt für Natur, Umwelt und Verbraucherschutz Nordrhein-Westfalen (LANUV) | Implementation and operation of a water and drought monitor for the federal state of NRW |
2021 - 2023 | Landesamt für Landwirtschaft, Umwelt und ländliche Räume Schleswig - Holstein (LLUR) | Calculation of water balance and runoff components for the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein |
2020 | Behörde für Umwelt, Klima, Energie und Agrarwirtschaft der Stadt Hamburg (BUKEA) | Modelling groundwater recharge in the Federal State of Hamburg based on mGROWA-model |
2018-2019 | Landesamt für Natur, Umwelt und Verbraucherschutz Nordrhein-Westfalen (LANUV) | Impact of climate change on water resources in NRW |
2015-2019 | Landesamt für Natur, Umwelt und Verbraucherschutz Nordrhein-Westfalen (LANUV) | Statewide modeling of water balance and nitrogen inputs into groundwater and surface waters in Nordrhein-Westfalen |
2015-2019 | Landesamt für Natur, Umwelt und Verbraucherschutz Nordrhein-Westfalen (LANUV) | Statewide modeling of water balance and nitrogen inputs into groundwater and surface waters in Nordrhein-Westfalen |
2015 – 2017 | Slovenian Environment Agency (EAS) | Transfer and adaption of the water balance model mGROWA to Slovenia |
2009 - 2015 | Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) - research program "KLIMZUG" | |
2010 - 2014 | EU - FP7 Collaborative Project | Climate induced changes on the Hydrology of Mediterranean Basins (CLIMB) |
2011-2013 | Greek State Scholarship Foundation (IKY) & German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) | Water balance modelling in selected Greek and German catchment areas |
2011 - 2014 | Landesamt für Natur, Umwelt und Verbraucherschutz Nordrhein-Westfalen (LANUV) | |
2010-2013 | Research cooperation with Bezirksregierung Düsseldorf, Bezirksregierung Köln, Erftverband, Geologischer Dienst NRW, LANUV NRW, RWE Power | Comparison of groundwater recharge models in Lower Rhine lignite mining area, Germany |
2009 - 2013 | Niedersächsisches Landesamt für Bergbau, Energie und Geologie (LBEG) | |
2008 – 2011 | Slovenian Environment Agency (EAS) | Model based quantification of groundwater recharge in Slovenia |
2006-2007 | Landesamt für Umwelt- und Arbeitsschutz Saarland (LUA) | Model based quantification of groundwater recharge in Saarland |
2005 – 2008 | The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) & Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) | Integrated modelling of water balance in Turkish catchment areas |
2004 – 2006 | Research cooperation with RWE – Power Köln | Groundwater recharge rates for regional groundwater modelling: in the Lower Rhine lignite mining area, Germany |
2003-2006 | Research cooperation with Landesamt für Bergbau, Energie und Geologie in Niedersachsen (LBEG) and Geologischer Dienst Nordrhein-Westfalen (GD NRW) | Harmonizing water balance of Nordrhein – Westfalen and Lower Saxony |
2000 – 2001 | Umweltbehörde Hamburg, BSU
| Long-term usable groundwater recharge in der Metropol area Hamburg |
1999-2000 | Research cooperation with Landesamt für Bergbau, Energie und Geologie in Niedersachsen (LBEG) | Groundwater recharge in Lower Saxony |
1996 – 1999 | Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) - research program "Elbe –Ökologie“ | Water balance and residence times in river Elbe basin (German part) |
Key publications:
Engin, G., Adiller, A., Klug, P., Celen, M., Herrmann, F., Bach, H., Wendland, F. (2021): Climate change impact assessment under data scarcity by hydrological and hydrodynamic modeling in Izmit Bay/Turkey.- Environmental Research & Technology, Vol. 4 (1), pp. 1-17, DOI:10.35208/ert.777323.
