Explore the vast range of titles available.

This study undertakes a multi-model comparison with the aim to describe and quantify systematic changes of the global energy and water budgets when the horizontal resolution of atmospheric models is increased and to identify common factors of these changes among models. To do so, we analyse an ensemble of twelve atmosphere-only and six coupled GCMs, with different model formulations and with resolutions spanning those of state-of-the-art coupled GCMs, i.e. from resolutions coarser than 100 km to resolutions finer than 25 km. The main changes in the global energy budget with resolution are a systematic increase in outgoing longwave radiation and decrease in outgoing shortwave radiation due to changes in cloud properties, and a systematic increase in surface latent heat flux; when resolution is increased from 100 to 25 km, the magnitude of the change of those fluxes can be as large as 5 W m−2. Moreover, all but one atmosphere-only model simulate a decrease of the poleward energy transport at higher resolution, mainly explained by a reduction of the equator-to-pole tropospheric temperature gradient. Regarding hydrological processes, our results are the following: (1) there is an increase of global precipitation with increasing resolution in all models (up to 40 × 103 km3 year−1) but the partitioning between land and ocean varies among models; (2) the fraction of total precipitation that falls on land is on average 10% larger at higher resolution in grid point models, but it is smaller at higher resolution in spectral models; (3) grid points models simulate an increase of the fraction of land precipitation due to moisture convergence twice as large as in spectral models; (4) grid point models, which have a better resolved orography, show an increase of orographic precipitation of up to 13 × 103 km3 year−1 which explains most of the change in land precipitation; (5) at the regional scale, precipitation pattern and amplitude are improved with increased resolution due to a better simulated seasonal mean circulation. We discuss our results against several observational estimates of the Earth's energy budget and hydrological cycle and show that they support recent high estimates of global precipitation.

A set of atmosphere-only timeslice experiments are described, designed to examine the processes that cause regional climate change and inter-model uncertainty in coupled climate model responses to C O 2 forcing. The timeslice experiments are able to reproduce the pattern of regional climate change in the coupled models, and are applied here to two cases where inter-model uncertainty in future projections is large: the tropical hydrological cycle, and European winter circulation. In tropical forest regions, the plant physiological effect is the largest cause of hydrological cycle change in the two models that represent this process. This suggests that the CMIP5 ensemble mean may be underestimating the magnitude of water cycle change in these regions, due to the inclusion of models without the plant effect. SST pattern change is the dominant cause of precipitation and circulation change over the tropical oceans, and also appears to contribute to inter-model uncertainty in precipitation change over tropical land regions. Over Europe and the North Atlantic, uniform SST increases drive a poleward shift of the storm-track. However this does not consistently translate into an overall polewards storm-track shift, due to large circulation responses to SST pattern change, which varies across the models. Coupled model SST biases influence regional rainfall projections in regions such as the Maritime Continent, and so projections in these regions should be treated with caution.

Changes in the integral characteristics of the global water exchange, at climatic time scales, are considered as random functions (processes). “Trajectories” obtained as the results of numerical calculations on various, from 34 to 43, climate models (participating at the CMIP-6 “historical” experiment covering the period from 1850 through 2014) are taken as realizations of these processes. Temporal variations of following annually averaged parameters are studied: (1) average evaporation from the ocean surface, (2) precipitation over the ocean, (3) “effective evaporation” from the ocean (difference “evaporation minus precipitation”, on average equal to the water transport from the ocean to land), (4) precipitation over land, (5) evaporation (evapotranspiration) from the land surface, (6) “effective precipitation” over land (or “climatic runoff”: precipitation minus evaporation), and (7) river runoff. It is shown that precipitation over the ocean and evaporation from land largely suppress the monotonous trends in the mean values of evaporation from the ocean and precipitation over land, respectively, at secular time scales. At the same time, this damping does not extend to the trends of the last few decades, which may be due to a combination of a sharp increase in global temperature with explosive volcanic eruptions that preceded this period. An analysis of the time divergence in the model trajectories of each of the components of the global water exchange, as well as the very existence of such divergences, indicates an increase in the uncertainty of processes that is not associated with anthropogenic impact on the climate system.

