Volume 31, Issue 12 p. 1739-1748
Research Article

Century-scale variability in global annual runoff examined using a water balance model

Gregory J. McCabe

Corresponding Author

Gregory J. McCabe

US Geological Survey, Denver Federal Center, MS 412, Denver, CO 80225, USA

US Geological Survey, Denver Federal Center, MS 412, Denver, CO 80225, USA.Search for more papers by this author
David M. Wolock

David M. Wolock

US Geological Survey, 4821 Quail Crest Place, Lawrence, KS 66049, USA

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First published: 28 September 2011
Citations: 39

Abstract

A monthly water balance model (WB model) is used with CRUTS2.1 monthly temperature and precipitation data to generate time series of monthly runoff for all land areas of the globe for the period 1905 through 2002. Even though annual precipitation accounts for most of the temporal and spatial variability in annual runoff, increases in temperature have had an increasingly negative effect on annual runoff after 1980. Although the effects of increasing temperature on runoff became more apparent after 1980, the relative magnitude of these effects are small compared to the effects of precipitation on global runoff. Copyright © 2010 Royal Meteorological Society