Grantee Research Project Results
The Influence of Global Climate Change on Mountain Water Resources
EPA Grant Number: R824803Title: The Influence of Global Climate Change on Mountain Water Resources
Investigators: Leung, Lai-yung Ruby , Wigmosta, Mark , Neilson, Ronald P.
Current Investigators: Leung, Lai-yung Ruby , Wigmosta, Mark , Neilson, Ronald P. , Waichler, Scott , Ghan, Steven J.
Institution: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory , Oregon State University
Current Institution: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
EPA Project Officer: Chung, Serena
Project Period: October 1, 1995 through September 1, 1998
Project Amount: $500,000
RFA: Regional Hydrologic Vulnerability to Global Climate Change (1995) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Water
Description:
Global climate change is expected negatively to impact snowpack in mountainous regions, a natural surface water storage reservoir that is heavily relied upon for water resource management. A system of regional climate-hydrology-vegetation models will be used to estimate the hydrologic and ecologic responses to global climate change in mountainous watersheds. These models have been tested to simulate the meteorology, surface hydrology, and vegetation distribution in the Pacific Northwest at the 180-m scale. Each model will be further developed by improving the physical parameterizations, computational efficiency, and the coupling between model components.
The models will be evaluated extensively with observations to establish their applicability for climate change study. Sensitivity experiments will then be performed with global climate scenarios of present and doubled atmospheric CO2 concentrations. The simulations will be analyzed to estimate the hydrologic and ecologic responses to greenhouse warming at three watersheds in the Pacific Northwest.
The modeling and analysis methods developed will provide important information for impact assessment of environmental change at the regional scale.
Publications and Presentations:
Publications have been submitted on this project: View all 17 publications for this projectJournal Articles:
Journal Articles have been submitted on this project: View all 5 journal articles for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
water, watershed, vulnerability, ecological effects, hydrology, climate model, Cascades, Northern Rockies, Region 10, Region 8., RFA, Scientific Discipline, Air, Geographic Area, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Hydrology, Ecosystem/Assessment/Indicators, Ecosystem Protection, exploratory research environmental biology, Chemical Mixtures - Environmental Exposure & Risk, climate change, Ecological Effects - Environmental Exposure & Risk, Ecological Effects - Human Health, Atmospheric Sciences, Ecological Risk Assessment, Pacific Northwest, Ecological Indicators, EPA Region, ecosystem models, water resources, ecological effects, ecological exposure, environmental monitoring, meteorology, snowpack, surface water storage reservoir, climate change impact, watersheds, global change, global vegetation models, regional hydrologic vulnerability, Northern Rockies, green house gas concentrations, hydrologic models, carbon dioxide, climate models, CO2 concentrations, Region 8, mountain water resources, global warming, Region 10, mountain watersheds, climate variability, groundwater, vegetation modelsProgress and Final Reports:
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.