[env-trinity] Shasta River to be a focus of UC Climate Effects study

[Sari Sommarstrom]

www.independentnews.com/news/project-to-study-climate-effects-on-california-
water-systems-from/article_eced7624-f678-11e7-a8b7-b31bbeebf29e.html

Project to Study Climate Effects on California Water Systems from Headwaters
to Groundwater 

Posted: Thursday, January 11, 2018 12:00 am 

To address future climate change effects on water resources, scientists at
five UC campuses, and Lawrence Livermore and Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratories will study California's water systems, from the headwaters in
the Sierra Nevada, through rivers, reservoirs and groundwater in the Central
Valley.

The goal is to provide information to optimize water storage, quality and
groundwater sustainability.

The "Headwaters to groundwater resources in a changing climate" project
recently received a 2018 Collaborative Research and Training Award from the
UC Laboratory Fees Research Program.

 

The project will allow scientists to examine hydrologic sensitivities of
California headwaters and agricultural demand and will consider plausible
societal adaptations. The team will use information in the historical record
and its interaction with physical characteristics of the basins and
strategies for water management as precipitation varies, temperatures warm
and population grows.

Ate Visser, LLNL's lead on the project, stated, "The structure of
California's water system, both natural and man-made, shapes current and
future management and adaptation options to climate change and to the
increasing demand from a growing population."

 

Four river systems across gradients of precipitation, geology and
populations will be under investigation: Shasta River in the north, American
and Cosumnes rivers in central California and Kings river in the south.
These river basins span a range of different characteristics in terms of
temperature, precipitation, underlying geology, vegetation and ecosystems,
land management, groundwater resources and economic development.

 

The research will address six key uncertainties and uncertain responses:

. Trends and variability in a future that likely experiences a greater
fraction of precipitation as rain instead of snow, earlier snowmelt and
higher rates of evapotranspiration.

. Response of ecosystems to changing quantity and timing of water supply,
and feedback on precipitation, evapotranspiration and the overall water
balance.

. Response of headwater catchments and uncertainty in future river discharge
characteristics.

. Storage and use of water in the subsurface, considering efficiency of
storage and recharge and energy requirements for recovery.

. Responses of water and agricultural management agencies and other
institutions to changing supply and demand, including management of water
markets to both agricultural and urban users.

. Resolution of the effect of uncertainties themselves on abilities to
manage water for multiple objectives and adaptation to changes in supply and
demand.

 

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www2.dcn.org/pipermail/env-trinity/attachments/20180115/c6e25ac0/attachment.html>