It Starts at the Top: The Intertwined Fates of Water and Ecosystems in the Climate Crisis
The symposium will address the impacts of climate change on precipitation in Colorado’s high country, specifically how climate change is altering the amount and timing of snow and rain, the runoff of melting snow, and the amounts and chemistry of the water sent downstream. The program will include featured presentations by local experts on climate change’s complex effects on the water cycle, on water in a warming alpine and some surprises in the water quality record of Niwot Ridge, and on impacts on algae in the Front Range and beyond.
The annual ecosymposium has always been an opportunity for interested citizens; for researchers at CU, CSU, and other local research organizations; and for government employees working on land management to discuss and share ideas about successes, challenges, and anticipated changes in managing our local ecosystems.
Speakers will address questions such as:
What changes to our water supply are observed now and predicted for the future?
How do scientists measure and model these changes?
What are the consequences for our local ecosystems, both terrestrial and aquatic?
Preview of Speakers
Full schedule can be found on the BCNA website.
Liz Payton, Western Water Assessment, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), University of Colorado Boulder. An overview of climate change’s complex effects on the water cycle
Eve-Lyn Hinckley, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder. Water in a warming alpine: Surprises in the water quality record of Niwot Ridge, Colorado, and beyond
Sarah A. Spaulding, US Geological Survey and INSTAAR, University of Colorado Boulder. Algae in the Front Range and beyond
Panel – Responding to the climate crisis: Strategies at the intersection of water and ecosystems
Logistics
Registration: Please register to attend on the BCNA website.
Cost: The symposium is free and includes lunch. Although there is no charge for this event, organizers do encourage participants to make a donation to the BCNA research fund.
Location: SEEC building on the CU Boulder campus.
BCNA is a private, non-profit organization with the mission to conserve resilient natural ecosystems in our region through science, education, and advocacy. Many BCNA members are active in the local environmental community.
The Center for Sustainable Landscapes and Communities, formed in 2018, is a collaboration between CU-Boulder faculty, students from several departments and programs, and a committed group of Boulder citizens and agency staff.