Snowmelt water supply research in the ARS global change, water resources, and agriculture program
Title | Snowmelt water supply research in the ARS global change, water resources, and agriculture program |
Publication Type | Conference Proceedings |
Year of Conference | 1994 |
Authors | Rango, A., and Cooley K. R. |
Conference Name | 62nd Annual Western Snow Conference |
Series Title | Proceedings of the 62nd Annual Western Snow Conference |
Date Published | April 1994 |
Publisher | Western Snow Conference |
Conference Location | Sante Fe, New Mexico |
Keywords | Climate change, Modelling, Snowmelt runoff |
Abstract | The impending global warming expected to be felt most significantly in the next century will likely have a major impact on water resources and, in particular, snowmelt water supply. The Agricultural Research Service has a Global Change, Water Resources, and Agricultural Research Program in place with the purpose of evaluating the hydrologic impacts of these changes, mostly through the use of snowmelt runoff models. Seven basins in the Western U.S. are being studied. During the snowmelt season, global warming will cause a shift forward in the timing of runoff along with greater amounts of runoff early in the snowmelt season with decreases in runoff during the dry season. In addition there is a shift of runoff from the summer half year to winter half year. Improvements in model representations of evapotranspiration, the radiation balance, and sub-basin areas gives a more physical basis to estimates of the hydrologic response to conditions of climate change. The development and use of integrated modular modeling systems has been necessary to make optimum use of high technology capabilities. |
URL | sites/westernsnowconference.org/PDFs/1994Rango.pdf |