The West without water : what past floods, droughts, and other climatic clues tell us about tomorrow

Title:

Author:

Ingram, B. Lynn, 1961-

ISBN:

9780520268555

9780520286009

Personal Author:

Ingram, B. Lynn, 1961-

Publication Information:

Berkeley : University of California Press, [2013]

Physical Description:

xx, 256 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

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.

Subject Term:

Climatic changes -- West (U.S.) -- Forecasting.

Climatic changes -- West (U.S.)

Hydrology -- West (U.S.)

Added Author:

Malamud-Roam, Frances, 1961-

Document ID:

SD_ILS:2127390

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

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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.

Author Notes

B. Lynn Ingram is Professor of Geography and Earth and Planetary Science at the University of California, Berkeley. Frances Malamud-Roam is an Associate Environmental Planner and Biologist at Caltrans, and visiting scholar in the Department of Earth and Planetary Science at the University of California, Berkeley.

Reviews (1)

Choice Review

This account of the climate history of the American West reaches far back in time yet also carries a timely message. Using highly readable prose, Ingram and Malamud-Roam (both, Univ. of California, Berkeley) present the multiple lines of evidence for past periods of droughts and floods, the various causes postulated for the cyclicity of these events, and the human influences that are currently overriding these cycles. They report on little-known events that have profound implications for the future, such as the floods that filled the entire Central Valley of California in 1861-62, a time when the population in the area was very low. Such floods follow long droughts, and similar conditions will inevitably arise again in the future. The work of Ingram and Malamud-Roam, and of other scientists, conveys the message that society needs to prepare for such events and also provides the details that will help with the planning. This book is an excellent introduction to climate science. Even though the focus is regional, the climate is a global system, and the authors place their subject in that context. Numerous maps, diagrams, and black-and-white photos. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries. W. L. Cressler III West Chester University of Pennsylvania

Sandra L. Postel

List of Illustrations	p. ix
Foreword	p. xiii
Preface	p. xv
Acknowledgments	p. xix
Introduction	p. 1
Part 1 Floods and Droughts in Living Memory	p. 11
1 From Drought to Deluge: "Normal" Climate in the West	p. 13
2 The 1861-1862 Floods: Lessons Lost	p. 27
3 The Great Droughts of the Twentieth Century	p. 41
4 Why Is Climate So Variable in the West?	p. 49
Part 2 A Climate History of the American West	p. 61
5 Reading the Past: The Earth's History Books	p. 63
6 From Ice to Fire: Into the Holocene	p. 81
7 The "Long Drought" of the Mid-Holocene	p. 97
8 Ice Returns: The Neoglaciation	p. 111
9 The Great "Medieval Drought"	p. 121
10 The Little Ice Age: Megafloods and Climate Swings	p. 141
11 Why Climate Changes: Cycles and Oscillations	p. 155
Part 3 A Growing Water Crisis	p. 173
12 The Hydraulic Era: Salmon and Dams	p. 175
13 Future Climate Change and the American West	p. 190
14 What the Past Tells Us about Tomorrow	p. 204
Bibliography	p. 223
Index	p. 245

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