Climate change is causing temperatures worldwide to rise, and this is altering weather systems and changing the distribution of water around the globe, according to a study published in the journal, Scientific Reports.
The study did an analysis of more than 40 years of water samples that have been archived at the Hubbard Brook Experiment Forest (HBEF) in New Hampshire and the results are that the sources of precipitation have changed dramatically over the past few decades, with a dramatic increase in the amount of water originating in the far north.
According to Tamir Puntsag, a graduate student at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) in Syracuse, New York, and the lead author on the study, “In the later years, we saw more water derived from evaporation of the Arctic and the North Atlantic oceans.â€
This study is the first time that scientists have used specific measurements to demonstrate the changes in water sources, “Climate change has an important relationship to the water cycle. It goes beyond temperature effects. This study shows how climate change is altering the spatial patterns and amounts of precipitation; where it comes from and where it falls. Such effects can drastically affect the availability of potable water and also contribute to the massive flooding we have seen in recent years,” said co-author Myron Mitchell, an ESF biogeochemist/ecologist who is Puntsag’s major professor.
The Arctic or Polar vortex has become far less stable since warmer temperatures in the Arctic are causing dramatic decreases in the depth and coverage of sea ice and is creating record cold spells in the eastern United States. This also alters the circulation of moisture in the atmosphere, driving changes in the global water cycle that have caused Arctic water to fall as rain or snow in New Hampshire.
The study has helped researchers to understand how precipitation patterns have changed and what is going to happen to water resources in the future.
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