A comparison of changes in river runoff from multiple global and catchment-scale hydrological models under global warming scenarios of 1°C, 2°C and 3°C

We present one of the first climate change impact assessments on river runoff that utilises an ensemble of global hydrological models (Glob-HMs) and an ensemble of catchment-scale hydrological models (Cat-HMs), across multiple catchments: the upper Amazon, Darling, Ganges, Lena, upper Mississippi, u...

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Main Authors: Gosling, Simon, Zaherpour, Jamal, Mount, Nick J., Hattermann, Fred, Dankers, Rutger, Arheimer, Berit, Breuer, Lutz, Ding, Jie, Haddeland, Ingjerd, Kumar, Rohini, Kundu, Dipangkar, Liu, Junguo, van Griensven, Ann, Veldkamp, Ted, Vetter, Tobias, Wang, Xiaoyan, Zhang, Xinxin
Format: Article
Published: Springer Verlag 2016
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Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35544/
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author Gosling, Simon
Zaherpour, Jamal
Mount, Nick J.
Hattermann, Fred
Dankers, Rutger
Arheimer, Berit
Breuer, Lutz
Ding, Jie
Haddeland, Ingjerd
Kumar, Rohini
Kundu, Dipangkar
Liu, Junguo
van Griensven, Ann
Veldkamp, Ted
Vetter, Tobias
Wang, Xiaoyan
Zhang, Xinxin
author_facet Gosling, Simon
Zaherpour, Jamal
Mount, Nick J.
Hattermann, Fred
Dankers, Rutger
Arheimer, Berit
Breuer, Lutz
Ding, Jie
Haddeland, Ingjerd
Kumar, Rohini
Kundu, Dipangkar
Liu, Junguo
van Griensven, Ann
Veldkamp, Ted
Vetter, Tobias
Wang, Xiaoyan
Zhang, Xinxin
author_sort Gosling, Simon
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description We present one of the first climate change impact assessments on river runoff that utilises an ensemble of global hydrological models (Glob-HMs) and an ensemble of catchment-scale hydrological models (Cat-HMs), across multiple catchments: the upper Amazon, Darling, Ganges, Lena, upper Mississippi, upper Niger, Rhine and Tagus. Relative changes in simulated mean annual runoff (MAR) and four indicators of high and low extreme flows are compared between the two ensembles. The ensemble median values of changes in runoff with three different scenarios of global-mean warming (1°C, 2°C and 3°C above pre-industrial levels) are generally similar between the two ensembles, although the ensemble spread is often larger for the Glob-HM ensemble. In addition the ensemble spread is normally larger than the difference between the two ensemble medians. Whilst we find compelling evidence for projected runoff changes for the Rhine (decrease), Tagus (decrease) and Lena (increase) with global warming, the sign and magnitude of change for the other catchments is unclear. Our model results highlight that for these three catchments in particular, global climate change mitigation, which limits global-mean temperature rise to below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, could avoid some of the hydrological hazards that could be seen with higher magnitudes of global warming.
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spelling nottingham-355442020-05-04T18:21:51Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35544/ A comparison of changes in river runoff from multiple global and catchment-scale hydrological models under global warming scenarios of 1°C, 2°C and 3°C Gosling, Simon Zaherpour, Jamal Mount, Nick J. Hattermann, Fred Dankers, Rutger Arheimer, Berit Breuer, Lutz Ding, Jie Haddeland, Ingjerd Kumar, Rohini Kundu, Dipangkar Liu, Junguo van Griensven, Ann Veldkamp, Ted Vetter, Tobias Wang, Xiaoyan Zhang, Xinxin We present one of the first climate change impact assessments on river runoff that utilises an ensemble of global hydrological models (Glob-HMs) and an ensemble of catchment-scale hydrological models (Cat-HMs), across multiple catchments: the upper Amazon, Darling, Ganges, Lena, upper Mississippi, upper Niger, Rhine and Tagus. Relative changes in simulated mean annual runoff (MAR) and four indicators of high and low extreme flows are compared between the two ensembles. The ensemble median values of changes in runoff with three different scenarios of global-mean warming (1°C, 2°C and 3°C above pre-industrial levels) are generally similar between the two ensembles, although the ensemble spread is often larger for the Glob-HM ensemble. In addition the ensemble spread is normally larger than the difference between the two ensemble medians. Whilst we find compelling evidence for projected runoff changes for the Rhine (decrease), Tagus (decrease) and Lena (increase) with global warming, the sign and magnitude of change for the other catchments is unclear. Our model results highlight that for these three catchments in particular, global climate change mitigation, which limits global-mean temperature rise to below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, could avoid some of the hydrological hazards that could be seen with higher magnitudes of global warming. Springer Verlag 2016-11-09 Article PeerReviewed Gosling, Simon, Zaherpour, Jamal, Mount, Nick J., Hattermann, Fred, Dankers, Rutger, Arheimer, Berit, Breuer, Lutz, Ding, Jie, Haddeland, Ingjerd, Kumar, Rohini, Kundu, Dipangkar, Liu, Junguo, van Griensven, Ann, Veldkamp, Ted, Vetter, Tobias, Wang, Xiaoyan and Zhang, Xinxin (2016) A comparison of changes in river runoff from multiple global and catchment-scale hydrological models under global warming scenarios of 1°C, 2°C and 3°C. Climatic Change . ISSN 1573-1480 Global warming; hydrology; UNFCCC 2°C target; climate change; extremes; runoff http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10584-016-1773-3 doi:10.1007/s10584-016-1773-3 doi:10.1007/s10584-016-1773-3
spellingShingle Global warming; hydrology; UNFCCC 2°C target; climate change; extremes; runoff
Gosling, Simon
Zaherpour, Jamal
Mount, Nick J.
Hattermann, Fred
Dankers, Rutger
Arheimer, Berit
Breuer, Lutz
Ding, Jie
Haddeland, Ingjerd
Kumar, Rohini
Kundu, Dipangkar
Liu, Junguo
van Griensven, Ann
Veldkamp, Ted
Vetter, Tobias
Wang, Xiaoyan
Zhang, Xinxin
A comparison of changes in river runoff from multiple global and catchment-scale hydrological models under global warming scenarios of 1°C, 2°C and 3°C
title A comparison of changes in river runoff from multiple global and catchment-scale hydrological models under global warming scenarios of 1°C, 2°C and 3°C
title_full A comparison of changes in river runoff from multiple global and catchment-scale hydrological models under global warming scenarios of 1°C, 2°C and 3°C
title_fullStr A comparison of changes in river runoff from multiple global and catchment-scale hydrological models under global warming scenarios of 1°C, 2°C and 3°C
title_full_unstemmed A comparison of changes in river runoff from multiple global and catchment-scale hydrological models under global warming scenarios of 1°C, 2°C and 3°C
title_short A comparison of changes in river runoff from multiple global and catchment-scale hydrological models under global warming scenarios of 1°C, 2°C and 3°C
title_sort comparison of changes in river runoff from multiple global and catchment-scale hydrological models under global warming scenarios of 1°c, 2°c and 3°c
topic Global warming; hydrology; UNFCCC 2°C target; climate change; extremes; runoff
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35544/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35544/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35544/