Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-7-2017
Abstract
The area burned annually by wildfires is expected to increase worldwide due to climate change. Burned areas increase soil erosion rates within watersheds, which can increase sedimentation in downstream rivers and reservoirs. However, which watersheds will be impacted by future wildfires is largely unknown. Using an ensemble of climate, fire, and erosion models, we show that postfire sedimentation is projected to increase for nearly nine tenths of watersheds by >10% and for more than one third of watersheds by >100% by the 2041 to 2050 decade in the western USA. The projected increases are statistically significant for more than eight tenths of the watersheds. In the western USA, many human communities rely on water from rivers and reservoirs that originates in watersheds where sedimentation is projected to increase. Increased sedimentation could negatively impact water supply and quality for some communities, in addition to affecting stream channel stability and aquatic ecosystems.
Publication Title
Geophysical Research Letters
Recommended Citation
Sankey, J. B.,
Kreitler, J.,
Hawbaker, T. J.,
McVay, J. L.,
Miller, M. E.,
Mueller, E. R.,
Vaillant, N. M.,
Lowe, S. E.,
&
Sankey, T. T.
(2017).
Climate, wildfire, and erosion ensemble foretells more sediment in western USA watersheds.
Geophysical Research Letters,
44(17), 8884-8892.
http://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL073979
Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/mtri_p/264
Publisher's Statement
© 2017 American Geophysical Union. Article deposited here in compliance with publisher policies. All Rights Reserved. Publisher's version of record: https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2017GL073979