Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Mountains are often referred to as 'water towers' as they receive a disproportionately high amount of precipitation owing to terrain influences. They also store freshwater in the seasonal snowpack and in glaciers, with these reservoirs providing meltwater that becomes the source of freshwater for many streams and rivers in western Canada. With growing demands for freshwater resources in a changing climate, there is an urgent need to better understand the role these water towers have in the hydrology of British Columbia's (BC's) Coast Mountain watersheds. ******The long-term goal of this research program is to quantify the changing role of snow and ice in the water cycle of watersheds situated in the mountainous terrain of western Canada. Through this research program, we aim to expand our existing network of weather stations to monitor the climate of BC's Coast Mountains at high elevations. This will contribute to some of the highest, long-term weather stations in western Canada as well as to a database suitable for climatic studies to be undertaken by three graduate students and one post-doctoral fellow. One project will examine the impact of so-called 'atmospheric rivers' on the region's seasonal snowpack and water resources. We will also explore whether climate change is affecting the frequency, intensity and timing of atmospheric rivers along BC's Pacific Coast. Another project will investigate streamflow trends in BC's Coast Mountain rivers and their relationships with regional climate, terrain and vegetation characteristics. A third project will use state-of-the art computer modelling to assess potential regime shifts in the hydrology of coastal BC rivers. The final study will investigate the role of recent warm sea-surface temperature anomalies in the northeastern Pacific Ocean on BC's hydrology. Thus, this work will give crucial information on the evolution of western Canada's 'water towers' and their contribution to freshwater resources in a changing climate.**