Glacial runoff buffers droughts through the 21st century

Abstract

Abstract. Global climate model projections suggest that 21st century climate change will bring significant drying in the terrestrial midlatitudes. Recent glacier modeling suggests that runoff from glaciers will continue to provide substantial freshwater in many drainage basins, though the supply will generally diminish throughout the century. In the absence of dynamic glacier ice within global climate models (GCMs), a comprehensive picture of future drought conditions in glaciated regions has been elusive. Here, we leverage the results of existing GCM simulations and a global glacier model to evaluate glacial buffering of droughts in the Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI). We find that accounting for glacial runoff tends to increase multi-model ensemble mean SPEI and reduce drought frequency and severity, even in basins with relatively little glacier cover. Glacial drought buffering persists even as glacial runoff is projected to decline through the 21st century.