Research

Hydrology and Water Resources

Overview

The Climate Impacts Group’s (CIG) research in the area of hydrology and water resources has the broad goals of:

• understanding the implications of climate variability in the context of water resources development, water management practice, and evolving water policy using instrumental records and paleo-climatic reconstructions,
• developing better long-range streamflow forecasts for water management purposes at lead times of six months to one year,
• projecting the impacts of future climate change on regional water resources and evaluating possible mitigation alternatives, and
• developing methodologies for incorporating information about climate variability and change into operations and planning for Pacific Northwest (PNW) water supply planning and management.

The CIG also utilizes its hydrologic modeling and prediction capabilities to evaluate water resources issues that are affected by climate variability, climate change, and the additional stresses associated with other regional changes. These issues include the consequences of alternative water and hydroelectric power management strategies for salmon restoration efforts and the consequences of changing water demands and changes in land cover for regional water resources.

Key Personnel

• Dennis Lettenmaier
• Richard Palmer
• Alan Hamlet

Related Activities

• Annual climate and streamflow forecasting workshops (e.g., 2003 Idaho Climate and Water Resource Forecast meeting)
• Planning meetings and policy workshops on climate change impacts to PNW water resources (e.g. 2001 Water Policy and Climate Change meeting, 2002 Senior Stakeholder meeting)
• Research consultancies and presentations
• UW classes incorporating climate-water resources interactions
• Contributions to national and regional policy related studies (e.g., CIG contribution to the National Assessment of Climate Impacts on the United States)