Herrmann, F., Keuler, K., Wolters, T., Bergmann, S., Eisele, M., Wendland, F. (2021): Mit der Modellkette RCP-GCM-RCM-mGROWA projizierte Grundwasserneubildung als Datenbasis für zukünftiges Grundwassermanagement in Nordrhein-Westfalen.- Grundwasser, 26(3), DOI:10.1007/s00767-020-00471-x.
Pisinaras, V., Panagopoulos, A., Herrmann, F., Bogena, H.R., Doulgeris, C., Ilias, A., Tziritis, E., Wendland, F. (2018): Hydrologic and geochemical research at Pinios Hydrologic Observatory: Initial results. Vadose Zone Journal, 17(1), 1-16.: DOI:10.2136/vzj2018.05.0102.
Arampatzis G., Panagopoulos A., Pisinaras V., Tziritis E., Wendland F. (2018): Identifying potential effects of climate change on the development of water resources in Pinios River Basin, central Greece.- Applied Water Science, 8 (2), 1-17, https://doi.org/10.1007/s13201-018-0690-1.
Herrmann, F., Hübsch, L., Elbracht, J., Engel, N., Keller, L., Kunkel, R., Müller, U., Röhm, H., Vereecken, H., Wendland, F. (2017): Mögliche Auswirkungen von Klimaänderungen auf die Grundwasserneubildung in Niedersachsen.- Hydrologie und Wasserbewirtschaftung, 61 (4), 244-260, DOI: 10.5675/HyWa_2017,4_3.
Ambe, E. C., Voigt, H.-J., Wendland, F. (2017): Modeling groundwater recharge through rainfall in the Far-North region of Cameroon.- Groundwater for Sustainable Development, 5 (2017) 118–130, DOI:10.1016/j.gsd.2017.06.001.
Herrmann, F., Kunkel, R., Ostermann, U., Vereecken, H. & Wendland, F. (2016): Projected impact of climate change on irrigation needs and groundwater resources in the metropolitan area of Hamburg (Germany).- Environmental Earth Science, 75:1104, DOI:10.1007/s12665-016-5904-y
Herrmann, F., Keller, L., Kunkel, R., Vereecken, H. & Wendland, F. (2015): Determination of spatially differentiated water balance components including groundwater recharge on the Federal State level – A case study using the mGROWA model in North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany).- Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, 4(PB), 294-312, DOI:10.1016/j.ejrh.2015.06.018
Herrmann, F., Baghdadi, N., Blaschek, M., Deidda, R., Duttmann, R., La Jeunesse e, I., Sellami, H., Vereecken, H., Wendland, F (2015): Simulation of future groundwater recharge using a climate model ensemble and SAR-image based soil parameter distributions — A case study in an intensively-used Mediterranean catchment.- Science of the Total Environment, 1, 543(Pt B):889-905, DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.07.036.
Ehlers, L., Herrmann, F., Blaschek, M., Wendland, F. & Duttmann, R. (2015): Sensitivity of mGROWA-simulated groundwater recharge to changes in soil and land use parameters in a Mediterranean environment and conclusions in view of ensemble-based climate impact simulations. Science of the Total Environment, 543, DOI:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.04.122
Kreins, P., Henseler, M., Anter, J., Herrmann, F., & Wendland, F. (2015): Quantification of Climate Change Impact on Regional Agricultural Irrigation and Groundwater Demand. Water Resources Management, 29(10), 3585–3600, http://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-015-1017-8
Panagopoulos, A., Arampatzis, G., Kuhr, P., Kunkel, R., Tziritis, E. & Wendland, F. (2015): Area-differentiated modeling of water balance in Pinios Basin, central Greece.- Global Nest Journal, 17(2), 221-235,
Tetzlaff, B., Andjelov, M., Kuhr, P., Uhan, J. u. Wendland, F. (2015): Model-based assessment of groundwater recharge in Slovenia.- Environmental Earth Sciences, 74, 6177–6192, DOI: 10.1007/s12665-015-4639-5.
