Hydroclimate Volatility On A Warming Earth
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https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-024-00624-z <-- shared 2025 paper
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https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/floods-droughts-fires-hydroclimate-whiplash-speeding-up-globally <-- shared UCLA article, “Floods, Droughts, Then Fires: Hydroclimate Whiplash Is Speeding Up Globally “
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H/T @Daniel Swain
“Hydroclimate volatility refers to sudden, large and/or frequent transitions between very dry and very wet conditions. In this Review, we examine how hydroclimate volatility is anticipated to evolve with anthropogenic warming. Using a metric of ‘hydroclimate whiplash’ based on the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index, global-averaged subseasonal (3-month) and interannual (12-month) whiplash have increased by 31–66% and 8–31%, respectively, since the mid-twentieth century. Further increases are anticipated with ongoing warming, including subseasonal increases of 113% and interannual increases of 52% over land areas with 3 °C of warming; these changes are largest at high latitudes and from northern Africa eastward into South Asia. Extensive evidence links these increases primarily to thermodynamics, namely the rising water-vapour-holding capacity and potential evaporative demand of the atmosphere. Increases in hydroclimate volatility will amplify hazards associated with rapid swings between wet and dry states (including flash floods, wildfires, landslides and disease outbreaks), and could accelerate a water management shift towards co-management of drought and flood risks. A clearer understanding of plausible future trajectories of hydroclimate volatility requires expanded focus on the response of atmospheric circulation to regional and global forcings, as well as land–ocean–atmosphere feedbacks, using large ensemble climate model simulations, storm-resolving high-resolution models and emerging machine learning methods…
#water #hydrology #hydroclimate #whiplash #global #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #weatherwhiplash #ecogeomorphology #sustainability #ecology# ###
#water #hydrology #hydroclimate #volatility #dry #wet #drought #flood #flooding #wildfire #landslide #massmovement #whiplash #global #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #weatherwhiplash #ecogeomorphology #sustainability #ecology #hydrogeomorphology #climatechange #extremeweather #anthropogenicwarming #climate #weather #connection #StandardizedPrecipitationEvapotranspiration #precipitation #rainfall #research #evapotranspiration #risk #hazard #riskassessment #disease #pandemic #publichealth #publicsafety #waterquality #watersecurity #watermanagement #hydrography #atmospheric #regional #global #forcing #climatemodel #model #modeling #AI #machinelearning

Environment Auckland [New Zealand] Data Portal [incl. spatial]
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https://environmentauckland.org.nz/Data <-- shared link to data portal
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https://ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/news/2025/09/soe-report-2025/ <-- shared 2025 report link
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https://coastalmonitoringac.netlify.app/ <-- shared Auckland Council Beach Monitoring Program page
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[ancetodal: a VERY long time ago I was an intern Engineering Geologist at the Auckland Council, although it was ARC back then 😊 ]
H/T @David Wright | Senior Field Hydrologist, Hydrology And Data Management Team
“This portal contains primary data from Auckland Council’s State of the Environment monitoring programmes.
Te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland Council's Environmental Evaluation and Monitoring Unit carries out environmental monitoring across the region. [They] have been collecting information about Auckland’s environment for more than 30 years and have more than 1,000 monitoring sites across the region. [Their] comprehensive monitoring programmes build a picture of the health of Auckland’s environment, track changes and identify issues...”
#opendata #Auckland #NewZealand #GIS #spatial #mapping #dataportal #localgovernment #publicservice #publicgood #ratepayers #StateoftheEnvironment #monitoringprogrammes #environment #water #hydrology #waterquality #waterresources #intergration #environmentalmonitoring #airquality #coast #coastal #development #construction #engineering #sediment #biology #biodiversity #ecology #habitat #monitoring #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #estuary #river #stream #marine #mitigation #identification
@Auckland Council

