Developing a New Long-Term Soil Moisture Observing Network in the Upper Yampa River Basin

With support from the Upper Yampa Water Conservancy District (UYWCD), the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes (CW3E) has partnered with Colorado Mountain College (CMC) and Yampa Valley Sustainability Council (YVSC) to design a soil moisture monitoring network in the Upper Yampa River Basin. The goal of this network is to provide data and scientific insight into the reduction of runoff by dry soils, provide a continuous record of changing landscape conditions with a changing climate, and to support operational model and forecast improvements. A basin analysis has been conducted to identify key observation gaps in the region and develop a proposed plan of potential sites for new hydrometeorological station installations. This presentation will provide an overview of the basin analysis, which incorporated input from stakeholders and experience siting sensor locations in other western United States basins. The analysis includes a cluster analysis of the basin, the assessment of atmospheric drivers of soil moisture variability and their changes over time, and an assessment of land surface factors that modulate water movement throughout the basin. We combined results from this analysis with information on existing station locations and input from stakeholders to identify a top priority for the first station, which is scheduled for installation in September 2022. Preliminary data from this pilot station, and future plans for hydrometeorological monitoring in the Upper Yampa, will be presented, with emphasis on potential value for model verification and supporting water management decision making.