Scientific Understanding
Advance scientific understanding of atmospheric rivers and their role in extreme events
- Quantify contributions to flooding and characteristics that distinguish events that produce floods from those that do not
- Evaluate the role in modulating water supply and drought
- Explore how climate change influences the frequency, intensity and characteristics of atmospheric rivers,especially regarding their influence on the western US
- Use paleo-climate and historical data, IPCC climate models and regional models
- Develop monitoring and diagnostic methods for climate trend detection in the water cycle
- Advance understanding of the role of ARs and other extremes in western landscapes & ecosystems