Mitigating the Effects of Climate Change on the Water Resources of the Columbia River Basin

The potential effects of climate change on the hydrology and water resources of the Columbia River Basin (CRB) were evaluated using simulations from the U.S. Department of Energy and National Center for Atmospheric Research Parallel Climate Model (DOE/NCAR PCM). This study focuses on three climate projections for the 21st century based on a `business as usual' (BAU) global emissions scenario, evaluated with respect to a control climate scenario based on static 1995 emissions. Time-varying monthly PCM temperature and precipitation changes were statistically downscaled and temporally disaggregated to produce daily forcings that drove a macro-scale hydrologic simulation model of the Columbia River basin at 1/4-degree spatial resolution. For comparison with the direct statistical downscaling approach, a dynamical downscaling approach using a regional climate model (RCM) was also used to derive hydrologic model forcings for 20-year subsets from the PCM control climate (1995–2015) scenario and from the three BAU climate(2040–2060) projections. The statistically downscaled PCM scenario results were assessed for three analysis periods (denoted Periods 1–3: 2010–2039,2040–2069, 2070–2098) in which changes in annual average temperature were +0.5,+1.3 and +2.1 °C, respectively, while critical winter season precipitation changes were –3, +5 and +1 percent. For RCM, the predicted temperature change for the 2040–2060 period was +1.2 °C and the average winter precipitation change was –3 percent, relative to the RCM controlclimate. Due to the modest changes in winter precipitation, temperature changes dominated the simulated hydrologic effects by reducing winter snow accumulation, thus shifting summer streamflow to the winter. The hydrologic changes caused increased competition for reservoir storage between firm hydropower and instream flow targets developed pursuant to the Endangered Species Act listing of Columbia River salmonids. We examined several alternative reservoir operating policies designed to mitigate reservoir system performance losses. In general, the combination of earlier reservoir refill with greater storage allocations for instream flow targets mitigated some of the negative impacts to flow, but only with significant losses in firm hydropower production (ranging from –9 percent in Period1 to –35 percent for RCM). Simulated hydropower revenue changes were lessthan 5 percent for all scenarios, however, primarily due to small changes inannual runoff.     

The impact of climate change on the Niger River Basin hydroclimatology, West Africa

Climate change has the potential to reduce water availability in West Africa. This study aims to quantify the expected impact of increased greenhouse gases (GHGs) on hydroclimatology of Niger River Basin (NRB). Boundary data from a general circulation model are used to force a regional climate model, to produce dynamically downscaled hydroclimatic variables of NRB under present-day (PRS) and future climate scenarios. The data were further analyzed to detect changes in atmospheric and surface water balance components and moisture recycling ratio (β). The results show that elevated GHGs (under A1B scenario) would produce a drier climate during the rainy season and a wetter climate during the dry season. A warmer climate over NRB in all months was projected. Highest temperature increase of 3 °C occurs about 14°N in May and June, and the smallest increase of 0.5 °C occurs below 8°N in wet-dry transition period. Evaporation reduces during wet season and increases during the dry periods. Humidity increases by 2 % in the dry season, but decreases by 2–4 % in the wet season. Maximum change in moisture influx of 20.7 % and outflux of 20.6 % occur in June and July, respectively. β is projected to decrease in 75 % of the months with biggest relative change of ?18.4 % in June. The projected decrease in precipitation efficiency (ρ) during the wet season reaches ?20.3 % in June. For PRS run, about 66 % of the available atmospheric moisture in NRB precipitates between June and September, of which around 21 % originates from local evaporation. The result suggests that under enhanced GHGs, local evaporation will contribute less to atmospheric moisture and precipitation over the basin. Projected changes in rainfall and streamflow for Upper Niger and Benue sub-basin are significantly different during the wet season.     

