Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




WATER WORLD
Global warming to cut snow water storage 56 percent in Oregon watershed
by Staff Writers
Corvallis OR (SPX) Jul 31, 2013


The McKenzie River flows over multiple waterfalls as it drops from the high Oregon Cascade Range. (Photo courtesy of Oregon State University)

A new report projects that by the middle of this century there will be an average 56 percent drop in the amount of water stored in peak snowpack in the McKenzie River watershed of the Oregon Cascade Range - and that similar impacts may be found on low-elevation maritime snow packs around the world.

The findings by scientists at Oregon State University, which are based on a projected 3.6 degree Fahrenheit temperature increase, highlight the special risks facing many low-elevation, mountainous regions where snow often falls near the freezing point. In such areas, changing from snow to rain only requires a very modest rise in temperature.

As in Oregon, which depends on Cascade Range winter snowpack for much of the water in the populous Willamette Valley, there may be significant impacts on ecosystems, agriculture, hydropower, industry, municipalities and recreation, especially in summer when water demands peak.

The latest study was one of the most precise of its type done on an entire watershed, and was just published in Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, with support from the National Science Foundation. It makes it clear that new choices are coming for western Oregon and other regions like it.

"In Oregon we have a water-rich environment, but even here we will have to manage our water resources differently in the future," said Eric Sproles, who led this study as a doctoral student at OSU.

"In the Willamette River, for instance, between 60-80 percent of summer stream flow comes from seasonal snow above 4,000 feet," he said. "As more precipitation falls as rain, there will more chance of winter flooding as well as summer drought in the same season. More than 70 percent of Oregon's population lives in the Willamette Valley, with the economy and ecosystems depending heavily on this river."

Annual precipitation in the future may be either higher or lower, the OSU researchers said. They did calculations for precipitation changes that could range 10 percent in either direction, although change of that magnitude is not anticipated by most climate models.

The study made clear, so far as snowpack goes, that temperature is the driving force, far more than precipitation. Even the highest levels of anticipated precipitation had almost no impact on snow-water storage, they said.

"This is not an issue that will just affect Oregon," said Anne Nolin, a professor in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, and co-author of the study. "You may see similar impacts almost anywhere around the world that has low-elevation snow in mountains, such as in Japan, New Zealand, Northern California, the Andes Mountains, a lot of Eastern Europe and the lower-elevation Alps."

The focus of this study was the McKenzie River, a beautiful, clear mountain river that rises in the high Cascade Range near the Three Sisters volcanoes, and supplies about 25 percent of the late summer discharge of the Willamette River. Researchers said this is one of the most detailed studies of its type done on a large watershed.

Among the findings of the study:
+ The average date of peak snowpack in the spring on this watershed will be about 12 days earlier by the middle of this century.

+ The elevation zone from 1,000 to 1,500 meters will lose the greatest volume of stored water, and some locations at that elevation could lose more than 80 days of snow cover in an average year.

+ Changes in dam operations in the McKenzie River watershed will be needed, but will not be able to make up for the vast capability of water storage in snow.

+ Summer water flows will be going down even as Oregon's population surges by about 400,000 people from 2010 to 2020.

+ Globally, maritime snow comprises about 10 percent of the Earth's seasonal snow cover.

+ Snowmelt is a source of water for more than one billion people.

+ Precipitation is highly sensitive to temperature and can fall as rain, snow, or a rain-snow mix.

The model developed for this research, scientists said, could be readily adapted to help other regions in similar situations determine their future loss of snow water in the future.

.


Related Links
OSU College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences
Water News - Science, Technology and Politics






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








WATER WORLD
A life spent in the wettest place on earth
Mawsynram, India (AFP) July 29, 2013
Deep in India's northeast, villagers use grass to sound-proof their huts from deafening rain, clouds are a familiar sight inside homes and a suitably rusted sign tells visitors they are in the "wettest place on earth". Oddly enough, lifelong residents of Mawsynram, a small cluster of hamlets in Meghalaya state have little idea that their scenic home holds a Guinness record for the highest av ... read more


WATER WORLD
Environmental Controls Move Beyond Earth

Bad night's sleep? The moon could be to blame

Moon Base and Beyond

First-ever lunar south pole mission could be attempted by 2016

WATER WORLD
Mars Rover Opportunity Nears Solander Point

Curiosity Mars Rover Gleams in View from Orbiter

Mars Curiosity sets one-day driving distance record

Scientists establish age of Mars meteorites found on Earth

WATER WORLD
First Liquid Hydrogen Tank Barrel Segment for SLS Core Completed

Tenth Parachute Test for NASA's Orion Adds 10,000 Feet of Success

Zero Point Frontiers Delivers Favorable Architecture Assessment to Golden Spike Company

NASA and Korean Space Agency Discuss Space Cooperation

WATER WORLD
China launches three experimental satellites

Medical quarantine over for Shenzhou-10 astronauts

China's astronauts ready for longer missions

Chinese probe reaches record height in space travel

WATER WORLD
NSBRI Wants Ideas To Support Space Crew Health and Performance

NASA narrows list of possible culprits in spacesuit water leak

Unmanned Russian cargo craft lands in Pacific Ocean

Russian supply ship docks with orbiting space station

WATER WORLD
SpaceX Awarded Launch Reservation Contract for Largest Canadian Space Program

ULA Continues Rapid, Reliable Launch Rate

Launch Vehicles for Achieving Low and High Orbits

The second satellite arrives for Arianespace's upcoming heavy-lift Ariane 5 launch

WATER WORLD
Pulsating star sheds light on exoplanet

Chandra Sees Eclipsing Planet in X-rays for First Time

A warmer planetary haven around cool stars, as ice warms rather than cools

Solar system's youth gives clues to planet search

WATER WORLD
Laser communication system for spacecraft in successful test

Make It Yourself and Save - a Lot - with 3D Printers

Lifelike cooling for sunbaked windows

Sony, Panasonic mulling 300-gigabyte Blu-ray format




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement