Abstract. The biophysical phenomenon of terrestrial moisture recycling connects distant
regions via the atmospheric branch of the water cycle. This process, whereby
the land surface mediates evaporation to the atmosphere and the precipitation
that falls downwind, is increasingly well-understood. However, recent studies
highlight a need to consider an important and often missing dimension – the
social. Here, we explore the social dynamics of three case study countries
with strong terrestrial moisture recycling: Mongolia, Niger, and Bolivia. We
first use the WAM-2layers moisture tracking scheme and ERA-Interim climate
reanalysis, to calculate the evaporation sources for each country's
precipitation, a.k.a. the precipitationshed. Second, we examine the social
aspects of source and sink regions, using economic, food security, and
land-use data. Third, we perform a literature review of relevant economic
links, land-use policies, and land-use change for each country and its
evaporation sources. The moisture-recycling analysis reveals that Mongolia,
Niger, and Bolivia recycle 13, 9, and 18 % of their own moisture,
respectively. Our analysis of social aspects suggests considerable
heterogeneity in the social characteristics within each country relative to
the societies in its corresponding evaporation sources. We synthesize our
case studies and develop a set of three system archetypes that capture the
core features of the moisture-recycling social–ecological systems (MRSESs):
isolated, regional, and tele-coupled systems. Our key results are as follows:
(a) geophysical tele-connections of atmospheric moisture are complemented by
social tele-couplings forming feedback loops, and consequently, complex
adaptive systems; (b) the heterogeneity of the social dynamics among our case
studies renders broad generalization difficult and highlights the need for
nuanced individual analysis; and, (c) there does not appear to be a single
desirable or undesirable MRSES, with each archetype associated with benefits
and disadvantages. This exploration of the social dimensions of moisture
recycling is part of an extension of the emerging discipline of
socio-hydrology and a suggestion for further exploration of new disciplines
such as socio-meteorology or socio-climatology, within which the Earth system
is considered as a coevolutionary social–ecological system.