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- Title
Evidence and Controls of the Acceleration of the Hydrological Cycle Over Land.
- Authors
Wang, Y.; Meili, N.; Fatichi, S.
- Abstract
Investigating modifications in the hydrological cycle is essential to understand the impacts of climate change on ecosystems. This study assesses the change in the velocity of the water cycle over land at the global scale, whereas previous studies have mostly focused on changes in the atmospheric water cycle. The hydrological acceleration is quantified by a decrease in average residence time (RT) of water in the first meter of soil. The soil water RT is shown to be sensitive to the soil texture and seasonality of hydroclimatic variables. Despite substantial local variability, most of the RTs are in the range of 50–300 days. The global mean soil water RT declined at a rate of −2.30 and −0.36 days decade−1 (−1.6 to 1.0 days decade−1 the range of nine models) from 2001 to 2020 as measured by reanalysis and CMIP6 simulations for the historical scenario, respectively, which corresponds to −6.8 and −1.1 days °C−1 when expressed per degree of global warming over land. This acceleration is projected to continue at a rate of −1.35 days decade−1 (−3.4 to 0.0 days decade−1 the range of nine models) or −2.2 days °C−1 during the period 2015–2100 under the most extreme emission scenario: SSP 585. Changes in precipitation dominantly drive the acceleration of the terrestrial water cycle compared to changes in evapotranspiration. Rising temperatures and increasing carbon dioxide have opposite effects on the speed of the terrestrial water cycle with compensatory roles keeping RT relatively unchanged in the absence of PR trends. Key Points: Several methods to approximate soil water residence time from commonly available hydrological variables are introduced and comparedThe global terrestrial water cycle is currently accelerating and projected to do so in future climate scenariosPrecipitation changes play a more dominant role in the acceleration of the terrestrial water cycle when compared to evapotranspiration
- Subjects
HYDROLOGIC cycle; WATER meters; SOIL moisture; SOIL texture; GLOBAL warming
- Publication
Water Resources Research, 2023, Vol 59, Issue 8, p1
- ISSN
0043-1397
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1029/2022WR033970