Increasing atmospheric evaporative demand across the Tibetan plateau and implications for surface water resources
Summary: The Tibetan Plateau, known as the “Asian water tower,” is a hotspot for complex hydroclimatic changes. We reveal that the previously decreasing atmospheric evaporative demand (Eo) trend at the end of the 20th century has reversed over the last two decades. Although both wind stilling and so...
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| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-02-01
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004224028505 |
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| author | Shiqin Xu Dennis P. Lettenmaier Tim R. McVicar Pierre Gentine Hylke E. Beck Joshua B. Fisher Zhongbo Yu Ningpeng Dong Akash Koppa Matthew F. McCabe |
| author_facet | Shiqin Xu Dennis P. Lettenmaier Tim R. McVicar Pierre Gentine Hylke E. Beck Joshua B. Fisher Zhongbo Yu Ningpeng Dong Akash Koppa Matthew F. McCabe |
| author_sort | Shiqin Xu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Summary: The Tibetan Plateau, known as the “Asian water tower,” is a hotspot for complex hydroclimatic changes. We reveal that the previously decreasing atmospheric evaporative demand (Eo) trend at the end of the 20th century has reversed over the last two decades. Although both wind stilling and solar dimming have persisted, their effects on Eo rates have been overshadowed by increasing air temperatures and decreasing relative humidity, leading to a net rise in Eo for 1980−2015. Using the empirical “top-down” Budyko approach, we estimate that across seven sub-catchments draining the Tibetan Plateau, a 10% increase in annual-averaged precipitation, assuming all other factors remain constant, would lead to a 15%–19% increase in streamflow. Conversely, a 10% increase in annual-averaged Eo would decrease streamflow by 5%–9%. Our findings provide a deeper understanding of the accelerating hydroclimatic changes and their impact on surface water resources in the Tibetan Plateau. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d3a09fbcbfaa4f349329ee640468c896 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2589-0042 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | iScience |
| spelling | doaj-art-d3a09fbcbfaa4f349329ee640468c8962025-01-26T05:04:33ZengElsevieriScience2589-00422025-02-01282111623Increasing atmospheric evaporative demand across the Tibetan plateau and implications for surface water resourcesShiqin Xu0Dennis P. Lettenmaier1Tim R. McVicar2Pierre Gentine3Hylke E. Beck4Joshua B. Fisher5Zhongbo Yu6Ningpeng Dong7Akash Koppa8Matthew F. McCabe9Hydrology, Agriculture and Land Observation (HALO) Laboratory, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia; Climate and Livability Initiative, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia; Corresponding authorDepartment of Geography, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Corresponding authorCSIRO Environment, Canberra, ACT, Australia; Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes, Canberra, ACT, AustraliaDepartment of Earth and Environmental Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, USAClimate and Livability Initiative, Physical Sciences and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaSchmid College of Science and Technology, Chapman University, Orange, CA, USANational Key Laboratory of Water Disaster Prevention, Hohai University, Nanjing, P.R. China; College of Hydrology and Water Resources, Hohai University, Nanjing, P.R. ChinaState Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing, P.R. ChinaLaboratory of Catchment Hydrology and Geomorphology, School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering, EPFL Valais Wallis, Sion, SwitzerlandHydrology, Agriculture and Land Observation (HALO) Laboratory, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia; Climate and Livability Initiative, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaSummary: The Tibetan Plateau, known as the “Asian water tower,” is a hotspot for complex hydroclimatic changes. We reveal that the previously decreasing atmospheric evaporative demand (Eo) trend at the end of the 20th century has reversed over the last two decades. Although both wind stilling and solar dimming have persisted, their effects on Eo rates have been overshadowed by increasing air temperatures and decreasing relative humidity, leading to a net rise in Eo for 1980−2015. Using the empirical “top-down” Budyko approach, we estimate that across seven sub-catchments draining the Tibetan Plateau, a 10% increase in annual-averaged precipitation, assuming all other factors remain constant, would lead to a 15%–19% increase in streamflow. Conversely, a 10% increase in annual-averaged Eo would decrease streamflow by 5%–9%. Our findings provide a deeper understanding of the accelerating hydroclimatic changes and their impact on surface water resources in the Tibetan Plateau.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004224028505Earth sciencesAtmospheric scienceEarth-surface processesHydrology |
| spellingShingle | Shiqin Xu Dennis P. Lettenmaier Tim R. McVicar Pierre Gentine Hylke E. Beck Joshua B. Fisher Zhongbo Yu Ningpeng Dong Akash Koppa Matthew F. McCabe Increasing atmospheric evaporative demand across the Tibetan plateau and implications for surface water resources iScience Earth sciences Atmospheric science Earth-surface processes Hydrology |
| title | Increasing atmospheric evaporative demand across the Tibetan plateau and implications for surface water resources |
| title_full | Increasing atmospheric evaporative demand across the Tibetan plateau and implications for surface water resources |
| title_fullStr | Increasing atmospheric evaporative demand across the Tibetan plateau and implications for surface water resources |
| title_full_unstemmed | Increasing atmospheric evaporative demand across the Tibetan plateau and implications for surface water resources |
| title_short | Increasing atmospheric evaporative demand across the Tibetan plateau and implications for surface water resources |
| title_sort | increasing atmospheric evaporative demand across the tibetan plateau and implications for surface water resources |
| topic | Earth sciences Atmospheric science Earth-surface processes Hydrology |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004224028505 |
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