Authors:	Torbenson, Max C. A. Stahle, David W. Howard, Ian M. Blackstock, Joshua M. Cleaveland, Malcolm K. Stagge, James H.
Title:	Pre-instrumental perspectives on Arkansas River cross-watershed flow variability
Online publication date:	26-Jan-2024
Year of first publication:	2023
Language:	english
Abstract:	We present four reconstruction estimates of Arkansas River baseflow and streamflow using a total of 78 tree-ring chronologies for three streamflow gages, geographically spanning the headwaters in Colorado to near the confluence of the Arkansas-Mississippi rivers. The estimates represent different seasonal windows, which are dictated by the shared limiting forcing of precipitation on seasonal tree growth and soil moisture—and subsequently on the variability of Arkansas River discharge. Flow extremes that were higher and lower than what has been observed in the instrumental era are recorded in each of the four reconstructions. Years of concurrent, cross-basin (all sites) low flow appear more frequently during the 20th and 21st Centuries compared to any period since 1600 A.D., however, no significant trend in cross-basin low flow is observed. As the most downstream major tributary of the Mississippi River, the Arkansas River directly influences flood risk in the Lower Mississippi River Valley. Estimates of extreme high flow in downstream reconstructions coincide with specific years of historic flooding documented in New Orleans, Louisiana, just upstream of the Mississippi River Delta. By deduction, Mississippi River flooding in years of low Arkansas River flow imply exceptional flooding contributions from the Upper Mississippi River catchments.
DDC:	550 Geowissenschaften 550 Earth sciences
Institution:	Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
Department:	FB 09 Chemie, Pharmazie u. Geowissensch.
Place:	Mainz
ROR:	https://ror.org/023b0x485
DOI:	http://doi.org/10.25358/openscience-9986
Version:	Published version
Publication type:	Zeitschriftenaufsatz
Document type specification:	Scientific article
License:	CC BY-NC-ND
Information on rights of use:	https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Journal:	Journal of the American Water Resources Association 59 1
Pages or article number:	1 15
Publisher:	Wiley-Blackwell
Publisher place:	Hoboken, NJ
Issue date:	2023
ISSN:	1093-474X
Publisher DOI:	10.1111/1752-1688.13068
Appears in collections:	JGU-Publikationen