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Water Resources Research
Water Resources Research publishes original research articles and commentaries on hydrology, water resources, and the social sciences of water that provide a broad understanding of the role of water in Earth’s system.
Featured Article
Tracing Water from River to Aquifer
Credit: Andrea L. Popp
Featured Article
Combining Deep Learning Methods with Process-based Models
Credit: Bennett and Nijssen [2021], Figure 3
Featured Article
Widest-ever view of US lakes sees shifts in colors
Credit: Simon Topp
Featured Article
Revealing Complexity of Groundwater Flow with Hydrogeophysics
Credit: Grobbe et al. [2021], Figure 3
Featured Article
Satellites Detect Groundwater Recharge for San Joaquin Valley
Credit: Neely et al. [2021], Figure 2
Browse Articles
Spatiotemporal Patterns of Fractional Suspended Sediment Dynamics in Small Watersheds
- 26 October 2021
Key Points
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An overall decline in fine sediment load occurred across all time scales during the period of land-use change and in-channel stabilization
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Streambed composition and the locations of ponds and upland sediment sources explain the spatiotemporal patterns of suspended fines
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The spatiotemporal patterns of sand dynamics reflect both the state of channel stability and the availability of in-channel sand
The Dominant Control of Relief on Soil Water Content Distribution During Wet‐Dry Transitions in Headwaters
- 22 October 2021
Key Points
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The soil-terrain attributes and soil moisture correlations were influenced by storage and precipitation inputs during wetting periods
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Soil water behavior consists of diurnal oscillations superimposed on a declining trend during drying periods
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Topography remains important in soil water redistribution during wet-dry transitions
The Upper Tail of Flood Peaks Over China: Hydrology, Hydrometeorology, and Hydroclimatology
- 22 October 2021
Key Points
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We examine the upper tail of flood peaks based on the most comprehensive dataset of flood records to date across China
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Complex terrain and mean annual rainfall are two key elements in dictating the distribution of upper tail ratios
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Anomalous moisture transport provides the fundamental distinction between large upper tail ratio floods and annual flood peaks
Automatic Quality Control of Crowdsourced Rainfall Data With Multiple Noises: A Machine Learning Approach
- 20 October 2021
Key Points
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A machine learning-based quality control approach is proposed for crowdsourced rainfall data with discontinuities in either time or space or both
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The performances of the quality control models under various scenarios with or without retraining are tested
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The supervised multilayer perceptron turns out to be the best performing algorithm under almost all scenarios
Analytical Expressions of Radiocarbon Distribution in Transient State Unconfined Aquifers and Their Application to Determination of Past and Present Recharges of North Africa Aquifers
- 20 October 2021
Key Points
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Analytical expressions for Radiocarbon distribution in transient state and unconfined aquifers
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Determination of recharge rates of North Africa aquifers by using radiocarbon tracers accounting for past climate variability
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The use of Vogel’s standard solution for North Africa aquifers leads to an average overestimation of present-day recharge of about 70%
Solving Challenges of Assimilating Microwave Remote Sensing Signatures With a Physical Model to Estimate Snow Water Equivalent
- 20 October 2021
Key Points
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Simulated snow properties from SnowModel are used in microwave-based snow water equivalent (SWE) retrievals by MEMLS3&a
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Biases in physically modeled SWE can induce larger biases in microwave-based SWE retrievals
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The challenges can be mitigated when microwave algorithms account for the physical relationship of snow properties
Using the Complementary Relationship Between Actual and Potential Evaporation to Diagnose the Onset of Heatwaves
- 19 October 2021
Key Points
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Harnessing the CR approach to link actual evaporation response of heterogeneous surfaces to radiation and air temperature anomalies
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Predicting anomalous increase in sensible heat flux with soil water depletion and extreme evaporative demands within the CR framework
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Providing insights into the role of land feedbacks at the onset of heatwaves with potential for defining a mechanistic heatwave index
A Scaling Approach for Retention Properties of Crystalline Rock: Case Study of the In‐Situ Long‐Term Sorption and Diffusion Experiment (LTDE‐SD) at the Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory in Sweden
- 18 October 2021
Key Points
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The scaling approach for sorption and diffusion parameters from laboratory to in-situ conditions was developed using the LTDE-SD data set
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The near-surface heterogeneities were evaluated by high porosity, diffusivity, and sorption parameters, as well as their gradual changes
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The sorption dependence on particle size was understood in relation to different sorption mechanisms and mineralogical features
Impact of Surface Roughness on Evaporation in 2D Micromodels
- 18 October 2021
Key Points
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The water transport between bulk flow, corner flow, and thick-film flow is visualized during evaporation
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Surface roughness that leads to complete wetting plays a key role for the time and temperature behaviors of the evaporation process
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The fractality of the evaporation front must be considered for consistent modeling
Improving the scientific understanding of the paradox of irrigation efficiency: an integrated modeling approach to assessing basin‐scale irrigation efficiency
- 5 November 2021
Key points
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A basin-scale irrigation efficiency index was proposed to consider irrigation return flow and crop ET directly from groundwater
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A novel approach was developed to assess basin-scale irrigation efficiency based on integrated ecohydrological modeling
