Collaborative Research: Coupling of Climate Models to a Fine-Scale Hydrologic Model

The main objectives of this proposal are (i) to implement and validate a method of coupling coarse-grid global and regional climate models with a much finer-scale hydrologic model; (ii) to determine the minimum hydrologic model scale needed for realistic simulations of major hydrologic features (> 5 km) and (iii) to investigate the relative roles of surface versus groundwater flows in determining the temporal and spatial behavior of major lakes and wetlands. The work is important because such a coupled system is needed for paleoclimate and future-climate studies.