Monday, March 15, 2010

Skykomish River flow study

Yesterday I posted about A lousy winter means trouble for glaciers and summer water supply , and referenced a study on the implications of retreating glaciers for the Skykomish River.

While the Skykomish is outside the American Alps proposal, it is directly analagous and applicable to the rivers and streams within the American Alps proposal. This is especially true as more consideration is given to small hydro (less than 5MW), and water retention dams for agricultural and human interests, particularly for drainages E of the Cascade Crest (see Methow River and tributaries).

Dr. Mauri Pelto, director of the North Cascades Glacier Climate Project, has put together an extensive worksheet with great photos--please see this link to a PDF.

http://www.seanet.com/~pfitech/skykomish%20fact%20sheet%20(2).pdf

For more information on the project (note it started in 1983, long before "global warming" and "climate change" were a part of our lexicon), please see:

http://www.nichols.edu/departments/Glacier/


-Tom

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