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Folders: ROOT > ScienceBase Catalog > National and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers > Northwest CASC > FY 2011 Projects ( Show all descendants )

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Resource managers, policymakers, and scientists require tools to inform water resource management and planning. Information on hydrologic factors – such as streamflow, snowpack, and soil moisture – is important for understanding and predicting wildfire risk, flood activity, and agricultural and rangeland productivity, among others. Existing tools for modeling hydrologic conditions rely on information on temperature and precipitation. This project sought to evaluate different methods for downscaling global climate models – that is, taking information produced at a global scale and making it useable at a regional scale, in order to produce more accurate projections of temperature and precipitation for the Pacific...
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Cheatgrass began invading the Great Basin about 100 years ago, changing large parts of the landscape from a rich, diverse ecosystem to one where a single invasive species dominates. Cheatgrass dominated areas experience more fires that burn more land than in native ecosystems, resulting in economic and resource losses. Therefore, the reduced production, or absence, of cheatgrass in previously invaded areas during years of adequate precipitation could be seen as a windfall. However, this cheatgrass dieoff phenomenon creates other problems for land managers like accelerated soil erosion, loss of early spring food supply for livestock and wildlife, and unknown recovery pathways. We used satellite data and scientific...
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The Northwest Climate Conference (formerly called the Pacific Northwest Climate Science Conference) is the premier climate science event for the region, providing a forum for researchers and practitioners to share scientific results and discuss challenges and solutions related to the impacts of climate change on people, natural resources, and infrastructure in the Northwest. Conference participants include policy- and decision-makers, resource managers, and scientists from academia, public agencies, sovereign tribal nations, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector. More information can be found at the conference website: http://pnwclimateconference.org. The Second Annual Pacific Northwest Climate...
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Many fish species, including mountain whitefish and bull trout, need a variety of habitat types throughout their different life stages that include appropriate water temperatures, flows, refugia from predators, and adequate food. Key to a fish finding and using these different habitats is the connectivity between them. Changing conditions in the future, including increased air and water temperatures, are expected to impact many fish populations, as well as the rivers, streams, and habitats where they’re found. This project, jointly funded by the Great Northern Landscape Conservation Cooperative, focused on the Methow River Basin in the arid east-central part of Washington State. The project team used data on fish...
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The purpose of this project was to (1) provide an internally-­consistent set of downscaled projections across the western U.S., (2) include information about projection uncertainty, and (3) assess projected changes of hydrologic extremes. These objectives were designed to address decision support needs for climate adaptation and resource management actions. Specifically, understanding of uncertainty in climate projections - in particular for extreme events - is currently a key scientific and management barrier to adaptation planning and vulnerability assessment. The new dataset fills in the Northwest domain to cover a key gap in the previous dataset, adds additional projections (both from other global climate models...
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The bull trout, listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, is well adapted to the cold waters of the Northwest. Recent changes in climate have caused winter flooding and warmer summer water temperatures in the region, reducing the cold-water habitats that bull trout depend on. The southernmost bull trout populations, found in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Nevada, are currently restricted to small reserves where the coldest waters still exist. These shrinking habitats have created a severed environment being further split by dams, poor water quality, and invasive species. The goal of this project was to determine how these factors threaten the species regionally by using predictions of stream...
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The Oregon Water Science Center provided the scientific, bibliographic, and administrative support needed to prepare a Science Agenda for the Northwest Climate Science Center (NW CSC). The Science Agenda is the basis for guiding the science program of the NW CSC.
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The objective of this study was to determine why certain stream insects tend to be found in certain temperature ranges. Many federal, state and local agencies use stream insects to monitor the health of freshwater ecosystems. While the temperature ranges for some insects are often inferred from the temperature of the waters where they were collected, this inference is coarse at best and problematic at worst. Stream temperatures fluctuate a lot during the year and temperature may or may not control where an insect lives. Field insects were collected and sent to a laboratory for testing several temperature endpoints, particularly at higher temperatures. Respiration, breathing rate, and some physical activities were...
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Climate change has been implicated in the range shifts and population declines of many species, but the confounding of climate change with other variables, particularly landscape change, hampers inference about causation. Climate envelope models have been used to predict population trends and future distributions, but the reliability of such predictions remains relatively unknown; without tests of model accuracy, policy development will be based on highly uncertain ground. Our team assembled recent developments in change detection mapping and species modeling. Specifically, our objectives were to: (1) use 32-year data on bird distributions to test the reliability of climate envelope models, (2) test whether changes...
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Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) is a candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act because of population and habitat fragmentation combined with inadequate regulatory mechanisms to control development in critical areas. In addition to the current threats to habitat, each 1 degree celsius increase in temperature due to climate change is expected to result in an additional 87,000 km2 of sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) that will be converted to unsuitable habitat for sage-grouse. Thus, the future distribution and composition of sagebrush landscapes is likely to differ greatly from today’s configuration. We conducted a large, multi-objective project to identify: (1) characteristics of habitats required...
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This project supported a climate assessment workshop for the Northwest region. The workshop brought together regional stakeholders interested in understanding regional climate impacts and identifying strategies for adapting resources to changing conditions. The workshop also initiated a process of participatory activities and communication about the climate assessment, which helped contribute to the broader National Climate Assessment (NCA). By discussing adaptive management solutions with regional stakeholders, the workshop provided regional case study results to the NCA, such as information on local lessons and best practices. Specific workshop objectives included (1) convening and launching a process for coordinating...


    map background search result map search result map Understanding Future Extreme Water Events in the Pacific Northwest and Related Uncertainties to Inform Assessments of Vulnerability Identification and Laboratory Validation of Temperature Tolerance for Macroinvertebrates: Developing Vulnerability Prediction Tools Rangewide Climate Vulnerability Assessment for Threatened Bull Trout Modeling Effects of Climate Change on Cheatgrass Die-Off Areas in the Northern Great Basin Climate Change Threats to Fish Habitat Connectivity Improving Projections of Hydrology in the Pacific Northwest Contribution of Landscape Characteristics and Vegetation Shifts from Global Climate Change to Long-Term Viability of Greater Sage-grouse Disentangling the Effects of Climate and Landscape Change on Bird Population Trends in the Western U.S. and Canada Development Support for the NW Climate Science Center Science Agenda Stakeholder Engagement to Coordinate a Regional Assessment of Climate Support for the Second Annual Pacific Northwest Climate Science Conference Modeling Effects of Climate Change on Cheatgrass Die-Off Areas in the Northern Great Basin Climate Change Threats to Fish Habitat Connectivity Development Support for the NW Climate Science Center Science Agenda Stakeholder Engagement to Coordinate a Regional Assessment of Climate Support for the Second Annual Pacific Northwest Climate Science Conference Rangewide Climate Vulnerability Assessment for Threatened Bull Trout Improving Projections of Hydrology in the Pacific Northwest Disentangling the Effects of Climate and Landscape Change on Bird Population Trends in the Western U.S. and Canada Contribution of Landscape Characteristics and Vegetation Shifts from Global Climate Change to Long-Term Viability of Greater Sage-grouse Identification and Laboratory Validation of Temperature Tolerance for Macroinvertebrates: Developing Vulnerability Prediction Tools Understanding Future Extreme Water Events in the Pacific Northwest and Related Uncertainties to Inform Assessments of Vulnerability