Flow permanence in stream networks is a critical driver of water quality, in-stream and riparian ecological processes, and downstream water availability. We know remarkably little, however, about how water is distributed across landscapes and how water availability changes in space and time in relation to land cover, geologic, and climatic drivers. This seminar highlights the framework and early results from a new initiative to address this fundamental information gap: WATR (Water Availability and Thermal Regimes). The WATR effort was initiated in the Great Basin of the western United States where limited water availability influences a host of sensitive species ranging from native trout to greater sagegrouse. With establishment of the WATR effort in the Great Basin, we are hoping to motivate additional efforts in other regions of the Nation to better understand water availability at the landscape extent.
Register HERE.