Projections of Mountain Snowpack Loss for Wolverine Denning Elevations in the Rocky Mountains
Abstract Future reduction in mountain snowpack due to anthropogenic climate change poses a threat to many snow‐adapted species worldwide. Mountain topography exerts a strong control on snowpack not only due to elevation but also through the effect of slope and aspect on the surface energy balance. W...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:99e6684e07eb4024b6817ed81cfa8aec 2023-05-15T16:32:20+02:00 Projections of Mountain Snowpack Loss for Wolverine Denning Elevations in the Rocky Mountains Joseph J. Barsugli Andrea J. Ray Ben Livneh Candida F. Dewes Aaron Heldmyer Imtiaz Rangwala John M. Guinotte Stephen Torbit 2020-10-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1029/2020EF001537 https://doaj.org/article/99e6684e07eb4024b6817ed81cfa8aec EN eng Wiley https://doi.org/10.1029/2020EF001537 https://doaj.org/toc/2328-4277 2328-4277 doi:10.1029/2020EF001537 https://doaj.org/article/99e6684e07eb4024b6817ed81cfa8aec Earth's Future, Vol 8, Iss 10, Pp n/a-n/a (2020) Environmental sciences GE1-350 Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2020 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1029/2020EF001537 2022-12-30T23:56:57Z Abstract Future reduction in mountain snowpack due to anthropogenic climate change poses a threat to many snow‐adapted species worldwide. Mountain topography exerts a strong control on snowpack not only due to elevation but also through the effect of slope and aspect on the surface energy balance. We develop high‐resolution projections of snowpack in order to provide improved, physically based estimates of the spatial distribution of future snowpack to inform species conservation efforts for the wolverine (Gulo gulo) in two study areas in the Rocky Mountains: one in Montana with known den sites and one in Colorado with recent wolverine activity and potential for reintroduction. Here we assess springtime snowpack loss in actual and potential denning areas under five future climate scenarios for the mid‐21st century. Snowpack in April and May is likely to persist into the mid‐21st century in the upper half of current denning elevations in all but the warmest future climate scenario, while large declines are projected for the lower half of the denning elevations. We gain new insight into the influence of topographical aspect on future snowpack and quantify the potential for enhanced snow persistence on north and east facing slopes under future scenarios that is only revealed in simulations where terrain slopes are resolved. Article in Journal/Newspaper Gulo gulo Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Earth's Future 8 10 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Ecology QH540-549.5 Joseph J. Barsugli Andrea J. Ray Ben Livneh Candida F. Dewes Aaron Heldmyer Imtiaz Rangwala John M. Guinotte Stephen Torbit Projections of Mountain Snowpack Loss for Wolverine Denning Elevations in the Rocky Mountains |
topic_facet |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
Abstract Future reduction in mountain snowpack due to anthropogenic climate change poses a threat to many snow‐adapted species worldwide. Mountain topography exerts a strong control on snowpack not only due to elevation but also through the effect of slope and aspect on the surface energy balance. We develop high‐resolution projections of snowpack in order to provide improved, physically based estimates of the spatial distribution of future snowpack to inform species conservation efforts for the wolverine (Gulo gulo) in two study areas in the Rocky Mountains: one in Montana with known den sites and one in Colorado with recent wolverine activity and potential for reintroduction. Here we assess springtime snowpack loss in actual and potential denning areas under five future climate scenarios for the mid‐21st century. Snowpack in April and May is likely to persist into the mid‐21st century in the upper half of current denning elevations in all but the warmest future climate scenario, while large declines are projected for the lower half of the denning elevations. We gain new insight into the influence of topographical aspect on future snowpack and quantify the potential for enhanced snow persistence on north and east facing slopes under future scenarios that is only revealed in simulations where terrain slopes are resolved. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Joseph J. Barsugli Andrea J. Ray Ben Livneh Candida F. Dewes Aaron Heldmyer Imtiaz Rangwala John M. Guinotte Stephen Torbit |
author_facet |
Joseph J. Barsugli Andrea J. Ray Ben Livneh Candida F. Dewes Aaron Heldmyer Imtiaz Rangwala John M. Guinotte Stephen Torbit |
author_sort |
Joseph J. Barsugli |
title |
Projections of Mountain Snowpack Loss for Wolverine Denning Elevations in the Rocky Mountains |
title_short |
Projections of Mountain Snowpack Loss for Wolverine Denning Elevations in the Rocky Mountains |
title_full |
Projections of Mountain Snowpack Loss for Wolverine Denning Elevations in the Rocky Mountains |
title_fullStr |
Projections of Mountain Snowpack Loss for Wolverine Denning Elevations in the Rocky Mountains |
title_full_unstemmed |
Projections of Mountain Snowpack Loss for Wolverine Denning Elevations in the Rocky Mountains |
title_sort |
projections of mountain snowpack loss for wolverine denning elevations in the rocky mountains |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2020EF001537 https://doaj.org/article/99e6684e07eb4024b6817ed81cfa8aec |
genre |
Gulo gulo |
genre_facet |
Gulo gulo |
op_source |
Earth's Future, Vol 8, Iss 10, Pp n/a-n/a (2020) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2020EF001537 https://doaj.org/toc/2328-4277 2328-4277 doi:10.1029/2020EF001537 https://doaj.org/article/99e6684e07eb4024b6817ed81cfa8aec |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2020EF001537 |
container_title |
Earth's Future |
container_volume |
8 |
container_issue |
10 |
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1766022087953088512 |