Review: Variability and Trends in Runoff Efficiency in the Conterminous United States

Gregory J. McCabe
David M. Wolock

Reviewing: Variability and Trends in Runoff Efficiency in the Conterminous United States

Goals:

  • Prove I can read.

Outcomes and Takeaways:

  • A shared understanding of the methods and efforts our giants have provided.
  • A better appreciation of how this effort leaned on previous efforts.

McCabe and Wolock (2016)

Methods

Question:

    1. evaluate temporal variability and trends in RE across the CONUS
    1. identify climatic and/or water-use factors driving changes in RE.

Methods:

  • Measured monthly runoff data for water-years 1951 through 2012 aggregated to HUC8’s.
  • Monthly precipitation (in mm) and temperature (in °C) from PRISM used as inputs to a monthly water balance model to simulate monthly runoff for each HU for comparison with the measured monthly runoff.
  • Regression and cluster analysis.

Reporting

Reporting

Extending their visualization

What have we learned?

  • Variability and trends in the time series of mean cluster runoff efficiency were examined and clustered
  • Several statistically significant (p < 0.05) positively and negatively trending domains were identified
  • All but one of these significant trends in runoff efficiency can be explained by trends and variability in climate (primarily precipitation); groundwater withdrawals hypothisized for the other.

Thank you - An August Sunset – Prairie Dell by J. Ottis Adams

See notes (s) and frames for image sources.

McCabe, Gregory J., and David M. Wolock. 2016. “Variability and Trends in Runoff Efficiency in the Conterminous United States.” JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association 52 (5): 1046–55. https://doi.org/10.1111/1752-1688.12431.