CSU, NCAR receive federal funds for drought, flood preparedness research

DENVER (KDVR) — Colorado State University in Fort Collins and the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder were chosen as two of seven new projects across the U.S. that will help the National Atmospheric Agency improve its monitoring and modeling capabilities through precipitation data development and analysis.

These projects will in total receive $1.2 million, funded by the NOAA’s Climate Program Office’s Climate Observations and Monitoring Program.

All seven of the three-year projects work to prepare communities for climate-induced impacts of changes in the water cycle and increased risk of flooding, drought and degraded water supplies for people and ecosystems.

U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, whose district includes both Fort Collins and Boulder, commended the funding.

“The climate crisis is not only exacerbating water scarcity and drought conditions, but it is increasing the risk of other water-related natural disasters, including flooding,” said Neguse in a release. “These conditions continue to seriously threaten environments and communities throughout our state and across the Colorado River Basin.”

The NCAR project will create newer precipitation datasets that are suitable for long-term climate monitoring, event analysis, model validation and improvement projects.

It will also develop a real-time updating precipitation dataset along with a multi-decade database to quantify extreme events.

“Federal investments in research to better prepare communities on the frontline of this crisis allow us to tackle these issues head on — and I am grateful to NOAA for their continued support of groundbreaking research taking place in Fort Collins and Boulder,” Neguse said in his release.

The CSU project focuses on providing climate context for water vapor profiles that will aid forecasters.

The goal is to bridge gaps in how water vapor data is interpreted, allowing forecasters to examine water data from several data sets and create multi-decade climate records.

According to the NOAA, from Jan. 1 through Nov. 8, the U.S. has experienced 25 “climate disasters,” with economic losses exceeding $1 billion. These events included two floods, 19 severe storms, one tropical cyclone and a winter storm event.

The NOAA stated that to reduce the severity of these climate impacts, scientists need new databases for precipitation information.