Climate Commons^™

Agro-Climatic Change, Crop Production And Mitigation Strategies-Case Studies In Arkansas, Usa And Kenya, John Westley Magugu

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although climate change impacts vary geographically and temporally, studies at local levels are not readily available for stakeholders to better understand how their local communities would be affected and what remedial measures could be more effective in their local contexts. This dissertation has examined climate change and its impacts in two different local contexts: eastern Arkansas in the USA and Nyando in Kenya. The first part of this dissertation develops agro-meteorological indicators and examines the relationship between agro-meteorological indicators and crop yields in eastern Arkansas between 1960 and 2014. Results reveal that temperature based indicators were more strongly correlated to …

Slides: Water Allocation And Water Markets In Spain, Nuria Hernández-Mora

Coping with Water Scarcity in River Basins Worldwide: Lessons Learned from Shared Experiences (Martz Summer Conference, June 9-10)

Presenter: Nuria Hernández Mora, Universidad de Sevilla, Spain

22 slides

Influence Of Sea Ice On Arctic Precipitation, Ben G. Kopec, Xiahong Feng, Fred A. Michel, Eric S. Posmentier

Dartmouth Scholarship

Global climate is influenced by the Arctic hydrologic cycle, which is, in part, regulated by sea ice through its control on evaporation and precipitation. However, the quantitative link between precipitation and sea ice extent is poorly constrained. Here we present observational evidence for the response of precipitation to sea ice reduction and assess the sensitivity of the response. Changes in the proportion of moisture sourced from the Arctic with sea ice change in the Canadian Arctic and Greenland Sea regions over the past two decades are inferred from annually averaged deuterium excess (d-excess) measurements from six sites. Other influences on …

An Assessment Of Long-Term Changes In The Characterisitcs Of Precipitation In The Upper Midwest, Blake Steven Lea

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

As climate change progresses, many forecasts for the upper Midwest predict increases in annual precipitation, but with a shift in seasonal patterns that will leave the summer months drier with less frequent, higher magnitude storm events. Changes in precipitation patterns have the potential to alter the sediment budget and discharge patterns in watersheds. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects changes in frequency, magnitude, duration, and intensity of precipitation might have on streamflow and sediment budgets in the upper Midwest. This analysis was carried out using hourly precipitation data from 1948 to 2013 from 23 sites and …

Navigating A Pathway Toward Colorado's Water Future: A Review And Recommendations On Colorado's Draft Water Plan, Lawrence J. Macdonnell, Colorado Water Working Group

Books, Reports, and Studies

40 pages (includes color illustrations).

Springtime Atmospheric Responses To North Atlantic Sst Anomalies In Idealized Gcm Experiments: Northern Hemisphere Circulation And North American Precipitation, Michael C. Veres

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In this study, a series of experiments using idealized sea surface temperatures (SST), land and orography are performed to examine the interactions between the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), continents and major orography. Three sets of experiments are done using an increasingly realistic surface boundary (aqua-planet, land without orography and land with orography) and run using perpetual equinox conditions. For each land surface boundary, the model is forced with a zonally symmetric SST, with additional experiments with an imposed positive or negative SST anomalies in the North Atlantic. The experiments are then compared to determine how these forcings interact and what …

Influence Of Regional Precipitation Patterns On Stable Isotopes In Ice Cores From The Central Himalayas, H. Pang, S. Hou, Susan Kaspari, P. A. Mayewski

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

Several ice cores have been recovered from the Dasuopu (DSP) Glacier and the East Rongbuk (ER) Glacier in the central Himalayas since the 1990s. Although the distance between the DSP and the ER ice core drilling sites is only 125 km, the stable isotopic record (18O or D) of the DSP core is interpreted in previous studies as a temperature proxy, while the ER core is interpreted as a precipitation proxy. Thus, the climatological significance of the stable isotopic records of these Himalayan ice cores remains a subject of debate. Based on analysis of regional precipitation patterns over the region, …

Significant Impacts Of Radiation Physics In The Wrf Model On The Precipitation And Dynamics Of The West African Monsoon, R. Li, J. Jin, Shih-Yu (Simon) Wang, R. R. Gillies

