Climate Change and Variability Research

Climate variability involves fluctuations in weather and climatic conditions during the coming months, years, and decades.  Climate change involves a shift in the envelope of climatic variations, usually measured over a span of several decades.  Incorporating information on long-term change and short-term climate variability into Reclamation's water resource management infrastructure and operations is critical. The impoved ability to forecast and use climate change and variability information would greatly enhance the ability of water managers and water users to plan their short-term operations and water delivery.

Climate information influences:

• Resource management strategies to effectively deliver water
• Hydrologic hazard possibilities to reduce flood risk

SEE SELECTED PUBLICATIONS:

Short-Term Water Management Decisions: User Needs for Improved Climate, Weather, and Hydrologic Information published by the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. .See our news release 1/09/2013.

Addressing Climate Change in Long-Term Water Resources Planning and Management:  User Needs for Improving Tools and Information. This interagency report identifies the needs of local, state, and federal water management agencies for climate change information and tools to support long-term planning.See our news release 1/11/2011.

Literature Synthesis on Climate Change Implications for Reclamation's Water Resources(pdf, 6.71 M) . This report describes what has been studied regarding climate change implications for Reclamation operations and activities in the 17 Western States.

Climate Change and Water Resources Management: A Federal Perspective (pdf 8.77 M)

This interagency report explores strategies to improve water management by tracking, anticipating, and responding to climate change. This report describes the existing and still needed underpinning science crucial to addressing the many impacts of climate change on water resources management.

Workshop on Nonstationarity, Hydrologic Frequency Analysis, and Water Management January 13-15, 2010 Boulder, Colorado. Colorado Water Institute Information Series No. 109 (pdf 11M)
Uncertainty is a given in water resources planning. This workshop discussed how water management agencies should plan and manage water resources in the face of nonstationarity, and formed a coordinated action plan to help the agencies move forward. See the Colorado Water Institute.

WHAT'S NEW

Reclamation Releases Updated Climate Data for Water Managers - Reclamation and collaborators developed new downscaled climate projections that allow water managers to incorporate the new Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project Phase 5 data from the World Climate Research Program into their water management planning. The data, representing 234 contemporary climate projections for the contiguous United States, was downscaled to a 12 kilometer resolution in order to be more useful to water managers. More... | Website

A new set of training to help water planning professionals better assess the potential impacts of climate change. Courtesy of a collaboration between Reclamation and University Corporation for Atmospheric Research's (UCAR) COMET Program.

Research Approach:

• How does Reclamation benefit?
• Who do we collaborate with?
  
• Who uses our research results?

Long-term Climate Change: Research Activities

• Building Partnerships
  
• Improving Data, Methods and Tools
• Developing Adaptation Options
  

Research Publications

Research Contacts