Wow! Our drought study –
MacDonald, G. M., Moser, K.A., Bloom, A. M., Potito, A.P., Porinchu, D.F., Holmquist, J.R., Hughes, J. and Kremenetski, K.V. 2016. Prolonged California aridity linked to climate warming and Pacific sea surface temperature. Nature.Com/Sci. Rep. 6, 33325; http://www.nature.com/articles/srep33325
– garnered international press coverage in print, online, television and radio. It was really quite something. The headlines and stories were a bit more sensational than our rather conservative wording in the actual article. That being said – it is good idea at this time to consider that California and the West is likely to be more arid in the coming decades, from higher temperatures and evaporation rates if nothing else, and we should some serious thinking and planning. Hopefully this media attention will help get people thinking about these challenges in California and the Southwest. The thing that worries me is that although we might be able to develop engineering and conservation strategies for the water applied to our farms and cities, we will not be able to irrigate the vast areas of forests and other wildlands in the State. How do we face that?
Here is some of the coverage –
October 2016 CBC National News Broadcast on MacDonald Lab Research on California Drought
September 2016 KQED Story on MacDonald Lab Study of California Drought
September 2016 International Business Times Article on MacDonald Lab Study of California Drought
September 2016 Weather Channel – KTLA News Story on MacDonald Lab Study of California Drought
September 2016 Washington Post Article on MacDonald Lab Study of California Drought
September 2016 UCLA Newsroom Press Release on MacDonald Lab Study on California Drought