Global-scale analysis on future changes in flow regimes using Gini and Lorenz asymmetry coefficients

Abstract

By introducing two scalar quantities, namely, the Gini and Lorenz asymmetry coefficients, we examined their characteristics and applicability to the global analysis of changes in river flow regimes under future climate change. First, by applying these coefficients to river discharge data, we showed that various types of flow-duration curves can be interpreted quantitatively in terms of the seasonal inequality in the discharge (i.e., the unevenness of the temporal distribution of river discharge). Their statistical characteristics, based on five theoretical distribution functions frequently used in hydrological analysis, were also shown. Next we used these coefficients to evaluate the seasonal inequality of major global rivers using the global hydrological model H08 for four 30 year time spans (1960–1989, 2010–2039, 2040–2069, and 2070–2099) under four climate-change scenarios. We used ensembles of hydrological simulation results with five general circulation models. From the analysis of the Gini coefficient, future changes in seasonal inequality show a contrasting geographical pattern: a decreasing trend at high northern latitudes and an increasing trend in most other areas. The Lorenz asymmetry coefficient shows large changes at high northern latitudes, attributable to major shifts in the flow regime accompanied by different snow-melting properties under different future climate scenarios. Although a flow-duration curve is a pictorial representation of river discharge suitable for one specific site, by depicting the geographical distribution of these two coefficients along river channels, different characteristics of flow-duration curves at different sites can be detected, even within the same river basin.