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Winter melt trends portend widespread declines in snow water resources

Author

Listed:
  • Keith N. Musselman

    (University of Colorado Boulder)

  • Nans Addor

    (University of Exeter)

  • Julie A. Vano

    (Aspen Global Change Institute)

  • Noah P. Molotch

    (University of Colorado Boulder
    University of Colorado Boulder
    NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory)

Abstract

In many mountainous regions, winter precipitation accumulates as snow that melts in the spring and summer, which provides water to one billion people globally. Climate warming and earlier snowmelt compromise this natural water storage. Although snowpack trend analyses commonly focus on the snow water equivalent (SWE), we propose that trends in the accumulation season snowmelt serve as a critical indicator of hydrological change. Here we compare long-term changes in the snowmelt and SWE from snow monitoring stations in western North America and find 34% of stations exhibit increasing winter snowmelt trends (P

Suggested Citation

  • Keith N. Musselman & Nans Addor & Julie A. Vano & Noah P. Molotch, 2021. "Winter melt trends portend widespread declines in snow water resources," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 11(5), pages 418-424, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcli:v:11:y:2021:i:5:d:10.1038_s41558-021-01014-9
    DOI: 10.1038/s41558-021-01014-9
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Barnard, David M. & Green, Timothy R. & Mankin, Kyle R. & DeJonge, Kendall C. & Rhoades, Charles C. & Kampf, Stephanie K. & Giovando, Jeremy & Wilkins, Mike J. & Mahood, Adam L. & Sears, Megan G. & Co, 2023. "Wildfire and climate change amplify knowledge gaps linking mountain source-water systems and agricultural water supply in the western United States," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 286(C).
    2. Hrozencik, Aaron & Gardner, Grant & Potter, Nicholas & Wallander, Steven, 2023. "Irrigation Organizations: Groundwater Management," USDA Miscellaneous 335424, United States Department of Agriculture.
    3. Potter, Nicholas A. & Hrozencik, R. Aaron & Wallander, Steven, 2023. "Irrigation Organizations: Water Inflows and Outflows," Economic Brief 338976, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    4. Shuai Sun & Chunxiang Shi & Xiao Liang & Shuai Zhang & Junxia Gu & Shuai Han & Hui Jiang & Bin Xu & Qingbo Yu & Yujing Liang & Shuai Deng, 2023. "The Evaluation of Snow Depth Simulated by Different Land Surface Models in China Based on Station Observations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-17, July.
    5. Urszula Somorowska, 2023. "Warming Air Temperature Impacts Snowfall Patterns and Increases Cold-Season Baseflow in the Liwiec River Basin (Poland) of the Central European Lowland," Resources, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-18, January.

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