Trends and elevational dependence of the hydroclimatology of the Cariboo Mountains, British Columbia.

Pristine mountain environments are more sensitive to climate change than other land surfaces. The understanding of climatic variations in mountainous terrain is still uncertain. Previous studies reveal inconsistent findings on the elevational dependency of warming in the mountains. In this study, the trends and elevational dependence of climatic variables in the Cariboo Mountains Region (CMR) of British Columbia are explored. A high resolution 10 km x 10 km gridded data set of climate variables over the period of 1950-2010 is used. The Mann-Kendall test is performed for evaluation of trends and their significance. The CMR is warming at a faster rate in recent decades than regional and global warming. The minimum air temperature trend shows significant amplified warming at higher elevations. Precipitation does not show any significant trend across the study area. The possible physical mechanisms for such warming trends and the potential impacts of these changes on the endangered mountain caribou and water resources of the area are discussed. --Leaf i.