Climate change will dramatically impact streamflow and its contributions to the Colorado River by increasing forest water use and reducing groundwater levels, new study finds. Researchers from Desert Research Institute (DRI), USGS, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory teamed up for the new study, published May 23 in Nature Water.
Ice patches on Beartooth Plateau reveal how ancient landscape differed from today’s
Reno, Nev. (January 15, 2025) - DRI scientists Joe McConnell and Nathan Chellman co-authored a new study that examines a 6,000-year-old forest preserved in a Rocky Mountain ice patch. The research, which was led by the USGS and Montana State University, used the...
DRI Scientists Create Guidance to Help Emergency Managers Prepare for Weather Hazards of the Future
DRI scientists partnered with the U.S. Geological Survey to produce a guidance document for incorporating publicly available data on historical and projected extreme weather events to aid with emergency planning exercises. The report, funded by the California Department of Water Resources, is available on DRI’s website.
Western Agricultural Communities Need Water Conservation Strategies to Adapt to Future Shortages
Relying on water storage won’t be enough to make up for declines in future water availability under a changing climate, new study shows. Beatrice Gordon, lead author of the study and sociohydrologist and postdoctoral researcher at DRI, says the research is needed to inform water management at the local level, where most decisions are made.
Rising Temperatures Will Significantly Reduce Streamflow in the Upper Colorado River Basin As Groundwater Levels Fall, New Research Shows
Climate change will dramatically impact streamflow and its contributions to the Colorado River by increasing forest water use and reducing groundwater levels, new study finds.
Preparing for the Floods That Follow the Fires
A conversation with Guo Yu and Jeremy Giovando about their new research examining post-fire flood frequency. The study expands on previous frameworks to account for the compounding impacts of repeated wildfires on flood risk, using a southern California watershed as a case study.
Meet Bea Gordon, Ph.D.
Beatrice, who also goes by “Bea,” is an interdisciplinary hydrologist with a deeply embedded concern for water availability born from her childhood on a Wyoming ranch. She is focused on working with communities in rural Nevada to understand their needs for effective climate adaptation.
New Study Reveals Impacts of Irrigation and Climate Change on Western Watersheds
DRI’s Justin Huntington coauthored the new study, led by researchers at the University of Montana and the Montana Climate Office, which published mid-December in the Nature Journal, Communications Earth and Environment.
Climate Change Will Increase Wildfire Risk and Lengthen Fire Seasons, Study Confirms
Scientists examined multiple fire danger indices for the contiguous U.S. to assess the impact of climate change on future wildfire risk and seasonality.
Can Scientific Ingenuity Turn the Clock Back on Climate Change?
An interview with atmospheric scientist David Mitchell, Ph.D., who first proposed research into the climate intervention research of cirrus cloud-thinning.