Precipitationshed

{{short description|Upwind source of evaporation to a given location's precipitation}}

In meteorology, a precipitationshed is the upwind ocean and land surface that contributes evaporation to a given, downwind location's precipitation. The concept has been described as an "atmospheric watershed".{{cite journal|author=P. W. Keys|display-authors=etal|title=Analyzing precipitationsheds to understand the vulnerability of rainfall dependent regions|journal=Biogeosciences|volume=9|issue=2|pages=733–746|year=2012|doi=10.5194/bg-9-733-2012|bibcode=2012BGeo....9..733K|doi-access=free}} The concept itself rests on a broad foundation of scholarly work examining the evaporative sources of rainfall.{{cite journal|author=R. Koster|display-authors=etal|title=Global sources of local precipitation as determined by the Nasa/Giss GCM|journal=Geophysical Research Letters|volume=13|issue=2|pages=121–124|date=February 1986|doi=10.1029/GL013i002p00121|bibcode=1986GeoRL..13..121K}}{{cite journal|author1=E.A.B. Eltahir |author2=R.L. Bras |title=Precipitation recycling in the Amazon basin|journal=Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society|volume=120|issue=518|pages=861–880|date=July 1994|series=Part A|doi=10.1256/smsqj.51805}}{{cite journal|author1=P.A. Dirmeyer |author2=K.L. Brubaker |title=Contrasting evaporative moisture sources during the drought of 1988 and the flood of 1993|journal=Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres |volume=104|issue=D16|pages=19383–19397|date=27 August 1999|doi=10.1029/1999JD900222|bibcode=1999JGR...10419383D|doi-access=free}} Since its formal definition, the precipitationshed has become an element in water security studies,{{cite journal|author1=H. Wheater |author2=P. Gober |title=Water security in the Canadian Prairies: science and management challenges|journal=Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A|date=13 November 2013|volume=371|number=2002 20120409|url=http://classic.rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/371/2002/20120409.short|doi=10.1098/rsta.2012.0409|pmid=24080618|page=20120409|bibcode=2013RSPTA.37120409W|doi-access=free}} examinations of sustainability,{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dl32AgAAQBAJ&q=precipitationshed&pg=PA130|author=J.Rockström|display-authors=etal|title=Water Resilience for Human Prosperity|year=2014|isbn=978-1-107-02419-9|publisher=Cambridge University Press}} and mentioned as a potentially useful tool for examining vulnerability of rainfall dependent ecosystems.{{cite journal|author=R.Mahmood|display-authors=etal|title=Land cover changes and their biogeophysical effects on climate|journal=International Journal of Climatology|volume=34|issue=4|pages=929–953|date=March 2014|doi=10.1002/joc.3736|bibcode=2014IJCli..34..929M|s2cid=3725248 |url=https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/natrespapers/440|url-access=subscription}}

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