Drying Australia

1998/03/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Ikerketa-zentroak

According to some researchers at the University of Colorado, humans 50,000 years ago arrived in Australia transformed their climate. According to scientists, the destruction of the interior vegetation by the first settlers affected the annual monsoons.

Australian monsoons start in December and wet winds from Asia cause heavy rains. Geological studies show that in the last 150,000 years monsoons at the end of glaciations have been more windy and humid.

But there are exceptions, when the last glaciation was melting, about 10,000 years ago, the monsoons were not attacked. However, in Africa and Asia, at the same time, the monsoons were very violent.

Scientists try to find out if human presence and climate drying occurred at the same time, it was a coincidence.

To do this, they simulate by computer the Australian monsoons, comparing the precipitations of the deserts and the forests.

To the surprise of scientists, rain in the vegetation regions would double. They say that these results must be taken very carefully, but if these conclusions are confirmed, we would be able to say that man was able to change the climate with the little technology he had at that time.