Sensitivity of Runoff, Soil Moisture and Reservoir Design to Climate Change in Central Indian River Basins

Climate change due to a doubling of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and its possible impacts on the hydrological cycle are a matter of growing concern. Hydrologists are specifically interested in an assessment of the impacts on the occurrence and magnitude of runoff, evapotranspiration, and soil moisture and their temporal and spatial redistribution. Such impacts become all the more important as they may also affect the water availability in the storage reservoirs. This paper examines the regional effects of climate change on various components of the hydrologic cycle viz., surface runoff, soil moisture, and evapotranspiration for three drainage basins of central India. Plausible hypothetical scenarios of precipitation and temperature changes are used as input in a conceptual rainfall-runoff model. The influences of climate change on flood, drought, and agriculture are highlighted. The response of hypothetical reservoirs in these drainage basins to climate variations has also been studied. Results indicate that the basin located in a comparatively drier region is more sensitive to climatic changes. The high probability of a significant effect of climate change on reservoir storage, especially for drier scenarios, necessitates the need of a further, more critical analysis of these effects.     

博斯腾湖流域气候变化对开都河径流量的影响

利用线性回归分析法、突变检验法等分析博斯腾湖流域1980～2018年的年均气温、年降水量、年蒸发量等气候因子变化趋势和突变现象及其对开都河径流量的影响.结果表明:1980～2018年博斯腾湖流域年均气温呈波动中上升趋势,其变化速率为0.15℃(10a)-1,年降水量则以0.765mm(10a)-1的速率增加,而年蒸发量...     

长江流域及三峡库区近542年旱涝演变特征

选取长江流域沿线及三峡库区12个代表站,根据中国500年旱涝图集等级和各站建站以来5—9月降水量资料,按照旱涝等级标准,分别得到长江全流域、上游流域、中游流域、下游流域及其三峡库区1470—2011年旱涝等级序列。结果表明:长江各流域及其三峡库区均呈现较为明显的旱涝交替阶段,20世纪偏旱频率强烈增加,19世纪和20世纪偏涝频率明显增加。长江流域和三峡库区偏旱以上等级具有准160年周期震荡,全流域偏涝以上存在准140年的周期震荡,但20世纪后有所减弱,三峡库区偏涝以上等级存在准百年的周期震荡。三峡建坝蓄水前后库区降水EOF时空分布呈一致减少趋势,与此同时长江上游降水呈下降趋势,反映了长江上游流域及三峡库区气候趋旱;M-K突变检验显示水库蓄水前后流域上游和库区降水均未发生显著变化。在全球气候变化的背景下,三峡库区旱涝演变并不是孤立事件,而是与长江上游乃至整个长江流域旱涝背景密不可分。     

NCEP/NCAR再分析资料在纳木错流域湖泊/冰川区适用性分析

利用中国科学院青藏高原研究所纳木错多圈层综合观测研究站在念青唐古拉峰扎当冰川垭口(30.47°N、90.65°E,5800m)和纳木错站(30.77°N、90.99°E,4730m)的逐日平均气温、相对湿度、气压等资料,与同期NCEP/NCAR再分析资料进行了对比分析,讨论了再分析资料在纳木错流域湖泊/冰川区气候变化研究中的适用性.结果表明:扎当冰川垭口和纳木错站气压再分析资料的可信度好于气温,相对湿度稍差:扎当冰川垭口气压和相对湿度再分析值与实测值的差值在冬季偏大,夏季偏小,气温则相反.在研究期间,总体上再分析资料在冰川区的可信度好于湖泊区,再分析资料能很好地反映该地区地面气压、气温和相对湿度的日变化特征,在应用到该地区气候变化的研究时应考虑地形的影响.     

