NWRRI Spring 2017 Newsletter

NWRRI - Desert Research Institute April 3, 2017 Volume 3, Issue 3 Newsletter written and compiled by Nicole Damon Director’s Letter We have wrapped up another Inside this issue: year at Nevada Water News and I’m very impressed by the unique and varied projects that our researchers Director’s Letter 1 have undertaken. From evaluating the presence of emerging contaminates in Lake Mead, to Project Spotlight 2 assessing urban water use, to analyzing groundwater basins and paleo-hydroclimatic data, these Events List 4 projects are exploring innovative solutions to conserve Nevada’s PI Spotlight 5 valuable water resources. I’m also proud that these projects have provided hands-on research Postdoc Interview 6 opportunities for a variety of students to learn skills that will prepare them for careers in the field of water resources research. at several treatment stages in a greenhouse environment to evaluate The newly funded NWRRI the transport, persistence, and project “Wastewater Reuse and accumulation of emerging RFPs Uptake of Emerging Contaminants contaminants in edible plants. by Plants” led by Drs. Kumud In addition to the exceptional If you have questions Acharya and Daniel Gerrity research that DRI faculty are about submitting a continues this innovative research. This project will evaluate the use of conducting, DRI also supports NWRRI proposal, advancements in water resources e-mail Amy Russell reclaimed water for agricultural irrigation. The benefit of using management and conservation ([email protected]). reclaimed water for agricultural statewide by partnering with For current RFP irrigation is that it could help programs such as WaterStart. information, visit the conserve valuable drinking water WaterStart is a public-private, not- for-profit, joint venture that works NWRRI website supplies. However, little is known to bring new water research, (www.dri.edu/nwrri). about the potential uptake of emerging contaminants by edible technology, and economic plants. This project will irrigate development opportunities to tomato and spinach plants with Nevada. Nevada’s climate provides potable water and reclaimed water unique opportunities for studying Pa ge 2 Nevada Water News Volume 3, Issue 3 (Director’s Letter continued) sustainable water management and to support existing businesses and and what new advancements in finding solutions for conserving this grow new business opportunities in resource conservation our valuable natural resource. Nevada through the group’s unique researchers continue to make. WaterStart connects world- capabilities and expertise, as well as Sincerely, renowned experts with partner to build an operational organizations to provide water infrastructure and educate and train Jim Thomas innovation services to management a highly skilled workforce. agencies, policy makers, and I look forward to seeing what technology companies to support new research comes from our economic growth in Nevada’s water continuing projects and programs sector. The goals of WaterStart are An 8,000-year Paleoperspective of Hydroclimate Variability in the Southern Sierra Nevada Climate impact assessments of Bacon’s PhD research allow researchers to understand and and includes collaboration anticipate the effects of climate with his PhD advisor change on the environment. Dr. Rina Schumer of DRI, However, being able to conduct as well as Dr. Adam Csank accurate assessments requires of the University of understanding how and why climate Nevada, Reno. changes have occurred. To do this, The researchers will researchers need to be able to evaluate the sensitivity of differentiate natural climate the Methuselah Walk variability from human-induced chronology by comparing climate changes. “Deciphering historical ring widths to a patterns of natural hydroclimate variety of hydrologic variability from underlying outputs from the coupled anthropogenic climate change is water balance and lake only possible by understanding the evaporation model. The climate of the recent geologic past,” hope is to make confident explains Steven Bacon, the principal correlations in order to investigator of the project. “The develop an 8,000-year A new layer of wood is added each growing season, goal of this study is to evaluate the record of the southern which creates a growth ring. By analyzing the sensitivity of the longest tree-ring Sierra Nevada hydroclimate, tree-ring chronologies of precipitation- and record in North America, the which will include the temperature-sensitive trees, researchers can Methuselah Walk bristlecone pine precipitation and evaluate changes in the hydroclimate. chronology from the White temperature fluctuations in Mountains, to different components the region over that time period. species show strong