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Effects of Climate Change on Water Resources
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Effects of Climate Change on Water Resources

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Resources Management, Policy and Governance".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2019) | Viewed by 76276

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Xixi Wang

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Guest Editor
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA 23529, USA
Interests: effects of climate change versus human activity on water resources; water–soil–vegetation nexus and equilibrium in changing climate; watershed hydrology and stormwater management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Assoc. Prof. Ruizhong Gao

E-Mail
Guest Editor
Civil and Water Conservancy, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia 010018, China
Interests: precipitation in Mongolian Plateau; water-soil-vegetation interactions in changing climate; transpiration of steppe grasses; general hydrology and hydrogeology; water resources planning and management in arid/semiarid regions

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Water resources is vital to both sustaining socioeconomics and ecoenvironments. However, its management has been becoming more and more challenged because of uncertainties resulting from climate change. The prominent effects of climate change on water resources can be comprehensive and may include that the: 1) total amount of available fresh water tends to decrease; 2) spatiotemporal distribution of precipitation will be altered, possiblly leading to more frequent flooding and/or drought with a larger magnitude, a longer duration, and a greater extent; 3) natural hydrologic cycle can be twisted, increasing nonbenefitical evapotranspiration while reducing soil water replenishment and groundwater recharge; and 4) sea level rises, causing coatsal flooding and salt water intrusion. These effects are usually intermingled with impacts of human activities on water resources. How to separate them is pertient to developing practical measures to adapt climate change while it is an advencing subject that needs to be supported by more field observations as well as better algorithms. This special issue of Water calls for innovative research papers that will advance our knowledge/capability in: 1) quantifing effects of climate change on water resources; and 2) taking such effects into account by water resources managers and practical engineers in practice.

Assoc. Prof. Xixi Wang
Assoc. Prof. Ruizhong Gao
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Drought
  • Ecohydrology
  • Evaportranspiration
  • Extreme hydrologic events
  • Flooding
  • Groundwater
  • Precipitation
  • Seal level rise
  • Soil water
  • Streamflow

Published Papers (16 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 2094 KiB  
Article
Investigation into the Effects of Climate Change on Reference Evapotranspiration Using the HadCM3 and LARS-WG
by Maryam Bayatvarkeshi, Binqiao Zhang, Rojin Fasihi, Rana Muhammad Adnan, Ozgur Kisi and Xiaohui Yuan
Water 2020, 12(3), 666; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12030666 - 01 Mar 2020
Cited by 27 | Viewed by 3578
Abstract
This study evaluates the effect of climate change on reference evapotranspiration (ET0), which is one of the most important variables in water resources management and irrigation scheduling. For this purpose, daily weather data of 30 Iranian weather stations from 1981 and [...] Read more.
This study evaluates the effect of climate change on reference evapotranspiration (ET0), which is one of the most important variables in water resources management and irrigation scheduling. For this purpose, daily weather data of 30 Iranian weather stations from 1981 and 2010 were used. The HadCM3 statistical model was applied to report the output subscale of LARS-WG and to predict the weather information by A1B, A2, and B1 scenarios in three periods: 2011–2045, 2046–2079, and 2080–2113. The ET0 values were estimated by the Ref-ET software. The results indicated that the ET0 will rise from 2011 to 2113 approximately in all stations under three scenarios. The ET0 changes percentages in the A1B scenario during three periods from 2011 to 2113 were found to be 0.98%, 5.18%, and 12.17% compared to base period, respectively, while for the B1 scenario, they were calculated as 0.67%, 4.07%, and 6.61% and for the A2 scenario, they were observed as 0.59%, 5.35%, and 9.38%, respectively. Thus, the highest increase of the ET0 will happen from 2080 to 2113 under the A1B scenario; however, the lowest will occur between 2046 and 2079 under the B1 scenario. Furthermore, the assessment of uncertainty in the ET0 calculated by the different scenarios showed that the ET0 predicted under the A2 scenario was more reliable than the others. The spatial distribution of the ET0 showed that the highest ET0 amount in all scenarios belonged to the southeast and the west of the studied area. The most noticeable point of the results was that the ET0 differs from one scenario to another and from a period to another. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Climate Change on Water Resources)
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16 pages, 8073 KiB  
Article
Drought Trends in Balochistan
by Falak Naz, Ghulam Hussain Dars, Kamran Ansari, Shoaib Jamro and Nir Y. Krakauer
Water 2020, 12(2), 470; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12020470 - 10 Feb 2020
Cited by 44 | Viewed by 11564
Abstract
Drought is a severe threat, especially in the arid regions of Pakistan, such as the Balochistan Province. The aim of this study is to analyze drought trends in Balochistan using Standard Precipitation Index (SPI) at the 3-month accumulation timescale. The monthly rainfall data [...] Read more.
