Hydro-Climatic Data Network (HCDN) -- A USGS Streamflow Data Set for the U.S. for the Study of Climate Fluctuations

Release Date

1994-12-30

Publication Date

2023-09-15

Slack, J., Lumb, A.M., and Landwehr, J.M., 1994, Hydro-Climatic Data Network (HCDN) -- A USGS Streamflow Data Set for the U.S. for the Study of Climate Fluctuations: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9HP0WFJ.

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The potential consequences of climate change to continental water resources are of great concern in the management of those resources. Critically important to society is what effect fluctuations in the prevailing climate may have on hydrologic conditions, such as the occurrence and magnitude of floods or droughts and the seasonal distribution of water supplies within a region. Records of streamflow that are unaffected by artificial diversions, storage, or other works of man in or on the natural stream channels or in the watershed can provide an account of hydrologic responses to fluctuations in climate. By examining such records given known past meteorologic conditions, we can better understand hydrologic responses to those conditions and anticipate the effects of postulated changes in current climate regimes. Furthermore, patterns in streamflow records can indicate when a change in the prevailing climate regime may have occurred in the past, even in the absence of concurrent meteorologic records.

• Model Data Management Function (MDMF)