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This study provides a methodological foundation for overcoming misunderstandings about the paradox of irrigation efficiency
Temperature loggers capture intraregional variation of inundation timing for intermittent ponds
- 5 November 2021
Key Points
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Hydroperiod inundation timing and duration are key factors that drive many biotic processes in temporary lentic waters
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Tools to assess fine-scale hydroperiod dynamics are needed to understand and predict responses of lentic habitats to a changing climate
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Use of temperature loggers and hidden Markov models are a cost-effective and reliable way to estimate hydroperiod dynamics
Long‐term changes in runoff generation mechanisms for two proglacial areas in the Swiss Alps I: Overland Flow
- 5 November 2021
Key Points
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Overland flow occurred more often on young moraines than on the older moraines
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The increase in clay content with moraine age and related soil water retention led to an increase in pre-event water in overland flow
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Sediment transport by overland flow decreased with moraine age due to the development of more stable soil aggregates
Prediction of Streamflow Recession Curves in Gauged and Ungauged basins
- 5 November 2021
Key Points
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A methodology for successive prediction in real time of the full recession curve ranging from mean flow to a low flow value is presented
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Access to a library of modelled recorded as well as generated possible recession curves enables close matching of real time measurements
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Prediction of recession time at an ungauged site is achievable by using information from reference basins of similar hydrological character
Intertwined eco‐morphodynamic evolution of salt marshes and emerging tidal channel networks
- 5 November 2021
Key Points
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Vegetation with lower optimal elevation strongly promotes the development, complexity and drainage efficiency of channel networks
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Vegetation patches affect the distribution of sediment deposition by trapping sediment and reducing the landward sediment transport
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Sea level rise restricts the extension of salt marshes and consequently leads to reduced control of vegetation on tidal channel development
Influences of Extreme Events on Water and Carbon Cycles of Cropland Ecosystems: A Comprehensive Exploration Combining Site and Global Modeling
- 4 November 2021
Key Points
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CLM5 simulated evapotranspiration (ET) and net ecosystem exchange (NEE) dynamics well for six crops, including the newly added rice
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Influencing magnitudes of precipitation shortage on ET and NEE are clearly affected by the occurring time of drought in the growing season
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The proportional influencing magnitudes of precipitation shortage on ET, NEE, and yield increased sequentially for rain-fed crops
Variable physical drivers of near‐surface turbulence in a regulated river
- 3 November 2021
Key Points
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Wind and river flow make comparable contributions to near-surface turbulence in a regulated river
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Dissipation rates predicted from wind speed and flow velocity are in good agreement with observations
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Diel variability in dissipation rates occurs in response to flow regulation and atmospheric forcing
Dynamic hillslope soil moisture in a Mediterranean montane watershed
- 2 November 2021
Key Points
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Seasonal soil moisture largely manifested into relative wet and dry states
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Counter to our expectations, ridgetops remained one of the wettest topographic positions on the landscape during the wet season
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There was greater homogeneity in dry season soil moisture along the hillslopes
Analytical solution and numerical simulation of steady flow around a circular heterogeneity with anisotropic and concentrically varying permeability
- 2 November 2021
Key Points
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Closed form head solution for steady flow with continuously varying anisotropic permeability around a heterogeneity in an infinite medium
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Validation of the full tensor permeability flow calculation in PFLOTRAN software through three cases of increasing complexity
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Results showed a maximal simulated and analytically computed head difference of 1.8% and flowrate difference of 3.5%
Long‐term Mississippi River trends expose shifts in the river load response to watershed nutrient balances between 1975 and 2017
- 2 November 2021
Key Points
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River N and P loads increased by 18 and 9%, respectively, between 1975 and 2017
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Improvement in nutrient management was evident, as the rate of increase in nutrient balances slowed in recent decades
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A large shift in the river load response to watershed nutrient balances occurred between 1975 and 2017
A new model for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated porous media
- Water Resources Research
- 513-522
- June 1976
Evaluating the use of “goodness‐of‐fit” Measures in hydrologic and hydroclimatic model validation
- Water Resources Research
- 233-241
- 1 January 1999
Electromagnetic determination of soil water content: Measurements in coaxial transmission lines
- Water Resources Research
- 574-582
- June 1980
Response of mean annual evapotranspiration to vegetation changes at catchment scale
- Water Resources Research
- 701-708
- 1 March 2001
Validity of Cubic Law for fluid flow in a deformable rock fracture
- Water Resources Research
- 1016-1024
- December 1980
Effective and efficient global optimization for conceptual rainfall‐runoff models
- Water Resources Research
- 1015-1031
- April 1992
Techniques of trend analysis for monthly water quality data
- Water Resources Research
- 107-121
- February 1982
The Millennium Drought in southeast Australia (2001–2009): Natural and human causes and implications for water resources, ecosystems, economy, and society
- Water Resources Research
- 1040-1057
- 6 February 2013
Key Points
- Drivers and impacts of Australia's record drought were analyzed
- Impacts accumulated and propagated through the water cycle at different rates
- Future droughts may not be managed better than past ones.
