A few heavy storms cause a big chunk of nitrogen pollution from Midwest farms

New research shows that one-third of yearly nitrogen runoff from Midwest farms to the Gulf of Mexico occurs during a few heavy rainstorms. New fertilizing schedules could reduce nitrogen pollution.

Chaoqun Lu, Assistant Professor of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University • conversation
Nov. 2, 2020 • ~9 min
climate-change agriculture rainfall nitrogen gulf-of-mexico us-midwest nutrient-pollution corn fertilizer sustainable-agriculture dead-zones fertilizer-runoff heavy-rainfall mississippi-river

Curious Kids: How much does a cloud weigh?

It's a lot more than you might think.

Rob Thompson, Postdoctoral Research Scientist in Meteorology, University of Reading • conversation
July 24, 2020 • ~5 min
rainfall meteorology curious-kids clouds

Rain plays a surprising role in making some restored prairies healthier than others

Restoring former prairies that have been plowed under for farming delivers land, wildlife and climate benefits. But a new study finds that the weather plays a surprising role.

Lars Brudvig, Associate Professor of Plant Biology, Michigan State University • conversation
June 5, 2020 • ~8 min
climate-change ecology rainfall prairies grasslands ecosystem-recovery weather us-midwest weeds precipitation native-plants restoration-ecology

Cold war nuclear tests changed rainfall thousands of miles away

Finding could be useful for attempts to manipulate the weather using technology.

Giles Harrison, Professor of Atmospheric Physics, University of Reading • conversation
May 14, 2020 • ~5 min
rainfall meteorology weather nuclear-tests

Climate change: how Senegal's colonial history made it more vulnerable

We need to understand colonial histories to understand climate risks.

Nick Bernards, Assistant Professor of Global Sustainable Development, University of Warwick • conversation
March 6, 2020 • ~7 min

 history  agriculture  farming  colonialism  rainfall  peanuts  senegal

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