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Gregg Garfin

Recent Warming This is an initiative to document and understand the science of recent climate warming in the region and implications for natural resources management. SW CASC researchers from Colorado State University, Scripps Institution of Oceanography at University of California-San Diego, and University of Arizona, and their partners, are identifying the extent to which temperature, wind speed, solar radiation, and humidity affect regional aridification. By improving scientific understanding of the mechanisms of aridification, the team aims to inform water management, irrigated agriculture, and the characterization of drought and wildfire risks. The team is developing papers on (a) scientific investigation...
University of Arizona (HOST) The University of Arizona (UArizona) is the SW CASC host institution, and the state’s land grant institution. UArizona is a national leader in climate and environmental science, co-production of science and policy research, engagement, and outreach and climate adaptation science, planning and implementation. The SW CASC is housed within the Arizona Institute for Resilient Environments and Societies (AIRES) at UArizona, which has over 300 affiliated faculty and houses many long-term initiatives with experience in co-production of actionable science. UArizona SW CASC co-PI Alison Meadow and DRI co-PI Tamara Wall are evaluating SW CASC projects using a framework they developed for...
The Southwest Adaptation Forum (SWAF) is the gathering of climate adaptation leaders, researchers, and practitioners across the Southwest U.S., to exchange best practices around efforts that are advancing climate adaptation and resilience in the region. SWAF is a regional forum of the National Adaptation Forum.  In collaboration with partners, the SW CASC has hosted two forums, in-person in 2018 and virtual in 2021, and will be hosting the third forum in Albuquerque, NM, in Fall 2022. Click the links below to learn more about each forum. 2018 SWAF 2021 SWAF 2022 SWAF
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The Colorado River provides water to 40 million people in the southwestern United States. Consistent water level declines in Colorado River Basin reservoirs have focused research attention on the long-term changes in winter precipitation and the timing of snowmelt and runoff. Research on how warming temperatures affect winter precipitation and spring snowmelt is ongoing, however, less attention has been given to changes in spring and summer precipitation which also affects water supply, plant growth, and competition between native and non-native plants, and, in turn affects wildfire dynamics and wildlife habitat. The amount and timing of summer precipitation is largely influenced by variation in the North American...
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