Planning for climate change impacts on hydropower in the Far North
Unlike much of the contiguous United States, new hydropower development continues in the Far North, where climate models project precipitation will likely increase over the next century. Regional complexities in the Arctic and sub-Arctic, such as glacier recession and permafrost thaw, however, intro...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2017-01-01
|
| Series: | Hydrology and Earth System Sciences |
| Online Access: | http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/21/133/2017/hess-21-133-2017.pdf |
| Summary: | Unlike much of the contiguous United States, new hydropower development
continues in the Far North, where climate models project precipitation will
likely increase over the next century. Regional complexities in the Arctic
and sub-Arctic, such as glacier recession and permafrost thaw, however,
introduce uncertainties about the hydrologic responses to climate change that
impact water resource management. This work reviews hydroclimate changes in
the Far North and their impacts on hydropower; it provides a template for
application of current techniques for prediction and estimating uncertainty,
and it describes best practices for integrating science into management and
decision-making. The growing number of studies on hydrologic impacts suggests
that information resulting from climate change science has matured enough
that it can and should be integrated into hydropower scoping, design, and
management. Continuing to ignore the best available information in lieu of
status quo planning is likely to prove costly to society in the long term. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1027-5606 1607-7938 |