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Using Hydrologic Landscape Classification to Evaluate the Hydrologic Effects of Climate in the Southwestern United States
Citation:
Jones, C., S. Leibowitz, K. Sawicz, R. Comeleo, L. Stratton, AND P. Wigington. Using Hydrologic Landscape Classification to Evaluate the Hydrologic Effects of Climate in the Southwestern United States. Biennial Conference of Science and Management on the Colorado Plateau & Southwest Region, Flagstaff, AZ, October 05 - 08, 2015.
Impact/Purpose:
Hydrologic landscapes (HLs) have been an active area of research on regional and national scales in the United States. EPA’s Western Ecology Division continues to expand a framework for defining areas of the landscape that are hypothesized to have similar hydrologic responses. The concept has been used to make spatially distributed assessments of variability in streamflow and climatic response in Oregon, Alaska, and the Pacific Northwest, and is currently being applied to the Southwestern U.S. In this project, we are applying the HL framework to assess hydrologic response in the arid southwest (SW) states of Arizona, Nevada, and California. The HL classification process analyzes the primary drivers (climate, seasonality, aquifer permeability, terrain, and soil permeability) that are associated with large scale hydrologic processes (storage, conveyance, and flow of water into or out of the watershed). In this presentation, we summarize (1) the HL classification methodology and (2) how HL methods are being used to examine regional vulnerability to climate based on climate model outputs for past and future conditions. This conference will allow us to present the Hydrologic Landscapes methodology to an audience that is specifically interested in the southwestern United States and will allow us to them to provide feedback on the concept and applicability of the Hydrologic Landscapes methodology to that area.
Description:
Hydrologic landscapes (HLs) have been an active area of research at regional and national scales in the United States. The concept has been used to make spatially distributed assessments of variability in streamflow and climatic response in Oregon, Alaska, and the Pacific Northwest, and is currently being applied to the Southwestern U.S. The HL classification process analyzes the primary drivers (climate, seasonality, aquifer permeability, terrain, and soil permeability) that are associated with large scale hydrologic processes (storage, conveyance, and flow of water into or out of the watershed). Hypotheses regarding the dominant hydrologic pathways derived from the HL classification system are tested to corroborate or falsify these assumptions. Changes in climate are more likely to affect certain hydrogeologic parameters than others. For instance, changes in climate may result in changes in the magnitude, timing, or type of precipitation (snow vs. rain). Air temperature and the seasonality of dominant hydrologic processes may also be impacted. However, the effect of these changes on streamflow will depend on soil and aquifer permeability. In this presentation, we summarize (1) the HL classification methodology and (2) how HL methods are being used to examine regional vulnerability to climate based on climate model outputs for past and future conditions.