Pam Knox
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Two stories this week discussed long-term drought issues in different parts of the world. Bloomberg reported that California and the rest of the West is watching this coming winter anxiously. Communities in the West depend on winter snowfall to provide them with up to 90 percent of their water for the summer dry season. The…
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In a previous post I discussed the “wedge,” a weather phenomenon that brings cool air down the east side of the Appalachian Mountains into the Southeast. Officially, it is called a cold air damming event, since the mountains prevent the movement of cool dense air into the mountains but direct it along the eastern slopes. …
Posted in: Interesting weather images -
An entry from the American Geophysical Union blog site in mid-August discusses the possibility of spreading antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ABR) through wind dispersal of land-applied animal wastewater used for irrigation in drought conditions. You can read the blog here. Scientists are not sure about the amount of ABR naturally occurring in the soils now, but speculate…
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If you live near the coast in the Southeast, you are no doubt aware that storm surges associated with land-falling hurricanes can cause tremendous devastation. Storm surges from Ivan and Katrina caused tremendous damage to coastal areas. At the same time coastlines are being developed at a rapid rate, putting more people in harm’s way…
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The New York Times published a story earlier this week discussing the changes that changing climate may cause to soil microbe populations. Their focus was on grazing lands in the Southwest, but it is a question that could be asked across the country. The story focused on cyanobacteria, a critical component of surface soils in…
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Since fall has just started, the media is full of stories about autumn colors and the difference between astronomical and climatological fall. Here are two I thought were especially interesting. Slate magazine produced an online video which discusses why American trees produce both red and yellow leaves but European leaves only produce yellow leaves. The…
Posted in: Climate and Ag in the news -
The latest 3-month outlook for the last three months of the year has been released by NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center. It shows an increased chance of above normal temperatures and higher than normal rainfall, particularly in the southern part of the region. The patterns they show are consistent with a developing El Nino, which as…