Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Climate change

Water cycle shifts gear

Nature volume 434, pages 830–833 (2005)Cite this article

Various studies indicate that the hydrological cycle is speeding up at high northern latitudes. The resulting increase in freshwater flow into the Arctic Ocean is predicted to have long-range effects.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: The vast delta of the Lena River, Russia, which is some 250 km wide.

LANDSAT/USGS EROS DATA CENTER

Figure 2: Projected freshwater delivery to the ocean in the high northern (FN) and high southern (FS) latitudes.

References

  1. Wu, P., Wood, R. & Stott, P. Geophys. Res. Lett. 32, L02703 (2005).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. Stott, P. A. et al. Science 290, 2133–2137 (2000).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Peterson, B. J. et al. Science 298, 2171–2173 (2002).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Simmons, A. J. & Gibson, J. K. The ERA40 Project Plan (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, Reading, UK, 2000).

    Google Scholar 

  5. Curry, R., Dickson, B. & Yashayaev, I. Nature 426, 826–829 (2003).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Delworth, T. L. & Mann, M. E. Clim. Dyn. 16, 661–676 (2000).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Houghton, J. T. et al. (eds) Climate Change 2001: The Scientific Basis (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2001).

  8. Corell, R. et al. Impacts of a Warming Arctic — Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2004).

    Google Scholar 

  9. Stocker, T. F., Wright, D. G. & Broecker, W. S. Paleoceanography 7, 529–541 (1992).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  10. Bryan, F. O. et al. J. Clim. (submitted).

  11. Stocker, T. F. & Schmittner, A. Nature 388, 862–865 (1997).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Knutti, R. & Stocker, T. F. J. Clim. 15, 179–186 (2002).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  13. Huybrechts, P., Gregory, J., Janssens, I. & Wild, M. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 42, 83–105 (2004).

    Google Scholar 

  14. http://www.climateprediction.net

  15. http://www-pcmdi.llnl.gov

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. the Division of Climate and Environmental Physics, University of Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, Bern, CH-3012, Switzerland

    Thomas F. Stocker & Christoph C. Raible

Authors
  1. Thomas F. Stocker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Christoph C. Raible
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Stocker, T., Raible, C. Water cycle shifts gear. Nature 434, 830–833 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/434830a

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/434830a

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing