2013
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Layers of dust on Colorado mountains to impact snowmelt and runoff
SpotlightWWA's Jeffrey Deems was quoted in a Denver Post article on southwestern dust found in snow across Colorado mountains. Excerpt from the article:
Dust blown in from the Southwest settled on snow over many of Colorado's mountains during this week's storm and will eventually affect how fast the snowpack melts and possibly how much water the state can hold onto. Researchers say the dust kicked up from Arizona, New Mexico and Utah by southwesterly winds fell in Steamboat Springs, Summit County, Vail, Aspen and the San Juan mountains. Dust was also scattered in the snow that fell along the Front Range, but it's likely that dust could have been carried by southeasterly winds from other areas too, including parched southeastern Colorado, the San Luis Valley and the Arkansas River Basin. Read more.
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How much water will our future electricity generation portfolio require?
SpotlightA new paper by WWA's Kristen Averyt, along with collaborators at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Union of Concerned Scientists, explores how freshwater withdrawals by electric power plants could change under a number of future electricity generation scenarios. Their analysis includes aggregation of results by second-order hydrologic units in order to accommodate how basin-level differences in water availability affect generation. Their paper is available freely here and is part of a broader "Focus on Electricity, Water, and Climate Connections" published in the journal Environmental Research Letters.
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Understanding and harmonizing estimates of life-cycle water use for electricity generation
SpotlightIn order to better compare water used in the entire life cycles (manufacturing through operation) of electric generation options, WWA's James Meldrum, along with collaborators at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, developed a three-step methodology to assess existing data. Their findings indicate that thermoelectric generation facilities appear to use the most water, while photovoltaic and wind resources use the least. An article on their findings is available here and is part of a broader "Focus on Electricity, Water, and Climate Connections" published in the journal Environmental Research Letters.
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San Juan Bark Beetles and Watersheds Workshop - April 10, Durango, CO
SpotlightOn Wednesday, April 10, WWA will present an all-day workshop for water and forest resource managers to share what researchers know and don’t know about the potential water impacts from bark beetle infestations in lodgepole and spruce-fir forests in the Rocky Mountain West. We will also hear from local experts about the ongoing spruce beetle infestation in the San Juan headwaters. On the preceding evening (April 9) there will be a related community meeting and open house in Pagosa Springs. The Mountain Studies Institute (MSI), the San Juan Headwaters Forest Health Partnership, the U.S. Forest Service, and Firewise of Southwest Colorado are partnering with WWA to convene the two events. See here for more information and registration.
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First stage of new snowpack study completed
SpotlightJeff Deems of CIRES and WWA, with colleagues from NASA JPL and CRREL, is monitoring mountain snowpack depth using a novel method that combines ground-based and airborne lidar. The goal is to improve water-supply inventories and forecasts in snowmelt-dominated watersheds. Deems received a 2012 CIRES Innovative Research Program grant to conduct the project, and the team finished collecting baseline data from snow-free mountain basins in Colorado and California last fall. They will collect measurements from snow-filled basins this March through July.
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New WWA paper analyzes water use by power plants
SpotlightWWA's Kristen Averyt and James Meldrum, along with collaborators at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Union of Concerned Scientists, and Synapse Energy Economics, recently completed an analysis of 2008 water use by electric power plants. Their findings demonstrated that approximately 41% of freshwater withdrawals and 3% of freshwater consumption across the country is attributable to power generation, usually for cooling purposes. The paper, published in Environmental Research Letters, also showed significant discrepancies between water use data collected by the Energy Information Administration and calculations done for this analysis. Averyt et al.'s paper is available here.
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Brad Udall's departure from WWA
SpotlightAfter nearly 10 years serving as Director of the Western Water Assessment, Brad Udall is moving on to become Director of the Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment. (More information is available in this press release.) Please join us in congratulating Brad and thanking him for his service! Kristen Averyt will serve as WWA's Interim Director. As always, please contact us at wwa@colorado.edu with any questions or comments.