mayans made drought worse with crops
Last Updated : GMT 09:07:40
Egypt Today, egypt today
Egypt Today, egypt today
Last Updated : GMT 09:07:40
Egypt Today, egypt today

Mayans made drought worse with crops

Egypt Today, egypt today

Egypt Today, egypt today Mayans made drought worse with crops

New York - UPI

Mayans may have hastened the demise of their civilization by clearing forests, making an already naturally drying climate drier, U.S. scientists say. Prolonged drought is thought to have contributed to the eventual collapse of Mayan civilization in Mexico and Central America, and forest razing for cities and agriculture may have made matters worse, the researchers said. "We're not saying deforestation explains the entire drought, but it does explain a substantial portion of the overall drying that is thought to have occurred," lead study author Benjamin Cook, a climate modeler at Columbia University, said. More than 19 million people were scattered across the Mayan empire at its height, between A.D. 250 and 900. Using population records and other data, the researchers reconstructed the progressive loss of rainforest across their territory as the civilization grew. Computer simulations of how lands newly dominated by crops would have affected climate suggest that in the heavily logged Yucatan Peninsula, rainfall would have declined by as much as 15 percent, while in other Mayan lands such as southern Mexico, it would have fallen by 5 percent. As agricultural crops replace a forest's dark canopy, more sunlight bounces back into space, Cook said. With the ground absorbing less energy from the sun, less water evaporates from the surface, releasing less moisture into the air to form rain-making clouds. "You basically slow things down -- the ability to form clouds and precipitation," he said. Overall, the researchers attributed 60 percent of the drying estimated at the time of the Mayans' peak to deforestation, a Columbia release said Tuesday.

egypttoday
egypttoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

mayans made drought worse with crops mayans made drought worse with crops



GMT 14:47 2013 Friday ,16 August

US housing starts rise 5.9% in July

GMT 12:13 2014 Tuesday ,03 June

Haftar supports Algeria raids on Libya

GMT 07:49 2017 Wednesday ,25 January

Mofida Shiha prefers social TV programs to politics

GMT 12:04 2012 Tuesday ,07 August

Libyan TV drama not suitable for their revolution

GMT 11:45 2017 Wednesday ,15 November

Unloved vultures fight for their survival

GMT 13:13 2017 Sunday ,15 October

Squeeze on UK health gives advanced

GMT 10:29 2017 Saturday ,14 October

IMF chief urges more support for global trade

GMT 11:21 2012 Friday ,10 August

Bundchen showing off baby bump

GMT 09:32 2017 Thursday ,01 June

Singer Shatha Hassoun says Baghdad’s explosion

GMT 15:24 2013 Wednesday ,12 June

Best bathroom lighting ideas

GMT 07:42 2017 Thursday ,13 July

Dozens killed, injured in Syria car bomb blast
 
 Egypt Today Facebook,egypt today facebook  Egypt Today Twitter,egypt today twitter Egypt Today Rss,egypt today rss  Egypt Today Youtube,egypt today youtube  Egypt Today Youtube,egypt today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

egypttoday egypttoday egypttoday egypttoday
egypttoday egypttoday egypttoday
egypttoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
egypttoday, Egypttoday, Egypttoday