Exploring the role of hydrological pathways in modulating North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) teleconnection periodicities from UK rainfall to streamflow
An understanding of multi-annual behaviour in streamflow allows for better estimation of the risks associated with hydrological extremes. This is can enable improved preparedness for streamflow-dependant services such as freshwater ecology, drinking water supply and agriculture. Recently, efforts ha...
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ftcopernicus:oai:publications.copernicus.org:hessd86492 2023-05-15T17:31:38+02:00 Exploring the role of hydrological pathways in modulating North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) teleconnection periodicities from UK rainfall to streamflow Rust, William Cuthbert, Mark Bloomfield, John Corstanje, Ron Howden, Nicholas Holman, Ian 2020-07-14 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2020-312 https://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci-discuss.net/hess-2020-312/ eng eng doi:10.5194/hess-2020-312 https://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci-discuss.net/hess-2020-312/ eISSN: 1607-7938 Text 2020 ftcopernicus https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2020-312 2020-07-20T16:22:00Z An understanding of multi-annual behaviour in streamflow allows for better estimation of the risks associated with hydrological extremes. This is can enable improved preparedness for streamflow-dependant services such as freshwater ecology, drinking water supply and agriculture. Recently, efforts have focused on detecting relationships between long-term hydrological behaviour and oscillatory climate systems (such as the NAO). For instance, the approximate 7-year periodicity of the NAO has been detected in groundwater level records in the North Atlantic region, providing a degree of forecasting for future water resource extremes due to their repeating, periodic nature. However, the extent to which these 7-year NAO-like signals are propagated to streamflow, and the catchment processes that modulate this propagation, are currently unknown. Here, we show statistically significant evidence that these 7-year periodicities are present in streamflow (and associated catchment rainfall), by applying multi-resolution analysis to a large dataset of streamflow and associated catchment rainfall across the UK. Our results provide new evidence for spatial patterns of NAO periodicities in UK rainfall with areas of greatest NAO signal found in south west England, South Wales, Northern Ireland and central Scotland, and that NAO-like periodicities account for a greater proportion of streamflow variability in these areas. Furthermore, we show that subsurface pathway contribution, as characterised by the Baseflow Index (BFI), and the response times of subsurface pathways, as characterised by Groundwater response Time (GRT), are influential factors for streamflow sensitivity to these NAO-like cycles. Our results provide critical process understanding for the screening and use of streamflow teleconnections for the improving the practice and policy of long-term streamflow resource management. Text North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation Copernicus Publications: E-Journals |
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English |
description |
An understanding of multi-annual behaviour in streamflow allows for better estimation of the risks associated with hydrological extremes. This is can enable improved preparedness for streamflow-dependant services such as freshwater ecology, drinking water supply and agriculture. Recently, efforts have focused on detecting relationships between long-term hydrological behaviour and oscillatory climate systems (such as the NAO). For instance, the approximate 7-year periodicity of the NAO has been detected in groundwater level records in the North Atlantic region, providing a degree of forecasting for future water resource extremes due to their repeating, periodic nature. However, the extent to which these 7-year NAO-like signals are propagated to streamflow, and the catchment processes that modulate this propagation, are currently unknown. Here, we show statistically significant evidence that these 7-year periodicities are present in streamflow (and associated catchment rainfall), by applying multi-resolution analysis to a large dataset of streamflow and associated catchment rainfall across the UK. Our results provide new evidence for spatial patterns of NAO periodicities in UK rainfall with areas of greatest NAO signal found in south west England, South Wales, Northern Ireland and central Scotland, and that NAO-like periodicities account for a greater proportion of streamflow variability in these areas. Furthermore, we show that subsurface pathway contribution, as characterised by the Baseflow Index (BFI), and the response times of subsurface pathways, as characterised by Groundwater response Time (GRT), are influential factors for streamflow sensitivity to these NAO-like cycles. Our results provide critical process understanding for the screening and use of streamflow teleconnections for the improving the practice and policy of long-term streamflow resource management. |
format |
Text |
author |
Rust, William Cuthbert, Mark Bloomfield, John Corstanje, Ron Howden, Nicholas Holman, Ian |
spellingShingle |
Rust, William Cuthbert, Mark Bloomfield, John Corstanje, Ron Howden, Nicholas Holman, Ian Exploring the role of hydrological pathways in modulating North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) teleconnection periodicities from UK rainfall to streamflow |
author_facet |
Rust, William Cuthbert, Mark Bloomfield, John Corstanje, Ron Howden, Nicholas Holman, Ian |
author_sort |
Rust, William |
title |
Exploring the role of hydrological pathways in modulating North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) teleconnection periodicities from UK rainfall to streamflow |
title_short |
Exploring the role of hydrological pathways in modulating North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) teleconnection periodicities from UK rainfall to streamflow |
title_full |
Exploring the role of hydrological pathways in modulating North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) teleconnection periodicities from UK rainfall to streamflow |
title_fullStr |
Exploring the role of hydrological pathways in modulating North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) teleconnection periodicities from UK rainfall to streamflow |
title_full_unstemmed |
Exploring the role of hydrological pathways in modulating North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) teleconnection periodicities from UK rainfall to streamflow |
title_sort |
exploring the role of hydrological pathways in modulating north atlantic oscillation (nao) teleconnection periodicities from uk rainfall to streamflow |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2020-312 https://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci-discuss.net/hess-2020-312/ |
genre |
North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation |
op_source |
eISSN: 1607-7938 |
op_relation |
doi:10.5194/hess-2020-312 https://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci-discuss.net/hess-2020-312/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2020-312 |
_version_ |
1766129313032175616 |