WITH WARMING, ARIZ/NEV=THE NEW MARS

There are hidden beauties in the desert that seasonal rainfall makes possible. Will that be gone with the winds?

Climate change threatens new dust bowl in Southwest
Dan Vergano, April 6, (USA Today)

WHO
Mingfang Ting, Richard Seager and Columbia University team of researchers

WHAT
Comparison of 19 climate change projections associated with differing forecasts of greenhouse gas increases. Only one model suggests the possibility of increased precipitation while all the others suggest the drying will worsen each decade.

WHEN
The report follows climate changes through 2050.

WHERE
This study isolates effects of climate change on the American Southwest, largely in the Coloardo River basin. The report mentions the La Vegas and Phoenix population centers.

WHY
- The release of carbon dioxide, produced by the burning of fossil fuels as energy, creates a “greenhouse effect” by reflecting solar radiation back onto the earth’s surface, redoubling its heating effects and raising earth’s atmospheric temperature.
- Previous studies of this region pertaining to climate change phenomena have described drying due to loss of Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountain snowpacks; this report concludes there will be actual diminishment of precipitation.

QUOTES
- Mingfang Ting, Columbia University: "We're essentially moving the desert further north…"
- “The finding aligns with past studies that suggest "the Southwest is 'ground zero' for a drying effect, and that is a critical issue for the Colorado River," says University of Washington hydrologist Dennis Lettenmaier, who was not a member of the study group.”