The Effects of Climate Change on the Hydrology and Water Resources of the Colorado River Basin

The potential effects of climate change on the hydrology and water resources of the Colorado River basin are assessed by comparing simulated hydrologic and water resources scenarios derived from downscaled climate simulations of the U.S. Department of Energy/National Center for Atmospheric Research Parallel Climate Model (PCM) to scenarios driven by observed historical (1950–1999) climate. PCM climate scenarios include an ensemble of three 105-year future climate simulations based on projected `business-as-usual'(BAU) greenhouse gas emissions and a control climate simulation based on static 1995 greenhouse gas concentrations. Downscaled transient temperature and precipitation sequences were extracted from PCM simulations, and were used to drive the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) macroscale hydrology model to produce corresponding streamflow sequences. Results for the BAU scenarios were summarized into Periods 1, 2, and 3 (2010–2039,2040–2069, 2070–2098). Average annual temperature changes for the Colorado Riverbasin were 0.5 °C warmer for control climate, and 1.0, 1.7, and 2.4 °C warmer for Periods 1–3, respectively, relative to the historicalclimate. Basin-average annual precipitation for the control climate was slightly(1%) less than for observed historical climate, and 3, 6, and 3%less for future Periods 1–3, respectively. Annual runoff in the controlrun was about 10% lower than for simulated historical conditions, and 14, 18, and 17% less for Periods 1–3, respectively. Analysis of watermanagement operations using a water management model driven by simulated streamflows showed that streamflows associated with control and future BAU climates would significantly degrade the performance of the water resourcessystem relative to historical conditions, with average total basin storage reduced by 7% for the control climate and 36, 32 and 40% for Periods 1–3, respectively. Releases from Glen Canyon Dam to the LowerBasin (mandated by the Colorado River Compact) were met in 80% of years for the control climate simulation (versus 92% in the historical climate simulation), and only in 59–75% of years for the future climate runs. Annual hydropower output was also significantly reduced for the control and future climate simulations. The high sensitivity of reservoir system performance for future climate is a reflection of the fragile equilibrium that now exists in operation of the system, with system demands only slightly less than long-term mean annual inflow.     

Bottom-up climate risk assessment of infrastructure investment in the Niger River Basin

The Niger River is the third largest river in the African continent. Nine riparian countries share its basin, which rank all among the world’s thirty poorest. Existing challenges in West Africa, including endemic poverty, inadequate infrastructure and weak adaptive capacity to climate variability, make the region vulnerable to climate change. In this study, a risk-based methodology is introduced and demonstrated for the analysis of climate change impacts on planned infrastructure investments in water resources systems in the Upper and Middle Niger River Basin. The methodology focuses on identifying the vulnerability of the Basin’s socio-economic system to climate change, and subsequently assessing the likelihood of climate risks by using climate information from a multi-run, multi-GCM ensemble of climate projections. System vulnerabilities are analyzed in terms of performance metrics of hydroelectricity production, navigation, dry and rainy season irrigated agriculture, flooding in the Inner Delta of the Niger and the sustenance of environmental flows. The study reveals low to moderate risks in terms of stakeholder-defined threshold levels for most metrics in the 21st Century. The highest risk levels were observed for environmental flow targets. The findings indicate that the range of projected changes in an ensemble of CMIP3 GCM projections imply only relatively low risks of unacceptable climate change impacts on the present large-scale infrastructure investment plan for the Basin.     

Climate change impacts on water management and irrigated agriculture in the Yakima River Basin, Washington, USA

The Yakima River Reservoir system supplies water to ~180,000 irrigated hectares through the operation of five reservoirs with cumulative storage of ~30% mean annual river flow. Runoff is derived mostly from winter precipitation in the Cascade Mountains, much of which is stored as snowpack. Climate change is expected to result in earlier snowmelt runoff and reduced summer flows. Effects of these changes on irrigated agriculture were simulated using a reservoir system model coupled to a hydrological model driven by downscaled scenarios from 20 climate models archived by the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report. We find earlier snowmelt results in increased water delivery curtailments. Historically, the basin experienced substantial water shortages in 14% of years. Without adaptations, for IPCC A1B global emission scenarios, water shortages increase to 27% (13% to 49% range) in the 2020s, to 33% in the 2040s, and 68% in the 2080s. For IPCC B1 emissions scenarios, shortages occur in 24% (7% to 54%) of years in the 2020s, 31% in the 2040s and 43% in the 2080s. Historically unprecedented conditions where senior water rights holders suffer shortfalls occur with increasing frequency in both A1B and B1 scenarios. Economic losses include expected annual production declines of 5%–16%, with greater probabilities of operating losses for junior water rights holders.     

