Articles | Volume 11, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2847-2017
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2847-2017
Research article
 | 
11 Dec 2017
Research article |  | 11 Dec 2017

Snowmelt response to simulated warming across a large elevation gradient, southern Sierra Nevada, California

Keith N. Musselman, Noah P. Molotch, and Steven A. Margulis

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Cited articles

Bales, R. C., Molotch, N. P., Painter, T. H., Dettinger, M. D., Rice, R., and Dozier, J.: Mountain hydrology of the western United States, Water Resour. Res., 42, W08432, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005WR004387, 2006.
Barnett, T. P. and Pierce, D. W.: Sustainable water deliveries from the Colorado River in a changing climate, P. Natl. Acad. Sci., 106, 7334–7338, 2009.
Barnett, T. P., Adam, J. C., and Lettenmaier, D. P.: Potential impacts of a warming climate on water availability in snow-dominated regions, Nature, 438, 303–309, 2005.
Barnhart, T. B., Molotch, N. P., Livneh, B., Harpold, A. A., Knowles, J. F., and Schneider, D.: Snowmelt rate dictates streamflow, Geophys. Res. Lett., 43, 8006–8016, 2016.
Bartelt, P. and Lehning, M.: A physical SNOWPACK model for the Swiss avalanche warning: Part I: numerical model, Cold Reg. Sci. Technol., 35, 123–145, 2002.
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Short summary
We present a study of how melt rates in the California Sierra Nevada respond to a range of warming projected for this century. Snowfall and melt were simulated for historical and modified (warmer) snow seasons. Winter melt occurs more frequently and more intensely, causing an increase in extreme winter melt. In a warmer climate, less snow persists into the spring, causing spring melt to be substantially lower. The results offer insight into how snow water resources may respond to climate change.