Panagopoulos, A., Arampatzis, G., Tziritis, E., Pisinaras, V., Herrmann, F., Kunkel, R., Wendland, F. (2014): Assessment of climate change impact in the hydrological regime of River Pinios Basin, central Greece.- Desalination and Water Treatment, 57(5), 2256-2267, DOI:10.1080/19443994.2014.984926.
Herrmann, F., Wendland, F., Hübsch, L., Müller, U. (2014): Auswirkung von möglichen Klimaänderungen auf die Grundwasserneubildung in der Metropolregion Hamburg. energie | wasser-praxis, 6, S. 34f.
Herrmann, F., Chen, S., Heidt, L., Elbracht, J., Engel, N., Kunkel, R., Müller, U., Röhm, H., Vereecken, H. & Wendland, F. (2013): Zeitlich und räumlich hochaufgelöste flächendifferenzierte Simulation des Landschaftswasserhaushalts in Niedersachsen mit dem Model mGROWA. Hydrologie und Wasserbewirtschaftung, 57(5): 206-224, DOI:10.5675/HyWa_2013,5_2.
Herrmann, F., Jahnke, C., Jenn, F., Kunkel, R., Voigt, H-J., Voigt, J., Wendland, F. (2009): Groundwater recharge rates for regional groundwater modelling: a case study using GROWA in the Lower Rhine lignite mining area, Germany.- Hydrogeology Journal, 17, 8, 2049 – 2060, DOI:10.1007/s10040-009-0493-4.
Montzka, C., Canty, M., Kunkel, R., Menz, G., Vereecken, H., Wendland, F. (2008): Modelling the water balance of a mesoscale catchment basin using remotely sensed land cover data. Journal of Hydrology, 353 (3-4), 322-334, DOI:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2008.02.018.
Kunkel, R., Bogena, H., Tetzlaff, B., Wendland, F. (2006): Digitale Grundwasserneubildungskarte von Niedersachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Hamburg und Bremen: Erstellung und Auswertungsbeispiele. Hydrologie und Wasserbewirtschaftung, 50, 212-219.
Bogena, H., Kunkel, R., Schöbel, T., Schrey, H.P., Wendland, F. (2005): Distributed modeling of groundwater recharge at the macroscale. Ecological Modelling, 187, 15-26, DOI:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2005.01.023.
Bogena, H., R. Kunkel, C. Montzka & F. Wendland (2005): Uncertainties in the simulation of groundwater recharge at different scales. Advances in Geosciences, 5, 1-6, DOI:10.5194/adgeo-5-25-2005.
Tetzlaff, B., G. Dörhöfer, R. Kunkel & F. Wendland (2003): GIS-gestützte Ermittlung der Grundwasserneubildung in Niedersachsen. Wasser und Boden, 7/8, 53-57.
Wendland, F., Kunkel, R. Tetzlaff, B., Dörhöfer, G. (2003): GIS-based determination of the mean long-term groundwater recharge in Lower Saxony. Environmental Geology, 45, 273-278, DOI:10.1007/s00254-003-0879-x.
Kunkel, R., Wendland, F. (2002): The GROWA98 model for water balance analysis in large river basins - the river Elbe case study. Journal of Hydrology, 259, 152-162, DOI:10.1016/S0022-1694(01)00579-0.
de Wit, M., Meinardi, C., Wendland, F., Kunkel, R. (2000): Modelling water fluxes for the analysis of diffuse pollution at the river basin scale. Hydrological Processes, 14, 1707-1723, DOI:10.1002/1099-1085(200007)14:10<1707::AID-HYP64>3.0.CO;2-E.
Wendland, F. & Kunkel, R. (1999): Der Landschaftswasserhaushalt im Elbeeinzugsgebiet (Deutscher Teil). Hydrologie und Wasserbewirtschaftung, 43, 226-233.