Access to fresh water is a vital necessity for any population, and today’s shifting climate is hampering our ability to access it. We’ve expanded our available arable land through innovations in irrigation, changed the course of rivers to generate power for our energy-starved lifestyles, and even built gigantic cities in the desert by piping drinking water huge distances across the sand. As our climate changes further, the ability of these marginal areas to survive will be put to the test.
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Annual Runoff
Description: The total volume of water running through a gridcell over one year.
Source: UNH-GRDC (2000)
Category: water resources
Annual Total Precipitation
Description: The total amount of precipitation to fall in one gridcell during one year.
Source: CRU 0.5 Degree Dataset, New et al.(1998)
Categories: ecosystems, water resources
Evapotranspiration
Description: The amount of water removed from a gridcell through the processes of evaporation and transpiration.
Source: Willmott and Matsuura (2001)
Categories: ecosystems, water resources
Irrigated Lands
Description: Land area equipped for irrigation in 1995 as a percentage of the total area of the gridcell.
Source: Döll and Siebert (2000), Siebert and Döll (2001)
Categories: land use, water resources
Lakes and Wetlands
Description: The extent of lakes and wetlands of various categories across the globe.
Source: Lehner and Döll (2001)
Categories: ecosystems, water resources
Potential Evapotranspiration
Description: Assuming no limiting factors, the amount of water that could be removed from the gridcell through evaporation and transpiration.
Source: Willmott and Matsuura (2001)
Categories: ecosystems, water resources
Snow Depth
Description: The average annual snow depth in each grid cell.
Source: Willmott and Matsuura (2001)
Categories: ecosystems, water resources
Soil Moisture
Description: The average amount of water in the soil of a grid cell.
Source: Willmott and Matsuura (2001)
Categories: ecosystems, water resources