• How groundwater pumping affects streamflow

    Groundwater provides drinking water for millions of Americans and is the primary source of water to irrigate cropland in many of the nations most productive agricultural settings; although the benefits of groundwater development are many, groundwater pumping can reduce the flow of water in connected streams and rivers — a process called streamflow depletion by wells; new USGS report describes processes and misconceptions concerning the effects of groundwater pumping on streamflow

  • Snowpack, essential freshwater source for billions, threatened

    Snowpack, an essential source of drinking water and agricultural irrigation for billions of people, could shrink significantly within the next thirty years; the news is particularly troubling for snowpack-dependent California — the largest producer of agriculture products in the country and the sixth-largest agriculture exporter in the world; by filling reservoirs and watering crops when warmer, drier weather sets in, mountain snowpack has become vital to people and ecosystems in regions such as the Western United States, Alpine Europe, Central Asia, and downstream of the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau — home to more than 50 percent of the world’s population

  • Himalayan glaciers to shrink even if temperatures hold steady, risking South Asia water supply

    Come rain or shine, or even snow, some glaciers of the Himalayas will continue shrinking for many years to come; the most conservative findings of a new research on Bhutan, a region in the bull’s-eye of the monsoonal Himalayas, indicate that even if climate remained steady, almost 10 percent of Bhutan’s glaciers would vanish within the next few decades; what is more, the amount of melt water coming off these glaciers could drop by 30 percent

  • Hurricane Sandy caused dramatic changes to hundreds of miles of East Coast shoreline

    The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has released a series of aerial photographs showing before-and-after images of Hurricane Sandy’s impacts on the Atlantic Coast; the photos, part of a USGS assessment of coastal change from as far south as the Outer Banks of North Carolina to as far north as Massachusetts, show that the storm caused dramatic changes to portions of shoreline extending hundreds of miles

  • New fluorescence technology pinpoints oil leaks at sea

    Cambridge Consultants uses fertility monitor technology in oil leak early warning system; the company has built an oil spill detection technology platform which is capable of detecting the natural fluorescence of even tiny amounts of oil in or on water

  • Plants, soils could exacerbate climate change as global climate warms

    Scientists have demonstrated that plants and soils could release large amounts of carbon dioxide as global climate warms; this finding contrasts with the expectation that plants and soils will absorb carbon dioxide and is important because that additional carbon release from land surface could be a potent positive feedback that exacerbates climate warming

  • Sea-level records reveal tight correlation between ice volume and polar temperature

    During the last few million years, global ice-volume variability has been one of the main feedback mechanisms in climate change, because of the strong reflective properties of large ice sheets. Ice volume changes in ancient times can be reconstructed from sea-level records; a new study has revealed a rapid response between global temperature and ice volume/sea-level, which could lead to sea-levels rising by over one meter

  • In Pennsylvania, the U.S. mecca of fracking, more scientific research is urged

    Hydraulic fracturing or fracking is a controversial method to extract natural gas or petroleum from subterranean shale by using pressurized water to blast it open; proponents of fracking have noted its potential for helping the United States achieve energy independence while also stimulating the economy and creating jobs; these proponents have met stiff resistance from environmental groups that claim fracking can result in air and water pollution and have adverse human health effects

  • “Groundwater inundation” doubles previous predictions of flooding with future sea level rise

    Scientists published a study today showing that besides marine inundation (flooding), low-lying coastal areas may also be vulnerable to “groundwater inundation,” a factor largely unrecognized in earlier predictions on the effects of sea level rise (SLR)

  • New tool for incorporating water impacts into policy decisions

    Just-released paper offers policy makers innovative framework for linking human well-being and water quality; a new tool helps in assessing and valuing the many services clean water provides — from recreation and beauty to navigation and hydropower — and incorporating them into policy decisions

  • Cleanup of most contaminated U.S. groundwater sites unlikely for many decades

    At least 126,000 sites across the United States have contaminated groundwater that requires remediation, and about 10 percent of these sites are considered “complex,” meaning restoration is unlikely to be achieved in the next 50 to 100 years due to technological limitations; the estimated cost of complete cleanup at these sites ranges from $110 billion to $127 billion, but the figures for both the number of sites and costs are likely underestimates

  • Sandy’s damage in New York State could reach $33 billion

    Governor Andrew Cuomo said yesterday that the damage in New York state from Superstorm Sandy could reach $33 billion; a firm specializing in damage estimate had earlier estimated that Sandy might have caused between $30 billion and $50 billion in economic losses from the Carolinas to Maine; these estimates include property damage, lost business, and extra living expenses; Cuomo’s estimate, which are based on studies by experts in his administration, are likely push these figures higher

  • Cooler pavement materials could increase energy consumption in surrounding buildings

    A push to replace old, heat-trapping paving materials with new, cooler materials could actually lead to higher electricity bills for surrounding buildings; the new paving materials are designed to lower the overall temperature of the areas where they are used

  • Future warming likely to be on high side of climate projections: analysis

    Climate model projections showing a greater rise in global temperature are likely to prove more accurate than those showing a lesser rise, according to a new analysis by scientists at the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR); NCAR says that the findings could provide a breakthrough in the longstanding quest to narrow the range of global warming expected in coming decades and beyond

  • Intensive farming with a climate-friendly touch

    In the world of agriculture, climate protection and intensive farming are generally assumed to be a contradiction in terms; scientists have come up with a new land development concept that could change this view; the new model is tailored to medium-sized farms in South America and sees farmers transitioning from large-scale monoculture to more diverse crop mixtures spread over smaller plots interspersed with wooded areas — a switch that can bring significant financial benefits