Drought is a severe threat, especially in the arid regions of Pakistan, such as the Balochistan Province. The aim of this study is to analyze drought trends in Balochistan using Standard Precipitation Index (SPI) at the 3-month accumulation timescale. The monthly rainfall data of 10 stations were collected from the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) for 37 years (1980–2017). Drought trends were analyzed at each station using the Mann-Kendall test. The SPI identified extreme drought events in 1996, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2009, and 2014. Barkhan was the station that most frequently experienced extreme to severe drought events, as defined using SPI. A statistically significant decreasing precipitation trend was found in four stations (Dalbandin, Jiwani, Quetta, and Zhob). The analysis of drought characteristics showed Barkhan faced the most prolonged drought, of 22 months from 1999 to 2001. The findings from the present study can give guidance on how strategies of water management should be adjusted based on the changing patterns of droughts in the Balochistan Province. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Climate Change on Water Resources)
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18 pages, 4470 KiB  
Article
Climate Change Impacts on Reservoir Inflow in the Prairie Pothole Region: A Watershed Model Analysis
by Ameer Muhammad, Grey R. Evenson, Fisaha Unduche and Tricia A. Stadnyk
Water 2020, 12(1), 271; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12010271 - 17 Jan 2020
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 5046
Abstract
The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) is known for its hydrologically complex landscape with a large number of pothole wetlands. However, most watershed-scale hydrologic models that are applied in this region are incapable of representing the dynamic nature of contributing area and fill-spill processes [...] Read more.
The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) is known for its hydrologically complex landscape with a large number of pothole wetlands. However, most watershed-scale hydrologic models that are applied in this region are incapable of representing the dynamic nature of contributing area and fill-spill processes affected by pothole wetlands. The inability to simulate these processes represents a critical limitation for operators and flood forecasters and may hinder the management of large reservoirs. We used a modified version of the soil water assessment tool (SWAT) model capable of simulating the dynamics of variable contributing areas and fill-spill processes to assess the impact of climate change on upstream inflows into the Shellmouth reservoir (also called Lake of the Prairie), which is an important reservoir built to provide multiple purposes, including flood and drought mitigation. We calibrated our modified SWAT model at a daily time step using SUFI-2 algorithm within SWAT-CUP for the period 1991–2000 and validated for 2005–2014, which gave acceptable performance statistics for both the calibration (KGE = 0.70, PBIAS = −13.5) and validation (KGE = 0.70, PBIAS = 21.5) periods. We then forced the calibrated model with future climate projections using representative concentration pathways (RCPs; 4.5, 8.5) for the near (2011–2040) and middle futures (2041–2070) of multiple regional climate models (RCMs). Our modeling results suggest that climate change will lead to a two-fold increase in winter streamflow, a slight increase in summer flow, and decrease spring peak flows into the Shellmouth reservoir. Investigating the impact of climate change on the operation of the Shellmouth reservoir is critically important because climate change could present significant challenges to the operation and management of the reservoir. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Climate Change on Water Resources)
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17 pages, 1868 KiB  
Article
Historical Trends in Air Temperature, Precipitation, and Runoff of a Plateau Inland River Watershed in North China
by Along Zhang, Ruizhong Gao, Xixi Wang, Tingxi Liu and Lijing Fang
Water 2020, 12(1), 74; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12010074 - 24 Dec 2019
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2735
Abstract
Understanding historical trends in temperature, precipitation, and runoff is important but incomplete for developing adaptive measures to climate change to sustain fragile ecosystems in cold and arid regions, including the Balagaer River watershed on the Mongolian Plateau of northeast China. The objective of [...] Read more.
