Science

The vast majority of locally-available fresh water comes either directly from precipitation and groundwater, or indirectly through runoff from distant locations (such as snowmelt). Readily available freshwater resources are substantially altered through natural processes such as rainfall and evapotranspiration, or when the availability is changed both spatially and temporally by human processes such as water diversion and storage, deforestation, and groundwater depletion. Important climate extremes relate to how much or how little precipitation falls over time, snowmelt timing, fluctuations in land evapotranspiration, and soil moisture dynamics. From a climate perspective, it is therefore imperative to understand the natural variability of precipitation and land water exchanges and storages, as well as their susceptibility to change by external forcings.

This Grand Challenge expands on questions related to changes in water storage, both temporally and spatially, with respect to reservoirs, ground water, snowpack depth, and other sources.

More specifically this Grand Challenge embodies the following science questions:

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