{"id":72,"date":"2024-12-06T21:53:38","date_gmt":"2024-12-06T21:53:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/atmos.ucla.edu\/alexhall\/?page_id=72"},"modified":"2026-04-17T22:38:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T22:38:13","slug":"climate-impacts","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/atmos.ucla.edu\/alexhall\/climate-impacts\/","title":{"rendered":"Climate Impacts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Climate impacts research is concerned with understanding how changes in the climate system affect other natural and human systems. For example, what does warming mean for ecosystems? What do changes in the hydrologic cycle mean for water resources?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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Our group is active in taking climate science research beyond our own field so that we can diagnose future climate impacts and enable decision-makers to confront them. Often this work requires building interdisciplinary partnerships to bring in expertise from fields such as ecology, urban planning, public policy, economics, public health, and water resources management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Related Publications<\/h4>\n\n\n
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2019<\/h3>

Sun, F; Berg, N; Hall, A; Schwartz, M; Walton, DB<\/p>

Understanding end-of-century snowpack changes over California&$#$39;s Sierra Nevada<\/a> Journal Article<\/span> <\/p>

In: <\/span>Geophysical Research Letters, <\/span>vol. 46, <\/span>no. 2, <\/span>pp. 933\u2013943, <\/span>2019<\/span>.<\/p>

Abstract<\/a><\/span> | Links<\/a><\/span> | BibTeX<\/a><\/span><\/p>

@article{1816,
\r\ntitle = {Understanding end-of-century snowpack changes over California&$#$39;s Sierra Nevada},
\r\nauthor = {F Sun and N Berg and A Hall and M Schwartz and DB Walton},
\r\nurl = {https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1029\/2018GL080362},
\r\nyear  = {2019},
\r\ndate = {2019-01-01},
\r\nurldate = {2019-01-01},
\r\njournal = {Geophysical Research Letters},
\r\nvolume = {46},
\r\nnumber = {2},
\r\npages = {933\u2013943},
\r\nabstract = {This study uses dynamical and statistical methods to understand end-of-century mean changes to Sierra Nevada snowpack. Dynamical results reveal mid-elevation watersheds experience considerably more rain than snow during winter, leading to substantial snowpack declines by spring. Despite some high-elevation watersheds receiving slightly more snow in January and February, the warming signal still dominates across the wet-season and leads to notable declines by springtime. A statistical model is created to mimic dynamical results for April 1 snowpack, allowing for an efficient downscaling of all available General Circulation Models (GCMs) from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5. For all GCMs and emissions scenarios, dramatic April 1 snowpack loss occurs at elevations below 2500 meters, despite increased precipitation in many GCMs. Only 36% (\u00b112%) of historical April 1 total snow water equivalent volume remains at the century\u2019s end under a \u201cbusiness-as-usual\u201d emissions scenario, with 70% (\u00b112%) remaining under a realistic \u201cmitigation\u201d scenario.},
\r\nkeywords = {},
\r\npubstate = {published},
\r\ntppubtype = {article}
\r\n}
\r\n<\/pre><\/div>
Close<\/a><\/p><\/div>
This study uses dynamical and statistical methods to understand end-of-century mean changes to Sierra Nevada snowpack. Dynamical results reveal mid-elevation watersheds experience considerably more rain than snow during winter, leading to substantial snowpack declines by spring. Despite some high-elevation watersheds receiving slightly more snow in January and February, the warming signal still dominates across the wet-season and leads to notable declines by springtime. A statistical model is created to mimic dynamical results for April 1 snowpack, allowing for an efficient downscaling of all available General Circulation Models (GCMs) from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5. For all GCMs and emissions scenarios, dramatic April 1 snowpack loss occurs at elevations below 2500 meters, despite increased precipitation in many GCMs. Only 36% (\u00b112%) of historical April 1 total snow water equivalent volume remains at the century\u2019s end under a \u201cbusiness-as-usual\u201d emissions scenario, with 70% (\u00b112%) remaining under a realistic \u201cmitigation\u201d scenario.<\/div>
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