News Photos
Caption: Sand dunes in northern China, such as these in the Otindag dunefield, are a rich source of information about past climates in Asia. Research led by University of Wisconsin-Madison geographer Joseph Mason has uncovered evidence of an unexpectedly dry climate in northern China during a strong monsoon cycle 8,000 to 11,500 years ago. The results challenge common assumptions about future climate changes -- including likely effects of the stronger monsoon rains predicted by many climatologists as global temperatures warm -- and suggest that Chinese desert margin regions may actually become drier, with potentially negative impacts on water resources, grazing, and air quality.
Photo by: Joseph Mason, UW-Madison
Date: 2004
High-resolution JPEG
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