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Grand Canyon as Old as the Dinosaurs, Suggests New Study Led by CU-Boulder

By Guest PostDecember 6, 2012Scienceapatite, apatite crystals, arizona, atom, bottom, caltech, colorado boulder, colorado river, detect, earth, evolution, grand canyon, helium atom, hydrology, kenneth farley, landscape, mineral grains, phosphate mineral, radioactive decay, rebecca flowers, surface, tectonics, thermal structure, thorium, topography, university, uranium, variation, western

An analysis of mineral grains from the bottom of the western Grand Canyon indicates it was largely carved out by about 70 million years ago — a time when dinosaurs were around and may have even peeked over the rim, says a study led by the University of Colorado Boulder.

The new research pushes back the conventionally accepted date for the formation of the Grand Canyon in Arizona by more than 60 million years, said CU-Boulder Assistant Professor Rebecca Flowers. The team used a dating method that exploits the radioactive decay of uranium and thorium atoms to helium atoms in a phosphate mineral known as apatite, said Flowers, a faculty member in CU-Boulder’s geological sciences department. (more…)

Mather Lecture

By Guest PostMay 14, 2012Environmentatmosphere, atmospheric moisture, biodiversity, charles j vörösmarty, China, climate change, computer model, cort willmott, deforestation, Europe, geospatial data, global water crisis, hydrology, India, industrializing place, john r mather, mather lecture, nancy targett, natural water systems, nitrogen pollution, noaa, river, sandra mather, stress, thermal regime, united states, university of delaware, water cycle, water management

Renowned expert Charles J. Vörösmarty addresses global water crisis

The world’s streams, rivers and lakes are under increasing stress because of human water management – and mismanagement – that threaten aquatic biodiversity and the water supply, Charles J. Vörösmarty said recently during the second annual John R. Mather Visiting Scholars Lecture.

Vörösmarty, professor of civil engineering with the City College of New York, presented “Global Water Crisis: The Slippery Slope” on May 3 at the University of Delaware’s Roselle Center for the Arts.

“The contemporary water system is really defined increasingly by the actions of humans,” he said. (more…)

UA Project CENTRL a ‘Life-Changing Experience’

By Guest PostMay 11, 2012Culture, Generalcentrl, cheryl oliver, clarkdale, coconino, cottonwood, diane joens, everett rhodes, gene bonfoey, geography, geology, hydrology, kellogg foundation, kristina bonfoey, leadership program, mayor, phyllis kennedy, pinal county, prescott national forest, project centrl, river history, rural arizona, salt river project, sierra club, university of arizona, verde river, verde river almanac

A leadership program sponsored by UA Cooperative Extension has created a network of public officials throughout rural Arizona.

Diane Joens has piled up an impressive list of accomplishments over the last decade: mayor of Cottonwood, Ariz., co-founder of Stewards of Public Lands, editor and publisher of The Verde River Almanac and champion of water rights, reclamation and downtown development.

Joens never imagined herself in any of these leadership roles before she was selected for Project CENTRL in 2001. Then she achieved all of them. “Project CENTRL was a life-changing experience,” she said. (more…)

Testing the Water for Bioenergy Crops

By Guest PostSeptember 3, 2011Environmentanjuli bamzai, atmospheric humidity, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, changing climate, corn, darren drewry, energy, environmental advocates, Germany, grasses, hydrologic cycle, hydrology, land conversion, large scale biofuel production, large scale land conversion, limiting factor, max planck institute, miscanthus, phong le, praveen kumar, rainfall patterns, runoff, soil moisture, switchgrass, university of illinois at urbana champaign, vietnam education foundation, water

*Water significant limiting factor in growing crops like switchgrass*

Energy researchers and environmental advocates are excited about the prospect of gaining more efficient large-scale biofuel production by using large grasses like miscanthus or switchgrass rather than corn.

They have investigated yields, land use, economics and more, but one key factor of agriculture has been overlooked: water.

“While we are looking for solutions for energy through bioenergy crops, dependence on water gets ignored, and water can be a significant limiting factor,” said Praveen Kumar, an environmental engineer and atmospheric scientist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. (more…)

Plant ‘Breathing’ Mechanism Discovered

By Guest PostJuly 14, 2010Science1970, agriculture, carbon dioxide, carnegie institution, climate change, driving force, Germany, global ecology, hydrology, infrared light, joseph berry, jülich, leaf-scale, marie curie, nir, otto lange, pigments, radiation, research center, roland pieruschka, seminal work, stomata, transpiration, weather forecasting

Palo Alto, CA — A tiny, little-understood plant pore has enormous implications for weather forecasting, climate change, agriculture, hydrology, and more.

A study by scientists at the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Global Ecology, with colleagues from the Research Center Jülich in Germany, has now overturned the conventional belief about how these important structures called stomata regulate water vapor loss from the leaf – a process called transpiration.

(more…)

Tag Archives: hydrology

Grand Canyon as Old as the Dinosaurs, Suggests New Study Led by CU-Boulder

Mather Lecture

UA Project CENTRL a ‘Life-Changing Experience’

Testing the Water for Bioenergy Crops

Plant ‘Breathing’ Mechanism Discovered