Water yield responses to high and low spatial resolution climate change scenarios in the Missouri River Basin

Abstract

Water yield responses to two climate change scenarios of different spatial scales were compared for the Missouri River Basin. A coarse-resolution climate change scenario was created from runs of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization General Circulation Model (CSIRO GCM). The high-resolution climate change scenario was developed using runs of the Regional Climate Model RegCM, for which the GCM provided the initial and lateral boundary conditions. Water yield responses to the high-and low-resolution climate change scenarios were investigated using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). Basinwide water yield increased for both GCM and RegCM scenarios but with an overall greater increase for the RegCM scenario. Significant differences in water yields were found between the GCM and RegCM climate scenarios.