Climate Commons^™

Impacts Of Climate Change And Weather Modification On Hydrologic Characteristics Of Watersheds In The Western United States, Anil Acharya

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This research quantifies the impacts of climate change and weather modification (WM) on hydrologic characteristics of watersheds in the arid regions of the western United States. This research performs a long-term simulation of streamflow for present and future climate conditions in the North Platte (NP) Watershed, Wyoming; a shorter duration simulation is then performed to observe the likely impacts of event based changes in an urban watershed in Las Vegas, Nevada.

First, a study is carried out in Chapter 3 that evaluates the impacts of WM on water supply by developing a hydrologic model for the NP Watershed. The variable …

Association Of Oceanic-Atmospheric Oscillations And Hydroclimatic Variables In The Colorado River Basin, Ajay Kalra

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

With increasing evidence of climatic variability, there is a need to improve forecast for hydroclimatic variables i.e., precipitation and streamflow preserving their spatial and temporal variability. Climatologists have identified different oceanic-atmospheric oscillations that seem to influence the behavior of these variables and in turn can be used to extend the forecast lead time. In the absence of a good physical understanding of the linkages between oceanic-atmospheric oscillations and hydrological processes, it is difficult to construct a physical model. An attractive alternative to physically based models are the Artificial Intelligence (AI) type models, also referred to as machine learning or data-driven …

Evaluating Changes And Estimating Seasonal Precipitation For Colorado River Basin Using Stochastic Non-Parametric Disaggregation Technique, Ajay Kalra, Sajjad Ahmad

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Precipitation estimation is an important and challenging task in hydrology because of high variability and changing climate. This research involves (1) analyzing changes (trend and step) in seasonal precipitation and (2) estimating seasonal precipitation by disaggregating water year precipitation using a k-nearest neighbor (KNN) nonparametric technique for 29 climate divisions encompassing the Colorado River Basin. Water year precipitation data from 1900 to 2008 are subdivided into four seasons (i.e., autumn, winter, spring, and summer). Two statistical tests (Mann-Kendall and Spearman’s rho) are used to evaluate trend changes, and a rank sum test is used to identify the step change in …

Pleistocene Climate In Alaska From Stable Isotopes In An Ice Wedge, Corinne Y. Griffing

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The CRREL permafrost tunnel offers a unique opportunity to sample ice wedges in a climate-controlled environment, penetrating frozen silts which host massive ground ice that may record Dansgaard-Oeschger (D-O) and Heinrich Events. Ice wedges in the tunnel have been dated to approximately 36-22 ka (Hamilton et al., 1988), allowing the paleoclimate of the region to be reconstructed during MIS 3, when D-O and Heinrich events were documented in various other records. These climate cycles are rapid climate oscillations that have been recognized in records from the Arctic and subarctic, and suggest that climate can rapidly shift by 10°C over millennial …

Panel Discussion Presentation: Consequences Of Global Climate Change For Water Quality And Community Sustainability Along The U.S.-Mexico Trans-Border Region, Jorge Duran Encalada

North American Energy Water Nexus Roundtable

Panel Discussion: U.S.-Mexico Transboundary Perspectives

Case Studies of Reynosa/McAllen and Laredo/Nuevo Laredo:

- Water availability and quality in Reynosa/McAllen and Laredo/Nuevo Laredo

- Water Consumption

- Socioeconomic Conditions

- Water Quality Scenarios

- Conclusions & Recommendations

Panel Discussion Presentation: The Colorado River — Operation And Current Conditions, Lorri Gray-Lee

North American Energy Water Nexus Roundtable

Panel Discussion: U.S.-Mexico Transboundary Perspectives

The Colorado River: Operation and Current Conditions

- Overview of Basin
- Overview of the Interim Guidelines
- Current and Projected System Conditions

Panel Discussion Presentation: Thoughts On Energy/Water Nexus – Energy Technologies, California Case, Terry Surles

