CEE Professor Eric Wood and Research Scholar Justin Sheffield have received coverage in the December 1 issue of The Economist for a study they recently published in Nature with Michael Roderick of the Australian National University in Canberra. The study, entitled, "Little change in global drought over the past 60 years," seeks to reevaluate how - and to what extent - global climate change influences the incidence of drought. Several studies in recent years have posited that increasing temperatures have led to a higher incidence of drought, but the new Nature study calls attention to a wider array of factors that influence the occurrence of drought, including wind speed, vapor pressure, and clouds. The authors thereby seek to present a more balanced and comprehensive understanding of climate change.
The department encourages everyone to take a look at original study published in Nature as well as The Economist piece outlining the study's significance (links below):
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v491/n7424/full/nature11575.html