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Precipitation from the West African Monsoon (WAM) provides food security and supports the economy in the region. As a consequence of the intrinsic complexities of the WAM’s evolution, accurate simulations of the WAM and its precipitation regime, through the application of regional climate models, are challenging. We used the coupled Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) and Community Land Model (CLM) to explore impacts of radiation physics on the precipitation and dynamics of the WAM. Our results indicate that the radiation physics schemes not only produce biases in radiation fluxes impacting radiative forcing, but more importantly, result in large bias in …

Impacts Of Climate Changes On The Spatiotemporal Distribution Of Precipitation In The Western United States, Peng Jiang

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Precipitation in the Intermountain West is characterized by its great variability in both spatial and temporal distributions. Moreover, the spatiotemporal distribution of the precipitation is changing due to the climate changes. In this dissertation, three studies are conducted to investigate the multi-scale temporal variability of precipitation, the performance of current climate models on this variability, the influence of large-scale ocean oscillations on heavy precipitation, and the impact of human induced global warming on storm properties.

The first study is to examine the performance of current climate models on the simulation of the multi-scale temporal variability determined from the observed station …

Slides: Is There A Dust Bowl In Our Future?: Projections For The Eastern Rockies And Central Great Plains, Dennis Ojima

Water, Climate and Uncertainty: Implications for Western Water Law, Policy, and Management (Summer Conference, June 11-13)

Presenter: Dennis Ojima, Senior Research Scientist, Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University (NREL/CSU)

30 slides

The Influence Of The Tibetan Plateau Elevation On The Global And Asian Monsoons, Rene Paul Acosta

Open Access Theses

It has been long hypothesized that large-scale topographic changes, such as the surface uplift of the Tibetan Plateau, impacts the development of the South Asian and East Asian monsoons and influences other monsoon regions. However, recent modeling has shown that spatial distribution of the global monsoon, which includes the South Asian and East Asian monsoons is largely unaffected by the elevation of the plateau. In this study, we present results from a series of modern day simulations using CESM1.0 in a mixed-layer (slab ocean) configuration. The Tibetan Plateau height is varied from double that of the modern maximum plateau elevation …

2000 Year Moisture Source Record From A Central Nevada Speleothem, Paul Pribyl

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The goal of this study was to determine the moisture source of winter precipitation in the central Great Basin for the past 2000 years, and to elucidate the role of Pacific Ocean and North American climate variability modes in driving observed droughts of the region around the Medieval Climatic Anomaly (MCA, ~900-1300 CE). Here a high resolution (~2-4 year) precisely dated moisture source reconstruction is presented from the δ18O values of speleothem LC-1 collected from Leviathan Cave in central Nevada, which reveals significant δ18O variability. I attribute the δ18O variability to changes in winter-season moisture circulation over the past 2000 …

Impacts Of Climate Change On The Surface Water Balance Of The Central United States, 1984–2007, Bo Dong

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The climate system and the hydrologic cycle are strongly connected with each other. Understanding the interactions between these two systems is important, since variations in climate can trigger extensive changes in the hydrologic cycle, with significant impacts on agriculture, ecosystems, and society. Observations over the central U.S. in recent decades show numerous changes in climatic variables. This includes decreases in cloud cover and wind speed, increases in air temperature, and seasonal shifts in precipitation rate and rain/snow fraction. To assess the impacts of these variations in climate on the regional water cycle, a terrestrial ecosystem/land surface hydrologic model (Agro-IBIS) is …

Sequias En El Sur De La Peninsula De Yucatan: Analisis De La Variabilidad Anual Y Estacional De La Precipitacion (Droughts In The Southern Yucatan Peninsula: Analysis Of The Annual And Seasonal Precipitation Variability), Sofia Mardero, Elsa Nickl, Birgit Schmook, Laura Schneider, John Rogan, Zachary Christman, Deborah Lawrence

School of Earth & Environment Departmental Research

Paper is in Spanish. English abstract: This study analyzes the spatial and temporal variability of precipitation across the Southern Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, addressing the anomalies and trends of annual and seasonal precipitation as well as the occurrence of meteorological droughts, using rainfall data from nine weather stations during the period 1953-2007. Linear regression in the annual and seasonal rainfall were used to analyze the increase or decrease in precipitation trends over this period. Precipitation anomalies enabled the evaluation of the stability, deficit, or surplus of precipitation for each year or season, and a quintile method was used to …

