Speakers:
Suman Bhattacharyya, Department of Geography, UBC
Marwan Hassan, Department of Geography, UBC
Talk title:
Human Impacts Both Amplify and Dampen Climate-Driven Extreme Streamflow
Rapidan Dam failure, Mankato, Minnesota, June 25, 2024.
Rapidan Dam failure, Mankato, Minnesota, June 25, 2024.Talk Abstract: Climate change and anthropogenic alteration of natural landscape (such as land use change, irrigation, and dams) are reshaping global streamflow regimes that have far-reaching consequences for ecosystem health, regional water and food security, and human well-being. Significant uncertainties persist in understanding how water management practices interact with climate-driven changes to influence seasonal streamflow extremes (floods and droughts). By analyzing sea-sonal and annual high- and low-flow events (hereafter referred to as streamflow extremes) in natural and managed watersheds across the United States and Canada, we observe that human-managed basins exhibit both amplification and reduction of flow magnitudes. While regional streamflow trends generally align with climatic patterns, human interventions often modify these trends, at times even reversing their direction, particularly during summer and autumn. The effects of amplification and dampening are more pronounced for low flows than for high flows, underscoring potential consequences for water availability during dry periods. These findings highlight the need for targeted, region-specific water management strategies to mitigate the adverse impacts of future climate change.
A hydrologic technician from the USGS Idaho Water Science Center measures streamflow in Lightning Creek at Clark Fork, Idaho, 2015. USGS.
A hydrologic technician from the USGS Idaho Water Science Center measures streamflow in Lightning Creek at Clark Fork, Idaho, 2015. USGS.
Speaker Bios:
Suman Bhattacharyya is pursuing a PhD degree in the Department of Geography, UBC. His research areas include fluvial geomorphology; surface water hydrology; hydrological modelling; and extreme hydro-climatic events.
Marwan Hassan is professor in the Department of Geography, UBC. His research covers a wide range of topics in geomorphology and hydrology such as landscape evolution, the interaction between hill-slopes and channels, channel stability and morphology, river sediment transport and sediment yield, stream ecology, in-channel wood dynamics, and modeling fine sediments and their interactions with stream physical and biological characteristics.
This is hybrid event hosted in Geog 229 and on zoom.