Archival measurements and a statistical model show that average water temperature in a major US West Coast river has increased by 1.8 °C since 1850, at a rate of 1.1 °C per century. The largest factor driving modeled changes are warming air temperatures (nearly 75 %). The remainder is primarily caused by depth increases and other modifications to the river system. Near-freezing conditions, common historically, no longer occur, and the number of warm water days has significantly increased.

The capacity to discern surface water improved as satellites became more available. Because remote sensing data is discontinuous, integrating models with satellite observations will improve knowledge of water resources. However, given the current limitations (e.g., parameter errors) of water resource modeling, merging satellite data with simulations is problematic. Integrating observations and models with the unique approaches given here can lead to a better estimation of surface water dynamics.

The acquisition of river-level data is a critical task for the understanding of flood events but is often complicated by the difficulty to install and maintain gauges able to provide such information. This study proposes applying deep learning techniques on river-camera images in order to automatically extract the corresponding water levels. This approach could allow for a new flexible way to observe flood events, especially at ungauged locations.

We estimate the contribution of extreme precipitation, antecedent soil moisture and snowmelt to changes in small and large floods across Europe. In northwestern and eastern Europe, changes in small and large floods are driven mainly by one single driver (i.e. extreme precipitation and snowmelt, respectively). In southern Europe both antecedent soil moisture and extreme precipitation significantly contribute to flood changes, and their relative importance depends on flood magnitude.

We investigate changes that occurred in small vs. big flood events and in small vs. large catchments across Europe over 5 decades. Annual maximum discharge series between 1960 and 2010 from 2370 gauges in Europe are analysed. Distinctive patterns of flood regime change are identified for large regions across Europe, which depend on flood magnitude and catchment size.