WWA study assesses joint impact of dust-on-snow and climate change on Colorado River streamflow

A study led by WWA's Jeff Deems, along with co-authors including WWA team members Joe Barsugli and Brad Udall, used hydrologic modeling to assess the impact of dust-on-snow—including the extreme dust loadings experienced in 2009 and 2010—on the volume and timing of runoff in the Upper Colorado River Basin under multiple climate scenarios. The study, "Combined impacts of current and future dust deposition and regional warming on Colorado River Basin snow dynamics and hydrology," has been published as a "discussion paper" in the journal Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, and anyone who is interested is invited to submit review comments on the paper.