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Observed response of tropical river streamflow to climate change - evidence from a national database
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  • Hong Xuan Do,
  • Duc Phuoc Vo,
  • Hung Pham,
  • Yiwen Mei,
  • Andrew D. Gronewold
Hong Xuan Do
University of Michigan

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Duc Phuoc Vo
The University of Danang-University of Science and Technology
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Hung Pham
The University of Danang-University of Science and Technology
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Yiwen Mei
University of Michigan
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Andrew D. Gronewold
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
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Abstract

We analyzed streamflow records from more than 300 stations across Thailand, a tropical country in Southeast Asia. Temporal changes in runoff yield were assessed over the 1960-2015 period, highlighting a prominent downward trend over the last two decades. To identify potential drivers of these changes, gridded data products representing precipitation, temperature, evapotranspiration, and land cover were also assessed. We found that runoff yield is primarily driven by annual precipitation, which has experienced an unprecedented decline since 2010. Two sub-regions with particularly robust data coverage reflected a spatial contrast in hydrologic response: a more consistent response of runoff yield to precipitation is observed in the sub-region characterized by a high density of forest cover relative to the region characterized by high cropland cover. This feature underscores the need to take land use and irrigation practices into account when forecasting, and determining management strategies for, tropical river streamflow in a warming climate.