However, the volume of meltwater from Mount Hood glaciers
is not known because the glacial-fed streams are not gaged.
The focus of this work is on current and projected glacier
meltwater contributions to streamflow from three glaciers
that feed two main branches of the Hood River.
The specific objectives are to:
1. Determine the interseasonal and interannual proportions
of glacier meltwater to streamflow in the Middle Fork Hood
River and West Fork Hood River;
2. Estimate changes in glacier meltwater production on timescales
of 10- to 50-years and impacts on peak flows and low flows
in the Middle Fork Hood River and West Fork Hood River.
Our approach uses a combination of direct streamflow measurements
and a spatially distributed, physically based hydrologic
model. During the summer of 2007, we will quantify the amount
of runoff from the Eliot, Coe and Ladd glaciers on the north
side of
Mount
Hood.
Measurements
will be constructed using five gages set up immediately below
glacier termini and several kilometers downstream. These
data, along with historical gage records will serve as a
calibration for a Distributed Hydrologic Vegetation and Soils
Model (DHSVM), which simulates glacier meltwater runoff and
basin-wide streamflow. Output from the model will allow us
to project changes in glacier meltwater contributions to
Hood River under climate warming scenarios. This research
will improve the fundamental understanding of current and
future effects of rapidly receding glaciers on water resources
in a regime of water scarcity. We will communicate our results
to USFS hydrologists and water managers of the relevant irrigation
districts.
