XIEG Holds 64th Salon for Scientific Exchange

The Office of International Cooperation of the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences (XIEG), held the 64th Salon for Scientific Exchange on September 22. This event featured Prof. Channa Rajanayaka, Principal Scientist and Group Manager in Hydrology at Earth Sciences New Zealand, as the keynote speaker.

Prof. Channa has long been engaged in hydrogeological system modelling and simulation, with research expertise spanning surface water-groundwater coupling, contaminant transport, soil-crop-water balance, irrigation water allocation, and water resources management.

Under the theme “Beyond Silos: Integrated Modelling to Shape New Zealand’s Future”, Prof. Channa systematically introduced New Zealand’s transition in hydrology and water resources management from single-discipline, single-model approaches to surface water-groundwater coupling and multi-source information integration, focusing on sharing research and applications in catchment-scale hydrological modelling, groundwater-river interaction simulation, irrigation water demand estimation, and flow depletion assessment.

During the discussion session, participants engaged in in-depth exchanges with Prof. Channa on topics including coordinated management of surface water and groundwater in arid regions, scale effects and uncertainties in integrated watershed modelling, irrigation water allocation, the impacts of groundwater extraction on river ecosystems, and the application of model outputs to regional water security decision-making.

XIEG has long been committed to research on water resources, ecological environment, and climate change in arid regions, with deep expertise in watershed water cycle processes, groundwater processes, oasis ecohydrology, remote sensing monitoring, and optimal allocation of water resources. Earth Sciences New Zealand has strong research and application strengths in hydrological modelling, groundwater-surface water interactions, watershed water resources management, and the development of decision-support tools.

The two sides share a solid foundation for cooperation and complementary strengths in arid-region hydrological process modelling, cross-scale water resources management, ecohydrological effect assessment, and the translation of research outcomes into policy practice.

The event gave XIEG researchers a closer look at New Zealand's hydrological modelling and water resources management practices. It also served as a platform for strengthening international academic exchange on water resources and ecology in arid regions, expanding research cooperation networks, and promoting integrated modelling approaches in Xinjiang and arid Central Asia.

Prof. Channa Rajanayaka gives his presentation. (Image by XIEG)

Contact

HUANG

Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography

E-mail: zlhuang@ms.xjb.ac.cn

Web: http://english.egi.cas.cn