Population growth, coupled with climate and social shifts, has resulted in a global phenomenon of water scarcity. Yet, the effect of social factors on water resources has been poorly studied. Hence, this study aimed to identify the key parameters in social systems that significantly impact hydrological system change and presents the best scenario for water management. The system dynamic (SD) approach was employed in this research to construct a combined framework of policies based on scenarios, which aimed to ensure social sustainability and coupled human-water systems. For this purpose, the SD model was simulated on the Gavshan Basin in the west of Iran for the long-term period 2020-2050. The results indicate that the water resources in the Gavshan Basin cannot meet the growth of the population. Meanwhile, about 20% of the water stored in the Gavshan Dam is not effectively used and flows out of the irrigation network as wastewater. The result of the sensitivity analysis showed that in scenarios 3 and 4, the policy of wastewater reuse in the agricultural sector significantly increases available water resources, has a major impact on water supply, and increases crop yields. These findings can be applied by policy-makers. Instead of making efforts only to change hydrological systems, policies need to first focus on socio-hydrology systems sustainability. It is suggested that national organizations' support should be implemented to prevent the adverse consequences of wastewater reuse in agriculture and reduce treated wastewater risks.

As the demand for water management information systems continues to increase, addressing issues such as poor generalizability, low reusability, and difficulties in updating and maintaining water resource planning cloud model service platforms becomes crucial. To achieve goals like business-oriented functionality, high availability, and reliability, this study proposes constructing a cloud model service platform for basin water resource planning based on cloud computing technology and business workflows. This study couples water cycle models with multi-objective optimization models for water resource allocation, using digital topological water networks to achieve dynamic regional water resource allocation. The cloud service platform adopts a business-oriented modeling method based on B/S development architecture. This paper takes the Weihe River Basin as an example to simulate and analyze the evolution of the water cycle pattern and optimize the annual water resources allocation plan. Results show that: (1) the water cycle model of the cloud model service platform can better describe the runoff change process in the verification period; (2) through the cloud platform service model, the water shortage rate of the Weihe River Basin in 2025 is 7.95%. The research findings provide technical references for intelligent water management and refined allocation of water resources in the Weihe River Basin.

In this mini-review, we present evidence from the vast literature that one essential part of the coupled atmosphere–ocean system that makes life on Earth possible, the water cycle, is exhibiting changes along with many attributes of the global climate. Our starting point is the 6th Assessment Report of the IPCC, which appeared in 2021, where the almost monograph-size Chapter 8, with over 1800 references, is devoted entirely to the water cycle. In addition to listing the main observations on the Earth globally, we focus on Europe, particularly on the Carpathian (Pannonian) Basin. We collect plausible explanations of the possible causes behind an observably accelerating and intensifying water cycle. Some authors still suggest that changes in the natural boundary conditions, such as solar irradiance or Earth’s orbital parameters, explain the observations. In contrast, most authors attribute such changes to the increasing greenhouse gas concentrations since the industrial revolution. The hypothesis being tested, and which has already yielded convincing affirmative answers, is that the hydrological cycle intensifies due to anthropogenic impacts. The Carpathian Basin, a part of the Danube watershed, including the sub-basin of the Tisza River, is no exception to these changes. The region is experiencing multiple drivers contributing to alterations in the water cycle, including increasing temperatures, shifting precipitation regimes, and various human impacts.

Vegetation is affected by hydrological cycle components that have altered under the influence of climate change. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the impact of hydrological cycle components on regional vegetation growth, especially in alpine regions. In this study, we employed multiple satellite observations to comprehensively investigate the spatial heterogeneity of hydrological cycle components in the Yarlung Zangbo River (YZR) basin for the period 1982–2014 and to determine the underlying mechanisms driving regional vegetation growth. Results showed that the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) values during May–October were high, and the NDVI values increased from the upper reaches of the YZR to its lower reaches, reflecting the enhancement of vegetation growth. Annual precipitation, precipitation-actual evapotranspiration (AET), and snow water equivalent (SWE) all affect terrestrial water storage in the YZR basin through changes in soil moisture (SM), i.e., SM is the intermediate variable. Seasonal variability of vegetation is controlled mainly by precipitation, temperature, AET, SM anomaly, and SWE. Groundwater storage anomalies (GWA) and terrestrial water storage anomalies (TWSA) were not reliable indicators of vegetation growth in the YZR basin and the midstream and downstream regions. The effects of GWA and TWSA on vegetation occurred in the upstream region.

