Climate change in Yellowstone National Park: Is the drought-related risk of wildfires increasing? |
| |
| Authors: | Robert C. Balling Jr. Grant A. Meyer Stephen G. Wells |
| |
| Affiliation: | (1) Office of Climatology and Department of Geography, Arizona State University, 85287 Tempe, AZ, U.S.A.;(2) Department of Geology, University of New Mexico, 87131 Albuquerque, NM, U.S.A.;(3) Department of Earth Sciences, University of California-Riverside, 92521 Riverside, CA, U.S.A. |
| |
| Abstract: | The increased frequency of wildfires in the United States has become a common prediction associated with the build-up of greenhouse gases. In this investigation, variations in annual wildfire data in Yellowstone National Park are compared to variations in historical climate conditions for the area. Univariate and multivariate analytical techniques reveal that (a) summer temperatures in the Park are increasing, (b) January-June precipitation levels are decreasing, and (c) variations in burn area within the Park are significantly related to the observed variations in climate. Outputs from four different general circulation model simulations for 2 × CO2 are included in the analyses; model predictions for increasing aridity in the Yellowstone Park area are generally in agreement with observed trends in the historical climate records. |
| |
| Keywords: | |
| 本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录！ |
|
