IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/climat/v141y2017i3d10.1007_s10584-016-1794-y.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Evaluation of sources of uncertainty in projected hydrological changes under climate change in 12 large-scale river basins

Author

Listed:
  • Tobias Vetter

    (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research)

  • Julia Reinhardt

    (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research)

  • Martina Flörke

    (University of Kassel)

  • Ann Griensven

    (Vrije Universiteit Brussel
    UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education)

  • Fred Hattermann

    (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research)

  • Shaochun Huang

    (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research)

  • Hagen Koch

    (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research)

  • Ilias G. Pechlivanidis

    (Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute)

  • Stefan Plötner

    (Leibniz University of Hannover, Institute of Water Resources Management)

  • Ousmane Seidou

    (University of Ottawa)

  • Buda Su

    (National Climate Center, China Meteorological Administration)

  • R. Willem Vervoort

    (The University of Sydney)

  • Valentina Krysanova

    (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research)

Abstract

This paper aims to evaluate sources of uncertainty in projected hydrological changes under climate change in twelve large-scale river basins worldwide, considering the mean flow and the two runoff quantiles Q10 (high flow), and Q90 (low flow). First, changes in annual low flow, annual high flow and mean annual runoff were evaluated using simulation results from a multi-hydrological-model (nine hydrological models, HMs) and a multi-scenario approach (four Representative Concentration Pathways, RCPs, five CMIP5 General Circulation Models, GCMs). Then, three major sources of uncertainty (from GCMs, RCPs and HMs) were analyzed using the ANOVA method, which allows for decomposing variances and indicating the main sources of uncertainty along the GCM-RCP-HM model chain. Robust changes in at least one runoff quantile or the mean flow, meaning a high or moderate agreement of GCMs and HMs, were found for five river basins: the Lena, Tagus, Rhine, Ganges, and Mackenzie. The analysis of uncertainties showed that in general the largest share of uncertainty is related to GCMs, followed by RCPs, and the smallest to HMs. The hydrological models are the lowest contributors of uncertainty for Q10 and mean flow, but their share is more significant for Q90.

