Human-induced changes in the hydrology of the Western United States

Tim P. Barnett; David W. Pierce; Hugo G. Hidalgo; Celine Bonfils; Benjamin D. Santer; Tapash Das; Govindasamy Bala; Andrew W. Wood; Toru Nozawa; Arthur A. Mirin; Daniel R. Cayan; Michael D. Dettinger

doi:10.1126/science.1152538

Human-induced changes in the hydrology of the Western United States

Tim P. Barnett, David W. Pierce, Hugo G. Hidalgo, Celine Bonfils, Benjamin D. Santer, Tapash Das, Govindasamy Bala, Andrew W. Wood, Toru Nozawa, Arthur A. Mirin, Daniel R. Cayan, Michael D. Dettinger

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

930 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Observations have shown that the hydrological cycle of the western United States changed significantly over the last half of the 20th century. We present a regional, multivariable climate change detection and attribution study, using a high-resolution hydrologic model forced by global climate models, focusing on the changes that have already affected this primarily arid region with a large and growing population. The results show that up to 60% of the climate-related trends of river flow, winter air temperature, and snow pack between 1950 and 1999 are human-induced. These results are robust to perturbation of study variates and methods. They portend, in conjunction with previous work, a coming crisis in water supply for the western United States.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1080-1083
Number of pages	4
Journal	Science
Volume	319
Issue number	5866
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1152538
Publication status	Published - Feb 22 2008
Externally published	Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1126/science.1152538

Cite this

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title = "Human-induced changes in the hydrology of the Western United States",

abstract = "Observations have shown that the hydrological cycle of the western United States changed significantly over the last half of the 20th century. We present a regional, multivariable climate change detection and attribution study, using a high-resolution hydrologic model forced by global climate models, focusing on the changes that have already affected this primarily arid region with a large and growing population. The results show that up to 60% of the climate-related trends of river flow, winter air temperature, and snow pack between 1950 and 1999 are human-induced. These results are robust to perturbation of study variates and methods. They portend, in conjunction with previous work, a coming crisis in water supply for the western United States.",

author = "Barnett, {Tim P.} and Pierce, {David W.} and Hidalgo, {Hugo G.} and Celine Bonfils and Santer, {Benjamin D.} and Tapash Das and Govindasamy Bala and Wood, {Andrew W.} and Toru Nozawa and Mirin, {Arthur A.} and Cayan, {Daniel R.} and Dettinger, {Michael D.}",

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T1 - Human-induced changes in the hydrology of the Western United States

AU - Barnett, Tim P.

AU - Pierce, David W.

AU - Hidalgo, Hugo G.

AU - Bonfils, Celine

AU - Santer, Benjamin D.

AU - Das, Tapash

AU - Bala, Govindasamy

AU - Wood, Andrew W.

AU - Nozawa, Toru

AU - Mirin, Arthur A.

AU - Cayan, Daniel R.

AU - Dettinger, Michael D.

PY - 2008/2/22

Y1 - 2008/2/22

N2 - Observations have shown that the hydrological cycle of the western United States changed significantly over the last half of the 20th century. We present a regional, multivariable climate change detection and attribution study, using a high-resolution hydrologic model forced by global climate models, focusing on the changes that have already affected this primarily arid region with a large and growing population. The results show that up to 60% of the climate-related trends of river flow, winter air temperature, and snow pack between 1950 and 1999 are human-induced. These results are robust to perturbation of study variates and methods. They portend, in conjunction with previous work, a coming crisis in water supply for the western United States.

AB - Observations have shown that the hydrological cycle of the western United States changed significantly over the last half of the 20th century. We present a regional, multivariable climate change detection and attribution study, using a high-resolution hydrologic model forced by global climate models, focusing on the changes that have already affected this primarily arid region with a large and growing population. The results show that up to 60% of the climate-related trends of river flow, winter air temperature, and snow pack between 1950 and 1999 are human-induced. These results are robust to perturbation of study variates and methods. They portend, in conjunction with previous work, a coming crisis in water supply for the western United States.

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Human-induced changes in the hydrology of the Western United States

Abstract

ASJC Scopus subject areas

UN SDGs

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