North American Energy Water Nexus Roundtable

Panel Discussion: U.S.-Canada Transboundary Perspectives

Energy/Security/Water Problem Confluence:

There remains a critical need to make the best use possible of indigenous
national resources
- Water in the Southwest
- Energy resources in the region and nation

International energy resource competition will require effective development and use of national resources
- Geothermal, solar, wind, coal, uranium

Changing climate can produce "winners" as well as "losers" — requires an
understanding of past climate events and the impact on cultures
- Northern countries may benefit: Canada, Russia
- Temperate countries may suffer due to loss of cropland and increase of
tropical diseases and …

Climate Modeling: From Global Climate Models To Regional Climate Applications, John F. Mejia, Darko Koracin

Climate Change Seminar Series (NNE)

- Establish a sustainable Global/Regional Climate Modeling team that is capable of simulating regional climate and predicting future hydrological resources - Develop a necessary computer facility for regional climate modeling and links to model and measurements data bases - Educate future scientists in this area of climate research

Improving Ensemble Streamflow Prediction Using Interdecadal/Interannual Climate Variability, Kenneth W. Lamb

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The National Weather Service’s (NWS) river forecast centers provide long-term water resource forecasts for the main river basins in the U.S. The NWS creates seasonal streamflow forecasts using an ensemble prediction model called the Extended Streamflow Prediction (ESP) software. ESP creates runoff volume forecasts by taking the current observed soil moisture and snowpack conditions in the basin and applying them to historical temperature and precipitation scenarios. The ESP treats every historic input year as a likely scenario of future basin conditions. Therefore improving the knowledge about how long-term climate cycles impact streamflow can extend the forecast lead time and improve …

Similarity Of Climate Change Data For Antarctica And Nevada, Corbin Benally, Shahram Latifi, Karletta Chief

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

The correlation between temperature and carbon dioxide concentration in the past one hundred years is studied. Separate graphs containing data from Vostok, Antarctica and the Mojave desert/mountain west (Nevada region) are presented. Using data obtained from these graphs, an attempt is made to explain the results and investigate the similarity of these results for Antarctica and Nevada. The importance of this study lies in the fact that if data show the same trend in the two regions, many findings for climate change in Antarctica may readily be validated and employed for Nevada.

Assessment Of Impacts To Hydroclimatology And River Operations Due To Climate Change Over The Colorado River Basin, William Paul Miller

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation investigated the impacts of climate change to the hydroclimatology and river and reservoir management operations within the Colorado River Basin. Preliminary research indicated observed warming trends throughout the Colorado River Basin and corresponding seasonal trends to the magnitude and timing of runoff in the Colorado River Basin. Subsequent research investigated the changing character of precipitation and corresponding impacts to streamflow over the Colorado River Basin. Analysis of snowpack telemetry (SNOTEL) stations over the American West and Colorado River Basin indicated decreasing trends in annual snowpack, often at least at the 95% confidence interval. A shorter snowpack season was …

Trends In Climate Change Education In Nevada's System Of Higher Education, Amy Northrup

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

This poster presents research into how climate change is taught in Nevada's colleges and universities. A completed inventory of the types of courses in different disciplines and at different institutions that relay information about climate change to students is discussed.

Climate Change And Real Estate: How Environmental Risks And Policies Impact Markets, Adele C. Morris

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

Climate change could worsen environmental conditions that affect real estate values, such as extreme weather events and coastal erosion. But policies to prevent climate change can also affect real estate values, for example through higher energy prices and land use regulation. This lecture will examine the linkages between the climate change risks, climate policy, and real estate markets. We will also discuss the likely regional economic effects of recent proposed climate legislation.

