Vicente-Serrano, S M and Peña‐Gallardo, M and Hannaford, Jamie and Murphy, Conor and Lorenzo‐Lacruz, J and Dominguez‐Castro, F and López‐Moreno, J I and Beguería, S and Noguera, I and Harrigan, Shaun and Vidal, J P
(2019)
Climate, irrigation, and land-cover change explain streamflow trends in countries bordering the Northeast Atlantic.
Geophysical Research Letters, 46 (19).
ISSN 0094-8276
Abstract
Attribution of trends in streamflow is complex, but essential, in identifying optimal
management options for water resources. Disagreement remains on the relative role of climate change
and human factors, including water abstractions and land cover change, in driving change in annual
streamflow. We construct a very dense network of gauging stations (n = 1,874) from Ireland, the United
Kingdom, France, Spain, and Portugal for the period of 1961–2012 to detect and then attribute changes in
annual streamflow. Using regression‐based techniques, we show that climate (precipitation and atmospheric
evaporative demand) explains many of the observed trends in northwest Europe, while for southwest Europe
human disturbances better explain both temporal and spatial trends. For the latter, large increases in
irrigated areas, agricultural intensification, and natural revegetation of marginal lands are inferred to be the
dominant drivers of decreases in streamflow.
| Item Type: |
Article
|
| Keywords: |
Climate; Irrigation; Land Cover; Change;
Explain; Streamflow; Trends; Countries
Bordering; Northeast Atlantic; |
| Academic Unit: |
Faculty of Social Sciences > Geography |
| Item ID: |
13847 |
| Identification Number: |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL084084 |
| Depositing User: |
Conor Murphy
|
| Date Deposited: |
19 Jan 2021 12:30 |
| Journal or Publication Title: |
Geophysical Research Letters |
| Publisher: |
Wiley |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| URI: |
|
| Use Licence: |
This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available
here |
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