Understanding historical trends in temperature, precipitation, and runoff is important but incomplete for developing adaptive measures to climate change to sustain fragile ecosystems in cold and arid regions, including the Balagaer River watershed on the Mongolian Plateau of northeast China. The objective of this study was to detect such trends in this watershed from 1959 to 2017. The detection was accomplished using a Mann-Kendall sudden change approach at annual and seasonal time scales. The results indicated that the abrupt changes in temperature preceded that in either runoff or precipitation; these abrupt changes occurred between 1970 and 2004. Significant (α = 0.05) warming trends were found at the minimum temperatures in spring (0.041 °C a−1), summer (0.037 °C a−1), fall (0.027 °C a−1), and winter (0.031 °C a−1). In contrast, significant decreasing trends were found in the precipitation (−1.27 mm a−1) and runoff (−0.069 mm a−1) in the summer. Marginally increasing trends were found in the precipitation in spring (0.18 mm a−1) and fall (0.032 mm a−1), whereas an insignificant decreasing trend was found in the runoffs in these two seasons. Both precipitation and runoff in the wet season exhibited a significant decreasing trend, whereas in the dry season, they exhibited a marginally increasing trend. Sudden changes in spring runoff and sudden rises in temperature are the main causes of sudden changes in basin rainfall. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Climate Change on Water Resources)
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20 pages, 7293 KiB  
Article
The Spatiotemporal Variability of Evapotranspiration and Its Response to Climate Change and Land Use/Land Cover Change in the Three Gorges Reservoir
by Hejia Wang, Weihua Xiao, Yong Zhao, Yicheng Wang, Baodeng Hou, Yuyan Zhou, Heng Yang, Xuelei Zhang and Hao Cui
Water 2019, 11(9), 1739; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11091739 - 21 Aug 2019
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3202
Abstract
Evapotranspiration (ET) has undergone profound changes as a result of global climate change and anthropogenic activities. The construction of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) has led to changes in its land use/land cover (LUCC) and local climate, which in turn has changed ET [...] Read more.
Evapotranspiration (ET) has undergone profound changes as a result of global climate change and anthropogenic activities. The construction of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) has led to changes in its land use/land cover (LUCC) and local climate, which in turn has changed ET processes in the TGR region. In this paper, the CLM4.5 land surface model is used to simulate and analyze the spatiotemporal variability of ET between 1993 and 2013. Four experiments were conducted to quantify the contribution rate of climate change and LUCC to changes in ET processes. The results show that the climate showed a warming and drying trend from 1993 to 2013, and the LUCC indicates decreasing cropland with increasing forest, grassland, water bodies and urban areas. These changes increased the mean annual ET by 13.76 mm after impoundment. Spatially, the vegetation transpiration accounts for the largest proportion in ET. The decreasing relative humidity and increasing wind speeds led to an increase in vegetation transpiration and ground evaporation, respectively, in the center of the TGR region, while the LUCC drove changes in ET in water bodies, urban areas and high-altitude regions in the TGR region. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Climate Change on Water Resources)
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34 pages, 3317 KiB  
Article
Potential Changes in Runoff of California’s Major Water Supply Watersheds in the 21st Century
by Minxue He, Michael Anderson, Andrew Schwarz, Tapash Das, Elissa Lynn, Jamie Anderson, Armin Munévar, Jordi Vasquez and Wyatt Arnold
Water 2019, 11(8), 1651; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11081651 - 09 Aug 2019
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 5158
Abstract
This study assesses potential changes in runoff of California’s eight major Central Valley water supply watersheds in the 21st century. The study employs the latest operative climate projections from 10 general circulation models (GCMs) of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) [...] Read more.
