Tag: rainfall

August 8, 2018

How About That Water Quality? Ocean Acidification

Talking about water quality isn’t most people’s idea of the ideal ice breaker. In the Lowcountry (loosely defined as coastal South Carolina and Georgia), folks typically find common ground discussing the region’s warm weather, great food, vibrant culture and remarkable history. But water quality is quickly becoming the talk of the town as locals are…
July 19, 2018

Figuring out the water cycle… still

By emitting moisture, trees play a crucial role in water cycles and global rainfall. Brunei Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism We could re-wet dry landscapes with the right theory. Could the ‘biotic pump’ be it? There are a few different levels of understanding about the water cycle. There are the diagrams hung in elementary…
June 2, 2018

Change in Water Storage Maps Added to Living Atlas

A new image service has been added to the Living Atlas of the World. It shows monthly change in water storage, as derived from NASA’s GLDAS dataset. Change in storage is calculated by subtracting the water output (runoff and evaporation) from water input (rainfall). Where the input is higher than the output, this means water…
October 25, 2017

3 [more?] Surprising Ways Water Depends on Healthy Forests

Healthy forests are critical to providing clean water. Forests can positively impact the quantity, quality and filtration costs associated with a city’s water, sometimes even reducing the need for costly concrete and steel infrastructure. The world’s major watersheds lost 6 percent of their tree cover on average from 2000-2014. Today, about 31 percent of the…
January 18, 2017

California’s water policy at potential tipping point

Recent rain and snowfall conditions have us all hoping 2017 may be a wet year and offer a break in our six-year drought. But whether the drought is broken or not, Californians must act this year to achieve more sustainable long-term water management. California operates at a water deficit. Even in wet years, we use…