ABSTRACT:

This data product is related to a journal article by Chuqiang Chen and Admin Husic entitled "Streamflow composition in U.S. rivers is shifting toward recent precipitation".

Abstract:
The fraction of streamflow derived from recent precipitation—'event water’—profoundly impacts water quality and flood risk. We show that over the past four decades, this fraction has significantly increased in 27% of 754 U.S. catchments. We achieved the first continental-scale reconstruction by applying a deep learning model to a novel tracer dataset spanning nearly 24,000 storm events. Using explainability methods, we attribute intensifying precipitation, urbanization, and deforestation as the primary drivers. Event water fraction increases nearly two times more frequently than streamflow increases, indicating that for many rivers where streamflow trends are stationary, the composition of streamflow is changing. These results reveal a widespread shift towards the rapid conversion of precipitation to streamflow by watersheds, signaling a need to adapt water management strategies for a future of accelerating climate and land-use pressures.

ABSTRACT:

This data product is related to a journal article that has been accepted for publication in Geophysical Research Letters (July, 2022).

This resources includes the Python scripts to calculate Index of Connectivity maps and MATLAB scripts for generating the plots used in the manuscript. This resource also includes the following Word/PDF files: (1) the text file of the manuscript, (2) the figures file, and (3) the supplemental information file. These files describe the process the authors undertook to create a structural connectivity map of the contiguous United States (CONUS). The exact methods are described in the text file. To download connectivity raster maps, visit the following link: https://apps.cuahsi.org/connectivity-map.

The plain language summary for the manuscript is shown below:

Hillslopes are critical landscape features that intercept, store, and route water, from its source as rainfall to its fate as river discharge. The strength of this routing is a function of climatic and tectonic forces, but their relative importance to hillslope connectivity is uncertain. We simulated the Index of Connectivity, a topographic analogue for structural connectivity, for 75 billion locations in CONUS, across a range of climatic and tectonic settings. At the CONUS-scale, we found that hillslope connectivity is largely driven by tectonic forces, including uplift and seismic activity, and that highly connected hillslopes are more susceptible to landslides while poorly connected hillslopes promote wetland development. We provide a web data portal to serve as a tool for stakeholders to visualize and leverage structural connectivity data in their respective study areas.