Northern Arizona University researcher Xanthe Walker is the lead author on research published this week that found that the amount of carbon stored in soils was the biggest predictor of how much carbon would combust and that soil moisture also was significant in predicting carbon release.
Tag: Drought
Droughts are threatening global wetlands: new study
University of Adelaide scientists have shown how droughts are threatening the health of wetlands globally. Published in the journal Earth-Science Reviews, the scientists highlight the many physical and chemical changes occurring during droughts that lead to severe, and sometimes irreversible, drying of wetland soils.
Researchers Use Satellite Imaging to Map Groundwater Use in California’s Central Valley
Researchers at the University of California San Diego report in a new study a way to improve groundwater monitoring by using a remote sensing technology (known as InSAR), in conjunction with climate and land cover data, to bridge gaps in the understanding of sustainable groundwater in California’s San Joaquin Valley.
UAH gets $600,000 to create more accurate analysis of soil moisture
A $600,000 grant to create a more accurate analysis of soil moisture for drought depiction, agricultural assessments and flood potential has been awarded to the interim dean of the College of Science at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
UCI and international institutions link Southeast Asia megadrought to drying in Africa
Irvine, Calif., Aug. 21, 2020 – Physical evidence found in caves in Laos helps tell a story about a connection between the end of the Green Sahara – when once heavily vegetated Northern Africa became a hyper-arid landscape – and a previously unknown megadrought that crippled Southeast Asia 4,000 to 5,000 years ago. In a paper published today in Nature Communications, scientists at the University of California, Irvine, the University of Pennsylvania, William Paterson University of New Jersey and other international institutions explain how this major climate transformation led to a shift in human settlement patterns in Southeast Asia, which is now inhabited by more than 600 million people.
UCI engineers evaluate snow drought in different parts of the world
Irvine, Calif., Aug. 3, 2020 — Environmental engineers at the University of California, Irvine have developed a new framework for characterizing snow droughts around the world. Using this tool to analyze conditions from 1980 to 2018, the researchers found a 28-percent increase in the length of intensified snow-water deficits in the Western United States during the second half of the study period.
Rutgers Expert Available to Discuss Tropical Storm Fay in N.J.
New Brunswick, N.J. (July 10, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick climatologist David A. Robinson is available for interviews on Tropical Storm Fay as it approaches New Jersey. “Tropical Storm Fay could deposit several inches of rain across a good portion of the…
Water-Saving Alternative Forage Crops for Texas Livestock
With increasing drought conditions in the Texas High Plains, researchers test sorghum and pearl millet as alternatives to corn
Rutgers Expert Can Discuss Dry, Warm June in N.J., Potential Drought
New Brunswick, N.J. (July 8, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick climatologist David A. Robinson is available for interviews on the dry, unusually warm June in New Jersey, the dry and very warm first six months of 2020 and the potential for drought…
Greenhouse gas and particulate pollution emissions drive regional drying around the globe
Despite devastating impacts of drought on human and natural systems, the reasons why long-term regional drying occurs remain poorly understood.
Research led by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists have identified two signatures or “fingerprints” that explain why arid conditions are spreading worldwide, and why the Western United States has tended towards drought conditions since the 1980s while the African Sahel has recovered from its prolonged drought. The research appears in the July 6 edition of Nature Climate Change.
Why do we need to know harvest yield during crop growth?
Using technology is essential for predicting tuber crop yields in drought-heavy regions
Know the risks of investing in forests
Some governments are counting on planted forests as offsets for greenhouse gas emissions—a sort of climate investment. But as with any investment, it’s important to understand the risks. If a forest goes bust, researchers say, much of that stored carbon could go up in smoke.
Forests can be best deployed in the fight against climate change with a proper understanding of the risks to that forest that climate change itself imposes.
Steady Streams: Bringing Safe Water to California Communities
With a mix of research and outreach, the CSU is addressing one of California’s greatest challenges by securing access to safe drinking water for some of the state’s most vulnerable populations.
