scholarly journals Hydrometeorological Conditions Preceding Extreme Streamflow for the Charles and Mystic River Basins of Eastern Massachusetts

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (9) ◽  
pp. 1795-1812 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurie Agel ◽  
Mathew Barlow ◽  
Mathias J. Collins ◽  
Ellen Douglas ◽  
Paul Kirshen
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Extreme Precipitation ◽  
River Basins ◽  
Total Precipitation ◽  
Extreme Precipitation Events ◽  
Intense Precipitation ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Eastern Massachusetts ◽  
Hydrometeorological Conditions ◽  
Precipitation Events

Abstract Hydrometeorological links to high streamflow events (HSFEs), 1950–2014, for the Mystic and Charles watersheds in the Metro Boston region of Massachusetts are examined. HSFEs are defined as one or more continuous days of streamflow above the mean annual maxima for a selected gauge in each basin. There are notable differences in the HSFEs for these two basins. HSFEs last from 1 to 3 days in the Mystic basin, while HSFEs for the Charles can last from 3 to 9 days. The majority of Mystic HSFEs are immediately preceded by extreme precipitation (occurring within 24 h), while only half of those for the Charles are preceded by extreme precipitation (in this case occurring 2–5 days earlier). While extreme precipitation events are often linked to HSFEs, other factors are often necessary in generating high streamflow, particularly for the Charles, as more than 50% of HSFEs occur at times when streamflow, soil moisture, and total precipitation are statistically above average for a period of at least 2 weeks before the HSFE. Approximately 52% and 80% of HSFEs occur from February to June for the Mystic and Charles, respectively, and these HSFEs are frequently linked to the passage of strong coastal lows, which produce extreme precipitation in the form of both rain and snow. For these coastal lows, Mystic HSFEs are linked to a strong moisture feed along the Massachusetts coastline and intense precipitation, while Charles HSFEs are linked to strong cyclones located off the Mid-Atlantic and longer-duration precipitation.

scholarly journals Changes in Intense Precipitation over the Central United States

2012 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pavel Ya. Groisman ◽  
Richard W. Knight ◽  
Thomas R. Karl
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Extreme Precipitation ◽  
Heavy Precipitation ◽  
The Past ◽  
Extreme Precipitation Events ◽  
Intense Precipitation ◽  
Central United States ◽  
Extreme Rain ◽  
Rain Events ◽  
Precipitation Events

Abstract In examining intense precipitation over the central United States, the authors consider only days with precipitation when the daily total is above 12.7 mm and focus only on these days and multiday events constructed from such consecutive precipitation days. Analyses show that over the central United States, a statistically significant redistribution in the spectra of intense precipitation days/events during the past decades has occurred. Moderately heavy precipitation events (within a 12.7–25.4 mm day−1 range) became less frequent compared to days and events with precipitation totals above 25.4 mm. During the past 31 yr (compared to the 1948–78 period), significant increases occurred in the frequency of “very heavy” (the daily rain events above 76.2 mm) and extreme precipitation events (defined as daily and multiday rain events with totals above 154.9 mm or 6 in.), with up to 40% increases in the frequency of days and multiday extreme rain events. Tropical cyclones associated with extreme precipitation do not significantly contribute to the changes reported in this study. With time, the internal precipitation structure (e.g., mean and maximum hourly precipitation rates within each preselected range of daily or multiday event totals) did not noticeably change. Several possible causes of observed changes in intense precipitation over the central United States are discussed and/or tested.

Monitoring and Modelling of Soil Moisture in Lower Franconia (Germany)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian Krause ◽  
Christian Schäfer ◽  
Birgit Terhorst ◽  
Roland Baumhauer ◽  
Heiko Paeth
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Extreme Precipitation ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Earth System Model ◽  
System Model ◽  
Future Scenarios ◽  
Earth System ◽  
Extreme Precipitation Events ◽  
Lower Franconia ◽  
Precipitation Events

<p>This research is part of the integrated project “BigData@Geo - Advanced Environmental Technology Using AI In The Web” funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The aim of this ERDF-project is to develop a high-resolution regional earth system model for the region of Lower Franconia. One sub-project is dedicated to regional soil moisture modelling created with WaSiM-ETH based on soil moisture monitoring data. The second sub-project aims to improve the resolution of the regional climate model REMO. Both models will be combined to form the earth system model.</p><p>Lower Franconia is amongst the regions in Germany, which will be strongly affected by climate change. Regional climate models show that average temperatures will rise and dry periods as well as extreme precipitation events occur more often. However, it is still not known, what effect the changing climate conditions – especially dry periods and extreme precipitation events – will have on the soils in Lower Franconia.</p><p>Yields of forestry and agriculture (including viticulture and pomiculture) depend very much on the availability of soil water. During the growing season the water retention capacity of soils is therefore highly relevant. Up to present, datasets as well as modelling results of future scenarios on soil moisture are only scarcely available on local as well as on regional scale. In order to generate future scenarios, calculation of the soil moisture regime forms the base in order to evaluate present day conditions as well as to develop prognostic studies. As we intend to obtain most realistic parameters, generation of real-time data with high temporal resolution at selected sites is crucial. They are characteristic for Lower Franconia serving as calibration regions for modelling approaches. The operating monitoring stations record soil moisture and - temperature as well as meteorological parameters.</p><p>In order to obtain data on dynamics and causes of soil moisture fluctuation as well as to understand process flows, soil geographical surveys form an essential component of our research design for selected sites related to the monitoring stations. Furthermore, relevant sedimentological and pedological parameters such as grain size distribution, permeability, and bulk density are analyzed in the laboratory. Thus, our representative test sites combine detailed ground-truth data combining soil moisture and soil quality and thus, form consecutive modules as parts of soil moisture models. These modules drive and control the modelling procedures of the sub-project and they further serve for assessment and calibration of the area-wide hydrological and climate modelling in the “BigData@Geo” ERDF-project.</p>

scholarly journals Using CYGNSS Data to Monitor China’s Flood Inundation during Typhoon and Extreme Precipitation Events in 2017

