Repository logo
 

Paleohydrology of the Lower Colorado River Basin and implications for water supply availability

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorLukas, Jeffrey J., author
dc.contributor.authorWade, Lisa, author
dc.contributor.authorRajagopalan, Balaji, author
dc.contributor.authorColorado Water Institute, publisher
dc.coverage.spatialColorado River (Colo.-Mexico)
dc.coverage.spatialGila River (N.M. and Ariz.)
dc.date.accessioned2007-01-03T04:39:18Z
dc.date.available2007-01-03T04:39:18Z
dc.date.issued2012-10
dc.descriptionOctober 2012.
dc.description.abstractAs the annual demand on the Colorado River system approaches the annual supply, the contribution from the Lower Colorado River Basin (LCRB)--on average about 15 percent of total system flows--becomes more critical. In order for these flows to be incorporated into planning frameworks, it is important to understand their long-term variability and develop robust simulation methods that can capture the variability. The main objectives of this project were to develop new paleo-reconstructions of LCRB hydrologic variability from tree rings and incorporate them into a more complete assessment of the risk for the entire Colorado River Basin. We first worked to develop or refine naturalized flow records for the Gila and non-Gila subbasins of the LCRB. We found that while the historic Gila River naturalized flows near the mouth could be estimated with high confidence, the non-Gila LCRB flows carry more uncertainty. We then used several different statistical methods, including two new methods, to calibrate a regional network of tree-ring data against these naturalized flow records. The resulting flow reconstructions extend back about 400 years, and are more robust for the Gila River than the non-Gila portion of the LCRB. The reconstructions show that the 20th century has been unrepresentative of the longer period of hydrologic variability in several key respects. We then incorporated the variability in these new tree-ring reconstructions into a more complete water-balance model simulating the managed Colorado River system, which was run under multiple future scenarios representing different levels of climate change impact and increasing demands. We found that the periodic large inflows from the Gila River have a small but measurable effect in reducing overall system risk (of depleting) storage under all scenarios.
dc.description.sponsorshipFunding for this project was provided by the Colorado Water Institute, the Colorado River District, the CU-CIRES Western Water Assessment program (itself supported by the NOAA Climate Program Office), and the CU Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; also financed in part by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey, through the Colorado Water Institute.
dc.format.mediumreports
dc.identifierCR_223.pdf
dc.identifierCCRICWRI100219CRPT
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10217/77780
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherColorado State University. Libraries
dc.relationwwdl
dc.relation.ispartofCompletion Reports
dc.relation.ispartofCompletion report (Colorado Water Institute), no. 223
dc.rightsCopyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.
dc.subjectGila River
dc.subjecttree-ring reconstruction
dc.subjectwater shortage
dc.subjectreservoir levels
dc.subjectstreamflows
dc.subject.lcshStreamflow
dc.subject.lcshPaleohydrology
dc.subject.lcshTree-rings -- Reconstruction
dc.subject.lcshColorado River (Colo.-Mexico)
dc.subject.lcshWater-supply
dc.titlePaleohydrology of the Lower Colorado River Basin and implications for water supply availability
dc.typeText
dcterms.rights.dplaThis Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights (https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/). You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
CR_223.pdf
Size:
2.16 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Download

Collections

Completion Reports