Aridification Explained

Aridification is the process of a region becoming increasingly arid, or dry. It refers to long term change,^[1] rather than seasonal variation.

It is often measured as the reduction of average soil moisture content.It can be caused by reduced precipitation, increased evaporation, lowering of water tables, and changes in ground cover acting individually or in combination.Its major consequences include reduced agricultural production, soil degradation, ecosystem changes and decreased water catchment runoff.^[2]

Some researchers have found that the Colorado River basin and other parts of western North America are currently undergoing aridification.^{[3] [4]}

See also

• Arid
• Aridity index
• Central Arid Zone Research Institute
• Arid Forest Research Institute
• Desert
• Desertification
• Global warming
• Groundwater
• Soil moisture
• Water balance
• Water content
• Water cycle

Notes and References

1. Heidari. Hadi. Arabi. Mazdak. Warziniack. Travis. Kao. Shih-Chieh. 2020. Assessing Shifts in Regional Hydroclimatic Conditions of U.S. River Basins in Response to Climate Change over the 21st Century. Earth's Future. en. 8. 10. e2020EF001657. 10.1029/2020EF001657. 2020EaFut...801657H . 2328-4277. free.
2. Web site: GLASOD Classification of Soil Degradation . February 2000 . United Nations ESCAP . https://web.archive.org/web/20110607181427/http://www.unescap.org/STAT/envstat/stwes-class-glasod.pdf . 2011-06-07 . dead . 2019-09-04.
3. News: . But it's a dry heat: Climate change and the aridification of North America . Jim . Erickson . May 19, 2020 . September 7, 2022 .
4. 10.1073/pnas.2006323117. Climate change and the aridification of North America . 2020 . Overpeck . Jonathan T. . Udall . Bradley . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 117 . 22 . 11856–11858 . 32430321 . 7275756 . 2020PNAS..11711856O . 218758593 . free .