PART 3. TECHNICAL SUMMARY set of changes in water storage, precipitation, evapotranspiration, runoff, and net human withdrawal that would affect all aspects of human activity and water-related environmental processes by offsetting water availability (expressed as δP–δET, used for irrigation, or δQ for aquatic organisms, or as δD for human consumption or agriculture). Rising sea levels will threaten coastal aquifers. Many of coastal aquifers are already experiencing salinity ingress. The precarious balance between freshwater aquifers and sea water will come under growing stress as sea levels rise. Coastal aquifers are thus likely to face serious threats from climate-change-induced sea level rise. The Fushë Kuqe aquifer is very near to the coast and is affected by the effect of water intrusion. Rising sea levels will threaten this coastal aquifer. The precarious balance between freshwater aquifers and sea water will come under growing stress as sea levels rise and water withdrawal increase. The reduction of the freshwater depth with the seal level rise is explained in the table 10. These values mean there will be a reduction effect of the freshwater layer as a result of sea level rise. So the ΔH values presented in the table are the reduction in meters to be used by pumping processes. Table 10. Effect of the sea –level rise in DMRD groundwater aquifer Year 2030 2050 2080 2100
Sea-rise (Δh) 8 cm 16 cm 35 cm 49 cm
ΔH ( m ) -3.2 -6.4 -14.0 -19.6
Coastal aquifers are thus likely to face serious threats from climate-change-induced sea level rise.
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