New Biosensor Visualizes Stress in Living Plant Cells in Real Time
Plant biologists have developed a nanosensor that monitors mechanisms related to stress and drought. The new biosensor allows researchers to analyze changes in real time involving specific kinases, which are known to be activated in response to drought conditions.
With shrinking snowpack, drought predictability melting away
New research from CU Boulder suggests that during the 21st century, our ability to predict drought using snow will literally melt away.
Researchers study the intricate link between climate and conflict
New research from the University of Notre Dame is shedding light on the unexpected effects climate change could have on regional instability and violent conflict.
Rutgers Expert Available to Discuss Climate Change Impacts on Land, Wildfires and Solutions
New Brunswick, N.J. (Jan. 15, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick Professor Pamela McElwee is available for interviews on climate change impacts on land, including increasing wildfires such as in Australia and California, and solutions. She is scheduled to testify before…
Widespread droughts affect southern California water sources six times a century
Severe droughts happened simultaneously in the regions that supply water to Southern California almost six times per century on average since 1500, according to new University of Arizona-led research.
Scientists Available to Comment on Environmental Impacts of Australian Bushfires
As record wildfires continue to burn in Australia, people are wondering about their long-term impacts, including on the environment. To address these questions, two environmental science experts at IUPUI — Indiana University’s premier urban research campus in downtown Indianapolis —…
Rutgers Expert Available to Discuss 2019 Climate, Weather Events in N.J.
New Brunswick, N.J. (Jan. 8, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick Professor David A. Robinson is available for interviews on New Jersey’s weather and climate in 2019, including the Office of the New Jersey State Climatologist’s list of top 10 events. Robinson can also…
University of Oklahoma Research Team Helps Weather-Weary Ag Industry
You don’t have to look far to find news, opinions and studies about our world’s changing climate and its effects on humans. But what is less accessible is how a changing climate impacts beef cattle production. A team of scientists and researchers from across the region set out to answer this and other questions during the Great Plains Grazing project funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Rutgers Expert Available to Discuss Australian Climate and Wildfires
New Brunswick, N.J. (Jan. 7, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick climatologist David A. Robinson is available for interviews on weather and climate conditions that have contributed to catastrophic wildfires in Australia. “The remarkable wildfire outbreak in Australia is a result of persistent drought…
Droughts Spell Changes for Soil Microbes
Scientists predict a warming Earth will cause more droughts that are more severe in the grasslands of the central United States. This research found that soil drying affects the microbial community in several ways.
Rural decline not driven by water recovery
New research from the University of Adelaide has shown that climate and economic factors are the main drivers of farmers leaving their properties in the Murray-Darling Basin, not reduced water for irrigation as commonly claimed.
Water management grows farm profits
Study investigates effects of irrigation management on yield and profit
Helping quinoa brave the heat
Scientists identify more efficient methods for evaluating heat tolerance
Rutgers Expert Can Discuss Exceedingly Dry, Warm September in N.J.
New Brunswick, N.J. (Oct. 3, 2019) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick Professor David A. Robinson, the New Jersey State Climatologist, can provide insight on one of the driest and warmest Septembers in New Jersey since record-keeping began in 1895. Last month was the sixth driest September…
Rutgers Expert Can Discuss Fires in Amazon Rainforests
New Brunswick, N.J. (Aug. 27, 2019) – With numerous fires raging in ecologically priceless Amazon rainforests, Rutgers University–New Brunswick Professor Laura C. Schneider can comment on current fire patterns (the number of fires and their location), linkages to tropical rain…
How trees affect the weather
Trees’ water-use strategies can intensify droughts Nature, said Ralph Waldo Emerson, is no spendthrift. Unfortunately, he was wrong. New research led by University of Utah biologists William Anderegg, Anna Trugman and David Bowling find that some plants and trees are…