Effects of climate on Colorado River flow: perspectives from the past, present and future

Category: Time:
Wednesday, March 23, 2016 - 12:00 to 13:00
Access:
public
Room: Speaker:
Connie Woodhouse
Affiliation:
The University of Arizona-School of Geography and Development
Contact:
Dave Meko and Ramzi Touchan

Mountain snowpack is a critical factor for determining annual streamflow in the upper Colorado River, but other climatic factors can play an important role as well.  In particular, spring temperatures appear to be increasingly important, but antecedent fall moisture and early summer rainfall may also influence flows.  In the Colorado River basis, where water demand increasingly exceeds supply, water managers are interested in gaining insights on these additional climatic influences. Guided by these interests, we initially investigated relationships between climate and annual streamflow over the last 100 years.  We are now using tree-ring data to extend this work into the past, and a final stage of the project will use climate change projections and paleoclimate reconstructions to help inform management. In this talk, I will present an overview, research results to date, and future directions for this interdisciplinary project, co-produced with water resource managers.