Fluvial Response to Climate Change in the Pacific Northwest: Skeena River Discharge and Sediment Yield

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dc.contributor.authorWild, Amanda L.
dc.contributor.authorKwoll, Eva
dc.contributor.authorLintern, D. Gwyn
dc.contributor.authorFargey, Shannon
dc.date.accessioned2023-10-15T13:43:44Z
dc.date.available2023-10-15T13:43:44Z
dc.date.copyright2022en_US
dc.date.issued2022
dc.description.abstractChanges in climate affect the hydrological regime of rivers worldwide and differ with geographic location and basin characteristics. Such changes within a basin are captured in the flux of water and sediment at river mouths, which can impact coastal productivity and development. Here, we model discharge and sediment yield of the Skeena River, a significant river in British Columbia, Canada. We use HydroTrend 3.0, two global climate models (GCMs), and two representative concentration pathways (RCPs) to model changes in fluvial fluxes related to climate change until the end of the century. Contributions of sediment to the river from glaciers decreases throughout the century, while basin-wide overland and instream contributions driven by precipitation increase. Bedload, though increased compared to the period (1981–2010), is on a decreasing trajectory by the end of the century. For overall yield, the model simulations suggest conflicting results, with those GCMs that predict higher increases in precipitation and temperature predicting an increase in total (suspended and bedload) sediment yield by up to 10% in some scenarios, and those predicting more moderate increases predicting a decrease in yield by as much as 20%. The model results highlight the complexity of sediment conveyance in rivers within British Columbia and present the first comprehensive investigation into the sediment fluxes of this understudied river system.en_US
dc.description.reviewstatusRevieweden_US
dc.description.scholarlevelFacultyen_US
dc.description.sponsorshipEva Kwoll received funding through a NSERC Discovery Grant. Amanda Wild was a 2019–2020 NSERC- Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarships-Master’s recipient or received a fellowship from the Department of Geography at the University of Victoria while the majority of this research was conducted. During the final, editing phase of this research, Amanda Wild received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 860383.en_US
dc.identifier.citationWild, A., Kwoll, E., Lintern, G., & Fargey, S. E. (2022). Fluvial Response to Climate Change in the Pacific Northwest: Skeena River Discharge and Sediment Yield. Water, 15(1), 167. https://doi.org/10.3390/w15010167en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.3390/w15010167
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1828/15523
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherWateren_US
dc.subjectsediment yield
dc.subjectclimate change
dc.subjectstreamflow hydrology
dc.subjectcatchment scale
dc.subject.departmentDepartment of Geography
dc.titleFluvial Response to Climate Change in the Pacific Northwest: Skeena River Discharge and Sediment Yielden_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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