Identification and explanation of continental differences in the variability of annual runoff

Continental differences in the variability of annual runoff were investigated using an expanded and improved database to that used in previous work. A statistical analysis of the data, divided by continent and Köppen climate type, revealed that continental differences exist in the variability of annual runoff. The variability of annual runoff for temperate Australia, arid southern Africa and possibly temperate southern Africa were noted to be generally higher than that of other continents with data in the same climate type. A statistical analysis of annual precipitation by continent and Köppen climate type revealed that differences in the variability of annual precipitation could account for some but not all the observed differences in the variability of annual runoff. A literature review of potential causes of continental differences in evapotranspiration resulted in the hypothesis that the significantly higher variability of annual runoff in temperate Australia and possibly temperate southern Africa may be due to the distribution of evergreen and deciduous vegetation. The process model Macaque was used to test this hypothesis. The model results indicate that the variability of annual runoff may be between 1 and 99% higher for catchments covered in evergreen vegetation as opposed to deciduous vegetation, depending on mean annual precipitation and the seasonality of precipitation. It is suggested that the observed continental differences in the variability of annual runoff are largely caused by continental differences in the variability of annual precipitation and in temperate regions the distribution of evergreen and deciduous vegetation in conjunction with the distribution of mean annual precipitation and precipitation seasonality.     

Large‐scale climatic influences on precipitation and discharge for a British river basin

This article aims to identify the large‐scale climate variables that yield significant statistical relationships with precipitation and discharge for a British river basin (Dyfi). Ranked correlation analysis was performed between gridded ERA‐40 atmospheric data and Dyfi precipitation and discharge for individual months. Precipitation and discharge demonstrate significant negative correlation with mean sea level pressure (MSLP). Strongest MSLP correlation areas move from north of Britain in winter to central Britain in summer; this shift is associated with a displacement of geopotential (Z) and zonal wind (U). Movement of significant correlation regions (not captured by the North Atlantic Oscillation Index) highlights the dynamic nature of precipitation and river flow generating weather systems throughout the year. Existence of strong significant correlation shows potential for exploiting large‐scale climate variables in forecasting precipitation and river flow in Britain. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Coherence among climate signals, precipitation, and groundwater

Climate signals may affect groundwater level at different time scales in different geographical regions, and those patterns or time scales can be estimated using coherence analysis. This study shows that the synthesis effort required to search for patterns at the physical geography scale is possible, and this approach should be applicable in other regions of the world. The relations between climate signals, Southern Oscillation Index, Pacific Decadal Oscillation, North Atlantic Oscillation, North Pacific Pattern (SOI, PDO, NAO, and NP), precipitation, and groundwater level in three geographical areas of Wisconsin are examined using a three-tiered coherence analysis. In the high frequency band (<4(-1) cycles/year), there is a significant coherence between four climate signals and groundwater level in all three areas. In the low frequency band (>8(-1) to ≤23(-1) cycles/year), we found significant coherence between the SOI and NP signals and groundwater level in the forested area, characterized by shallow wells constructed in sand and gravel aquifers. In the high frequency band, there is significant coherence between the four climate signals and precipitation in all three areas. In the low frequency band, the four climate signals have effect on precipitation in the agricultural area, and SOI and NP have effect on precipitation in the forested and driftless areas. Precipitation affects groundwater level in all three areas, and in high, low and intermediate frequency bands. In the agricultural area, deeper aquifers and a more complex hydrostratigraphy and land use dilute the effect of precipitation on groundwater level for interdecadal frequencies.     

