Deciphering human influence on annual maximum flood extent at the global level

Mazzoleni, MaurizioVrije Univ Amsterdam, Inst Environm Studies, Amsterdam, Netherlands.;Ctr Nat Hazards & Disaster Sci CNDS, Uppsala, Sweden. (author)

Human actions are increasingly altering most river basins worldwide, resulting in changes in hydrological processes and extreme events. Yet, global patterns of changes between seasonal surface water and urbanization remain largely unknown. Here we perform a worldwide analysis of 106 large river basins and uncover global trends of annual maximum flood extent and artificial impervious area, as proxy of urbanization, over the past three decades. We explore their relationships with hydroclimatic variability, expressed as rainfall and snowmelt, and find that hydroclimatic variability alone cannot explain changes in annual maximum flood extent in 75% of the analyzed major river basins worldwide. Considering rainfall and urban area together can explain changes in the annual maximum flood extent in 57% of the basins. Our study emphasizes the importance of understanding the global impacts of human presence on changes in seasonal water dynamics. Increasing annual maximum flood extent over the past 30 years is best explained when the coincident increase in urban areas within floodplains is considered not just changes in hydroclimate, according to a worldwide analysis of major river basins.

Dottori, FrancescoEuropean Commiss, Joint Res Ctr, Ispra, Italy. (author)
Cloke, Hannah L.Uppsala universitet,Luft-, vatten- och landskapslära,Ctr Nat Hazards & Disaster Sci CNDS, Uppsala, Sweden.;Univ Reading, Dept Geog & Environm Sci, Reading, Berks, England.;Univ Reading, Dept Meteorol, Reading, Berks, England.(Swepub:uu)hancl168 (author)
Di Baldassarre, GiulianoUppsala universitet,Luft-, vatten- och landskapslära,Ctr Nat Hazards & Disaster Sci CNDS, Uppsala, Sweden.(Swepub:uu)giudi514 (author)
Vrije Univ Amsterdam, Inst Environm Studies, Amsterdam, Netherlands.;Ctr Nat Hazards & Disaster Sci CNDS, Uppsala, Sweden.European Commiss, Joint Res Ctr, Ispra, Italy. (creator_code:org_t)

By the author/editor: Mazzoleni, Mauri ...; Dottori, Frances ...; Cloke, Hannah L.; Di Baldassarre, ...

About the subject

NATURAL SCIENCES: NATURAL SCIENCES; and Earth and Relate ...; and Oceanography Hyd ...

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