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IMPLICATIONS OF CLIMATE CHANGE FOR THE WATER BALANCE OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN, USA
Citation:
Marks, D., G. King, AND J. Dolph. IMPLICATIONS OF CLIMATE CHANGE FOR THE WATER BALANCE OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN, USA. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/J-94/132 (NTIS PB94159365), 1993.
Description:
Global climate change will affect the terrestrial biosphere primarily through changes in regional energy and water balance. hanges in soil moisture and evapotranspiration will particularly affect water and forest resources. xisting spatially lumped hydrologic models are not adequate to analyze the potential effects of climate change on the regional water balance over large river basins or regions primarily because they do not satisfactorily account for the spatial and temporal variability of hydrologic processes. ere the authors summarize application of a spatially distributed water balance model that was tested using historical data from the U.S. portion of the Columbia River Basin in the Pacific Northwest for a very dry (1977) and very wet (1972) water year. he model adequately partitions incoming precipitation into evapotranspiration and runoff. ecause precipitation in the basin is underestimated from measured data, modeled runoff is less than measured runoff from the basin during both the wet and dry years. he potential effects of climate change on runoff and soil moisture in the Columbia River Basin were simulated using 2xCO2, scenario data from the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory general circulation model. he predicted future climate conditions significantly increase potential evapotranspiration, causing a 20% reduction in runoff relative to input precipitation, and a 58% reduction in soil moisture storage. f these changes in regional water balance are realized, the distribution and composition of forests in the Northwest would change markedly, and water resources would become more limited. ecause of uncertainties in future climate scenarios, and limitation in the implementation of the water balance model, the 2xCO, result should be viewed only by a sensitivity analysis.
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IMPLICATIONS OF CLIMATE CHANGE FOR THE WATER BALANCE OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN, USA