Climate change and hydrology at the prairie margin: Historic and prospective future flows of Canada's Red Deer and other Rocky Mountain rivers

The South Saskatchewan River Basin of southern Alberta drains the transboundary central Rocky Mountains region and provides the focus for irrigation agriculture in Canada. Following extensive development, two tributaries, the Oldman and Bow rivers, were closed for further water allocations, whereas the Red Deer River (RDR) remains open. The RDR basin is at the northern limit of the North American Great Plains and may be suitable for agricultural expansion with a warming climate. To consider irrigation development and ecological impacts, it is important to understand the regional hydrologic consequences of climate change. To analyse historic trends that could extend into the future, we developed century‐long discharge records for the RDR, by coordinating data across hydrometric gauges, estimating annual flows from seasonal records, and undertaking flow naturalization to compensate for river regulation. Analyses indicated some coordination with the Pacific decadal oscillation and slight decline in summer and annual flows from 1912 to 2016 (?0.13%/year, Sen's slope). Another forecasting approach involved regional downscaling from the global circulation models, CGCMI‐A, ECHAM4, HadCM3, and NCAR‐CCM3. These projected slight flow decreases from the mountain headwaters versus increases from the foothills and boreal regions, resulting in a slight increase in overall river flows (+0.1%/year). Prior projections from these and other global circulation models ranged from slight decrease to slight increase, and the average projection of ?0.05%/year approached the empirical trend. Assessments of other rivers draining the central and northern Rocky Mountains revealed a geographic transition in flow patterns over the past century. Flows from the rivers in Southern Alberta declined (around ?0.15%/year), in contrast to increasing flows in north‐eastern British Columbia and the Yukon. The RDR watershed approaches this transition, and this study thus revealed regional differentiation in the hydrological consequences from climate change.     

Investigation of the relationship between runoff and atmospheric oscillations,sea surface temperature,and local‐scale climate variables in the Yellow River headwaters region

The Yellow River headwaters region (YRHR) contributes nearly 40% of total flow in the Yellow River basin, which is suffering from a serious water shortage problem. Investigation of the relationship between runoff and climate variables is important for understanding the variation trend of runoff in the YRHR under global climate change. Global and local climate variables, including the West Pacific subtropical high; northern hemisphere polar vortex (NH); Tibetan Plateau Index B (TPI‐B); southern oscillation index; sea surface temperature; and precipitation, evaporation, and temperature, were fully considered to explore the relationship with runoff at Jimai, Maqu, and Tangnaihai stations from 1956 to 2014. The results reveal that runoff had a decreasing trend, which will likely be maintained in the future, and there was a significant change in runoff around 1995 at all stations. Correlation analysis indicated that runoff was dominated by precipitation, NH, temperature, and TPI‐B, and a substantial correlation was observed with sea surface temperature and evaporation, but there was little correlation with West Pacific subtropical high and southern oscillation index. Furthermore, impacts of climate change on runoff variations were distinctly different at different temporal scales. Three dominant runoff periodicities were identified by a singular spectrum analysis‐multitaper method and continuous wavelet transform, that is, 1.0‐, 6.9‐, and 24.8‐year runoff periodicities. In addition, runoff was positively correlated with temperature at a 1‐year periodicity, negatively correlated with TPI‐B at a 6.9‐year periodicity, and positively correlated with NH at a 24.8‐year periodicity, that is, temperature, TPI‐B, and NH‐controlled runoff at annual, interannual, and interdecadal scales. Further, all analyses of the stations in the YRHR showed excellent consistency. The results will provide valuable information for water resource management in the YRHR.     

Variability and trends in runoff in the rivers of British Columbia's Coast and Insular Mountains

