Officially, the current epoch is called the Holocene, which began 11,700 years ago after the last major Ice Age. The Anthropocene Epoch is an unofficial unit of geologic time, used to describe the most recent period in Earth’s history when the human activity started to have a significant impact on the planet’s climate and ecosystems. The Anthropocene concept was first introduced by Paul Crutzen in 2000. Crutzen argues that the environmental impacts of human action are worldwide and modify drastically water, soil, atmosphere composition and climate after the industrial revolution. The changes introduced by human beings in the environment directly affect the water cycle, which in turn, has an impact on the entire ecosystem. The increasing extraction of mineral resources, hydrocarbons and groundwater, the drastic deforestation and land use changes, the removal of rocks and sediments by mining activities, the modification of the river valleys and the construction of dams are some examples of interventions affecting the Earth's climate, biogeography, chemistry and landforms. Anthropocene brings to the Earth system and to its inhabitants becomes one of the first steps for changes to occur. These changes are initially individual and must spread to other spheres of socio—economic life and holistic environment.
The capacity of social-ecological systems to deal with shocks, adapt to changing conditions and transform in crisis situations are fundamentally dependent on the functions of water. Recent advances are found in the strategies of water resilience which induce deliberate shifts in the dynamic system of surface and subsurface water utilisation. Water plays a fundamental role in providing social-ecological resilience, and suggests that further research is needed to understand how the erosion of water resilience at local and regional scales may potentially interact, cascade, or amplify through the complex, globally hyper-connected networks of the Anthropocene. Alongside, the key areas of human impact on the riverine environment include water pollution, environmental flow and flow regime modification, man-induced flood and drainage congestion, upstream and downstream hydrogeomorphic changes due to dam construction, river health and biodiversity change etc. Interdisciplinary research is now needed to address the vulnerability, risk and hazard perception related to changing river dynamics and environment in Anthropocene. Alongside, the key ideas, concepts and models are very prerequisites to assess and manage the inherent complexity of the inter-relationships among water uses, river valley modification, environmental component and climate change at regional and world scales. Now the focus is centered on water security which is the capacity of a population to safeguard sustainable access to adequate quantities of and acceptable quality water for sustaining livelihoods, human well-being, and socio-economic development, for ensuring protection against water-borne pollution and water-related disasters, and for preserving ecosystems in a climate of peace and political stability.
This collection invites submissions that are focused on resilience and conventional infrastructural or socio-economic system to address the human impacts on the surface and subsurface water resources with an outlook on environmental sustainability. The manuscripts focus on the fundamental principles of hydrology, geomorphology and environmental science for understanding river dynamics and ecological management are strongly encouraged. The articles are welcome to address the current issues and research problems related to global challenges (under the influences of global warming, climate change and anthropogenic intervention) to water conservation, riverine ecosystem, watershed planning, water economy, water security, overall water footprint (blue, green and grey water) and vanishing water sources. Original research articles, technical and field notes, practice-oriented case studies, disciplinary and interdisciplinary review articles, and commentaries that are directional to the research or practice communities are encouraged.
Following themes are invited, but are not limited to:
- Riverine Environment and River Rehabilitation in Anthropocene
- Dynamics of water resource depletion and conservation
- Impact of climate change on water resources and fluvial environment
- Role of human and technology in the resilience of river basin management
- Environmental Flows in dam operation
- Changing fluvial forms and processes due to human intervention
- Geographic dimensions of water footprint
- Impact of human and climate change on flood characteristics and dynamics

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Frontiers in Water

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