Weng et al. (2025) Evolution and impact of rainfall infiltration in global alpine water towers

Identification

• Journal: Journal of Hydrology
• Year: 2025
• Date: 2025-11-30
• Authors: Baisha Weng, Peng Xu, Denghua Yan, Hao Wang
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2025.134712

Research Groups

• State Key Laboratory of Water Cycle and Water Security, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research (IWHR), Beijing, China.
• Power China Huadong Engineering Corporation Limited, Hangzhou, China.

Short Summary

This study develops a temperature-mediated infiltration model to quantify rainfall infiltration across 78 global Water Tower Units (WTUs) from 1980 to 2023. The findings reveal that climate warming and freeze-thaw cycles are significantly altering infiltration characteristics, threatening the stability of downstream water supplies and ecological buffering.

Objective

• To investigate the evolution of rainfall infiltration in global alpine water towers and determine how climate-driven changes in soil temperature and moisture affect water retention and supply capacity.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Global (78 identified Water Tower Units across major mountainous regions).
• Temporal Scale: 1980–2023 (Long-term historical analysis).

Methodology and Data

• Models used: A modified Green-Ampt model (temperature-mediated infiltration model) that accounts for variations in soil water-holding capacity, water potential, and hydraulic conductivity under freezing and negative temperature conditions.
• Data sources: Global meteorological datasets, soil property databases, and the Water Tower Unit (WTU) framework based on the Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment (GMBA) and Immerzeel et al. (2020) classifications.

Main Results

• Infiltration Volume: Multi-year average infiltration across global WTUs ranges from 26 mm/year to 2359 mm/year.
• Regional Dominance: WTUs located in the key latitudinal zone (24°S–42°N) contribute 54% of the total global infiltration volume.
• Driving Factors: While rainfall is the primary driver of infiltration volume and capacity, soil temperature and initial soil water content significantly modulate these processes through freeze-thaw dynamics.
• Ecological Impact: Enhanced infiltration capacity generally promotes vegetation growth, although this relationship is non-linear.
• Supply Stability: Changes in infiltration characteristics are increasing the vulnerability of downstream ecological and human water supplies by reducing the natural buffering capacity of alpine regions.

Contributions

• Model Innovation: Proposes a novel temperature-mediated infiltration model specifically designed for alpine regions where freeze-thaw cycles dominate the hydrological process.
• Global Assessment: Provides the first comprehensive global-scale analysis of rainfall infiltration trends in WTUs, filling a gap in localized cryosphere research.
• Management Insights: Offers a scientific basis for integrated water resource management and ecological conservation in high-altitude regions facing climate-induced hydrological shifts.

Funding

• Not specified in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Weng2025Evolution,
  author = {Weng, Baisha and Xu, Peng and Yan, Denghua and Wang, Hao},
  title = {Evolution and impact of rainfall infiltration in global alpine water towers},
  journal = {Journal of Hydrology},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.1016/j.jhydrol.2025.134712},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2025.134712}
}

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