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 854 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Wan ◽  
Baojian Liu ◽  
Ziyue Zeng ◽  
Xi Chen ◽  
Guiping Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite System ◽  
Extreme Precipitation ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
Navigation Satellite ◽  
Flood Inundation ◽  
Extreme Precipitation Events ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite ◽  
Precipitation Events

NASA’s Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) mission, launched in 2016, is a small satellite constellation designed to measure the ocean surface wind speed in hurricanes and tropical cyclones. To explore its additional capabilities for applications on the land surface, this study investigated the advantages and limitations of using CYGNSS data to monitor flood inundation during typhoon and extreme precipitation events in southeast China in 2017. The results showed that despite the lack of quantitative evaluation, the CYGNSS-derived surface reflectivity (SR) and flood inundation area was qualitatively consistent with the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM)-derived precipitation and Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP)/Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS)-derived total brightness temperature at circular polarization ( T b C ). The results provide supporting evidence for further designation of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) reflectometry (GNSS-R) constellations to monitor land surface hydrology.

scholarly journals Frequency of extreme precipitation increases extensively with event rareness under global warming

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Myhre ◽  
K. Alterskjær ◽  
C. W. Stjern ◽  
Ø. Hodnebrog ◽  
L. Marelle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Extreme Precipitation ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Total Precipitation ◽  
Extreme Precipitation Events ◽  
Intensity Changes ◽  
Climate Model Simulations ◽  
Event Based ◽  
Precipitation Events

Abstract The intensity of the heaviest extreme precipitation events is known to increase with global warming. How often such events occur in a warmer world is however less well established, and the combined effect of changes in frequency and intensity on the total amount of rain falling as extreme precipitation is much less explored, in spite of potentially large societal impacts. Here, we employ observations and climate model simulations to document strong increases in the frequencies of extreme precipitation events occurring on decadal timescales. Based on observations we find that the total precipitation from these intense events almost doubles per degree of warming, mainly due to changes in frequency, while the intensity changes are relatively weak, in accordance to previous studies. This shift towards stronger total precipitation from extreme events is seen in observations and climate models, and increases with the strength – and hence the rareness – of the event. Based on these results, we project that if historical trends continue, the most intense precipitation events observed today are likely to almost double in occurrence for each degree of further global warming. Changes to extreme precipitation of this magnitude are dramatically stronger than the more widely communicated changes to global mean precipitation.

scholarly journals Floods due to Atmospheric Rivers along the U.S. West Coast: The Role of Antecedent Soil Moisture in a Warming Climate

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (8) ◽  
pp. 1827-1845 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qian Cao ◽  
Alexander Gershunov ◽  
Tamara Shulgina ◽  
F. Martin Ralph ◽  
Ning Sun ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
River Basin ◽  
West Coast ◽  
Extreme Precipitation ◽  
Antecedent Soil Moisture ◽  
Extreme Precipitation Events ◽  
Warming Climate ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Precipitation Events

AbstractPrecipitation extremes are projected to become more frequent along the U.S. West Coast due to increased atmospheric river (AR) activity, but the frequency of less intense precipitation events may decrease. Antecedent soil moisture (ASM) conditions can have a large impact on flood responses, especially if prestorm precipitation decreases. Taken together with increased antecedent evaporative demand due to warming, this would result in reduced soil moisture at the onset of extreme precipitation events. We examine the impact of ASM on AR-related floods in a warming climate in three basins that form a transect along the U.S. Pacific Coast: the Chehalis River basin in Washington, the Russian River basin in Northern California, and the Santa Margarita River basin in Southern California. We ran the Distributed Hydrology Soil Vegetation Model (DHSVM) over the three river basins using forcings downscaled from 10 global climate models (GCMs). We examined the dynamic role of ASM by comparing the changes in the largest 50, 100, and 150 extreme events in two periods, 1951–2000 and 2050–99. In the Chehalis basin, the projected fraction of AR-related extreme discharge events slightly decreases. In the Russian basin, this fraction increases, however, and more substantially so in the Santa Margarita basin. This is due to increases in AR-related extreme precipitation events, as well as the fact that the relationship of extreme precipitation to extreme discharge is strengthened by projected increases in year-to-year volatility of annual precipitation in California, which increases the likelihood of concurrent occurrence of large storms and wet ASM conditions.

scholarly journals Semiarid grasslands and extreme precipitation events: Do experimental results scale to the landscape?

Ecology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison K. Post ◽  
Kristin P. Davis ◽  
Jillian LaRoe ◽  
David L. Hoover ◽  
Alan K. Knapp
Keyword(s):  
Extreme Precipitation ◽  
Experimental Results ◽  
Extreme Precipitation Events ◽  
Precipitation Events
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