Relations between climatic variability and hydrologic time series from four alluvial basins across the southwestern United States

Hanson, Randall T.; Dettinger, M. D.; Newhouse, M.W.

doi:10.1007/s10040-006-0067-7

Cited by 87 publications

(91 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…climate). Our hypothesis builds on the observations of: (1) Inman and Jenkins (1999) who show a strong positive relationship between sediment flux in the rivers of Southern California and intervals of increased precipitation during the twentieth century; and, (2) Cayan and Peterson (1989), Brito-Castillo et al (2003), and Hanson et al (2006), who show that higher streamflow/precipitation in southwestern North America is associated with a preferred mode of atmospheric circulation akin to the positive/warm phase of the PDO. Our paleo-run-off hypothesis is assessed through comparison to the twentieth century PDO index, Lake Elsinore lake level, San Jacinto River discharge, and sediment grain size over the past 100 years.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 78%

“…The large-scale atmospheric patterns that control storm trajectories are influenced by Pacific Ocean sea-surface conditions (Trenberth and Hurrell 1994). Interannual precipitation variability across Southern California is related to the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO hereafter; El Niño = higher precipitation in Southern CA and vice versa in northern CA), whereas interdecadal variability is linked to the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO hereafter; ?PDO similar to El Niño effects) (Castello and Shelton 2004;Hanson et al 2006;Wise 2010). …”

Section: Regional Climatologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The amount of precipitation for the region is linked to the mean position of the winter season polar front, which is modulated by changes in the position of the eastern Pacific subtropical high (Cayan and Peterson 1989;Hanson et al 2006). Under modern conditions, dry winters in Southern California are linked to a strong high-pressure ridge off the west coast of the United States.…”

Section: Regional Climatologymentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Holocene record of Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO)-related hydrologic variability in Southern California (Lake Elsinore, CA)

et al. 2010

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High-resolution terrestrial records of Holocene climate from Southern California are scarce. Moreover, there are no records of Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) variability, a major driver of decadal to multi-decadal climate variability for the region, older than 1,000 years. Recent research on Lake Elsinore, however, has shown that the lake's sediments hold excellent potential for paleoenvironmental analysis and reconstruction. New 1-cm contiguous grain size data reveal a more complex Holocene climate history for Southern California than previously recognized at the site. A modern comparison between the twentieth century PDO index, lake level change, San Jacinto River discharge, and percent sand suggests that sand content is a reasonable, qualitative proxy for PDO-related, hydrologic variability at both multi-decadal-to-centennial as well as event (i.e. storm) timescales. A depositional model is proposed to explain the sand-hydrologic proxy. The sand-hydrologic proxy data reveal nine centennial-scale intervals of wet and dry climate throughout the Holocene. Percent total sand values [1.5 standard deviation above the 150-9,700 cal year BP average are frequent between 9,700 and 3,200 cal year BP (n = 41), but they are rare from 3,200 to 150 cal year BP (n = 6). This disparity is interpreted as a change in the frequency of exceptionally wet (high discharge) years and/or changes in large storm activity. A comparison to other regional hydrologic proxies (10 sites) shows more then

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 78%

Section: Regional Climatologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Regional Climatologymentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Holocene record of Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO)-related hydrologic variability in Southern California (Lake Elsinore, CA)

et al. 2010

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“…Likewise, tree ring growth and groundwater fluctuations are correlated to the dominant climate driver in an area (e.g. the Pacific decadal oscillation and El Niño-Southern Oscillation in California, USA) (Hanson et al, 2006). In some circumstances, the effect of groundwater can be disentangled from climate through the use of spectral analysis (Bogino and Jobbagy, 2011), but in other cases depth-to-groundwater was not found to be a significant factor in explaining differences in either ring width of basal area increment .…”

Section: Effects Of Groundwater On Growth and Dendrochronological Traitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Groundwater-dependent ecosystems: recent insights from satellite and field-based studies

