Abstract
The Monsoon Asia region is home to ten of the world's biggest rivers, supporting the lives of 1.7 billion people who rely on streamflow for water, energy, and food. Yet a synthesized understanding of multicentennial streamflow variability for this region is lacking. To fill this gap, we produce the first large scale streamflow reconstruction over Monsoon Asia (62 stations in 16 countries, 813 years of mean annual flow). In making this reconstruction, we develop a novel, automated, climate-informed, and dynamic reconstruction framework that is skillful over most of the region. We show that streamflow in Monsoon Asia is spatially coherent, owing to common drivers from the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans. We also show how these oceanic teleconnections change over space and time. By characterizing past and present hydroclimatic variability, we provide a platform for assessing the impact of future climatic changes and informing water management decisions.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e2020WR027883 |
| Journal | Water Resources Research |
| Volume | 56 |
| Issue number | 12 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2020 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
Hung Nguyen is supported by the President's Graduate Fellowship from the Singapore University of Technology and Design. We thank Edward Cook, Caroline Ummenhofer, Nerilie Abram, Nathalie Goodkin, Xun Sun, Murray Peel, Rory Nathan, and Robert Wasson for insightful comments. We are indebted to Michelle Ho, Justin Maxwell, Valerie Trouet, two anonymous reviewers, and the Associate Editor for their constructive reviews. We are grateful to Thanh Dang, Mukund Rao, Christoph Libisch‐Lehner, Rosanne D'Arrigo, Donghoon Lee, and Caroline Leland for streamflow data of the Mekong, Brahmaputra, Angat, Citarum, Han, and Yeruu Rivers. Hung Nguyen is supported by the President's Graduate Fellowship from the Singapore University of Technology and Design. We thank Edward Cook, Caroline Ummenhofer, Nerilie Abram, Nathalie Goodkin, Xun Sun, Murray Peel, Rory Nathan, and Robert Wasson for insightful comments. We are indebted to Michelle Ho, Justin Maxwell, Valerie Trouet, two anonymous reviewers, and the Associate Editor for their constructive reviews. We are grateful to Thanh Dang, Mukund Rao, Christoph Libisch-Lehner, Rosanne D'Arrigo, Donghoon Lee, and Caroline Leland for streamflow data of the Mekong, Brahmaputra, Angat, Citarum, Han, and Yeruu Rivers.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Valerie Trouet | |
| Yeruu Rivers | |
| Singapore University of Technology and Design |
Keywords
- Monsoon Asia
- climate variability
- large sample hydrology
- rivers
- streamflow reconstruction
- teleconnection
