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The Resource The West without water : what past floods, droughts, and other climatic clues tell us about tomorrow, B. Lynn Ingram and Frances Malamud-Roam ; foreword by Sandra L. Postel

The West without water : what past floods, droughts, and other climatic clues tell us about tomorrow, B. Lynn Ingram and Frances Malamud-Roam ; foreword by Sandra L. Postel

Creator
Contributor
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."--Publisher's website
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Extent
xx, 256 pages
Contents
  • From drought to deluge : "normal" climate in the West
  • The 1861-1862 floods : lessons lost
  • The great droughts of the twentieth century
  • Why is climate so variable in the West?
  • Reading the past : the Earth's history books
  • From ice to fire : into the Holocene
  • The "long drought" of the mid-Holocene
  • Ice returns : the neoglaciation
  • The great "medieval drought"
  • The little ice age : megafloods and climate swings
  • Why climate changes : cycles and oscillations
  • The hydraulic era : salmon and dams
  • Future climate change and the American West
  • What the past tells us about tomorrow
Isbn
9780520286009
Instance
Label
The West without water : what past floods, droughts, and other climatic clues tell us about tomorrow
Title
The West without water
Title remainder
what past floods, droughts, and other climatic clues tell us about tomorrow
Statement of responsibility
B. Lynn Ingram and Frances Malamud-Roam ; foreword by Sandra L. Postel
Creator
Contributor
Subject
Language
eng
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."--Publisher's website
Cataloging source
DLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorDate
1961-
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Ingram, B. Lynn
Dewey number
551.6978
Illustrations
illustrations
Index
index present
LC call number
QC903.2.U6
LC item number
I54 2013
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/relatedWorkOrContributorDate
1961-
http://library.link/vocab/relatedWorkOrContributorName
Malamud-Roam, Frances
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Climatic changes
  • Hydrology
  • Climatic changes
  • Hydrology
  • West United States
Label
The West without water : what past floods, droughts, and other climatic clues tell us about tomorrow, B. Lynn Ingram and Frances Malamud-Roam ; foreword by Sandra L. Postel
Instantiates
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 223-244) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
From drought to deluge : "normal" climate in the West -- The 1861-1862 floods : lessons lost -- The great droughts of the twentieth century -- Why is climate so variable in the West? -- Reading the past : the Earth's history books -- From ice to fire : into the Holocene -- The "long drought" of the mid-Holocene -- Ice returns : the neoglaciation -- The great "medieval drought" -- The little ice age : megafloods and climate swings -- Why climate changes : cycles and oscillations -- The hydraulic era : salmon and dams -- Future climate change and the American West -- What the past tells us about tomorrow
Control code
ocn818734498
Dimensions
24 cm
Extent
xx, 256 pages
Isbn
9780520286009
Lccn
2013003306
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations
Label
The West without water : what past floods, droughts, and other climatic clues tell us about tomorrow, B. Lynn Ingram and Frances Malamud-Roam ; foreword by Sandra L. Postel
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 223-244) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
From drought to deluge : "normal" climate in the West -- The 1861-1862 floods : lessons lost -- The great droughts of the twentieth century -- Why is climate so variable in the West? -- Reading the past : the Earth's history books -- From ice to fire : into the Holocene -- The "long drought" of the mid-Holocene -- Ice returns : the neoglaciation -- The great "medieval drought" -- The little ice age : megafloods and climate swings -- Why climate changes : cycles and oscillations -- The hydraulic era : salmon and dams -- Future climate change and the American West -- What the past tells us about tomorrow
Control code
ocn818734498
Dimensions
24 cm
Extent
xx, 256 pages
Isbn
9780520286009
Lccn
2013003306
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations

Subject

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