Diagnosis of the record discharge of Arctic-draining Eurasian rivers in 2007

Aggregate annual discharge from the six largest Arctic-draining Eurasian rivers achieved an all-time record high in 2007, accentuating a long-term upward trend that argues for intensification of the Arctic hydrologic cycle. This record discharge was due in part to strong positive anomalies in late w...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inEnvironmental research letters Vol. 4; no. 4; p. 045011
Main Authors Rawlins, Michael A, Serreze, Mark C, Schroeder, Ronny, Zhang, Xiangdong, McDonald, Kyle C
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Bristol IOP Publishing 01.10.2009
Subjects
Anomalies
Atmospheric circulation
Contraction
Discharge
Drainage
Hydrologic cycle
Hydrology
Rivers
Snow-water equivalent
Arctic region
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Aggregate annual discharge from the six largest Arctic-draining Eurasian rivers achieved an all-time record high in 2007, accentuating a long-term upward trend that argues for intensification of the Arctic hydrologic cycle. This record discharge was due in part to strong positive anomalies in late winter snow water equivalent across much of northern Eurasia. These anomalies arose in response to an unusual pattern of atmospheric circulation in late 2006 and early 2007, characterized by an extreme northeastward extension of the Icelandic Low and a contraction of the Siberian High. Positive net precipitation anomalies then continued into summer, further contributing to discharge.
ISSN:1748-9326
1748-9326
DOI:10.1088/1748-9326/4/4/045011