This study examines the 1914–2015 runoff trends and variability for 136 rivers draining British Columbia's Coast and Insular Mountains. Rivers are partitioned into eastward and westward flowing rivers based on flow direction from the Coast Mountains. Thus, eastward and westward runoff trends and influence of topography on runoff are explored. Our findings indicate that rivers flowing eastward to the Nechako and Chilcotin plateaus contribute the lowest annual runoff compared to westward rivers where runoff is high. Low interannual runoff variability is evident in westward rivers and their alpine watersheds, whereas eastward rivers exhibit high interannual runoff variability. On Vancouver Island, some of the rivers with the highest annual runoff exhibit high interannual variability. A significant (p < .05) negative correlation exists between mean annual runoff (R_m) and latitude, gauged area, mean elevation, and its corresponding coefficient of variation. However, a significant positive correlation was found between the glacierized area of mountainous regions and R_m. The mean coefficient of variation in annual runoff is significantly negatively correlated with latitude and glacierized area, but significantly positively correlated with longitude. Annual and seasonal runoff trend analyses of each river were performed for an early (1936–2015), a middle (1966–2015), and a late (1986–2015) period using the Mann–Kendall test. Trend analyses revealed a shift towards more positive detectable (signal‐to‐noise ratio > 1) trends in annual and seasonal runoff from the middle to the late period across the study domain. Most positive detectable seasonal runoff trends in the middle period occur in spring in glacierized westward rivers located >1,200 m, whereas in the late period, they all occur in fall and are regionally coherent around Vancouver Island and south coastal BC. Rivers draining eastward exhibit more positive trends over 1986–2015 compared to westward rivers. This study provides crucial information on the hydrology of mountain watersheds across British Columbia's coast in response to Pacific Decadal Oscillation phase changes, the elevational amplification of regional climate change, and their influences on precipitation and glacier retreat.     

Interannual variability in western US precipitation

Low-frequency (interannual or longer period) climatic variability is of interest, because of its significance for the understanding and prediction of protracted climatic anomalies. Since precipitation is one of the key variables driving various hydrologic processes, it is useful to examine precipitation records to better understand long-term climate dynamics. Here, we use the multi-taper method of spectral analysis to analyze the monthly precipitation time series (both occurrence and amount) at a few stations along a meridional transect from Priest River, ID to Tucson, AZ. We also examine spectral coherence between monthly precipitation and widely used atmospheric indices, such as the central Northern Pacific (CNP) and southern oscillation index (SOI). This analysis reveals statistically significant ‘signals' in the time series in the 5–7 and 2–3 year bands. These interannual signals are consistent with those related to El-Niño southern oscillation (ENSO) and quasi-biennial variability identified by others.     

Gridded climate data products are an alternative to instrumental measurements as inputs to rainfall–runoff models

Rainfall–runoff models are widely used to predict flows using observed (instrumental) time series of air temperature and precipitation as inputs. Poor model performance is often associated with difficulties in estimating catchment‐scale meteorological variables from point observations. Readily available gridded climate products are an underutilized source of temperature and precipitation time series for rainfall–runoff modelling, which may overcome some of the performance issues associated with poor‐quality instrumental data in small headwater monitoring catchments. Here we compare the performance of instrumental measured and E‐OBS gridded temperature and precipitation time series as inputs in the rainfall–runoff models “PERSiST” and “HBV” for flow prediction in six small Swedish catchments. For both models and most catchments, the gridded data produced statistically better simulations than did those obtained using instrumental measurements. Despite the high correspondence between instrumental and gridded temperature, both temperature and precipitation were responsible for the difference. We conclude that (a) gridded climate products such as the E‐OBS dataset could be more widely used as alternative input to rainfall–runoff models, even when instrumental measurements are available, and (b) the processing applied to gridded climate products appears to provide a more realistic approximation of small catchment‐scale temperature and precipitation patterns needed for flow simulations. Further research on this issue is needed and encouraged.     

Quantitative assessment of the impact of climate variability and human activities on runoff changes: a case study in four catchments of the Haihe River basin,China

