climate

California is currently in the middle of the worst drought in the past 165 years. University of California professor Lisa Sloan used computer models to predict the current drought conditions in 2004. Sloan’s models were general, and predicted the specific conditions driving the current California drought. The model showed that a decrease in arctic sea ice would lead to atmospheric blocking off the coast of California.This modeled atmospheric blocking comes in the form of a high pressure zone. This year that is exactly what was observed. With a decrease in Arctic sea ice, the heat transfer from the ocean to the atmosphere increases […]