Suggested Citation

  • Tobias Vetter & Julia Reinhardt & Martina Flörke & Ann Griensven & Fred Hattermann & Shaochun Huang & Hagen Koch & Ilias G. Pechlivanidis & Stefan Plötner & Ousmane Seidou & Buda Su & R. Willem Vervoo, 2017. "Evaluation of sources of uncertainty in projected hydrological changes under climate change in 12 large-scale river basins," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 141(3), pages 419-433, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:climat:v:141:y:2017:i:3:d:10.1007_s10584-016-1794-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s10584-016-1794-y
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10584-016-1794-y
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10584-016-1794-y?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. A. Kay & H. Davies & V. Bell & R. Jones, 2009. "Comparison of uncertainty sources for climate change impacts: flood frequency in England," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 92(1), pages 41-63, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mouhamadou Bamba Sylla & Aissatou Faye & Nana Ama Browne Klutse & Kangbeni Dimobe, 2018. "Projected increased risk of water deficit over major West African river basins under future climates," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 151(2), pages 247-258, November.
    2. Shanshan Wen & Buda Su & Yanjun Wang & Jianqing Zhai & Hemin Sun & Ziyan Chen & Jinlong Huang & Anqian Wang & Tong Jiang, 2020. "Comprehensive evaluation of hydrological models for climate change impact assessment in the Upper Yangtze River Basin, China," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 163(3), pages 1207-1226, December.
    3. Shaochun Huang & Harsh Shah & Bibi S. Naz & Narayan Shrestha & Vimal Mishra & Prasad Daggupati & Uttam Ghimire & Tobias Vetter, 2020. "Impacts of hydrological model calibration on projected hydrological changes under climate change—a multi-model assessment in three large river basins," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 163(3), pages 1143-1164, December.
    4. Pengcheng Qin & Hongmei Xu & Min Liu & Lüliu Liu & Chan Xiao & Iman Mallakpour & Matin Rahnamay Naeini & Kuolin Hsu & Soroosh Sorooshian, 2022. "Projected impacts of climate change on major dams in the Upper Yangtze River Basin," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 170(1), pages 1-24, January.
    5. Jew Das & Alin Treesa & N. V. Umamahesh, 2018. "Modelling Impacts of Climate Change on a River Basin: Analysis of Uncertainty Using REA & Possibilistic Approach," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 32(15), pages 4833-4852, December.
    6. A. L. Kay & V. A. Bell & B. P. Guillod & R. G. Jones & A. C. Rudd, 2018. "National-scale analysis of low flow frequency: historical trends and potential future changes," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 147(3), pages 585-599, April.
    7. Bin Wang & De Li Liu & Cathy Waters & Qiang Yu, 2018. "Quantifying sources of uncertainty in projected wheat yield changes under climate change in eastern Australia," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 151(2), pages 259-273, November.
    8. Rutger Dankers & Zbigniew W. Kundzewicz, 2020. "Grappling with uncertainties in physical climate impact projections of water resources," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 163(3), pages 1379-1397, December.
    9. L. V. Noto & G. Cipolla & D. Pumo & A. Francipane, 2023. "Climate Change in the Mediterranean Basin (Part II): A Review of Challenges and Uncertainties in Climate Change Modeling and Impact Analyses," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 37(6), pages 2307-2323, May.
    10. Yi He & Desmond Manful & Rachel Warren & Nicole Forstenhäusler & Timothy J. Osborn & Jeff Price & Rhosanna Jenkins & Craig Wallace & Dai Yamazaki, 2022. "Quantification of impacts between 1.5 and 4 °C of global warming on flooding risks in six countries," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 170(1), pages 1-21, January.
    11. Uttam Ghimire & Mukand S. Babel & Sangam Shrestha & Govindarajalu Srinivasan, 2019. "A multi-temporal analysis of streamflow using multiple CMIP5 GCMs in the Upper Ayerawaddy Basin, Myanmar," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 155(1), pages 59-79, July.
    12. Olkeba Tolessa Leta & Aly I. El-Kadi & Henrietta Dulai, 2018. "Impact of Climate Change on Daily Streamflow and Its Extreme Values in Pacific Island Watersheds," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-22, June.
    13. Pablo Borges de Amorim & Pedro B. Chaffe, 2019. "Towards a comprehensive characterization of evidence in synthesis assessments: the climate change impacts on the Brazilian water resources," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 155(1), pages 37-57, July.
    14. Zeng, Yujie & Liu, Dedi & Guo, Shenglian & Xiong, Lihua & Liu, Pan & Chen, Jie & Yin, Jiabo & Wu, Zhenhui & Zhou, Wan, 2023. "Assessing the effects of water resources allocation on the uncertainty propagation in the water–energy–food–society (WEFS) nexus," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    15. Valentina Krysanova & Jamal Zaherpour & Iulii Didovets & Simon N. Gosling & Dieter Gerten & Naota Hanasaki & Hannes Müller Schmied & Yadu Pokhrel & Yusuke Satoh & Qiuhong Tang & Yoshihide Wada, 2020. "How evaluation of global hydrological models can help to improve credibility of river discharge projections under climate change," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 163(3), pages 1353-1377, December.
    16. Xumin Zhang & Simin Qu & Jijie Shen & Yingbing Chen & Xiaoqiang Yang & Peng Jiang & Peng Shi, 2023. "Effect of Distinct Evaluation Objectives on Different Precipitation Downscaling Methods and the Corresponding Potential Impacts on Catchment Runoff Modelling," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 37(5), pages 1913-1930, March.
    17. Didovets, Iulii & Lobanova, Anastasia & Krysanova, Valentina & Menz, Christoph & Babagalieva, Zhanna & Nurbatsina, Aliya & Gavrilenko, Nadejda & Khamidov, Vohid & Umirbekov, Atabek & Qodirov, Sobir & , 2021. "Central Asian rivers under climate change: Impacts assessment in eight representative catchments," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 34.
    18. Vimal Mishra & Harsh Shah & M. Rocío Rivas López & Anastasia Lobanova & Valentina Krysanova, 2020. "Does comprehensive evaluation of hydrological models influence projected changes of mean and high flows in the Godavari River basin?," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 163(3), pages 1187-1205, December.
