Desert Climate in Western U.S. Influenced By Ancient Water Cycle

Desert Climate in Western U.S. Influenced By Ancient Water Cycle

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The climate change we are currently experiencing, while disconcerting and increasingly uncomfortable, is not unprecedented when viewed through the historical prism of life on Earth. A study led by researchers from Texas A&M University’s Department of Oceanography looks back at the water cycle that affected the Western United States in an era dating back some 20,000 years.

Focusing on the deserts of Utah and Nevada, the team is seeking to learn more about the large inland lakes that once covered this terrain and how those long-gone lakes still affect weather patterns across the region to this day. Professor of oceanography Mitch Lyle and colleagues performed their research with funding from the National Science Foundation. Their results are published in Science magazine.