Mid-21st Century Changes to Surface Hydrology in the Los Angeles Region
Abstract
The Los Angeles region, with its large population, complex agricultural systems and diverse ecosystems, depends on numerous sources of fresh water supply, both imported and natural. This study diagnoses and assesses climate change impacts to surface hydrologic states and fluxes in the Los Angeles region at scales relevant to local policy makers. We project mid-21st century climatological changes to streamflow and evapotranspiration in the Los Angeles region at 2-km resolution using a combination of dynamical downscaling techniques, the Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF) and the Noah Land Surface Model (Noah-LSM). We dynamically downscale coarse-resolution North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR) data and output from five global climate models (GCMs) in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) data archive to a finer resolution for the Los Angeles region. This approach allows for the efficient and robust evaluation of mid-21st-century climate change impacts to surface hydrology relative to the late 20th century. We assess the spatial and temporal changes to evapotranspiration, including distinct impacts to water that is evaporated directly from the surface, water evaporated from the canopy, and water that transpires through vegetation. By examining changes to evapotranspiration, we can better understand the resulting impacts to streamflow, runoff and soil moisture. This evaluation allows us to refine our understanding of regional changes to water resources and surface hydrology.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2013
- Bibcode:
- 2013AGUFMGC13B1078S
- Keywords:
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- 1637 GLOBAL CHANGE Regional climate change;
- 1818 HYDROLOGY Evapotranspiration;
- 1860 HYDROLOGY Streamflow