Embedded Files
The figure(s) below are from 2013 draft US National Climate Assessment.
Rivers Discharge 48-04 - Dai+ 1108.pdf
from Dai's "Rivers Discharge, 1948-2004 - Dai 1108".
Vobs is the river volume, in cubic kilometers per year, at the station indicated.
bobs is the trend per year over the 1945-2005 period. Bold is statistically significant. Negative is decreasing flow trend.
Articles
Articles
How Climate Change Puts the Safety of Drinking Water at Risk 0225.rtf
Drought Is Causing Saltwater to Creep up the Delaware River 1124.rtf - Rising sea level is another factor.
Climate Warning as World’s Rivers Dry Up at Fastest Rate for 30 Years 1024.rtf
Dramatic Shrinking of Major Amazon Rivers 0924.rtf - including most tributaries
The Mississippi River Running Low Again Is Problem for Moving Beans and Grain 0924.rtf
Drought-Hit Danube River Reveals Scuttled German World War II Ships 0924.rtf
In Brazil’s Worst Drought, Wildfires Rage and Amazon River Hits Record Low 0924.rtf
Humans May Be Turning Rivers from Carbon Sinks into Carbon Sources 0624.rtf
Alaskan Rivers Are Turning Orange. Climate Change Could Be to Blame. 0524.rtf
Drought Threatens to Snarl Mississippi River Traffic for 3rd Year 0324.rtf
Parched Rivers, Withered Crops Show Dire Impact of Amazon Drought 1123.rtf
In Brazil’s Amazon, Rivers Fall to Record Low Levels during Drought 1023.rtf
Click for moreRecord-Low Mississippi and Ohio River Levels 1023.rtf
Climate Triage Means Some Cold Waters In Warming Great Lakes Won’t Be Saved 1023.rtf
Water Levels on the Mississippi River Are Plummeting for 2nd Year in a Row 0923.rtf
A Breakthrough Deal to Keep the Colorado River from Going Dry, for Now 0523.rtf
The Oceans Are Missing Their Rivers. Dam! 0523.rtf
Satellites Show Climate Change Thinning Rivers, Erasing Glaciers 1122.rtf
Shrunken Mississippi River Slows US Food Exports When World Needs Them Most 1122.rtf
Battle of the Alps? Water Woes Loom amid Climate Change 1022.rtf
How It Looks as Drought Strangles the Mighty Mississippi 1022.rtf
The World’s Biggest Source of Clean Energy Is Evaporating Fast 1022.rtf
The Mississippi River and Its Tributaries Have Dropped to Record Lows 1022.rtf
Drought, Climate Change Are Drying Up North America’s Bodies of Water 1022.rtf
Mighty Mississippi Is So Low, People Are Walking to Tower Rock Island 1022.rtf
Mississippi Barge Crisis Set to Deepen as Ohio River Now Sees Backups 1022.rtf
Could the Drying Up of Europe’s Great Rivers Be the New Normal? 0922.rtf
Drifting Toward Disaster - the (2nd) Rio Grande 0922.rtf
China’s Record Drought Is Drying Rivers and Feeding Its Coal Habit 0822.rtf
The World’s Rivers, Canals, and Reservoirs Are Turning to Dust 0822.rtf
China's Fragile Economy Is Being Hammered by Driest Riverbeds since 1865 - 0822.rtf
China Drought Causes Yangtze to Dry Up, Sparking Hydropower Shortage 0822.rtf
Source of River Thames Dries Out ‘for 1st Time’ during Drought 0822.rtf
Europe’s Rhine River Is on the Brink of Effectively Closing 0822.rtf
The Vanishing Rio Grande – Warming Takes Its Toll 0622.rtf
The Paraná River, South America’s Economic Lifeline, Is Shriveling 0921.rtf
60% of World’s Rivers Stop Flowing for at Least One Day a Year 0621.rtf
Climate Change Is Altering Rivers around the World 0321.rtf
Declining Snow Cover in U.S. Northeast Will Have Major Impacts on Rivers 1120.rtf
Australia’s Inland Rivers, Pulse of the Outback, to Be Unrecognizable by 2070 - 0920.rtf
Climate Change Has Stolen over a Billion Tons of Water from the Colorado River 0220.rtf
The World's Supply of Fresh Water Is in Trouble, as Mountain Ice Vanishes 1219.rtf
Thirst Turns to Anger as Australia's Mighty River Runs Dry 1019.rtf
River Flows All Across the Globe Are Dropping 1019.rtf
1st-Ever Mandatory Water Cutbacks to Start Next Year along the Colorado River 0819.rtf
Scientists Warn of Lower Water Supply due to Melting Glaciers after 2060 - 1118.rtf
