The Colorado River

Schmidt, John C.; Bruckerhoff, Lindsey A.; Salehabadi, Homa; Wang, Jian

doi:10.1002/9781119412632.ch10

Cited by 7 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 98 publications

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“…These historically dynamic conditions provided the evolutionary backdrop for the native aquatic community but were altered after the construction of dams throughout the Colorado River in the mid‐20th century. In Grand Canyon, construction of Glen Canyon Dam altered water temperature (Vernieu et al 2005; Voichick and Wright 2007), eliminated large floods, increased base flows, shifted the seasonal timing of flows, and reduced sediment concentrations (Topping et al 2003; Schmidt et al 2022). Native fish, including Colorado Pikeminnow Ptychocheilus lucius , Roundtail Chub G. robusta , and Bonytail G. elegans , were extirpated from Grand Canyon, while the Razorback Sucker Xyrauchen texanus was either extirpated and recolonized or became extremely rare for two decades (Minckley 1991; Kegerries et al 2017).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vital rates of a burgeoning population of Humpback Chub in western Grand Canyon

et al. 2023

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Objective:The Colorado River ecosystem has experienced habitat alterations and nonnative species invasions; as a result, many of its native species have had extirpations, abundance declines, and range constrictions. Despite these pitfalls, the Humpback Chub Gila cypha has persisted and in the last 10-15 years has expanded its range to become abundant in western Grand Canyon, a river segment in which it had been rare for the prior three decades. The goal of this study was to evaluate the population dynamics (i.e., growth, survival, movement, abundance) for this "new" group of Humpback Chub. Methods:We analyzed a 6-year mark-recapture study from a fixed monitoring reach in western Grand Canyon, and we provide the first estimates of survival and growth (vital rates) for these fish. We compared vital rates in western Grand Canyon to those of two life history forms (residents and migrants, representing fast and slow life history trajectories, respectively) from the more established Little Colorado River (LCR) aggregation in eastern Grand Canyon. Result: Compared to LCR migrants and LCR residents, Humpback Chub in westernGrand Canyon had intermediate values for apparent survival, growth, and asymptotic length. Relatively high survival of subadults coupled with fast growth allowed for rapid population growth in western Grand Canyon. However, a large cohort in 2017 failed to lead to noticeable increases in adults. Seasonal survival patterns were distinct in all three groups, and apparent survival was lowest in western Grand Canyon during spring months. Adult Humpback Chub in western Grand Canyon were mobile and had a high probability of transience (i.e., just passing through the reach) and temporary emigration, demonstrating the need for future movement studies in western Grand Canyon to better distinguish emigration from survival. Conclusion:There is considerable spatial variability in viral rates for Humpback Chub in Grand Canyon. We discuss how observations are related to disparate temperature regimes experienced by the three groups and whether (how) the relationship between metabolism and temperature influences vital rates within the river network.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vital rates of a burgeoning population of Humpback Chub in western Grand Canyon

et al. 2023

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“…Removal of water from the Basin's rivers, the existence of large reservoirs and dams, and modification to the annual, seasonal, and daily patterns of flow have all led to dramatic changes in the aquatic and riparian ecosystems of the Basin (Schmidt, Bruckerhoff, Salehabadi, & Wang, 2022; Schmidt, Bruckerhoff, Wang, & Yackulic, 2022). The degree of ecosystem modification, and the opportunities for ecosystem rehabilitation, differ significantly throughout the Basin.…”

Section: Impacts Of River Regulation Consumptive Uses and The Current...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Much of the 600 miles (1000 km) between Yuma and Hoover Dam has been converted to reservoirs or has been channelized and leveed; other parts of the channel are incised below the former bed elevation (Borland & Miller, 1960; Schmidt, Bruckerhoff, Salehabadi, & Wang, 2022). Reservoir releases from Lake Mead are set to meet the needs of downstream water users and have completely changed the natural flow regime.…”

Section: Impacts Of River Regulation Consumptive Uses and The Current...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Colorado River has long been known as America's Nile (LaRue, 1916). The river's headwaters are in the Rocky Mountains where most of the river's flow originates (Schmidt, Bruckerhoff, Salehabadi, & Wang, 2022). Administratively, the Basin is divided into three parts: Mexico, the Lower Basin in the United States, and the Upper Basin in the United States (Figure 1).…”

Section: Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Colorado River water crisis: Its origin and the future

Schmidt

Yackulic

Kuhn³

2023

WIREs Water

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During much of the 21st century, natural runoff in the Colorado River basin has declined, while consumption has remained relatively constant, leading to historically low reservoir storage. Between January 2000 and April 2023, the amount of water stored in Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the two largest reservoirs in the United States, declined by 33.5 million acre feet (41.3 billion cubic meters). As of April 2023, total basin‐wide storage was sufficient to support the 21st century average rate of basin‐wide consumption for only 15 months. Runoff in spring 2023 is predicted to be large, providing a short‐term reprieve. However, it will take four to five additional unusually wet years in succession to refill Lake Powell and Lake Mead if basin‐wide water use remains unchanged. Increasing evapotranspiration and dry soils associated with global climate change makes such a scenario unlikely. To stabilize reservoir storage, basin‐wide use needs to equal modern runoff. To recover reservoir storage, basin‐wide use needs to decline even more. Based on 21st century average runoff, a 13%–20% decline in basin‐wide use would allow for stabilization and some reservoir storage recovery. Future policy debate about reservoir operations will inevitably concern whether most, or all, reservoir storage should be in Lake Mead or in Lake Powell. The choice of one or the other will result in significantly different environmental and recreational outcomes for Glen Canyon and the Grand Canyon.This article is categorized under: Water and Life > Stresses and Pressures on Ecosystems Human Water > Water Governance Science of Water > Water and Environmental Change

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“…The Colorado River (Schmidt et al. 2022) is a critical source of water for the southwestern United States (U.S.) and northwestern Mexico (Figure 1). Earth's warming climate is expected to cause a decline in runoff in the Colorado River Basin, a highly utilized basin where current demand exceeds supplies (Lukas et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Assessment of Potential Severe Droughts in the Colorado River Basin

Salehabadi

Tarboton

Udall

et al. 2022

J American Water Resour Assoc

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Much has been learned about Colorado River hydrology since the severe sustained drought study in 1995. We summarize our updated understanding of plausible future drought conditions by considering historical flows, tree‐ring reconstructions, and climate change. We focus on natural streamflow at Lees Ferry, the primary metric used to quantify the runoff in the Colorado River Basin. We identify drought periods using historical records and tree‐ring reconstructed streamflow at Lees Ferry, which we then use to characterize potential future droughts. Resampling from past drought periods generates plausible future conditions to consider during planning. We produced three drought scenarios, each comprising 100 streamflow sequences to be used as input to systems operation and management models. We used analysis of the duration‐severity and cumulative deficit relative to the mean natural flow to evaluate droughts and drought simulations and show that the current millennium drought that started in 2000 has an average flow far less than the historical record. However, the flows reconstructed from tree rings or future flows projected from climate models indicate that even more severe droughts are possible. When used as input to the Colorado River Simulation System the drought scenarios developed indicate considerable periods when Lake Powell falls below its hydropower penstocks, indicating a need to rethink management and operation of these reservoirs during these critical conditions.

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The Colorado River

Cited by 7 publications

References 98 publications

Vital rates of a burgeoning population of Humpback Chub in western Grand Canyon

Vital rates of a burgeoning population of Humpback Chub in western Grand Canyon

The Colorado River water crisis: Its origin and the future

An Assessment of Potential Severe Droughts in the Colorado River Basin

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