The Rise of Climate-Driven Sediment Discharge in the Amazonian River Basin
The occurrence of hydrological extremes in the Amazon region and the associated sediment loss during rainfall events are key features in the global climate system. Climate extremes alter the sediment and carbon balance but the ecological consequences of such changes are poorly understood in this reg...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-02-01
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| Series: | Atmosphere |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/11/2/208 |
| _version_ | 1819046006914809856 |
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| author | Nazzareno Diodato Naziano Filizola Pasquale Borrelli Panos Panagos Gianni Bellocchi |
| author_facet | Nazzareno Diodato Naziano Filizola Pasquale Borrelli Panos Panagos Gianni Bellocchi |
| author_sort | Nazzareno Diodato |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The occurrence of hydrological extremes in the Amazon region and the associated sediment loss during rainfall events are key features in the global climate system. Climate extremes alter the sediment and carbon balance but the ecological consequences of such changes are poorly understood in this region. With the aim of examining the interactions between precipitation and landscape-scale controls of sediment export from the Amazon basin, we developed a parsimonious hydro-climatological model on a multi-year series (1997−2014) of sediment discharge data taken at the outlet of Óbidos (Brazil) watershed (the narrowest and swiftest part of the Amazon River). The calibrated model (correlation coefficient equal to 0.84) captured the sediment load variability of an independent dataset from a different watershed (the Magdalena River basin), and performed better than three alternative approaches. Our model captured the interdecadal variability and the long-term patterns of sediment export. In our reconstruction of yearly sediment discharge over 1859−2014, we observed that landscape erosion changes are mostly induced by single storm events, and result from coupled effects of droughts and storms over long time scales. By quantifying temporal variations in the sediment produced by weathering, this analysis enables a new understanding of the linkage between climate forcing and river response, which drives sediment dynamics in the Amazon basin. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T10:37:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0d4c54c0891b4552843f8ab0ef9ec2ba |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4433 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T10:37:37Z |
| publishDate | 2020-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmosphere |
| spelling | doaj.art-0d4c54c0891b4552843f8ab0ef9ec2ba2022-12-21T19:07:02ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332020-02-0111220810.3390/atmos11020208atmos11020208The Rise of Climate-Driven Sediment Discharge in the Amazonian River BasinNazzareno Diodato0Naziano Filizola1Pasquale Borrelli2Panos Panagos3Gianni Bellocchi4Met European Research Observatory—International Affiliates Program of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, 82100 Benevento, ItalyDepartamento de Geociências, Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Campus UFAM, Manaus 1200 s/ C-28, BrazilEnvironmental Geosciences, University of Basel, 4056 Basel, SwitzerlandEuropean Commission, Joint Research Centre, 21027 Ispra, ItalyMet European Research Observatory—International Affiliates Program of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, 82100 Benevento, ItalyThe occurrence of hydrological extremes in the Amazon region and the associated sediment loss during rainfall events are key features in the global climate system. Climate extremes alter the sediment and carbon balance but the ecological consequences of such changes are poorly understood in this region. With the aim of examining the interactions between precipitation and landscape-scale controls of sediment export from the Amazon basin, we developed a parsimonious hydro-climatological model on a multi-year series (1997−2014) of sediment discharge data taken at the outlet of Óbidos (Brazil) watershed (the narrowest and swiftest part of the Amazon River). The calibrated model (correlation coefficient equal to 0.84) captured the sediment load variability of an independent dataset from a different watershed (the Magdalena River basin), and performed better than three alternative approaches. Our model captured the interdecadal variability and the long-term patterns of sediment export. In our reconstruction of yearly sediment discharge over 1859−2014, we observed that landscape erosion changes are mostly induced by single storm events, and result from coupled effects of droughts and storms over long time scales. By quantifying temporal variations in the sediment produced by weathering, this analysis enables a new understanding of the linkage between climate forcing and river response, which drives sediment dynamics in the Amazon basin.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/11/2/208amazoniaparsimonious modellingriver basinsoil erosion |
| spellingShingle | Nazzareno Diodato Naziano Filizola Pasquale Borrelli Panos Panagos Gianni Bellocchi The Rise of Climate-Driven Sediment Discharge in the Amazonian River Basin Atmosphere amazonia parsimonious modelling river basin soil erosion |
| title | The Rise of Climate-Driven Sediment Discharge in the Amazonian River Basin |
| title_full | The Rise of Climate-Driven Sediment Discharge in the Amazonian River Basin |
| title_fullStr | The Rise of Climate-Driven Sediment Discharge in the Amazonian River Basin |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Rise of Climate-Driven Sediment Discharge in the Amazonian River Basin |
| title_short | The Rise of Climate-Driven Sediment Discharge in the Amazonian River Basin |
| title_sort | rise of climate driven sediment discharge in the amazonian river basin |
| topic | amazonia parsimonious modelling river basin soil erosion |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/11/2/208 |
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