|
June 26, 2007
|
Welcome
to the newsletter about all things water in Montana!
MONTANA
WATER NEWS will come your way via email every month
with fresh news about meetings and water topics that we hope
is of interest to you. If you do not want to receive this
newsletter, please scroll down and follow the directions to
unsubscribe. If you are seeing only text in this email,
or if it's not easy to read, please make sure your email program
is set to view "HTML" messages, or view
the newsletter online in the newsletter archives. |
|
| |
 |
| How Montana May Change with Global Climate Change |
Dr. Joellen Russell |
Over the next couple months, the Montana Water Center will sit down with Dr. Joellen Russell to talk about global warming trends and their implications in Montana. Dr. Russell spent a portion of her childhood living near Havre where her father was an employee for the Indian Health Service on the Rocky Boy Reservation. Joellen left Havre to attend Harvard where she received a BA in Environmental Geoscience. In 1999, she received her PhD in Oceanography from the Scripps Institute in La Jolla, California.
Her work in biogeochemical dynamics, the interactions between the biological, geological and chemical components of Earth's environment, has earned her worldwide accolades. Her career has taken her from doing research at Princeton University to running the University of Arizona’s Biogeochemical Dynamics Laboratory, where she serves as an assistant professor of Geosciences. Her past research focused on quantifying the impact of changes in the physical climate system on the fluxes between reservoirs of carbon. Her current focus is on the shift of the Westerly Winds over the Southern Ocean, around Antarctica. This water mass is critical to the global ocean uptake of carbon dioxide and heat.
As the world awakens to the facts of global climate change, more and more attention has been given to the dynamic relationship between the Earth’s release and storage of energy. Changes in this relationship, such as a further shift in the precipitation-influencing westerly winds or an imbalance between warm and cold ocean water, could be felt globally. Recently, the Montana Water Center’s Evan Tennant got a chance to ask climate change expert, Dr. Joellen Russell, what this means for Montana.
ET: The surface expression of the westerly winds is changing. What kind of effects would a 5-degree latitude shift to the north have for Montana?
JR: A 5° shift poleward in the main westerly wind belt will likely mean that Montanans find themselves with weather more like the lower 48 than like Canada. This will probably mean more open winters. There will likely be more precipitation as the jet stream moves more directly over the state, but the precipitation that falls on the high plains in winter is likely to be more rain and less snow. This will definitely affect both the farming and recreation communities, as well as the state’s water resources.
ET: Does your work on the current shift in the climate change variables in the southern oceans have implications as far north as Montana?
JR: Yes. The way the Southern Ocean responds to the southern hemisphere wind shift will play a definitive role in how quickly the atmosphere warms. The Southern Ocean provides a direct pathway through which atmospheric carbon dioxide and heat can be sequestered in the deep ocean: the only question is how much and how quickly. The best of the coupled climate models predict that the Southern Ocean takes up much more carbon and heat than we had previously suspected. If we are fortunate, the Southern Ocean will continue to be a sink and the rate of atmospheric carbon dioxide increase and warming will be slower
ET: A change in the balance of rain and snowfall, especially in Montana, would really be noticed by whom and by what?
JR: As above, a shift in the balance of rain and snow can have far-reaching effects on both the human and the natural environment. Snow pack, river flow, winter water, and winter snow for the winter wheat crop, are all likely to be affected by changes in the position of the westerly winds.
ET: Could this signal the end of Montana’s winter wheat?
JR: Optimal conditions for winter wheat will likely shift north from the current range over the next 50 years, but that may just mean that the Hi-Line and southern Canada take over the bumper crops.
ET: Could the recent poleward shift of this wind belt be part of a natural cycle of change?
JR: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently examined the predictions of 18 different models of the atmosphere and oceans. Every one of them simulated a poleward shift in the westerly winds of both hemispheres under observed greenhouse forcing. None of them showed any kind of trend when forced with constant 1860 conditions - the conditions that prevailed before humans began releasing large quantities of greenhouse gases. It is highly unlikely, if not inconceivable, that the poleward shift we are seeing is an entirely natural phenomenon.
ET: What is the single most important step humans can make to try and curb this climate change?
JR: Reduce our fossil fuel emissions. This probably means more insulation in our houses and more efficient cars, furnaces, water heaters and air conditioners, as well as more non-fossil fuel energy sources like wind, solar and nuclear power, but I’m not a politician or an engineer, so I’m waiting for some of our brightest students to take the lead and show us the way.
Be sure to check upcoming issues of Montana Water News for the continuation of Evan's interview with Dr. Russell. |
|
| |
 |
| The Abstract Submission Site for the 24th Annual Montana Section AWRA Conference is Now Open |
|
If you did not receive either an email or a hard copy of the Call for Abstracts for the annual Montana Water Conference co-sponsored by the Montana Water Center and the Montana Section of the American Water Resources Association (MT AWRA), please let us know so we can update our database! You can, however, go to the MT AWRA website at http://awra.org/state/montana/events/conference.htm to view and download the Call for Abstracts information sheet, and to submit your abstract online. The submission deadline is July 11th, 2007. Late abstracts cannot be accepted. The conference will be at the Yogo Inn in Lewistown, Montana, October 11th and 12th. A pre-conference, Understanding Irrigation Effects on Surface and Groundwater, will be held at the Yogo on October 10th.
