The Effects Of Climate Change On Soil Moisture

In addition, global climate change will exacerbate these challenges faced by countries and populations. Shifting precipitation patterns threaten to reduce water availability in some regions while inflicting stronger storms on others, increasing both potential droughts and floods. This may increase the frequency of more serious

Global climate change and variability, particularly at regional levels, are not completely understood. Therefore, there are many significant

Heavy precipitation events that historically occurred once in 20 years are projected to occur as frequently as every 5 to 15 years by this late century. Short term droughts are expected to intensify in most regions. Longer term droughts are expected to intensify in larger regions in the Southwest. Flooding may intensify in many U.S regions. Climate change is affecting the groundwater availability also. Sea level rising and storms surges are expected to compromise the sustainability of coastal freshwater and

It is undeniable that climate change is drastically changing our current landscapes throughout the world. There are many individuals who consider climate change to be a natural and organic progression, but many studies indicate that due to excess greenhouse gas emissions, humans are accelerating global warming at an alarming rate. It’s convenient to continuously dismiss the studies and evidence that suggest climate change is real and it could have serious consequences, but when these drastic changes are taking place in our own backyard, it becomes a harsh reality. There is longstanding research, which indicates that the Colorado River has been in a drought since the early 2000’s and researchers allege that due to rising temperatures, the

---. “Summer and Winter Drought in a Cold Desert Ecosystem (Colorado Plateau).” Utah State University, vol. 61, no. 1, 2005,

The western prairies provinces (WPP) have an area of two million km2, these regions are the main agricultural and food producing regions in all of Canada (Schindler, 2006). As global warming increases, more water will be used for irrigation for crops. Every year, 2.5 km3 of water is used for irrigation on 1 million acres of land. The water comes from reservoirs and lakes that trap snowmelt run-off from the Rocky Mountains, however only twenty percent of this water is returned to the rivers. The WPP temperatures have increased by 4 degrees since 1970 (Schindler, 2006. Most of the rural areas are not receiving 14-24% of their previous annual precipitation in the 1900’s. The summer flows have decreased 20-84% due to the increased warming through its effects on evapotranspiration and evaporation (Schindler, 2001). Low water flows can cause an escalation of water retention that results in increased nutrient retention, thus proliferating Eutrophication. (Helmer,1999). This imbalance between water evaporation, water usage and water replenishment will create scarce resource for Western Canada’s near future.

Changes in climate have affected the growth of crops. Particularly climate change has increased the amount precipitation fall in North Dakota.

Where AET is actual evapotranspiration, P is the precipitation depth, and Q is runoff depth. Combined evaporation and transpiration from plants (evapotranspiration) is balanced by inflows as precipitation and outflows as runoff. Based on a research conducted by McGuiness (1963) for a period of seventeen years (1933-1949), the Rock Creek basin received an average precipitation of 43.5 inches, in which 12 inches was surface runoff. Therefore, if the precipitation and runoff values are substituted into the equation above, actual evapotranspiration rate of the basin equals 31.5 inches. However,

Climate projections for Wisconsin indicate that increasing temperatures and shifting precipitation patterns will affect both the quantity and quality of the state’s water resources. The changes will have major impacts on the Mississippi River, Lake Michigan and Lake Superior, 5.3 million acres of wetlands, 15,000 inland lakes, and 84,000 miles of streams. Due to differences in land use, soil type, groundwater characteristics, and runoff and seepage, hydrological responses will vary among geographic regions. Continuing population and socioeconomic shifts, combined with heat waves, heavy rains, and drought are expected to intensify the effects on aging infrastructure, health, agriculture, forestry, transportation, and air and water quality. This

Today, the threat of human-induced global warming has caused some scientists to speculate that the Great Plains region is set to experience semipermanent drought conditions similar to what was experienced during the Dust Bowl. However, other scientists have claimed that conditions will be much tamer by comparison.. This inconsistency of results is discussed by Hoerling et al in their paper “Is a Transition to Semipermanent Drought Conditions Imminent in the U.S. Great Plains?” In their paper, it is suggested that the variance in results is due to the fact that the primary studies that have been conducted have used different methods and models to predict drought conditions and temperature in the Great Plains area. The models and methods discussed include the Palmer Drought Severity Index, the Coupled Model

The greatest social antagonism we as a living, loving, thinking species are currently facing--global climate change--is continuing to cause drastic alterations to our planet’s ecology. California’s already four-year-long drought is worsening by 27% as a result of higher temperatures, which are causing more moisture to evaporate from plants and soil, reports a recent study in the journal named Geophysical Research Letters.

The findings resulted in spring runoffs occurring early over the Pacific Northwest and Sierra Nevada regions. (Regonda, Rajagopalan, Clark, & Pitlick, 2004, p.376) Snow water equivalent (SWE) declined in over half of the examined areas, with the biggest declines coming in Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, and the Sierra Nevada’s. Temperature and precipitation can impact the SWE levels with altitude playing a key role. (Regonda, Rajagopalan, Clark, & Pitlick, 2004, p.377)

The Denver Basin has a semi arid atmosphere in which potential yearly evaporation is around five times greater than yearly precipitation. Most of the precipitation that falls on the land surface either runs off in streams, is evaporated from the surface of the soil, or is consumed by vegetation. Although this may be the case, a little part of the precipitation more often than not diffuses downwards and recharges the groundwater system. In the Denver Basin, a lot of the recharge happens in the highland areas between stream channels in the higher southern part of the basin. Precipitation is more prominent here, and the porous soils derived from the Dawson Arkose allow deep permeation. Recharge here can happen on a local and a regional scale. Locally, water moves

The Denver Basin has a semi arid atmosphere in which potential yearly evaporation is around five times greater than yearly precipitation. Most of the precipitation that falls on the land surface either runs off in streams, is evaporated from the surface of the soil, or is consumed by vegetation. Although this may be the case, a little part of the precipitation more often than not diffuses downwards and recharges the groundwater system. In the Denver Basin, a lot of the recharge happens in the highland areas between stream channels in the higher southern part of the basin. Precipitation is more prominent here, and the porous soils derived from the Dawson Arkose allow deep permeation. Recharge here can happen on a local and a regional scale. Locally, water moves

Climate change otherwise known as global warming has been an ongoing issue for decades. Beginning in the 19th century, climate change has increasingly affected Earth and its atmosphere. Rising levels of carbon dioxide are warming the Earth’s atmosphere, causing rising sea-levels, melting snow and ice, extreme fires and droughts, and intense rainfall and floods. Climate change has and will continue to affect food production, availability of water, and can add to many health risks in humans and animals. In fact, in an article by Justin Gillis titled, “Scientists Warn of Perilous Climate Shift Within Decades, Not Centuries” he focuses on a paper written by a former NASA climate scientist, James E. Hansen, explaining the effects of climate change on Earth today. Although many believe Hansen’s theories in the paper are quite far-fetched, the author mentions, “Despite any reservations they might have about the new paper, virtually all climate scientists agree with Dr. Hansen’s group that society is not moving fast enough to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, posing grave risks” (Gillis). Gillis validates the fact that climate change has been rapidly expanding throughout Earth and society has not been able to reduce it fast enough. Many negative risks are being posed and will continue to mount if the issue of climate change is not taken seriously. Although climate change negatively affects nearly all aspects of Earth, it poses a big