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| Titel |
Climate change impacts on maritime mountain snowpack in the Oregon Cascades |
| VerfasserIn |
E. A. Sproles, A. W. Nolin, K. Rittger, T. H. Painter |
| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
Englisch
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| ISSN |
1027-5606
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| Digitales Dokument |
URL |
| Erschienen |
In: Hydrology and Earth System Sciences ; 17, no. 7 ; Nr. 17, no. 7 (2013-07-09), S.2581-2597 |
| Datensatznummer |
250018925
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| Publikation (Nr.) |
 copernicus.org/hess-17-2581-2013.pdf |
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| Zusammenfassung |
| This study investigates the effect of projected temperature increases on
maritime mountain snowpack in the McKenzie River Basin (MRB; 3041 km2)
in the Cascades Mountains of Oregon, USA. We simulated the spatial
distribution of snow water equivalent (SWE) in the MRB for the period of
1989–2009 with SnowModel, a spatially-distributed, process-based model
(Liston and Elder, 2006b). Simulations were evaluated using point-based
measurements of SWE, precipitation, and temperature that showed Nash-Sutcliffe
Efficiency coefficients of 0.83, 0.97, and 0.80, respectively. Spatial
accuracy was shown to be 82% using snow cover extent from the Landsat
Thematic Mapper. The validated model then evaluated the inter- and
intra-year sensitivity of basin wide snowpack to projected temperature
increases (2 °C) and variability in precipitation (±10%).
Results show that a 2 °C increase in temperature would
shift the average date of peak snowpack 12 days earlier and decrease
basin-wide volumetric snow water storage by 56%. Snowpack between the
elevations of 1000 and 2000 m is the most sensitive to increases in
temperature. Upper elevations were also affected, but to a lesser degree.
Temperature increases are the primary driver of diminished snowpack
accumulation, however variability in precipitation produce discernible
changes in the timing and volumetric storage of snowpack. The results of
this study are regionally relevant as melt water from the MRB's snowpack
provides critical water supply for agriculture, ecosystems, and
municipalities throughout the region especially in summer when water demand
is high. While this research focused on one watershed, it serves as a case
study examining the effects of climate change on maritime snow, which
comprises 10% of the Earth's seasonal snow cover. |
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