Thursday, November 07, 2013

Amazon Deforestation Could Mean Droughts for Western U.S.

Research suggests that deforestation will likely produce a weather cycle over the Amazon consisting of abnormally dry air in the sun-scorched northern Amazon around the equator weighted by wetter air in the cooler south (left). The Princeton-led researchers found that the Amazon pattern would be subject to meandering high-altitude winds known as Rossby waves that move east or west across the planet (center). The Rossby waves would move the dry end of the Amazon pattern directly over the western United States from December to February, while the pattern's rainy portion would be over the Pacific Ocean south of Mexico (right). Click to enlarge. (Credit: Image courtesy of Princeton University)
Total deforestation of the Amazon could mean 20 percent less rain for the coastal Northwest and a 50 percent reduction in the Sierra Nevada snowpack, resulting in water and food shortages, and a greater risk of forest fires, new research shows.

Amazon Deforestation Could Mean Droughts for Western U.S.
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