The vast majority of theses in this collection are open access and freely available. There are a small number of theses that have access restricted to the WWU campus. For off-campus access to a thesis labeled "Campus Only Access," please log in here with your WWU universal ID, or talk to your librarian about requesting the restricted thesis through interlibrary loan.

Date Permissions Signed

3-1-2019

Date of Award

Winter 2019

Document Type

Masters Thesis

Department or Program Affiliation

Geology

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Geology

First Advisor

Mitchell, Robert J. (Geologist)

Second Advisor

Yearsley, John R.

Third Advisor

Clark, Douglas H., 1961-

Abstract

The Stillaguamish River in northwest Washington State, USA, provides water resources to local agriculture, industry and First Nations Tribes, and provides crucial habitat for several endangered species of salmonids. The watershed experiences a mild maritime climate and high relief, with rain and snowmelt dominating the streamflow. In anticipation of shifts in snowpack, streamflow, and stream temperature, I use projected global climate scenarios and numerical models to examine future climatic variability on streamflow and stream temperatures in the snow-melt dominated North Fork of the Stillaguamish River. I calibrated the physically based Distributed Hydrology Soil Vegetation Model (DHSVM) and River Basin Model (RBM) to gridded historical meteorological data in the basin and then applied downscaled, gridded projected climate data to predict streamflow and stream temperature changes through 2090 in this basin.

Forecast modeling indicates that the North Fork watershed will transition from a snow- to rain-dominated basin into the 21st century as a result of increasing air temperatures. More precipitation in the winter will fall as rain rather than snow, resulting in up to a 43% increase in streamflow and a 56% decline in basin-wide snowpack. The reduced snowpack will melt out earlier and cause a decrease in spring and summer streamflow. Simulations of stream temperature indicate rising temperatures in every stream segment in the basin by the end of the 21st century as a result of higher air temperatures, declining snowpack, and lower summer streamflow. Monthly average stream temperatures could increase by up to 7.4 oC. In addition, the temperature thresholds for every life cycle of endangered salmon species are increasingly exceeded through time, putting at risk already endangered salmon species. By the end of the 21st century, the main stem may experience up to a 10-fold increase in number of days per year exceeding salmon temperature thresholds. Reach-scale predictions of stream temperature trends through the basin offer water resource managers a tool for focusing riparian and groundwater restoration efforts.

Type

Text

Keywords

Climate change, hydrology, modelling, stream temperature, streamflow, Stillaguamish River, salmon habitat, DHSVM, RBM

Publisher

Western Washington University

OCLC Number

1089759483

Subject – LCSH

Stream measurement--Washington (State)--Stillaguamish River; Water temperature--Washington (State)--Stillaguamish River; Forecasting--Mathematical models; Climatic changes--Forecasting

Geographic Coverage

Stillaguamish River (Wash.); Stillaguamish River Watershed (Wash.)

Format

application/pdf

Genre/Form

masters theses

Language

English

Rights

Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this thesis for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author's written permission.

Download

Included in

Geology Commons

Share

COinS