Wednesday, September 29, 2010
After months of very little rainfall, and with long-term weather forecasts predicting little improvement through fall and early winter, well owners across the state have begun to grow uneasy, according to a groundwater expert in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. (more)
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
If it seems to you, as you drive around Pennsylvania, that the leaves on many trees began turning colors early this year, it's because they have, according to a forest expert in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. On the heels of one of the hottest, driest summers on record for Pennsylvania, hardwoods across the state began going from green to gold, orange, red and purple -- and to dull brown -- in mid-September. "It has been so dry, and trees in some areas are so challenged by drought conditions, that their leaves just went straight to brown and are falling off the branches already," said Marc Abrams, professor of forest ecology and physiology. (more)
Sunday, August 22, 2010
A dry streambed in a small wooded valley near Penn State's Stone Valley Recreation Area became a "living" laboratory Wednesday (Aug. 18) for a group of high school students getting an early taste of earth science from University researchers. Using soil moisture probes and water-level sensors, the teens sampled 16 sites to determine the depth of the water table and the moisture content along a streambed that was so dry in parts that it was almost dusty. The laboratory was the 20-acre Shale Hills watershed in the Penn State Stone Valley Experimental Forest in Huntingdon County. (more)
Thursday, April 16, 2009
In 1969 Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, the Woodstock festival changed music and perhaps the culture forever, Sesame Street debuted on television and Richard Nixon became president. The first quarter of that year was also the only one in Pennsylvania since 1895 drier than the start of 2009, according to Penn State weather and precipitation experts. (more)
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Patrick Reed, professor of civil and environmental engineering, has been selected for an Outstanding Achievement Award by the Environmental and Water Resources Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers. The award recognizes "exceptional performance of an important task or series of activities over a short period of time that advances the work of the water resources planning and management profession." (more)
Friday, January 23, 2009
If it seems like this winter has brought more ice storms than normal, there's a good reason, according to Penn State weather experts. It really has. According to Paul Knight, Pennsylvania state climatologist, the Keystone State feels the effect of 12 to 18 winter storms during a typical winter. Of those storms, only two or three would normally produce widespread icy conditions. "Many parts of Pennsylvania have already exceeded their usual number of icing events for a year, and the winter is not even half over," he says. "There is no doubt that the frequency of freezing rain during December and so far in January is unusual, particularly for the central part of the state." (more)
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Major rivers that no longer consistently flow to the ocean. Hundreds of meters of decline in fossil groundwater sources in some of the Earth's largest and most productive aquifers. Contamination and pollution of some of the world's most prized water bodies. These are the result of the same pressures driving climate change and unsustainable energy consumption, says Upmanu Lall, Columbia University's Alan and Carol Silberstein Professor of Engineering. But unlike research on climate change, research on global hydrologic change has been more fragmented, resulting in limited data and relatively low visibility, says Lall, who is coming to Penn State on Monday, Sept. 22, as part of this year's EarthTalks series, "Quenching the Thirst: Managing the Water Resources of a Changing Planet." (more)
Monday, June 02, 2008
Schoolkids know that more than 70 percent of Earth's surface is washed in water. Yet very little of that abundance -- less than two percent -- is available for drinking and agriculture. With rapid population growth, wasteful practices and impending climate change, the situation is likely to get worse. Water resources in semi-arid regions are expected to be especially hard-hit, warned the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in its 2007 summary report. By some estimates, two-thirds of the world's population will be water-stressed by 2025. Will the prospect of a diminishing water supply result in serious geopolitical conflict? (more)
