GNSS Geodesy Quantifies Water‐Storage Gains and Drought Improvements in California Spurred by Atmospheric Rivers
Abstract Atmospheric rivers (ARs) deliver significant and essential precipitation to the western United States (US) with consequential interannual variability. The intensity and frequency of ARs strongly influence reservoir levels, mountain snowpack, and groundwater recharge, which are key drivers o...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2024-07-01
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| Series: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL107721 |
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| author | Hilary R. Martens Nicholas Lau Matthew J. Swarr Donald F. Argus Qian Cao Zachary M. Young Adrian A. Borsa Ming Pan Anna M. Wilson Ellen Knappe F. Martin Ralph W. Payton Gardner |
| author_facet | Hilary R. Martens Nicholas Lau Matthew J. Swarr Donald F. Argus Qian Cao Zachary M. Young Adrian A. Borsa Ming Pan Anna M. Wilson Ellen Knappe F. Martin Ralph W. Payton Gardner |
| author_sort | Hilary R. Martens |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Atmospheric rivers (ARs) deliver significant and essential precipitation to the western United States (US) with consequential interannual variability. The intensity and frequency of ARs strongly influence reservoir levels, mountain snowpack, and groundwater recharge, which are key drivers of water‐resource availability and natural hazards. Between October 2022 and April 2023, western states experienced exceptionally heavy precipitation from several families of powerful ARs. Using observations of surface‐loading deformation from Global Navigation Satellite Systems, we find that terrestrial water‐storage gains exceeded 100% of normal within vital California watersheds. Independent water‐storage solutions derived from different data‐analysis and inversion methods provide an important measure of precision. The sustained storage increases, which we show are closely associated with ARs at daily‐to‐weekly timescales, alleviated both meteorological and hydrological drought conditions in the region, with a lag in hydrological‐drought improvements. Quantifying water‐storage recovery associated with extreme precipitation after drought advances understanding of an increasingly variable hydrologic cycle. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9ce95072fa7440ebb1101502ec4c84b6 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 0094-8276 1944-8007 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-07-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geophysical Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-9ce95072fa7440ebb1101502ec4c84b62025-08-20T02:46:05ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072024-07-015113n/an/a10.1029/2023GL107721GNSS Geodesy Quantifies Water‐Storage Gains and Drought Improvements in California Spurred by Atmospheric RiversHilary R. Martens0Nicholas Lau1Matthew J. Swarr2Donald F. Argus3Qian Cao4Zachary M. Young5Adrian A. Borsa6Ming Pan7Anna M. Wilson8Ellen Knappe9F. Martin Ralph10W. Payton Gardner11Department of Geosciences The University of Montana Missoula MT USAScripps Institution of Oceanography University of California San Diego La Jolla CA USADepartment of Geosciences The University of Montana Missoula MT USAJet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Pasadena CA USACenter for Western Weather and Water Extremes Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego La Jolla CA USADepartment of Geosciences The University of Montana Missoula MT USAScripps Institution of Oceanography University of California San Diego La Jolla CA USACenter for Western Weather and Water Extremes Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego La Jolla CA USACenter for Western Weather and Water Extremes Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego La Jolla CA USACenter for Western Weather and Water Extremes Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego La Jolla CA USACenter for Western Weather and Water Extremes Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego La Jolla CA USADepartment of Geosciences The University of Montana Missoula MT USAAbstract Atmospheric rivers (ARs) deliver significant and essential precipitation to the western United States (US) with consequential interannual variability. The intensity and frequency of ARs strongly influence reservoir levels, mountain snowpack, and groundwater recharge, which are key drivers of water‐resource availability and natural hazards. Between October 2022 and April 2023, western states experienced exceptionally heavy precipitation from several families of powerful ARs. Using observations of surface‐loading deformation from Global Navigation Satellite Systems, we find that terrestrial water‐storage gains exceeded 100% of normal within vital California watersheds. Independent water‐storage solutions derived from different data‐analysis and inversion methods provide an important measure of precision. The sustained storage increases, which we show are closely associated with ARs at daily‐to‐weekly timescales, alleviated both meteorological and hydrological drought conditions in the region, with a lag in hydrological‐drought improvements. Quantifying water‐storage recovery associated with extreme precipitation after drought advances understanding of an increasingly variable hydrologic cycle.https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL107721hydrogeodesyGNSSsurface loadingatmospheric riversGPShydrological drought |
| spellingShingle | Hilary R. Martens Nicholas Lau Matthew J. Swarr Donald F. Argus Qian Cao Zachary M. Young Adrian A. Borsa Ming Pan Anna M. Wilson Ellen Knappe F. Martin Ralph W. Payton Gardner GNSS Geodesy Quantifies Water‐Storage Gains and Drought Improvements in California Spurred by Atmospheric Rivers Geophysical Research Letters hydrogeodesy GNSS surface loading atmospheric rivers GPS hydrological drought |
| title | GNSS Geodesy Quantifies Water‐Storage Gains and Drought Improvements in California Spurred by Atmospheric Rivers |
| title_full | GNSS Geodesy Quantifies Water‐Storage Gains and Drought Improvements in California Spurred by Atmospheric Rivers |
| title_fullStr | GNSS Geodesy Quantifies Water‐Storage Gains and Drought Improvements in California Spurred by Atmospheric Rivers |
| title_full_unstemmed | GNSS Geodesy Quantifies Water‐Storage Gains and Drought Improvements in California Spurred by Atmospheric Rivers |
| title_short | GNSS Geodesy Quantifies Water‐Storage Gains and Drought Improvements in California Spurred by Atmospheric Rivers |
| title_sort | gnss geodesy quantifies water storage gains and drought improvements in california spurred by atmospheric rivers |
| topic | hydrogeodesy GNSS surface loading atmospheric rivers GPS hydrological drought |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL107721 |
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