Affiliation:
1. Department of Geosciences The University of Montana Missoula MT USA
2. Scripps Institution of Oceanography University of California San Diego La Jolla CA USA
3. Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Pasadena CA USA
4. Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego La Jolla CA USA
Abstract
AbstractAtmospheric rivers (ARs) deliver significant and essential precipitation to the western United States (US) with consequential interannual variability. The intensity and frequency of ARs strongly influence reservoir levels, mountain snowpack, and groundwater recharge, which are key drivers of water‐resource availability and natural hazards. Between October 2022 and April 2023, western states experienced exceptionally heavy precipitation from several families of powerful ARs. Using observations of surface‐loading deformation from Global Navigation Satellite Systems, we find that terrestrial water‐storage gains exceeded 100% of normal within vital California watersheds. Independent water‐storage solutions derived from different data‐analysis and inversion methods provide an important measure of precision. The sustained storage increases, which we show are closely associated with ARs at daily‐to‐weekly timescales, alleviated both meteorological and hydrological drought conditions in the region, with a lag in hydrological‐drought improvements. Quantifying water‐storage recovery associated with extreme precipitation after drought advances understanding of an increasingly variable hydrologic cycle.
Funder
National Science Foundation
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Publisher
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Cited by
1 articles.
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