Multi-decadal river flow variations in France
Abstract
In this article, multi-decadal variations in the French hydroclimate are investigated, with a specific focus on river flows. Based on long observed series, it is shown that river flows in France generally exhibit large multi-decadal variations in the instrumental period (defined in this study as the period from the late 19th century to the present), especially in spring. Differences of means between 21 yr periods of the 20th century as large as 40% are indeed found for many gauging stations. Multi-decadal spring river flow variations are associated with variations in spring precipitation and temperature. These multi-decadal variations in precipitation are themselves found to be driven by large-scale atmospheric circulation, more precisely by a multi-decadal oscillation in a sea level pressure dipole between western Europe and the eastern Atlantic. It is suggested that the Atlantic Multidecadal Variability, the main mode of multi-decadal variability in the North Atlantic–Europe sector, controls those variations in large-scale circulation and is therefore the main ultimate driver of multi-decadal variations in spring river flows. Potential multi-decadal variations in river flows in other seasons, and in particular summer, are also noted. As they are not associated with significant surface climate anomalies (i.e. temperature, precipitation) in summer, other mechanismsmore »
- Authors:
-
- Centre Européen de Recherche et de Formation Avancée en Calcul Scientifique (CERFACS), Toulouse (France)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Paris (France).
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1565252
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (Online)
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Name: Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (Online); Journal Volume: 18; Journal Issue: 2; Journal ID: ISSN 1607-7938
- Publisher:
- European Geosciences Union (EGU)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; Geology; Water Resources
Citation Formats
Boé, J., and Habets, F. Multi-decadal river flow variations in France. United States: N. p., 2014.
Web. doi:10.5194/hess-18-691-2014.
Boé, J., & Habets, F. Multi-decadal river flow variations in France. United States. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-691-2014
Boé, J., and Habets, F. Wed .
"Multi-decadal river flow variations in France". United States. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-691-2014. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1565252.
@article{osti_1565252,
title = {Multi-decadal river flow variations in France},
author = {Boé, J. and Habets, F.},
abstractNote = {In this article, multi-decadal variations in the French hydroclimate are investigated, with a specific focus on river flows. Based on long observed series, it is shown that river flows in France generally exhibit large multi-decadal variations in the instrumental period (defined in this study as the period from the late 19th century to the present), especially in spring. Differences of means between 21 yr periods of the 20th century as large as 40% are indeed found for many gauging stations. Multi-decadal spring river flow variations are associated with variations in spring precipitation and temperature. These multi-decadal variations in precipitation are themselves found to be driven by large-scale atmospheric circulation, more precisely by a multi-decadal oscillation in a sea level pressure dipole between western Europe and the eastern Atlantic. It is suggested that the Atlantic Multidecadal Variability, the main mode of multi-decadal variability in the North Atlantic–Europe sector, controls those variations in large-scale circulation and is therefore the main ultimate driver of multi-decadal variations in spring river flows. Potential multi-decadal variations in river flows in other seasons, and in particular summer, are also noted. As they are not associated with significant surface climate anomalies (i.e. temperature, precipitation) in summer, other mechanisms are investigated based on hydrological simulations. The impact of climate variations in spring on summer soil moisture, and the impact of soil moisture in summer on the runoff-to-precipitation ratio, could potentially play a role in multi-decadal summer river flow variations. The large amplitude of the multi-decadal variations in French river flows suggests that internal variability may play a very important role in the evolution of river flows during the next decades, potentially temporarily limiting, reversing or seriously aggravating the long-term impacts of anthropogenic climate change.},
doi = {10.5194/hess-18-691-2014},
journal = {Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (Online)},
number = 2,
volume = 18,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Feb 19 00:00:00 EST 2014},
month = {Wed Feb 19 00:00:00 EST 2014}
}
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