The Effects of Wildfire on Snow Water Resources under Multiple Climate Conditions
The Colorado and Rio Grande Rivers provide drinking water to millions of people in the Southwest and South Central U.S. Snowmelt accounts for 70% of streamflow in these rivers, meaning that water use downstream is directly impacted by snow accumulation and snowmelt patterns in the mountains. Mountain forests are a critical part of the hydrologic cycle that feeds these rivers, providing water supply and storage. However wildfire, which is becoming more common as temperatures rise, can disrupt the role of mountain forests in the hydrologic cycle. Uncertainty about the interactions between wildfire and snow-water, and how these interactions may change as climate conditions shift, impedes effective water resource planning in the region.
Until recently, there has been no method available to characterize the potential effects of forest fire on snow-water (water from melted snow) resources. This project will combine two newly developed models that will for the first time allow an accurate analysis of the effects of wildfire on snow-water resources, under current and possible future climate conditions. Researchers will focus on the Las Conchas Fire burn zone in New Mexico’s Jemez Mountains, where approximately 156,000 acres were burned in 2011. However, the framework developed to complete this study will be relevant to forested regions throughout the world where snow-water resources overlap potential burn areas.
The results of this project will improve snow-water forecasting, and therefore water resource planning. For example, the National Weather Service plans on using the results to improve their forecasting capabilities in snowmelt-driven basins that have been impacted by wildfire.
- Source: USGS Sciencebase (id: 594aa2dfe4b062508e36f465)
The Colorado and Rio Grande Rivers provide drinking water to millions of people in the Southwest and South Central U.S. Snowmelt accounts for 70% of streamflow in these rivers, meaning that water use downstream is directly impacted by snow accumulation and snowmelt patterns in the mountains. Mountain forests are a critical part of the hydrologic cycle that feeds these rivers, providing water supply and storage. However wildfire, which is becoming more common as temperatures rise, can disrupt the role of mountain forests in the hydrologic cycle. Uncertainty about the interactions between wildfire and snow-water, and how these interactions may change as climate conditions shift, impedes effective water resource planning in the region.
Until recently, there has been no method available to characterize the potential effects of forest fire on snow-water (water from melted snow) resources. This project will combine two newly developed models that will for the first time allow an accurate analysis of the effects of wildfire on snow-water resources, under current and possible future climate conditions. Researchers will focus on the Las Conchas Fire burn zone in New Mexico’s Jemez Mountains, where approximately 156,000 acres were burned in 2011. However, the framework developed to complete this study will be relevant to forested regions throughout the world where snow-water resources overlap potential burn areas.
The results of this project will improve snow-water forecasting, and therefore water resource planning. For example, the National Weather Service plans on using the results to improve their forecasting capabilities in snowmelt-driven basins that have been impacted by wildfire.
- Source: USGS Sciencebase (id: 594aa2dfe4b062508e36f465)