Trends in reconstructed monthly, seasonal and annual flows for Irish catchments (1900–2016)

Abstract

Figure 4. As per Figure 2 but for seasonal mean flows.

Climate change impacts on spatial and seasonal meteorological drought characteristics for the island of Ireland

“…They highlight widespread (including western Europe) increases in drought frequency and intensity in spring and summer, with more modest changes in autumn and decreased drought frequency in winter in northern Europe. Our findings are also consistent with recent studies that highlight a tendency towards shorter, more intense meteorological and hydrological droughts during summer for Ireland from long‐term observations and reconstructions (Meresa et al, 2023; O'Connor et al, 2022; Vicente‐Serrano et al, 2020). Such short and intense summer droughts are typically perceived as flash droughts, with significant impact on atmospheric aridity and the depletion of soil moisture, with associated challenges for management (Qing et al, 2022).…”

“…Several studies have developed long‐term records of observed and reconstructed meteorological droughts for the island of Ireland, with significant drought rich periods occurring in 1890–1910, 1921–1922, 1933–1934, in the 1940s, and the early and mid‐1970s (Murphy et al, 2020a, 2020b; Noone et al, 2017; O'Connor et al, 2022). Clear from newspaper reports is that historical droughts have also had substantial impacts on Irish society, particularly for water resource management and agriculture (Jobbová et al, 2023).…”

“…Vicente‐Serrano et al (2020) assessed changes in annual and seasonal meteorological droughts for western Europe using the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) extracted from quality assured long‐term precipitation records extending back to the 1850s, finding the largest trends towards increased drought magnitude during summer in Britain and Ireland. O'Connor et al (2022) examined changes in reconstructed meteorological droughts for 51 catchments across Ireland for the period 1767–2016 using SPI. They highlight that while changes in drought characteristics reveal a complex picture with the direction, magnitude and significance of trends dependent on the accumulation period used to define drought and the period of record analysed, a trend towards shorter, more intense summer droughts is evident since 1900.…”

Propagation and Characteristics of Hydrometeorological Drought Under Changing Climate in Irish Catchments

“…While no other studies to date have evaluated changes in future drought in Ireland, studies of observational records have revealed trends toward increasing summer drought magnitude. O'Connor, Murphy, Matthews, and Wilby (2022) and O’Connor, Meresa, and Murphy (2022) examined trends in summer drought for reconstructions of SPI and SSI spanning 1900 to present, finding trends toward shorter, more intense meteorological and hydrological droughts. Similarly, Vicente‐Serrano et al.…”

Hydrometric data rescue and extension of river flow records: Method development and application to catchments modified by arterial drainage

“…The long records, which extend back to the commencement of hydrometric monitoring on the island will also be important for detection and attribution of changes across the flow regime, including low flows and drought (Nasr & Bruen, 2017), changing flood risk dynamics (Chen et al, 2021; Faulkner et al, 2019) and linking with changing riverine ecological conditions (Poff & Zimmerman, 2010). Furthermore, these long series offer empirical data to assist validation of flow reconstructions (O'Connor et al, 2021, 2022) and for training hydrological models across diverse hydrological and climatic conditions (Broderick et al, 2016). There is also opportunity for other research fields to cross‐validate their historical data (e.g.…”