2006—2011年西藏纳木错湖冰状况及其影响因素分析

湖冰是气候变化的指示器,为分析纳木错地区气候对湖冰冰情的影响,利用2006—2011年西藏纳木错(面积2000km2)和白马纳木错(面积1.45 km2)湖冰的观测资料,结合MODIS遥感影像资料分析了两个湖泊完全冻结日期、完全解冻日期、封冻期、湖冰厚度的状况及其与气温和风速的关系。纳木错湖湖冰冰情主要受气温的影响,同时也受风速的影响。纳木错湖的完全冻结日期集中在2月,完全解冻日期在5月中旬,封冻期平均天数为90 d,封冻期与冬季负积温具有较好的对应关系。面积较小的白马纳木错冰情的年际波动较大,其平均封冻期为124 d。纳木错湖的最大冰厚一般出现在3月,其厚度为58~65 cm。     

Quantifying the effects of climate variability and human activities on runoff for Kaidu River Basin in arid region of northwest China

Much attention has recently been focused on the effects that climate variability and human activities have had on runoff. In this study, data from the Kaidu River Basin in the arid region of northwest China were analyzed to investigate changes in annual runoff during the period of 1960–2009. The nonparametric Mann–Kendall test and the Mann–Kendall–Sneyers test were used to identify trend and step change point in the annual runoff. It was found that the basin had a significant increasing trend in annual runoff. Step change point in annual runoff was identified in the basin, which occurred in the year around 1993 dividing the long-term runoff series into a natural period (1960–1993) and a human-induced period (1994–2009). Then, the hydrologic sensitivity analysis method was employed to evaluate the effects of climate variability and human activities on mean annual runoff for the human-induced period based on precipitation and potential evapotranspiration. In 1994–2009, climate variability was the main factor that increased runoff with contribution of 90.5 %, while the increasing percentage due to human activities only accounted for 9.5 %, showing that runoff in the Kaidu River Basin is more sensitive to climate variability than human activities. This study quantitatively distinguishes the effects between climate variability and human activities on runoff, which can do duty for a reference for regional water resources assessment and management.     

The effects of increased stream temperatures on juvenile steelhead growth in the Yakima River Basin based on projected climate change scenarios

Stakeholders within the Yakima River Basin expressed concern over impacts of climate change on mid-Columbia River steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss), listed under the Endangered Species Act. We used a bioenergetics model to assess the impacts of changing stream temperatures—resulting from different climate change scenarios—on growth of juvenile steelhead in the Yakima River Basin. We used diet and fish size data from fieldwork in a bioenergetics model and integrated baseline and projected stream temperatures from down-scaled air temperature climate modeling into our analysis. The stream temperature models predicted that daily mean temperatures of salmonid-rearing streams in the basin could increase by 1–2 °C and our bioenergetics simulations indicated that such increases could enhance the growth of steelhead in the spring, but reduce it during the summer. However, differences in growth rates of fish living under different climate change scenarios were minor, ranging from about 1–5 %. Because our analysis focused mostly on the growth responses of steelhead to changes in stream temperatures, further work is needed to fully understand the potential impacts of climate change. Studies should include evaluating changing stream flows on fish activity and energy budgets, responses of aquatic insects to climate change, and integration of bioenergetics, population dynamics, and habitat responses to climate change.     

