Scientists announce proof of mega-droughts

FRESNO, Calif. – While Californians worry about the three-year drought dragging on another season, researchers say climate change soon could create much longer dry spells – lasting decades or even centuries.

Scientists from the University of California, Davis, this month announced the first proof of such mega-droughts after studying mineral formations in caves along the Sierra Nevada.

Just as important: The big droughts seem connected to rapid warming, especially in the Arctic. The dry spells occurred during a climate warm-up that started about 15,000 years ago after the last Ice Age, says Davis geochemist Isabel Montanez.

Scientists fear climate wasming this century might similarly trigger mega-droughts that would devastate agriculture, increase wildfires and cut water supply in the nation’s most populous state.

”We don’t know why warming in the polar region creates drought here,” Montanez said. ”But it does happen. And some estimates show the warming will make Arctic sea ice disappear during summer months by 2020.”

Santa Barbara News-Press