Stalagmites from Iranian Cave Foretell Grim Future for Middle East Climate

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http://www.sciencenewsline.com/news/2017071015360062.html

The results, which include information during the last glacial and interglacial periods, showed that relief from the current dry spell across the interior of the Middle East is unlikely within the next 10,000 years.


According to a new study in the Journal of Quaternary Science Reviews by Mehterian, et.al., stalagmites from Iran as geologic archives of Earth´s climactic history have recorded changes in precipitation …
"Local governments generally prefer the narrative that the region is only in a temporary dry spell and better prospects of water availability lay ahead," said the study's lead author Sevag Mehterian, a Ph.D. student at the UM Rosenstiel School. "Our study has found evidence to the contrary, suggesting that in fact, the future long-term trend based on paleoclimate reconstructions is likely towards diminishing precipitation, with no relief in the form of increased Mediterranean storms, the primary source of annual precipitation to the region, in the foreseeable future."

Stalagmites are calcium carbonate deposits that slowly grow on cave floors and, under the right circumstances, record changes in the climate outside the cave in their chemical composition.

"We take what we have learned from the past climate and applied it to better understand what to expect moving forward with the current state of the changing global climate," said study co-author Ali Pourmand, an associate professor of marine geosciences at the UM Rosenstiel School."