CRSS-ready Temperature-Adjusted Colorado River Inflows

This dataset holds CRSS-ready flow sequences adjusted for temperature increases in the 21st century (2018 to 2100) as well as temperature increases that occurred during the natural flow period from 1906 to 2017. These flow traces were produced using the methods described in the file memo by Udall (2020). This study developed six different temperature-adjusted natural flow datasets based on considering three different temperature sensitivities (-3%/°C, -6.5%/°C, and -10%/°C) times two different temperature projections (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5). The flows were generated by modifying the existing Reclamation natural flow dataset (USBR, 2019) at each of the 29 Colorado River Simulation System (CRSS) natural inflow sites. Two main steps of temperature adjustment process in this study were: 1- Create a set of natural flows that would have occurred were temperatures constant from 1906 to 2017 assuming 2017 temperatures, and 2- Further adjust downward the constant 2017 temperature flows to account for expected losses due to warming in the 21st century. The flow data are provided in an CRSS-ready Indexed Sequential Method (ISM) series with a starting year of 2018 and an ending year of 2100.