Principal Hydrologic Responses to Climatic and Geologic Variability in the Sierra Nevada, California
Sierra Nevada snowpack is a critical water source for California’s growing population and agricultural industry. However, because mountain winters and springs are warming, on average, precipitation as snowfall relative to rain is decreasing, and snowmelt is earlier. The changes are stronger at mid-elevations than at higher elevations. The result is that the water supply provided by snowpack is diminishing. In this paper, the authors describe principal hydrologic responses to climatic and spatial geologic variations as gleaned from a series of observations including snowpack, stream-flow, and bedrock geology.
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