Objective Lakes provide an important water resource for agricultural and industrial purposes, and form a critical habitat for plants and animals. Understanding the hydrological functioning of lakes is fundamental to understand hydrological feedbacks related to changing environmental conditions in the context of current climate change and also of increasing importance for environmental policy. Stable isotope ratios of water (2H/1H, 18O/16O) are widely used in lake hydrology studies, providing information on the hydrological balance of lake systems. However, in cases where the system is under-defined, a full quantitative assessment of the lake’s hydrological balance is challenging. Recent investigations have demonstrated that the additional analysis of the rare oxygen-17 isotope can provide additional quantitative information about the hydrological and environmental conditions during lake evaporation. The HydrO-17 Project will explore the potential of the triple oxygen isotope analysis (18O, 17O, 16O), expressed as 17O-excess, for quantitative hydrological balancing of lakes by examining the seasonal isotope evolution of hydrologically different lake systems in the Andalusian lowlands, Southern Spain, where agricultural overexploitation of groundwater aquifers over the last decades led to a severe water deficit. Current climate change will further intensify these problems. The results of the project will contribute to the understanding of the hydrological functioning of lake systems in Andalusia, with implications for local water management strategies. The approach has potential application to lakes in other regions in the world. The outcomes will also help to improve the interpretation of paleoclimate and paleoenvironmental information obtained from paleo-lake sediment archives. Fields of science natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencespalaeontologypaleoclimatologynatural sciencesearth and related environmental scienceshydrologynatural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesclimatologyclimatic changesengineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringnatural resources managementwater management Keywords stable isotope geochemistry triple oxygen isotopes lake systems evaporation Programme(s) HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Main Programme Topic(s) HORIZON-MSCA-2021-PF-01-01 - MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2021 Call for proposal HORIZON-MSCA-2021-PF-01 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme MSCA-PF - MSCA-PF Coordinator UNIVERSIDAD DE ALMERIA Net EU contribution € 165 312,96 Address Carretera sacramento canada 04120 Almeria Spain See on map Region Sur Andalucía Almería Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00