Environmental change, catchment hydrology and the stream environment

拟议研究的总体目标是提高我们的能力，以了解和预测环境变化的综合影响，如森林采伐和冰川退缩，结合气候变暖，对下游水资源和海洋山区集水区的水生栖息地，特别是与鳟鱼和鲑鱼等有价值的物种。实地研究将在不列颠哥伦比亚省南部海岸山脉进行。在位于温哥华以东约60公里的UBC马尔科姆克纳普研究森林，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，研究将集中在控制上游河流水温的过程。水温对鱼类的生长、发育和存活有重要影响。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，更早的融化）和最终的流量和水温。在位于彭伯顿东北部的普雷斯溪，实地研究将集中在温暖的河水从冰川下坡流向鲑鱼产卵地点的物理过程上。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、冰川退缩和森林采伐对径流和水温的影响的能力。除了实地工作外，还将把统计分析和模拟模型的应用与遥感信息结合起来（例如，确定冰川面积的变化），以了解冰川退缩和森林采伐对历史径流变化的影响，包括洪水和低流量以及河流温度。该模型还可用于预测未来气候变暖对河流流量、河流温度和水生生境的影响。

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.