1 / 21

AGRON / MTEOR 404 Global Change

AGRON / MTEOR 404 Global Change. Changes to Water Resources Raymond Arritt Department of Agronomy. Effects of water resources. erosion Timing in crop growth cycle Runoff – wastewater treatment, pollution Groundwater depletion, subsidence Distribution of rainfall, shifting patterns

chaim-hunter
Download Presentation

AGRON / MTEOR 404 Global Change

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. AGRON / MTEOR 404Global Change Changes to Water Resources Raymond Arritt Department of Agronomy

  2. Effects of water resources • erosion • Timing in crop growth cycle • Runoff – wastewater treatment, pollution • Groundwater depletion, subsidence • Distribution of rainfall, shifting patterns • Hydropower (energy) • Distribution of ecosystems; desertification

  3. Effect on flood plains • Water ownership – who gets to use it? • Ecology and biodiversity – new species introduced, take over and lose diversity • Shift in rainfall patterns (wet and dry regions) • Sustainable development – building

  4. Irrigation systems – change in demand • Energy production – cooling water for powerplants and industry • Water conservation awareness • Snowmaking for ski areas • Dams and storage • Glaciers • How do we get people to understand?

  5. IPCC Fourth Assessment Report Summary for Policy Makers

  6. A simple surface water budget Precipitation – Evaporation = Runoff + D Storage storage includes lots of things: soil moisture, aquifers, reservoirs, withdrawals for irrigation, glaciers, snowpack, etc.

  7. IPCC Fourth Assessment Report Summary for Policy Makers

  8. Change in annual runoff 2041-2060 compared to 1900-1970 Where do we see increases in runoff? Where do we see decreases?

  9. Predicted changes in groundwater recharge

  10. Some observed effects on water resources

  11. Predicted effects of climate change on water resources

  12. Fastest growing states

  13. Water resource stress without climate change Current 2055 (IPCC A2 scenario)

  14. Change in water resource stress with climate change results from two different climate models reduced water stress in tropical regions increased water stress outside the tropics

  15. What is drought? • One definition: • Elements of the definition: • deficiency of precipitation • extended period (how long is "extended"?) • water shortage for some user ("group or activity") A deficiency of precipitation over an extended period that causes water shortage for some group or activity.

  16. Drought depends on the user • Crops rely on stored soil water. Soil water can be rapidly depleted, so that monthly droughts may affect crops.

  17. Arnie! I found your keys! Drought depends on the user • Rivers and streams may dry out during seasonal droughts.

  18. Drought depends on the user • Multi-year droughts may deplete ground water that supports communities.

  19. Drought, more precisely • Must define the time periodover which precipitation is below normal. • Must define what is a water shortagethat affects a particular activity.

  20. Iowa corn yields 1988 drought 1993 flood

  21. Remember • Changes to water resources depend on more than just the change in rainfall. • Whether a change is good, bad, or neutral depends on who we are and what we’re interested in.

More Related