Spatial and Temporal Shifts in Historic and Future Temperature and Precipitation Patterns Related to Snow Accumulation and Melt Regimes in Alberta, Canada
Shifts in winter temperature and precipitation patterns can profoundly affect snow accumulation and melt regimes. These shifts have varying impacts on local to large-scale hydro-ecological systems and freshwater distribution, especially in cold regions with high hydroclimatic heterogeneity. We evalu...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:be409e80b2ee478eae6a531c1b4e68be 2023-05-15T18:30:56+02:00 Spatial and Temporal Shifts in Historic and Future Temperature and Precipitation Patterns Related to Snow Accumulation and Melt Regimes in Alberta, Canada Brandi W. Newton Babak Farjad John F. Orwin 2021-04-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3390/w13081013 https://doaj.org/article/be409e80b2ee478eae6a531c1b4e68be EN eng MDPI AG https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/8/1013 https://doaj.org/toc/2073-4441 doi:10.3390/w13081013 2073-4441 https://doaj.org/article/be409e80b2ee478eae6a531c1b4e68be Water, Vol 13, Iss 1013, p 1013 (2021) climate change winter climate future projections Alberta Rocky Mountains freshwater availability Hydraulic engineering TC1-978 Water supply for domestic and industrial purposes TD201-500 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3390/w13081013 2022-12-31T05:32:24Z Shifts in winter temperature and precipitation patterns can profoundly affect snow accumulation and melt regimes. These shifts have varying impacts on local to large-scale hydro-ecological systems and freshwater distribution, especially in cold regions with high hydroclimatic heterogeneity. We evaluate winter climate changes in the six ecozones (Mountains, Foothills, Prairie, Parkland, Boreal, and Taiga) in Alberta, Canada, and identify regions of elevated susceptibility to change. Evaluation of historic trends and future changes in winter climate use high-resolution (~10 km) gridded data for 1950–2017 and projections for the 2050s (2041–2070) and 2080s (2071–2100) under medium (RCP 4.5) and high (RCP 8.5) emissions scenarios. Results indicate continued declines in winter duration and earlier onset of spring above-freezing temperatures from historic through future periods, with greater changes in Prairie and Mountain ecozones, and extremely short or nonexistent winter durations in future climatologies. Decreases in November–April precipitation and a shift from snow to rain dominate the historic period. Future scenarios suggest winter precipitation increases are expected to predominantly fall as rain. Additionally, shifts in precipitation distributions are likely to lead to historically-rare, high-precipitation extreme events becoming more common. This study increases our understanding of historic trends and projected future change effects on winter snowpack-related climate and can be used inform adaptive water resource management strategies. Article in Journal/Newspaper taiga Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Canada Parkland ENVELOPE(-120.570,-120.570,55.917,55.917) Water 13 8 1013 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
climate change winter climate future projections Alberta Rocky Mountains freshwater availability Hydraulic engineering TC1-978 Water supply for domestic and industrial purposes TD201-500 |
spellingShingle |
climate change winter climate future projections Alberta Rocky Mountains freshwater availability Hydraulic engineering TC1-978 Water supply for domestic and industrial purposes TD201-500 Brandi W. Newton Babak Farjad John F. Orwin Spatial and Temporal Shifts in Historic and Future Temperature and Precipitation Patterns Related to Snow Accumulation and Melt Regimes in Alberta, Canada |
topic_facet |
climate change winter climate future projections Alberta Rocky Mountains freshwater availability Hydraulic engineering TC1-978 Water supply for domestic and industrial purposes TD201-500 |
description |
Shifts in winter temperature and precipitation patterns can profoundly affect snow accumulation and melt regimes. These shifts have varying impacts on local to large-scale hydro-ecological systems and freshwater distribution, especially in cold regions with high hydroclimatic heterogeneity. We evaluate winter climate changes in the six ecozones (Mountains, Foothills, Prairie, Parkland, Boreal, and Taiga) in Alberta, Canada, and identify regions of elevated susceptibility to change. Evaluation of historic trends and future changes in winter climate use high-resolution (~10 km) gridded data for 1950–2017 and projections for the 2050s (2041–2070) and 2080s (2071–2100) under medium (RCP 4.5) and high (RCP 8.5) emissions scenarios. Results indicate continued declines in winter duration and earlier onset of spring above-freezing temperatures from historic through future periods, with greater changes in Prairie and Mountain ecozones, and extremely short or nonexistent winter durations in future climatologies. Decreases in November–April precipitation and a shift from snow to rain dominate the historic period. Future scenarios suggest winter precipitation increases are expected to predominantly fall as rain. Additionally, shifts in precipitation distributions are likely to lead to historically-rare, high-precipitation extreme events becoming more common. This study increases our understanding of historic trends and projected future change effects on winter snowpack-related climate and can be used inform adaptive water resource management strategies. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Brandi W. Newton Babak Farjad John F. Orwin |
author_facet |
Brandi W. Newton Babak Farjad John F. Orwin |
author_sort |
Brandi W. Newton |
title |
Spatial and Temporal Shifts in Historic and Future Temperature and Precipitation Patterns Related to Snow Accumulation and Melt Regimes in Alberta, Canada |
title_short |
Spatial and Temporal Shifts in Historic and Future Temperature and Precipitation Patterns Related to Snow Accumulation and Melt Regimes in Alberta, Canada |
title_full |
Spatial and Temporal Shifts in Historic and Future Temperature and Precipitation Patterns Related to Snow Accumulation and Melt Regimes in Alberta, Canada |
title_fullStr |
Spatial and Temporal Shifts in Historic and Future Temperature and Precipitation Patterns Related to Snow Accumulation and Melt Regimes in Alberta, Canada |
title_full_unstemmed |
Spatial and Temporal Shifts in Historic and Future Temperature and Precipitation Patterns Related to Snow Accumulation and Melt Regimes in Alberta, Canada |
title_sort |
spatial and temporal shifts in historic and future temperature and precipitation patterns related to snow accumulation and melt regimes in alberta, canada |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/w13081013 https://doaj.org/article/be409e80b2ee478eae6a531c1b4e68be |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-120.570,-120.570,55.917,55.917) |
geographic |
Canada Parkland |
geographic_facet |
Canada Parkland |
genre |
taiga |
genre_facet |
taiga |
op_source |
Water, Vol 13, Iss 1013, p 1013 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/8/1013 https://doaj.org/toc/2073-4441 doi:10.3390/w13081013 2073-4441 https://doaj.org/article/be409e80b2ee478eae6a531c1b4e68be |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/w13081013 |
container_title |
Water |
container_volume |
13 |
container_issue |
8 |
container_start_page |
1013 |
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1766214566601031680 |