Observational And Synoptic Analyses Of The Winter Precipitation Regime Change Over Utah, Robert R. Gillies, Shih-Yu Wang, Marty R. Booth

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Previous studies have indicated a widespread decline in snowpack over Utah accompanied by a decline in the snow–precipitation ratio while anecdotal evidence claims have been put forward that measured changes in Utah’s snowpack are spurious and do not reflect actual change. Using two distinct lines of investigation, this paper further analyzes the winter precipitation regime in the state of Utah. First, by means of observation-based, gridded daily temperature, precipitation, and remotely sensed data, as well as utilizing a climatological rain–snow threshold (RST) temperature method, the precipitation regime of Utah was scrutinized. Second, a comprehensive synoptic analysis was conducted as an …

Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation-Forced Regional Summertime Precipitation Variations In The Central United States, Michael C. Veres

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this research is to identify the regional mechanisms by which the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) influences summer (June-August) precipitation in the central U.S. This was accomplished by running two different sets of simulations using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) regional climate model, one forced by observations and the other forced only by variations in the AMO as obtained via a global climate model (GCM). The results reveal a complex set of mechanisms active in the lower and middle troposphere by which the AMO influences summer circulation and precipitation in the central U.S. During the cold phase …

Hydroclimatic Forecasting In The Western United States Using Paleoclimate Reconstructions And Data-Driven Models, Christopher Allen Carrier

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis investigated climate variability and their associated hydrologic responses in the western United States. The western United States faces the problem of water scarcity, where the management and mitigation of available water supplies are further complicated by climate variability. Climate variability associated with the phases of oceanic-atmospheric oscillations has been shown to influence streamflow and precipitation, where predictive relationships have led to the possibility of producing long-range forecasts. Based on literature review, four oceanic-atmospheric oscillation indices were identified in having the most prominent influence over the western United States including the El Niño - Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Pacific Decadal …

Climate Change In The Piscataqua/Great Bay Region: Past, Present, And Future, Cameron P. Wake, Elizabeth Burakowski, Eric Kelsey, Katharine Hayhoe, Anne Stoner, Chris Watson, Ellen Douglas

The Sustainability Institute Publications

Earth ’s climate changes. It always has and always will. However, an extensive body of scientific evidence indicates that human activities are now a significant force driving change in the Earth’s climate system. This report describes how the climate of the Piscataqua/Great Bay region of coastal New Hampshire in the United States has changed over the past century and how the future climate of the region will be affected by human activities that are warming the planet.

Overall, the region has been getting warmer and wetter over the last century, and the rate of change has increased over the last …

Slides: Risk Management Strategies Of The Upper Basin: Addressing Potential Shortages, Eric Kuhn

Navigating the Future of the Colorado River (Martz Summer Conference, June 8-10)

Presenter: Eric Kuhn, Colorado River Water Conservation District

15 slides

Effects Of Drought On Avian Community Structure, Thomas P. Albright, Anna M. Pidgeon, Chadwick D. Rittenhouse, Murray K. Clayton, Curtis H. Flather, Patrick D. Culbert, Brian D. Wardlows, Volker C. Radeloff

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Droughts are expected to become more frequent under global climate change. Avifauna depend on precipitation for hydration, cover, and food. While there are indications that avian communities respond negatively to drought, little is known about the response of birds with differing functional and behavioral traits, what time periods and indicators of drought are most relevant, or how response varies geographically at broad spatial scales. Our goals were thus to determine (1) how avian abundance and species richness are related to drought, (2) whether community variations are more related to vegetation vigor or precipitation deviations and at what time periods relationships …

Slides: Water Footprints: Consciousness Raising Meets Risk Management, Steve Malloch

Western Water Law, Policy and Management: Ripples, Currents, and New Channels for Inquiry (Martz Summer Conference, June 3-5)

Presenter: Steve Malloch, Senior Western Water Program Manager, National Wildlife Federation, Seattle, WA

38 slides

Slides: Climate Change And The Death Of Stationarity: A New Era For Western Water?, Stephen T. Gray

