Hydrologic response of groundwater and streamflow to natural and anthropogenic drivers of change in headwaters of the upper Colorado River basin during recent wet (1982–1999) and drought (2000–2022) conditions
Study region: Headwaters of the upper Colorado River basin (UCOL), USA Study focus: Surface-water and groundwater numerical models incorporating water-use information were used to investigate changes in climate, water use, and simulated hydrologic responses of snow processes, evapotranspiration, gro...
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Elsevier
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581825003799 |
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| author | Fred D Tillman Melissa D. Masbruch Jacob E. Knight John A. Engott Samuel F. Lopez Casey J. Jones Jesse E. Dickinson Matthew P. Miller |
| author_facet | Fred D Tillman Melissa D. Masbruch Jacob E. Knight John A. Engott Samuel F. Lopez Casey J. Jones Jesse E. Dickinson Matthew P. Miller |
| author_sort | Fred D Tillman |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Study region: Headwaters of the upper Colorado River basin (UCOL), USA Study focus: Surface-water and groundwater numerical models incorporating water-use information were used to investigate changes in climate, water use, and simulated hydrologic responses of snow processes, evapotranspiration, groundwater, and streamflow during recent wet (1982–1999) and drought (2000–2022) periods in the headwater subregions of the upper Colorado River basin. New hydrologic insights for the region: Decreases in average streamflow between wet and drought periods ranged from 20 % in the Colorado River headwaters subregion to 23 % in the Gunnison River headwaters subregion. Like streamflow, average surface runoff was statistically less during the drought than the wet period, with decreases from 24–31 % in the headwaters. On a volume basis, runoff decreases were greater than streamflow decreases in both the Colorado River and Gunnison River headwaters. Although the amount of water-year groundwater discharge to streams remained nearly the same between the wet and drought periods, groundwater as a percentage of streamflow increased between the wet and drought periods, highlighting the importance of groundwater in sustaining streamflow during drought conditions. Multiple linear regression analyses revealed that snowmelt-only models were better than the best precipitation and temperature models at explaining streamflow variability from all headwater subregions for both the wet and drought periods. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9e195462fc634fc18ae9cc450a1eae1e |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2214-5818 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-9e195462fc634fc18ae9cc450a1eae1e2025-08-20T03:25:27ZengElsevierJournal of Hydrology: Regional Studies2214-58182025-08-016010255410.1016/j.ejrh.2025.102554Hydrologic response of groundwater and streamflow to natural and anthropogenic drivers of change in headwaters of the upper Colorado River basin during recent wet (1982–1999) and drought (2000–2022) conditionsFred D Tillman0Melissa D. Masbruch1Jacob E. Knight2John A. Engott3Samuel F. Lopez4Casey J. Jones5Jesse E. Dickinson6Matthew P. Miller7US Geological Survey, Arizona Water Science Center, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA; Corresponding author.US Geological Survey, Utah Water Science Center, Salt Lake City, UT 84119, USAUS Geological Survey, Arizona Water Science Center, Tucson, AZ 85719, USAUS Geological Survey, California Water Science Center, Sacramento, CA 95819, USAUS Geological Survey, Utah Water Science Center, Salt Lake City, UT 84119, USAUS Geological Survey, South Atlantic Water Science Center, Columbia, SC 29210, USAUS Geological Survey, Water Mission Area—Integrated Modeling and Prediction Division, Tucson, AZ 85719, USAUS Geological Survey, Water Mission Area—Integrated Modeling and Prediction Division, Boulder, CO 80303, USAStudy region: Headwaters of the upper Colorado River basin (UCOL), USA Study focus: Surface-water and groundwater numerical models incorporating water-use information were used to investigate changes in climate, water use, and simulated hydrologic responses of snow processes, evapotranspiration, groundwater, and streamflow during recent wet (1982–1999) and drought (2000–2022) periods in the headwater subregions of the upper Colorado River basin. New hydrologic insights for the region: Decreases in average streamflow between wet and drought periods ranged from 20 % in the Colorado River headwaters subregion to 23 % in the Gunnison River headwaters subregion. Like streamflow, average surface runoff was statistically less during the drought than the wet period, with decreases from 24–31 % in the headwaters. On a volume basis, runoff decreases were greater than streamflow decreases in both the Colorado River and Gunnison River headwaters. Although the amount of water-year groundwater discharge to streams remained nearly the same between the wet and drought periods, groundwater as a percentage of streamflow increased between the wet and drought periods, highlighting the importance of groundwater in sustaining streamflow during drought conditions. Multiple linear regression analyses revealed that snowmelt-only models were better than the best precipitation and temperature models at explaining streamflow variability from all headwater subregions for both the wet and drought periods.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581825003799Hydroclimatic variabilityStreamflowColorado River BasinDroughtGroundwater |
| spellingShingle | Fred D Tillman Melissa D. Masbruch Jacob E. Knight John A. Engott Samuel F. Lopez Casey J. Jones Jesse E. Dickinson Matthew P. Miller Hydrologic response of groundwater and streamflow to natural and anthropogenic drivers of change in headwaters of the upper Colorado River basin during recent wet (1982–1999) and drought (2000–2022) conditions Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies Hydroclimatic variability Streamflow Colorado River Basin Drought Groundwater |
| title | Hydrologic response of groundwater and streamflow to natural and anthropogenic drivers of change in headwaters of the upper Colorado River basin during recent wet (1982–1999) and drought (2000–2022) conditions |
| title_full | Hydrologic response of groundwater and streamflow to natural and anthropogenic drivers of change in headwaters of the upper Colorado River basin during recent wet (1982–1999) and drought (2000–2022) conditions |
| title_fullStr | Hydrologic response of groundwater and streamflow to natural and anthropogenic drivers of change in headwaters of the upper Colorado River basin during recent wet (1982–1999) and drought (2000–2022) conditions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Hydrologic response of groundwater and streamflow to natural and anthropogenic drivers of change in headwaters of the upper Colorado River basin during recent wet (1982–1999) and drought (2000–2022) conditions |
| title_short | Hydrologic response of groundwater and streamflow to natural and anthropogenic drivers of change in headwaters of the upper Colorado River basin during recent wet (1982–1999) and drought (2000–2022) conditions |
| title_sort | hydrologic response of groundwater and streamflow to natural and anthropogenic drivers of change in headwaters of the upper colorado river basin during recent wet 1982 1999 and drought 2000 2022 conditions |
| topic | Hydroclimatic variability Streamflow Colorado River Basin Drought Groundwater |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581825003799 |
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