Chapter 13
Changes in Climate, Snow and Water
Resources in the Spanish Pyrenees:
Observations and Projections
in a Warming Climate
Enrique Morán-Tejeda, Juan Ignacio López-Moreno
and Alba Sanmiguel-Vallelado
Abstract The Pyrenees constitute one of the greatest sources of freshwater in the
Spanish territory, but, like many other mountain systems in the world, they are
subject to environmental changes that ultimately affect the availability of water
resources in areas downstream. In this study, we offer an assessment of hydrological changes in the Pyrenees, from a warming climate perspective, including
climate and snow cover trends, changes in the timing of river flows, and future
changes under climate change scenarios. Overall, we found that increasing temperatures are responsible for a lesser accumulation of snow over time, although with
spatial differences. As a consequence, the occurrence of spring flows (that largely
depend on snowmelt) on the studied rivers, has shifted earlier by approximately one
month (from mid-June to mid-May). Future projections, which are made by coupling regional climate models outputs and hydrological modelling, indicate that
observed decrease in snow accumulation and shifts in streamflow timing will
exacerbate in a warmer short-term future (2050). The amount of water yields will
not change significantly, only will suffer a slight decrease due to increased evapotranspiration. Observed and projected hydrological changes must be considered by
water managers and environmental technicians if a sustainable management of the
water resource and the mountain territory is to be done.
Keywords Mountain hydrology Á Hydrological changes Á Snow cover Á River
flow Á Mountain climate projections
E. Morán-Tejeda (&)
Department of Geography, Universitat de Les Illes Balears,
Cra. de Valldemossa, Km 7.5, 07122 Palma (Illes Balears), Spain
e-mail: e.moran@uib.eu
J.I. López-Moreno Á A. Sanmiguel-Vallelado
Pyrenean Institute of Ecology, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas,
Avda. Montañana 1005, 50192 Zaragoza, Spain
© The Author(s) 2017
J. Catalan et al. (eds.), High Mountain Conservation in a Changing World,
Advances in Global Change Research 62, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-55982-7_13
305
Changes in Climate, Snow and Water
Resources in the Spanish Pyrenees:
Observations and Projections
in a Warming Climate
Enrique Morán-Tejeda, Juan Ignacio López-Moreno
and Alba Sanmiguel-Vallelado
Abstract The Pyrenees constitute one of the greatest sources of freshwater in the
Spanish territory, but, like many other mountain systems in the world, they are
subject to environmental changes that ultimately affect the availability of water
resources in areas downstream. In this study, we offer an assessment of hydrological changes in the Pyrenees, from a warming climate perspective, including
climate and snow cover trends, changes in the timing of river flows, and future
changes under climate change scenarios. Overall, we found that increasing temperatures are responsible for a lesser accumulation of snow over time, although with
spatial differences. As a consequence, the occurrence of spring flows (that largely
depend on snowmelt) on the studied rivers, has shifted earlier by approximately one
month (from mid-June to mid-May). Future projections, which are made by coupling regional climate models outputs and hydrological modelling, indicate that
observed decrease in snow accumulation and shifts in streamflow timing will
exacerbate in a warmer short-term future (2050). The amount of water yields will
not change significantly, only will suffer a slight decrease due to increased evapotranspiration. Observed and projected hydrological changes must be considered by
water managers and environmental technicians if a sustainable management of the
water resource and the mountain territory is to be done.
Keywords Mountain hydrology Á Hydrological changes Á Snow cover Á River
flow Á Mountain climate projections
E. Morán-Tejeda (&)
Department of Geography, Universitat de Les Illes Balears,
Cra. de Valldemossa, Km 7.5, 07122 Palma (Illes Balears), Spain
e-mail: e.moran@uib.eu
J.I. López-Moreno Á A. Sanmiguel-Vallelado
Pyrenean Institute of Ecology, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas,
Avda. Montañana 1005, 50192 Zaragoza, Spain
© The Author(s) 2017
J. Catalan et al. (eds.), High Mountain Conservation in a Changing World,
Advances in Global Change Research 62, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-55982-7_13
305