Climate Change and Resource Management in the Columbia River Basin

Cohen, Stewart; Miller, Kathleen A.; Hamlet, Alan F.; Avis, Wendy

doi:10.1080/02508060008686827

Cited by 63 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 13 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In fact it is only in the last several decades that water resources managers have been required to significantly incorporate the functioning and health of ecosystems as part of their management strategies (Cohen et al, 2000). A huge shift in social values has taken place over the 20th century.…”

Section: Overview Of Pnw Water Resources Systems and Their Historicalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing water resources adaptive capacity to climate change impacts in the Pacific Northwest Region of North America

Hamlet

2011

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Climate change impacts in Pacific Northwest Region of North America (PNW) are projected to include increasing temperatures and changes in the seasonality of precipitation (increasing precipitation in winter, decreasing precipitation in summer). Changes in precipitation are also spatially varying, with the northwestern parts of the region generally experiencing greater increases in cool season precipitation than the southeastern parts. These changes in climate are projected to cause loss of snowpack and associated streamflow timing shifts which will increase cool season (October-March) flows and decrease warm season (AprilSeptember) flows and water availability. Hydrologic extremes such as the 100 yr flood and extreme low flows are also expected to change, although these impacts are not spatially homogeneous and vary with mid-winter temperatures and other factors. These changes have important implications for natural ecosystems affected by water, and for human systems.The PNW is endowed with extensive water resources infrastructure and well-established and well-funded management agencies responsible for ensuring that water resources objectives (such as water supply, water quality, flood control, hydropower production, environmental services, etc.) are met. Likewise, access to observed hydrological, meteorological, and climatic data and forecasts is in general exceptionally good in the United States and Canada, and is often supported by federally funded programs that ensure that these resources are freely available to water resources practitioners, policy makers, and the general public.Access to these extensive resources support the argument that at a technical level the PNW has high capacity to deal with the potential impacts of natural climate variability on water resources. To the extent that climate change will manifest itself as moderate changes in variability Correspondence to: A. F. Hamlet (hamleaf@uw.edu) or extremes, we argue that existing water resources infrastructure and institutional arrangements provide a reasonably solid foundation for coping with climate change impacts, and that the mandates of existing water resources policy and water resources management institutions are at least consistent with the fundamental objectives of climate change adaptation. A deeper inquiry into the underlying nature of PNW water resources systems, however, reveals significant and persistent obstacles to climate change adaptation, which will need to be overcome if effective use of the region's extensive water resources management capacity can be brought to bear on this problem. Primary obstacles include assumptions of stationarity as the fundamental basis of water resources system design, entrenched use of historical records as the sole basis for planning, problems related to the relatively short time scale of planning, lack of familiarity with climate science and models, downscaling procedures, and hydrologic models, limited access to climate change scenarios and hydrologic products for specific water system...

show abstract

Section: Overview Of Pnw Water Resources Systems and Their Historicalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing water resources adaptive capacity to climate change impacts in the Pacific Northwest Region of North America

Hamlet

2011

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…About 15% of the basin lies within Canada, including numerous high-elevation catchments. Approximately 1760 km 2 (1.7%) of the Canadian CRB (CCRB) is glacierized, and its upper headwaters receive high annual precipitation (e.g., Cohen, Miller, Hamlet, & Avis, 2000;Hamlet, Mote, Clark, & Lettenmaier, 2005;Kite, 1997), with much of this accumulating in the mountain snowpack. An estimated 30-40% of annual discharge in the Columbia River, as measured at The Dalles, Oregon, is derived from the Canadian portion of the basin (Cohen et al, 2000;FCRPS, 2001;Hamlet & Lettenmaier, 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Glacier Meltwater Contributions and Glaciometeorological Regime of the Illecillewaet River Basin, British Columbia, Canada

