The West without water : what past floods, droughts, and other climatic clues tell us about tomorrow / B. Lynn Ingram and Frances Malamud-Roam.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ingram, B. Lynn, 1961-

Contributor:

Malamud-Roam, Frances, 1961-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Climatic changes--West (U.S.)--Forecasting.

Climatic changes.

Climatic changes--Environmental aspects--West (U.S.).

Hydrology--West (U.S.).

Hydrology.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (278 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley, Calif. : University of California Press, c2013.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The West without Water documents the tumultuous climate of the American West over twenty millennia, with tales of past droughts and deluges and predictions about the impacts of future climate change on water resources. Looking at the region's current water crisis from the perspective of its climate history, the authors ask the central question of what is "normal" climate for the West, and whether the relatively benign climate of the past century will continue into the future. The West without Water merges climate and paleoclimate research from a wide variety of sources as it introduces readers to key discoveries in cracking the secrets of the region's climatic past. It demonstrates that extended droughts and catastrophic floods have plagued the West with regularity over the past two millennia and recounts the most disastrous flood in the history of California and the West, which occurred in 1861-62. The authors show that, while the West may have temporarily buffered itself from such harsh climatic swings by creating artificial environments and human landscapes, our modern civilization may be ill-prepared for the future climate changes that are predicted to beset the region. They warn that it is time to face the realities of the past and prepare for a future in which fresh water may be less reliable.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Illustrations

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Part One. Floods and Droughts in Living Memory

Part Two. A Climate History of the American West

Part Three. A Growing Water Crisis

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from title page (ebrary, viewed May 24, 2013).

ISBN:

9780520954809

0520954807

OCLC:

843881771