The Fall of the Maya: "They Did it to Themselves" | Science@NASA

By Dauna Coulter, Science@NASA, Posted 10/06/09

Link: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/06oct_maya.htm?list161497

"For 1200 years, the Maya dominated Central America. At their peak around 900 A.D., Maya cities teemed with more than 2,000 people per square mile -- comparable to modern Los Angeles County. But suddenly, all was quiet. The profound silence testified to one of the greatest demographic disasters in human prehistory -- the demise of the once vibrant Maya society.

So, what happened? Some NASA-funded researchers think they have a pretty good idea. "They did it to themselves," says veteran archeologist Tom Sever. He and his team used computer simulations to reconstruct how the deforestation could have played a role in worsening the drought. They isolated the effects of deforestation using a pair of proven computer climate models: the PSU/NCAR mesoscale atmospheric circulation model, known as MM5, and the Community Climate System Model, or CCSM.  The models predict that deforestation could have raised the temperature 3-5 deg F. and caused a drop of 20-3-% in rainfall.  There is strong evidence of drought and mass graves were identified suggesting thirst, famine and conflict.  NASA-related earth observation technologies helped to solve this long-time mystery.