Pathways of Ongoing Aridification in Southwest North America

Southwest North America is projected by climate models to undergo aridification, defined here as reduced soil moisture, during the coming decades. Richard Seager with Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University will present on the use of an atmosphere model forced by plausible sea surface temperature (SST) scenarios to examine the mechanisms of aridification that connect, across seasons, the ocean, atmosphere, and land surface. This is the first event in the NOAA Drought Seminar Series, a new recurring monthly event dedicated to drought monitoring, prediction, and predictability. The seminar's primary objective is to establish a focused platform where national drought research, operational, and user communities can exchange the latest tools, research findings, and risk reduction activities. A collaborative effort between NOAA Research's Physical Sciences Laboratory, the National Integrated Drought Information System, and the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center, this series aims to enhance NOAA's capability to monitor, predict, and understand drought behavior. Drought is a key part of NOAA Research's science priorities aimed at confronting the challenges of a changing planet. Each session will feature a speaker presentation, a question and answer period with the presenter, and general updates on activities within the drought science and services community. Individual session information, including connection details, is available on the NOAA Drought Seminar Series webpage. These seminars will be recorded. The Physical Sciences Laboratory (PSL) and National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) are part of NOAA's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research.