The more greenhouse gases push up temperatures over the next few decades, the more New Mexico’s water supplies are at risk, according to new research by a team of Columbia University scientists.
Using the latest high-resolution global climate simulations, the scientists show evaporation caused by warming temperatures is likely to leave less water for the rivers that flow out of the high country in northern New Mexico and Colorado that supplies much of the state’s water.
The finding is consistent with earlier research. But by using the latest models, which can more accurately account for weather across the region’s complex terrain, the new research gives a clearer picture of the situation, said Richard Seager, the climate scientist who led the team doing the work.