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Archive for February, 2016
Timely flood warnings for downstream Nepal and India
Posted by SciDevNet: None Given on February 16th, 2016
SciDevNet: Communities in flood-prone areas often do not have access to information about flood forecasting. As a result, they do not have sufficient time to evacuate and put their cattle and belongings in a safe area. The new Community-Based Flood Early Warning system, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)'s new initiative, now allows communities downstream to access almost real-time information about the water level upstream.
The system is cheap (at US$1,000) and the technology...
How humans impacted the Everglades
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 16th, 2016
ScienceDaily: Dotting the landscape of Everglades National Park are teardrop-shaped elevations of hardwood trees (or hammocks) named, "tree islands." The significance of tree islands as the only dry ground has long been acknowledged, but their significance also lies beneath the earth, as archeological findings from a dig in 2010 present data that prehistoric humans played a significant role in the formation of tree islands, and in turn, the archeological discoveries should be considered in current Everglades restoration...
Better water management could halve global food gap
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 16th, 2016
ScienceDaily: Improved agricultural water management could halve the global food gap by 2050 and buffer some of the harmful climate change effects on crop yields. For the first time, scientists investigated systematically the worldwide potential to produce more food with the same amount of water by optimizing rain use and irrigation. They found the potential has previously been underestimated. Investing in crop water management could substantially reduce hunger while at the same time making up for population growth....
Improved irrigation backed halve food gap
Posted by SciDevNet: None Given on February 16th, 2016
SciDevNet: If all farmers adopted well-known water management methods, global food production could expand as much as 41 per cent, scientists have shown.
Scientists modelled 35 "ambitious yet achievable' water management strategies and found that improved irrigation could halve the world's food gap, researchers write in a paper published in the journal Environmental Research Letters. This means the potential increase in crop yields could provide half the calories needed to eradicate hunger worldwide by 2050,...
NASA Says Sea-Level Rise Temporarily Slowed By Aquifers & Lakes
Posted by Nature World: None Given on February 15th, 2016
Nature World: For the first time, scientists can see how water storage on land affects how much and how fast sea levels have risen. An orbiting NASA satellite calculated the amount of water stored on Earth's continents, and the measurements revealed that terrestrial bodies are soaking up an extra 3.2 trillion tons of water, which is briefly mitigating the rise in sea level by approximately 20 percent. This land water is being stored in lakes, underground aquifers and the soil. Researchers from NASA's Jet Propulsion...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on NASA Says Sea-Level Rise Temporarily Slowed By Aquifers & LakesScientists discover new microbes that thrive deep in the earth
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 15th, 2016
ScienceDaily: They live several kilometers under the surface of the earth, need no light or oxygen and can only be seen in a microscope. By sequencing genomes of a newly discovered group of microbes, the Hadesarchaea, an international team of researchers have found out how these microorganisms make a living in the deep subsurface biosphere of our planet.
Microorganisms that live below the surface of the earth remain one of the last great areas of exploration. Organisms that live there have not been grow in...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Scientists discover new microbes that thrive deep in the earthTwo-thirds of the world’s population doesn’t have reliable access to fresh water
Posted by Mongabay: Mike Gaworecki on February 15th, 2016
Mongabay: New research paints a sobering picture about the water crisis looming over our heads. Previous studies have estimated anywhere from 1.7 and 3.1 billion people are already living with severe water shortages. But those studies underestimated the extent of water scarcity, according to researchers at the University of Twente in the Netherlands, who published their findings in the journal Science Advances last week. The researchers say their results show that two-thirds of the global population — some...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Two-thirds of the world’s population doesn’t have reliable access to fresh waterHarmful Algae Toxins Found In 13 Alaskan Marine Animals
Posted by Nature World: None Given on February 15th, 2016
Nature World: Harmful algae toxins have been found in as many as 13 marine animals living in Alaska, according to a new study from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Researchers examined the stomach content, urine and feces of whales, walruses, sea lions, seals, porpoises and sea otters in the search of two types of toxins: domoic acid and saxitoxin.
"What really surprised us was finding these toxins so widespread in Alaska, far north of where they have been previously documented in...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Harmful Algae Toxins Found In 13 Alaskan Marine AnimalsSolar cells help purify water in developing countries
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 15th, 2016
ScienceDaily: Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have developed a water purification plant that provides clean water far beyond the reach of the electrical grid -- thanks to solar cells. With the help of Nobel Peace Prize recipient Muhammad Yunus, these small and portable solar cell stations have now been placed across rural Bangladesh. "750 million people lack access to clean water across the globe. Providing safe drinking water is one of the biggest challenges and one of the most important goals for humanity,"...
Four billion people affected by severe water scarcity
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on February 15th, 2016
ScienceDaily: There are four billion people worldwide who are affected by severe water scarcity for at least one month a year. That is the conclusion of University of Twente Professor of Water Management, Arjen Hoekstra, after many years' extensive research. This alarming figure is much higher than was previously thought. His ground-breaking research was published in Science Advances. Professor Hoekstra's team is the first research group in the world to identify people's water footprint from month to month and...