Quantitative evaluation of the effect of climate variability and human activities on runoff is of great importance for water resources planning and management in terms of maintaining the ecosystem integrity and sustaining the society development. In this paper, hydro‐climatic data from four catchments (i.e. Luanhe River catchment, Chaohe River catchment, Hutuo River catchment and Zhanghe River catchment) in the Haihe River basin from 1957 to 2000 were used to quantitatively attribute the hydrological response (i.e. runoff) to climate change and human activities separately. To separate the attributes, the temporal trends of annual precipitation, potential evapotranspiration (PET) and runoff during 1957–2000 were first explored by the Mann–Kendall test. Despite that only Hutuo River catchment was dominated by a significant negative trend in annual precipitation, all four catchments presented significant negative trend in annual runoff varying from ?0.859 (Chaohe River) to ?1.996 mm a^?1 (Zhanghe River). Change points in 1977 and 1979 are detected by precipitation–runoff double cumulative curves method and Pettitt's test for Zhanghe River and the other three rivers, respectively, and are adopted to divide data set into two study periods as the pre‐change period and post‐change period. Three methods including hydrological model method, hydrological sensitivity analysis method and climate elasticity method were calibrated with the hydro‐climatic data during the pre‐change period. Then, hydrological runoff response to climate variability and human activities was quantitatively evaluated with the help of the three methods and based on the assumption that climate and human activities are the only drivers for streamflow and are independent of each other. Similar estimates of anthropogenic and climatic effects on runoff for catchments considered can be obtained from the three methods. We found that human activities were the main driving factors for the decline in annual runoff in Luanhe River catchment, Chaohe River catchment and Zhanghe River catchment, accounting for over 50% of runoff reduction. However, climate variability should be responsible for the decrease in annual runoff in the Hutuo River catchment. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hydrologic,geomorphic and climatic processes controlling willow establishment in a montane ecosystem

Willow communities dominate mid‐elevation riparian areas throughout the Rocky Mountains of North America. However, many willow stands are rapidly declining in aerial cover and individual plants in stature. A poor understanding of the processes that control willow establishment hinders identifying the causes of this decline. We analysed the processes that have facilitated or limited willow establishment over the last half of the 20th century on two large floodplains in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado by addressing two questions: (1) How does hydrologic regime control willow establishment on different fluvial landforms? (2) How might climate‐driven variations in hydrologic regime affect future willow establishment? We precisely aged willows on the three most common fluvial landforms, stream point bars, drained beaver ponds, and abandoned channels, and statistically related establishment dates to patterns of annual stream peak flow. The role of peak flow on willow establishment varied significantly by landform. Willow recruitment had occurred nearly every year on point bars. In former beaver complexes, most willows had established following dam breaches, whereas willows had established on abandoned channels for several years following channel avulsion. Establishment on point bars and abandoned channels was driven by peak flows of 2‐ to 5‐year return intervals, whereas in abandoned beaver ponds most establishment was associated with flow events of >5‐year return interval. Models of climate change suggest that temperatures will increase and precipitation seasonality will shift over the coming decades in the Rocky Mountains, leading to earlier spring runoff, lower summer and fall flows, decreased snowpack and decreased soil moisture. Such changes are likely to diminish opportunities for willow establishment. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Some aspects of the hydroclimatology of the Quesnel River Basin,British Columbia,Canada

In conjunction with available climate data, surface runoff is investigated at 12 gauges in the Quesnel watershed of British Columbia to develop its long‐term (1926–2004) hydroclimatology. At Quesnel itself, annual mean values of air temperature, precipitation and runoff are 4·6 °C, 517 and 648 mm, respectively. Climate data reveal increases in precipitation, no significant trend in mean annual air temperature, but an increasing trend in mean minimum temperatures that is greatest in winter. There is some evidence of decreases in winter snow depth. On the water year scale (October–September), a strong positive correlation is found between discharge and precipitation (r = 0·70, p < 0·01) and a weak negative correlation is found between precipitation and temperature (r = ? 0·36, p < 0·01). Long‐term trends using the Mann‐Kendall test indicate increasing annual discharge amounts that vary from 8 to 14% (12% for the Quesnel River, p = 0·03), and also a tendency toward an earlier spring freshet. River runoff increases at a rate of 1·26 mm yr^?1 m^?1 of elevation from west to east along the strong elevation gradient in the basin. Discharge, temperature and precipitation are correlated with the large‐scale climate indices of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and El‐Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Temporal and spatial variability of annual and seasonal rainfall over Ethiopia

