Scientists studying global warming are able to project future spatial patterns of warming with confidence. However, changes and spatial patterns in precipitation are hard to predict. But now a study by researchers in Stony Brook University's School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) provides a new mathematical method to understand the physical causes of future regional precipitation changes, which has an impact on the environment, climate and many types of human activities worldwide. The method is described in a paper to be published in Communications Earth & Environment.