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Sensitivity of summer stream temperatures to climate variability in the Pacific Northwest
Author(s) -
Luce Charles,
Staab Brian,
Kramer Marc,
Wenger Seth,
Isaak Dan,
McConnell Callie
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1002/2013wr014329
Subject(s) - streams , environmental science , streamflow , climate change , proxy (statistics) , context (archaeology) , vegetation (pathology) , climatology , global warming , air temperature , hydrology (agriculture) , drainage basin , geography , geology , oceanography , medicine , computer network , cartography , geotechnical engineering , archaeology , pathology , machine learning , computer science
Estimating the thermal response of streams to a warming climate is important for prioritizing native fish conservation efforts. While there are plentiful estimates of air temperature responses to climate change, the sensitivity of streams, particularly small headwater streams, to warming temperatures is less well understood. A substantial body of literature correlates subannual scale temperature variations in air and stream temperatures driven by annual cycles in solar angle; however, these may be a low‐precision proxy for climate change driven changes in the stream energy balance. We analyzed summer stream temperature records from forested streams in the Pacific Northwest for interannual correlations to air temperature and standardized annual streamflow departures. A significant pattern emerged where cold streams always had lower sensitivities to air temperature variation, while warm streams could be insensitive or sensitive depending on geological or vegetation context. A pattern where cold streams are less sensitive to direct temperature increases is important for conservation planning, although substantial questions may yet remain for secondary effects related to flow or vegetation changes induced by climate change.