Upper Washita River Experimental Watersheds: Meteorologic and Soil Climate Measurement Networks

Starks, Patrick J.; Fiebrich, Christopher A.; Grimsley, David; Garbrecht, Jürgen; Steiner, Jean L.; Guzmán, Jorge; Moriasi, Daniel N.

doi:10.2134/jeq2013.08.0312

Cited by 34 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…‡Name of meteorological station used to extend weather record past closure date of primary station. The Mesonet is a mesoscale weather observation network (McPherson et al, 2007); the Micronet is a microscale weather observation network (Elliott et al, 1993; Starks et al, 2014); VIC is the variable infiltration capacity model (Liang et al, 1994). …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate Change and Observed Climate Trends in the Fort Cobb Experimental Watershed

2014

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Recurring droughts in the Southern Great Plains of the United States are stressing the landscape, increasing uncertainty and risk in agricultural production, and impeding optimal agronomic management of crop, pasture, and grazing systems. The distinct possibility that the severity of recent droughts may be related to a greenhouse-gas induced climate change introduces new challenges for water resources managers because the intensification of droughts could represent a permanent feature of the future climate. Climate records of the Fort Cobb watershed in central Oklahoma were analyzed to determine if recent decade-long trends in precipitation and air temperature were consistent with climate change projections for central Oklahoma. The historical precipitation record did not reveal any compelling evidence that the recent 20-yr-long decline in precipitation was related to climate change. Also, precipitation projections by global circulation models (GCMs) displayed a flat pattern through the end of the 21st century. Neither observed nor projected precipitation displayed a multidecadal monotonic rising or declining trend consistent with an ongoing warming climate. The recent trend in observed annual precipitation was probably a decade-scale variation not directly related to the warming climate. On the other hand, the observed monotonic warming trend of 0.34°C decade that started around 1978 is consistent with GCM projections of increasing temperature for central Oklahoma.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate Change and Observed Climate Trends in the Fort Cobb Experimental Watershed

2014

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“…1). (For watershed descriptions, see Steiner et al [2008] and Starks et al [2014]). Most of these data sets were developed to support remote sensing based studies of soil water content.…”

Section: Name Of Remote Sensing Study In Which Land Cover Maps Were Pmentioning

confidence: 99%

Upper Washita River Experimental Watersheds: Land Cover Data Sets (1974-2007) for Two Southwestern Oklahoma Agricultural Watersheds

2014

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Land cover data sets were developed for 1997, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2006, and 2007 for the Little Washita River and Fort Cobb Reservoir experimental watersheds (LWREW and FCREW, respectively), located in southwestern Oklahoma, to support remote sensing based studies of soil water content. A previously unpublished retrospective land cover analysis covering the years 1974, 1981, 1985, 1989, and 1994 was conducted to complement these data sets to gain a sense of the dynamics of land cover in both the LWREW and FCREW over the 33 yr. Each of these studies used satellite-based sensors of various spatial, radiometric, and spectral resolutions, but the number of images used, image date, and methods used to analyze the images varied from study to study. Our purpose was to document the details of the retrospective land cover study, to compare land cover between watersheds with time, and to compare findings from the various studies to elucidate changes or trends in land cover in each watershed during the 33 yr the data sets represent. Information on how to access to the data sets is also given. The LWREW was a grassland watershed that changed little during the study period. The FCREW was divided between grassland and cropland, but the cropland portion exhibited dynamic behavior that appeared correlated with peanut ( L.) price supports and Conservation Reserve programs. Dynamic land use information coupled with information concerning conservation practices will enhance assessment of conservation practice effectiveness as well as improve modeling of the fate and transport of chemicals and nutrients in watersheds.

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“…The SGPRW was comprised of 13 watersheds, including one that would later become the LWREW (Fig. 1), whose streams were tributaries to the Washita River (for physical descriptions of the SGPRW and LWREW, see Starks et al, 2014). The initial mission of the SGPRW was to assess the effects of Soil Conservation Service (now the NRCS) flood control structures on mitigating sediment transport and erosion (Water Quality and Watershed Research Laboratory Staff, 1983).…”

Section: History Of Water Quality Sampling In the Watershedsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Upper Washita River Experimental Watersheds: Nutrient Water Quality Data

et al. 2014

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Climate variability, changing land use and management, and dynamic policy environments are the main reasons why long-term research is needed to understand and predict possible water quality outcomes to alternative future scenarios. Long-term water quality data sets are needed to address these water issues. Such data sets were acquired by the USDA-ARS in three watersheds in Oklahoma: the Southern Great Plains Research Watershed (SGPRW), the Little Washita River Experimental Watershed (LWREW), and the Fort Cobb Reservoir Experimental Watershed (FCREW). We provide: (i) a description of these water quality data sets, (ii) the sample collection and processing procedures used and an assessment of the data quality, (iii) summary analyses of the variability in each data set, and (iv) details about how to access these data sets. Water quality data collection in the SGPRW began in the 1960s and continued through 1978, while that in the LWREW covered the 1960s to 1990 period. Data collection began in the FCREW in 2004 and continues through the present. The data were collected from streams, unit source watersheds, groundwater wells, and reservoirs. The water quality data described for a given site are generally complete for a given period of record; however, not all sites were monitored continuously and were not necessarily analyzed for the same water quality parameters. These data sets are expected to improve modeling and assessments of conservation practices in relation to climate variability, land use changes, and other environmental factors and may be useful in developing strategies to mitigate these environmental impacts.

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Upper Washita River Experimental Watersheds: Meteorologic and Soil Climate Measurement Networks

Cited by 34 publications

References 33 publications

Climate Change and Observed Climate Trends in the Fort Cobb Experimental Watershed

Climate Change and Observed Climate Trends in the Fort Cobb Experimental Watershed

Upper Washita River Experimental Watersheds: Land Cover Data Sets (1974-2007) for Two Southwestern Oklahoma Agricultural Watersheds

Upper Washita River Experimental Watersheds: Nutrient Water Quality Data

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