Climate and Ag in the news
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The Global Weather and Climate Center posted a video this week from NASA showing a loop of the movement of the green vegetation bands across the globe with the seasons. You can really see the shift of the plants on the land and in the ocean as the sun moves north and then south again.…
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Most weather forecasts are pretty good at up to a week out, and even general trends to 10 days or more can be helpful for planning purposes. Climate forecasts for general patterns several months out can also be good, especially when there is a strong El Niño or La Niña event occurring. But in the…
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Unlike older physical sciences like physics and chemistry, atmospheric sciences developed most of its theories in the 20th century, especially after the start of the aviation industry, when a three-dimensional picture of the atmosphere was needed to navigate safely. One of the puzzles in early weather forecasting was why it took longer to fly from…
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Today marks the 60th anniversary of the Keeling Curve, which showed (and is still showing) the increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as measured at Mauna Loa Observatory. We passed the 400 ppm mark in 2013 and the carbon dioxide levels are continuing to grow at an increasing rate (with the seasonal variation overlaid…
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I was surprised to learn today that avocado trees fruit much more heavily on alternate years. Last year was a “down” year and supplies were low. This year is an “up” year, which means that they should be easier to find and probably cheaper, too. The Packer noted that supplies from California, Mexico and Peru…
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Here is an interesting set of photos of a small development on the North Sea taken from 2001 to the present which shows how much the coast there has eroded over the last couple of decades. We should be glad that our geology in the Southeast is a bit different than this! You can view…
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This week the USDA published a new 38-page report which contains information on the possible range of changes that we can expect to see across the United States through the end of the century. The changes include minimum temperature and associated plant hardiness zones, degree days, and drought severity. As you might expect, the changes…
Posted in: Climate and Ag in the news