Science in flooding
I chose to write about natural disasters, and more specifically flooding. The disaster flooding that is going on in Colorado right now is not only heart breaking but has science written all over it. From the sudden change in climate to human influence there are many ways science is involved in floods. Looking up the difference in scientific news and daily news I have found that scientific news talks more directly to how natural disasters effect the world. Going through the steps in the scientific method, from the Colorado flooding article, I have asked myself the question is climate change to blame? Two degrees of warming worldwide seems abstract, but bridge-collapsing, home-destroying, killer floods are the sorts of weather events that can bring the impact of climate change home. A certain scientist named Bersugli investigates the potential for heavy rain and flooding due to climate change. He notes that models predict an increase in winter precipitation but that the spring and summer, which are when Boulder is prone to large rain events, are expected to have an overall decrease in precipitation. Climate models clearly show that precipitation extremes can become larger even in areas experiencing unchanged or decreasing total precipitation. In that circumstance, rainy days would become less frequent, but if conditions are right for an extreme event, and more moisture is available in the atmosphere, than larger extreme events are possible. Science is all over when it comes to flooding. Whether its through human influence or mother nature, flooding changes the way things once were. Science is shown in ice jamming, water turning into ice, and getting stuck. Also, in the things flooding destroys, such as land and homes. In conclusion one of the reasons Boulder and surrounding areas experienced such severe flooding was basic geography. When you are over the mountains like that, the mountain kind of exacerbate the problem. The Boulder area is prone to flash