Articles | Volume 21, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3455-2017
Special issue:
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3455-2017
Opinion article
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12 Jul 2017
Opinion article | Highlight paper |  | 12 Jul 2017

HESS Opinions: A planetary boundary on freshwater use is misleading

Maik Heistermann

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Cited articles

Alter, R. E., Fan, Y., Lintner, B. R., and Weaver, C. P.: Observational Evidence that Great Plains Irrigation Has Enhanced Summer Precipitation Intensity and Totals in the Midwestern United States, J. Hydrometeorol., 16, 1717–1735, 2015.
Boers, N., Marwan, N., Barbosa, H. M. J., and Kurths, J.: A deforestation-induced tipping point for the South American monsoon system, Sci. Rep.-UK, 7, 41489, https://doi.org/10.1038/srep41489, 2017.
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Dalin, C., Konar, M., Hanasaki, N., Rinaldo, A., and Rodriguez-Iturbe, I.: Evolution of the global virtual water trade network, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 109, 5989–5994, 2012.
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In 2009, the "planetary boundaries" were introduced. They consist of nine global control variables and corresponding "thresholds which, if crossed, could generate unacceptable environmental change". The idea has been very successful, but also controversial. This paper picks up the debate with regard to the boundary on "global freshwater use": it argues that such a boundary is based on mere speculation, and that any exercise of assigning actual numbers is arbitrary, premature, and misleading.
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