The CAMELS-CL dataset: catchment attributes and meteorology for large sample studies – Chile dataset

We introduce the first catchment dataset for large sample studies in Chile. This dataset includes 516 catchments; it covers particularly wide latitude (17.8 to 55.0∘ S) and elevation (0 to 6993 m a.s.l.) ranges, and it relies on multiple data sources (including ground data, remote-sensed products and reanalyses) to characterise the hydroclimatic conditions and landscape of a region where in situ measurements are scarce. For each catchment, the dataset provides boundaries, daily streamflow records and basin-averaged daily time series of precipitation (from one national and three global datasets), maximum, minimum and mean temperatures, potential evapotranspiration (PET; from two datasets), and snow water equivalent. We calculated hydro-climatological indices using these time series, and leveraged diverse data sources to extract topographic, geological and land cover features. Relying on publicly available reservoirs and water rights data for the country, we estimated the degree of anthropic intervention within the catchments. To facilitate the use of this dataset and promote common standards in large sample studies, we computed most catchment attributes introduced by Addor et al. (2017) in their Catchment Attributes and MEteorology for Large-sample Studies (CAMELS) dataset, and added several others. We used the dataset presented here (named CAMELS-CL) to characterise regional variations in hydroclimatic conditions over Chile and to explore how basin behaviour is influenced by catchment attributes and water extractions. Further, CAMELS-CL enabled us to analyse biases and uncertainties in basin-wide precipitation and PET. The characterisation of catchment water balances revealed large discrepancies between precipitation products in arid regions and a systematic precipitation underestimation in headwater mountain catchments (high elevations and steep slopes) over humid regions. We evaluated PET products based on ground data and found a fairly good performance of both products in humid regions (r>0.91) and lower correlation (r<0.76) in hyper-arid regions. Further, the satellite-based PET showed a consistent overestimation of observation-based PET. Finally, we explored local anomalies in catchment response by analysing the relationship between hydrological signatures and an attribute characterising the level of anthropic interventions. We showed that larger anthropic interventions are correlated with lower than normal annual flows, runoff ratios, elasticity of runoff with respect to precipitation, and flashiness of runoff, especially in arid catchments. CAMELS-CL provides unprecedented information on catchments in a region largely underrepresented in large sample studies. This effort is part of an international initiative to create multi-national large sample datasets freely available for the community. CAMELS-CL can be visualised from http://camels.cr2.cl and downloaded from https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.894885

Évaluer les impacts robustes du changement d'usage des sols sur le climat des 150 dernières années et sur le climat projeté pour le siècle prochain.

Land-use change (LUC) is an important climate forcing due to the underlying alterations of the properties of the soil-vegetation system. However, the knowledge of these biogeophysical impacts of LUC is middling, notably due to the large number of processes involved. By means of model intercomparison and other approaches specifically developed, this study aims to identify the robust climate signals of LUC as well as to assess the associated uncertainties. LUC since the preindustrial period has led to extensive deforestation in the northern temperate regions and therefore to increases in surface albedo. The amplitude of this impact and the role of the non-radiative effects in summer are still quite uncertain within the model results. These uncertainties respond (1) to the way LUC is implemented in land surface models (LSMs) and (2) to the intrinsic model sensitivities to LUC. We show that the second point could explain more than 50% of the inter-model dispersion in key variables for the surface climate such as the evapotranspiration. We therefore developed statistical tools to reconstruct the impacts of LUC on the surface albedo and the evapotranspiration using present-day observations and the land-cover maps prescribed in the LSMs here assessed. The analyses carried out here show that current uncertainties in the climate impacts of LUC are in major part the result of the land-surface parameterizations used in climate models and, hence, could be reduced with a more thoroughly evaluation of LSMs.Le changement de l'occupation des sols (LUC) a une influence importante sur le climat de par les modifications des propriétés physiques de la surface. Le niveau de connaissance de ces impacts biogéophysiques est cependant insuffisant, en raison notamment des nombreux processus impliqués. Via l'intercomparaison de modèles de climat et d'autres outils développés, cette thèse vise à identifier les signaux climatiques robustes liés au LUC, ainsi qu'à évaluer les incertitudes associées. Depuis l'époque préindustrielle, le LUC a résulté en une déforestation extensive dans les régions tempérées de l'hémisphère Nord, où l'augmentation de l'albédo de surface a sûrement induit un refroidissement durant l'hiver et le printemps. L'amplitude de cet impact ainsi que le rôle des effets non radiatifs en été reste pourtant très incertain parmi les modèles. Ces incertitudes répondent (1) à la façon dont le LUC est représenté dans les modèles de surface et (2) aux sensibilités intrinsèques des modèles de climat au LUC. Le deuxième point explique plus de 50% de la dispersion inter-modèle dans des variables clés au climat de surface comme l'évapotranspiration. Suite à cette incertitude, les impacts du LUC dans albédo de surface et l'évapotranspiration ont été estimés à partir d'observations contemporaines et les cartes de végétation prescrites dans les modèles de surface ici évalués. L'ensemble de ces analyses montre que les incertitudes actuelles des effets sur le climat du LUC sont en grande partie liées aux paramétrisations des modèles de surface, et peuvent donc être réduites par une évaluation plus rigoureuse de ceux-ci