This study assesses potential changes in runoff of California’s eight major Central Valley water supply watersheds in the 21st century. The study employs the latest operative climate projections from 10 general circulation models (GCMs) of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) under two emission scenarios (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5) to drive a hydrologic model (VIC) in generating runoff projections through 2099. Changes in peak runoff, peak timing, seasonal (major water supply season April–July) runoff, and annual runoff during two future periods, mid-century and late-century, relative to a historical baseline period are examined. Trends in seasonal and annual runoff projections are also investigated. The results indicate that watershed characteristics impact runoff responses to climate change. Specifically, for rain-dominated watersheds, runoff is generally projected to peak earlier with higher peak volumes on average. For snow-dominated watersheds, however, runoff is largely projected to peak within the same month as historical runoff has, with little changes in peak volume during mid-century but pronounced decreases during late-century under the higher emission scenario. The study also identifies changes that are common to all study watersheds. Specifically, the temporal distribution of annual runoff is projected to change in terms of shifting more volume to the wet season, though there is no significant changing trend in the total annual runoff. Additionally, the snowmelt portion of the total annual runoff (represented by April–July runoff divided by total annual runoff) is projected to decline consistently under both emission scenarios, indicative of a shrinking snowpack across the study watersheds. Collectively, these changes imply higher flood risk and lower water supply reliability in the future that are expected to pose stress to California’s water system. Those findings can inform water management adaptation practices (e.g., watershed restoration, re-operation of the current water system, investing in additional water storage) to cope with the stress. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Climate Change on Water Resources)
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17 pages, 2604 KiB  
Article
Susceptibility of Hydropower Generation to Climate Change: Karun III Dam Case Study
by Maryam Beheshti, Ali Heidari and Bahram Saghafian
Water 2019, 11(5), 1025; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11051025 - 16 May 2019
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 4197
Abstract
Climate change can cause serious problems for future hydropower plant projects and make them less economically justified. Changing precipitation patterns, rising temperatures, and abrupt snow melting affect river stream patterns and hydropower generation. Thus, study of climate change impacts during the useful life [...] Read more.
Climate change can cause serious problems for future hydropower plant projects and make them less economically justified. Changing precipitation patterns, rising temperatures, and abrupt snow melting affect river stream patterns and hydropower generation. Thus, study of climate change impacts during the useful life of a hydropower dam is essential and its outcome should be considered in assessing long-term dam feasibility. The aim of this research is to evaluate the impacts of climate change on future hydropower generation in the Karun-III dam located in the southwest region of Iran in two future tri-decadal periods: near (2020–2049) and far (2070–2099). Had-CM3 general circulation model predictions under A2 and B2 SRES scenarios were applied, and downscaled by a statistical downscaling model (SDSM). An artificial neural network (ANN) and HEC-ResSim reservoir model respectively simulated the rainfall–runoff process and hydropower generation. The projections showed that the Karun-III dam catchment under the two scenarios will generally become warmer and wetter with a slightly larger increase in annual precipitation in the near than the far future. Runoff followed the precipitation trend by increasing in both periods. The runoff peak also switched from April to March in both scenarios, due to higher winter precipitation, and earlier snowmelt, which was caused by temperature rise. According to both scenarios, hydropower generation increased more in the near future than in the far future. Annual average power generation increased gradually by 26.7–40.5% under A2 and by 17.4–29.3% under B2 in 2020–2049. In the far period, average power generation increased by 1.8–8.7% in A2 and by 10.5–22% under B2. In the near future, A2 showed energy deduction in the months of June and July, while B2 revealed a decrease in the months of April and June. Additionally, projections in the 2070–2099 under A2 exhibited energy reduction in the months of March through July, while B2 revealed a decrease in April through July. The framework utilized in this study can be exploited to analyze the susceptibility of hydropower production in the long term. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Climate Change on Water Resources)
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16 pages, 8138 KiB  
Article
Global Surface Soil Moisture Dynamics in 1979–2016 Observed from ESA CCI SM Dataset
by Ning Pan, Shuai Wang, Yanxu Liu, Wenwu Zhao and Bojie Fu
Water 2019, 11(5), 883; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11050883 - 26 Apr 2019
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3156
Abstract
Soil moisture (SM) is an important variable for the terrestrial surface system, as its changes greatly affect the global water and energy cycle. The description and understanding of spatiotemporal changes in global soil moisture require long time-series observation. Taking advantage of the European [...] Read more.
