Water Resources Research is becoming a fully open access journal

AGU remains committed to open science and open data. As part of our mission, we are focused on making science available to the widest possible audience.

With the growing open access requirements placed by funders on researchers around the world, this transition to an open access model also makes compliance easier.

All articles in the journal will be open access as of 1 January 2024. New submissions received after 12 July 2023 will require payment of an open access article processing charge (APC) of US$3,000 or an approved waiver in order to be published. To ensure that lack of funding does not become a barrier to publishing, AGU offers various funding support for APCs, including full waivers. For more information, please visit the FAQ.


Browse Articles

Open access

Probabilistic Intraday Wastewater Treatment Plant Inflow Forecast Utilizing Rain Forecast Data and Sewer Network Sensor Data

  •  27 November 2023

Key Points

  • We propose a model for probabilistic wastewater treatment plant inflow prediction utilizing rain forecast data to handle rain events

  • Non-linear dynamics within the sewer system are approximated in a linear framework using rectified linear units

  • Our results indicate similar performance to less intelligible non-linear models, but rain forecast accuracy constitutes a limitation

Open access

Sensitivity of Subsurface Permeability in Coastal Deltas to Their Morphodynamic and Geomorphic Characteristics

  •  27 November 2023

Key Points

  • Delta morphodynamics controls the permeability, hydraulic gradient, and connectivity of high permeability bodies in coastal deltas

  • High permeability bodies are associated with current and previous channelization and are highly connected

  • Wave deltas may be especially susceptible to inundation and groundwater salinization due to high permeability and low hydraulic gradient

Open access

Exploring Cohesive Sediment Flocculation With Surface Heterogeneity: A Theoretical Lagrangian‐Type Flocculation Model

  •  27 November 2023

Key Points

  • A theoretical Lagrangian-type flocculation model is deduced by solving the population balance equation with moment methodology

  • Critical shear rate exists and effects of sediment concentration depend on the shear levels

  • The enlargement of primary particle size and surface heterogeneity would discourage the propensity of flocculation

Open access

Toward Optimal Rainfall for Flood Prediction in Headwater Basins—Orographic QPE Error Modeling Using Machine Learning

  •  27 November 2023

Key Points

  • Quantitative Precipitation Estimates (QPE) error modeling conditional on precipitation regime constrained by water budget closure at event-scale in headwater basins

  • Automated space-time QPE error prediction using machine learning

  • QPE error metrics target operational streamflow prediction skill

Open access

Google Earth Engine‐Based Estimation of the Spatio‐Temporal Distribution of Suspended Sediment Concentrations in a Multi‐Channel River System of the Yangtze River Basin

  •  27 November 2023

Key Points

  • We created a multiple linear regression model using time-series to map SSC in a typical multi-channel alluvial river system of the Yangtze

  • The new SSC predictive model reveals opposite downstream trends in SSC during peak flood years and normal flood years

  • A prominent difference in SSC after the operation of the Three Gorges Dam with a reduction rate of 60% compared with the pre-TGD period

Open access

Comparing Agriculture‐Related Characteristics of Flash and Normal Drought Reveals Heterogeneous Crop Response

  •  27 November 2023

Key Points

  • Flash droughts exhibit significantly different spatial distributions and trends in characteristics than normal droughts

  • Aridity can provide useful clues about vegetation condition and irrigation's effectiveness during drought

  • Flash drought conditions (temperature and radiation) may alleviate plant growth limitations in cooler climates, improving vegetation condition

Open access

Groundwater Sensitivity to Climate Variations Across Australia

  •  27 November 2023

Key Points

  • Climate-dominated groundwater bores throughout Australia are statistically identified (n = 1,143, 26%)

  • Median head and recharge sensitivity to precipitation are 42 and 0.43 mm mm−1

  • Head and recharge sensitivity are primarily controlled by climate type and hydrogeology

Open access

Constraining Plant Hydraulics With Microwave Radiometry in a Land Surface Model: Impacts of Temporal Resolution

  •  27 November 2023

Key Points

  • We demonstrate that ecohydrological parameters and variables can be inferred from microwave radiometry via model-data fusion

  • We compare scenarios that use synthetic observations at different times of day, corresponding to current and proposed satellite orbits

  • For inferring land surface variables, using observations from just four times of day proves to be as useful as using data from every hour

Open access

Randomly Distributed Crab Burrows Enhance Groundwater Flow and Salt Transport in Creek‐Marsh Systems

  •  27 November 2023

Key Points

  • Local circulation within burrows enhances porewater exchange between crab burrows and the sediment matrix

  • Crab burrows facilitate soil aeration and alter flow paths/rate depending on burrow morphologies

  • Crab burrows have the potential to enhance terrigenous groundwater discharge in the creek-marsh system

Open access

Study of Supercooling Phenomena in Soil‐Water Systems Based on Nucleation Theory: Quantifying Supercooling Degree

  •  27 November 2023

Key Points

  • A physical model is proposed to quantify the supercooling degree of unsaturated saline soils

  • A maximum value of soil minimum supercooling temperature will occur with increasing salt concentration

