Barichivich, J, Gloor, E orcid.org/0000-0002-9384-6341, Peylin, P et al. (4 more authors) (2018) Recent intensification of Amazon flooding extremes driven by strengthened Walker circulation. Science Advances, 4 (9). eaat8785. ISSN 2375-2548
Abstract
The Amazon basin is the largest watershed on Earth. Although the variability of the Amazon hydrological cycle has been increasing since the late 1990s, its underlying causes have remained elusive. We use water levels in the Amazon River to quantify changes in extreme events and then analyze their cause. Despite continuing research emphasis on droughts, the largest change over recent decades is a marked increase in very severe floods. Increased flooding is linked to a strengthening of the Walker circulation, resulting from strong tropical Atlantic warming and tropical Pacific cooling. Atlantic warming due to combined anthropogenic and natural factors has contributed to enhance the change in atmospheric circulation. Whether this anomalous increase in flooding will last depends on the evolution of the tropical inter-ocean temperature difference.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | Copyright © 2018 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (CC BY). |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > Inst for Climate & Atmos Science (ICAS) (Leeds) The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Geography (Leeds) > Ecology & Global Change (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number NERC (Natural Environment Research Council) NE/K01353X/1 RCUK (Research Councils UK) NE/M02203X/1 RCUK (Research Councils UK) NE/M022021/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 24 Jul 2018 10:42 |
Last Modified: | 18 Sep 2020 09:16 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | American Association for the Advancement of Science |
Identification Number: | 10.1126/sciadv.aat8785 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:133668 |