Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Hydrology
Modelling lateral meltwater flow and superimposed ice formation atop Greenland's near-surface ice slabs
Published: 2023-10-02
Subjects: Glaciology, Hydrology
At high elevations on the Greenland ice sheet meltwater percolates and refreezes in place, and hence does not contribute to mass loss. However, meltwater generation and associated surface runoff is occurring from increasingly higher altitudes, causing changes in firn stratigraphy that have led to the presence of near-surface ice slabs. These ice slabs force meltwater to flow laterally instead of [...]
No respite from permafrost-thaw impacts in absence of a global tipping point
Published: 2023-09-25
Subjects: Biogeochemistry, Climate, Earth Sciences, Geomorphology, Hydrology, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Arctic permafrost, the largest non-seasonal component of Earth’s cryosphere, contains a significant climate-sensitive carbon pool. Its potential for loss due to climatic changes leading to a global tipping point, where thawing accelerates with disproportionate impacts, remains debated. Here, we provide an integrative perspective on this question, building on a cross-disciplinary meta-analysis of [...]
Groundwaterscapes: A global classification and mapping of groundwater’s large-scale socioeconomic, ecological, and Earth system functions
Published: 2023-09-20
Subjects: Hydrology, Other Civil and Environmental Engineering, Physical and Environmental Geography, Spatial Science, Sustainability, Water Resource Management
Groundwater is a dynamic component of the global water cycle with important social, economic, ecological, and Earth system functions. We present a new global classification and mapping of groundwater systems, which we call groundwaterscapes, that represent predominant configurations of large-scale groundwater system functions. We identify 18 groundwaterscapes, which offer a new lens to [...]
Continental scale hydrostratigraphy: comparing geologically informed data products to analytical solutions
Published: 2023-09-12
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Geology, Hydrology
This study synthesizes two different methods for estimating hydraulic conductivity (K) at large scales. We derive analytical approaches that estimate K and apply them to the contiguous US. We then compare these analytical approaches to three-dimensional, national gridded K data products and three transmissivity (T) data products developed from publicly available sources. We evaluate these data [...]
High Accuracy Estimation and Validation of InSAR-derived Surface Displacements at Temperate Raised Peatlands
Published: 2023-09-04
Subjects: Geophysics and Seismology, Hydrology, Soil Science
Peatland surface motion derived from satellite-based Interferometry of Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) is potentially a proxy for groundwater level variations and greenhouse gas emissions from peat soils. Ground validation of these motions at equivalent temporal resolution and accuracy has proven problematic because of limitations of traditional surveying methods. Since 2019, peat surface motion [...]
Machine Learning Photogrammetric Analysis of Images Provides a Scalable Approach to Study Riverbed Grain Size Distributions
Published: 2023-09-01
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geomorphology, Hydrology
The distribution of sediment grain size in streams and rivers is often quantified by the median grain size (d50), a key metric for understanding and predicting hydrologic and biogeochemical function of streams and rivers. Manual methods to measure d50 are time-consuming and ignore larger grains, while model-based methods to estimate d50 often over-generalize basin characteristics, and therefore [...]
A Contemporary Systematic Review of Cyberinfrastructure Systems and Applications for Flood and Drought Data Analytics and Communication
Published: 2023-08-19
Subjects: Environmental Monitoring, Hydrology
Hydrometeorological disasters, including floods and droughts, have intensified in both frequency and severity in recent years. This trend underscores the critical role of timely monitoring, accurate forecasting, and effective warning systems in facilitating proactive responses. Today's information systems offer a vast and intricate mesh of data, encompassing satellite imagery, meteorological [...]
imc-precip-iso: Open monthly stable isotope data of precipitation over the Indonesian Maritime Continent
Published: 2023-08-12
Subjects: Climate, Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Fresh Water Studies, Hydrology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Water Resource Management
Stable isotopes, $\delta^2$H, $\delta^{18}$O, and d-excess, are valuable tools as natural tracers of diffusion processes and phase changes in the global hydroclimatological cycle. The Indonesian Maritime Continent (IMC) is an archipelago area surrounded by very warm waters which induce convective activities as the primary heat source driving global atmospheric circulation. Given the central role [...]
GroMoPo: A Groundwater Model Portal for Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR) modeling
Published: 2023-07-26
Subjects: Civil Engineering, Hydrology, Water Resource Management
N/A (no abstract)
Physically based Probabilistic Rainfall Intensity-Duration (ID) Thresholds for Runoff-Generated Debris Flows
Published: 2023-07-21
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Geomorphology, Hydrology
Runoff-generated debris flows are common hazards in mountainous regions, causing millions of dollars lost and hundreds of casualties yearly. Early warning systems based on rainfall thresholds have been implemented to reduce the impact of these hazards. These thresholds tend to be based on short monitoring periods, which cannot fully capture the varying responses of catchments to rainfall. As a [...]
Mapping Permafrost Variability and Degradation Using Seismic Surface Waves, Electrical Resistivity, and Temperature Sensing: A Case Study in Arctic Alaska
Published: 2023-07-19
Subjects: Civil Engineering, Geophysics and Seismology, Geotechnical Engineering, Hydrology
Subsurface processes significantly influence surface dynamics in permafrost regions, necessitating utilizing diverse geophysical methods to reliably constrain permafrost characteristics. This research uses multiple geophysical techniques to explore the spatial variability of permafrost in undisturbed tundra and its degradation in disturbed tundra in Utqiaġvik, Alaska. Here, we integrate multiple [...]
An Artificial Neural Network to Estimate the Foliar and Ground Cover Input Variables of the Rangeland Hydrology and Erosion Model
Published: 2023-07-12
Subjects: Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Environmental Monitoring, Hydrology, Natural Resources and Conservation, Natural Resources Management and Policy, Soil Science
Models like the Rangeland Hydrology and Erosion Model (RHEM) are useful for estimating soil erosion, however, they rely on input parameters that are sometimes difficult or expensive to measure. Specifically, RHEM requires information about foliar and ground cover fractions that generally must be measured in situ, which makes it difficult to use models like RHEM to produce erosion or soil risk [...]
Mitigation effectiveness on groundwater-dependent ecosystems revealed by counterfactual AI
Published: 2023-07-09
Subjects: Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Environmental Engineering, Hydrology, Sustainability, Water Resource Management
Overexploitation of groundwater threatens groundwater-bound aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity and ecosystem stability, underscoring the need to devise appropriate mitigation strategies. Yet, substantial scientific evidence that mitigation measures effectively protect groundwater ecosystems is presently nonexistent. We provide unique and compelling evidence, using counterfactual artificial [...]
Heuristic Data-inspired Scheme to Characterize Meteorological and Groundwater Droughts in Semi-arid Karstic Region under Warming Climate
Published: 2023-07-08
Subjects: Environmental Engineering, Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment, Hydrology
Study region The Edwards Aquifer Region is located in south-central Texas, United States. Study focus The paper focuses on the development and implementation of a data-inspired heuristic drought identification scheme to (i) quantify the intensity, duration, and frequency of precipitation deficit- and high temperature-driven meteorological droughts (PMet- and TMet-droughts), and (ii) link [...]
Assessing Precipitation Trends that may inform Aging Dam Overtopping across the USA
Published: 2023-07-07
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Climate, Earth Sciences, Hydrology, Risk Analysis
In many cases, persistent or recurrent synoptic circulation patterns lead to multiple wet days that precede an extreme rainfall event. The joint occurrence of high antecedent rainfall and extreme rainfall defines a compound event that may pose a high risk for overtopping of aging dams. Our novel analysis assesses whether there are significant trends across the conterminous United States (CONUS) [...]