Mountains of the world, water towers for humanity
Typology, mapping, and global significance
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 23319265 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Daniel Viviroli (0000-0002-1214-8657, Hydrology Group, Department of Geography University of Berne Berne Switzerland), Hans H Dürr (0000-0001-5787-3994, Department of Physical Geography, Faculty of Geosciences Utrecht University Utrecht Netherlands), Bruno Messerli (Hydrology Group, Department of Geography University of Berne Berne Switzerland), Michel Meybeck (UMR 7619 Sisyphe Université Pierre et Marie Curie Paris France), Rolf Weingartner (0000-0001-9876-1104, Hydrology Group, Department of Geography University of Berne Berne Switzerland) |
| Year | 2007 |
| Volume | 43 |
| Issue | 7 |
| Publication date | 2007-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Water Resources Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0043-1397 • E-ISSN: 1944-7973 |
| Publisher | American Geophysical Union (AGU) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1029/2006wr005653 |
| OpenAlex | W1752626349 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 65 |
| References cited | 34 |
Mountains are important sources of freshwater for the adjacent lowlands. In view of increasingly scarce freshwater resources, this contribution should be clarified. While earlier studies focused on selected river systems in different climate zones, we attempt here a first spatially explicit, global typology of the so‐called “water towers” at the 0.5° × 0.5° resolution in order to identify critical regions where disproportionality of mountain runoff as compared to lowlands is maximum. Then, an Earth systems perspective is considered with incorporation of lowland climates, distinguishing four different types of water towers. We show that more than 50% of mountain areas have an essential or supportive role for downstream regions. Finally, the potential significance of water resources in mountains is illustrated by including the actual population in the adjacent lowlands and its water needs: 7% of global mountain area provides essential water resources, while another 37% delivers important supportive supply, especially in arid and semiarid regions where vulnerability for seasonal and regional water shortage is high.
Arid · Environmental resource management · Geography · Hydrology (agriculture) · Physical geography · Population · Resource (disambiguation) · Surface runoff · Typology · Vulnerability (computing) · Water resource management · Water resources · Water scarcity · Cryospheric studies and observations · Ecology · Environmental Science · Flood Risk Assessment and Management · Geology · Hydrology and Watershed Management Studies
Speleothems in Utah caves record past dynamics of mountain permafrost
Ecohydrology and Climate Change in the Mountains of the Western USA – A Review of Research and Opportunities
Mountain Climatology
Mountain Hydrology
Space–time process and drivers of land abandonment in Europe
Importance and vulnerability of the world’s water towers
Climate Change Will Affect the Asian Water Towers
Elevation-dependent temperature response in early Eocene using paleoclimate model experiment
The potential for snow to supply human water demand in the present and future
Projections for headwater catchments of the Tarim River reveal glacier retreat and decreasing surface water availability but uncertainties are large
The snow cover is more important than other climatic variables on the prediction of vegetation dynamics in the Pyrenees (1981–2014)
Black carbon dominated dust in recent radiative forcing on Rocky Mountain snowpacks
Seasonal variability in the global relevance of mountains to satisfy lowland water demand
Drought impact prediction across time and space
Different sensitivities of snowpacks to warming in Mediterranean climate mountain areas
Streamflow sensitivity regimes of alpine catchments
Snow drought propagation and its impacts on streamflow drought in the Alps
Coupled dynamics of socioeconomic and environmental systems in Tibet
Over the hills and further away from coast
Evidence for accelerated weathering and sulfate export in high alpine environments
Toward a definition of Essential Mountain Climate Variables
Historical legacies and contemporary mismanagement aggravated the 2015-2020 drought impacts in Qwaqwa, South Africa
Role of tourism on disaster recovery
Lived experiences of ‘peak water’ in the high mountains of Nepal and Peru
Land suitability projections for traditional sub-alpine cropping in the Australian Alps and Chilean Dry Andes. A combined biophysical and irrigation potential perspective
Optimizing fragmented croplands to reconcile agricultural productivity and environmental sustainability in China's Hengduan Mountains
Resource exhaustion and territorial fragility
Managing abandoned farmland to control the impact of re-vegetation on the environment. The state of the art in Europe
Participatory assessment of adaptation strategies to flood risk in the Upper Brahmaputra and Danube river basins
Agricultural adaptation mainstreaming and its study through a systemic adaptation assessment framework
How do people in China perceive water? From health threat perception to environmental policy change
Increasing dependence of lowland populations on mountain water resources
The human factor in seasonal streamflows across natural and managed watersheds of North America
The Mountain Research Initiative Reaches Outward and Climbs Upward
Socio-hydrology
Traditional Design Principles of a Groundwater Irrigation System in the Foothills of the Western Ghats of Southwest India
The Global Warming Potential of Building Materials
Perspectives on Climate Change, Mountain Hydrology, and Water Resources in the Oregon Cascades, USA
Mountains of Our Future Earth
An Estimated Contribution of Glacier Runoff to Mongolia's Upper Khovd River Basin in the Altai Mountains
Mountain Observatories
Regional Assessment of Recharge Elevation of Tap Water Sources Using the Isoscape Approach
Why Mountains Matter for Sustainable Development
Mountain research for sustainability
Evaluation of recent land-use and land-cover change in a mountain region
Predicting socioeconomic drivers of deforestation in Murree forest region, Pakistan using statistical inference and machine learning approach
Seeing beyond the frames we inherit
Inclusion of ecosystem services in the management of municipal natural open space systems
The bedrock topography of Gries- and Findelengletscher
Changing climate and glacio‐hydrology in Indian Himalayan Region
Balancing Water Resources Development and Environmental Sustainability in Africa
Structured decision-making shows broad support from diverse stakeholders for habitat conservation and restoration in Kenya’s Central Highlands
An integrated framework for assessing the multiscale environmental risks of domestic waste management systems in mountainous regions
The Water Table
The Analogues Method
La méthode des analogues
Impact of climate change on mountain environment dynamics
Impact du changement climatique sur les dynamiques des milieux montagnards
Climate Change and Tropical Andean Glacier Recession
The hydropolitical challenges of domestic water conservation. Palestine and Tunisia case studies
The significance of mountain glaciers as sentinels of climate and environmental change
Afroalpine Wetlands of the Bale Mountains, Ethiopia
Bringing the Hydrosocial Cycle into Climate Change Adaptation Planning
High Asia
Mountain farmers and ecosystems
Mountains of the world
A high-resolution data set of surface climate over global land areas
Geomorphic/Tectonic Control of Sediment Discharge to the Ocean
Impact of Humans on the Flux of Terrestrial Sediment to the Global Coastal Ocean
Potential impacts of a warming climate on water availability in snow-dominated regions
Global Hydrological Cycles and World Water Resources
International waters
Mountain geography
Assessing the Hydrological Significance of the World's Mountains
A New Typology for Mountains and Other Relief Classes
The “Invisible” Mountains
Calculating a Water Poverty Index
Mountains of the World
| Unique citing works | 65 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 4,06 |
| Citation span | 2010 - 2026 (17) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 63 |