'Catastrophic' Floods Rising on Amazon River 0918.rtf
'A Hot Drought' - Warming Is Driving Much of the Colorado River's Decline 0918.rtf
Rising CO2 Is Affecting Freshwater 3 Times Faster than Saltwater 0118.rtf
Ganges under Threat from Climate Change 1017.rtf
China Diverts 10 Billion Cubic Meters of Water to Arid North, in Massive Project 1017.rtf
Tagus River, Spain’s Longest, at Risk of Drying Up Completely 0817.rtf
How Climate Change Might Affect the Nile 0817.rtf
Billion-Dollar Dams Are Making Water Shortages, Not Solving Them 0617.rtf
Western Water Crunch Has Climate Change Fingerprints 0417.rtf
Source of Mekong, Yellow and Yangtze Rivers Drying Up 0317.rtf
Congo Risks 50% Power Drop, due to Low Rainfall, Record Low Congo River 0317.rtf
Parched Lanzhou, China Plans to Pipe Water 1,000 Km from Russia’s Lake Baikal 0317.rtf
Global Warming Is Shrinking Colorado River, Vital to 40 Million People 0217.rtf
Wildlife Dying En Masse as South American River Runs Dry 0716.rtf
Montana’s Rivers Are Warmer than They Should Be - Bad News for Trout 0716.rtf
India to ‘Divert Rivers' to Tackle Drought 0516.rtf
Lao Hydro Dam to Seriously Affect Vietnam’s Mekong Delta 1214.rtf
Clear Skies Could Empty Rivers 1014.rtf
Climate Change Reflected in Altered Missouri River Flow, USGS Says 0814.rtf
Rio Grande May Hit 40-Year Low 0414.rtf
Could Weakening Winds Threaten Pacific Northwest's Mountain Water Supply? 1213.rtf
River Thames Breaks January Records for Water Flows 0214.rtf
Ecologists Link Far East Floods to Global Warming 0813.rtf
Russia Evacuates 19,000 from Flooded Far East 0813.rtf
With Tar Sands Development, Growing Concern on Water Use 0813.rtf
Warming Bad for Life in Freshwater Lakes and Rivers 0613.rtf
Canada's 'Northern Amazon' on the Brink 0613.rtf
Climate Change Impact on Stream Flow Varies by Location 0213.rtf
Mississippi River Drops to 3 Feet 1212.rtf
Engineers Clear Rocks from Dried Mississippi 1212.rtf
Mississippi River Faces Shipping Freeze as Water Levels Drop 1212.rtf
Water Piped to Denver Could Ease Stress on River 1212.rtf
World Rivers Under Siege 1112.rtf
Climate Change to Reduce US Southwest Water Supply 0411.rtf
Earth's Water Cycle is Changing Rapidly 1010.rtf
Floods and Mudslides on 3 Continents 0810.rtf
Rivers Discharge 48-04 - Dai+ 1108.pdf
Climate Change Impact on Stream Flow Varies by Location 0213.rtf
Dai's 1108 graphs above show that flows in the Ganges/Brahmaputra and Mekong Rivers approach zero (8% of peak) during the dry season. The Indus, Yellow, Salween, and Irawaddy Rivers face similar problems. All depend heavily on monsoon rains, but during the dry season on meltwater from the Himalayas. The same can be said, but more weakly, of the Changjiang (Yangtze River). This makes them vulnerable to running out of water during years when flow is low, or when Himalayn glaciers vanish.
Flows also are very low (4-8% of peak) in the Yenisey and Lena rivers, during the frozen season. Flows change more for the Orinoco River between the rainy and dry seasons than they do for the Amazon. Flows in the Congo and Parana Rivers are not very sensitive to season, and Amazon flows only somewhat more sensitive.
Typical monthly river basin precipitation and flows for the world's 10 largest rivers, by volume.
Left axis is for flows, right axis for precipitation.
Year-to-year variability ranges from 6:1 for the Uruguay River and 3:1 for the Mississippi, Niger and Xi Rivers, to 1.4:1 for the Amazon River. Years with low water flows in some rivers leave them at risk of running dry.
Dai's graphs below show annual discharge into the world's ocean basins. Discharge into the Arctic Ocean rose, while into the Pacific and Indian Oceans it fell.
River Runoff & Evaporate 1202.pdf
Changing Northeast Climate - UCS 1006, Northeast US
Section Map: Water
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