  • Too fast cooling rate will lead to a lag in crystallization time and an increase in supercooling

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Open access

A Transdisciplinary Review of Deep Learning Research and Its Relevance for Water Resources Scientists

Key Points

  • Deep learning (DL) is transforming many scientific disciplines, but its adoption in hydrology is gradual
  • DL can help tackle interdisciplinarity, data deluge, unrecognized linkages, and long-standing challenges such as scaling and equifinality
  • The new field of AI neuroscience opens up many opportunities for scientists to use DL as an exploratory tool for scientific advancement

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Open access

Toward an Integrated Probabilistic Coastal Vulnerability Assessment: A Novel Copula‐Based Vulnerability Index

Key Points

  • Introduction of a new Probabilistic Coastal Vulnerability Index (PCVI), which contains various socio-economic and biophysical factors

  • Using joint-probability analysis of vulnerability factors using copula functions to preserve simultaneous information about various factors

  • Benchmarking PCVI against post-hazard flood maps and the cost of fatalities from Hurricane Florence (2018) and Hurricane Matthew (2016)

Open access

Aridification of Colorado River Basin's Snowpack Regions Has Driven Water Losses Despite Ameliorating Effects of Vegetation

Key Points

  • A 10.3% reduction in Colorado Basin's present-day natural flow exists due to anthropogenic warming despite vegetation response to CO2

  • Anthropogenic warming reduced Colorado Basin's natural flow by roughly the storage of Lake Mead during the ongoing megadrought (2000–2021)

  • Greater aridification in snowpack regions is causing water losses to occur roughly twice as fast compared to non-snowpack regions

Plain Language Summary

The Colorado River Basin provides a crucial source of water for an expansive water-limited region covering the southwestern US and its major cities. Several studies have demonstrated that this basin has experienced substantial reductions in water availability due to warming. Here, we quantify how reductions in water availability have varied from 1954 to 2021 across this basin due to human-driven warming that has occurred since 1880. As a part of this analysis, we include how the vegetation response to historical increases in CO2 has impacted water losses. We find that the basin has roughly 10% less water available under present-day conditions due to warming since the 1880s. The majority of water loss has occurred due to a heightened sensitivity to warming in the basin's regions associated with snowpack, compared to regions without snowpack. We also demonstrate that without this warming, the Colorado Basin would have had significantly larger amounts of water available, equal to the size of Lake Mead, over the duration of the 2000–2021 megadrought.

free access

A new drought index that considers the joint effects of climate and land surface change

Key Points

  • Newly developed drought index SWI considers the joint effects of climate and land surface change (variability)
  • SWI has potential to evaluate the impacts of climate and land surface changes (variability) on dryness/wetness
  • Land surface change has larger (less) impacts on drought conditions in water-limited Wuding (energy-limited Poyang) catchment

free access

Status of CO2 storage in deep saline aquifers with emphasis on modeling approaches and practical simulations

Key Points:

  • Carbon storage in deep saline aquifers is a viable carbon mitigation option
  • A wide range of modeling approaches can provide practical simulation results
  • Field-scale observations and modeling enhance system understanding

Open access

Water Use in Global Livestock Production—Opportunities and Constraints for Increasing Water Productivity

Key Points

  • Annually, 4,387 km3 of water is required to produce the feed consumed by the global livestock sector, of which 94% is green water
  • Opportunities for increasing livestock water productivity exist for all livestock types but are particularly large for ruminants
  • Water productivity improvements for ruminants through supplementation with feed crops are constrained by high water cost to produce crops

free access

ChatGPT in Hydrology and Earth Sciences: Opportunities, Prospects, and Concerns

Key Points

  • Large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT, are new technological tools that might fundamentally change academia

  • ChatGPT can assist in academic writing but should not be relied on as the only source of information in hydrology and Earth Science studies

  • Authors should exhibit transparency in their utilization of LLMs and uphold ethical responsibility

free access

The science and practice of river restoration

Key Points

  • River restoration is a prominent area of applied water-resources science
  • restoration includes connectivity, physical-biotic interactions, and history
  • effective restoration requires collaboration among scientists and practitioners

Open access

Estimating Reservoir Inflow and Outflow From Water Level Observations Using Expert Knowledge: Dealing With an Ill‐Posed Water Balance Equation in Reservoir Management

Key Points

  • This study proposed an analytical framework to determine daily reservoir inflow and outflow from reservoir water level observations

  • An ill-posed reservoir water balance equation was solved by carefully combining water level data, expert knowledge, and modeling

  • The proposed framework outperformed conventional (benchmark) approaches in accuracy and uncertainty

Open access

Satellite Remote Sensing for Water Resources Management: Potential for Supporting Sustainable Development in Data‐Poor Regions

Key Points

  • Satellite remote sensing is being incorporated into water resources management but is generally underutilized
  • New and proposed missions have the potential to transform water resources management for sustainable development, especially in data-poor regions
  • Ongoing challenges of accuracy, sampling, and continuity and capacity development need to be addressed, as well as new challenges of information volume and diversity

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