Understanding The Impact Of Climate Change Media Messages, Susanna Priest

2010 Annual Nevada NSF EPSCoR Climate Change Conference

7 PowerPoint slides Convener: Nick Lancaster, DRI Session 6: Bridging the Gap- Interdisciplinary Science to Connect Biophysical and Social Dimensions of Climate Change Abstract: -Energy and (in the state of Nevada) water conservation are linked to mitigation of, and adaption to, climate change. -However, these links are not immediate, and individuals may feel powerless to control the future climate. -Further, Nevada residents are less likely than other Americans to believe climate change is “a very serious problem” (50% versus 62%; Maibach, 2008)

Losing The Lake: Designing An Educational Computer Game On Water Resources In Southern Nevada, Michael Nussbaum, Gale Sinatra, Frederick C. Harris, Sergiu Dascalu, Sajjad Ahmad, Kent J. Crippen, Marissa Owens

2010 Annual Nevada NSF EPSCoR Climate Change Conference

30 PowerPoint slides Convener: Nick Lancaster, DRI Session 6: Bridging the Gap- Interdisciplinary Science to Connect Biophysical and Social Dimensions of Climate Change Abstract: To design and test an educationally useful computer game to educate middle- and high-school students, and the general public, about water and sustainability + effect of climate change on those

The Scaling Impact Of Hydrologic Processes On The Integrated Response In Large River Basins, Zhongbo Yu

2010 Annual Nevada NSF EPSCoR Climate Change Conference

21 PowerPoint slides Convener: Darko Koracin, DRI Session 5: Climate Modeling Abstract: -Hydrologic change in response to the climatic variability (i.e., global warming) -Impacts at global, national or regional scales -Coupled, efficient model systems -Large-scale impacts vs. small-scale hydrology -Needs to bridge the gaps among various scales

Regional Climate Modeling Methodological And Experimental Designs, John F. Mejia

2010 Annual Nevada NSF EPSCoR Climate Change Conference

21 PowerPoint slides Convener: Darko Koracin, DRI Session 5: Climate Modeling Abstract: This task aims to implement and develop transportable methodologies to improve the applicability of GCMs in climate impact, developing and using a state-of-the-art RCM based in WRF, and to provide these results to the research, education and decision making community.

Dynamical And Statistical Regional Climate Modeling Downscaling, Darko Koracin

2010 Annual Nevada NSF EPSCoR Climate Change Conference

17 PowerPoint slides Convener: Darko Koracin, DRI Session 5: Climate Modeling Abstract: -Provide improved regional climate models to get accurate climate trends in Nevada (inputs to hydrological models; parameterization of land atmosphere land-interactions; aerosol contribution to climate; feedback interactions among atmosphere, hydrology, and ecological processes; linking physical and economic models) -Assess future resources, variability, uncertainties, and socio-economic impact. Focus on water demand and supply in rural and urban Nevada. Select critical areas model for prediction applications. -Assess impact of climate change on air quality and urbanization -Provide an integrated GIS system (Geoinformatics) for water, energy and energy, economic parameters -Collaborate …

Water Source Partitioning For Shrubland Transpiration Using Innovative Field Methods, Dale A. Devitt, Michael Young, Matthew S. Lachniet, Jeremy Koonce, Amanda Wagner, Brian M. Bird, J. Healey

2010 Annual Nevada NSF EPSCoR Climate Change Conference

37 PowerPoint slides Convener: Franco Biondi, UNR & Michael Young, DRI Session 4: Ecological Change and Water Resources Abstract: -Climate change models predict a decline in precipitation over the next few decades throughout much of the southwest. -Such change has the potential to shift water uptake dynamics of phreatophytes -If groundwater pumping also occurs, the impact of climate change could be exacerbated. -A better understanding of the forces that drive the coupling and decoupling of phreatophytes to groundwater is needed.

