Presentation Abstract
Critical freshwater fish spawning and rearing habitats in western Washington State are sensitive to environmental changes. Concern is growing among tribes and other natural resources managers over the impacts that climate change might have on economically and culturally important fish populations. In 2016, the Point No Point Treaty Council initiated a multi-stage project which aims to forecast stream flow and stream temperature changes throughout the 21st century for fish-bearing watersheds which drain into the Hood Canal and eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca. The high-resolution Distributed Hydrology Soil Vegetation model (DHSVM) and coupled RBM stream temperature model are used to simulate hydrological conditions in select watersheds. Publically available gridded meteorology data (Livneh et al., 2013) and climate forecasts downscaled using the multivariate adaptive constructed analogs method (MACA; Abatzoglou and Brown, 2012) for 10 climate models under two emissions scenarios are used as forcings for the hydrology simulations. Presented and discussed here are stream flow and preliminary stream temperature forecast results for the high-relief and mountainous Big Quilcene River watershed and the relatively low-lying and smaller Tarboo Creek watershed. Topography and watershed relief play an important role in western Washington hydrology and we contrast the forecasted impacts of climate change on the two watersheds as an example of how climate impacts may vary within a similar geographic region. Areas of particular climate sensitivity are identified so that natural resources managers and planners can be better prepared for the future.
Session Title
Posters: Climate Change: Impacts, Adaptation, & Research
Keywords
Climate Change; Stream Flow; Stream Temperature; Fish Habitat; Modeling; DHSVM
Conference Track
SSE18: Posters
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2018 : Seattle, Wash.)
Document Type
Event
SSEC Identifier
SSE18-15
Start Date
5-4-2018 11:30 AM
End Date
5-4-2018 1:30 PM
Type of Presentation
Poster
Genre/Form
posters; presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Climatic changes--Forecasting; Watershed hydrology--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)--Simulation methods
Geographic Coverage
Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Included in
Fresh Water Studies Commons, Marine Biology Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons
Forecasted flow and temperature changes in fish-bearing streams of the Hood Canal and Strait of Juan de Fuca
Critical freshwater fish spawning and rearing habitats in western Washington State are sensitive to environmental changes. Concern is growing among tribes and other natural resources managers over the impacts that climate change might have on economically and culturally important fish populations. In 2016, the Point No Point Treaty Council initiated a multi-stage project which aims to forecast stream flow and stream temperature changes throughout the 21st century for fish-bearing watersheds which drain into the Hood Canal and eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca. The high-resolution Distributed Hydrology Soil Vegetation model (DHSVM) and coupled RBM stream temperature model are used to simulate hydrological conditions in select watersheds. Publically available gridded meteorology data (Livneh et al., 2013) and climate forecasts downscaled using the multivariate adaptive constructed analogs method (MACA; Abatzoglou and Brown, 2012) for 10 climate models under two emissions scenarios are used as forcings for the hydrology simulations. Presented and discussed here are stream flow and preliminary stream temperature forecast results for the high-relief and mountainous Big Quilcene River watershed and the relatively low-lying and smaller Tarboo Creek watershed. Topography and watershed relief play an important role in western Washington hydrology and we contrast the forecasted impacts of climate change on the two watersheds as an example of how climate impacts may vary within a similar geographic region. Areas of particular climate sensitivity are identified so that natural resources managers and planners can be better prepared for the future.
