TipHyc

The tipping of some components of the Earth system to new states as a result of global change has become a major concern. The project assumes that tipping points exist in the hydrological cycle and that they could be the cause of the durable hydrological changes observed in part of West Africa, as a result of the 1970-80 severe drought and land use changes. A modeling framework will be specifically developed to verify whether shifts have occurred in the past decades over this region, where and when, whether they could occur in the future in a warmer and more populated world, and what would be their consequences on water resources and hydrological risks. The project promotes an innovative vision of hydrology in which ruptures can play a key role, which could lead to modify the design of adaptation strategies to global change.