US scientists published report finds no evidence to link climate change to more severe flooding over past 100 years-The Hill

10/24/11, "Study finds no evidence that climate change caused more severe flooding," The Hill, by Andrew Restuccia

"A new study conducted by federal scientists found no evidence that climate change has caused more severe flooding

• in the United States during the last century.

But scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), who published their findings in the Hydrologic Sciences Journal Monday, said they will continue to examine the issue, noting that more research is necessary to better understand the relationship between climate change and flooding.

The USGS study — titled “Has the magnitude of floods across the USA changed with global CO2 levels” — found no clear relationship between the increase in greenhouse gas emissions blamed for climate change and the severity of flooding in three of four regions of the United States....

But the study was able to identify a clear relationship between flooding and climate change in the southwestern portion of the United States. In that region, floods

• have become less severe

as greenhouse gas emissions have increased, the study says.

“Currently we do not see a clear pattern that enables us to understand how climate change will alter flood conditions in the future, but the USGS will continue to collect new data over time and conduct new analyses as conditions change,” said Robert Hirsch, a USGS scientist who was the

• lead author of the study, in a statement.

The study comes just days after a comprehensive study by the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature found "reliable evidence" of climate change, supporting the conclusions of the majority of the world's scientists."



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