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<br />results are very sensitive to the lapse rates used for modifying temperature data. The use of higher (lower) <br /> <br /> <br />lapse rates would reduce (increase) the effect of temperature changes on runoff. <br /> <br />The GCM scenarios used in the model runs are also listed in Table 2. In all cases at least two <br />GCM grid points Intersect the Colorado River Basin and, at the same time, Include vast areas outside of the <br />basin. Figure 2 shows the approximate location of grid points and the modeled hydrologic sub-basins. The <br />grid points represent spatially averaged data and, as such, misrepresent any particular point within the box. <br />In selecting GCM grid-point data for use In hydrologic modeling, we chose not to modify the data in any <br />way (i.e. through interpolation) because we found little justification for doing so. <br /> <br />Each of the sub-basins (White, -Animas, and East Rivers) fell well within a specific GCM grid <br />box, although not always the same grid box, depending upon the GCM. The Two-elevation model, on the <br />other hand, was spread across two different grid boxes in each GCM. In the case of the GISS and GFDL <br />models, there was little difference in the scenarios generated by the adjacent grid points, and thus only one <br />point from each model was used. In the case of the UKMO model, however, the adjacent grid points yielded <br />substantially different scenarios so that data from both points (labeled UKMO 1 and UKMO 2) were applied <br />to the Two-elevation model. <br /> <br />The available GeM data consist of mean monthly changes in temperature and precipitation <br /> <br />developed from a historical baseline that encompasses years 1951 through 1980. These data were averaged <br /> <br /> <br />to obtain mean annual changes in temperature and precipitation and then applied uniformly to the long-term <br /> <br />historical data. As in the case of the hypothetical scenarios described previously, changes in temperature <br /> <br />18 <br />