Boise State University faculty Anna Bergstrom and her team investigated rain and snowmelt contributions to streamflow in the Mores Creek Watershed spanning the rain-snow transition zone in southwestern Idaho. Researchers commonly use naturally occurring water isotopes to track water sources allowing for the quantification of if streams are sourced from rain or snow. By developing new approaches to define rain and snow isotopic signatures, Bergstrom and team found that streamflow contribution estimates can vary by up to 20%, depending on the method used. These findings have significant implications for water forecasting and resource planning as warming shifts the rain-snow transition to higher elevations in mountain watersheds.
Similar Posts
IWRRI Grant Recipients Work on Irrigation Efficiency in Southern Idaho
University of Idaho faculty Karen Humes and Russell Qualls, along with their students, analyzed 30 years of crop water use data in southern Idaho to understand variations in irrigation application needs. Their research examined how differences in wet versus dry years and cool versus warm years influence crop water use and irrigation needs. By considering forecasted climate conditions, farmers can make informed decisions about crop selection and irrigation allocation, optimizing water use and improving overall agricultural efficiency.
U Of I Soil and water systems graduate student travels to Uzbekistan to help determine scope of water quality issues
Marina Steiner, a graduate student with Greg Moller in the Soil and Water Systems Department, travels to Uzbekistan to help determine scope of water quality issues, read more.
OUR GEM: Drought and Snowpack Update for the Idaho Panhandle
Written by Robin Fox, Service Hydrologist for the National Weather Service – Spokane After a dry and mild fall, many were looking forward to an increase of moisture across northern Idaho to lessen the drought impacts that have persisted for the last two years. Since last fall, the National Weather Service’s (NWS) Climate Prediction Center (CPC) has been advertising wetter than normal conditions for the winter season across the Inland NW with the arrival of La Niña. The rounds of…
OUR GEM: What determines a drought
By Erin Whorton, NRCS Water Supply Specialist | July 30, 2023 After the past few years of drought in Idaho, the wet winter was a welcome relief for many Idahoans. However, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) map, dry conditions still linger in northern Idaho. With 40% of Idaho lands experiencing drought conditions this summer, you may be wondering how drought maps are decided. The USDM map classifies drought conditions under six intensity categories. Normal indicates a lack of drought, while…
BSU Student Analyses Wildfire impacts on Snowpack
Master’s student Mason Bull recently won the Boise State University three-minute thesis competition and placed third at the state competition. Mason was partially funded by a research initiation grant from the Idaho Space Grant Consortium (Idaho NASA EPSCoR). His research is using the Landsat record to classify landscape composition and quantify landcover and vegetation change in one watershed in the Kenai Mountains of south-central Alaska and the Sawtooth Mountains of southwest Idaho. He is finding that places in Idaho that…
U of I researcher coins ‘thirstwaves’ as new framework emphasizing prolonged, extreme water stressors
Meetpal Kukal proposed the term “thirstwaves” to describe prolonged periods of agricultural exposure to extreme atmospheric evaporative demand for water. Read more in the University of Idaho news feature or read the paper published March 20.