Drought
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A recent study of Australian wheat and sheep farmers after years of increasing drought and dust storms shows that the farmers are suffering from depression, according to a recent story in Modern Farmer. “The biggest problem seems to be the uncertainty. Farmers don’t know whether their crops will survive or be hit by a sudden…
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The Los Angeles Times published a recent story on California farmers responding to 4+ years of drought. In addition to the drought they have experienced a number of related impacts, including decimation of some crops due to insect infestations. Some of them have run out of resources to keep farming and are taking a break…
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The heavy rains that fell in southern Florida this past week wiped out the last remaining pocket of moderate drought in the Southeast as well as put a dent in the areas of abnormally dry conditions. Hard to believe that just three months ago more than half the region was abnormally dry or worse, and…
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One of the consequences of changes in climate such as drought is an impact on the soil structure and the agricultural infrastructure on which it sits. The Guardian posted an article a few days ago describing the impacts of continued massive pumping of groundwater in California on the surface topography, where land is sinking at…
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The latest Drought Monitor indicates that all drought is now gone from Georgia and northern Florida, leaving only a small area of moderate drought in the very southern tip of the Florida peninsula. That area of the Southeast has been dry for the last month as the most active rainfall track has been on the northern…
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In the conference I’m attending today, one of the speakers presented PDSI data derived from tree rings going back to about 400 AD. It is presented as a series of grid points across North America. If you are interested in a longer-term perspective on climate that goes back farther than the instrumental records, you might…
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Dr. Jeff Lee, a professor of geosciences from Texas Tech, is featured in this videotaped lecture about causes of the Dust Bowl and whether a similar pattern could occur again. The video is about 30 minutes long and is best at discussing the causes of the Dust Bowl. It’s not the highest quality, but you…