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Climate Change Vulnerability

 
Climate Change Vulnerability Tool (subscription only)
 
Parameter Description: NetMap's Climate Change Vulnerability tool is used to display and evalute the downscaled climate change predictions involving temperature, precipitation, snowmelt, snow-water-equivalent, and summer and winter runoff (stream flows). The tool provides an efficient means to quickly locate the greatest forecasted changes in climate. Predictions in NetMap are reported in percent (%) change from historical  (1916-2006) to forecasts in 2040 (positive and negative values). The tool is also used to quickly search for landscape vulnerability to climate change by examining intersections among climate change, wildfire risk, and in-stream habitat and channel sensitivity indicators (using any percentile of the distribution).
 
The scenarios represent a composite average of ten global climate models (GCM) for the western US using four bracketing scenarios based on four GCMs (ECHAM5, MIROC_3.2, HADGEM1, and PCM1). Predictions are for one greenhouse gas scenario (A1B, a middle of the road scenario for future emissions). Results are in percent change from historical (1916-2006) to forecasts in 2040. Forecasts were obtained from University of Washington Climate Impact Group. For additional background information on how forecasts were made, see here and here.
 
Model Description:
The tool interface is shown in Figure 1. When the Fire Cascade tool is first used in a NetMap dataset, a user must download the fire and erosion files (#1, Figure 1). The user must then "route" (#2) the grid (raster) data into the channel network (segment scale, via Drainage Wings) and downstream. Values downstream represent a running average. A user than uses the drop down list (#3) to display: a) any of the gridded data (temperature, precipitation, snow accumulation, snow-water-equivalent), summer flow and winter flow), b) the channel segment scale version of those (fish eye view), and c) a running average of those values downstreasm.
 
Figure 1. The Climate Change Vulnerability Tool.
 
A key element of the Climate Change vulnerability tool is the ability to search for any percentile of the predicted climate change (e.g., top 50%, 10%, 1% etc.). In addition, a user may search for overlapping stressors at any percentile of the distribution (say top 10% of temperature increase with top 10% of summer flow reduction). With up to four overlap options, a user can search for many combinations of climate change stressors and fire, erosion and aquatic habitats.
 
Example Application:
NetMap’s tool is used to search for landscape vulnerability to climate change by examining intersections among climate change, wildfire risk, and in-stream habitat and channel sensitivity indicators in the Flathead River basin in Montana (US Fish and Wildlife Service). Forecasts pertaining to mean annual temperature, precipitation, snow accumulation, and summer and winter flows are presented. Forecasts are available for both the US and Canadian portions of the Flathead River watershed. Additional background information is available from Littell et al. (2011).
 
Projected air temperature increases are not uniformly distributed across the basin (Figures 2 and 3).
Figure 2. Downscaled predictions for mean annual air temperature mapped as percent change from year 2040 compared to historical (1916 – 2006). Although the raw data are in grid form, NetMap converts those values to channel segment values. The highest predicted increases in temperature are located in the US and Canadian portions of the basin along the eastern boundary.
 
Figure 3. Downscaled predictions for mean annual air temperature mapped as percent change from year 2040 compared to historical (1916 – 2006). The channel segment data (Figure 2) are aggregated (summed and area weighted) downstream revealing tributary patterns of projected temperature increases (panel).
 
 
The downscaled climate change predictions also reveals that average annual precipitation may increase (rain and snow combined), although non-uniformly across the watershed (Figure 4). However, GCM predictions do not consider orographic effects of westerly winds and these are decreasing, leading to declines in mountain precipitation and thus to potentially lower flows (Luce et al. 2013).
 
 
Figure 4. UW Climate Impact Group GCM projections (downscaled) reveal a spatially variable increase in annual precipitation across the Flathead River watershed.
 
Wildfire is an important environmental stressor in the Flathead River watershed and the incidence of fire may increase in a warming climate. NetMap’s climate change vulnerability tool is used to search for locations where the highest 10% of projected temperature increase overlaps the highest 10% of present day fire severity (Figure 5).
 
Figure 5. NetMap’s climate change vulnerability tool is used to identify locations in the Flathead River watershed where the highest 10% of climate change induced increases in temperature overlap the present day highest 10% of fire severity. Such potentially sensitive areas are located in the north eastern margin of the basin on the US side of the border (no fire risk data in Canada was used in this analysis).
 
Downscaled climate change projections also reveal significant reductions in snow accumulation days across the watershed, with the highest predicted reductions in the US side of the border. The forecasts defines elevation bands surrounding the N-S Flathead River mainstem with reductions that increase from higher to lower elevations ranging from less than a few percent to a maximum of greater than 30% along the mainstem in the US portion of the basin (Figure 6).
 
Figure 6. UW Climate Impact Group climate change forecasts for reductions in snow accumulation days in the Flathead River watershed.
 
Total precipitation is forecasted to increase across the Flathead River watershed due to climate change (although modestly to a maximum of 7% by 2040). However, the significant change in winter precipitation as snow (Figure 6) leads to forecasted reductions in summer runoff of up to 12 to 17% (Figure 7). But see the recent work of Luce et al. (2013) on decreased orographic effects leading to reduced flows in the northwestern US.
 
Figure 7. UW Climate Impact Group predictions of reductions in summer flow show the largest impacts occurring in the US side of the border and along the lower western and eastern basin boundaries.
 
 
The predicted conversion of winter snow to winter rain (Figure 6) due to a warming climate (Figure 38) in the Flathead River watershed can result in increases in winter flows (Figure 7). This could yield an increase in rain dominated floods or rain-on-snow floods with the greatest potential impacts along the mainstem river and adjacent lowland tributaries.
 
Figure 8. UW Climate Impact Group forecasts for increases in winter flow. The largest changes are forecast for the mainstem and adjacent lowland tributaries on the US side of the border.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Compiled with help of Dr.Explain