Climate change will increase extreme precipitation levels
By Bettina Boxall, Los Angeles Times
Rainfall or snowfall dumped by the most intense storms could grow significantly heavier in most of the United States by the final decades of the century, according to a climate change study.
The paper, written by a research team led by scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, examines the effects of rising greenhouse gas emissions on factors that influence maximum precipitation.
The authors concluded that increasing atmospheric moisture will play the dominant role in ramping up rainfall intensity, which they projected using climate models.
As the Earth warms, sea surface temperatures rise, accelerating evaporation and increasing the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere. If greenhouse gas emissions continue at high levels, atmospheric water vapor levels will jump 20 to 30 percent in the final decades of the century, the researchers found.
That will push up maximum precipitation by a corresponding amount, with increases in the Western U.S. falling in the high end of that range, according to the paper, which has been accepted for publication in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
“We have high confidence that the most extreme rainfalls will become even more intense, as it is virtually certain that the atmosphere will provide more water to fuel these events,” said lead author Kenneth Kunkel of the National Climatic Data Center.
Although the study focused on the U.S., the researchers said their conclusions applied to most areas of the globe.
They warned that the projected increases would raise the risk of damaging floods. “The long lifetimes of dams and similar structures ensures that they will experience the impacts of future climate change,” the authors wrote.
Ignoring the expected effects of climate change, they added, “is likely to lead to a false sense of security.”
I have proof from rush and steve doocy and alex jones that climate change nonsense by the can’t fix stupid progressives is a liberalism kills scam that the socialists are using to create a reason to take our guns and force health care for all down our throats.. any questions?
“In the final decades of the century.” Are these people mentally ill, psychotic, or just plain stupid?
They left out the asteroid that may, possibly, or could strike the earth in 2087. IIHWAD.
I have high confidence the majority of politcal climate scientists will be in mental institutions long before the deluge.
Read article – Twenty-year hiatus in rising temperatures has climate scientists puzzled – It’s an excellent article in The Australian on March 30
Even though the faux scientists have been caught changing data their computer models still are still not holding up. In fact they are having to admit that the changes they predict are not happening and they are dribbling all over themselves sounding idiotic. For instance Rajendra Pachauri the head of International Panel on Climate Change. His remarks trying to explain why the changes are not occurring are juvenile.
Another example is James Hansen, the head of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, his remarks ought to get him fired for incompetence.
The article goes on and on with one idiotic faux scientist after another coming up with the intellectual equivalent of “My dog ate my homework”.
This is a fraud and it is starting to become obvious even to the Al Gore sheeples.
The climate change deniers are just like their equally delusional supply side economics failure proponents. Absolutely No amount of evidence will convince them they are wrong. I guess the 98% of scientific research, peer reviewed conclusions are just flat wrong liars and the fringe paid stooges are correct, they should join the reality based community.
Too bad real scientists aren’t used any more just those that have learned how to manipulate computers!! Take a quick listen to Freeman Dyson — Einstein’s co-worker. http://blog.nj.com/njv_paul_mulshine/2013/04/climatologists_are_no_einstein.html
The global warming/ climate change zealots always scream about the EVIDENCE and scientific facts. They just never produce any evidence or facts, why is that?
Don’t get me wrong, I am all for climate research. I have a degree in science, Plant Science and understand the difference between research and fact.
The zealots on the other hand are just that, zealots.
” They just never produce any evidence or facts, why is that?”
You just aren’t paying attention. It is called cognitive dissonance. I also think you meant data, not facts. I don’t think you really understand how science works.
OK ‘plant science’ guy. What family has the most species in it, and what family is number 2?
^ Still no substance just rhetoric.
Same ol’ Same ol’ all ads up to Nothing.
No more responses to you – you’re empty
The majority of the population won’t be around to see this.
The boomers ashes will be running into the lake,the trees will still grow, the rock keep spinning closer to the sun,evolution will make the once beautiful humans look more like lizards, everyone will live under rocks.
If you believe this, then your into climate change?
No substance? That is ironic. You make a claim that there is no data behind this…. but there is, you just don’t want to look.
I am still laughing at ‘I understand the difference between research and fact’. Do you understand statistics and hypothesis testing?
I’m late posting this comment, so no one is likely to pay attention to this. But, here goes. There is this pacific current we know as El Ninio that comes up from the mid Pacific Ocean during some years, and warms the northern pacific waters. The effect is such that warm water species of fish, such as blue tuna, are caught off of northern California. We in Tahoe know that the presence of this current is a prelude to a large snow year in our mountains. What happens is that the current warms the water. Warmer water evaporates at a higher rate sending more moisture into the atmosphere. The winds push the moisture over the Sierras. The result is more snow during the winter. It appears that this scientific study is reasonable.