Paleo Working Group:
MTNCLIM 2006
Project updates from 2005 and new initiatives
Greg Pederson, Connie Woodhouse, & Franco Biondi
Discussion Outline
•
•
•
•
•
Connie Woodhouse:
– TreeFlow - Status and Expansion
– Paleo Fire - FRAMES and FHAES
Greg Pederson:
– Update on status of PCVI
Franco Biondi:
– Status of HEC-HMS model for use in dendrohydrology
– New approaches in Dendrohydrology (SEAMOD model)
Wally Wolfenden:
– High resolution pollen analysis and implications for sustainable
forest ecosystem management
Open discussion on projects & introduction to new projects…
Connie Woodhouse
The Colorado TreeFlow web
page was designed to make
available the reconstructions of
streamflow we have been
developing in collaboration with
water resource managers.
It includes:
• background information on the
project
• information on chronologies used
• reconstructions, along with data
and graphics to evaluate skill
• a case study to explain the
reconstruction process
• links to other resources
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/streamflow/
We are working on expanding
this for California, the AZ and
NM, and hope to work with
others to broaden the
geographic scope
Connie Woodhouse
We need to add 10 new gage reconstructions for
the Green, Colorado (Lees Ferry, Cisco),
Gunnison, Dolores and San Juan Rivers
Gage for which we have
reconstructions. Click
on list or go to map and
click on location to
access data and
metadata
We have begun a series of
hand-on technical
workshops for water
manager that includes
topic ranging from field
techniques and data
treatment, to
reconstruction process
and applications to water
resource management.
Workshops have been held in Boulder and Alamosa, Colorado.
Another is planned for Tucson in November. Others are tentatively
being planned for southern CA and NM. We welcome help with
and/or suggestions for workshops at other locations.
Connie Woodhouse
The Colorado
River, A Paleo
Perspective, is one
of series of Paleo
Perspectives
educational web
page (with
Drought, Global
Warming, Abrupt
Change). This one
is currently under
development. If
you’d like to be a
reviewer, we’d love
feedback.
Contact:
Jeff Lukas (lukas@colorado.edu)
Connie Woodhouse (connie.woodhouse@noaa.gov)
FRAMES is a portalbased resource for
Fire Research and
Management
Fire History is a
subject area
within FRAMES
Connie Woodhouse
FHAES is a partner site within the Fire
History subject area
FHAES is a collaborative effort between
scientists at several agencies and institutions
to develop on tools for fire history analysis
Users can also link to the
International Multiproxy
Paleofire Database from the
Fire History subject area
Past Climate Variability and Impacts
Clearing House (PCVI)
Greg Pederson, Steve Gray, Connie Woodhouse, Todd Kipfer, Lisa Graumlich, Dan Fagre
What is the Past Climate Variability and Impacts (PCVI) clearinghouse?
It is a database of information that will help the study of climate-ecosystem
interactions by providing paleoenvironmental data resources.
Past Climate Variability and Impacts
Clearing House (PCVI)
Greg Pederson, Steve Gray, Connie Woodhouse, Todd Kipfer, Lisa Graumlich, Dan Fagre
Objectives - The overarching goal of this NBII paleoenvironmental project is to make
paleoclimatic and paleoecological data and information more applicable to state and federal
resource/land managers, scientists, and educators. The project will contribute to the
understanding and management of biological resources by providing:
Web-based access to
paleoclimatic and
paleoecological data, along
with interactive graphing and
analysis tools
Interpretative information and
metadata
Links to additional resources
and tools
A point of contact
D
L
N
O
O
H
Web address: http://bsi.montana.edu/web/pcvi/
Contact: gpederson@montana.edu
New Approaches In Dendrohydrology
Franco Biondi
• Past Work:
– HEC-HMS model - Army Corps of Engineers
• Abandoned due to difficulties in merging data types into complex
model (FYI: Greg Pederson interpretation of what he’s heard from
Franco. Discuss details with Franco please!)
• New Directions:
– Using tree-rings to estimate precipitation (strength w/physical
connection
– Using precipitation reconstructions in GIS based watershed
model (SEAMOD) to predict streamflow+
New Approaches In Dendrohydrology
Franco Biondi
•
Traditional Approach & Limitations:
– Complex regression models used in direct estimates of streamflow.
– No direct physical connection between wood accumulation and
streamflow (secondary linkage).
– Related Problems: Not easy to test for influence of factors such as
watershed topography, channel morphology, vegetation dynamics, and
land use.
•
Strength of New Approach:
– Reconstructions are based in physical linkages.
– Models are spatial, and sensitivity of reconstructions to changes in
watershed characteristics can be tested.
– Adds another approach, with different strengths, to reconstruction
toolkit.
Graduate Student Positions
Franco Biondi
• 1 Postdoctoral Associate
• 1 Lab Technician
• 6 Graduate Students (2 PhD & 4 MS)
Provide scientific information on the
interaction between climate, wildfire
regime, and tree population dynamics
in pinyon-juniper ecosystems of southcentral Nevada. Special emphasis is
placed on annual to decadal time
scales for the periods before and after
Euro-American settlement.
Contact Dr. Franco Biondi:
Email: fbiondi@unr.edu
High Resolution Pollen Analysis &
Ecosystem Management
Wally Wolfenden
High Resolution Pollen Analysis &
Ecosystem Management
Project: Vegetation History of the North Fork Pine Creek DrainageBasin, Inyo
National Forest
Project Leader: Wallace B. Woolfenden, Ph.D.
Partners: Dr. Owen K. Davis
Consulting and data sharing: Dr. Doug Clark and Nicole Bowerman,
Goal: High-resolution pollen analysis is to be used to document the long-term
montane vegetation dynamics of the southern Sierra Nevada in order to help
understand the response of vegetation to climate change at various time
scales. This proposed study is applicable to the problem areas of global
change and sustainable forest ecosystem management. The approach is
interdisciplinary in that analysis involves pollen analysis, plant ecology,
landscape ecology, sedimentology, fluvial geomorphology, climatology,
history and land management.
For more Information Contact Wally: wwoolfenden@fs.fed.us
Paleo Working Group:
MTNCLIM 2006
Open Discussion
• New Projects
• Contributions
• Funding Opportunities
Legal Disclaimer: The discussion herein regarding the work of those who could not attend (i.e.. Connie Woodhouse, Franco Biondi, and Wally Wolfenden)
does not necessarily represent either their own perceptions of their research, or what they would have discussed if present. I am not liable for distortion of
facts. Please contact project leaders with specific questions or potential collaborations.