Abstract

Characterization of the seasonal and inter-annual spatial and temporal variability of rainfall in a changing climate is vital to assess climate-induced changes and suggest adequate future water resources management strategies. Trends in annual, seasonal and maximum 30-day extreme rainfall over Ethiopia are investigated using 0.5° latitude?×?0.5° longitude gridded monthly precipitation data. The spatial coherence of annual rainfall among contiguous rainfall grid points is also assessed for possible spatial similarity across the country. The correlation between temporally coinciding North Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) index and annual rainfall variability is examined to understand the underlying coherence. In total 381 precipitation grid points covering the whole of Ethiopia with five decades (1951–2000) of precipitation data are analysed using the Mann-Kendall test and Moran spatial autocorrelation method. Summer (July–September) seasonal and annual rainfall data exhibit significant decreasing trends in northern, northwestern and western parts of the country, whereas a few grid points in eastern areas show increasing annual rainfall trends. Most other parts of the country exhibit statistically insignificant trends. Regions with high annual and seasonal rainfall distribution exhibit high temporal and spatial correlation indices. Finally, the country is sub-divided into four zones based on annual rainfall similarity. The association of the AMO index with annual rainfall is modestly good for northern and northeastern parts of the country; however, it is weak over the southern region.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz; Associate editor S. Uhlenbrook

Citation Wagesho, N., Goel, N.K., and Jain, M.K. 2013. Temporal and spatial variability of annual and seasonal rainfall over Ethiopia. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 58 (2), 354–373.     

Impacts of climate change and human activities on surface runoff in the Dongjiang River basin of China

Observed rainfall and flow data from the Dongjiang River basin in humid southern China were used to investigate runoff changes during low‐flow and flooding periods and in annual flows over the past 45 years. We first applied the non‐parametric Mann–Kendall rank statistic method to analyze the change trend in precipitation, surface runoff and pan evaporation in those three periods. Findings showed that only the surface runoff in the low‐flow period increased significantly, which was due to a combination of increased precipitation and decreased pan evaporation. The Pettitt–Mann–Whitney statistical test results showed that 1973 and 1978 were the change points for the low‐flow period runoff in the Boluo sub‐catchment and in the Qilinzui sub‐catchment, respectively. Most importantly, we have developed a framework to separate the effects of climate change and human activities on the changes in surface runoff based on the back‐propagation artificial neural network (BP‐ANN) method from this research. Analyses from this study indicated that climate variabilities such as changes in precipitation and evaporation, and human activities such as reservoir operations, each accounted for about 50% of the runoff change in the low‐flow period in the study basin. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Particle‐size evidence of barrier estuary regime as a new proxy for ENSO climate variability

We investigate a new proxy for ENSO climate variability based on particle‐size data from long‐term, coastal sediment records preserved in a barrier estuary setting. Corresponding ~4–8 year periodicities identified from Wavelet analysis of particle‐size data from Pescadero Marsh in Central Coast California and rainfall data from San Francisco reflect established ENSO periodicity, as further evidenced in the Multivariate ENSO Index (MEI), and thus confirms an important ENSO control on both precipitation and barrier regime variability. Despite the fact that barrier estuary mean particle size is influenced by coastal erosion, precipitation and streamflow, balanced against barrier morphology and volume, it is encouraging that considerable correspondence can also be observed in the time series of MEI, regional rainfall and site‐based mean particle size over the period 1871–2008. This correspondence is, however, weakened after c.1970 by temporal variation in sedimentation rate and event‐based deposition. These confounding effects are more likely when: (i) accommodation space may be a limiting factor; and (ii) particularly strong El Niños, e.g. 1982/1983 and 1997/1998, deposit discrete >cm‐thick units during winter storms. The efficacy of the sediment record of climate variability appears not to be compromised by location within the back‐barrier setting, but it is limited to those El Niños that lead to barrier breakdown. For wider application of this particle size index of ENSO variability, it is important to establish a well‐resolved chronology and to sample the record at the appropriate interval to characterize deposition at a sub‐annual scale. Further, the sample site must be selected to limit the influence of decreasing accommodation space through time (infilling) and event‐based deposition. It is concluded that particle‐size data from back‐barrier sediment records have proven potential for preserving evidence of sub‐decadal climate variability, allowing researchers to explore temporal and spatial patterns in phenomena such as ENSO. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spatial and temporal variability of Canadian seasonal precipitation (1900–2000)

