Precipitationshed

Summary

In meteorology, a precipitationshed is the upwind ocean and land surface that contributes evaporation to a given, downwind location's precipitation. The concept has been described as an "atmospheric watershed".[1] The concept itself rests on a broad foundation of scholarly work examining the evaporative sources of rainfall.[2][3][4] Since its formal definition, the precipitationshed has become an element in water security studies,[5] examinations of sustainability,[6] and mentioned as a potentially useful tool for examining vulnerability of rainfall dependent ecosystems.[7]

Overview of a precipitationshed

Concept edit

In an effort to conceptualize the recycling of evaporation from a specific location to the spatially explicit region that receives this moisture, the precipitationshed concept was expanded to the evaporationshed. This expanded concept has been highlighted as particularly useful for providing a spatially explicit region for examining the impacts of significant land-use change, such as deforestation, irrigation, or agricultural intensification.[8][9]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ P. W. Keys; et al. (2012). "Analyzing precipitationsheds to understand the vulnerability of rainfall dependent regions". Biogeosciences. 9 (2): 733–746. Bibcode:2012BGeo....9..733K. doi:10.5194/bg-9-733-2012.
  2. ^ R. Koster; et al. (February 1986). "Global sources of local precipitation as determined by the Nasa/Giss GCM". Geophysical Research Letters. 13 (2): 121–124. Bibcode:1986GeoRL..13..121K. doi:10.1029/GL013i002p00121.
  3. ^ E.A.B. Eltahir; R.L. Bras (July 1994). "Precipitation recycling in the Amazon basin". Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society. Part A. 120 (518): 861–880. doi:10.1256/smsqj.51805.
  4. ^ P.A. Dirmeyer; K.L. Brubaker (27 August 1999). "Contrasting evaporative moisture sources during the drought of 1988 and the flood of 1993". Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. 104 (D16): 19383–19397. Bibcode:1999JGR...10419383D. doi:10.1029/1999JD900222.
  5. ^ H. Wheater; P. Gober (13 November 2013). "Water security in the Canadian Prairies: science and management challenges". Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A. 371 (2002 20120409): 20120409. Bibcode:2013RSPTA.37120409W. doi:10.1098/rsta.2012.0409. PMID 24080618.
  6. ^ J.Rockström; et al. (2014). Water Resilience for Human Prosperity. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-02419-9.
  7. ^ R.Mahmood; et al. (March 2014). "Land cover changes and their biogeophysical effects on climate". International Journal of Climatology. 34 (4): 929–953. Bibcode:2014IJCli..34..929M. doi:10.1002/joc.3736. S2CID 3725248.
  8. ^ R.J. van der Ent; et al. (2013). "Oceanic sources of continental precipitation and the correlation with sea surface temperature". Water Resources Research. 49 (7): 3993–4004. Bibcode:2013WRR....49.3993E. doi:10.1002/wrcr.20296. S2CID 281166.
  9. ^ Duerinck, H. M.; van der Ent, R. J.; van de Giesen, N. C.; Schoups, G.; Babovic, V.; Yeh, Pat J.-F. (2016-02-17). "Observed Soil Moisture–Precipitation Feedback in Illinois: A Systematic Analysis over Different Scales". Journal of Hydrometeorology. 17 (6): 1645–1660. Bibcode:2016JHyMe..17.1645D. doi:10.1175/JHM-D-15-0032.1. hdl:1874/335947. ISSN 1525-755X. S2CID 127710976.

External links edit

  • Stockholm Resilience Centre Whiteboard talk series
  • CABI: Precipitationsheds - a new concept for water science
  • Water Resilience for Human Prosperity