Climate science
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I ran across a very interesting (new to me) blog this week on soil with an article on soil moisture and its importance to agriculture. The University of Georgia weather network cooperates with the group described in the article; that group collects soil moisture from agricultural weather networks across the US because it is critical…
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Increases in temperature over time have many different impacts on plants and animals. Flowering plants and trees are blooming earlier, which may cause problems for commercial fruit production because the early bloom makes the plants more vulnerable to a late frost, for one example. This is a problem when one change, such as the migration…
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A recent study published in Nature Communications by scientists from Texas and Hong Kong described new research on how fast flash droughts can develop. “Flash droughts” are primarily driven by little rain combined with high temperatures and mainly affect agriculture because of the plants’ needs for regular infusions of water. According to an article in…
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Over the years, climate models have improved in their ability to predict both short-term climate shifts and longer shifts in climate patterns. As climate models have become more sophisticated, the different models are in closer agreement with projections of what climate is likely to be like in the future, although there are still questions about…
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A recent article from the National Science Foundation describes the result of a study on when new leaves appear on plants in spring by scientists at Ohio State University and published in Nature Climate Change. The study shows that while warmer temperatures are the primary cause of earlier leaf occurrence, the number of days of…
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In the Southeast, we get severe weather every month of the year, but the busiest season is spring, with a secondary maximum in late fall. This year, the La Nina has pushed the main jet stream to the north into the Ohio River Valley, which leaves the Southeast in an increased chance for warm moist…
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Here’s a story from back in December that discusses the advantages of combining solar farms with agriculture, which could include either crops or livestock, to produce multiple benefits, including shading and cooler temperatures for the livestock and cooler soils for the crops. Even though there is some shading, there is still plenty of light for…