We investigate how mesoscale circulations associated with convective aggregation can modulate the sensitivity of the hydrologic cycle to warming. We quantify changes in the full distribution of rain across radiative‐convective equilibrium states in a cloud‐resolving model. For a given Sea Surface Temperature (SST), the shift in mean rainfall between disorganized and organized states is associated with a shift in atmospheric radiative cooling, and is roughly analogous to the effect of a 4K SST increase. With rising temperatures, the increase in mean rain rate is insensitive to the presence of organization, while extremes can intensify faster in the aggregated state, leading to a faster amplification in the sporadic nature of rain. When convection aggregates, heavy rain is enhanced by 20%–30% and nonlinear behaviors are observed as a function of SST and strength of aggregation feedbacks. First, radiative‐ and surface‐flux aggregation feedbacks have multiplicative effects on extremes, illustrating a non‐trivial sensitivity to the degree of organization. Second, alternating Clausius‐Clapeyron and super‐Clausius‐Clapeyron regimes in extreme rainfall are found as a function of SST, corresponding to varying thermodynamic and dynamic contributions, and a large sensitivity to precipitation efficiency variations in some SST ranges. The potential for mesoscale circulations in amplifying the hydrologic cycle is established. However, these nonlinear distortions question the quantitative relevance of idealized self‐aggregation. This calls for a deeper investigation of relationships which capture the coupling between global energetics, aggregation feedbacks and local convection, and for systematic tests of their sensitivity to domain configurations, surface boundary conditions, microphysics, and turbulence schemes. Plain Language Summary Convective aggregation, or organization, is known to affect the spatial distribution of clouds, the wind circulation and the intensity of rain as a result of feedbacks that couple convective processes, radiative transfer in the atmosphere and energy fluxes from the Earth's surface. We investigate how the hydrologic cycle responds to warming in various conditions of forcing and aggregation feedbacks in a hierarchy of idealized simulations, and provide a fine characterization of the statistical distribution of rain in order to connect its modes of change to the physical drivers involved in aggregation. The critical role of precipitation efficiency, namely the fraction of rainwater that reaches the surface, is advanced. The complex behavior of the rain distribution in these simulations feeds a discussion on the use of idealized experiments to investigate convective organization and on their relevance to understand future changes in the hydrologic cycle. Key Points In aggregated radiative‐convective equilibrium (RCE), the mean rainfall rate is larger, but its relative increase with warming is similar to that of disorganized RCE Rainrates are sensitive to the strength of aggregation and are enhanced when aggregation feedbacks are combined In the presence of aggregation, extreme rain can increase faster than Clausius‐Clapeyron because of increasing precipitation efficiency

The Third Pole (TP) is experiencing rapid warming and is currently in its warmest period in the past 2,000 years. This paper reviews the latest development in multidisciplinary TP research associated with this warming. The rapid warming facilitates intense and broad glacier melt over most of the TP, although some glaciers in the northwest are advancing. By heating the atmosphere and reducing snow/ice albedo, aerosols also contribute to the glaciers melting. Glacier melt is accompanied by lake expansion and intensification of the water cycle over the TP. Precipitation has increased over the eastern and northwestern TP. Meanwhile, the TP is greening and most regions are experiencing advancing phenological trends, although over the southwest there is a spring phenological delay mainly in response to the recent decline in spring precipitation. Atmospheric and terrestrial thermal and dynamical processes over the TP affect the Asian monsoon at different scales. Recent evidence indicates substantial roles that mesoscale convective systems play in the TP’s precipitation as well as an association between soil moisture anomalies in the TP and the Indian monsoon. Moreover, an increase in geohazard events has been associated with recent environmental changes, some of which have had catastrophic consequences caused by glacial lake outbursts and landslides. Active debris flows are growing in both frequency of occurrences and spatial scale. Meanwhile, new types of disasters, such as the twin ice avalanches in Ali in 2016, are now appearing in the region. Adaptation and mitigation measures should be taken to help societies’ preparation for future environmental challenges. Some key issues for future TP studies are also discussed.