TITLE

Climate variability and change in mountain environments: some implications for water resources and water quality in the Sierra Nevada (USA)

AUTHOR(S)

Costa-Cabral, Mariza; Coats, Robert; Reuter, John; Riverson, John; Sahoo, Goloka; Schladow, Geoffrey; Wolfe, Brent; Roy, Sujoy; Chen, Limin

PUB. DATE

January 2013

SOURCE

Climatic Change;Jan2013, Vol. 116 Issue 1, p1

SOURCE TYPE

Academic Journal

DOC. TYPE

Article

ABSTRACT

This article introduces this special journal issue on climate change impacts on Sierra Nevada water resources and provides a critical summary of major findings and questions that remain open, representing future research opportunities. Some of these questions are long standing, while others emerge from the new research reported in the eight research papers in this special issue. Six of the papers study Eastern Sierra watersheds, which have been under-represented in the recent literature. One of those papers presents hydrologic projections for Owens Valley, benefiting from multi-decadal streamflow records made available by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power for hydrologic model calibration. Taken together, the eight research papers present an image of localized climatic and hydrologic specificity that allows few region-wide conclusions. A source of uncertainty across these studies concerns the inability of the (statistically downscaled) global climate model results that were used to adequately project future changes in key processes including (among others) the precipitation distribution with altitude. Greater availability of regional climate model results in the future will provide research opportunities to project altitudinal shifts in snowfall and rainfall, with important implications to snowmelt timing, streamflow temperatures, and the Eastern Sierra's precipitation-shadow effect.

ACCESSION #

84368975

Tags: CLIMATIC changes;  MOUNTAIN ecology;  WATER quality;  WATERSHEDS;  STREAMFLOW;  WATER temperature;  LOS Angeles (Calif.). Dept. of Water & Power;  SIERRA Nevada (Calif. & Nev.)

 

Related Articles

• The Impact of Cattle Grazing in High Elevation Sierra Nevada Mountain Meadows over Widely Variable Annual Climatic Conditions. Myers, Lindsey; Whited, Brenda // Journal of Environmental Protection;Aug2012 Supplement, Vol. 3 Issue s1, p823 

  The impact of summer cattle grazing on water quality during three very different climatic years in the Sierra Nevada was investigated. Water year 2009 had near normal precipitation; 2010 had late precipitation and snowmelt; and 2011 had 150% above normal precipitation. Surface waters were tested...

• Stream temperature sensitivity to climate warming in California's Sierra Nevada: impacts to coldwater habitat. Null, Sarah; Viers, Joshua; Deas, Michael; Tanaka, Stacy; Mount, Jeffrey // Climatic Change;Jan2013, Vol. 116 Issue 1, p149 

  Water temperature influences the distribution, abundance, and health of aquatic organisms in stream ecosystems, so understanding the impacts of climate warming on stream temperature will help guide management and restoration. This study assesses climate warming impacts on stream temperatures in...

• Water quality response to the Angora Fire, Lake Tahoe, California. Oliver, Allison; Reuter, John; Heyvaert, Alan; Dahlgren, Randy // Biogeochemistry;Nov2012, Vol. 111 Issue 1-3, p361 

  The Angora Fire (summer of 2007) was the largest and most severe wildfire in recent history within the Lake Tahoe basin of the Sierra Nevada. To determine the watershed response and to assess the potential for downstream impacts of nutrient and sediment delivery to Lake Tahoe, we monitored the...

• Erratum to: Climate variability and change in mountain environments: some implications for water resources and water quality in the Sierra Nevada (USA). Costa-Cabral, Mariza; Coats, Robert; Reuter, John; Riverson, John; Sahoo, Goloka; Schladow, Geoffrey; Wolfe, Brent; Roy, Sujoy; Chen, Limin // Climatic Change;Jan2013, Vol. 116 Issue 1, p15 

  A correction to the article "Climate variability and change in mountain environments: some implications for water resources and water quality in the Sierra Nevada (USA)" that was published in the November 30, 2012 issue is presented.

• CALIFORNIA/NEVADA. Watson, Jay // Wilderness Society's Quarterly Newsletter;Winter2000/2001, Vol. 3 Issue 1, p5 

  Updates on the status of the Wilderness Society's 'Range of Light' project aimed to create a system of wildland reserves throughout the Sierra Nevada. Partnership with the Trust for Public Land in the Yuba and Rubicon River watersheds; Use of software to help in setting protection priorities.

• CHAPTER 5: The Sierra Nevada.  // Weather Extremes of the West;2005, p92 

  Chapter 5 of the book "Weather Extremes in the West" is presented. An overview of the weather and climate in the Sierra Nevada region in California and Nevada, as well as the climate graph and climate characteristics of the region are discussed. It highlights several extreme, historic and unique...

• Impact of Summer Cattle Grazing on the Sierra Nevada Watershed: Aquatic Algae and Bacteria. Derlet, Robert W.; Richards, John R.; Tanaka, Lidia L.; Hayden, Curtis; Ger, K. Ali; Goldman, Charles R. // Journal of Environmental & Public Health;2012, p1 

  Introduction. We evaluated periphytic algal and microbial communities to assess the influence of human and cattle impact on Sierra water quality. Methods. 64 sites (lakes and streams from Lake Tahoe to Sequoia National Park, California) were sampled for suspended indicator bacteria and algae...

• CHANGES IN SNOWFALL IN THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA OF CALIFORNIA SINCE 1916. Christy, John R.; Hnilo, Justin J. // Energy & Environment;2010, Vol. 21 Issue 3, p223 

  A time series (1916-2009) of annual snowfall totals for Huntington Lake (HL, elev. 2141 m) in the southern Sierra Nevada of California is reconstructed. A reconstruction is (a) necessary because HL data after 1972 are mostly missing and (b) possible because nearby stations reveal high...

• T�cnicas geom�ticas aplicadas al control de los glaciares rocosos. Comparaci�n de los glaciares rocosos de Doesen (Alpes), Posets (Pirineos) y Corral del Veleta (Sierra Nevada). De Sanjos� Blasco, Jos� Juan; Gordo, Atkinson; Kaufmann, Viktor; Ortiz, Antonio G�mez; Franch, Ferran Salvador; Ca�adas, Enrique Serrano; Trueba, Juan Jos� Gonz�lez // Revista Cartogr�fica;2009, Issue 85/86, p45 

  No abstract available.

Read the Article