correlations of the hydrologic system using a “LaMarche (1974) demonstrated that with historical hydroclimate coupled watershed runoff and lake the growth patterns of some annual variability at watershed to regional surface evaporation model for the tree-ring chronologies from scales,” Bacon says. “Depending on Owens River-Lake system in moisture- and temperature-sensitive the type of tree species analyzed, California.” This study is also part Pa ge 3 Nevada Water News Volume 3, Issue 3 (Project Spotlight continued) tree-ring chronologies are the Holocene commonly compared to a wide shoreline record range of instrumental records of the of Owens Lake watershed’s hydroclimatic system, in combination such as precipitation, temperature, with the snow water equivalent, soil paleotemperature moisture, streamflow, lake water depression record level, and drought indices. developed in the Ultimately, the goal of these Sierra Nevada analyses is to develop a from glacial hydroclimatic proxy dataset that deposits.” could be used to infer paleoclimatic The research change over the length of the tree- for this study ring chronology.” will also Combining the precipitation- incorporate some and temperature-sensitive tree-ring novel techniques. chronologies from the White This project will Mountains will potentially allow combine the researchers to reconstruct the precipitation- and hydrologic system of the Sierra temperature- Nevada region. “The coupled sensitive tree-ring watershed runoff and lake surface chronologies to evaporation model we will use has reconstruct a three primary model parameters: hydrologic precipitation, temperature, and system. The Great Basin bristlecone pines are a long-lived species found solar insolation. If we can resultant in California, Nevada, and Utah. The Methuselah Walk demonstrate strong correlations chronology will bristlecone pine chronology from the White Mountains in between the White Mountain tree- be approximately Inyo County, California, is the longest tree-ring record in ring chronologies and the historical 6,000 years North America. modeled components of the longer than hydrologic system in the watershed, similar records in the western climate impact assessments to be then we could in turn use the United States and potentially have extended,” Bacon explains, “which associated precipitation and the longest tree-ring-based could provide an extended temperature reconstructions as reconstruction of runoff and lake- perspective on the range in input parameters in the coupled level fluctuations in North magnitude and duration of potential water balance model,” Bacon says. America. “Tree-ring and other high- hydroclimatic variability that could “The accuracy of the modeled lake resolution paleoproxies that are be experienced under future climate levels based on the tree-ring resolved to annual time scales allow change in eastern California and hydroclimatic reconstructions will the range of precipitation and western Nevada.” be assessed by comparing them with temperature scenarios used in (Continued on next page) “If we can demonstrate strong correlations between the White Mountain tree-ring chronologies and the historical modeled components of the hydrologic system in the watershed, then we could in turn use the associated precipitation and temperature reconstructions as input parameters in the coupled water balance model.” – Steven Bacon Nevada Water News Volume 3, Issue 3 Pa ge 4 (Project Spotlight continued) Additionally, this project will use conducted by Hughes and precipitation and temperature in variable estimates of solar insolation Graumlich (1996) and Salzer the southern Sierra Nevada region values over time in the evaporation et al. (2014),” Bacon explains. for up to 8,000 years. The model component of the water balance “These results are likely related to could then be used to estimate the model. “The total energy received the bristlecone’s harsh, upper paleohydrologic surface conditions by the Earth from the Sun changes montane to alpine mountainous in closed Nevada basins. “With with time, so the change in the environment and its short growing additional research, the results magnitude of paleo-solar insolation season and complex physiology. could possibly provide Holocene needs to be included in a As a result, our ongoing research groundwater recharge estimates for paleoclimate water balance model to has primarily focused on finding these basins,” he adds, “which could accurately estimate evaporation which component of the then be used to provide a from the water surface and hydrologic system and at what paleohydrologic context of modern evapotranspiration from the land extent within the watershed the groundwater recharge rates used for surface,” Bacon says. “Fortunately, tree rings are

Load more