Jump to main content.

Research Project Search
 Enter Search Term:
   
 NCER Advanced Search

The Influence of Global Climate Change on Mountain Water Resources

EPA Grant Number: R824803
Title: The Influence of Global Climate Change on Mountain Water Resources
Investigators: Leung, L Ruby , Neilson, Ronald P. , Wigmosta, Mark
Current Investigators: Leung, L Ruby , Ghan, Steven J. , Neilson, Ronald P. , Waichler, Scott , Wigmosta, Mark
Institution: Battelle Memorial Institute, Pacific Northwest Division , Oregon State University
Current Institution: Battelle Memorial Institute, Pacific Northwest Division
EPA Project Officer: Winner, Darrell
Project Period: October 1, 1995 through September 1, 1998
Project Amount: $500,000
RFA: Regional Hydrologic Vulnerability to Global Climate Change (1995)
Research Category: Ecological Indicators/Assessment/Restoration , Global Climate Change

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 project

Journal Articles:

Journal Articles have been submitted on this project: View all 5 journal articles for this project

Supplemental Keywords:

water, watershed, vulnerability, ecological effects, hydrology, climate model, Cascades, Northern Rockies, Region 10, Region 8. , Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Air, Geographic Area, Scientific Discipline, RFA, Ecosystem/Assessment/Indicators, exploratory research environmental biology, climate change, Ecological Risk Assessment, Pacific Northwest, Ecological Indicators, Atmospheric Sciences, Ecological Effects - Human Health, EPA Region, Hydrology, Chemical Mixtures - Environmental Exposure & Risk, Ecological Effects - Environmental Exposure & Risk, Ecosystem Protection, CO2 concentrations, meteorology, carbon dioxide, Global Climate Change, hydrologic models, snowpack, surface water storage reservoir, climate change impact, groundwater, mountain water resources, vegetation models, environmental monitoring, watersheds, climate models, Region 8, ecological exposure, climate variability, Region 10, global change, Northern Rockies, global vegetation models, green house gas concentrations, regional hydrologic vulnerability, water resources, ecological effects, ecosystem models, global warming
Relevant Websites:

Regional Climate Model, Simulation Approach, Results:
http://www.pnl.gov/atmos_sciences/as_clim3.html#Mountain Water

Distributed Hydrology Model:
http://etd.pnl.gov:2080/watershed/
http://maximus.ce.washington.edu/~nijssen/docs/DHSVM/

Vegetation Models:
http://www.cgd.ucar.edu/vemap/abstracts/MAPSS.html
http://www.cgd.ucar.edu/vemap/abstracts/BGC.html
http://www.fsl.orst.edu/~waichler/frameset1.html

Snowpack Changes (A quicktime movie):
http://www.pnl.gov/atmos_sciences/snowmovie.html

Washington State Senate Hearing - Presentation:
http://www.pnl.gov/atmos_sciences/Lrl/index.html

Progress and Final Reports:
1998 Progress Report
Final Report

Top of page

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.

Local Navigation

Jump to main content.