Droughts in the West

H12D-04 · Monday, Dec. 13, 11:05 a.m. · 3020 Moscone West
As the climate warms over the next several decades, the southwest U.S. could experience more severe dry spells according to a new climate study from a Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego research team.

Scripps scientist Dan Cayan and colleagues will present results from a study that investigated climate change effects on the hydrology of the southwest. The climate model study showed more intense and prolonged drought events for the U.S. southwest by the second half of the 21st century. The study exposes the risk of sustaining water supplies as snowpack disappears and soil dries in response to global warming.

The study reinforces previous investigations of climate-induced dryness in the 21st century to suggest that drought symptoms may be stronger in the interior southwest than in California. The researchers used improved hydrological characteristics of future dryness than previous drought projections studies have used in the past.
PRESENTATION TITLE: "FUTURE DRY SPELLS IN THE SOUTHWEST US AGGRAVATED BY CLIMATE WARMING"