• Energy Research

AbstractDecision makers and consultants are particularly interested in “detailed” information on future climate to prepare adaptation strategies and adjust design criteria. Projections of future climate at local spatial scales and fine temporal resolutions are subject to the same uncertainties as those at the global scale but the partition among uncertainty sources (emission scenarios, climate models, and internal climate variability) remains largely unquantified. At the local scale, the uncertainty of the mean and extremes of precipitation is shown to be irreducible for mid and end‐of‐century projections because it is almost entirely caused by internal climate variability (stochasticity). Conversely, projected changes in mean air temperature and other meteorological variables can be largely constrained, even at local scales, if more accurate emission scenarios can be developed. The results were obtained by applying a comprehensive stochastic downscaling technique to climate model outputs for three exemplary locations. In contrast with earlier studies, the three sources of uncertainty are considered as dependent and, therefore, non‐additive. The evidence of the predominant role of internal climate variability leaves little room for uncertainty reduction in precipitation projections; however, the inference is not necessarily negative, because the uncertainty of historic observations is almost as large as that for future projections with direct implications for climate change adaptation measures.

Abstract The water-energy-food-ecosystems (WEFE) Nexus has gained recognition as an innovative approach for analysing the interconnectedness of global resource systems and achieving sustainability goals. In the Mediterranean, where water scarcity, climate change, and ecosystem degradation pose significant challenges, implementing an integrated WEFE Nexus approach is crucial. We conducted a comprehensive review of scientific literature through the lenses of Nexus ‘ideas’, ‘relationship’ and ‘practices’. A total of 142 research articles were selected and characterized in terms of WEFE interlinkages being investigated, explored topics, methods and scales of analysis, and contexts of operationalization. We found that water-energy interdependences dominate WEFE Nexus research in the Mediterranean, driven by the large presence of energy-intensive water abstraction and distribution systems to meet drinking and irrigation water demands. At the same time, the expansion of the Nexus approach to additional components is only partial, mostly focusing on assessing impacts on the physical environment and climate, without capturing feedback dynamics. Geographically, Nexus research in the Mediterranean is primarily conducted in isolated case studies, with few large scale assessments developed at the entire Mediterranean scale, and with some countries not yet represented, in particular the Western Balkans. Although WEFE Nexus research in the Mediterranean is recognizing the importance of transdisciplinarity moving beyond biophysical assessments to encompass societal and governance dynamics, further research is needed on understanding the economic implications of WEFE Nexus interactions. To advance Nexus implementation in the region, sustainable technology, and natural resources management, which are key fields of WEFE Nexus research operationalization, would benefit from harmonization in their design objectives. This would enable a more comprehensive and coherent approach towards achieving water, food, and energy security while preserving the environment in the Mediterranean region.

Understanding how the design hyetographs and floods will change in the future is essential for decision making in flood management plans. This study provides a methodology to quantify the expected changes in future hydraulic risks at the catchment scale in the city of Pamplona. It considers climate change projections supplied by 12 climate models, 7 return periods, 2 emission scenarios (representative concentration pathway RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5), and 3 time windows (2011–2040, 2041–2070, and 2070–2100). The Real-time Interactive Basin Simulator (RIBS) distributed hydrological model is used to simulate rainfall-runoff processes at the catchment scale. The results point to a decrease in design peak discharges for return periods smaller than 10 years and an increase for the 500- and 1000-year floods for both RCPs in the three time windows. The emission scenario RCP 8.5 usually provides the greatest increases in flood quantiles. The increase of design peak discharges is almost 10–30% higher in RCP 8.5 than in RCP 4.5. Change magnitudes for the most extreme events seem to be related to the greenhouse gas emission predictions in each RCP, as the greatest expected changes are found in 2040 for the RCP 4.5 and in 2100 for the RCP 8.5.

The ERASMUS+ European University for Well-Being (EUniWell) alliance’s mission aims to resolve the paradox of Europeans’ relative prosperity against the global security and sustainability challenge. “Maximising Academic and Social Outcomes in Engineering Education” is a project which interprets this contradiction for engineering educators; how to best teach non-technical skills to ensure engineers make the utmost contribution to societal wellbeing? Appreciably, the social outcome for the person who becomes an engineer is positive because the profession is relatively well-paid. Therefore, engineering education is good for social mobility providing the learning environment narrows attainment gaps between disadvantaged and mainstream cohorts. Accordingly, our strategy is to bring together the expertise of the British, French, Italian and Swedish faculties to transfer best practice for professional, business and sustainability skill teaching, while contrasting how their disadvantaged cohorts present. The project has two primary objectives: To understand how partners differ in terms of skill teaching, and how students from disadvantaged backgrounds are accommodated. The paper describes the background and rationale of the project, and its research design and methodology. Although the project is still in progress and data collection is still underway, this paper provides insights and perspectives for engineering educators looking to design similar collaborations to share best practice, while considering engineering identities and their underlying competencies.