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope's ‘Spy Mirror’ Could Transform How We Map The Universe
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https://www.discovermagazine.com/nasa-s-nancy-grace-roman-space-telescope-s-spy-mirror-could-transform-how-we-map-the-universe-49239 <-- shared technical article
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https://www.mos.org/article/ready-roman-nancy-grace-roman-space-telescope <-- shared technical article
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https://www.space.com/space-exploration/the-nancy-grace-roman-space-telescope-nasas-next-great-observatory-is-finally-complete <-- shared technical article
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https://youtu.be/TcjuucVEB5g?si=I93BjarghNcYKKqj <-- shared NASA Goddard technical overview video
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https://youtu.be/lBAuc057pVA?si=IghhCWC915FO3y3C <-- shared media video
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“… Roman is set to launch on August 30, 2026, and will help us gain a wider view of the universe and collect data faster than its predecessors, such as the Hubble Space Telescope. The telescope will do so thanks to the incredible equipment and instruments built into it.
These instruments include the primary mirror, which was gifted to NASA by a U.S. intelligence agency, the Wide Field Instrument, and an advanced coronograph. Altogether, these instruments could help us map out more of the universe than we ever imagined.
“It is an incredible feat of precision engineering. It's quite possibly the most complex scientific instrument that NASA has ever built,” Dominic Benford, …program scientist for the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope…”
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“Named after NASA’s first chief astronomer, the ‘mother of the Hubble Space Telescope,’ the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will have a field of view at least 100 times larger than Hubble's, potentially measuring light from a billion galaxies in its lifetime. This observatory will also be able to block starlight to directly see exoplanets and planet-forming disks, complete a statistical census of planetary systems in our galaxy, and settle essential questions in the areas of dark energy, exoplanets, and infrared astrophysics…”
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The Roman Space Telescope is engineered to investigate the biggest mysteries in astrophysics:
• Dark Energy & Dark Matter: By surveying billions of galaxies and mapping their distribution, Roman will explore why the universe's expansion is accelerating and trace cosmic history.
• Exoplanets: It will utilize gravitational microlensing to complete a statistical census of planetary systems in our galaxy, aiming to find thousands of exoplanets, including elusive rogue planets.
• Infrared Astrophysics: The telescope's deep, crisp infrared vision will help astronomers measure light from up to a billion galaxies over its lifetime.
#coronograph #astronomy #mapping #exoplanets #universe #telescope #spacetelescope #darkenergy #darkmatter #NancyGrace #NASA #Roman #astrophysics #cosmic #infrared #launch #WideFieldInstrument #instumentation #exploration extraterrestrial observatory #space #remotesensing #galacticbulge #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #supernova
@nasa @nasa Goddard @Discover Magazine

🚨 FEMA’s Hazus v7.2 Is Here — A Major Upgrade For Disaster Risk Modeling
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https://www.fema.gov/flood-maps/products-tools/hazus <-- shared link to FEMA HAZUS download, documentation, use case, etc
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[I used to work some with Hazus back in the back, but my career changed path; I still appreciate its strength and unity of purpose (sic) #alldataisspatial]
H/T @Laban "L.J." Johnson | Founder, LJ Learn & Concordia Initiative | Crisis Support · Leadership Development · Community Resilience | Bridging worlds to help people rise
“FEMA’s Hazus GIS platform has been updated with a new ArcGIS Pro–based version, bringing faster, more powerful tools for estimating losses from floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other natural hazards.
Key updates in Hazus 7.2 include:
• Streamlined workflows for flood and hurricane modeling
• New Earthquake ShakeMap integration using USGS data
• Expanded and improved results exports and reporting (including geodatabase outputs)
• Stronger security with known vulnerabilities addressed
• Performance improvements and optimized installation process
• [Significantly enhanced and comprehensive summary reports for flood and earthquake are now available for download.]
• Full integration with ArcGIS Pro (3.4–3.6) for a modern GIS experience
This release represents a significant step forward in how hazard planners, emergency managers, and GIS professionals analyze and prepare for disaster impacts…”
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“FEMA’s Hazus program provides software, data, methods, and guidance for estimating risk from natural hazards. Hazus can estimate building damages, economic losses, displaced households, casualties, debris generation and more resulting from a natural hazard event and can be used in all phases of emergency management…”
#HAZUS #fedservice #fedscience #oublicgood #publicsafety #emergencyresponse #software #spatialdata #GIS #spatial #mapping #risk #hazard #riskassessment #naturalhazard #humanimpacts #earthquake #wildfire #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #flood #flooding #cost #damage #economic #publicsafety #publichealth #emergencymanagement #opensource #opendata #tsunami #tornado #hurricane #ShakeMap #infrastructure #planning #policy #preparedness #impacts #geology #engineeringgeology #remotesensing #earthobservation
@FEMA

