A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
A century of variability of heatwave-driven streamflow in melt-driven basins and implications under climate change
Meltwater runoff from snow and glaciers in high mountain regions supports the water needs of hundreds of millions of people, but extreme events such as heatwaves modify the timing and magnitude of water available for downstream communities and ecosystems. The streamflow response to heatwaves depends strongly on heatwave timing and temperature, and the amount of snow and glacier ice available to melt. However, as ongoing climate change continues to alter both seasonal melt patterns and the frequency and intensity of heatwaves, it is not well understood how such streamflow responses will evolve relative to the seasonal cycle of streamflow. We address this knowledge gap by using long-term meteorological and hydrological datasets to characterize spatial and temporal heterogeneity in the streamflow sensitivity to heatwaves at six basins with >80 years of observations in Western Canada. We use years with earlier freshets and less snowfall as proxies of anticipated climate change, and apply a metric to describe how the streamflow sensitivity to heatwaves varies across years with different hydro-climatological characteristics. We find that in future proxy years relative to baseline years, nival streamflow is more sensitive to early spring heatwaves but less sensitive to late spring and summer heatwaves. Relative to baseline years, late spring heatwaves in future proxy years generate a smaller fraction of peak streamflow that is diminished as the freshet progresses. Our findings imply that future heatwave-driven peak flows in spring may be lessened by the diminished streamflow sensitivity to heatwaves in late spring, but this may be partially offset by excess melt during future heatwaves that are longer and hotter.
A century of variability of heatwave-driven streamflow in melt-driven basins and implications under climate change
Meltwater runoff from snow and glaciers in high mountain regions supports the water needs of hundreds of millions of people, but extreme events such as heatwaves modify the timing and magnitude of water available for downstream communities and ecosystems. The streamflow response to heatwaves depends strongly on heatwave timing and temperature, and the amount of snow and glacier ice available to melt. However, as ongoing climate change continues to alter both seasonal melt patterns and the frequency and intensity of heatwaves, it is not well understood how such streamflow responses will evolve relative to the seasonal cycle of streamflow. We address this knowledge gap by using long-term meteorological and hydrological datasets to characterize spatial and temporal heterogeneity in the streamflow sensitivity to heatwaves at six basins with >80 years of observations in Western Canada. We use years with earlier freshets and less snowfall as proxies of anticipated climate change, and apply a metric to describe how the streamflow sensitivity to heatwaves varies across years with different hydro-climatological characteristics. We find that in future proxy years relative to baseline years, nival streamflow is more sensitive to early spring heatwaves but less sensitive to late spring and summer heatwaves. Relative to baseline years, late spring heatwaves in future proxy years generate a smaller fraction of peak streamflow that is diminished as the freshet progresses. Our findings imply that future heatwave-driven peak flows in spring may be lessened by the diminished streamflow sensitivity to heatwaves in late spring, but this may be partially offset by excess melt during future heatwaves that are longer and hotter.
A century of variability of heatwave-driven streamflow in melt-driven basins and implications under climate change
Sam Anderson (author) / Shawn Chartrand (author)
2024
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
Unknown
Metadata by DOAJ is licensed under CC BY-SA 1.0
Streamflow Variability in Colombian Pacific Basins and Their Teleconnections with Climate Indices
| DOAJ | 2020
Climate change impacts on the streamflow in Spanish basins monitored under near-natural conditions
| DOAJ | 2021
The influence of internal climate variability on heatwave frequency trends
| DOAJ | 2017
Response of Streamflow to Weather Variability under Climate Change in the Colorado Rockies
| Online Contents | 2007
Response of Streamflow to Weather Variability under Climate Change in the Colorado Rockies
| British Library Online Contents | 2007