Method fills gaps in monsoon understanding
Friday, March 25, 2016 - 07:30
in Earth & Climate
Dwindling monsoon rain is a big deal for millions in East Asia who rely on the storms for their yearly water supply. Scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory uncovered some culprits most likely to have the largest impact on the monsoon changes. And they did so using a modeling technique—called "uncertainty quantification," or UQ for short—to zero in on the data. Using this technique, they found that sulfur-containing compounds from fossil fuel use, soot, and dust particles have very different impacts on the monsoon climate, and not always in a linear way.