There are just six weeks left until the celestial odometer that is the Mayan calendar clicks over to the next b’akt’un, but in the meantime, scientists have been trying to solve the mystery behind the collapse of the Mayan civilization. Today, a team of anthropologists and climate scientists report a very strong correlation between the civilization’s rise and fall and drought conditions. This has significant relevance for our own civilization’s future – the most accurate climate models today predict that global temperatures will be much higher than previously expected, meaning more extreme heat waves & severe droughts, among other consequences.
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References
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/338/6108/788
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/338/6108/792.abstract
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Paleoclimatology_OxygenBalance/
http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/DM_tables.htm?conus
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/hazards/2012/9