Wavelet and cross-wavelet analysis are used to identify and describe spatial and temporal variability in Canadian seasonal precipitation, and to gain further insights into the dynamical relationship between the seasonal precipitation and the dominant modes of climate variability in the Northern Hemisphere. Results from applying continuous wavelet transform to seasonal precipitation series from 201 stations selected from Environment Canada Meteorological Network reveal striking climate-related features before and after the 1940s. The span of available observations, 1900–2000, allows for depicting variance and covariance for periods up to 12 years. Scale-averaged wavelet power spectra are used to simultaneously assess the temporal and spatial variability in each set of 201 seasonal precipitation time series. The most striking feature, in the 2–3-year period and in the 3–6-year period—the 6–12-year period is dominated by white noise and is not considered further—is a net distinction between the timing and intensity of the temporal variability in autumn, winter and spring–summer precipitation. It is found that the autumn season exhibits the most intense activity (or variance) in both the 2–3 year and the 3–6 year periods. The winter season corresponds to the least intense activity for the 2–3 year period, but it exhibits more activity than the spring–summer for the 3–6 year period.Cross-wavelet analysis is provided between the seasonal precipitation and four selected climatic indices: the Pacific North America (PNA), the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), the Northern Hemisphere Annular Mode (NAM) originally called the Arctic Oscillation, and the sea surface temperature series over the Niño-3 region (ENSO). The wavelet cross-spectra revealed coherent space–time variability of the climate–precipitation relationship throughout Canada. It is shown that strong climate/precipitation activity (or covariance) in the 2–6 year period starts after 1940 whatever the climatic index and the season. Prior to year 1940, only local and weaker 2–6 year activity is revealed in western Canada essentially in winter and autumn, but overall a non-significant precipitation/climate relationship is observed prior to 1940. Correlation analysis in the 2–6 year band between the seasonal precipitation and the selected climatic indices revealed strong positive correlations with the ENSO, the NAO, and the NAM in eastern and western Canada for the post-1940 period. For the period prior to 1940, the correlation tend be negative for all the indices whatever the region. A particular feature in the correlation analysis results is the consistently stronger and positive NAM–precipitation correlations in all the regions since 1940. The cross-wavelet spectra and the correlation analysis in the 2–6 year band suggest the presence of a change point around 1940 in Canadian seasonal precipitation—that is found to be more likely related to NAM dynamics.     

Multi‐decadal variability of drought risk,eastern Australia

A number of previous studies have identified changes in the climate occurring on decadal to multi‐decadal time‐scales. Recent studies also have revealed multi‐decadal variability in the modulation of the magnitude of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) impacts on rainfall and stream flow in Australia and other areas. This study investigates multi‐decadal variability of drought risk by analysing the performance of a water storage reservoir in New South Wales, Australia, during different climate epochs defined using the Inter‐decadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO) index. The performance of the reservoir is also analysed under three adaptive management techniques and these are compared with the reservoir performance using the current ‘reactive’ management practices. The results indicate that IPO modulation of both the magnitude and frequency of ENSO events has the effect of reducing and elevating drought risk on multi‐decadal time‐scales. The results also confirm that adaptive reservoir management techniques, based on ENSO forecasts, can improve drought security and become significantly more important during dry climate epochs. These results have marked implications for improving drought security for water storage reservoirs. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Signals of short‐term climatic periodicities detected in the groundwater of North China Plain

