Streamflow response to snow regime shift associated with climate variability in four mountain watersheds in the US Great Basin

Tang, Guoping; Li, Shuping; Yang, Muzhen; Xu, Zhenwu; Liu, Yonglin; Gu, Hui

doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2019.03.021

Cited by 16 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…As human water demands increase in areas that depend on the snowpack, years of low snowpack accumulation can enhance downstream anthropogenic drought effects and such intensification must be better understood for improving water resources management, minimizing ecosystem stress, etc. A reduced snowpack necessitates the adjustment of water management practices due to less spring snowmelt‐derived runoff and shifts from snow to rain (and earlier runoff), which have already been observed due to increases in temperature (Hatchett & McEvoy, 2018; Huning & AghaKouchak, 2020; Li et al., 2017, 2019; Pournasiri et al., 2019; Qin et al., 2020; Tang et al., 2019). Water managers need to consider storing more water earlier in the season while also weighing storage capacity considerations necessary for minimizing flood risk.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anthropogenic Drought: Definition, Challenges, and Opportunities

AghaKouchak

Mirchi

Madani

et al. 2021

Reviews of Geophysics

199

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Traditional, mainstream definitions of drought describe it as deficit in water-related variables or water-dependent activities (e.g., precipitation, soil moisture, surface and groundwater storage, and irrigation) due to natural variabilities that are out of the control of local decision-makers. Here, we argue that within coupled human-water systems, drought must be defined and understood as a process as opposed to a product to help better frame and describe the complex and interrelated dynamics of both natural and human-induced changes that define anthropogenic drought as a compound multidimensional and multiscale phenomenon, governed by the combination of natural water variability, climate change, human decisions and activities, and altered micro-climate conditions due to changes in land and water management. This definition considers the full spectrum of dynamic feedbacks and processes (e.g., land-atmosphere interactions and water and energy balance) within human-nature systems that drive the development of anthropogenic drought. This process magnifies the water supply demand gap and can lead to water bankruptcy, which will become more rampant around the globe in the coming decades due to continuously growing water demands under compounding effects of climate change and global environmental degradation. This challenge has de facto implications for both short-term and long-term water resources planning and management, water governance, and policymaking. Herein, after a brief overview of the anthropogenic drought concept and its examples, we discuss existing research gaps and opportunities for better understanding, modeling, and management of this phenomenon.Plain Language Summary This article reviews research and progress on the notion of anthropogenic drought broadly defined as drought events caused or intensified by human activities. Most commonly used drought definitions are based on deficit in hydrologic/meteorologic drivers such as precipitation and runoff. Within coupled human-water systems, however, drought must be defined and understood as the complex and interrelated dynamics of both natural and human-induced changes. This anthropogenic drought definition considers the full spectrum of dynamic feedbacks and processes (e.g., land-atmosphere interactions and water and energy balance) within human-nature systems. Ideally, anthropogenic drought and the corresponding human interactions should be incorporated in models that include land-atmosphere interactions, water balance, and energy balance. In this article, we review AGHAKOUCHAK ET AL.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anthropogenic Drought: Definition, Challenges, and Opportunities

AghaKouchak

Mirchi

Madani

et al. 2021

Reviews of Geophysics

199

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Under rapid climate change, hydrological processes, including snowmelt processes, have been greatly affected (Pachauri et al, 2014;Wu et al, 2018). A series of hydrological responses to temperature and precipitation change, including time shifts and volume changes in springtime snowmelt discharge, have been observed over the past few years in many regions, including North America (Stewart et al, 2004(Stewart et al, , 2009Tang et al, 2019), the Tibetan Plateau (Immerzeel et al, 2010), Europe (Kay, 2016), and central Asia (Yucel et al, 2015); thus, the accurate evaluation of snowmelt contributions will be increasingly important in the future.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tracing Snowmelt Paths in an Integrated Hydrological Model for Understanding Seasonal Snowmelt Contribution at Basin Scale

Yang

et al. 2019

JGR Atmospheres

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Snowmelt contributions to water resources in cold regions are receiving increasing attention. However, there are clear challenges to accurately distinguish the snowmelt contributions to different hydrological processes in seasonal snow regions. Here, we present an improved method to evaluate snowmelt contributions by tracing the snowmelt flow paths in different media based on a distributed geomorphology‐based ecohydrological model coupled with a physically based snow module. The calculated snowmelt contribution is not limited to river discharge but is also applicable to evaporation and soil storage. The study region, the upstream Heihe River (UHR) basin, is located in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. Our results indicate that snowmelt can continuously contribute to hydrological processes throughout the year because most of the snowmelt remains in soil voids, even on snow‐free days. In UHR, the snowmelt contribution to total runoff on snow days accounts for a minor part of the total snowmelt contribution, and the snowmelt contribution on snow‐free days accounts for a major part of the total. There is notable snowmelt retention in the soil in each year, which continues to supply discharge into next year. Our results also indicate that the role of snowmelt contribution to annual discharge could be gradually weakened if rainfall more greatly increases the summer discharge in the UHR basin. The improved evaluation method will contribute to a more comprehensive assessment of snowmelt contributions to hydrological processes in seasonal snow regions.

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“…The relationship between temperature and runoff is complex. In high latitude and cold regions, the runoff is controlled by air temperature through the indirect influence of snowmelt (Shen et al 2018;Tang et al 2019). In HRC, there is a positive correlation between temperature and runoff in early spring (Fig.…”

Section: Relationships Between Temperature and Runoffmentioning

confidence: 99%

Runoff variation and its response to climate change in Huolin River catchment, Northeast China

et al. 2021

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The Huolin River catchment (HRC) is located in the semi-arid region of Northeast China, which is very sensitive to climate change. The runoff in HRC is closely related to the recovery of local vegetation in the Greater Khingan Mountains and the survival of downstream wetlands. Dramatic runoff fluctuations and increasing no-flow days confirmed the water crisis in this area. Hence, it is extremely urgent to study the current situation and characteristics of runoff. In this study, hydrological and meteorological data of HRC during 1956-2018 were analyzed to elucidate the processes, characteristics, trends of the river runoff and revealed its response to climate change. The Mann-Kendall test and linear regression method showed that runoff in the HRC demonstrated a downward trend over the study period with a marked annual variation. The runoff in the high flow years was 100 times that of the low flow years, showing a typical continental climatic river characteristic. There are two runoff peak flows in the intra-annual runoff distribution in March and July, whereas two runoff valleys occurred around May and September to February. The runoff positively correlates with precipitation in summer and temperature in early spring. Snowmelt influenced by rising temperatures in April and precipitation in July is the main driving factor for the two peaks flow. Evaporation rose with precipitation decline and temperature increased, which may influence the runoff decrease. The annual runoff is well synchronized with the annual precipitation, and precipitation change is the main driving factor of variation and abrupt change points of annual runoff in the catchment. This study would be beneficial for water resource management in developing adaptation strategies to offset the negative impact of climate change in HRC.

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Streamflow response to snow regime shift associated with climate variability in four mountain watersheds in the US Great Basin

Cited by 16 publications

References 43 publications

Anthropogenic Drought: Definition, Challenges, and Opportunities

Anthropogenic Drought: Definition, Challenges, and Opportunities

Tracing Snowmelt Paths in an Integrated Hydrological Model for Understanding Seasonal Snowmelt Contribution at Basin Scale

Runoff variation and its response to climate change in Huolin River catchment, Northeast China

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