WHAT ARE THE PROSPECTS FOR DETECTING CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE TERRESTRIAL HYDROLOGICAL CYCLE?
Eric F. Wood, Princeton University The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported model-predictions that suggest, in one case, that an acceleration of the hydrological cycle will be one manifestation of global warming. Also from NASA’s ten year strategy documents it is stated: “According to model predictions, the most significant manifestation of climate change would be an acceleration of the global water cycle, leading to increased global precipitation, faster evaporation, and a general exacerbation of extreme hydrological regimes, floods, and droughts. Since the release of the latent heat associated with condensations is the principal source of energy for rapid cyclogenesis, a more active water cycle would generate more frequent and/or more severe weather disturbances”. The evidence suggests that some warming-related environmental change is already detectable in the temperature record. However, evidence from observations is not yet strong enough to acknowledge detectab