A non-parametric, statistical downscaling algorithm applied to the Rohini River Basin, Nepal

Climate change scenarios generated by general circulation models have too coarse a spatial resolution to be useful in planning disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation strategies at regional to river basin scales. This study presents a new non-parametric statistical K-nearest neighbor algorithm for downscaling climate change scenarios for the Rohini River Basin in Nepal. The study is an introduction to the methodology and discusses its strengths and limitations within the context of hindcasting basin precipitation for the period of 1976?C2006. The actual downscaled climate change projections are not presented here. In general, we find that this method is quite robust and well suited to the data-poor situations common in developing countries. The method is able to replicate historical rainfall values in most months, except for January, September, and October. As with any downscaling technique, whether numerical or statistical, data limitations significantly constrain model ability. The method was able to confirm that the dataset available for the Rohini Basin does not capture long-term climatology. Yet, we do find that the hindcasts generated with this methodology do have enough skill to warrant pursuit of downscaling climate change scenarios for this particularly poor and vulnerable region of the world.     

兰江流域近43年气候变化及对水资源的影响

利用累积距平法对兰江流域近43年（1961-2003年）气温、降水量和径流量资料进行分析，研究兰江流域气候变化及其气候变化对水资源的影响。结果显示：兰江流域近43年来气温、降水量总的趋势是上升的；1990年代是兰江流域气温上升和降水增加最显著的时段，主要表现在冬春气温明显上升，夏季降水量明显增加：兰江流域年径流深与年降水量基本保持同步变化。兰江流域过去43年的气候变化对流域内水资源产生了较大的影响，而且由于兰江流域内水资源空间分布差异较大，致使流域内人均水资源占有量较少的金华地区易受气候变化影响而出现供水紧张。     

基于GRACE数据的长江流域地表水储量变化

基于GRACE RL06 Level-2卫星产品数据,采用高斯滤波、P3M9去相关滤波等方法对2002年4月-2017年6月长江流域地表水储量变化进行了反演。结果表明：近16年来,长江流域整体水储量处在一个缓慢上升的状态,地表水储量变化速率为4.1±1.1 mm/yr,总体水量在这一期间增加了大约1.1×1011T,基于水文要素的统计分析显示这一结果较为准确的反映了长江流域的水量收支状态。     

RCP情景下内蒙古黄河流域径流预估及其对水资源的影响

根据内蒙古黄河流域内72个国家气象站观测的1961—2005年和区域气候模式CCLM模拟的1961—2100年的气温和降水数据,采用BP人工神经网络模型,预估分析3种RCP情景下头道拐水文站2011—2100年流量变化,评估未来气候变化对流域水资源的可能影响。结果表明:①2011—2100年内蒙古黄河流域气温升高,降水变化不明显,年平均流量呈减少趋势,RCP2.6、RCP4.5和RCP8.5情景分别减少3.6%、2.7%和23.4%。②未来春季流量以增加为主;夏季在不同情景的变化趋势不一致;秋季在21世纪50年代前以增加为主,之后以减少为主;冬季则以减少为主。③未来流域可利用水资源呈减少趋势,尤其夏季水资源的供需矛盾加剧,以及径流季节分配发生变化,可能产生更大的春季径流。     

Inter-annual temperature and precipitation variations over the Litani Basin in response to atmospheric circulation patterns

This study examines the sensitivity of a mid-size basin’s temperature and precipitation response to different global and regional climate circulation patterns. The implication of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), El Ni?o Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Indian Monsoon and ten other teleconnection patterns of the Northern Hemisphere are investigated. A methodology to generate a basin-scale, long-term monthly surface temperature and precipitation time series has been established using different statistical tests. The Litani River Basin is the focus of this study. It is located in Lebanon, east of the Mediterranean Basin, which is known to have diverse geophysical and environmental characteristics. It was selected to explore the influence of the diverse physical and topographical features on its hydroclimatological response to global and regional climate patterns. We also examine the opportunity of conducting related studies in areas with limited long-term measured climate and/or hydrological data. Litani's monthly precipitation and temperature data have been collected and statistically extrapolated using remotely sensed data products from satellites and as well as in situ gauges. Correlations between 13 different teleconnection indices and the basin’s precipitation and temperature series are investigated. The study shows that some of the annual and seasonal temperature and precipitation variance can be partially associated with many atmospheric circulation patterns. This would give the opportunity to relate the natural climate variability with the watershed’s hydroclimatology performance and thus differentiate it from other anthropogenic induced climate change outcomes.     

