The potential for groundwater systems in the Rocky Mountains to buffer climate variability and change

落基山脉地下水系统缓冲气候变异和变化的潜力

• 批准号: 580526-2022
• 负责人: Hayashi, MasakiM
• 金额: $ 1.82万
• 依托单位: University of Calgary
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Alliance Grants
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=755093
• 关键词: potential; groundwater; systems; Rocky; Mountains

Rivers originating in the Canadian Rocky Mountains are critically important for water supplies of downstream communities across the Prairie Provinces, and for the aquatic ecosystems of these rivers. The Rocky Mountain rivers have strong seasonality characterized by high flow during May-August and low flow during the rest of the year. The stability of low flow is particularly important for water supplies and the aquatic ecosystems that are dependent on the baseflow sustained by groundwater discharge. It is expected that climate warming will alter the magnitude of snow accumulation, shift the timing of snowmelt, and decrease the areal extent of alpine glaciers in the headwaters of these rivers. However, its effects on the baseflow of mountain reivers is difficult to predict, because groundwater storage and release mechanisms in headwater catchments have not been well understood. This presents a major knowledge gap for hydrological model prediction, which in turn hinders the Prairie Province's ability to develop science-based water management policies and guidelines. The proposed project aims to fill this knowledge gap and build scientific tools to simulate river baseflow under present and future conditions. The key objectives are to synthesize field-based knowledge of alpine groundwater accumulated over the past 15 years, develop relatively simple mathematical tools to represent the storage capacity of alpine aquifers, integrate the new mathematical tools in the operational hydrological model used by the Alberta Government, and examine the response of river baseflow to climatic variability. The knowledge generated from the project will be used by the governments of Alberta and other Prairie Provinces to inform their policy decisions regarding the water resource management and environmental protection.

发源于加拿大落基山脉的河流对草原省份下游社区的供水以及这些河流的水生生态系统至关重要。落基山脉的河流具有很强的季节性，其特点是5月至8月的高流量和一年中其余时间的低流量。低流量的稳定性对于依赖地下水排放维持基流的供水和水生生态系统特别重要。预计气候变暖将改变积雪的规模，改变融雪的时间，并减少这些河流源头的高山冰川的面积范围。然而，其对山区河流基流的影响是很难预测的，因为地下水储存和释放机制在源头集水区还没有得到很好的理解。这是水文模型预测的一个主要知识缺口，反过来又阻碍了草原省制定以科学为基础的水管理政策和准则的能力。该项目旨在填补这一知识空白，并建立科学工具来模拟当前和未来条件下的河流基流。主要目标是综合实地知识的高山地下水积累在过去的15年里，开发相对简单的数学工具，以代表高山含水层的存储能力，整合新的数学工具的业务水文模型所使用的阿尔伯塔政府，并检查河流基流的气候变化的反应。阿尔伯塔和其他草原省份的政府将利用该项目产生的知识，为有关水资源管理和环境保护的政策决策提供信息。