The lands of Africa’s Horn,
Great Valleys sliced by a Rift,
By drought and famine are torn …
What drives such a large rainfall shift?
Detectives of lake muck and goo,
Through models and efforts terrific,
Put forth a paleo-clue
From the Indian, not the Pacific.
__________________________
Further reading:
Multidecadal variability in East African hydroclimate controlled by the Indian Ocean, Tierney et al. Nature 2013
This is one in a series of poems based on science news, written by Katherine Allen, a researcher in geochemistry and paleoclimate at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. “Lake Goo Clue” first appeared on Allen’s website on Jan. 18, 2013.
