Monsoon Failure Key to Long Droughts in Southwest
Long-term droughts in
the Southwestern North America often mean failure of both summer and winter
rains, according to new tree-ring research from a University of Arizona-led
team.The finding contradicts the commonly held belief that a dry winter rainy
season is generally followed by a wet monsoon season, and vice versa.
The new research shows
that for the severe, multi-decadal droughts that occurred from 1539 to 2008, generally
both winter and summer rains were sparse year after year.
"One of the big
questions in drought studies is what prompts droughts to go on and on,"
said lead author Daniel Griffin, a doctoral candidate in the UA School of
Geography and Development. "This gives us some indication that the monsoon
and its failure is involved in drought persistence in the Southwest."
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130311151120.htm
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