HR: 1340h
AN: H33B-1383    [Abstracts]
TI: Reconstruction of Snow Water Equivalent in the Colorado River Basin
AU: * Timilsena, J
EM: timilsen@unlv.nevada.edu
AF: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 Maryland Parkway, Box: 454015, Las Vegas, NV 89154-4015 United States
AU: Piechota, T C
EM: piechota@ce.unlv.edu
AF: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 Maryland Parkway, Box: 454015, Las Vegas, NV 89154-4015 United States
AB: This study focuses on tree ring reconstruction of April 1 Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) in the Colorado River Basin (CRB) and evaluates the drought scenarios for the last 500 years in terms of magnitude, severity and frequency. SWE data were obtained from the National Water and Climate Center at the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Tree ring chronologies were used from spatially representative sites in the CRB from NOAA's International Tree Ring Data. Hydrologic drought characteristics have been developed using tree ring reconstructed April 1 Snow Water Equivalent (SWE). Principle component analysis and cluster analysis were carried out to select the SWE stations that represent the major variation of SWE in the CRB. Then, a PCA based regression model procedures was used to reconstruct SWE. Hydrologic drought is characterized by its duration (duration in year in which cumulative deficit is continuously below thresholds), deficit magnitude (the cumulative deficit below the thresholds for consecutive years), severity (magnitude divided by the duration) and frequency.
DE: 0736 Snow (1827, 1863)
DE: 1719 Hydrology
DE: 1800 HYDROLOGY
DE: 1812 Drought
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005