Assessing the effects of climate changes on snowpack and streamflow
Title | Assessing the effects of climate changes on snowpack and streamflow |
Publication Type | Conference Proceedings |
Year of Conference | 1989 |
Authors | Cooley, K. R. |
Conference Name | 57th Annual Western Snow Conference |
Series Title | Proceedings of the 57th Annual Western Snow Conference |
Date Published | April 1989 |
Publisher | Western Snow Conference |
Conference Location | Fort Collins, Colorado |
Keywords | Climate change, Runoff, Snowmelt |
Abstract | Projected increases in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide could significantly change the earth's climate. Estimates of expected changes in temperature and precipitaion have been made by a number of researchers using theoretical models, empirical relationships, and actual long-term climatic data. The estimated changes range from warming the global surface temperatures by more than 4 degrees celsius, to cooling the surface temperature somewhat, and increasing or decreasing precipitation by about 10% in certain areas or regions of the world. In this sudy, the National Weather Service River Forecast System Model (NWSRFS) was used to estimate the effects of temperature and precipitation changes, of the magnitude suggested, on snowpack and streamflow for the Lower Willow creek Watershed, Montana, which is a predominately snowmelt-fed system. |
URL | sites/westernsnowconference.org/PDFs/1989Cooley.pdf |