Soil moisture (SM) is an important variable for the terrestrial surface system, as its changes greatly affect the global water and energy cycle. The description and understanding of spatiotemporal changes in global soil moisture require long time-series observation. Taking advantage of the European Space Agency (ESA) Climate Change Initiative (CCI) combined SM dataset, this study aims at identifying the non-linear trends of global SM dynamics and their variations at multiple time scales. The distribution of global surface SM changes in 1979–2016 was identified by a non-linear methodology based on a stepwise regression at the annual and seasonal scales. On the annual scale, significant changes have taken place in about one third of the lands, in which nonlinear trends account for 48.13%. At the seasonal scale, the phenomenon that “wet season get wetter, and dry season get dryer” is found this study via hemispherical SM trend analysis at seasonal scale. And, the changes in seasonal SM are more pronounced (change rate at seasonal scales is about 5 times higher than that at annual scale) and the areas seeing significant changes cover a larger surface. Seasonal SM fluctuations distributed in southwestern China, central North America and southern Africa, are concealed at the annual scale. Overall, non-linear trend analysis at multiple time scale has revealed more complex dynamics for these long time series of SM. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Climate Change on Water Resources)
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11 pages, 1981 KiB  
Article
Impact of Climate Change on the Water Requirements of Oat in Northeast and North China
by Hao Jia, Ting Zhang, Xiaogang Yin, Mengfei Shang, Fu Chen, Yongdeng Lei and Qingquan Chu
Water 2019, 11(1), 91; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11010091 - 08 Jan 2019
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 3798
Abstract
Crop water requirements are directly affected by climatic variability, especially for crops grown in the areas which are sensitive to climatic change. Based on the SIMETAW model and a long-term meteorological dataset, we evaluated the spatiotemporal variations of climatic change impacts on water [...] Read more.
Crop water requirements are directly affected by climatic variability, especially for crops grown in the areas which are sensitive to climatic change. Based on the SIMETAW model and a long-term meteorological dataset, we evaluated the spatiotemporal variations of climatic change impacts on water requirement of oat in North and Northeast China. The results indicated that effective rainfall showed an increasing trend, while the crop water requirement and irrigation demand presented decreasing trends over the past decades. The water requirement of oat showed significant longitudinal and latitudinal spatial variations, with a downtrend from north to south and uptrend from east to west. Climatic factors have obviously changed in the growth season of oat, with upward trends in the average temperature and precipitation, and downward trends in the average wind speed, sunshine hours, relative humidity, and solar radiation. Declines in solar radiation and wind speed, accompanied with the increase in effective rainfall, have contributed to the reduced crop water requirement over these decades. Given the complex dynamic of climate change, when studying the impact of climate change on crop water requirements, we should not only consider single factors such as temperature or rainfall, we need to analyze the comprehensive effects of various climatic factors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Climate Change on Water Resources)
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21 pages, 4426 KiB  
Article
Ecohydrological Changes and Resilience of a Shallow Lake Ecosystem under Intense Human Pressure and Recent Climate Change
by Arkadiusz Bartczak, Sandra Słowińska, Sebastian Tyszkowski, Mateusz Kramkowski, Halina Kaczmarek, Jarosław Kordowski and Michał Słowiński
Water 2019, 11(1), 32; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11010032 - 24 Dec 2018
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3583
Abstract
In this work we present the complicated situation of a faunistically and floristically valuable ecosystem of the Rakutowskie Lake wetlands complex, which is part of the Special Protection Area for Birds of “Błota Rakutowskie” (PLB40001) and “Błota Kłócieńskie” Habitats Directive Sites (PLH040031) included [...] Read more.
