ABSTRACT

This chapter introduces the model, data and methods used for the core analysis presented herein, which is a geographically explicit quantification of variability and trends in river discharge, across Europe and the globe. It discusses the key results from this model-based analysis, with a focus on the attribution of the changes in discharge to different drivers. The chapter reviews the literature on the variability and trends of global water resources. Climate and water on Earth are intimately linked. Water takes part in large-scale mass and heat transfer processes between the atmosphere, the oceans and the land surface. The water cycle is exposed to many other human impacts on river basins: changes in land use and land cover, deforestation or afforestation, urbanization and agricultural activities, modification and compression of soil layers. The chapter demonstrates that variations in precipitation were the main force of 20th century interdecadal variations and trends in global and regional river discharge, including rivers in Europe.