Author(s): Georgia Konstantina Sakki; Andreas Efstratiadis; Christos Makropoulos
Linked Author(s): Christos Makropoulos
Keywords: No Keywords
Abstract: The water-energy nexus under uncertainty 1.1. Setting the scene Managing water resources for growing demands of energy and food while sustaining the environment is the greatest challenge of our era, especially when we are dealing with complex adaptive natural–human systems (Machell et al., 2015). The performance of water-energy systems is strongly depending on hydroclimatic processes and human behaviors, while both components are highly uncertain and unpredictable in a long-term perspective. In this vein, the typical engineering approach across the water-energy nexus, in which the role of society is reflected in rather simplified means, e. g., in terms of water and/or energy demands, legal constraints, technical specifications and management rules, is insufficient. Herein, we propose the incorporation of the human factor to the long-term management policy of water-energy systems, since the social and the technical system are inextricably linked (Walker et al., 2015). To assess the management of such systems, we attempt to stress-test them under different disturbances, which are driven by both expected and highly unpredictable changes e. g., socioeconomic and hydrometeorological fluctuations, and black-swan events, respectively. By coupling the two major research fields, namely the water-energy nexus and the social behavior, in an uncertainty-aware framework, we introduce the concept of stochastic socio-hydrological systems. In this context, the response and adaptation of society plays the role of music, while the plethora of disturbances the role of the conductor. Machell J, Prior K, Allan R, Andresen JM (2015) The water energy food nexus – challenges and emerging solutions, Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology, 1 (1), 15–16. https: //doi. org/10.1039/C4EW90001D TsoukalasI, Kossieris P, MakropoulosC (2020) Simulation of Non-Gaussian Correlated Random Variables, Stochastic Processes and Random Fields: Introducing the anySim R-Package for Environmental Applications and Beyond, Water, 12 (6), 1645 Walker WE, Loucks DP, Carr G (2015) Social Responses to Water Management Decisions, Environmental Processes, 2 (3), 485–509
Year: 2022