Nature Climate Change asks this:
How does snow affect the amount of water in rivers?
New research has shown for the first time that the amount of water flowing through rivers in snow-affected regions depends significantly on how much of the precipitation falls as snowfall. This means in a warming climate, if less of the precipitation falls as snow, rivers will discharge less water than they currently do.
From the University of Bristol and the department of obvious science.
How does snow affect the amount of water in rivers?
New research has shown for the first time that the amount of water flowing through rivers in snow-affected regions depends significantly on how much of the precipitation falls as snowfall. This means in a warming climate, if less of the precipitation falls as snow, rivers will discharge less water than they currently do.
The study by PhD student Wouter Berghuijs and Dr Ross Woods, Senior Lecturer in Water and Environmental Engineering in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Bristol together with a colleague from Delft University of Technology is published online in Nature Climate Change.
The researchers, using historical data from several hundred river basins located across the United States, investigated the effect of snow on the amount of water that rivers discharge.
How river flow is generated in snowy areas is poorly understood due to the difficulty in getting appropriate measurements. Previous studies have mostly focused on the role of snowfall for the within-year distribution of streamflow – how much water is there in the river during a particular period of the year – and assumed that there was no important effect of snow on the average streamflow. This study is the first to focus on the role of snow for how much water is on average available in rivers.
With data from 420 catchments located throughout the United States the researchers show that snowiness is an important factor for the average river discharge.
Global warming is very likely to reduce the amount of snow significantly in snow-affected catchments, even if temperatures rise only two degrees Celsius. The new research suggests that the amount of water in rivers will be reduced as a result of the decrease in snow.
The authors of the study said: “With more than one-sixth of the Earth’s population depending on meltwater for their water supply, and ecosystems that can be sensitive to streamflow alterations, the socio-economic consequences of a reduction in streamflow can be substantial.
“Our finding is particularly relevant to regions where societally important functions, such ecosystem stability, hydropower, irrigation, and industrial or domestic water supply are derived from snowmelt.”
Given this importance of streamflow for society, the researchers propose that further studies are required to respond to the consequences of a temperature-induced precipitation shift from snow to rain.
Paper: A precipitation shift from snow towards rain leads to a decrease in streamflow, W. R. Berghuijs, R. A.Woods and M. Hrachowitz, Nature Climate Change, Vol 4, June 2014.
PR Source: Eurekalert http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-05/uob-hds051614.php
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Golly, I bet in areas with monsoons, the outflow of the river depends significantly on how much raInfall there is.
So a warmer world is a drier world???? I think not.
In New England, warming climate will lead to trees getting a longer growing season and they’ll have more days to suck up most of the rain fall. So if the annual precip amount stays the same, there will be less water in the rivers and more transpiration from the leaves.
Global warming causes less snow, except when it causes more snow……..
In a, fictional, warmer world, rain would replace snow.
Overal precipitation is supposed to increase…
I suggest the best use for these “studies presupposing a warming world” have one use only.
A means of identifying useless feeders upon the public purse.
“Global warming is very likely to reduce the amount of snow significantly in snow-affected catchments, even if temperatures rise only two degrees Celsius.”
very funny. So, even minimal global smarming / thermageddon /climate change/ climate disruption might/could/should/possibly would plus or minus 2% to 500% change snowfall if only 2 degrees C rise which is right on schedule predicted in about 2.5 centuries or so at .8 degrees per century plus or minus 3 degrees C.
I am gonna hold my breath and sulk, yes indeed !!
I would think that water from rain reaches rivers quickly, while snow persists through the winter, then melts over spring & summer providing graduated discharge to rivers. Presumably water is more important to agriculture in the spring and summer, so there is value in having snow delay the discharge. Of course, if it doesn’t snow, then perhaps there might be year-round agriculture as in the tropics?
Is it possible that some educated persons might send the Alarmists no matter if the later has or hasn’t degree or scholartitle a hint of what every 4th grader around the world should have learnt – the Water cycle? Sadly enough the alarmists seems to have missed that essential part.
The first thought that popped into my mind was an old “Merry Melodies/Bugs Bunny cartoon. The one with the two British accented owls and the big dumb American accented vulture ….
“Beakey, what makes you so incredibly stupid?!?
Every news release start with “New research shows for the very first time …”
It doesn’t matter what topic it is. Its the new introductory sentence from university PR departments. Obviously, it is almost never “the first time”, but they like the “spin”.
