Drought and the 2002-2003 El Niño in the Southwest U.S.

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

6-23-2003

Publication Title

Proceedings of the World Water & Environmental Resources Congress 2003

Publisher

American Society of Civil Engineers

First page number:

2395

Last page number:

2404

Abstract

The study presented here focuses on influence of climate variability on drought in the Colorado River basin. The southwest United States is currently experiencing three years of drought causing water shortages and low lake levels. In addition, an El Niño event is occurring and could have an impact on drought conditions in the Colorado River basin. This study first assesses the current drought in the basin, and then evaluates whether anticipated hydrologic impacts from the El Nio event are sufficient to end drought conditions.

Keywords

Climate change; Colorado River; Droughts; El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO); Water shortages; Droughts; Hydrology; Streamflow; Streamflow—Forecasting; Water; Water-supply

Disciplines

Civil and Environmental Engineering | Climate | Environmental Engineering | Environmental Sciences | Fresh Water Studies

Language

English

Comments

Proceedings of the World Water & Environmental Resources Congress 2003, June 22-26, 2003, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, American Society of Civil Engineers, Washington D.C.

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