The Colorado River has lost over a billion tons of water in the past century due to climate change, study finds
- The Colorado River’s flow has decreased by 20% from 1913 through 2017
- Data shows the flow dipped 9.3% for each temperature rise over 1.8 degrees
- Global warming is resulting in less snow fall and increasing water evaporation
Climate change has made its way to the Colorado River.
A new geological survey found that the massive river’s flow decreased by 20 percent over the past century and climate change is the cause of more than half of the loss.
Researchers found that global warming is reducing the amount of snow, which is increases water evaporation.
Data shows there is about 1.5 billion tons of water missing from the river, which is equal to the annual water consumption of 10 million Americans.
The team found the flow dipped 9.3 percent for each temperature rise over 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Climate change has made its way to the Colorado River. A new geological survey found that the massive river’s flow has decreased by 20 percent flow over the past century and climate change is the cause of more than half of the loss
Two scientists at the US Geological Survey discovered the decrease by developing a mathematical model of the water movements in the upper Colorado River basin for the period from 1913 to 2017.
The duo gathered historical data of the river’s temperature and precipitation over the past century, as well as pulling readings from radiation.
They observed that global warming had led each year to a reduction in the snow pack, or the amount of snow that accumulates.
So if there is less and less snow, it melts earlier and earlier each spring.
With less snow covering the ground, the soil in the river basin was absorbing more sunlight—instead of it being reflected away by the snow.
Two scientists at the US Geological Survey discovered the decrease by developing a mathematical model of the water movements in the upper Colorado River basin for the period from 1913 to 2017
The Colorado River Basin loses progressively more water to evaporation, as its sunlight-reflecting snow mantle disappears,’ write the authors, USGS senior resource scientist Chris Milly and physical scientist Krista A. Dunne.
The Colorado River stretches 1,450 miles from Mexico into the Rocky Mountains, providing seven US states with water – about 40 million Americans live in this area who depend on the river.
Milly and her colleague physical scientist Krista A. Dunne analyzed 960 different areas in the Upper Colorado River Basin to see how a decrease in snow accumulation could affect the river’s annual flow.
‘The region is poised to warm even more in the years ahead, Milly told The Washington Post, ‘and it isn’t ‘likely’ that precipitation can compensate for these hotter and drier conditions.’
‘That flow, we estimate, due to the warming alone would be reduced anywhere from 14 to 31 percent by 2050.’
