Changes in extreme hydroclimate events in Interior Alaskan boreal forest watersheds
Dissertation (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2014 The high latitude regions of the globe are responding to climate change at unprecedented magnitudes and rates. As the climate warms, extreme hydroclimate events are likely to change more than the mean events, and it is the extreme changes tha...
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ftunivalaska:oai:scholarworks.alaska.edu:11122/4897 2023-05-15T17:58:10+02:00 Changes in extreme hydroclimate events in Interior Alaskan boreal forest watersheds Bennett, Katrina Hinzman, Larry Lindsey, Scott Hiemstra, Christopher Walsh, John Cherry, Jessica 2014-12 http://hdl.handle.net/11122/4897 en_US eng http://hdl.handle.net/11122/4897 College of Engineering and Mines Dissertation phd 2014 ftunivalaska 2023-02-23T21:36:19Z Dissertation (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2014 The high latitude regions of the globe are responding to climate change at unprecedented magnitudes and rates. As the climate warms, extreme hydroclimate events are likely to change more than the mean events, and it is the extreme changes that present a risk to society, the economy and the environment of the north. The subarctic boreal forest is one of the largest ecosystems in the world and is greatly understudied with respect to hydroclimate extremes. Thus, defining a baseline for changing extremes is the first step towards planning and implementing adaptation measures to reduce risk and costs associated with the changing extremes. This thesis focuses on quantitative analysis of extreme events using historical data and future model projections of changing temperature, precipitation and streamflow in the Interior forested region of boreal Alaska. Historically, shifts in the climate have resulted in declining magnitudes of peak flow for snow dominated and glacial Interior Alaskan basins. However, changes are variable and dependent upon watershed topography, permafrost conditions, and glacial extents. Therefore, adjacent basins respond in considerably different ways to the same climate drivers. For example, peak streamflow events in the adjacent Salcha and Chena River basins had different responses to changes in climate. In the higher elevation Salcha basin, maximum streamflow increased as spring temperatures increased but in the lower elevation Chena, winter precipitation was a control on increases in maximum streamflow, while both were influenced by the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. Analysis of hydrologic change must take this variability into account to understand extreme hydroclimate responses and correctly account for process shifts. To examine future changes in peak streamflow, the implementation and parameterization of hydrologic models to simulate hydroclimate extremes is required. In the northern latitudes of the world, there is a sparse ... Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis permafrost Subarctic Alaska University of Alaska: ScholarWorks@UA Fairbanks Pacific |
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Open Polar |
collection |
University of Alaska: ScholarWorks@UA |
op_collection_id |
ftunivalaska |
language |
English |
description |
Dissertation (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2014 The high latitude regions of the globe are responding to climate change at unprecedented magnitudes and rates. As the climate warms, extreme hydroclimate events are likely to change more than the mean events, and it is the extreme changes that present a risk to society, the economy and the environment of the north. The subarctic boreal forest is one of the largest ecosystems in the world and is greatly understudied with respect to hydroclimate extremes. Thus, defining a baseline for changing extremes is the first step towards planning and implementing adaptation measures to reduce risk and costs associated with the changing extremes. This thesis focuses on quantitative analysis of extreme events using historical data and future model projections of changing temperature, precipitation and streamflow in the Interior forested region of boreal Alaska. Historically, shifts in the climate have resulted in declining magnitudes of peak flow for snow dominated and glacial Interior Alaskan basins. However, changes are variable and dependent upon watershed topography, permafrost conditions, and glacial extents. Therefore, adjacent basins respond in considerably different ways to the same climate drivers. For example, peak streamflow events in the adjacent Salcha and Chena River basins had different responses to changes in climate. In the higher elevation Salcha basin, maximum streamflow increased as spring temperatures increased but in the lower elevation Chena, winter precipitation was a control on increases in maximum streamflow, while both were influenced by the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. Analysis of hydrologic change must take this variability into account to understand extreme hydroclimate responses and correctly account for process shifts. To examine future changes in peak streamflow, the implementation and parameterization of hydrologic models to simulate hydroclimate extremes is required. In the northern latitudes of the world, there is a sparse ... |
author2 |
Hinzman, Larry Lindsey, Scott Hiemstra, Christopher Walsh, John Cherry, Jessica |
format |
Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis |
author |
Bennett, Katrina |
spellingShingle |
Bennett, Katrina Changes in extreme hydroclimate events in Interior Alaskan boreal forest watersheds |
author_facet |
Bennett, Katrina |
author_sort |
Bennett, Katrina |
title |
Changes in extreme hydroclimate events in Interior Alaskan boreal forest watersheds |
title_short |
Changes in extreme hydroclimate events in Interior Alaskan boreal forest watersheds |
title_full |
Changes in extreme hydroclimate events in Interior Alaskan boreal forest watersheds |
title_fullStr |
Changes in extreme hydroclimate events in Interior Alaskan boreal forest watersheds |
title_full_unstemmed |
Changes in extreme hydroclimate events in Interior Alaskan boreal forest watersheds |
title_sort |
changes in extreme hydroclimate events in interior alaskan boreal forest watersheds |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/11122/4897 |
geographic |
Fairbanks Pacific |
geographic_facet |
Fairbanks Pacific |
genre |
permafrost Subarctic Alaska |
genre_facet |
permafrost Subarctic Alaska |
op_relation |
http://hdl.handle.net/11122/4897 College of Engineering and Mines |
_version_ |
1766166717131653120 |