Water-stressed Globe Will Face Increased Thirst, Study Finds
By the end of the century, an increased demand for fresh water will hit the Middle East and India harder than other regions of the world, according to new research at PNNL. Projections analyzed by the researchers show that climate change will increasingly stress water availability, especially in already-dry regions.
Computer Simulations Show Effects of Engineering the Climate
Led by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, an international team from centers around the world for the first time used 12 climate models to show basic climate model responses to geoengineering-theoretical techniques to purposefully alter the climate. As simulated, all models showed that uniform solar geoengineering cannot simultaneously return regional and global temperature and water cycle changes to preindustrial levels.
2013 Key Scientific Accomplishments Report Now Available
PNNL's 2013 Key Scientific Accomplishments report is now available. This full-color report highlights discoveries and solutions advancing scientific frontiers in biological, chemical, computational, materials, and physical sciences.
Nailing Down Ice in a Cloud Model
Scientists at PNNL led a team to identify specific strengths and weaknesses of four different ice cloud retrieval algorithms. Their comparisons tested the ability of the algorithms to obtain cloud properties from radar and lidar observational measurements. This knowledge will help scientists better understand cloud properties used for climate model development and evaluation.
The Long and Rich Life of Tropical Clouds
Scientists at PNNL uncovered another clue as to how tropical clouds live long and prosper. Moisture from the middle layer of the atmosphere, both before and after the clouds begin forming, is the determining factor for the lifetime of these cloud systems. These environmental tip-offs help scientists and planners better predict global atmospheric reactions to tropical systems and storms.
