RESULTS:  The stream flow problems lead to biological problems.  Due to increased warming, the salmon of the PNW will have to delay their run upstream until the waters cool sufficiently with the onset of Fall.  But the freshet (maximum stream flow associated with snow melt) needed to flush the young smolt out of the rivers in the Spring of 2050 comes a month earlier than present.  Essentially the reproductive cycle of these endangered fish is compressed (lower time line arrow).  Can they adapt to this change within 50 years?  If not, they will become extinct in the PNW.
Previous slide    Contents    Next Slide