decadal drought risk assessment and scenario development...
TRANSCRIPT
Vikram Mehta James River Sub-basin Webinar 13 April 2017
Decadal Drought Risk Assessment and Scenario
Development for Food and Bio-fuels Agriculture in Four
Sub-basins in the Missouri River Basin
Acknowledgements
Projects supported by NOAA-CPO-Sectoral Applications Research Program 2015-2017
and
USDA-National Institute for Food and Agriculture 2011-2016
Vikram Mehta James River Sub-basin Webinar 13 April 2017
The Project People
Vikram Mehta and Katherin Mendoza The Center for Research on the Changing Earth System, Catonsville, Maryland
Cody Knutson, Nicole Wall, and Tonya Bernadt National Drought Mitigation Center, Univ. of Nebraska – Lincoln, Nebraska
Vikram Mehta James River Sub-basin Webinar 13 April 2017
Previous and Current Missouri River Basin
Projects
⦿ Exploratory study of decadal climate variability (DCV) impacts on water and crop yields: 2006-08
⦿ Decadal drought information needs of stakeholders and policymakers: 2008-10
⦿ Interannual to decadal climate variability impacts on urban water security: 2010-12
⦿ Value of decadal climate information to Missouri River Basin agriculture: 2012-14
⦿ Decadal climate and impacts prediction and adaptation models and methodologies: 2011-16
⦿ Development of adaptation options for food and biofuel crops: 2015-17
⦿ Readiness of agriculture and transportation sectors to cope with multiyear to decadal droughts in
the Mississippi and Missouri River Basins: 2016-18
All projects have involved interactions with stakeholders and
policymakers via workshops, webinars, and individual meetings.
Vikram Mehta James River Sub-basin Webinar 13 April 2017
Stakeholder Advisory Team
Adnan Akyuz: North Dakota State Climatologist
Dave Bartel: James River Water Development District Manager
Gregory Delzer: USGS Dakota Water Science Center
Kathleen Donahue: North Dakota Department of Emergency Services
Dan Driscoll: USGS Dakota Water Science Center
Paul DuBourt: USDA/NRCS
Doug Goehring: North Dakota Department of Agriculture Commissioner
Kelsey Kolars: USGS Dakota Water Science Center
Kendall Nichols: North Dakota Soybean Council
Mark Rath: South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Jim Ristau: South Dakota Corn
Karen Ryberg: USGS Dakota Water Science Center
Allen Schlag: NOAA Weather Forecast Office Bismarck
Doug Sombke: South Dakota Farmers Union
Vikram Mehta James River Sub-basin Webinar 13 April 2017
Project Objectives
⦿ To define decadal drought information needs of agricultural stakeholders in
four selected sub-basins of the Missouri River Basin.
⦿ To conduct a scenario-planning exercise for coping with multiyear to
decadal droughts in these sub-basins.
Vikram Mehta James River Sub-basin Webinar 13 April 2017
Roles of the Project and
Stakeholder Advisory Teams
Project Team ☞ Introduce natural decadal climate variability (DCV) phenomena or cycles.
☞ Show associations between these climate cycles, and dry/wet cycles, crop yields and
productions in the James River sub-basin (JSB).
☞ Provide past and possible future scenarios of dry/wet cycles, water availability, crop yields.
Stakeholder Advisory Team ☞ Provide detailed and quantitative information about agriculture and water resources in JSB;
and about present and future use of corn and other crops to produce bio-fuels.
☞ Describe perceptions of these dry/wet cycles and impacts on water and crops.
☞ Discuss how they might have used this information if provided as forecasts.
☞ Suggest best methods to convey such information to users of climate and impacts information.
☞ Disseminate information about this project and its results to other stakeholders.
Selected sub-basins for development of predictability and
adaptation methodologies
Platte
Lower
Grand
James
Marias
🌾 The Lower Grand in
Iowa and Missouri
🌾 The Central Platte in
Nebraska
🌾 The James in North
and South Dakota
🌾 The Marias-
Musselshell-Poplar in
Montana
Vikram Mehta James River Sub-basin Webinar 13 April 2017
Importance of the Missouri River Basin Missouri River Basin
Largest
river
basin
in the US
Covers
500,000
sq. miles,
10 States,
many Native
American
reservations,
parts of
Alberta and
Saskatchewan
Value of crops
and livestock
over
$100 billion per
year
117 million
acres cropland,
only 12 million
acres irrigated
Produces 46% of wheat, 22% of grain corn, 34% of
cattle in the United States
Dependence on the Missouri River for drinking water, irrigation and industrial needs, hydro-electricity, recreation, navigation,
and fish and wildlife habitat
Vikram Mehta James River Sub-basin Webinar 13 April 2017
Droughts and Water in the Main Stem Reservoirs
Water in the Main Stem
Reservoirs
Severe to Extreme Drought Area
(Upper figure, courtesy National Drought Mitigation Center;
Lower figure, courtesy Kevin Grody, USACE)
Vikram Mehta James River Sub-basin Webinar 13 April 2017
Decadal Climate Variability
What is DCV?
