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News Release 16-089
Earlier snowmelt decreases streamflow, reduces forests' ability to regulate atmospheric carbon dioxide
By mid-century, shift in snowmelt timing could lead to 45 percent reduction of forest CO2 uptake
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A Colorado Rocky Mountain forest during the winter-spring transition period, which is changing. Scientists found that earlier snowmelt reduces the ability of forests to regulate atmospheric CO2.
Credit: Keith Jennings
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Mid-summer snowfields in the mountains of Washington State, where most of the snow has melted. Earlier, slower snowmelt, triggered by warmer temperatures, is reducing streamflow and the ability of forests to regulate CO2 in the atmosphere.
Credit: Theodore Barnhart
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The Collegiate Peaks viewed from the Arkansas River Valley in Colorado. Scientists have found that earlier snowmelt reduces the ability of forests to remove CO2 from the atmosphere.
Credit: Theodore Barnhart
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Scientists conduct experiments in the Sagehen Experimental Watershed in California to gauge streamflow.
Credit: Adrian Harpold
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Colorado's San Juan Mountains covered by snow in late spring. Snowmelt timing is shifting here.
Credit: Theodore Barnhart
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The Yellowstone River in Yellowstone National Park after a late spring snowstorm.
Credit: Theodore Barnhart
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