ALEXANDRIA,
VIRGINIA. Mountain snowpack is an
important contributor to runoff in the Upper Missouri River Basin; for example,
high amounts of winter and spring precipitation in the mountains and plains in
2010–2011 were associated with the peak runoff of record in the Upper Missouri
River Basin.
The U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers (USACE) completed a pilot research study in collaboration
with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), National Weather Service, U.S.
Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, and South
Dakota State University to help assess if mountain snowpack and runoff was
changing because of changes in climate. USACE worked with USGS to complete a
follow-up study.
USGS, in
cooperation with USACE, has released the report of this latest study, USGS
Scientific Investigations Report Modern (1992–2011) and Projected (2012–99) Peak Snowpack and May–July
Runoff for the Fort Peck Lake and Lake Sakakawea Watersheds in the Upper
Missouri River Basin. Kevin Grode, Bill Doan, and Kevin Stamm of USACE contributed to the
report as co-authors.
The objectives
of the study were to simulate modern and projected mountain peak snowpack and
May–July runoff into Fort Peck Lake and Lake Sakakawea in the upper part of the
Missouri River Basin; determine if projected May-July future runoff might
produce runoff events on the magnitude of the 2011 flood; develop insights to
processes associated with such events; and to determine if projected May–July
runoff might drop below the magnitude required to maintain power generation at
hydroelectric dams. See the USGS website to download the full
report.
Learn More
For more information, visit www.iwr.usace.army.mil or www.corpsclimate.us.