Geog. 4430. Assignment for Sept. 20– “The Rocky Mountains: Climate Change–Past,
Present, Future”
pdfs of all readings are linked to the class webpage
Everyone must read all the assignments. Critiques (1 to 3 pages) are assigned below according
to the first letter of last names. For the more technical articles (e.g. Gray et al. 2003), I will
present some background on the methods.
1. Saunders, S. et al. 2008. Hotter and Drier: The West’s Changed Climate. Rocky Mountain
Climate Organization.
Everyone must read the Summary and chapters 1-3. This is a non-technical overview. No one
is assigned to write a critique. Pdf of this report is available at:
http://rockymountainclimate.org/website%20pictures/Hotter%20and%20Drier.pdf
2. USGS Fact Sheet 2005-3018. Changes in streamflow timing in the Western United States in
Recent Decades.
Last names beginning with A-C. In your critique (and in class) explain how the findings
in this Fact Sheet are relevant to the analyses presented in the Barnett et al. 2008 paper (i.e.
assignment 6).
3. McCabe GJ, Palecki MA, Betancourt JL (2004) Pacific and Atlantic Ocean influences on
multidecadal drought frequency in the United States. Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences of the United States of America 101, 4136–4141. doi:10.1073/PNAS.0306738101
Last names beginning with D-P.
4. Gray ST, Betancourt J, Fastie C, Jackson SJ (2003) Patterns and sources of multidecadal
oscillations in drought-sensitive tree-ring records from the central and southern Rocky
Mountains. Geophysical Research Letters 30, 1316.
Last names beginning with R.
5. Hoerling, H. And J. Eischeid. 2007. Past peak water in the Southwest. Southwest
Hydrology, January-February 2007, pages 18-19 and 36.
Last names beginning with S.
6. Barnett, T.P. et al. 2008. Human-induced changes in the hydrology of the western United
States. Science 319 (22): 1080-1083.
Last names beginning with V.