Latest news with #DesertResearchInstitute
USA Today
28-06-2025
- Climate
- USA Today
Critical reservoirs Lakes Mead, Powell hit 'alarmingly low levels' again
A report shows that both Mead and Powell have "reached alarmingly low levels, holding just one-third of their usual capacity." After a brief reprieve in 2023 and early 2024, a long-simmering water crisis in the West is back with a vengeance, impacting massive water reservoirs, drought conditions and wildfire concerns. In fact, according to a recent report from environmental firm AEM, the western United States faces "a rapidly worsening drought crisis, with affected areas nearly tripling compared to last year." "The drought in the West is a real concern," said AEM senior meteorologist James Aman in an e-mail to USA TODAY. "Over the past few weeks, drought has worsened in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and northern Utah," he said. Overall, the recent western drought was at its worst in late 2021, when nearly 94% of the West was in drought, before easing in 2023-24. It is now at 58%. Of particular concern in the Southwest are the giant reservoirs of the Colorado River basin, Lakes Mead and Powell, which remain far below capacity. The Colorado River and the two reservoirs have been in crisis because of a multidecade drought in the West intensified by climate change, rising demand and overuse. The river also serves Mexico and more than two dozen Native American tribes, produces hydropower, and supplies water to farms that grow most of the nation's winter vegetables. The report shows that both Mead and Powell, crucial reservoirs that provide drinking water for 40 million Americans, have "reached alarmingly low levels, holding just one-third of their usual capacity. This shortage poses significant challenges to agriculture, urban water supplies, and industries reliant on consistent water availability," according to the report. This is up from a low point in 2022, when they were 25% full, but still far from their historic highs of the early 2000s, when they were 95% full. What's the latest on Lakes Mead and Powell? Could they drop to record low levels this year? The two reservoirs are located in the Southwest, with huge Lake Mead primarily in Nevada and Powell located along the Utah-Arizona border. Aman said that "in historical terms, current water levels at Lake Powell and Lake Mead remain very low. Lake Mead is currently at only 31% of capacity," he said. Lake Powell is at 34% capacity, according to David Simeral, a scientist with the Desert Research Institute. Lake Mead and Lake Powell did see water levels increase a bit early this summer, as spring snowmelt worked its way down the Colorado River system, according to Aman. "However, as the summer progresses, lake-levels will begin to decrease," he said. "Water levels are projected to continue falling through the end of this year. The lowest level ever recorded at Lake Mead was 1,041 feet in July 2022 (lowest level since the reservoir started filling in the 1930s). Projections show Lake Mead remaining just above 1,050 feet by later this year, so it would not set a new record low this year." However, long-range projections show even lower water levels by later 2026, with some chance of reaching near the record low, Aman said. The two reservoirs are vital for water supply in the West, according to Aman: "Seven states use Colorado River for parts of their water supply (Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and California). Just over 50% is used for farm irrigation, and almost 20% is used for drinking water. Lake Mead and Lake Powell are by far the two largest reservoirs on the Colorado River." KDSK-TV reported that the Colorado River, which connects the two lakes, provides drinking water for major cities including Denver, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Phoenix, as well as 90% of Las Vegas's drinking water. Expanding drought in the West Just one year ago, only 18% of the western U.S. was in a drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. As of this week's monitor, that number is up to 58%. This significant drought expansion "raises serious concerns about water availability, agricultural productivity, wildfire threats, and infrastructure stability across the region," the AEM report said. The latest medium and long-range outlooks from the National Weather Service (NWS) Climate Prediction Center (CPC) indicate below-normal precipitation in the area for the next several months, according to Aman. Additionally, hotter-than-normal temperatures are expected across the Rockies, Pacific Northwest, and the Upper Midwest, exacerbating drought conditions and placing significant stress on regional electric grids, the AEM report stated. Some good news However, there is some good news in one part of the West: "An active North American monsoon is anticipated to continue through all of July and possibly into August," Aman told USA TODAY. "This is likely to bring above-normal rain and thunderstorms to parts of the Southwest U.S. We agree with the NWS CPC outlooks that show above-normal precipitation is likely across Arizona and New Mexico, and perhaps into southeast Utah and western Colorado through all of July." He added that parts of the Southwest have very deep drought, so just a single summer of above-normal rainfall won't be enough to eliminate drought in these areas. Wildfire worries The severe drought conditions are further intensifying wildfire risks in the West, particularly around the July 4th holiday, historically associated with increased wildfire activity, the AEM report said. Areas such as California, the Great Basin, and the northern Rockies are projected to face above-normal fire potential throughout the summer months, further straining firefighting resources and endangering communities. Canada is also facing extreme fire danger across western provinces, with burned acreage already triple the seasonal average. 'This summer will bring a dangerous combination of heat, dryness, and fuel buildup that elevates wildfire risks across North America,' said Aman. 'We're already seeing an above-average number of wildfires in the U.S., with similar trends north of the border.' Why might July 4 be especially dangerous for wildfires? "There is a huge spike in the number of human-caused wildfires in the United States around the 4th of July holiday, related to the improper use of fireworks," Aman told USA TODAY. "When plotted on a map, the highest concentration of wildfires caused by fireworks occurs in the western half of the U.S., mainly in national parks, national forests, and certain other rural areas. Other smaller clusters of wildfires caused by fireworks are seen around some large U.S. cities, and in national parks and forests in the eastern U.S."
