A UNSW Sydney-led study shows at least two times more freshwater has shifted from warm to cold regions of the earth than our climate models predicted – signifying broader changes to the global water cycle.
A UNSW Sydney-led study shows at least two times more freshwater has shifted from warm to cold regions of the earth than our climate models predicted – signifying broader changes to the global water cycle.
The global water cycle – that is, the constant movement of freshwater between the clouds, land and the ocean – plays an important role in our daily lives. This delicate system transports water from the ocean to the land, helping to make our environment habitable and soil fertile.
But rising global temperatures have been making this system more extreme: water is moving away from dry regions towards wet regions, causing droughts to worsen in parts of the globe, while intensifying rainfall events and flooding in others. In other words, wet areas are getting wetter, and dry areas are getting drier.
Up until now, changes to the cycle have been difficult to directly observe, with around 80 per cent of global rainfall and evaporation happening over the ocean.
Read more at University of New South Wales
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