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Earth Sciences

University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Drought

Articles 1 - 6 of 6

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Assessing Agricultural Risk Management Using Historic Crop Insurance Loss Data Over The Ogallala Aquifer, Julian Reyes, Emile Elias, Erin M.K. Haacker, Amy Kremen, Lauren Parker, Caitlin Rottler Jan 2020

Assessing Agricultural Risk Management Using Historic Crop Insurance Loss Data Over The Ogallala Aquifer, Julian Reyes, Emile Elias, Erin M.K. Haacker, Amy Kremen, Lauren Parker, Caitlin Rottler

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Much of the agricultural production in the Ogallala Aquifer region relies on groundwater for irrigation. In addition to declining water levels, weather and climate-driven events affect crop yields and revenues. Crop insurance serves as a risk management tool to mitigate these perils. Here, we seek to understand what long-term crop insurance loss data can tell us about agricultural risk management in the Ogallala. We assess patterns and trends in crop insurance loss data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Risk Management Agency. Indemnities, or insurance payments, totaled $22 billion from 1989–2017 for the 161 counties that overlie the Ogallala Aquifer. …


A Multi-Sensor View Of The 2012 Central Plains Drought From Space, Jun Wang, Amy L. Kessner, Clint Aegerter, Ambrish Sharma, Laura Judd, Brian D. Wardlow, Jinsheng You, Martha Shulski, Suat Irmak, Ayse Kilic, Jing Zeng Jan 2016

A Multi-Sensor View Of The 2012 Central Plains Drought From Space, Jun Wang, Amy L. Kessner, Clint Aegerter, Ambrish Sharma, Laura Judd, Brian D. Wardlow, Jinsheng You, Martha Shulski, Suat Irmak, Ayse Kilic, Jing Zeng

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

In summer of 2012, the Central Plains of the United States experienced its most severe drought since the ground-based data record began in the late 1900s. By using comprehensive satellite data from MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) and TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission), along with in-situ observations, this study documents the geophysical parameters associated with this drought, and thereby providing, for the first time, a large-scale observation-based view of the extent to which the land surface temperature and vegetation can likely be affected by both the severe drought and the agricultural response (irrigation) to the drought. Over non-irrigated area, 2012 …


The Influence Of Basin Morphometry On The Regional Coherence Of Patterns Of Diatom-Inferred Salinity In Lakes Of The Northern Great Plains (Usa), Courtney R. Wigdahl, Jasmine E. Saros, Sherilyn C. Fritz, Jeffery R. Stone, Daniel R. Engstrom Jan 2014

The Influence Of Basin Morphometry On The Regional Coherence Of Patterns Of Diatom-Inferred Salinity In Lakes Of The Northern Great Plains (Usa), Courtney R. Wigdahl, Jasmine E. Saros, Sherilyn C. Fritz, Jeffery R. Stone, Daniel R. Engstrom

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Sedimentary diatom profiles from saline lakes are frequently used to reconstruct lakewater salinity as an indicator of drought. However, diatom-inferred salinity (DI-salinity) reconstructions from geographically proximal sites in the Great Plains (USA) have yielded disparate results. This study explores how physical changes in lake habitat resulting from drought may affect climate inferences from salinity reconstructions. Differences in relationships among drought, lake-level change, and diatom community structure over the last century were examined for three saline lakes in the northern Great Plains with dissimilar DI-salinity records. At each site, models were developed relating available planktic:benthic (P:B) habitat area to lake-level change, …


A 2200-Year Record Of Hydrologic Variability From Foy Lake, Montana, Usa, Inferred From Diatom And Geochemical Data, Lora R. Stevens, Jeffery R. Stone, Josh Campbell, Sherilyn C. Fritz Mar 2006

A 2200-Year Record Of Hydrologic Variability From Foy Lake, Montana, Usa, Inferred From Diatom And Geochemical Data, Lora R. Stevens, Jeffery R. Stone, Josh Campbell, Sherilyn C. Fritz

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

A 2200-yr long, high-resolution (~5 yr) record of drought variability in northwest Montana is inferred from diatoms and δ18O values of bio-induced carbonate preserved in a varved lacustrine core from Foy Lake. A previously developed model of the diatom response to lake-level fluctuations is used to constrain estimates of paleolake levels derived from the diatom data. High-frequency (decadal) fluctuations in the de-trended δ18O record mirror variations in wet/dry cycles inferred from Banff tree-rings, demonstrating the sensitivity of the oxygen-isotope values to changes in regional moisture balance. Low frequency (multi-centennial) isotopic changes may be associated with shifts …


Hydrologic Variation In The Northern Great Plains During The Last Two Millennia, Sherilyn C. Fritz, Emi Ito, Zicheng Yu, Kathleen R. Laird, Daniel R. Engstrom Mar 2000

Hydrologic Variation In The Northern Great Plains During The Last Two Millennia, Sherilyn C. Fritz, Emi Ito, Zicheng Yu, Kathleen R. Laird, Daniel R. Engstrom

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Reconstructions of lake-water salinity at decadal resolution for the last 2,000 years are compared among three lakes in North Dakota to infer regional patterns of drought. The intersite comparisons are used to distinguish local variation in climate or hydrology from regional patterns of change. At one lake, diatom-inferred salinity and lake-water Mg/Ca inferred from ostracode shell chemistry are coherent, both in terms of direction and magnitude of change, indicating that each is a robust technique for reconstructing lake-water chemistry. The data show that the last 2,000 years have been characterized by frequent shifts between high and low salinity, suggesting shifts …


A Diatom-Based Reconstruction Of Drought Intensity, Duration, And Frequency From Moon Lake, North Dakota: A Sub-Decadal Record Of The Last 2,300 Years, Kathleen R. Laird, Sherilyn C. Fritz, Brian F. Cumming Apr 1998

A Diatom-Based Reconstruction Of Drought Intensity, Duration, And Frequency From Moon Lake, North Dakota: A Sub-Decadal Record Of The Last 2,300 Years, Kathleen R. Laird, Sherilyn C. Fritz, Brian F. Cumming

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Diatom assemblages preserved in sediment cores from closed-basin lakes can provide high-resolution records of past hydrologic and climatic conditions, including long-term patterns in the intensity, duration, and frequency of droughts. At Moon Lake, a closed-basin lake in eastern North Dakota, a comparison of diatom-inferred salinity and the precipitation-based Bhalme-Mooley Drought Index (BMDI) over the last 100 years was highly significant, suggesting that the diatom record contains a sensitive archive of past climatic conditions. A sub-decadal record of inferred salinity for the past 2300 years indicates that extreme droughts of greater intensity than those during the 1930s “Dust Bowl” were more …