The WFDEI meteorological forcing data set: WATCH Forcing Data methodology applied to ERA‐Interim reanalysis data
- Water Resources Research
- 7505-7514
- 19 August 2014
Key Points
- Global three hourly meteorological forcing data at half-degree spatial resolution
- Covers 1979–2012
- Improvements compared to the WATCH forcing data
Water management: Current and future challenges and research directions
- Water Resources Research
- 4823-4839
- 20 June 2015
Macropores and water flow in soils revisited
- Water Resources Research
- 3071-3092
- 23 February 2013
Key Points
- Darcy-Richards is inadequate
- Stokes flow may be useful in some circumstances
- Still important questions to be resolved in soil physics
Methods and technologies to improve efficiency of water use
- Water Resources Research
- 29 July 2008
The Millennium Drought in southeast Australia (2001–2009): Natural and human causes and implications for water resources, ecosystems, economy, and society
- Water Resources Research
- 1040-1057
- 6 February 2013
Key Points
- Drivers and impacts of Australia's record drought were analyzed
- Impacts accumulated and propagated through the water cycle at different rates
- Future droughts may not be managed better than past ones.
Satellite Remote Sensing for Water Resources Management: Potential for Supporting Sustainable Development in Data‐Poor Regions
- Water Resources Research
- 9724-9758
- 29 October 2018
Key Points
- Satellite remote sensing is being incorporated into water resources management but is generally underutilized
- New and proposed missions have the potential to transform water resources management for sustainable development, especially in data-poor regions
- Ongoing challenges of accuracy, sampling, and continuity and capacity development need to be addressed, as well as new challenges of information volume and diversity
The twenty‐first century Colorado River hot drought and implications for the future
- Water Resources Research
- 2404-2418
- 17 February 2017
Key Points
- Record Colorado River flow reductions averaged 19.3% per year during 2000–2014. One-third or more of the decline was likely due to warming
- Unabated greenhouse gas emissions will lead to continued substantial warming, translating to twenty-first century flow reductions of 35% or more
- More precipitation can reduce the flow loss, but lack of increase to date and large megadrought threat, reinforce risk of large flow loss
Plain Language Summary
Between 2000 and 2014, annual Colorado River flows averaged 19% below the 1906–1999 average, the worst 15-year drought on record. Approximately one-third of the flow loss is due to high temperatures now common in the basin, a result of human caused climate change. Previous comparable droughts were caused by a lack of precipitation, not high temperatures. As temperatures increase in the 21st century due to continued human emissions of greenhouse gasses, additional temperature-induced flow losses will occur. These losses may exceed 20% at mid-century and 35% at end-century. Additional precipitation may reduce these temperature-induced losses somewhat, but to date no precipitation increases have been noted and climate models do not agree that such increases will occur. These results suggest that future climate change impacts on the Colorado River will be greater than currently assumed. Reductions in greenhouse gas emissions will lead to lower future temperatures and hence less flow loss.
The science and practice of river restoration
- Water Resources Research
- 5974-5997
- 24 July 2015
Key Points
- River restoration is a prominent area of applied water-resources science
- restoration includes connectivity, physical-biotic interactions, and history
- effective restoration requires collaboration among scientists and practitioners
Quantifying renewable groundwater stress with GRACE
- Water Resources Research
- 5217-5238
- 16 June 2015
Key Points:
- Renewable groundwater stress is quantified in the world's largest aquifers
- Characteristic stress regimes are defined to determine the severity of stress
- Overstressed aquifers are mainly in rangeland biomes with some croplands
Optimizing multiple dam removals under multiple objectives: Linking tributary habitat and the Lake Erie ecosystem
- Water Resources Research
- 23 December 2009
A Transdisciplinary Review of Deep Learning Research and Its Relevance for Water Resources Scientists
- Water Resources Research
- 8558-8593
- 30 August 2018
Key Points
- Deep learning (DL) is transforming many scientific disciplines, but its adoption in hydrology is gradual
- DL can help tackle interdisciplinarity, data deluge, unrecognized linkages, and long-standing challenges such as scaling and equifinality
- The new field of AI neuroscience opens up many opportunities for scientists to use DL as an exploratory tool for scientific advancement
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