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cover of episode Farming maize in ice age Michigan, predicting the future climate of cities, and our host takes a quiz on the sounds of science

Farming maize in ice age Michigan, predicting the future climate of cities, and our host takes a quiz on the sounds of science

2025/6/5
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Science Magazine Podcast

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This chapter explores the challenges of regional climate prediction. Although global climate models are relatively accurate, predicting local impacts is difficult due to limitations in resolution and computational power. The example of Austin, Texas, illustrates the complexities and uncertainties involved in using climate models to inform local decisions about water management.
  • Global climate models are good at predicting large-scale effects, but lack detail for local decisions.
  • Regional climate prediction is challenging due to limitations in resolution and computational power.
  • Bias correction and downscaling are used to adapt global models to local contexts, but both have limitations.
  • There is a need for more accurate regional climate models to inform local decisions about infrastructure and resource management.

Shownotes Transcript

First up on the podcast, we hear from Staff Writer Paul Voosen about the tricky problem of regional climate prediction). Although global climate change models have held up for the most part, predicting what will happen at smaller scales, such as the level of a city, is proving a stubborn challenge. Just increasing the resolution of global models requires intense computing power, so researchers and city planners are looking to other approaches to find out what’s in store for cities.

 

Next on the show, a visit to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where researchers have found evidence that the Indigenous Menominee people cultivated maize for 600 years, even during an ice age. Madeleine McLeester), assistant professor in the department of anthropology at Dartmouth College, talks about using lidar to search among the heavily forested lands for striations that indicate corn farming and the anthropological )conundrums) raised by such extensive agriculture without nearby urban centers.

 

Finally in this episode, producer Kevin McLean quizzes host Sarah Crespi on some mysterious sounds that have appeared on the site as part of news stories. No clues here so be sure to play along.

 

This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy).

 

About the Science Podcast)

 

Authors: Sarah Crespi; Paul Voosen; Kevin McLean

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