Streamflow variations across the Andes (18°–55°S) during the instrumental era

• Published in: Scientific Reports
• Main Authors: Masiokas, Mariano Hugo, Cara Ramirez, Leandro Javier, Villalba, Ricardo, Pitte, Pedro Miguel, Luckman, B. H., Toum, Jorge Ezequiel, Christie, D. A., Le Quesne, C., Mauget, S.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: STREAMFLOW; VARIATIONS; ANDES; INSTRUMENTAL ERA; https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.5; https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1; Antarctic; Pacific; Argentino; Argentina; Cara; Ramirez; Antarc*
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11336/126625

The rivers originating in the southern Andes (18°–55°S) support numerous ecosystems and a large number of human populations and socio-economic activities in the adjacent lowlands of Chile, Argentina and Bolivia. Here we show that ca. 75% of the total variance in the streamflow records from this extensive region can be explained by only eight spatially coherent patterns of variability. Five (three) of these Andean patterns exhibit extreme dry (wet) conditions in recent years, with strong interannual variations in northern Chile; long-term drying trends between 31° and 41°S; a transitional pattern in the central Patagonian Andes; and increasing trends in northwestern Argentina and southern Bolivia, the Fueguian Andes, and the eastern portion of the South Patagonian Icefield. Multivariate regression analyses show that large-scale indices of ENSO variability can predict 20% to 45% of annual runoff variability between 28° and 46°S. The influence of Antarctic and North Pacific indices becomes more relevant south of 43°S and in northwestern Argentina and southern Bolivia, respectively, but their overall skill as predictors of Andean streamflows is weak. The analyses provide relevant new information to improve understanding of the spatial coherence, the main temporal features, and the ocean-atmospheric forcings of surface runoff across the southern Andes. Fil: Masiokas, Mariano Hugo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales; Argentina Fil: Cara Ramirez, Leandro Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de ...