MODELING THE CLIMATE CHANGE SENSITIVITY ON WATER YIELD IN A COAST WATERSHED OF NORTH CAROLINA

摘要

Continued population increases will place increased demands on forests to supply water for commercial and residential use. In addition to increases population demands, climate change will alter the availability of water resources. We used a hydrological model called PRMS to study the potential change in water yield across a large coastal plain watershed (Trent River) in North Carolina. The model was first calibrated and then validated using historical long-term hydrologic data collected within the watershed. We examined the sensitivity of streamflow to elevated air temperature and variable precipitation patterns. The results show that the water yield decreases with the increases in air temperature and decreases in precipitation and the precipitation change is more sensitive than air temperature.