In this work we present the complicated situation of a faunistically and floristically valuable ecosystem of the Rakutowskie Lake wetlands complex, which is part of the Special Protection Area for Birds of “Błota Rakutowskie” (PLB40001) and “Błota Kłócieńskie” Habitats Directive Sites (PLH040031) included in the Natura 2000 network. Numerous ornithological observations have drawn our attention to the problem of rapidly progressing overgrowth of the lake and significant fluctuations in its water surface area. These fluctuations, especially in the spring period, significantly limit safe reproduction possibilities of very rare species of water–marsh birds. A multidirectional and comprehensive spectrum of research works allowed us to determine the genesis of the ecosystem and show that the shallow lake is undergoing the final stage in its evolution. The economic aspect of human activity (changes in land use and land development works) has contributed to serious degradation of the ecosystem. Climate changes observed in recent years (increased air temperature and, consequently, higher evaporation) additionally deepen and accelerate this process. The research made it possible to determine how the ecosystem functions today, but it is also an attempt to determine our predictions about its future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Climate Change on Water Resources)
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25 pages, 7906 KiB  
Article
Coevolution of Hydrological Cycle Components under Climate Change: The Case of the Garonne River in France
by Youen Grusson, François Anctil, Sabine Sauvage and José Miguel Sánchez Pérez
Water 2018, 10(12), 1870; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10121870 - 17 Dec 2018
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 4181
Abstract
Climate change is suspected to impact water circulation within the hydrological cycle at catchment scale. A SWAT model approach to assess the evolution of the many hydrological components of the Garonne catchment (Southern France) is deployed in this study. Performance over the calibration [...] Read more.
Climate change is suspected to impact water circulation within the hydrological cycle at catchment scale. A SWAT model approach to assess the evolution of the many hydrological components of the Garonne catchment (Southern France) is deployed in this study. Performance over the calibration period (2000–2010) are satisfactory, with Nash–Sutcliffe ranging from 0.55 to 0.94 or R2 from 0.86 to 0.98. Similar performance values are obtained in validation (1962–2000). Water cycle is first analyzed based on past observed climatic data (1962–2010) to understand its variations and geographical spread. Comparison is then conducted against the different trends obtained from a climate ensemble over 2010–2050. Results show a strong impact on green water, such as a reduction of the soil water content (SWC) and a substantial increase in evapotranspiration (ET) in winter. In summer, however, some part of the watershed faces lower ET fluxes because of a lack of SWC to answer the evapotranspiratory demand, highlighting possible future deficits of green water stocks. Blue water fluxes are found significantly decreasing during summer, when in winter, discharge in the higher part of the watershed is found increasing because of a lower snow stock associated to an increase of liquid precipitation, benefiting surface runoff. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Climate Change on Water Resources)
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15 pages, 2972 KiB  
Article
Multivariate Flood Risk Analysis at a Watershed Scale Considering Climatic Factors
by Yuqin Gao, Zichen Guo, Dongdong Wang, Zhenxing Zhang and Yunping Liu
Water 2018, 10(12), 1821; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10121821 - 10 Dec 2018
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2836
Abstract
Based on the constructed SWAT model in the Qinhuai River Basin, the hydrological response of flooding under different scenarios of temperature and rainfall change is analyzed. The Copula function is then used to calculate and analyze the multivariate flood risk. The results show [...] Read more.
Based on the constructed SWAT model in the Qinhuai River Basin, the hydrological response of flooding under different scenarios of temperature and rainfall change is analyzed. The Copula function is then used to calculate and analyze the multivariate flood risk. The results show that the flood peaks increase with the increase of precipitation and decrease with the increase of temperature. The hydrological response of light floods to temperature changes is stronger than that of medium and heavy floods. Additionally, the temperature drop and the precipitation increase lead to a higher flood risk. The flood risk of flood peaks is more sensitive to changes in precipitation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Climate Change on Water Resources)
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15 pages, 8305 KiB  
Article
Assessing Potential Climate Change Impacts on Irrigation Requirements of Major Crops in the Brazos Headwaters Basin, Texas
by Ripendra Awal, Ali Fares and Haimanote Bayabil
Water 2018, 10(11), 1610; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10111610 - 09 Nov 2018
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4655
Abstract
In order for the agricultural sector to be sustainable, farming practices and management strategies need to be informed by site-specific information regarding potential climate change impacts on irrigation requirements and water budget components of different crops. Such information would allow managers and producers [...] Read more.