Growing demand on groundwater resources and the semi‐arid climate in the North China Plain (NCP) highlight the need for improved understanding of connections between regional climate change and groundwater recharge. Hydrologic time series of precipitation and groundwater levels were analyzed in three representative geographical zones throughout the NCP for the period of 1960–2008 using trend analysis and spectral analysis methods. A significant change point around 1975 is followed by a long‐term decline trend in precipitation time series, which coincides with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation positive phase. However, the magnitudes of groundwater level variability due to heavy pumping overwhelm the low‐frequency signal of groundwater levels. Nonlinear trends that related to long‐term climatic variability and anthropogenic activities are removed by using the Singular Spectrum Analysis method. Spectral analyses of the detrended residuals demonstrate significant short‐term oscillations at the frequencies of 2–7 years, which have strong correlations with the El Niño–Southern Oscillation modes. This study contributes to improved understanding of dynamic relationship between groundwater and climate variability modes in the NCP and demonstrates the importance of reliable detrending methods for groundwater levels that are affected greatly by pumping. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Terrestrial hydrological responses to precipitation variability in Southwest China with emphasis on drought

Abstract

This study investigates the terrestrial hydrological processes during a dry climate period in Southwest China by analysing the frequency-dependent runoff and soil moisture responses to precipitation variability. Two headwater sub-basins, the Nanpan and Guihe basins of the West River (Xijiang), are studied to compare and contrast the terrestrial responses. The variable infiltration capacity (VIC) model is used to simulate the hydrological processes. Using wavelets, the relationships between observed precipitation and simulated runoff/soil moisture are expressed quantitatively. The results indicate that: (a) the Guihe basin shows a greater degree of high-frequency runoff variability in response to regional precipitation; and (b) the Nanpan basin exhibits less capability in accommodating/smoothing extreme precipitation deficits, reflected in terms of both higher scale-averaged (for 3–6 months) and time-averaged (for the year 1963) wavelet power of soil moisture.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz; Associate editor C.-Y. Xu

Citation Niu, J. and Chen, J., 2013. Terrestrial hydrological responses to precipitation variability in Southwest China with emphasis on drought. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 59 (2), 325–335.     

Evaluation of snow water equivalent datasets over the Saint‐Maurice river basin region of southern Québec

A 10‐km gridded snow water equivalent (SWE) dataset is developed over the Saint‐Maurice River basin region in southern Québec from kriging of observed snow survey data for evaluation of SWE products. The gridded SWE dataset covers 1980–2014 and is based on manual gravimetric snow surveys carried out on February 1, March 1, March 15, April 1, and April 15 of each snow season, which captures the annual maximum SWE (SWEM) with a mean interpolation error of ±19%. The dataset is used to evaluate SWEM from a range of sources including satellite retrievals, reanalyses, Canadian regional climate models, and the Canadian Meteorological Centre operational snow depth analysis. We also evaluate a number of solid precipitation datasets to determine their contribution to systematic errors in estimated SWEM. None of the evaluated datasets is able to provide estimates of SWEM that are within operational requirements of ±15% error, and insufficient solid precipitation is determined to be one of the main reasons. The Climate System Forecast Reanalysis is the only dataset where snowfall is sufficiently large to generate SWEM values comparable to observations. Inconsistencies in precipitation are also found to have a strong impact on year‐to‐year variability in SWEM dataset performance and spread. Version 3.6.1 of the Canadian Land Surface Scheme land surface scheme driven with ERA‐Interim output downscaled by Version 5.0.1 of the Canadian Regional Climate Model was the best physically based model at explaining the observed spatial and temporal variability in SWEM (root‐mean‐square error [RMSE] = 33%) and has potential for lower error with adjusted precipitation. Operational snow products relying on the real‐time snow depth observing network performed poorly due to a lack of real‐time data and the strong local scale variability of point snow depth observations. The results underscore the need for more effort to be invested in improving solid precipitation estimates for use in snow hydrology applications.