Glacier Melt Makes a Significant Contribution to Summertime Streamflow in the Upper Middle Fork Hood River

TitleGlacier Melt Makes a Significant Contribution to Summertime Streamflow in the Upper Middle Fork Hood River
Publication TypeConference Proceedings
Year of Conference2008
AuthorsNolin, A. W., and Phillippe J.
Conference Name76th Annual Western Snow Conference
Series TitleProceedings of the 76th Annual Western Snow Conference
Date PublishedApril 2008
PublisherWestern Snow Conference
Conference LocationHood River, OR
KeywordsMt. Hood, glacier, glacier meltwater, Hood River, snowmelt, runoff fraction
Abstract

Mount Hood is the tallest mountain in Oregon and six of its 11 glaciers feed into the five irrigation districts in Hood River Valley. Glacier meltwater reduces the interseasonal and interannual variability of streamflow. However, the volume of meltwater from Mount Hood glaciers is not known because the glacial-fed streams are not gaged. The objectives of this research are to: 1. Determine the interseasonal and interannual proportions of glacier meltwater to streamflow in the Upper Middle Fork Hood River; 2. Estimate changes in glacier meltwater production on timescales of 10- to 50-years and impacts on low flows in the Upper Middle Fork Hood River. Our approach uses a combination of direct streamflow measurements and a snowmelt-runoff model. During summer 2007, we installed water height recorders at the termini of Eliot and Coe glaciers and at locations several kilometers further downstream. Isotope tracers were also used to compute the relative contributions of water from glacier melt and groundwater. Our measurements indicate that during the lowest flow period of the summer, roughly 74% of the water in the Upper Middle Fork Hood River is derived from glacier melt. These data also served to calibrate a glacier melt-runoff model. Our projections indicate that in about fifty years, the glacier melt contributions to streamflow in the Upper Middle Fork Hood River will have declined by about 31%.

URLsites/westernsnowconference.org/PDFs/2008Nolin2.pdf