In order for the agricultural sector to be sustainable, farming practices and management strategies need to be informed by site-specific information regarding potential climate change impacts on irrigation requirements and water budget components of different crops. Such information would allow managers and producers to select cropping systems that ensure efficient use of water resources and crop productivity. The major challenge in understanding the link between cropping systems and climate change is the uncertainty of how the climate would change in the future and lack of understanding how different crops would respond to those changes. This study analyzed the potential impact of climate change on irrigation requirements of four major crops (cotton, corn, sorghum, and winter wheat) in the Brazos Headwaters Basin, Texas. The irrigation requirement of crops was calculated for the baseline period (1980–2010) and three projected periods: 2020s (2011–2030), 2055s (2046–2065), and 2090s (2080–2099). Daily climate predictions from 15 general circulation models (GCMs) under three greenhouse gas (GHG) emission scenarios (B1, A1B, and A2) were generated for three future periods using the Long Ashton Research Station–Weather Generator (LARS-WG) statistical downscaling model. Grid-based (55 grids at ~38 km resolution) irrigation water requirements (IRRs) and other water budget components of each crop were calculated using the Irrigation Management System (IManSys) model. Future period projection results show that evapotranspiration (ET) and IRR will increase for all crops, while precipitation is projected to decrease compared with the baseline period. On average, precipitation meets only 25–32% of the ET demand, depending on crop type. In general, projections from almost all GCMs show an increase in IRR for all crops for the three future periods under the three GHG emission scenarios. Irrigation requirement prediction uncertainty between GCMs was consistently greater in July and August for corn, cotton, and sorghum regardless of period and emission scenario. However, for winter wheat, greater uncertainties between GCMs were observed during April and May. Irrigation requirements show significant variations across spatial locations. There was no consistent spatial trend in changes of IRR for the four crops. A unit change in precipitation is projected to affect IRR differently depending on the crop type. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Climate Change on Water Resources)
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16 pages, 3686 KiB  
Article
Complexity Analysis of Precipitation and Runoff Series Based on Approximate Entropy and Extreme-Point Symmetric Mode Decomposition
by Dongyong Sun, Hongbo Zhang and Zhihui Guo
Water 2018, 10(10), 1388; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10101388 - 04 Oct 2018
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2641
Abstract
Many regional hydrological regime changes are complex under the influences of climate change and human activities, which make it difficult to understand the regional or basin al hydrological status. To investigate the complexity of precipitation and the runoff time series from 1960 to [...] Read more.
Many regional hydrological regime changes are complex under the influences of climate change and human activities, which make it difficult to understand the regional or basin al hydrological status. To investigate the complexity of precipitation and the runoff time series from 1960 to 2012 in the Jing River Basin on different time scales, approximate entropy, a Bayesian approach and extreme-point symmetric mode decomposition were employed. The results show that the complexity of annual precipitation and runoff has decreased since the 1990sand that the change occurred in 1995. The Intrinsic Mode Function (IMF)-6 component decomposed by extreme-point symmetric mode decomposition of monthly precipitation and runoff was consistent with precipitation and runoff. The IMF-6 component of monthly precipitation closely followed the 10-year cycle of change, and it has an obvious correlation with sunspots. The correlation coefficient is 0.6, representing a positive correlation before 1995 and a negative correlation after 1995. However, the IMF-6 component of monthly runoff does not have a significant correlation with sunspots, and the correlation coefficient is only 0.41, which indicates that climate change is not the dominant factor of runoff change. Approximate entropy is an effective analytical method for complexity, and furthermore, it can be decomposed by extreme-point symmetric mode decomposition to obtain the physical process of the sequences at different time scales, which helps us to understand the background of climate change and human activity in the process of precipitation and runoff. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Climate Change on Water Resources)
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16 pages, 2581 KiB  
Communication
Spatiotemporal Rainfall Trends in the Brazilian Legal Amazon between the Years 1998 and 2015
by Celso H. L. Silva Junior, Catherine T. Almeida, Jessflan R. N. Santos, Liana O. Anderson, Luiz E. O. C. Aragão and Fabrício B. Silva
Water 2018, 10(9), 1220; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10091220 - 10 Sep 2018
Cited by 26 | Viewed by 8011
Abstract
Tropical forests play an important role as a reservoir of carbon and biodiversity, specifically forests in the Brazilian Amazon. However, the last decades have been marked by important changes in the Amazon, particularly those associated with climatic extremes. Quantifying the variability of rainfall [...] Read more.
