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IMPACTS: Mega Droughts in North America: The Role of Biosphere-Atmosphere Feedbacks Lab Personnel: L. Ruby Leung and Xiaohong Liu (PNNL); Celine Bonfils and Tom Philips (LLNL).
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IMPACTS: Mega Droughts in North America: The Role of Biosphere-Atmosphere FeedbacksLab Personnel: L. Ruby Leung and Xiaohong Liu (PNNL); Celine Bonfils and Tom Philips (LLNL) • Climate models projected warming/drying in the Southwest due to a northward shift of storm tracks and expansion of subtropical high in the mid-latitudes • We propose to test two hypotheses related to the role of biosphere-atmosphere feedbacks on mega drought in North America - We hypothesize that droughts may be prolonged or amplified through surface and subsurface processes and the subsequent influence on land-atmosphere interactions - We also hypothesize that atmospheric heating due to dust emissions from the mega droughts will have a significant influence on the North American monsoon circulation Diagnostics Study of Droughts Using CMIP3 Pre-Industrial “Control” Simulations Implemented a Dynamic Groundwater Component in a Regional Climate Model to Simulate Groundwater Table Dynamics and its Feedbacks to the Atmosphere