Climate change effects on hydrologic processes and water resources in the Sierra Nevada

Abstract

The Sierra Nevada contains 24 major river basins that provide water to downstream ecosystems and human communities. Water resources and ecosystem services are derived from snowpacks accumulated at high elevations, replenishing soil moisture through snowmelt and generating streamflow during the spring and early summer. Streamflows produced from Sierra Nevada snowpack account for about 30 percent of California’s total water supply, provide about 60 percent of water consumed by the state’s population, and generate nearly half of the state’s hydroelectric power (Bales et al. 2011a, Dettinger et al. 2018). Transportation infrastructure, hydroelectric networks, and recreational resources across the Sierra Nevada are tightly coupled with hydrological processes and fluctuations. As climate change leads to warming temperatures and shifting precipitation regimes, understanding the vulnerability of hydrologic functions of the Sierra Nevada will help to anticipate effects on water resources.

Parent Publication

• Climate change vulnerability and adaptation for infrastructure and recreation in the Sierra Nevada

Citation

Soderquist, Benjamin S.; Luce, Charles H. 2021. Climate change effects on hydrologic processes and water resources in the Sierra Nevada. In: Halofsky, Jessica E.; Peterson, David L.; Buluç, Lara Y.; Ko, Jason M., eds. Climate change vulnerability and adaptation for infrastructure and recreation in the Sierra Nevada. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-272. Albany, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station: 29-47. Chapter 3.