Late Miocene Euphrates River Drained Into A Partially Desiccated Eastern Mediterranean
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https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-026-01962-x <-- shared paper
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[the paleogeographic reconstruction is outstanding, including the strength and information conveyed so well in that figure, kudos!]
H/T @lina Jakaitė-Darkšė
“Although the Euphrates River - stretching ~3,000 km across Western Asia - has shaped the region’s geology for millions of years, the timing of its origin and the evolution of its course remain enigmatic. So far, two contrasting hypotheses have been proposed to explain the fluvial system’s Late Neogene path: termination in Anatolia at a palaeo-lake or the Mediterranean, or a southeastward continuation to Arabia. Here [they] use seismic-reflection and topographic data to show that two previously identified sedimentary accumulations - deposited during the terminal phase of the Late Miocene Messinian salinity crisis - resulted from dual riverine systems that drained into a partially desiccated eastern Mediterranean before avulsing toward the Persian Gulf and converging to form the modern Euphrates River. From probabilistic sediment-budget modelling, [they] show that although the latest Messinian drainage basins were an order of magnitude smaller than their present-day extents, the total palaeo-discharge exceeded that of the modern Tigris, Euphrates and Nile rivers combined, indicating intense palaeo-precipitation and high palaeo-relief. These results suggest that plate-margin deformation both controlled the fluvial avulsions that diverted the Euphrates River from the Anatolian–Eurasian Plate to the Arabian Plate, and established the conditions necessary for the development of the alluvial Fertile Crescent…”
#water #hydrology #hydrography #paleogeography #Euphrates #river #Miocene #reconstruction #spatialreconstruction #geology #change #erosion #MiddleEast #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #Neogene #Anatolia #paleolake #Mediterranean #Arabia #Messinian #remotesensing #model #modeling #topography #hydrogeomorphology #geomorphology #PersianGulf #sediment #paleodischarge #volume #Tigris #elevation #platetectonics #structuralgeology #platemargin #fluvial #avulsion #FertileCrescent

Geospatial Analysis of Urban Population Model Discrepancies Through Land Use and the Built Environment - A Case Study of Croatia
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https://doi.org/10.3390/geographies6020043 <-- shared paper
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H/T Olga Bjelotomić Oršulić
“Using official Croatian census data as a reference, [the researchers] analysed three global population datasets across seven Croatian cities to investigate how population allocation differs between built-up and non-built-up areas.
Although the datasets often produced similar population totals, their spatial allocation differed substantially. GHS-POP concentrated over 1 million more inhabitants within built-up areas, while WorldPop allocated approximately 290,000 more inhabitants to non-built-up land-cover classes, demonstrating how similar population totals can mask substantial differences in spatial population patterns.
The question is not only how many people are estimated, but also where the model places them…”
#GIS #spatial #mapping #gridded #population #urban #dataanalysis #shrinkingcities #census #censusvalidation #WorldPop #GHSPOP #GPWv4 #builtupareas #sustainability #SDG #casestudy #Croatia #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #SustainableDevelopmentGoals #populationdecline #demographics #urbanplanning #planning #city #cities #PopulationData #RemoteSensing #UrbanAnalytics #OpenData #SDG #model #modeling #urbanisation #density #QGIS #landcover
@MDPI

Scientists See More Vegetation In The Himalayas - But It Is Not Good News, Because That Extra “Green” Can Disrupt Water, Snow, And High-Mountain Biodiversity | Plants Growing Higher Across Himalaya As Climate Warms
(Vegetation On The Move: Elevational Shifts And Greening Dynamics Across The Himalayan Alpine Zone)
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https://www.ecoticias.com/en/scientists-see-more-vegetation-in-the-himalayas-but-it-is-not-good-news-because-that-extra-green-can-disrupt-water-snow-and-high-mountain-biodiversity/33120/ <-- shared technical article
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https://news.exeter.ac.uk/faculty-of-environment-science-and-economy/earth-and-environmental-science/plants-growing-higher-across-himalaya-as-climate-warms/ <-- shared technical newsitem
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https://doi.org/10.1002/ecog.08259 <-- shared (2026) paper
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https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14919 <-- shared (2020) paper
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“For years, the biggest climate warning from the Himalaya was easy to picture because glaciers were shrinking on the roof of Asia. Now, researchers are pointing to a quieter signal, one that can look almost harmless from a distance. The mountains are getting greener.
New research [link above] shows alpine vegetation moving higher across six Himalayan regions from 1999 to 2022, pushed in part by warming and reduced snow depth. That might sound like nature recovering, but in this fragile landscape, more plant cover at extreme heights may change how snow is stored, how water runs downhill, and how rivers behave for communities far below…”
#GIS #spatial #mapping #remotesensing #earthobservation #satellite #landsat #landcover #NDVI #Himalaya #Nepal #India #Bhutan #climatechange #glacier #vegetation #alpine #level #greening #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #snow #water #ice #hydrography #hydrology #ecosystems #humaninpacts #phenology #model #modeling #HighMountainAsia #greenness #ERA5 #vegetationline #altitude #climatictrends #warming #precipitation #rainfall

