Comparing paleo reconstructions of warm and cool season streamflow (1400–2018) for the North and South Saskatchewan River sub-basins, Western Canada

Abstract

The North and South Saskatchewan River sub-basins comprise the Saskatchewan River Basin (SRB), which originates in the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains of Alberta (Canada) and Montana (USA), extending across the vast landscape of three Canadian Provinces. The SRB is the most populated region of the Northern Great Plains, where water demands from agriculture, industry, and municipalities can be a substantial proportion of supply during periods of low flow and hydrological drought. Changing climatic conditions and shifts between periods of extreme wet and dry weather emphasize the need for a better understanding of past and future seasonal variability of the surface water balance within and between the sub-basins. Climate extremes, such as hydrological drought and excessive moisture conditions occurring simultaneously can create detrimental effects. Using a multi-species network of over 80 tree-ring chronologies, warm (May through August) and cool (December through April) season streamflow (1400–2018) were independently reconstructed for the North and South Saskatchewan River sub-basins. Departures from seasonal flow and spectral and wavelet analyses of the reconstructions indicate significant variability at inter-annual and multi-decadal scales.