The global threat of drying lands: Regional and global aridity trends and future projections

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification | December 9th, 2024

Most of the world’s land—more than three-quarters—has become permanently dryer in recent decades. A combined global area equal to half the size of Australia has tra

Most of the world’s land—more than three-quarters—has become permanently dryer in recent decades. A combined global area equal to half the size of Australia has transformed from humid lands to drylands with less rain for crops, pastures, nature and people. These stark statistics are among the many grim revelations from new analyses revealed in this groundbreaking report. For the first time, scientists within UNCCD Science-Policy Interface have clearly documented current and future drying trends and impacts that reveal a global, existential peril previously shrouded by a fog of scientific uncertainty. Its name is aridity—the climatic and enduring condition of too little life-supporting moisture—and its effects threaten the lives and livelihoods of billions across almost every region of the globe.

Large global-scale vegetation sensitivity to daily rainfall variability

Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | December 11th, 2024

Click here for a plain language summary from NASA.

Click here for a plain language summary from NASA.

Assessing Regional Strategies to Cope with Drought, Climate, and Environmental Flow Policy Impacts for a Sustainable Water Supply: A Case Study of the Bay Area

American Chemical Society (ACS) | December 27th, 2024

Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act of 2024

U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) | December 17th, 2024

To promote remediation of abandoned hardrock mines.

To promote remediation of abandoned hardrock mines.

Earth’s clouds are shrinking, boosting global warming

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) | December 19th, 2024

For more than 20 years, NASA instruments in space have tracked a growing imbalance in Earth’s solar energy budget, with more energy entering than leaving the planet. Mu

For more than 20 years, NASA instruments in space have tracked a growing imbalance in Earth’s solar energy budget, with more energy entering than leaving the planet. Much of that imbalance can be pinned on humanity’s greenhouse gases emissions, which trap heat in the atmosphere. But explaining the rest has been a challenge. The loss of reflective ice, exposing darker ground and water that absorb more heat, isn’t enough to explain the deficit, and the decline in light-reflecting hazes as countries clean up or close polluting industry falls short as well. “Nobody can get a number that’s even close,” says George Tselioudis, a climate scientist at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies.

City of Fresno et al v. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation et al

United States Court of of Federal Claims | December 17th, 2024

In this case, we are called upon to review how the federal government resolved a particular dispute over water distribution during the drought-ridden year of 2014

In this case, we are called upon to review how the federal government resolved a particular dispute over water distribution during the drought-ridden year of 2014. As we explain in more detail below, individual growers, irrigation districts (which provide water to farms), water districts (which provide water to municipalities), and the City of Fresno, all located within the area served by the Central Valley Project (“CVP” or “Project”), sued the United States (“government”) over its failure to deliver water they contend they were entitled to under a series of contracts. The government defended its water allocation decisions by pointing to obligations it had under other contracts, to deliver water to another set of entities. Through adjudication of a series of motions, the Court of Federal Claims dismissed several of the plaintiffs’ claims and granted summary judgment to the government on all remaining claims.

Response of the upper ocean to northeast Pacific atmospheric rivers under climate change

Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | October 19th, 2024

Click here for a plain language summary from the National Center for Atmospheric Research

Click here for a plain language summary from the National Center for Atmospheric Research

Atmospheric rivers cause warm winters and extreme heat events

Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | December 18th, 2024

Click here for a plain language summary and interview with the authors by Yale News.

Click here for a plain language summary and interview with the authors by Yale News.

Biological sensitivities to high-resolution climate change projections in the California current marine ecosystem

Wiley | July 28th, 2022

Improving Groundwater Security in the United States

The White House | December 14th, 2024

The U.S. is facing a serious and unprecedented groundwater challenge. In many aquifers, groundwater withdrawal has outpaced natural recharge, which is exacerbated by the

The U.S. is facing a serious and unprecedented groundwater challenge. In many aquifers, groundwater withdrawal has outpaced natural recharge, which is exacerbated by the changing climate and precipitation variability. Much of the water in the major aquifers in the U.S. is fossil water, recharged over 10,000 years ago, and will not be replaced naturally on human timescales. In the western U.S., groundwater resources are being depleted at alarming rates, mostly from agricultural withdrawal. The depletion has caused land subsidence and earth fissures as well as permanent reduction of storage capacity. The depletion has national and global consequences as non-renewable groundwater in the west is embedded in agricultural products transported to the rest of the U. S. and in agricultural commodities exported globally. Many federal agencies have programs to measure the quality and quantity of groundwater, as well as conservation programs for sustainable use of groundwater. PCAST applauds and endorses their efforts as well as those by state governments, non-governmental organizations, professional organizations, local communities, private citizens, and others, to manage their groundwater resources. To ensure the sustainability of this indispensable resource and mitigate risks from its depletion, it is imperative that we enhance our understanding and management of groundwater resources.