Drier Times Ahead in the West?
Posted: Sat Oct 09, 2004 11:13 pm
The five-year drought parching much of the western United States could continue for years and may be just the beginning of a long era of drier times due to global warming, a new study suggests.
"Global warming has already warmed the tropical oceans and could be contributing to the current drought in the West," said Edward Cook of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades, New York, who led the research.
While the current drought is unprecedented in the last century, much longer and more severe droughts occurred hundreds of years ago, according to the study, published Thursday on Science Express.
More:
http://wired.com/news/technology/0,1282 ... _tophead_7
"Global warming has already warmed the tropical oceans and could be contributing to the current drought in the West," said Edward Cook of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades, New York, who led the research.
While the current drought is unprecedented in the last century, much longer and more severe droughts occurred hundreds of years ago, according to the study, published Thursday on Science Express.
More:
http://wired.com/news/technology/0,1282 ... _tophead_7