Tropical forests play an important role as a reservoir of carbon and biodiversity, specifically forests in the Brazilian Amazon. However, the last decades have been marked by important changes in the Amazon, particularly those associated with climatic extremes. Quantifying the variability of rainfall patterns, hence, is essential for understanding changes and impacts of climate upon this ecosystem. The aim of this study was to analyse spatiotemporal trends in rainfall along the Brazilian Legal Amazon between 1998 and 2015. For this purpose, rainfall data derived from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite (TRMM) and nonparametric statistical methods, such as Mann–Kendall and Sen’s Slope, were used. Through this approach, some patterns were identified. No evidence of significant rainfall trends (p ≤ 0.05) for annual or monthly (except for September, which showed a significant negative trend) averages was found. However, significant monthly negative rainfall anomalies were found in 1998, 2005, 2010, and 2015, and positive in 1999, 2000, 2004, 2009, and 2013. The annual pixel-by-pixel analysis showed that 92.3% of the Brazilian Amazon had no rainfall trend during the period analysed, 4.2% had significant negative trends (p ≤ 0.05), and another 3.5% had significant positive trends (p ≤ 0.05). Despite no clear temporal rainfall trends for most of the Amazon had negative trends for September, corresponding to the peak of dry season in the majority of the region, and negative rainfall anomalies found in 22% of the years analysed, which indicate that water-dependent ecological processes may be negatively affected. Moreover, these processes may be under increased risk of disruption resulting from other drought-related events, such as wildfires, which are expect to be intensified by rainfall reduction during the Amazonian dry season. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Climate Change on Water Resources)
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15 pages, 3460 KiB  
Article
Climatic Variations in Macerata Province (Central Italy)
by Matteo Gentilucci, Maurizio Barbieri and Peter Burt
Water 2018, 10(8), 1104; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10081104 - 19 Aug 2018
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 4547
Abstract
The province of Macerata, Italy, is a topographically complex region which has been little studied in terms of its temperature and precipitation climatology. Temperature data from 81 weather stations and precipitation data from 55 rain gauges were obtained, and, following quality control procedures, [...] Read more.
The province of Macerata, Italy, is a topographically complex region which has been little studied in terms of its temperature and precipitation climatology. Temperature data from 81 weather stations and precipitation data from 55 rain gauges were obtained, and, following quality control procedures, were investigated on the basis of 3 standard periods: 1931–1960, 1961–1990 and 1991–2014. Spatial and temporal variations in precipitation and temperature were analysed on the basis of six topographic variable (altitude, distance from the sea, latitude, distance from the closest river, aspect, and distance from the crest line). Of these, the relationship with altitude showed the strongest correlation. Use of GIS software allowed investigation of the most accurate way to present interpolations of these data and assessment of the differences between the 3 investigated periods. The results of the analyses permit a thorough evaluation of climate change spatially over the last 60 years. Generally, the amount of precipitation is diminished while the temperature is increased across the whole study area, but with significant variations within it. Temperature increased by 2 to 3 °C in the central part of the study area, while near the coast and in the mountains the change is between about 0 and 1 °C, with small decreases focused in the Appennine and foothill belt (−1 to 0 °C). For precipitation, the decrease is fairly uniform across the study area (between about 0–200 mm), but with some isolated areas of strong increase (200–300 mm) and only few parts of territory in which there is an increase of 0–200 mm, mainly in the southern part of the coast, to the south-west and inland immediately behind the coast. The monthly temperature trend is characterized by a constant growth, while for precipitation there is a strong decrease in the amount measured in January, February and October (between 25 and 35 mm on average). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Climate Change on Water Resources)
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