| Peak streamflow, a primary control on river channel morphology, depends on snowpack and melt timing. The two parts of this thesis use snow and stream gage data from throughout Wyoming to examine connections between snowpack, melt timing, and peak streamflow. Part one utilizes univariate and multivariate regressions to determine the nature and strength of relationships between various hydrologic metrics. Part two performs a non-parametric analysis to quantify temporal trends and to determine the effect of changes in snowpack and melt timing on peak streamflow. This study demonstrates that paired snow telemetry and streamflow data can be used to derive functional relationships that describe peak streamflow. Few sites had significant temporal trends in snowpack and streamflow, but earlier snowmelt was associated with lower peak streamflow. This study used an extensive database to establish some basic trends but mainly served to highlight the complicated nature of the relationship between snow and streamflow. |
