Does the USGS have streamflow records that are appropriate for use in the study of climate variation? Tagged:
2008JuneenvironmentClimateChangewater
Published: 6/12/2008
Welcome to CoreFacts, where we're always short on time and
big on science. I'm Jessica Robertson. Today's question is an interesting one.
Does the USGS have streamflow records
that are appropriate for use in the study of climate variation?
For streamflow records to reflect variations in climate
there needs to be an absence of any other major causes that would radically
alter streamflow patterns during that time. Such processes would be primarily
induced by human activity, either intentionally or unintentionally.
An effort was undertaken to identify and assemble USGS
records of daily mean discharge that were judged to be relatively free of
anthropogenic effects. The resulting collection of stations is called the
Hydroclimatic Data Network or HCDN. The HCDN consists of 1,659 sites throughout
the United States
and its territories, totaling 73,231 water years of daily mean discharge
values.
And now you know. Join us again every weekday for a new
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