Forests, water & research in the Sierra Nevada

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Presentation transcript:

Forests, water & research in the Sierra Nevada Roger Bales, Sierra Nevada Research Institute, UC Merced

Sierra Nevada watershed research infrastructure CZO N-S transect of research catchments MODIS image Main CZO site 600 1200 1800 2400 3000 Elev., m San Joaquin Experimental Range 400 m 1300 ft Shorthair Creek 2700 m 8900 ft CZO P301 2000 m 6600 ft Soaproot Saddle 1100 m 3600 ft E-W transect of flux towers Southern Sierra Critical Zone Observatory

Mountain hydrology – fluxes How will this landscape & the hydrologic processes connecting it alter w/ climate warming & land-use/landcover change? Motivating questions evapotranspiration precipitation infiltration snowmelt sublimation runoff Reservoirs: Snowpack storage Soil-water storage ground & surface water exchange

Mountain hydrology – fluxes Myth: We can, with a high degree of skill, estimate or predict the magnitude of these quantities evapotranspiration precipitation infiltration snowmelt sublimation runoff Reservoirs: Snowpack storage Soil-water storage ground & surface water exchange

Mountain hydrology – fluxes My biases: Improved predictions require better process understanding The basis for process understanding is new measurements Processes are coupled & best studied together evapotranspiration precipitation infiltration snowmelt sublimation runoff Reservoirs: Snowpack storage Soil-water storage ground & surface water exchange

Basic water balance Precipitation = Evapotranspiration + Runoff = +

50% more runoff in snow dominated vs. mixed rain-snow catchments 5oF 3oC 0.1 increase per 350 m (1150 ft) 50% more runoff in snow dominated vs. mixed rain-snow catchments 5oF Implication for 2oC warmer climate: Reduce runoff by 10-40% in mixed conifer forest (assuming ecosystems adapt) 6000’ 7000’ 8000’ Decreasing temperature Increasing snow fraction Decreasing vegetation Coarser soils

Annual evapotranspiration mm in 800 32 700 28 600 24 500 20 400 16 300 12 0 1000/ 2000/ 3000/ 3300 6600 10000 Elevation, m/ft Annual evapotranspiration Highest current evapotranspiration in rain to rain-snow transition region of mixed conifer forest – year-round growth Lower elevation is water limited Higher elevation is cold limited Goulden et al., submitted

Sierra Nevada precipitation & snow water equivalent (SWE) – climatological estimate? in >80 70 50 35 25 15 10 >28 24 16 8 3

Most snowmelt comes from elevations above most measurement of precipitation or snowpack

Mountain water cycle & climate warming oF Warming by 2–6oC (4–11oF) drives significant changes: rain-vs-snow storms * snowpack amounts * snowmelt timing * flood risk streamflow timing * low baseflows growing seasons * recharge? drier soil in summer Precipitation changes uncertain Already observed (*) Land surface temperatures 5-yr average Departure from 1901-2000 mean 2 1 -1 -2 oF 15 11 7 4 -4 11

Kings basin snowmelt w/ climate warming

Making a water-secure world – the three I’s INFRASTRUCTURE to store, transport & treat water Stronger & more-adaptable INSTITUTIONS Better & more-accessible INFORMATION Water security: the reliable availability of an acceptable quantity & quality of water for health, livelihoods & production, coupled w/ an acceptable level of water-related risks

Making a water-secure world – the three I’s INFRASTRUCTURE to store, transport & treat water Stronger & more-adaptable INSTITUTIONS Ecosystem services Better & more-accessible INFORMATION Water is fundamental to sustainable ecosystem services. Water management therefore translates into managing ecosystem services, and must be a fundamental goal of virtually all such efforts.

A new generation of integrated measurements lidar eddy correlation embedded sensor networks isotopes & ions satellite snowcover sap flow low-cost sensors sediment

Basin-wide deployment of hydrologic instrument clusters – American R Basin-wide deployment of hydrologic instrument clusters – American R. basin Strategically place low-cost sensors to get spatial estimates of snowcover, soil moisture & other water-balance components Network & integrate these sensors into a single spatial instrument for water-balance measurements.

Building the knowledge base to enhance forest & water management