Examining the Water Scarcity Vulnerability in US River Basins Due to Changing Climate


Authors:
Owners: Fitsume Wolkeba
Type: Resource
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Created: Aug 17, 2023 at 5:11 a.m.
Last updated: Dec 20, 2023 at 9:57 p.m. (Metadata update)
Published date: Dec 20, 2023 at 9:57 p.m.
DOI: 10.4211/hs.3baebff452a84a8c82fe62d7dd82bc37
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Sharing Status: Published
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Abstract

Accurate assessment of changes in water availability with changing climate is vital for effective mitigation and adaptation. In this research, we employ a parsimonious Budyko curve method to evaluate changes in water availability under low- (SSP126) and high-emission (SSP585) scenarios for 331 river basins in the contiguous United States. We also assess the relative role of changes in precipitation (∆P) and potential evapotranspiration (∆PET) with changing climate on the increase in water availability vulnerability. Results highlight that around 43% (28%) of basins are projected to experience increased vulnerability to changing climate in high-emission (low-emission) scenarios. Sub-humid basins are most often impacted, while arid and semi-arid basins exhibit lower sensitivity to changes. Intriguingly, ∆PET emerges as the dominant control on vulnerability, surpassing ∆P, particularly under higher emission scenarios. The analysis prompts water managers to focus on long-term mitigation planning and scientists to further constraint climate and water budget forecasts in affected basins.

Coverage

Spatial

Coordinate System/Geographic Projection:
WGS 84 EPSG:4326
Coordinate Units:
Decimal degrees
North Latitude
50.3903°
East Longitude
-65.0971°
South Latitude
22.7397°
West Longitude
-128.3792°
Leaflet Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

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How to Cite

Wolkeba, F., M. Kumar, M. Mekonnen (2023). Examining the Water Scarcity Vulnerability in US River Basins Due to Changing Climate, HydroShare, https://doi.org/10.4211/hs.3baebff452a84a8c82fe62d7dd82bc37

This resource is shared under the Creative Commons Attribution CC BY.

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
CC-BY

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