Eamus

Zolfaghar

Villalobos‐Vega

et al. 2015

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

128

112

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Abstract. Groundwater-dependent ecosystems (GDEs) are at risk globally due to unsustainable levels of groundwater extraction, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. In this review, we examine recent developments in the ecohydrology of GDEs with a focus on three knowledge gaps: (1) how do we locate GDEs, (2) how much water is transpired from shallow aquifers by GDEs and (3) what are the responses of GDEs to excessive groundwater extraction? The answers to these questions will determine water allocations that are required to sustain functioning of GDEs and to guide regulations on groundwater extraction to avoid negative impacts on GDEs.We discuss three methods for identifying GDEs: (1) techniques relying on remotely sensed information; (2) fluctuations in depth-to-groundwater that are associated with diurnal variations in transpiration; and (3) stable isotope analysis of water sources in the transpiration stream.We then discuss several methods for estimating rates of GW use, including direct measurement using sapflux or eddy covariance technologies, estimation of a climate wetness index within a Budyko framework, spatial distribution of evapotranspiration (ET) using remote sensing, groundwater modelling and stable isotopes. Remote sensing methods often rely on direct measurements to calibrate the relationship between vegetation indices and ET. ET from GDEs is also determined using hydrologic models of varying complexity, from the White method to fully coupled, variable saturation models. Combinations of methods are typically employed to obtain clearer insight into the components of groundwater discharge in GDEs, such as the proportional importance of transpiration versus evaporation (e.g. using stable isotopes) or from groundwater versus rainwater sources.Groundwater extraction can have severe consequences for the structure and function of GDEs. In the most extreme cases, phreatophytes experience crown dieback and death following groundwater drawdown. We provide a brief review of two case studies of the impacts of GW extraction and then provide an ecosystem-scale, multiple trait, integrated metric of the impact of differences in groundwater depth on the structure and function of eucalypt forests growing along a natural gradient in depth-to-groundwater. We conclude with a discussion of a depth-to-groundwater threshold in this mesic GDE. Beyond this threshold, significant changes occur in ecosystem structure and function.

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“…Rivard et al (2009) performed trend analyses for several long-term groundwater level time series across Canada and found an almost equal number of decreasing and increasing trends. Hanson et al (2006) examined the relationship between groundwater levels and climate variability across the southwestern United States and detected significant correlation between groundwater dynamics and large-scale climatic cycles like the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). The number of studies is larger if we also consider analyses for smaller regions and shorter time series.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What can we learn from long-term groundwater data to improve climate change impact studies?

Stoll

Franssen

Barthel

et al. 2011

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. Future risks for groundwater resources, due to global change are usually analyzed by driving hydrological models with the outputs of climate models. However, this model chain is subject to considerable uncertainties. Given the high uncertainties it is essential to identify the processes governing the groundwater dynamics, as these processes are likely to affect groundwater resources in the future, too. Information about the dominant mechanisms can be achieved by the analysis of long-term data, which are assumed to provide insight in the reaction of groundwater resources to changing conditions (weather, land use, water demand). Referring to this, a dataset of 30 long-term time series of precipitation dominated groundwater systems in northern Switzerland and southern Germany is collected. In order to receive additional information the analysis of the data is carried out together with hydrological model simulations. High spatio-temporal correlations, even over large distances could be detected and are assumed to be related to large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns. As a result it is suggested to prefer innovative weather-type-based downscaling methods to other stochastic downscaling approaches. In addition, with the help of a qualitative procedure to distinguish between meteorological and anthropogenic causes it was possible to identify processes which dominated the groundwater dynamics in the past. It could be shown that besides the meteorological conditions, land use changes, pumping activity and feedback mechanisms governed the groundwater dynamics. Based on these findings, recommendations to improve climate change impact studies are suggested.

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Relations between climatic variability and hydrologic time series from four alluvial basins across the southwestern United States

Cited by 87 publications

References 10 publications

A Holocene record of Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO)-related hydrologic variability in Southern California (Lake Elsinore, CA)

A Holocene record of Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO)-related hydrologic variability in Southern California (Lake Elsinore, CA)

Groundwater-dependent ecosystems: recent insights from satellite and field-based studies

What can we learn from long-term groundwater data to improve climate change impact studies?

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