    19. Andrew C. Ross & Raymond G. Najjar, 2019. "Evaluation of methods for selecting climate models to simulate future hydrological change," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 157(3), pages 407-428, December.
    20. Laura Şmuleac & Ciprian Rujescu & Adrian Șmuleac & Florin Imbrea & Isidora Radulov & Dan Manea & Anișoara Ienciu & Tabita Adamov & Raul Pașcalău, 2020. "Impact of Climate Change in the Banat Plain, Western Romania, on the Accessibility of Water for Crop Production in Agriculture," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-24, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nima Fayaz & Laura E. Condon & David G. Chandler, 2020. "Evaluating the Sensitivity of Projected Reservoir Reliability to the Choice of Climate Projection: A Case Study of Bull Run Watershed, Portland, Oregon," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 34(6), pages 1991-2009, April.
    2. Indira Pokhrel & Ajay Kalra & Md Mafuzur Rahaman & Ranjeet Thakali, 2020. "Forecasting of Future Flooding and Risk Assessment under CMIP6 Climate Projection in Neuse River, North Carolina," Forecasting, MDPI, vol. 2(3), pages 1-23, August.
    3. Carolina Natel Moura & Sílvio Luís Rafaeli Neto & Claudia Guimarães Camargo Campos & Eder Alexandre Schatz Sá, 2020. "Hydrological Impacts of Climate Change in a Well-preserved Upland Watershed," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 34(8), pages 2255-2267, June.
    4. Yi Yang & Jianping Tang, 2023. "Downscaling and uncertainty analysis of future concurrent long-duration dry and hot events in China," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 176(2), pages 1-25, February.
    5. Alison Kay, 2022. "Differences in hydrological impacts using regional climate model and nested convection-permitting model data," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 173(1), pages 1-19, July.
    6. S. Camici & L. Brocca & T. Moramarco, 2017. "Accuracy versus variability of climate projections for flood assessment in central Italy," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 141(2), pages 273-286, March.
    7. Shirin Karimi & Bahman Jabbarian Amiri & Arash Malekian, 2019. "Similarity Metrics-Based Uncertainty Analysis of River Water Quality Models," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 33(6), pages 1927-1945, April.
    8. Eun-Sung Chung & Kwangjae Won & Yeonjoo Kim & Hosun Lee, 2014. "Water Resource Vulnerability Characteristics by District’s Population Size in a Changing Climate Using Subjective and Objective Weights," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(9), pages 1-17, September.
    9. Florence Habets & Julien Boé & Michel Déqué & Agnès Ducharne & Simon Gascoin & Ali Hachour & Eric Martin & Christian Pagé & Eric Sauquet & Laurent Terray & Dominique Thiéry & Ludovic Oudin & Pascal Vi, 2013. "Impact of climate change on the hydrogeology of two basins in northern France," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 121(4), pages 771-785, December.
    10. Richard Arsenault & François Brissette & Jean-Stéphane Malo & Marie Minville & Robert Leconte, 2013. "Structural and Non-Structural Climate Change Adaptation Strategies for the Péribonka Water Resource System," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 27(7), pages 2075-2087, May.
    11. Ye Tian & Yue-Ping Xu & Xu-Jie Zhang, 2013. "Assessment of Climate Change Impacts on River High Flows through Comparative Use of GR4J, HBV and Xinanjiang Models," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 27(8), pages 2871-2888, June.
    12. Michelle Vliet & Stephen Blenkinsop & Aidan Burton & Colin Harpham & Hans Broers & Hayley Fowler, 2012. "A multi-model ensemble of downscaled spatial climate change scenarios for the Dommel catchment, Western Europe," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 111(2), pages 249-277, March.
    13. Zigeng Niu & Lan Feng & Xinxin Chen & Xiuping Yi, 2021. "Evaluation and Future Projection of Extreme Climate Events in the Yellow River Basin and Yangtze River Basin in China Using Ensembled CMIP5 Models Data," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-26, June.
    14. Lauren M. Cook & Seth McGinnis & Constantine Samaras, 2020. "The effect of modeling choices on updating intensity-duration-frequency curves and stormwater infrastructure designs for climate change," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 159(2), pages 289-308, March.
    15. Sogol Moradian & Ali Torabi Haghighi & Maryam Asadi & Seyed Ahmad Mirbagheri, 2023. "Future Changes in Precipitation Over Northern Europe Based on a Multi-model Ensemble from CMIP6: Focus on Tana River Basin," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 37(6), pages 2447-2463, May.
    16. Lüliu Liu & Hongmei Xu & Yong Wang & Tong Jiang, 2017. "Impacts of 1.5 and 2 °C global warming on water availability and extreme hydrological events in Yiluo and Beijiang River catchments in China," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 145(1), pages 145-158, November.
    17. Zhe Yuan & Jijun Xu & Yongqiang Wang, 2018. "Projection of Future Extreme Precipitation and Flood Changes of the Jinsha River Basin in China Based on CMIP5 Climate Models," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-17, November.
    18. Yue Huang & Yonggang Ma & Tie Liu & Min Luo, 2020. "Climate Change Impacts on Extreme Flows Under IPCC RCP Scenarios in the Mountainous Kaidu Watershed, Tarim River Basin," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-23, March.
    19. Shaochun Huang & Fred Hattermann & Valentina Krysanova & Axel Bronstert, 2013. "Projections of climate change impacts on river flood conditions in Germany by combining three different RCMs with a regional eco-hydrological model," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 116(3), pages 631-663, February.
    20. Yi He & Desmond Manful & Rachel Warren & Nicole Forstenhäusler & Timothy J. Osborn & Jeff Price & Rhosanna Jenkins & Craig Wallace & Dai Yamazaki, 2022. "Quantification of impacts between 1.5 and 4 °C of global warming on flooding risks in six countries," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 170(1), pages 1-21, January.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:climat:v:141:y:2017:i:3:d:10.1007_s10584-016-1794-y. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.