Multimodel ensemble projections of future climate extreme changes in the Haihe River Basin,China

Exploring the characteristic of the extreme climatic events, especially future projection is considerably important in assessing the impacts of climatic change on hydrology and water resources system. We investigate the future patterns of climate extremes (2001–2099) in the Haihe River Basin (HRB) derived from Coupled General Circulation Model (CGCM) multimodel ensemble projections using the Bayesian Model Average (BMA) approach, under a range of emission scenarios. The extremes are depicted by three extreme temperature indices (i.e., frost days (FD), growing season length (GSL), and T _min >90th percentile (TN90)) and five extreme precipitation indices (i.e., consecutive dry days (CDD), precipitation ≥10 mm (R10), maximum 5-day precipitation total (R5D), precipitation >95th percentile (R95T), and simple daily intensity index (SDII)). The results indicate frost days display negative trend over the HRB in the 21st century, particularly in the southern basin. Moreover, a greater season length and more frequent warm nights are also projected in the basin. The decreasing CDD, together with the increasing R10, R5D, R95T, and SDII in the 21st century indicate that the extreme precipitation events will increase in their intensity and frequency in the basin. Meanwhile, the changes of all eight extremes climate indices under A2 and A1B scenarios are more pronounced than in B1. The results will be of practical significance in mitigation of the detrimental effects of variations of climatic extremes and improve the regional strategy for water resource and eco-environment management, particularly for the HRB characterized by the severe water shortages and fragile ecological environment.     

Impact of reservoir operation and climate change on the hydrological regime of the Sesan and Srepok Rivers in the Lower Mekong Basin

The transboundary Sesan and Srepok sub-basins (2S) are the “hot-spot” areas for reservoir development in the Lower Mekong region, with 12 reservoirs built in the Vietnam territory. This study examines the impacts of reservoir operations in Vietnam and projected climate change on the downstream hydrologic regime of the 2S Rivers by jointly applying the Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) models. Different scenarios of reservoir operation are considered and simulated to assess their impact on annual, seasonal, and monthly flow regimes under maximum hydropower capacity generation with and without taking into account the minimum flow requirement downstream near the Vietnam border with Cambodia. The precipitation and temperature projections from the high-resolution regional climate model HadGEM3-RA under two Representative Concentration Pathways, 4.5 and 8.5, of HadGEM2-AO are used as future climate change scenarios for the impact assessment. The study results show that reservoir operation leads to an increase in the dry season stream flows and a decrease in the wet season stream flows. The monthly flow regime exhibits considerable changes for both the Sesan and Srepok Rivers but with different magnitudes and patterns of increase and decrease. Climate change is likely to induce considerable changes in stream flows, though these changes are comparatively lower than those caused by reservoir operation. Climate change is likely to have both counterbalancing and reinforcing effects over the impact of reservoir operation, reducing changes during dry season but increasing changes in most of the other months.     

玛纳斯河流域积雪变化特征及其与气温、降水的关系

利用MODIS积雪资料以及同期气象资料,分析了2000—2009年玛纳斯河流域积雪面积年内、年际变化及其与同期气温和降水的关系,结果表明:玛纳斯河流域积雪面积在4个不同分带上随季节变化各不相同,其中,带1变化最剧烈,受气候影响最为显著;带2、带3积雪的增加和减少都比较平缓;带4受气候影响最小。从年际波动来看,带1积雪面积随季节变化更为明显,带4在四季变化中均较平稳。对整个流域积雪面积与气候资料的相关分析表明:冬季,流域积雪变化对降水更敏感;而春季,气温是影响流域积雪面积变化的更主要的因素。