'Ridiculously Resilient Ridge' could create permanent drought in California
- 8 years ago
STANFORD, CALIFORNIA — A new study by Stanford University, in collaboration with Northwestern University and Columbia University, published April 1 in "Science Advances," says California should be prepared for continued drought conditions.
Researchers focused on precipitation trends, tracking the atmospheric conditions for the wettest and driest and coldest and warmest years of the state's typical winter seasons from 1948 to 2015.
Researchers also point to what they call the "Ridiculously Resilient Ridge" as a strong cause of California's drought.
The ridge appeared in 2012 and received its nickname in December 2013 from Stanford University Ph.D. student Daniel Swain, who is also an author on the recently published study. At its greatest extent, the "RRR" stretched along the entire West Coast, from California north to Alaska.
The ridge is created when warm air in the southern regions travel north while cold air in the northern regions travel south along the California coast. The persistent high pressure from the south along with the persistent low pressure from the north, push rain-bearing storms away from the state, creating conditions for California's warmest and driest years.
Furthermore, California's reservoir systems, which relies on melting snowpack from the Sierra Nevadas, were not equipped for the changing weather.
Prolonged drought wears the snowpack down, leaving less to melt each year. And warmer temperatures that often accompany severe drought have caused the snow to melt earlier in the spring.
When a deluge does come, says Swain, much of it runs into the ocean instead of the reservoirs.
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Researchers focused on precipitation trends, tracking the atmospheric conditions for the wettest and driest and coldest and warmest years of the state's typical winter seasons from 1948 to 2015.
Researchers also point to what they call the "Ridiculously Resilient Ridge" as a strong cause of California's drought.
The ridge appeared in 2012 and received its nickname in December 2013 from Stanford University Ph.D. student Daniel Swain, who is also an author on the recently published study. At its greatest extent, the "RRR" stretched along the entire West Coast, from California north to Alaska.
The ridge is created when warm air in the southern regions travel north while cold air in the northern regions travel south along the California coast. The persistent high pressure from the south along with the persistent low pressure from the north, push rain-bearing storms away from the state, creating conditions for California's warmest and driest years.
Furthermore, California's reservoir systems, which relies on melting snowpack from the Sierra Nevadas, were not equipped for the changing weather.
Prolonged drought wears the snowpack down, leaving less to melt each year. And warmer temperatures that often accompany severe drought have caused the snow to melt earlier in the spring.
When a deluge does come, says Swain, much of it runs into the ocean instead of the reservoirs.
-------------------------------------------------------------
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