Hirose

Marshall

2013

Atmosphere-Ocean

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study characterizes the meteorological parameters influencing glacier runoff and quantifies recent glacier contributions to streamflow in the Illecillewaet River basin, British Columbia. The Illecillewaet is a glacierized catchment that feeds the Columbia River, with terrain, glacial cover, and topographic relief that are typical of Columbia River headwaters basins in southwestern Canada. Meteorological and mass balance data collected on Illecillewaet Glacier are used to develop and constrain a distributed model for glacier melt, based on temperature and absorbed solar radiation. The melt model is applied to all of the glaciers in the Illecillewaet River basin for the summers of 2009 to 2011. Modelled glacier runoff for the three years has an average value of 112 ± 12 × 10 6 m 3 , approximately 10% of Illecillewaet River yields for 2009 to 2011. Glaciers contributed 25% to August flows for the three years. On average, 66% of modelled glacial discharge is derived from the seasonal snowpack, with the remaining 34% resulting from the melting of glacier ice and firn. For the lowest flow year in the basin, 2009, snow and ice melt from glaciers in the basin contributed 14% and 33%, respectively; 81% of the August glacier runoff is derived from glacier storage (ice and firn). Climate sensitivity studies for Illecillewaet Glacier indicate that the glacier mass balance is strongly influenced by summer temperature, with a net balance change of −0.6 metres of water equivalent (m w.e.) under a 1°C warming. A 30% increase in winter precipitation is needed to offset this. Our values are initial estimates, and long-term monitoring is essential to characterize glacier and climate variability in the region better, to refine estimates of glacier runoff, and to quantify the sensitivity of runoff to glacier retreat.RÉSUMÉ [Traduit par la rédaction] La présente étude caractérise les paramètres météorologiques qui influencent le ruissellement des glaciers et quantifie les contributions récentes des glaciers à l'écoulement fluvial dans le bassin de la rivière Illecillewaet, en Colombie-Britannique. L'Illecillewaet est un bassin hydrographique englacé qui alimente le fleuve Columbia, avec un terrain, une couverture de glace et des éléments topographiques caractéristiques des bassins du cours supérieur du fleuve Columbia dans le sud-ouest du Canada. Nous utilisons les données météorologiques et de bilan massique recueillies sur le glacier Illecillewaet pour mettre au point et contraindre un modèle distribué de fonte des glaciers, basé sur la température et le rayonnement solaire absorbé. Le modèle de fonte est appliqué à tous les glaciers situés dans le bassin de la rivière Illecillewaet pour les étés de 2009 à 2011. Le ruissellement modélisé des glaciers pour les trois années a une valeur moyenne de 112 ± 12 × 10 6 m 3 , approximativement 10% de l'écoulement de la rivière Illecillewaet pour 2009 à 2011. Les glaciers ont contribué pour 25% de l'écoulement en août les trois années. En moyenne, 66% du ruissellement modélisé ...

show abstract

“…Several studies have suggested that climate change models indicate that the quantity of mountain snow and the timing of its melt will impact reservoir storage, shipping commerce and water available for irrigated agriculture [11]. Both dams and the associated production of hydroelectricity have in the past and will continue to impact fish populations and fish migration in the river system.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Issues including the impact of changing climate on forests, range and other biomes is now an important planning consideration [11,12]. Others suggest that because of projected climate change river basins significantly impacted by dams will require more intervention to protect people than in basins with free-flowing rivers [13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rivers and river basin management issues and concerns in the Pacific Northwest, USA

Mahler¹,

Barber²

2015

WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Over 90% of Pacific Northwest residents consider clean rivers and effective river basin management to be important issues in the Pacific Northwest. The large Columbia-Snake River Basin provides irrigation water to 5,000,000 ha, water for navigation, drinking water to more than 5,000,000 people and electricity (hydropower) to more than 8,000,000 people within Washington, Idaho, Oregon and British Columbia. The purpose of this paper is to document public perceptions, attitudes, and concerns about the Columbia-Snake River Basin. Two identical statistically designed regional surveys were conducted in 2011 and 2014. Approximately 98, 98, 90, 80, 80 and 54% of the survey respondents considered the Columbia-Snake System important for providing water for mountain snowpack, power generation, agriculture, recreation, drinking, and commerce, respectively. A majority of the public also rated quality and quantity aspects of the river system as good or excellent. A majority of residents in 2011 (52.0%) and 2014 (62.1%) felt that climate change should be addressed regardless of cost. The percentage of survey respondents that believed scientific merit of climate change to be good or overwhelming increased from 47.1% in 2011 to 71.1% in 2014. The loss of mountain snowpack was the most frequently cited critical issue associated with climate change in the Columbia-Snake River Basin.

show abstract

Climate Change and Resource Management in the Columbia River Basin

Cited by 63 publications

References 13 publications

Assessing water resources adaptive capacity to climate change impacts in the Pacific Northwest Region of North America

Assessing water resources adaptive capacity to climate change impacts in the Pacific Northwest Region of North America

Glacier Meltwater Contributions and Glaciometeorological Regime of the Illecillewaet River Basin, British Columbia, Canada

Rivers and river basin management issues and concerns in the Pacific Northwest, USA

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About