Scientific Colloquium
May 7, 2010
KELLY T.
REDMOND
WESTERN REGIONAL CLIMATE CENTER
"Western United States
Climate Variability and Change: Observations and Projections"
The interplay between projections
and observations of climate, and the role of unfolding observations in
the scientific and public dialog, are the main emphases of this
talk. Warming in the US has so far been most pronounced in the
western states. Precipitation changes, as ever, have been more
ambiguous. The relationships between the various forcings and
responses at different scales are not straightforward. Issues of
the spatial scale of change and variability matter greatly to
hydrologic and ecological systems. Many of these issues converge
in the ongoing Colorado River drought and its uncertain future.