Climate “cycles”with
~8-20 years periods
Seen in long-term ocean,
land,and atmosphere
observations
Main causes: Ocean-
atmosphere interactions,
land-atmosphere interactions,
solar variability
Major DCV Phenomena
Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO)
Trop. Atlantic sea-surface
temperature (SST) gradient
oscillation (TAG)
West Pacific Warm Pool
oscillation (WPWP)
Decadal variability of ENSO
Sources of potential multiyear to decadal
climate predictability
Vikram Mehta James River Sub-basin Webinar 13 April 2017
Sea-surface temperature pattern and index time series
of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation: 1900-2015
Vikram Mehta James River Sub-basin Webinar 13 April 2017
Spatial pattern and index time series of the tropical
Atlantic sea-surface temperature gradient variability:
1900-2015
Pacific Decadal Oscillation and wheat production in the MRB
Average
production
6.6 million
tons
Average
production
13.8 million
tons
Correlation coefficients between the PDO and wheat production time series
0.5 without smoothing and 0.65 after smoothing all time series.
Vikram Mehta James River Sub-basin Webinar 13 April 2017
The Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), Precipitation,
and Temperature in the Missouri River Basin
WARM
PDO Warm PDO Cold
Precip
departure
From
average
Daily
max.
temp.
departure
from
average
DRY
WET
VERY WET
WET
DRY
VERY DRY
WARM COLD
mm/day
℃
COLD WARM
Observed and SWAT-simulated streamflow anomalies (cu. m/s)
in wet (1982-86) and dry (1987-90) epochs
Dry: 1987 - 90
USGS
SWAT
Wet: 1982 - 86
USGS
SWAT
Decreased flows in western
Montana and northern Kansas,
and increased flows elsewhere
Increased flows in western
Montana and northern Kansas,
and decreased flows elsewhere
PDO Warm PDO Cold
Vikram Mehta James River Sub-basin Webinar 13 April 2017
Development of Climate-Adaptive Water and Agriculture
Management System in the James River Sub-basin
Why the James sub-basin (JSB)?
Substantial and identifiable DCV signals in precipitation, temperature, crops, and
streamflow.
Important agricultural region producing spring and winter wheat, corn, soybeans,
sunflower, and alfalfa; also, major ethanol producing region.
Recreation and wildlife/conservation sectors also important.
Soil erosion and water quality degradation due to run-off from crop and livestock
production.
Vikram Mehta James River Sub-basin Webinar 13 April 2017
The PDO and Differences in Probabilities of Above/Below Average
Precipitation: 1961-2015
PDO Warm PDO Cold
PDO Warm – Wet in the south, dry in the center and north;
PDO Cold – Dry in the south, wet in the center and north
Vikram Mehta James River Sub-basin Webinar 13 April 2017
The PDO and Differences in Probabilities of Above/Below Average
Daily Max. Temperature: 1961-2015
PDO Warm PDO Cold
PDO Warm – Generally warm, except in the center;
PDO Cold – Generally cool, warm in the south
Vikram Mehta James River Sub-basin Webinar 13 April 2017
Location
(County)
PDO State Streamflow
(%)
Precipitation
(%)
Daily Max.
Temperature
(%)
Sheyenne River
Above Harvey, ND (Wells)
Warm/Cold -23/10 -23/17
8/-17
Sheyenne River
Warwick, ND (Eddy)
Warm/Cold -39/38 -8/3 8/-17
James River
Jamestown, ND (Stutsman)
Warm/Cold -39/10 -8/-10 8/-3
James River
La Moure, ND (La Moure)
Warm/Cold -46/3 -8/3 0/-24
James River Columbia, SD
(Brown)
Warm/Cold -46/10 -23/-3 0/3
Maple River
ND-SD State Line (Dickey)
Warm/Cold -39/-10 -15/10 23/-10
Elm River
Westport, SD (Brown)
Warm/Cold -31/-17 -23/-3 0/3
James River
Ashton, SD (Spink)
Warm/Cold -46/10 0/10 0/-3
James River
Huron, SD (Beadle)
Warm/Cold -39/17 0/-17 0/-17
James River
Forestburg, SD (Sanborn)
Warm/Cold -46/10 0/-24 0/3
The PDO and Differences in Probabilities of Above/Below Average
Streamflow, Precipitation, and Daily Max. Temperature: 1961-2015
Vikram Mehta James River Sub-basin Webinar 13 April 2017
The PDO and Crop Yields in the James Sub-basin
Soybean
1961-2014
Corn
1961-2014
Wheat
1961-2007
Hay
1961-2014
PDO Warm PDO Cold
USDA-NASS
data from 1961
to 2014
PDO Warm phase:
Above average soybean
and hay yields, and below
average wheat and corn
yields in almost all
counties; generally
opposite behavior in PDO
Cold phase
Vikram Mehta James River Sub-basin Webinar 13 April 2017
Next part of this webinar
Project Team
✔ Introduced natural decadal climate variability (DCV) phenomena or cycles.
✔ Showed with past data that there are associations between decadal climate
cycles, and dry/wet cycles and crop yields in the James River sub-basin.
Vikram Mehta James River Sub-basin Webinar 13 April 2017
Next part of this webinar
Stakeholder Advisory Team
☞ Please tell us about agriculture and water resources in JSB, and the type of
water resource (surface, groundwater) used in irrigation, if any.
☞ What are your perceptions of dry/wet cycles and their impacts?
☞ What are typical agricultural management practices in JSB? Crop rotations?
☞ Please tell us about present and future use of corn and other crops to
produce bio-fuels.
☞ Is run-off from farms and other sources contaminating water resources?
☞ Is there a competition for water among food production and other uses?
☞ Would it help stakeholders in JSB if we can predict dry/wet cycles,
streamflows, and crop yields an year or more in advance?
Vikram Mehta James River Sub-basin Webinar 13 April 2017
Thank you!!