Environmental change, catchment hydrology and the stream environment

拟议研究的首要目标是加强我们了解和预测森林采伐和冰川退缩等环境变化以及气候变暖对下游水资源和海洋山区集水区水生生境的综合影响的能力，特别是与鲑鱼和鲑鱼等珍贵物种有关的影响。实地研究将在不列颠哥伦比亚省南部海岸山脉的地点进行。在温哥华以东约60公里的UBC Malcolm Knapp研究森林，研究将记录不同海拔的森林对积雪、融化和径流的影响。此外，研究的重点将是控制源头溪流水温的过程。水温是影响鱼类生长发育和生存的重要因素。这些研究的动机是需要了解气候变暖和森林管理将如何影响雪(例如，更多的雨和更少的雪，更早融化)，并最终影响径流和水温。在彭伯顿东北部的Place Creek，实地研究将集中在河水从冰川下坡流向鲑鱼产卵地点时的物理过程。从实地工作中获得的过程知识将被纳入计算机模拟模型，以提高我们预测气候变暖、冰川消退和森林采伐对溪流和水温的影响的能力。除实地工作外，还将结合遥感信息对模拟模型进行统计分析和应用(例如，确定冰川面积的变化)，以了解冰川消退和森林采伐对径流历史变异性的影响，包括洪水和低流量以及溪流温度。这些模型还可以用来预测未来气候变暖对溪流、溪流温度和水生生物栖息地的影响。

The overarching objective of the proposed research is to enhance our ability to understand and predict the combined influences of environmental changes such as forest harvesting and glacier retreat, in combination with a warming climate, on downstream water resources and aquatic habitat in maritime mountain catchments, particularly in relation to valued species such as trout and salmon. Field research will be conducted at sites in the southern Coast Mountains of British Columbia. At the UBC Malcolm Knapp Research Forest, located about 60 km east of Vancouver, research will document the effect of forest at different elevations on snow accumulation, melt and runoff. In addition, research will focus on the processes that control the water temperature in headwater streams. Water temperature is an important influence on fish growth, development and survival. These studies are motivated by the need to understand how climate warming and forest management will influence snow (e.g., more rain and less snow, earlier melting) and ultimately streamflow and water temperature. At Place Creek, located northeast of Pemberton, field research will focus on the physical processes that warm stream water as it flows from a glacier downslope to locations where salmon spawn. The process knowledge gained from field work will be incorporated into computer simulation models to improve our ability to predict the effects of climate warming, glacier retreat and forest harvesting on streamflow and water temperature. In addition to the field work, statistical analysis and application of simulation models will be combined with information from remote sensing (e.g., to determine changes in glacier area) to understand the effects of glacier retreat and forest harvesting on historic streamflow variability, including floods and low flows, and stream temperature. The models can also be used to make projections about the effects of future climate warming on streamflow, stream temperature and aquatic habitat.**