Location
UMass Amherst
Start Date
29-6-2011 1:35 PM
End Date
29-6-2011 1:55 PM
Description
There is an ever growing consensus among climate specialists that global climate change is very real. To date, regional impact assessment studies have focused on using simulation results available from various General Circulation Models or GCMs. GCM results for appropriate grid squares, each typically 2 degrees by 4 degrees, are then transposed in various ways to assess potential impacts to streamflow and water resource systems. In this paper, potential climate impact change is assessed in a different way. Using a network comprised of 166 unregulated gauged watersheds located in the northeast US, estimates of mean daily flow, E[Q], and quantiles ranging from Q95 (low flow) to Q5 (high flow) are made. Regional multivariate regression equations are developed for each statistic. Independent variables include mean annual precipitation and temperature. The climate parameters are estimated for each site using a network of 323 NOAA Summary of the Day climate observatories. Elasticity curves of daily streamflow with respect to temperature and precipitation are presented. Flow regimes under 1xC02 and 2xC02 climates are presented and compared.
Session A8- Assessing potential climate change impacts to streamflow in the northeast U.S. using regional flow duration models
UMass Amherst
There is an ever growing consensus among climate specialists that global climate change is very real. To date, regional impact assessment studies have focused on using simulation results available from various General Circulation Models or GCMs. GCM results for appropriate grid squares, each typically 2 degrees by 4 degrees, are then transposed in various ways to assess potential impacts to streamflow and water resource systems. In this paper, potential climate impact change is assessed in a different way. Using a network comprised of 166 unregulated gauged watersheds located in the northeast US, estimates of mean daily flow, E[Q], and quantiles ranging from Q95 (low flow) to Q5 (high flow) are made. Regional multivariate regression equations are developed for each statistic. Independent variables include mean annual precipitation and temperature. The climate parameters are estimated for each site using a network of 323 NOAA Summary of the Day climate observatories. Elasticity curves of daily streamflow with respect to temperature and precipitation are presented. Flow regimes under 1xC02 and 2xC02 climates are presented and compared.
Comments
NeiI Fennessey is an associate professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UMass-Dartmouth. He holds a BS in Zoology and a BS in Civil Engineering from UMass-Amherst. He did his graduate work at Tufts University and MIT. Neil's professional interests include physical and stochastic hydrology, and water resource planning and management.