Skip to main content
Advanced Search

Folders: ROOT > ScienceBase Catalog > National and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers > South Central CASC > FY 2013 Projects ( Show direct descendants )

97 results (17ms)   

Filters
Date Range
Extensions
Types
Contacts
Categories
Tag Types
Tag Schemes
View Results as: JSON ATOM CSV
thumbnail
The sky island forests of the southwestern United States are one of the most diverse temperate forest ecosystems in the world, providing key habitat for migrating and residential species alike. Black bear, bighorn sheep, mule deer, and wild turkey are just a few of the species found in these isolated mountain ecosystems that rise out of the desert landscape. However, recent droughts have crippled these ecosystems, causing significant tree death. Climate predictions suggest that this region will only face hotter and drier conditions in the future, potentially stressing these ecosystems even further. Simple models predict that vegetation will move to cooler and wetter locations in response to this warming. However,...
thumbnail
The South Central U.S. encompasses a wide range of ecosystem types and precipitation patterns. Average annual precipitation is less than 10 inches in northwest New Mexico but can exceed 60 inches further east in Louisiana. Much of the region relies on warm-season convective precipitation – that is, highly localized brief but intense periods of rainfall that are common in the summer. This type of precipitation is a significant driver of climate and ecosystem function in the region, but it is also notoriously difficult to predict since it occurs at such small spatial and temporal scales. While global climate models are helpful for understanding and predicting large-scale precipitation trends, they often do not capture...
thumbnail
A monthly water balance model (MWBM) was driven with precipitation and temperature using a station-based dataset for current conditions (1949 to 2010) and selected statistically-downscaled general circulation models (GCMs) for current and future conditions (1950 to 2099) across the conterminous United States (CONUS) using hydrologic response units from the Geospatial Fabric for National Hydrologic Modeling (Viger and Bock, 2014). Six MWBM output variables (actual evapotranspiration (AET), potential evapotranspiration (PET), runoff (RO), streamflow (STRM), soil moisture storage (SOIL), and snow water equivalent (SWE)) and the two MWBM input variables (atmospheric temperature (TAVE) and precipitation (PPT)) were summarized...
thumbnail
The development of a hydrologic foundation, essential for advancing our understanding of flow-ecology relationships, was accomplished using the high-resolution physics-based distributed rainfall-runoff model Vflo. We compared the accuracy and bias associated with flow metrics that were generated using Vflo at both a daily and monthly time step in the Canadian River basin, USA. First, we calibrated and applied bias correction to the Vflo model to simulate streamflow at ungaged catchment locations. Next, flow metrics were calculated using both simulated and observed data from stream gage locations. We found discharge predictions using Vflo were more accurate than using drainage area ratios. General correspondence...
Abstract (From http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/abs/10.1175/JHM-D-15-0062.1): Over mountainous terrain, ground weather radars face limitations in monitoring surface precipitation as they are affected by radar beam blockages along with the range-dependent biases due to beam broadening and increase in altitude with range. These issues are compounded by precipitation structures that are relatively shallow and experience growth at low levels due to orographic enhancement. To improve surface precipitation estimation, researchers at the University of Oklahoma have demonstrated the benefits of integrating the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Precipitation Radar (PR) products into the ground-based NEXRAD rainfall...
thumbnail
This dataset contains the result of the bioclimatic-envelope modeling of the three amphibian species -- the Sacramento Mountain Salamander (Aneides hardii), the Jemez Mountains Salamander (Plethodon neomexicanus), and the Chiricahua Leopard Frog (Lithobates chiricahuensis) -- in the South Central US using the downscaled data provided by WorldClim. We used five species distribution models (SDM) including Generalized Linear Model, Random Forest, Boosted Regression Tree, Maxent, and Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines (MARS) and ensembles to develop the present day distributions of the species based on climate-driven models alone. We then projected future distributions of the species using data from four climate...
thumbnail
This dataset contains the result of the bioclimatic-envelope modeling of the two reptile species -- Rio Grande Cooter (Pseudemys gorzugi) and Gray-Checkered Whiptail (Aspidoscelis dixoni) -- in the South Central US using the downscaled data provided by WorldClim. We used five species distribution models (SDM) including Generalized Linear Model, Random Forest, Boosted Regression Tree, Maxent, and Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines (MARS) and ensembles to develop the present day distributions of the species based on climate-driven models alone. We then projected future distributions of the species using data from four climate models: Community Climate System Model version 4 (CCSM4), Hadley Centre Global Environment...
thumbnail
Understanding the changes in the distribution and quantity of, and demand for, water resources in response to a changing climate is essential to planning for, and adapting to, future climatic conditions. In order to plan for future conditions and challenges, it is crucial that managers understand the limitations and uncertainties associated with the characterization of these changes when making management decisions. Changes in consumptive water use (water removed without return to a water resources system) will change streamflow, impacting downstream water users, their livelihoods, as well as aquatic ecosystems. Historical changes in available water may be attributed to changes in precipitation; but these changes...
