Episode 82: Forecasting Arizona's Monsoon
REPEAT. A team of University of Arizona Scientists is reporting that climate change will increase the ground water deficit for four economically important aquifers in the Western U.S. The researchers found that the monsoon is changing as our temperatures rise year after year allowing the air to hold much more moisture, adding fuel to the monsoon storms. The higher temperatures mean more extreme storms, perhaps less frequent but more intense. The new report integrates knowledge about groundwater in the U.S. West with scientific models that show how climate change will affect the region. The Southwest is expected to become hotter and drier and aquifers in the southern tier of the West are all expected to see slight to significant decreases in recharge as the climate warms. In this episode: Christopher Castro, Atmospheric Science Professor at the University of Arizona; Tim Swindle, Ph.D., Director and Department Head of the UA's Lunar and Planetary Lab