CGRG Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology
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Author : Donahue, W.F.; and Schindler, D.W.
Date : 2006.
Title : Whiskey’s for drinkin’ and water’s for fightin’: Climate change and water supply in the Western Canadian Prairies.
Publication : 59th Canadian Conference for Fisheries Research. 5-7 January 2006, Calgary, Alberta.
Issue :
Page(s) :
Abstract
Development in the Canada’s prairies during the last century has coincided with a century of relatively stable climate that is among the wettest in the last thousand years. Consequently, our society relies on water-intensive industries dependent upon rivers flowing from the Rocky Mountains. We assume that future water supplies will reflect historical averages, that our consumption may grow without limit, and that our economic engines will continue to function in the long term. Our mistakes have been not recognizing the increasingly obvious changes in water supplies and climate, or the costs we have already begun to bear. Rapid growth in human populations, agriculture and industry already affect water quality and quantity in the western prairies. Climate has warmed by 1-4 C since the mid-20th century, summer river flows have decreased by 30-80%, lake levels have declined, and wetlands have disappeared. Unlike other major East Slopes rivers, the Athabasca River has not yet been dammed, making it the primary candidate for large-scales studies of water supply and climate change. Recent changes in water yields in different parts of the Athabasca basin suggest differing regional impacts of and susceptibility to climate change. Using new water yield models, I will highlight the effects of future climate change on water supply in the Athabasca Lowlands as an example of what will likely be a widespread and significant problem in western Canada. Climate warming will exacerbate our already evident problems with water quantity and quality in the western prairies in the years ahead.
Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology