A new study predicted that the freshwater overflow supply from Sierra Nevada will decrease by 26 percent in 2100 due to warmer temperatures in the mountains, according to UCI News.
Researchers from the University of California Irvine and Merced wrote that freshwater overflow from the mountains is affected by the increasing temperature and accelerated plant growth, especially in higher altitudes. In snowy ecosystems, moisture evaporation from the plants is slower compared to ranges exposed to snow and rainfall. The team explained that more plants in a warm area tend to absorb more water, which diminishes water supply.
They gauged water vapor emission rates and combined those measurements with remote sensing imagery to determine relationships among elevation, climate and evapotranspiration, UCI reported.
Their analysis revealed that greater vegetation in the Kings basin exposed to 4.1 degrees Celsius can lead to an overflow decline of as much as 28 percent by 2100. This will also reduce the river flow by 26 percent.
The factors will also affect the water supply of the neighboring areas of Sierra Nevada, supporting the conclusion that the impact of climate change on freshwater availability is spreading fast.
"Most people have heard about the giant forests around Yosemite and Sequoia national parks, but these areas have not been a focus of this type of research. Understanding of Sierran hydrology has improved recently with the National Science Foundation's Critical Zone Observatory, and data collected there allowed us to look at the problem from several perspectives," said Michael L. Goulden, professor of Earth system science at UCI.
Sierra Nevada supplies about 65 percent of California's residential water. About 75 percent of the states' hydroelectric power also comes from this mountain range.
Further details of the study were published in the Sept. 3 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
