Nature & Environment
Freshwater Scarcity Real In Small Islands
Michael Finn
First Posted: Apr 19, 2016 04:20 AM EDT
Global climate models today signify that 50 percent of small islands will become drier and the other 50 percent wetter by mid-century. However, the new study that was published recently argued that a more accurate estimate is at 73 percent.
Lead author Kris Karnauskas said in an interview with The Christian Science Monitor that the basic issue is that people need water wherever they live, whether in the middle of continental Australia or in the open ocean. However, he found out that several Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports contained no data out in the ocean.
Rainfall data was accounted for but that is only one side of the coin and the other is evaporation, Dr. Karnauskas explains. The researches addressed the problem by using GCMs and applied a technique from civil engineering. The technique allows them to calculate the evaporation on an island without having other information inherent to the land.
Models provide myriad of atmospheric data that would affect the evaporation from the surface of the land such as temperature, wind and solar radiation. Scientists can learn from these figures and indirectly assess the rates of evaporation on small islands in varying climatic scenarios within the decades to come. These island areas are already facing considerable pressures, some of which are their own fault, others due to climate change.
The study has left aside population growth which can place more strain on natural resources, especially when it is expected to explode in some of these areas. Karnauskas said that small island nations cannot be held responsible for climate change because their contribution is negligible.
Researchers are hoping that this information will help out on the ground as the islands plan for their future needs, according to a feature by the Perf Science.
See Now:
NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone
©2024 ScienceWorldReport.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The window to the world of science news.
More on SCIENCEwr
First Posted: Apr 19, 2016 04:20 AM EDT
Global climate models today signify that 50 percent of small islands will become drier and the other 50 percent wetter by mid-century. However, the new study that was published recently argued that a more accurate estimate is at 73 percent.
Lead author Kris Karnauskas said in an interview with The Christian Science Monitor that the basic issue is that people need water wherever they live, whether in the middle of continental Australia or in the open ocean. However, he found out that several Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports contained no data out in the ocean.
Rainfall data was accounted for but that is only one side of the coin and the other is evaporation, Dr. Karnauskas explains. The researches addressed the problem by using GCMs and applied a technique from civil engineering. The technique allows them to calculate the evaporation on an island without having other information inherent to the land.
Models provide myriad of atmospheric data that would affect the evaporation from the surface of the land such as temperature, wind and solar radiation. Scientists can learn from these figures and indirectly assess the rates of evaporation on small islands in varying climatic scenarios within the decades to come. These island areas are already facing considerable pressures, some of which are their own fault, others due to climate change.
The study has left aside population growth which can place more strain on natural resources, especially when it is expected to explode in some of these areas. Karnauskas said that small island nations cannot be held responsible for climate change because their contribution is negligible.
Researchers are hoping that this information will help out on the ground as the islands plan for their future needs, according to a feature by the Perf Science.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone