Tree-Rings Reveal Second-Century Megadrought in the SW

A new study soon to be published in Geophysical Research Letters finds a previously unknown multi-decade drought in the southwestern U.S. during the second century A.D. Scientists at the University of Arizona produced a new tree-ring record from living and remnant bristlecone pine wood, and combined this record with other regional records to determine periods of unusually severe drought over the past 2000 years. According to the UANews, the researchers believe that these results indicate the southwestern U.S. should expect to see similar multi-decade droughts in the future, when temperatures are predicted to be even warmer than the past.