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Science News reported this week that scientists from Princeton University predicted that fall foliage changes in future years may be delayed by several weeks and the color season may lengthen if current temperature trends continue. Leaves change color in response to a number of factors, including temperatures, precipitation and day length. Impacts are expected to…
Posted in: Climate and Ag in the news -
We often talk about negative impacts of drought, but for some people it has positive impacts as well. For construction companies and golf courses, dry conditions mean more days to get work and play done, increasing income. In agriculture, a story this week in Growing Georgia highlights one benefit that the recent dry conditions have…
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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…