Data from a recently released study could help scientists better predict the occurrence of droughts and floods, and perhaps reform outdated modeling practices in the insurance industry.
Zong-Liang Yian, professor at Jackson School’s Department of Geological Sciences, reported that understanding the effects of wind patterns coming in from the ocean could help scientists make better extreme weather predictions.
Yian is the co-author of a 2016 study, “Role of Ocean Evaporation on California Droughts and Floods,” which reveals that wind, rather than the amount of moisture in the air, determines the weather conditions that cause drought.
The other authors of the study are Qinjian Jin, Massachusetts Institute of Technology researcher; and Paul Dirmeyer, professor at George Mason University.
The study also suggested that the movement of moisture into the atmosphere from the ocean had little to do with California weather conditions, particularly the amount of rainfall, based on 30 years’ worth of data studied for the research.
Rather, researchers found that disturbances in atmospheric circulation and large scale air movement were the culprits for droughts and floods in the area. These factors have a more direct impact on California weather patterns because they can affect other elements in the environment that will determine the amount of rainfall in the state.
Large parts of California have been suffering from severe drought since 2011. Researchers said the temperature patterns affecting the weather worsened with climate change.
