Accelerated propagation from meteorological to hydrological drought under diminishing snow
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15546998 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Juntai Han (0009-0002-3640-5571, Ministry of Water Resources of the People's Republic of China, corresponding author), Yuting Yang (0000-0001-9844-5750, Ministry of Water Resources of the People's Republic of China), Hao Xiong (0000-0001-5479-7754, Ministry of Water Resources of the People's Republic of China), Yuhan Guo (0009-0006-4751-1256, Ministry of Water Resources of the People's Republic of China), Changming Li (0000-0002-4022-3386, Ministry of Water Resources of the People's Republic of China), Ziwei Liu (0000-0002-4220-5958, National University of Singapore) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 20 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 054076-054076 |
| Publication date | 2025-04-15 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Environmental Research Letters (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1748-9326 • E-ISSN: 1748-9326 |
| Publisher | IOP Publishing (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1088/1748-9326/adccdc |
| OpenAlex | W4409469293 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 45 |
Understanding the spatial-temporal evolution of drought propagation is crucial for improving our monitoring and prediction of droughts. However, the impact of changing snow dynamics on drought propagation time ( t P ) has rarely been assessed. Utilizing observed streamflow and reanalyzed climate data from ∼900 northern snow-affected catchments, here we provide a comprehensive investigation on temporal changes in t P and underlying mechanisms in the context of diminishing snow. Results show that catchments with a higher fraction of precipitation falling as snow ( f s ) exhibit a longer t P compared to catchments with marginal snowfall. Over the past 70 years, t P has significantly decreased following decreased f s , indicating accelerated drought propagation in a snow-diminishing world. Specifically, for catchments with lower mean annual f s ( f s ― ⩽ 30%), t P is decreasing at a rate of −0.8 d per decade. In contrast, for catchments with higher f s ― ( f s ― > 50%), t P is decreasing at a rate of −3.4 d per decade, four times faster than the rate observed in low- f s ― catchments. This acceleration is attributed to a reduced total snowmelt and slower snowmelt rate during the drought propagation process, which decreases streamflow recharge from snowmelt and increases evaporation losses. These findings are important for enhancing drought prediction and risk management in snow-affected regions
Atmospheric sciences · Climatology · Geography · Meteorology · Snow · Cryospheric studies and observations · Environmental Science · Precipitation Measurement and Analysis · Soil Moisture and Remote Sensing · Geology
| Highly cited | No |
|---|