A recently released study of climate data taken from trees in the Western United States shows levels of drought were much worse than anything the U.S. has experienced in the past century, according to a Brigham Young University press release.
The Dust Bowl of the 1930S is considered to be the worst U.S. drought of the past century, but according to a list released by scientists at Brigham Young University in Utah, it barely made the cut.
The scientists analyzed climate records dating back to 1429, according to the release.
With just sandpaper and microscopes, Brigham Young University professor Matthew Bekker was able to study rings from drought-sensitive tree species, like Douglas fir and pinyon trees.
"We're trying to work with water managers to show the different flavors of droughts this region has had," said Bekker, according to the news release. "These are scenarios you need to build into your models to know how to plan for the future."
There were 16 straight years of "below average stream flow" starting in 1703, and the Webber River once flowed at only 13 percent of its normal level during that time period.
It dipped as low as 20 percent below normal rate three times during that time frame, according to the release.
"The most severe drought in the record began in 1492, and four of the five worst droughts all happened during Christopher Columbus' lifetime," reads the BYU press release.
Bekker worked with researchers from the U.S. Forest Service, Columbia University and Utah State University to complete the study.
The team is currently busy working on a climate reconstruction based on tree rings that are thousands of years old, according to the release.
"We're conservatively estimating the severity of these droughts that hit before the modern record, and we still see some that are kind of scary if they were to happen again," said Bekker. "We would really have to change the way we do things here."
Research was published in the Journal of the American Water Resources Association this week.
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