As always, we strongly encourage students to attend and participate -- and students who are receiving a stipend from the Water Center are required to present their research here. This year's first place oral presenter in the student competition will be awarded an expense-paid trip to the annual National AWRA meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico on November 12 - 15, 2007. The student will also give the winning presentation to the Albuquerque audience.
We are inviting sponsors to help bring this event to our state's water resource researchers, managers and students. If your organization or business is interested in sponsoring part of this annual conference, please visit the MT AWRA website at http://awra.org/state/montana/events/conference.htm to download the Call for Sponsors document. You will also find conference and pre-conference info, as well as a link to cool MT AWRA merchandise.
The planning committee is very excited about this year's program. The pre-conference, plenary and technical speakers, banquet and conference presentations promise to deliver excellent information and fun. We invite you to showcase your work with people from throughout our state who are involved in assuring Montanans have plenty of clean, flowing water. Please remember to submit your abstract no later than July 11th, 2007. |
|
| |
| MSU Water Conversation Scheduled For August 21st |
 . |
This will be a great chance for MSU faculty members to meet potential collaborators from other colleges to discuss their project ideas. This meeting will serve as an abbreviated version of the 2005 MSU Water Summit. The goals of the meeting are to identify the varied water expertise within the university and to point out new needs in expertise or coursework. A recent research needs survey and major water research initiatives will be discussed.
There's a lot to talk about! Please plan to join MSU water faculty and administrators in room 108 of the Ag Bioscience Building. The coffeepot will be on at 9:30; the conversation itself runs from 10:00 to noon. Contact Montana Water Center Director Gretchen Rupp with any questions or comments at grupp@montana.edu. |
|
| |
| WaterSmart Montana |
|
The Missoula Valley Water Quality District has recently launched a campaign to advocate smart water use. The Water Smart Montana campaign hopes to educate people on the valuable role played by Montana’s riparian areas. The campaign will include radio spots, newspaper ads, and a website. The district is interested in hearing viewer comments and is open to working with other agencies and groups to modify and expand its campaign for statewide use. Go to http://www.watersmartmt.com to find out more. |
|
| |
| What the Heck is a Phreatophyte? |
|
The Darcy Lecture Series of the National Ground Water Association comes to Butte on August 22nd at 5pm. The Kansas Geological Survey’s Dr. James Butler Jr. will be giving a lecture titled, “What the Heck is a Phreatophyte? A Field Investigation of Ecohydrologic Processes in Stream-Aquifer Systems.” The lecture describes the various components of the water budget in stream-aquifer systems, with an emphasis on the contribution of riparian zone phreatophytes. In other words: how much water are those cottonwoods REALLY pulling out? For more info, visit http://www.ngwa.org/ngwef/darcy.cfm. |
|
| |
 |
| Sustaining Rocky Mountain Landscapes |
|
Sustaining Rocky Mountain Landscapes: Science, Policy, and Management for the Crown of the Continent Ecosystem, edited by Tony Prato and Dan Fagre, is now available from RFF (Resources For the Future) Press. The book offers a systematic, multi-disciplinary assessment of the challenges involved in managing a region that includes some of the most spectacular areas of wilderness and water in North America. Tony Prato is a professor of ecological economics in the Division of Applied Social Sciences, and co-director of the Center for Agricultural, Resource and Environmental Systems at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Dan Fagre is a research ecologist and global change research coordinator at the USGS Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center in West Glacier, MT. Go to www.rffpress.org for more information. |
|
| |
| PERC Reports |
|
The Property and Environment Research Center of Bozeman has devoted the summer issue of PERC Reports to water. The focus of the articles is simple: “nations, cities, environmental organizations, and individuals are looking toward a future with less water and at the same time greater demands for that water.” PERC Reports June 2007 takes a market approach to water and covers issues ranging from water leasing in Montana to policy changes in a drought-ridden Australia. Please visit http://www.perc.org/perc.php?id=881 for more information. |
|
| |
| Do
you have more news?
Many
Montana Water News articles are generated by the Montana Water
Center’s new student intern, Evan Tennant. Evan is studying
public policy at Montana State University with a special interest
in water policy. He spends what free time he has writing stories
for this e-newsletter. Do you have some stories of interest
you would like him to feature? If so, please contact Evan at
etennant@montana.edu.
He’d like to hear from you. |
|
| |
 |
Take
special note of upcoming national and local water meetings
on the Events
Calendar at MONTANA WATER. |
| |
|
5th New Zealand Mudsnail in the Western USA Conference,
Davis, CA, June 27 - 28, 2007 [INFO] |
7th Nordic Symposium on Fish Immunology,
Stirling, Scotland, July 17 - 23, 2007 [INFO] |
Creating a Community Vision,
Bozeman, July 19, 2007 [INFO] |
2007 NIWR & UCOWR Conference: Hazards in Water Resources,
Boise, ID, July 24 - 26, 2007 [INFO] |
Environmental & Subsurface Science Symposium,
Logan, UT, July 25 - 27, 2007 [INFO] |
GIS/GPS Seminar for Water Districts,
Miles City, July 25, 2007 [INFO] |
World Water Week,
Stockholm, Sweden, August 12 - 18, 2007 [INFO] |
Upper Marias Watershed Tour for Educators, Near Cutbank, August 13 - 15, 2007 [INFO] |
2007 American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association Conference, August 15 - 17, 2007 [INFO] |
|
|
