The delicate environment that has existed for tens of thousands of years is dependent on snowcapped mountains. Around a quarter of the world depends on natural "water towers" to replenish downstream water supplies for urban and agricultural use.
The freshwater resource is in danger of being lost. The planet is warmer than it was before the Industrial Revolution and the mountain snowpacks are decreasing.
Last year, a study co-led by Alan Rhoades andErica Siirila-Woodburn, research scientists in the Earth and Environmental Sciences Area of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, found that if global warming continues along the high-emissions scenario, low to no-
In a recent Nature Climate Change study, a research team led by Rhoades found that if global warming reaches around 2.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels, mountain ranges in the southern midlatitudes will face a low-to- high level of precipitation. When the annual maximum water storage is within the bottom 30% of historical conditions for a decade or more, low-to-no-snow occurs.
The southern midlatitudes would see a third of the warming compared to the northern midlatitudes.
The findings are quite shocking. Alan Rhoades, a hydroclimate research scientist in Berkeley Lab's Earth and Environmental Sciences Area, was the lead author of the new study. Not every degree of warming has the same effect.
The researchers found that a low-to-no-snow future coincides with 10% less mountain runoff in both hemispheres.
If you expect 10% less rain, that means there will be at least 10% less water available for use in the summer months.
It would be devastating for agricultural regions to have less water.
The state of California is in its fourth year of a long dry spell. More than 94 percent of the state is in some kind of dry spell. The San Joaquin Valley is the state's agricultural heartland and is being impacted by Shrinking Groundwater Supplies and Municipal Wells.
The country that exports most of its fresh fruit to the United States is in the midst of a historic 13-year dry spell.
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions can be done by saving snow.
If global warming is limited to 2.5 degrees Celsius, low-to-no-snow in both the northern and southern midlatitude mountain ranges can be prevented.
Their analysis is based on Earth system models that simulation the various components of the climate, such as the atmosphere and land surface, to identify how mountain water cycles could continue to change through the 21st century.
The researchers used Berkeley Lab's National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center to process and analyze data collected by climate researchers from all over the world. The post-analysis data is available to the research community.
Between 2012 and 2016 there were close to no snow conditions in California. The lack of snow in these years showed the vulnerability of our water supply and led to the passing of the California sustainable Groundwater Management Act, new approaches to water and agricultural management practices, and mandatory water cuts.
Rhoades said that water managers are already thinking about a future with persistent low to no snow. If we can't mitigate greenhouse gas emissions to avoid certain warming levels, they're collaborating with scientists to come up with strategies to proactive manage water resources. The best strategy is to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
To give more context to when and where snow loss might occur, Rhoades plans to continue to examine and run new Earth system model simulations at even higher resolution.
He plans to continue working with water managers through the HyperFACETS project to identify ways we can better prepare for a low-to-no snow future through new management strategies.
A Berkeley Lab-led study found that reaching zero net emissions of carbon dioxide from energy and industry by 2050 can be achieved by rebuilding the U.S. energy infrastructure.
"It requires the will and initiative to invest financial resources at the level of importance that climate change demands, which means we need to start doing this today."
Asymmetric emergence of low-to-no snow in the midlatitudes of the American Cordillera is the subject of a study.
Journal information: Nature Climate Change
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