Global Climate Change Response Program: Climate Impacts of Double CO2. Part 1.North Dakota Wetlands. Part 2. Colorado Gunnison River Watershed

摘要

The potential impacts of global climate change on water resources availability,wildlife habitat, and other environmental elements caused the Bureau of Reclamation to pursue climate modeling studies aimed at estimating the effects of doubling atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). Three year current atmospheric climate and double CO2 simulations obtained from the National Center for Atmospheric Research archives of simulations with regional-scale model (known as MM4) nested in a global general circulation model (a Community Climate Model version) were analyzed for climate change effects on the prairie pothole region (PPR) of eastern North Dakota. The Bureau of Reclamation is interested in studying potential global climate impacts on important water-producing watersheds of the West. The Gunnison River watershed of Colorado was selected for intensive study.