North Atlantic influence on Tigris-Euphrates streamflow
Abstract
Changes in streamflow of the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers are shown to be associated with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), a large-scale mode of natural climate variability which governs the path of Atlantic mid-latitude storm tracks and precipitation in the eastern Mediterranean. Composite indices of Turkish winter (December-March, DJFM) temperature and precipitation are developed which capture the interannual-decadal climate variability for the Tigris-Euphrates headwater region, a significant source of freshwater for Turkey, Syria and Iraq. These indices are significantly correlated with the NAO, with 27% of the variance in precipitation accounted for by this natural mechanism. As evidenced by the recent widespread drought events of 1984, 1989 and 1990, the Tigris-Euphrates streamflow also exhibits significant, +/-40% variability, associated with extrema.
- Publication:
-
International Journal of Climatology
- Pub Date:
- June 2000
- DOI:
- 10.1002/1097-0088(20000630)20:8<853::AID-JOC497>3.0.CO;2-M
- Bibcode:
- 2000IJCli..20..853C
- Keywords:
-
- Turkey;
- interannual-decadal variability;
- temperature;
- precipitation;
- streamflow