Changes in surface and upper-air temperature along the arid coast of northern Chile

Monthly records of minimum and maximum daily temperature (1961-2004) from 6 meteorological stations and daily vertical temperature profiles (12:00 UTC; 1958 - 2004) from one aerological station (Antofagasta, 23°S, 71°W) are analized to assess long-term changes in the temperature regime at the surface and higher levels in the troposphere along the arid coast in northern Chile. Climate in this region is determined by the dominant influence of the SE Pacific subtropical anticyclone, the presence of the Andes that isolates this region from the influence of warm and moist continental air masses, and the stabilizing effect of a relatively cold adjacent ocean. A marked temperature inversion layer separates the well mixed and humid boundary layer from the subsiding dry air aloft. A layer of stratus clouds develops in the upper part of the boundary layer, spreading over a large oceanic region offshore the coast of Peru and Chile. The most remarkable feature in the evolution of surface temperature along the arid coast of northern Chile is a relatively abrupt increase during the mid-70´s, particularly well defined in the daily maximum temperature regime. This evolution appears as a regional manifestation of a well documented large scale climate shift in the Pacific basin. A negative trend was detected in the series of maximum daily temperature for the periods before and after the shift, while the minimum temperature regime has remained quite stationary in recent decades. This is consistent with IPCC results showing the occurrence of a weak negative trend is sea surface temperature in the oceanic region adyacent to northern Chile during the period 1976-2000. Consistent with the evolution of surface temperature at coastal stations, the aerological record at Antofagasta shows a weak negative trend for temperature in the boundary layer since de mid 70´s, in constrast with a marked temperature increase in the layer above the temperature inversion (up to around 750 hPa). While at middle levels in the troposphere the temperature regime has remained quite stationary during recent decades, a significant negative trend is observed in the upper troposphere and the lower part of the stratosphere during the same period. Regarding the temperature inversion layer and the associated stratus cloud deck, this study confirms earlier results documenting the occurrence of a significant upward displacement of this layer during El Niño episodes. Furthermore, in addition to the ENSO-related interannual variability, the height of the inversion layer has been decreasing since the mid 70's, particularly during the austral summer when a negative trend of around -40 m every 10 years was detected..Pages: 227-22

Progressive water deficits during multiyear droughts in basins with long hydrological memory in Chile

A decade-long (2010–2020) period with precipitation deficits in central–south Chile (30–41∘ S), the so-called megadrought (MD), has led to streamflow depletions of larger amplitude than expected from precipitation anomalies, indicating an intensification in drought propagation. We analysed the catchment characteristics and runoff mechanisms modulating such intensification by using the CAMELS-CL dataset and simulations from the HBV hydrological model. We compared annual precipitation–runoff (P–R) relationships before and during the MD across 106 basins with varying snow-/rainfall regimes and identified those catchments where drought propagation was intensified. Our results show that catchments' hydrological memory – modulated by snow and groundwater – is a key control of drought propagation. Snow-dominated catchments (30–35∘ S) feature larger groundwater contribution to streamflow than pluvial basins, which we relate to the infiltration of snowmelt over the Western Andean Front. This leads to longer memory in these basins, represented by a significative correlation between autumn streamflow (when snow has already melted) and the precipitation from the preceding year. Hence, under persistent drought conditions, snow-dominated catchments accumulate the effects of precipitation deficits and progressively generate less water, compared with their historical behaviour, notably affecting central Chile, a region with limited water supply and which concentrates most of the country's population and water demands. Finally, we addressed a general question: what is worse – an extreme single-year drought or a persistent moderate drought? In snow-dominated basins, where water provision strongly depends on both the current and previous precipitation seasons, an extreme drought induces larger absolute streamflow deficits; however persistent deficits induce a more intensified propagation of the meteorological drought. Hence, the worst scenario would be an extreme meteorological drought following consecutive years of precipitation below average, as occurred in 2019. In pluvial basins of southern Chile (35–41∘ S), hydrologic memory is still an important factor, but water supply is more strongly dependant on the meteorological conditions of the current year, and therefore an extreme drought would have a higher impact on water supply than a persistent but moderate drought

Projected hydroclimate changes over Andean basins in central Chile from downscaled CMIP5 models under the low and high emission scenarios