[G]lobal Decline In Endorheic Basin Water Storages
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https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-018-0265-7 <-- shared paper
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endorheic_basin <-- shared Wikipedia page
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“Endorheic (hydrologically landlocked) basins spatially concur with arid/semi-arid climates. Given limited precipitation but high potential evaporation, their water storage is vulnerable to subtle flux perturbations, which are exacerbated by global warming and human activities. Increasing regional evidence suggests a probably recent net decline in endorheic water storage, but this remains unquantified at a global scale. By integrating satellite observations and hydrological modelling, [they] reveal[ed] that during 2002–2016 the global endorheic system experienced a widespread water loss of about 106.3 Gt/yr, attributed to comparable losses in surface water, soil moisture and groundwater. This decadal decline, disparate from water storage fluctuations in exorheic basins, appears less sensitive to El Niño–Southern Oscillation-driven climate variability, which implies a possible response to longer-term climate conditions and human water management. In the mass-conserved hydrosphere, such an endorheic water loss not only exacerbates local water stress, but also imposes excess water on exorheic basins, leading to a potential sea level rise that matches the contribution of nearly half of the land glacier retreat (excluding Greenland and Antarctica). Given these dual ramifications, [they] suggest the necessity for long-term monitoring of water storage variation in the global endorheic system and the inclusion of its net contribution to future sea level budgeting…”
#water #hydrology #hydrography #global #waterresources #waterstorage #Endorheic #Basin #watersecurity #arid #semiarid #rainfall #precipitation #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #globalwarming #climatechange #humanimpacts #anthropogenic #regional #remotesensing #GIS #spatial #mapping #earthobservation #surfacewater #groundwater #soilmoisture #exorheic #watermanagement #hydrosphere #waterstress #SLR #sealevelrise #monitoring #waterbudgets

Decoupling Of Surface Water Storage From Precipitation In Global Drylands Due To Anthropogenic Activity
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https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-024-00367-7 <-- shared paper
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“The availability of surface water in global drylands is essential for both human society and ecosystems. However, the long-term drivers of change in surface water storage, particularly those related to anthropogenic activities, remain unclear. Here [they] use[d] multi-mission remote sensing data to construct monthly time series of water storage changes from 1985 to 2020 for 105,400 lakes and reservoirs in global drylands. An increase of 2.20 km³ per year in surface water storage is found primarily due to the construction of new reservoirs. For lakes and old reservoirs (constructed before 1983), conversely, the trend in storage is minor when aggregated globally, but they dominate surface water storage trends in 91% of individual global dryland basins. Further analysis reveals that long-term storage changes in these water bodies are primarily linked to anthropogenic factors - including human-induced warming and water-management practices - rather than to precipitation changes, as previously thought. These findings reveal a decoupling of surface water storage from precipitation in global drylands, raising concerns about societal and ecosystem sustainability…”
#water #hydrology #hydrography #waterstorage #waterresources #surfacewater #global #drylands #precipitation #rainfall #watersecurity #ecosystems #habitat #publichealth #anthropogenic #GIS #spatial #mapping #remotesensing #earthobservation #spatiotemporal #spatialanalysis #monitoring #geostatistics #engineering #reservoirs #infrastructure #lakes #waterbodies #globalwarming #climatechange #sustainability #planning #baseline

Study Highlights Growing Importance Of Multi-Day Storms In Future U.S. Flood Risk
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https://news.okstate.edu/articles/engineering-architecture-technology/2026/study-highlights-growing-importance-of-multi-day-storms-in-future-u.s.-flood-risk <-- shared technical article
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https://doi.org/10.1088/2752-5295/ae4f14 <-- shared paper
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“Extreme rainfall is projected to intensify as the climate warms, yet whether the greatest increases will occur in multi-day or single-day events remains uncertain. This knowledge gap is particularly pressing given recent catastrophic floods triggered by multi-day rainfall events, prompting the question of whether multi-day events could, in fact, intensify more than their daily counterparts, and by how much. This study addresses this question using an ensemble of 34 downscaled Earth System Models under two Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5), focusing on changes in extreme rainfall by the end of the century across ten regions of the contiguous United States. [Their] statistical framework evaluates model agreement, ensemble-mean changes, and the significance of these changes for both daily and multi-day rainfall extremes. Results show that extreme rainfall amounts are expected to increase for most regions and durations. The degree of intensification, however, depends strongly on event rarity and regional climate characteristics. Notably, in the U.S. western Gulf Coast region, very rare multi-day events (e.g., 500 year return period) are projected to intensify more than their daily counterparts, a phenomenon that could be explained by increased stalling of tropical cyclones, which can prolong heavy rainfall over multiple days. These results challenge the assumption that daily extremes dominate future risk and highlight the need to consider event duration when updating flood-hazard maps, design standards, and adaptation planning…”
#Flooding #FloodRisk #FloodInsurance #FloodAwareness #Explore #FloodPreparedness #FlashFlooding #ClimateResilience #climatechange #extremeweather #DisasterPreparedness #StormwaterManagement #FloodSafety #CommunityResilience #risk #hazard #model #modeling #floodrisk #multiday #rainfall #precipitation #storm #water #hydrology #hydrography #planning #policy #regulations #climatemodel #CONUS #USA #publicsafety #cost #economics #damage #loss #infrastructure #spatiotemporal #spatialanalysis #earthsystemmodels #forecasting #meteorology #designstandards #floodmapping #mitigation #flood