Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

High-resolution streamflow trend analysis applicable to annual decision calendars: a western United States case study

A letter

  • Letter
  • Published:
Climatic Change Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Changes in the seasonality of streamflow in the western United States have important implications for water resources management and the wellbeing of coupled human-natural systems. An assessment of changes in the timing and magnitude of streamflow resolved at fine time scales (days to weeks and seasons) is highly relevant to adaptive management strategies that are responsive to changing hydrologic baselines. In this paper, we present a regional analysis of the changes in streamflow seasonality through a broad classification of streams and quantification of increases and decreases in flow, based on a quantile regression methodology. This analysis affords a useful research product to examine the diversity of trends across seasons for individual streams. The trend analysis methodology can identify windows of change, thus revealing vulnerabilities within decision calendars and species lifecycles, an important consideration for adaptation and mitigation efforts.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Barbosa SM (2008) Quantile trends in Baltic sea level. Geophys Res Lett 35:L22704

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bates BC, Kundzewicz ZW, Wu S, Palutikof JP (2008) Climate change and water. Technical paper, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC Secretariat, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  • BPA/Bonneville Power Administration (2010) The Life cycle of Pacific Salmon. http://www.bpa.gov/corporate/pubs/salmon_life-cycle.pdf. Accessed 7 July 2010

  • Corringham T, Westerling AL, Morehouse B (2008) Exploring use of climate information in wildland fire management: a decision calendar study. J For 106:71–77

    Google Scholar 

  • FCRPS/Federal Columbia River Power System (2001) The Columbia River System: inside story, Bonneville Power Administration and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. http://www.bpa.gov/Power/PG/columbia_river_inside_story.pdf. Accessed 28 April 2010

  • Hidalgo H et al (2009) Detection and attribution of streamflow timing changes to climate change in the western United States. J Clim 22:3838–3855

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koenker R (2005) Quantile Regression. Cambridge University Press, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Luce CH, Holden ZA (2009) Declining annual streamflow distributions in the Pacific Northwest United States, 1948–2006. Geophys Res Lett 36:L16401

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCabe GJ (1995) Relations between winter atmospheric circulation and annual streamflow in the western United States. Clim Res 5:139–148

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • NAS/National Academy of Sciences Panel on Strategies and Methods for Climate-Related Decision Support (2009) Informing decisions in a changing climate. National Academy Press, Washington DC

  • Pizarro G, Lall U (2002) El Nino-induced flooding in the U.S. West: what can we expect? Eos Trans AGU 83:349

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pulwarty RS, Melis TS (2001) Climate extremes and adaptive management on the Colorado River: lessons from the 1997–1998 ENSO event. J Environ Manag 63:307–324

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pulwarty RS, Redmond KT (1997) Climate and salmon restoration in the Columbia River Basin: the role and usability of seasonal forecasts. Bull Am Meteorol Soc 78:381–397

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ray AJ et al (2007) Applications of Monsoon research: opportunities to inform decision making and reduce regional vulnerability. J Climate 20:1608–1627

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Regonda SK et al (2005) Seasonal cycle shifts in hydroclimatology over the western United States. J Climate 18:372–384

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reilly TE et al (2008) Ground-water availability in the United States. U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1323

  • Slack JR, Lumb AM, Landwehr JM (1993) USGS open-file report 92-129, hydro-climatic data network: a U.S. Geological Survey stream flow data set for the United States for the study of climate variations, 1874–1988. Technical Report, U.S. Geological Survey

  • Stewart IT, Cayan D, Dettinger MD (2005) Changes towards earlier streamflow timing across western North America. J Climate 18:1136–1155

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Maine, Orono, ME, 04469, USA

    Jong-Suk Kim & Shaleen Jain

  2. Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, Orono, ME, 04469, USA

    Shaleen Jain

Authors
  1. Jong-Suk Kim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Shaleen Jain
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shaleen Jain.

Additional information

Supported by NSF Grant: AGS0732309 & NOAA Grant: GC04-053.

Electronic Supplementary Material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

(PDF 388 kb)

(PDF 3.03 MB)

(PDF 572 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kim, JS., Jain, S. High-resolution streamflow trend analysis applicable to annual decision calendars: a western United States case study. Climatic Change 102, 699–707 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-010-9933-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-010-9933-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation