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Annual runoff coefficient variation in a changing environment: a global perspective
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DOI：10.1088/1748-9326/ac62ad.png)
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Abstract
En 中文
Assessing variations in the annual runoff coefficient (RC) on a basin scale is crucial for understanding the hydrological cycle under natural and anthropogenic changes, yet a systematic global assessment remains unexamined from a water-balance perspective. Here, we combine observation-based runoff and precipitation datasets to quantify basin-averaged RC changes in 433 major global river basins during the period 1985-2014. Thereafter, the ratios of terrestrial water storage changes and evaporation to precipitation (SC and EC, respectively) are obtained to evaluate the factors driving the RC changes. The results show that 12.93% of the basins experience significant decreasing trends in RC, with slopes ranging from -0.55 +/- 0.17% yr(-1) to -0.05 +/- 0.02% yr(-1), while 6.47% basins show increasing RCs with slopes ranging from 0.09 +/- 0.04% yr(-1) to 0.56 +/- 0.17% yr(-1). A higher percentage (62.95%) of basins reveal decreasing RCs for the regions with considerable human intervention compared to those (58.24%) with dominant natural variability. Changes in EC dominate the RC changes over 79.68% of the basins for both increasing and decreasing trends, with a maximum contribution (53.65%) from transpiration, among other partitioned components. Corroborated inferences from explicit investigation in the Yangtze River basin highlight the robustness of our results for global water managers and policymakers.
Keywords:
runoff coefficient
water balance
climate change
human activity
global scale
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