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GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 35, L07701, doi:10.1029/2008GL033390, 2008

Evidence of impacts from rising temperature on inflows to the Murray-Darling Basin

Wenju Cai

CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, Aspendale, Victoria, Australia

Tim Cowan

CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, Aspendale, Victoria, Australia

Abstract

The 2001–2007 Australian drought was the hottest on record with inflows to Australia's longest river system, the Murray-Darling, reaching an historical low. Here we examine the relative importance of rising temperature and decreasing rainfall over its catchment, the Murray Darling Basin (MDB). Although annual-total inflow is more sensitive to rainfall over the southern MDB, where rainfall since 2001, has been the lowest on record, this alone can not explain the observed inflow decline. A relationship exists between inflow variations and fluctuations of temperature not associated with rainfall in the austral winter and spring: a rise of 1°C leads to an approximate 15% reduction in the climatological annual inflow. Our results provide strong evidence that rising temperatures due to the enhanced greenhouse effect have a strong impact on southern Australia's water resources, in addition to any reduction in rainfall, and project a long-term decline in inflows to this river system as the greenhouse effect continues.

Received 23 January 2008; accepted 5 March 2008; published 2 April 2008.

Keywords: rising temperature; inflow reduction; climate change.

Index Terms: 1637 Global Change: Regional climate change; 1812 Hydrology: Drought; 3354 Atmospheric Processes: Precipitation (1854); 1807 Hydrology: Climate impacts.

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Citation: Cai, W., and T. Cowan (2008), Evidence of impacts from rising temperature on inflows to the Murray-Darling Basin, Geophys. Res. Lett., 35, L07701, doi:10.1029/2008GL033390.

Copyright 2008 by the American Geophysical Union.