PLoS ONE· 2012Q1
Global Monthly Water Scarcity: Blue Water Footprints versus Blue Water Availability
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- Q1SCImago
- 2012year
Short summary
A new analysis reveals severe water scarcity in at least one month per year for 201 river basins, home to 2.67 billion people, by using blue water footprints (including ecological needs) and monthly data, a significant improvement over previous annual withdrawal-based methods.
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Key points
- 201 out of 405 analyzed river basins faced severe water scarcity in at least one month between 1996-2005.
- The study impacts 2.67 billion people living in these water-scarce basins.
- Blue water footprints, accounting for ecological flows, provide a more accurate scarcity measure than water withdrawals.
- Monthly analysis reveals seasonal scarcity patterns missed by annual assessments.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Freshwater scarcity is a growing concern, placing considerable importance on the accuracy of indicators used to characterize and map water scarcity worldwide. We improve upon past efforts by using estimates of blue water footprints (consumptive use of ground- and surface water flows) rather than water withdrawals, accounting for the flows needed to sustain critical ecological functions and by considering monthly rather than annual values. We analyzed 405 river basins for the period 1996-2005. In 201 basins with 2.67 billion inhabitants there was severe water scarcity during at least one month of the year. The ecological and economic consequences of increasing degrees of water scarcity--as evidenced by the Rio Grande (Rio Bravo), Indus, and Murray-Darling River Basins--can include complete desiccation during dry seasons, decimation of aquatic biodiversity, and substantial economic disruption.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. PLoS ONE, 2012 · DOI ↗
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Field: Ocean Engineering
Ocean EngineeringEngineering