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Folders: ROOT > ScienceBase Catalog > National and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers > Southwest CASC > FY 2014 Projects > Improving Understanding of Climate Extremes in the Southwestern United States ( Show direct descendants )

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_ScienceBase Catalog
__National and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers
___Southwest CASC
____FY 2014 Projects
_____Improving Understanding of Climate Extremes in the Southwestern United States
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Abstract (from AMS100): Between water years 2012 and 2017, the Truckee–Carson river system in the western United States experienced both historic-low and record-high Sierra Nevada snowpack, anomalously warm temperatures, and winter and spring flooding. As part of an ongoing collaborative modeling research program in the river system, researchers conduct annual interviews with key local water managers to characterize local climate adaptation strategies and implementation barriers, and identify science information needs to prioritize ongoing research activities. This article presents new findings from a third wave of interviews conducted with the same water managers following the historic 2017 wet year. Comparison...
Abstract (from PLOS ONE): The responses of individuals and populations to climate change vary as functions of physiology, ecology, and plasticity. We investigated whether annual variation in seasonal temperature and precipitation was associated with relative abundances of breeding bird species at local and regional levels in southern California, USA, from 1968–2013. We tested our hypotheses that abundances were correlated positively with precipitation and negatively with temperature in this semiarid to arid region. We also examined whether responses to climate varied among groups of species with similar land-cover associations, nesting locations, and migratory patterns. We investigated relations between seasonal...
A new satellite-derived low cloud retrieval reveals rich spatial texture and coherent space-time propagation in summertime California coastal low cloudiness (CLC). Throughout the region, CLC is greatest during May–September but has considerable monthly variability within this summer season. On average, June is cloudiest along the coast of southern California and northern Baja, Mexico, while July is cloudiest along northern California's coast. Over the course of the summer, the core of peak CLC migrates northward along coastal California, reaching its northernmost extent in late July/early August, then recedes while weakening. The timing and movement of the CLC climatological structure is related to the summer evolution...
We aimed to improve the scientific capacity to estimate climate extremes, evaluate their effects on natural resources, and enhance a platform for derivation of and access to customized climate information for the full extent of the Southwest. Extreme climate can have substantial effects on species, ecological and evolutionary processes, and the health of visitors to public lands. Researchers generally can specify the climate-extreme metrics, and the extents and resolutions of those metrics, most relevant to their scientific objectives and the practical applications of their work. However, such application-specific data rarely are available. We screened global climate models (GCMs) on the basis of their realism...
Abstract (from http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/abs/10.1175/JAMC-D-15-0167.1): Annual precipitation in California is more variable than in any other state and is highly influenced by precipitation in winter months. A primary question among stakeholders is whether low precipitation in certain months is a harbinger of annual drought in California. Historical precipitation data from 1895 to 2013 are investigated to identify leading monthly indicators of annual drought in each of the seven climate divisions (CDs) as well as statewide. For this study, drought conditions are defined as monthly/annual (October–September) precipitation below the 20th/30th percentile, and a leading indicator is defined as a monthly drought...
Abstract (from ScienceDirect): Improved coastal stratocumulus (Sc) cloud forecasts are needed because traditional satellite cloud motion vectors (CMV) do not accurately predict how Sc clouds move or dissipate in time, which often results in an underprediction of irradiance in the morning hours. CMV forecasts assume clouds move in the direction of the average regional wind field, which is not necessarily the case for Sc clouds. Sc clouds over the land form at night and typically reach their maximum coverage before sunrise. During the day, heating from solar radiation at the surface and entrainment of dry and warm air from above causes Sc clouds to dissipate. A Sc cloud edge forecast using Geostationary Operational...