Team: 36
School: Mayfield High
Area of Science: Environmental Science- Environmental Alteration
Proposal: Living in New Mexico, the Rio Grande is one of our main sources of water.
Unfortunately, it’s also one of the top ten most endangered rivers in the world, exhausted from
overuse. We rely on the river as a primary source of water for irrigation, drinking water, and
municipal use. The advent of climate change will drastically impact the health of our river and all
those people and ecosystems that depend on it - the question is, how? The effects of climate
change are wide-reaching and extensively modeled. We plan to use existing precipitation
models as priors to inform a projective model of Rio Grande health and stream flow over the
next 50 years
What will be the effects of climate change on our river, especially as population
increases, and more businesses, people, and farmers need water. How will current water use
patterns adjust for these effects? In our project, we hope to continue our study of these effects, and by so
doing, find realistic ways to increase the sustainability of our actions; ensuring water for future
generations.
Team Members:
Sponsoring Teacher: Raul Casillas