Western Water Law, Policy and Management: Ripples, Currents, and New Channels for Inquiry (Martz Summer Conference, June 3-5)

Presenter: Steven T. Gray, Wyoming State Climatologist, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY

48 slides

Precipitation Rates And Atmospheric Heat Transport During The Cenomanian Greenhouse Warming In North America: Estimates From A Stable Isotope Mass-Balance Model, David F. Ufnar, Greg A. Ludvigson, Luis González, Darren R. Gröcke

Faculty Publications

Stable isotope mass-balance modeling results of meteoric δ¹⁸O values from the Cenomanian Stage of the Cretaceous Western Interior Basin (KWIB) suggest that precipitation and evaporation fluxes were greater than that of the present and significantly different from simulations of Albian KWIB paleohydrology. Sphaerosiderite meteoric δ¹⁸O values have been compiled from the Lower Tuscaloosa Formation of southwestern Mississippi (25°N paleolatitude), The Dakota Formation Rose Creek Pit, Fairbury Nebraska (35°N) and the Dunvegan Formation of eastern British Columbia (55°N paleolatitude). These paleosol siderite δ¹⁸O values define a paleolatitudinal gradient ranging from − 4.2‰ VPDB at 25°N …

Regional Analysis Of Trend And Step Changes Observed In Hydroclimatic Variables Around The Colorado River Basin, William Paul Miller, Thomas C. Piechota

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Recent research has suggested that changes in temperature and precipitation events due to climate change have had a significant impact on the availability and timing of streamflow. In this study, monthly temperature and precipitation data collected over 29 climate divisions covering the entire Colorado River basin and monthly natural flow data from 29 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) gauge locations along the Colorado River are investigated for trend or step changes using parametric and nonparametric statistical tests. Temperature increases are persistent (at least 10 climate divisions over 6 months in trend analysis) throughout the year over the Colorado River basin, whereas …

Slides: Summary: Sources Of Stress And The Changing Context Of Natural Resources Law And Policy In The New West, William R. Travis

The Future of Natural Resources Law and Policy (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

Presenter: Dr. William R. Travis, Department of Geography, University of Colorado at Boulder

43 slides

Slides: Balancing Drought And Flood In The Pacific Northwest: The Challenge Of Climate Change, Doug Mcchesney

Water, Climate and Uncertainty: Implications for Western Water Law, Policy, and Management (Summer Conference, June 11-13)

1 page "Abstract" and 36 slides

"Doug McChesney, Manager, Policy and Planning Section, Washington Department of Ecology"

Slides: California Water And Climate Change, Dan Cayan, Mike Dettinger

Water, Climate and Uncertainty: Implications for Western Water Law, Policy, and Management (Summer Conference, June 11-13)

Presenter: Dan Cayan, Scripps Institution of Oceanography

32 slides

"Dan Cayan (1,2) 1 Mike Dettinger (2,1) SIO 2 USGS 3"

Spatial Representation Of Agroclimatology In A Study Of Agricultural Drought, Olga V. Wilhelmi, Kenneth Hubbard, Donald A. Wilhite

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Agricultural drought is the leading cause for crop failure throughout the world. In the USA, significant impacts of recent droughts on agricultural production indicate the continuing vulnerability of the country to drought. This paper presents a methodology for spatial representation of the agroclimatic component of agricultural drought vulnerability. This methodology was developed as a part of an integrated assessment of drought vulnerability. For the spatial analysis, the state of Nebraska was selected as a study area because of the considerable variation in climatology, soil characteristics, land use, and cropping patterns. The underlying approach assumes that the best spatial characterization of …

Potential Regional Impacts Of Global Warming On Precipitation In The Western United States, United States Department Of The Interior, Bureau Of Reclamation

Meterology

Snow and melting of the snowpack provide the principal supply of water to much of the Western United States. Whether global warming threatens this water supply is the focus of this research. This study builds upon a previous Global Climate Change Response Program investigation. Charts were generated of four geopotential height parameters for a domain covering the eastern North Pacific Ocean and western North America. Out of 131 total winter months (from 1946-89), 35 were selected as analogues.

Monthly mean precipitation values for areas in western Montana, northern Utah, and east central Arizona were compared with median values for the …