Wilderness Society and UAF Release New Water Report

Wed, September 16, 2009
Posted in Alaska News, Top Stories

A new study conducted by scientists with the Wilderness Society and the University of Alaska Fairbanks examines how water resources in Alaska will be affected by global temperature increases.

Lori Townsend, APRN – Anchorage

Climate Change Impacts on Water Availability in Alaska

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Comments

Bill Meheler

I was so excited to see this title until I got into the meat of it. This is interesting but misrepresented. There's a great deal of uncertainty in this product and it's only of limited use because it's static and doesn't take into account other dynamics that can affect water use. It's more hype than anything else. We have been using a new tool called AWRVI the Alaska Water Resources Vulnerability Index for water assessments and planning in Idaho. I'd encourage listeners to check it out. It can be found here:
http://ram.uaa.alaska.edu/AWRVI.htm

Tyler Andrews

This O'brien guy is one of the first analysts I've heard who actually sounds like he knows what he's talking about.

kfoley0525

Mr. Meheler should get his facts straight before rudely dismissing the credibility of others’ work. His claim that the tool is “only of limited use because it's static” is hopefully just a symptom of his own misunderstanding of the facts presented. In reality, these calculations are based off climate model data calibrated specifically for Alaska. These data vary with time. Yes, there is uncertainty in any modeled data, but if these estimates are good enough for the UN’s IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) 2007 Report, they ought to be good enough for Mr. Meheler.

In addition, the tool he offers as an alternative is not really comparable. It is designed to estimate vulnerability of communities to future water shortages. This analysis is intended to shed light on how climate impacts may alter water availability across the landscape. It should be very helpful for informing management agencies and conservation planning organizations about the challenges facing arctic and boreal ecosystems in the future.

The bottom line --- there are caveats to any predictive analysis and this report accurately claims its own limitations. It is an honest and a great example of useful climate science. Mr. Meheler, please keep your misinformation to yourself.