Project to study climate effects on California water systems from headwaters to groundwater

December 28, 2017

A new project by national laboratories and University of California campuses will study California’s water systems, from the headwaters in the Sierra Nevada, through rivers, reservoirs and groundwater in the Central Valley.

California relies on the Sierra Nevada snowpack for a significant portion of its water needs, yet scientists understand very little about how future changes in snowpack volume and timing will influence surface water and groundwater. Researchers Erica Woodburn and Carl Steefel of the Earth and Environmental Sciences Area are developing an advanced hydrologic model to study how climate change might affect California watersheds in the future.