Weather Tidbits For You

Our friends at Earth Gauge always provide interesting weather/science tidbits. Here are a few:

When It rains...

Rainfall records from the central United States confirm the old adage that “when it rains, it pours. ” While days with at least “moderately heavy” precipitation   ̶  precipitation totals exceeding  0.5 inches   ̶   account for only 25 percent of all days when it rains, more than 70 percent of the total rain volume falls during moderately heavy or heavier rainy days.

A region’s climate is defined not only by temperature and precipitation totals, but also by the frequency, distribution and intensity of rainfall events. Understanding the potential climatic extremes of a given area, particularly the potential rainfall intensity, is important when designing infrastructure. Extreme rainfall events can overwhelm dams. Highways are designed to function during moderate rainfall events, but underpasses may flood during extreme events.  Municipal water systems can only process so much water at once: when two inches of rainfall occur in a 24-hour period, the average treatment facility must discharge untreated sewage into local surface waters, which support wildlife and are likely upstream from other municipalities.

Since the late 1940s, the frequency of days with precipitation totals over two inches has increased, with the frequency of days with over three inches almost doubling. The most extreme rainfall events, with totals over six inches, have increased by 40 percent.

Ohio River Watershed

The Ohio River watershed includes an area of 528,000 square km (203,940 square miles) and six states. Over 25 million people live within the watershed and nearly 3 million people rely on the Ohio for drinking water. Nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients in fertilizers applied to agricultural lands are important for plant growth, but soils can only hold onto so much. When it rains, extra fertilizer nutrients can be washed down through the soil and into groundwater aquifers – natural underground storage areas for water that can be pumped out with a well.

Groundwater is an important source of water for drinking and irrigation in many parts of the country. If you manage agricultural land, you can help protect groundwater quality by practicing nutrient management. Apply fertilizers in the proper amount, at the right time of year and with the right method to significantly reduce the potential for pollution.

What’s Your Nitrogen Footprint?

What is a nitrogen footprint and why is it so important?  Well, just like a carbon footprint, a nitrogen footprint approximates how much nitrogen your daily activities produce over a period of time. Nitrogen is important because it builds our DNA, amino acids and proteins that grow the tissues of all living things. 

Farmers use nitrogen-based fertilizers to grow their crops and feed the world’s population. However, like most things in life, too much of anything can cause problems – when too much nitrogen enters our waterways, it can actually hurt the very ecosystems that depend on it in the first place. 

In water, excess nitrogen often produces harmful algal blooms or “red tides” that degrade water quality, food resources and habitats, produce toxins harmful to humans and wildlife and decrease the oxygen that fish and other aquatic animals need to survive.  Storm water runoff from farms, backyards and city streets  all contribute to the problem of excess nutrients, so calculating your own contribution – that is, your nitrogen footprint – is the first step towards solving the problem! You can calculate your nitrogen footprint here.