2013
-
New video on WWA work on energy-water nexus
SpotlightWWA Director Kristen Averyt is featured in a video from the University of Colorado's Office for University Outreach. She underscores the importance of understanding the impacts of energy production on water supplies.
-
Rocky Mountains to warm more than lower elevations, according to new paper
SpotlightThe Rocky Mountains can expect more warming in the future than lower-elevation regions at the same latitude during the cold season, according to a new analysis of the latest (CMIP5) global climate model runs. WWA’s Imtiaz Rangwala and two colleagues from Rutgers University analyzed the model output for temperature changes as function of surface elevation in the northern mid-latitudes for a paper published in June in Environmental Research Letters. The study, which built upon Rangwala’s investigations when he was a PACE postdoc co-sponsored by WWA, found that these enhanced future warming projections are in part due to a proportionately stronger water vapor feedback at high elevations, and also to reduced snow cover that facilitates greater heating of the land surface.
-
WWA welcomes Imtiaz Rangwala back to Boulder
SpotlightImtiaz Rangwala, who worked with WWA from 2009-2011 as a PACE postdoctoral fellow, has returned to Boulder and WWA for a second postdoc stint. Imtiaz will be working with WWA’s Bill Travis and Joe Barsugli, Gregg Garfin of CLIMAS, and colleagues at The Nature Conservancy to analyze, synthesize and communicate the latest climate science to support land conservation efforts throughout the four-state region of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona. We’re very fortunate to have him and his considerable climate expertise bolstering our team again.
-
WWA study assesses usefulness of river forecast applications for water management
SpotlightA study led by NOAA's Kevin Werner, along with co-authors Kristen Averyt and Gigi Owen, used a scenario-based approach in a workshop setting to explore if and how people implement forecast information into reservoir operations decisions. The study found strong tendencies for participants to wait for observed information, as opposed to forecast information, before making decisions. The study, "River Forecast Application for Water Management: Oil and Water?," has been published in the journal Weather, Climate, and Society.
-
WWA and NIDIS release special drought briefing for the Intermountain West
SpotlightWith drought conditions and impacts affecting much of the region this summer, WWA and the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) have released a two-page Summer 2013 Drought Summary and Outlook for Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and New Mexico. This briefing summarizes recent precipitation, current and expected drought conditions, spring-summer streamflows, reservoir levels, agricultural impacts, and wildfire risk.
-
WWA contributes to paper on how climate change will affect the Colorado River’s flow
SpotlightRecent studies of the impact that climate warming will have on flow in the Colorado River have produced an unsettling range of estimates, from a modest decrease of 6 percent by 2050 to a steep drop of 45 percent by then. A new paper by researchers at CIRES Western Water Assessment, University of Washington, and NOAA investigates and explains why those estimates differ and summarizes what is known about the future of this iconic Western river—key information for decision makers.