Geographic patterns and time trends of water-quality, modeled streamflow, and ecological data were compared along the Canadian River and selected tributaries in northeastern New Mexico to Lake Eufaula in Oklahoma to determine effects of climate change on water quality, streamflows, fish populations and ecological flows in this watershed from 1939 to 2013. Project participants included staff from the Oklahoma Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Vieux and Associates, USGS New Jersey Water Science Center and the USGS Oklahoma Water Science Center. Principal project funding was by the South Central Climate Science Center, with in-kind matching from the project participant organizations.
thumbnail
Currently, maintaining appropriate flows to support biological integrity is difficult for larger riverine ecosystems. Climate change, through increased temperature, reduced rainfall, and increased rainfall intensity, is expected to reduce water availability and exacerbate the maintenance of ecological flows in the Arkansas-Red River basin. Understanding the nexus among climate change effects on streamflow, water quality, and stream ecology for watersheds in the Arkansas-Red River Basin can be achieved using currently existing science and technology. This nexus approach will strengthen adaptive-management strategies that focus on shared ecosystem conservation watershed targets. This approach will provide natural-resource...
thumbnail
The use of streamflow simulations from the Vflo model and subsequent calculation of streamflow metrics to investigate flow-ecology relationships may be hindered by our inability to accurately model flow variability and extreme flows of the arid Great Plains. The Canadian River and other rivers in the Great Plains tend to have highly variable flows and harsh environmental conditions. The combination of these environmental conditions makes semi-arid and arid regions difficult to represent with a hydrologic model, especially extreme events. In some cases, overestimating flows may be acceptable to water managers (e.g., vulnerability of infrastructures), but could greatly affect estimates of fish species persistence....
thumbnail
Daily streamflow and reservoir water elevation data for modeled locations in the Red River Basin. Values reported are for 18 different GCM (Global Climate Model) / RCP (Representative Concentration Pathway) / GDM Downscaling scenarios. Climate data from each scenario was input into a Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) model, that output flow values. These values were then input into RiverWare, to determine the impacts on regulated flows, lake levels and water availability. RiverWare was used for this project, because of its ability to simulate water use, reservoir operations, and local/interstate regulations.
This guide is intended to provide lessons learned and best practices for developing and implementing an early-career researcher-based training, including integrating educational sessions on interdisciplinary topics. Such a guide can be useful as a blueprint for future regional or national trainings that bring together students, post-docs, and early-career faculty members from research organizations, such as the USGS Climate Science Centers. The following guide is split into pre-event, the event itself, and post-event items to consider.
Abstract (from http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11258-016-0568-y): Resprouting is a key functional trait for species in disturbance prone environments. In many semi-arid environments, woody plants face both fire and drought as recurring disturbances. Past work has demonstrated that oaks inhabiting sky-island forests of the northern Sierra Madre Oriental have differing microhabitat preferences and heavy stem dieback occured during the historic 2011 drought indicating potential xylem failure. These oak species, representing two sections within the genus, are all post-fire resprouters: they can resprout from underground storage organs when fire kills above ground tissue. Resprouts provide an opportunity to...
The south-central U.S. exists in a zone of dramatic transition in terms of eco-climate system diversity. Ecosystems across much of the region rely on warm-season convective precipitation. These convective precipitation is subject to large uncertainties under climate change scenario, possibly leading to gradual or sudden changes in habitats, and ecosystems. The convective precipitation in this region, occurring on a range of time and space scales, is extremely challenging to predict in future climate scenario. In this project, we established a unique, cutting-edge, dynamic downscaling capability to address the challenge of predicting precipitation in the south-central U.S. in current and future climate scenarios....
map background search result map search result map Assessing the Drivers of Water Availability for Historic and Future Conditions in the South Central U.S. Predicting Sky Island Forest Vulnerability to Climate Change: Fine Scale Climate Variability, Drought Tolerance, and Fire Response Understanding the Nexus between Climate, Streamflow, Water Quality, and Ecology in the Arkansas-Red River Basin Improving Representation of Extreme Precipitation Events in Regional Climate Models Monthly Water Balance Model Futures RiverWare Daily Simulated values of Streamflow from 2006-2099: Louisiana Projected future bioclimate-envelope suitability for amphibian species in South Central USA Projected future bioclimate-envelope suitability for reptile species in South Central USA Fish Data Collection and Streamflows on the Canadian River 1995-2015 Point locations of daily flow rates in the Canadian River watershed derived from hydrologic modeling 1994-2013 RiverWare Daily Simulated values of Streamflow from 2006-2099: Louisiana Predicting Sky Island Forest Vulnerability to Climate Change: Fine Scale Climate Variability, Drought Tolerance, and Fire Response Point locations of daily flow rates in the Canadian River watershed derived from hydrologic modeling 1994-2013 Fish Data Collection and Streamflows on the Canadian River 1995-2015 Projected future bioclimate-envelope suitability for amphibian species in South Central USA Projected future bioclimate-envelope suitability for reptile species in South Central USA Understanding the Nexus between Climate, Streamflow, Water Quality, and Ecology in the Arkansas-Red River Basin Improving Representation of Extreme Precipitation Events in Regional Climate Models Assessing the Drivers of Water Availability for Historic and Future Conditions in the South Central U.S. Monthly Water Balance Model Futures