Biotic Responses To Climate Change In The Great Basin And Mojave Desert: Vegetation, David Charlet, Patrick Leary

2010 Annual Nevada NSF EPSCoR Climate Change Conference

84 PowerPoint slides Convener: Franco Biondi, UNR & Michael Young, DRI Session 4: Ecological Change and Water Resources Abstract: -The Problem -To detect changes in vegetation as it responds to changes in climate, we must first know where the vegetation is now -GAP (Geographic Approach to Protection of Biodiversity) map --National project to map land cover throughout the US. --Nevada map (Edwards et al. 1996) -Southwest ReGAP map --Land cover map for southwestern US (Prior-Magee et al. 2007) to correct problems identified in GAP map

A Role For Informal Educational Institutions And University, Jenna Zulauf, Robert Futrell

2010 Annual Nevada NSF EPSCoR Climate Change Conference

3 PowerPoint slides Convener: William Smith, UNLV Session 3: Policy, Decision Making, and Outreach

Business Stakeholders, Mary Riddel, Alan Sanders

2010 Annual Nevada NSF EPSCoR Climate Change Conference

6 PowerPoint slides Convener: William Smith, UNLV Session 3: Policy, Decision Making, and Outreach Abstract: -Understand the current attitudes about climate change in the Nevada business community -Help develop an advisory board that can serve as an ongoing link between the university and business community on climate change issues and policies -Provide an understanding about the information needs of different industries with respect to climate change -Develop channels to disseminate relevant climate change research to the business community -Develop a channel for business leaders to convey their concerns about climate-change policy costs

Non-Governmental Organization (Ngo) And Government Stakeholders, Derek Kauneckis, Orion Cuffe

2010 Annual Nevada NSF EPSCoR Climate Change Conference

12 PowerPoint slides Convener: William Smith, UNLV Session 3: Policy, Decision Making, and Outreach Abstract: -Identify relevant policy and organizational stakeholders in Nevada -Examine climate change efforts within NV state government and other western states -Collect empirical data on stakeholder perceptions and priorities in climate change research

Design Of A Software Framework Prototype For Scientific Model Interoperability, Eric Fritzinger, Sohei Okamoto

2010 Annual Nevada NSF EPSCoR Climate Change Conference

19 PowerPoint slides Session 2: Infrastructure Convener: Sergiu Dascalu, UNR Abstract: -What are models? -Mathematical models used to describe a system -E.g. Atmospheric, Oceanic, Ecological, etc… -Algorithmic calculations which take input and produce estimated results -Weather forecasting, global warming predictions, sea level estimations, etc… -Models are invaluable

Goals, Plans, And Strategies Of The Cyberinfrastructure Project Component, Sergiu Dascalu

2010 Annual Nevada NSF EPSCoR Climate Change Conference

15 PowerPoint slides Session 2: Infrastructure Convener: Sergiu Dascalu, UNR Abstract: -Team -Goal and Targets -Strategies and Activities -Progress: Activities & Milestones -Plans

Research Poster: Nevada System Of Higher Education College Student Climate Change Survey, Jenna Zulauf, Robert Futrell

2010 Annual Nevada NSF EPSCoR Climate Change Conference

Research poster

Research Poster: Climate Prediction Downscaling Of Temperature And Precipitation In The Great Basin Region, Ramesh Vellore, Benjamin J. Hatchett, Darko Koracin

2010 Annual Nevada NSF EPSCoR Climate Change Conference

Research poster

Research Poster: Clark County School District Involvement In The Nsf Epscor Program, Education Component, Aubrey M. Shirk, Larry Rudd, Paul Buck

2010 Annual Nevada NSF EPSCoR Climate Change Conference

Research poster

Research Poster: Eco-Hydrological Pathways Inferred From Stable Isotopes In A Pinus Ponderosa And Pinus Monophylla Woodland Of The Sheep Range, Southern Great Basin, Usa, Kelli Hoover, Simon Poulson, Franco Biondi, Jeffrey Underwood

2010 Annual Nevada NSF EPSCoR Climate Change Conference

Research poster

Research Poster: Downscaling The Ipcc Sres Emissions Scenarios Into Future Local Land Use Scenarios, Michael R. Dolloff

2010 Annual Nevada NSF EPSCoR Climate Change Conference

Research poster