If it starts with “spin”, then the rest of it is most likely just more spin.
B.S. Snowfall moisture is based upon the temperature it is formed. Warmer the temperature the more moisture is in it! As a person who lives in Snowy and Cold Climate of Minnesota, this is crap research. For Example a quarter inch of rain can produce either 1 inch of snow or 4 inches of snow depending upon the temperature, While a quarter of rain at any temp is still the same. So instead of it falling as snow it will fall as rain. LOL, too much stupidity from people who dont have a clue about cold and snow. FYI last winter i recorded a low of -23.9 F. As a side note i think we need to stop recording snowfall in inches of depth and only measure content of moisture, because 96 inches of snow one season isn’t the same as 96 inches of snow in another since moisture content varies!
Let’s see, precipitation (rain & snow) changes with regard to the ratio between rain and snow, but overall in a warmer world there is more precipitation. And we are being told that more rain and less snow equals less flow in the rivers.
How stupid do they think we all are?
They already knew this:
With more than one-sixth of the Earth’s population depending on meltwater for their water supply
But they didn’t know this:
New research has shown for the first time that the amount of water flowing through rivers in snow-affected regions depends significantly on how much of the precipitation falls as snowfall.
…and they got paid what for this?
Joe Chang:
I’m guessing you don’t live in snow country. When the snow goes, it goes in a week to four weeks. Longer if mother nature is kind. Shorter if there is heavy rain.
It’s not obvious science. It asks the relevant question, how does the amount of river runoff vary depending on whether a given amount of precipitation falls as rain or snow? Is that something you all knew?
Meh. Snow allows the trees to have a more continuous supply of water. No snow, trees die. Less trees, more albedo and more water available to people. It’s win-win-win. Or it’s such a narrow view of the entire coupled process as to be virtually useless information.
The statement “How river flow is generated in snowy areas is poorly understood due to the difficulty in getting appropriate measurements. ” tells me these people don’t know what they are talking about. In Ontario, the electrical utility measures snow pack regularly and has a clear view of how many inches of water it contains. This is used by many parties to estimate how much runoff there will be (this has been going on for decades). Also, there are two periods of increased water flow. The spring freshet, associated with snow melt and the fall freshet associated with precipitation from the contrast of the impending winter and the departing summer (for want of a shorter term, Joe Bastardi could give a long and detailed description I’m sure). How river flow is generated in snowy areas is VERY well understood. How did this pass peer review?
They don’t seem to have gotten the latest memo that Global Warming is causing harsher winters and more snow. This is self-evident because, since the debate is over and we are experiencing Global Warming/ClimateChange/Climate Disruption/Climate Pollution from CO2 and we seem to be having harsher winters and more snow … therefore GW/CC/CD/CP cause more snow and harsher winters.
Never mind that 5 years ago GW/CC/CD/CP caused far less snow, that was then, this is now.
Nick Stokes: Nothing in science is obvious. Else Aristotle would have known that F=ma. This “study” is rehashing settled science, or to use the appropriate term for “settled science”: engineering. Civil engineers have been doing this type of work for years. It is somewhat important in things like dam design. The authors of this study have reinvented a wheel. And a hand chiseled stone wheel at that.
John Eggert says: “How did this pass peer review?” ROFL, that was a rhetorical question, yes?
It passed peer review because it said the magic words ‘Global Warming is bad’, at least more or less.
“It’s not obvious science. It asks the relevant question, how does the amount of river runoff vary depending on whether a given amount of precipitation falls as rain or snow? Is that something you all knew?”
It isn’t something ‘I’ knew, and, even after reading the paper I ‘still’ don’t know. I’m not sure how that lack of knowledge is relevant to the issue. It is something Civil Engineers building dams to control flooding better know else they run the risk of either over building or under building the dams.
john robertson, the best use for these type of studies is to be linked in roll for use next to the toilet.
Ohh ohh! *raises hand* Call me! Call me!
The answer is: “Very carefully.”
You don’t need to live in a snowy country to know that.
Even here in Brazil, a virtually snowless country, small kids in school learn about the water volume in the Amazon River basin depending on the melting of the winter snow on the Andes…
Indeed, “How did this pass peer review?”
Nature Climate Change asks this:
How does snow affect the amount of water in rivers?
Practise, practise, practise?