© 2018, Springer Nature B.V. This study examines the projections of hydroclimatic regimes and extremes over Andean basins in central Chile (∼ 30–40° S) under a low and high emission scenarios (RCP2.6 and RCP8.5, respectively). A gridded daily precipitation and temperature dataset based on observations is used to drive and validate the VIC macro-scale hydrological model in the region of interest. Historical and future simulations from 19 climate models participating in CMIP5 have been adjusted with the observational dataset and then used to make hydrological projections. By the end of the century, there is a large difference between the scenarios, with projected warming of ∼ + 1.2 °C (RCP2.6), ∼ + 3.5 °C (RCP8.5) and drying of ∼ − 3% (RCP2.6), ∼ − 30% (RCP8.5). Following the strong drying and warming projected in this region under the RCP8.5 scenario, the VIC model simulates decreases in annual runoff of about 40% by the end of the century. Such strong regional effect of climate chang

The Impacts of Native Forests and Forest Plantations on Water Supply in Chile

Over the past 40 years, south-central Chile has experienced important land-use-induced land cover changes, with massive conversion from native forests (NF) to Pinus radiata D.Don and Eucalyptus spp. exotic forest plantations (FP). Several case studies have related this conversion to a reduction in water supply within small catchments (&lt;100 ha). In this work, we explore the impacts of NF and FP on streamflow by using a large-sample catchment dataset recently developed for Chile. We select 25 large forested catchments (&gt;20,000 ha) in south-central Chile (35&#176; S&#8722;41&#176; S), analyze their land cover and precipitation spatial distributions, and fit a regression model to quantify the influence of NF, FP, grassland (GRA) and shrubland (SHR) partitions on annual runoff. To assess potential effects of land cover changes on water supply, we use the fitted model (R2 = 0.84) in synthetic experiments where NF, GRA and SHR covers within the catchments are replaced by patches of FP. We show that annual runoff consistently decreases with increments of FP, although the magnitude of the change (ranging from 2.2% to 7.2% mean annual runoff decrease for 10,000 ha increment in FP) depends on several factors, including the initial land cover partition within the basin, the replaced land cover class, the area of the catchment, and the type of catchment (drier or humid). Finally, in the context of the mitigation strategies pledged in the Chilean NDC (Nationally Determined Contributions defined after the Paris Agreement), which include the afforestation of 100,000 ha (mainly native forest) by 2030, we quantify the impacts on water supply due to the afforestation of 100,000 ha with different combinations of NF and FP. We show that annual runoff is highly sensitive to the relative area of FP to NF: ratios of FP to NF areas of 10%, 50% and 90% would lead to 3%, &#8722;18% and &#8722;40% changes in mean annual runoff, respectively. Our results can be used in the discussion of public policies and decision-making involving forests and land cover changes, as they provide scientifically-based tools to quantify expected impacts on water resources. In particular, this knowledge is relevant for decision making regarding mitigation strategies pledged in the Chilean NDC

Testing conceptual and physically based soil hydrology schemes against observations for the Amazon Basin

International audienceThis study analyzes the performance of the two soil hydrology schemes of the land surface model ORCHIDEE in estimating Amazonian hydrology and phenology for five major sub-basins (Xingu, Tapajós, Madeira, Solimões and Negro), during the 29-year period 1980-2008. A simple 2-layer scheme with a bucket topped by an evaporative layer is compared to an 11-layer diffusion scheme. The soil schemes are coupled with a river routing module and a process model of plant physiology, phenology and carbon dynamics. The simulated water budget and vegetation functioning components are compared with several data sets at sub-basin scale. The use of the 11-layer soil diffusion scheme does not significantly change the Amazonian water budget simulation when compared to the 2-layer soil scheme (+3.1 and −3.0% in evapotranspiration and river discharge, respectively). However, the higher water-holding capacity of the soil and the physically based representation of runoff and drainage in the 11-layer soil diffusion scheme result in more dynamic soil water storage variation and improved simulation of the total terrestrial water storage when compared to GRACE satellite estimates. The greater soil water storage within the 11-layer scheme also results in increased dry-season evapotranspiration (+0.5 mm d−1, +17%) and improves river discharge simulation in the southeastern sub-basins such as the Xingu. Evapotranspiration over this sub-basin is sustained during the whole dry season with the 11-layer soil diffusion scheme, whereas the 2-layer scheme limits it after only 2 dry months. Lower plant drought stress simulated by the 11-layer soil diffusion scheme leads to better simulation of the seasonal cycle of photosynthesis (GPP) when compared to a GPP data-driven model based on eddy covariance and satellite greenness measurements. A dry-season length between 4 and 7 months over the entire Amazon Basin is found to be critical in distinguishing differences in hydrological feedbacks between the soil and the vegetation cover simulated by the two soil schemes. On average, the multilayer soil diffusion scheme provides little improvement in simulated hydrology over the wet tropical Amazonian sub-basins, but a more significant improvement is found over the drier sub-basins. The use of a multilayer soil diffusion scheme might become critical for assessments of future hydrological changes, especially in southern regions of the Amazon Basin where longer dry seasons and more severe droughts are expected in the next century