Jeff Lukas (University of Colorado/WWA) and Connie Woodhouse (University of Arizona/WWA)

Sustainable water management requires knowledge of the natural variability in streamflow over time. However, even a 100-year gaged record fails to capture the full range of natural variability of a river system, as the "unprecedented" low flows at many gages in 2002 showed. Multi-century tree-ring reconstructions of streamflow provide more robust information about past variability than do gage records.

 

Gaged and reconstructed annual streamflow for the Colorado River at Hot Sulphur Springs, 1907-2002

 

Many tree-ring reconstructions of steamflow and other hydroclimatic variables are now available for the western US. An increasing number of water management entities are successfully applying these data to modeling and planning. The goal of the TreeFlow web pages is to serve as a clearinghouse for tree-ring reconstructions of streamflow and the information needed to support their application to water management.

Introduction to tree-ring reconstructions of streamflow FAQ and instructional presentations Current and recent applications of tree-ring reconstructions How water managers across the West are using tree-rings Technical workshops for water resource managers Reports and presentations from past workshops, schedule of future workshops Online data resources Tree-ring reconstructions available for download and use Rio Grande TreeFlow Tree-ring data and resources for the Rio Grande basin (prototype for the new TreeFlow website which will be organized by region) Colorado River Streamflow: A Paleo Perspective Multi-part feature describing the development of tree-ring reconstructions of streamflow for the Colorado River and the broader perspective they provide Other useful web sites and references About us