Floods, water scarcity, and hydro-environmental degradation are the three major challenges to the achievement of global water security. As an effective measure to optimize the strategic pattern of water resources allocation, improve the capacity of water protection systems, and promote ecological protection and restoration, the Interconnected River-Lake System (IRLS) takes reasonable diversion, connectivity, drainage, scheduling and other engineering and non-engineering measures to establish or improve the hydraulic connection between rivers, lakes and reservoirs water bodies. Due to climate change and human activities, today's water security issues are complex, interrelated, uncertain, and global, and furthermore, the mechanisms of IRLS influencing water security are adaptive, comprehensive, synergistic, and varied. Therefore, evaluating water security effects of IRLS, understanding the mechanisms of IRLS influences on water security, and proposing regulation solutions to enhance water security adaptations for IRLS are the major and urgent theoretical and technical problems that need to be solved in order to guarantee water security.
River and lake systems have undergone an evolutionary process from gradual natural changes to abrupt changes in response to artificial interventions, such as river impoundment, water diversions, and reservoir management schemes. Likewise, global water security needs have evolved from single (e.g., flood control) to multiple objectives (e.g., flood control, water supply, and hydro-environmental improvement), making it necessary to consider multi-scale, multi-level, and multi-functional river and lake system connectivity processes and adaptation needs. Current research is mostly focused on the evolution of the regional river and lake system. It establishes an evaluation index system covering structural connectivity, hydraulic connectivity, and water security functions, and also proposes water security control and water network strategies applicable to the local area. However, it still lacks quantitative evaluation methods for assessing the adaptability of water system connectivity to demands for water security, and an in-depth understanding of the mechanistic relationships between river and lake systems and water security. Moreover, given the premise of multi-objective solutions to achieve adaptive water security, the demand for enhanced water management technology based on IRLS will be certain to increase.
To encourage more research and innovation in this area, this Research Topic is proposed to provide a platform for researchers to address the following and other related themes:
Scientific principles of river-lake interconnection systems and regional water security:
• Mechanisms for driving the evolution of river-lake connectivity patterns
• Understanding mechanistic relationships between river and lake interconnection systems and water security
• Evaluation and optimization of river and lake interconnection systems to achieve water security
Methodology, techniques, and case studies:
• Regulation solutions of river-lake interconnection systems for water security adaptation
• Technologies for hydro-environmental improvement based on river-lake connectivity
Strategies:
• River network optimization strategies to meet future complex water demands
Floods, water scarcity, and hydro-environmental degradation are the three major challenges to the achievement of global water security. As an effective measure to optimize the strategic pattern of water resources allocation, improve the capacity of water protection systems, and promote ecological protection and restoration, the Interconnected River-Lake System (IRLS) takes reasonable diversion, connectivity, drainage, scheduling and other engineering and non-engineering measures to establish or improve the hydraulic connection between rivers, lakes and reservoirs water bodies. Due to climate change and human activities, today's water security issues are complex, interrelated, uncertain, and global, and furthermore, the mechanisms of IRLS influencing water security are adaptive, comprehensive, synergistic, and varied. Therefore, evaluating water security effects of IRLS, understanding the mechanisms of IRLS influences on water security, and proposing regulation solutions to enhance water security adaptations for IRLS are the major and urgent theoretical and technical problems that need to be solved in order to guarantee water security.
River and lake systems have undergone an evolutionary process from gradual natural changes to abrupt changes in response to artificial interventions, such as river impoundment, water diversions, and reservoir management schemes. Likewise, global water security needs have evolved from single (e.g., flood control) to multiple objectives (e.g., flood control, water supply, and hydro-environmental improvement), making it necessary to consider multi-scale, multi-level, and multi-functional river and lake system connectivity processes and adaptation needs. Current research is mostly focused on the evolution of the regional river and lake system. It establishes an evaluation index system covering structural connectivity, hydraulic connectivity, and water security functions, and also proposes water security control and water network strategies applicable to the local area. However, it still lacks quantitative evaluation methods for assessing the adaptability of water system connectivity to demands for water security, and an in-depth understanding of the mechanistic relationships between river and lake systems and water security. Moreover, given the premise of multi-objective solutions to achieve adaptive water security, the demand for enhanced water management technology based on IRLS will be certain to increase.
To encourage more research and innovation in this area, this Research Topic is proposed to provide a platform for researchers to address the following and other related themes:
Scientific principles of river-lake interconnection systems and regional water security:
• Mechanisms for driving the evolution of river-lake connectivity patterns
• Understanding mechanistic relationships between river and lake interconnection systems and water security
• Evaluation and optimization of river and lake interconnection systems to achieve water security
Methodology, techniques, and case studies:
• Regulation solutions of river-lake interconnection systems for water security adaptation
• Technologies for hydro-environmental improvement based on river-lake connectivity
Strategies:
• River network optimization strategies to meet future complex water demands