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Drought in Eastern AfricaMore Frequent Drought Likely in Eastern Africa The increased frequency of drought observed in eastern Africa over the last 20 years is likely to continue as long as... More »
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Key Source of River SedimentationStream bank erosion and collapse have been found to be major contributors to high sediment levels in silty streams and rivers that flow into the Mississippi... More »
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Evidence: Benefits of BiodiversityPrecedent-Setting Evidence of the Benefits of Biodiversity New evidence that biodiversity promotes water quality suggests that accelerating species losses may... More »
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Evidence: Benefits of Biodiversity Last Updated on 2011-04-06 00:00:00 Precedent-Setting Evidence of the Benefits of Biodiversity New evidence that biodiversity promotes water quality suggests that accelerating species losses may compromise water quality View a webcast with Bradley Cardinale of the University of Michigan. Frequent reports of accelerating species losses invariably raise questions about why such losses matter and why we should work to conserve biodiversity. Biologists have traditionally responded to such questions by citing societal benefits that are often presumed to be offered by biodiversity--benefits like controlling pests and diseases, promoting the productivity of fisheries, and helping to purify air and water, among many others. Nevertheless, many of these presumed benefits are have yet to be supported by rigorous scientific data. But Bradley J. Cardinale of the University of Michigan... More » 
Sources, Transport, and Fate of Total Organic Carbon Last Updated on 2011-03-05 00:00:00 SPARROW Model of Land Use and In-stream Controls on Total Organic Carbon in Streams of the Conterminous United States Watersheds play many important roles in the carbon cycle: (1) they are a site for both terrestrial and aquatic carbon dioxide (CO2) removal through photosynthesis; (2) they transport living and decomposing organic carbon in streams and groundwater; and (3) they store organic carbon for widely varying lengths of time as a function of many biogeochemical factors. Using the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Spatially Referenced Regression on Watershed Attributes (SPARROW) model, along with long-term monitoring data on total organic carbon (TOC), this research quantitatively estimates the sources, transport, and fate of the long-term mean annual load of TOC in streams of the conterminous United States. The model simulations use surrogate measures of the major... More » 
Key Source of River Sedimentation Last Updated on 2011-02-23 00:00:00 Stream bank erosion and collapse have been found to be major contributors to high sediment levels in silty streams and rivers that flow into the Mississippi River. Careful Sleuthing Reveals a Key Source of Sedimentation Much of the Mississippi River sediment load doesn't come from field runoff, according to work by scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Instead, the scientists with USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have confirmed that stream bank collapse and failure can be chief contributors to high sediment levels in the silty streams and rivers that flow into the Mississippi. ARS is USDA's chief intramural scientific research agency. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lists sediment as the most common water pollutant of rivers, streams, lakes and reservoirs in the United States. Trapped sediment can reduce the useful... More » 
Drought in Eastern Africa Last Updated on 2011-01-29 00:00:00 More Frequent Drought Likely in Eastern Africa The increased frequency of drought observed in eastern Africa over the last 20 years is likely to continue as long as global temperatures continue to rise, according to research published in Climate Dynamics. This poses increased risk to the estimated 17.5 million people in the Greater Horn of Africa who currently face potential food shortages. Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of California, Santa Barbara, determined that warming of the Indian Ocean, which causes decreased rainfall in eastern Africa, is linked to global warming. These new projections of continued drought contradict previous scenarios by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicting increased rainfall in eastern Africa. This new research supports efforts by the USGS and the U.S. Agency for International Development... More » 