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Alien life could survive deadly stellar radiation, Earth's desert lichen reveal
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The key to determining which planets could host extraterrestrial life could be growing in the harshest deserts of Earth in the form of lichen. The secret to this discovery: the "world's best sunscreen." That's according to scientists who have found that lichen in the Mojave Desert managed to survive for 3 months under levels of intense radiation from the sun that had previously been considered lethal to this organism. While the lichen was badly damaged, it was able to recover and eventually replicate. That indicates to scientists that other extraterrestrial life that requires photosynthesis could prosper on terrestrial or rocky extrasolar planets, or "exoplanets," even if they are exposed to radiation from their own star that had previously been considered deadly. "The study was motivated by a curious observation," team member and Desert Research Institute scientist Henry Sun said in a statement. "I was just walking in the desert, and I noticed that the lichens growing there aren't green, they're black. They are photosynthetic and contain chlorophyll, so you would think they'd be green. "So I wondered, 'What is the pigment they're wearing?' And that pigment turned out to be the world's best sunscreen." Lichen is composed of algae or cyanobacteria that exist symbiotically with fungi. The lichen that formed the basis of this research is Clavascidium lacinulatum, or the "common lichen," found in arid regions across the globe, including Europe, Asia, North Africa, and, of course, the U.S. Life on Earth thrives on light from the sun, which plants and other life forms use to create sugars via photosynthesis. But sunlight is a mix of electromagnetic radiation of different wavelengths, and some of this radiation is not so useful to life; in particular, ultraviolet light. Terrestrial organisms have evolved to cope with Ultraviolet A (UVA) radiation and less common UVB radiation. In humans, UVA is associated with skin aging and wrinkle formation, while UVB causes skin damage like tanning, sunburn, and can even lead to skin cancer. However, light that leaves our star also contains UVC radiation, which has a shorter wavelength than UVA or UVB light and carries more energy, making it much more harmful to life, damaging DNA, and preventing reproduction. In fact, UVC is so lethal that it can be used to sterilize air and water, wiping out microorganisms like bacteria and viruses. Fortunately, our atmosphere filters out much of the ultraviolet light blasted at us from the sun, protecting life from its harshest effects. UVC radiation is completely absorbed, meaning it doesn't reach the surface of our planet. But terrestrial worlds in other star systems may not be so could be especially detrimental to life around so-called M-class and F-class stars, which are hotter and brighter than the sun and are known to belt out intense UVC radiation, especially during stellar flares. "After the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which can see extremely far into space, the excitement shifted from finding life on Mars to these exoplanets," Sun said. "We're talking about planets that have liquid water and an atmosphere." Sun and colleagues wanted to see how lichen coped with bombardment by UVC radiation, so they placed a sample next to a UVC lamp for 3 months in a controlled setting. "In order for a microorganism to persist on a planet, it has to last longer than a day," Sun explained. "So, our experiment had to be long enough to be ecologically significant. We also wanted to go beyond just activity and demonstrate viability." To their surprise, half the cells comprising the lichen regained the ability to replicate after water was reintroduced to them. After further investigation with chemists from the University of Nevada, Sun and colleagues found that this is because the acids of the lichen are akin to nature's version of the additives used to make plastics UV-resistant. Diving deeper, the team cut through the lichen, finding that the top layer was darker, almost like a suntan in humans. Furthermore, they found that when the fungi and the algae that make up lichen were separated, the algae died within minutes of UVC exposure. The team surmised that because lichen isn't regularly exposed to UVC thanks to Earth's atmosphere, its protective layer evolved as a bonus of its UVA and UVB shielding rather than as an aid to survival. "We came to the conclusion that the lichen's top layer—a less than millimeter thick skin, if you will—assures that all the cells below are protected from radiation," Sun continued. "This layer acts as a photostabilizer and even protects the cells from harmful chemical reactions caused by the radiation, including reactive oxygen." Related Stories: —The deadly atmosphere on Venus could help us find habitable worlds. Here's how. —Could nearby stars have habitable exoplanets? NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory hopes to find out —What really makes a planet habitable? Our assumptions may be wrong As for this discovery's implications for life on other worlds, the team posits that some exoplanets may "be teeming with colonial microorganisms that, like the lichens in the Mojave Desert, are 'tanned' and virtually immune to UVC stress.""This work reveals the extraordinary tenacity of life even under the harshest conditions, a reminder that life, once sparked, strives to endure," team leader and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center researcher Tejinder Singh said. "In exploring these limits, we inch closer to understanding where life might be possible beyond this planet we call home." The team's research was published on June 12 in Astrobiology
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Las Vegas goes galactic! Science meets Star Wars at DRI
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The force is strong at the Desert Research Institute, where May The Science Be With You is happening as part of the Las Vegas Science and Technology Festival. It's a free, family-friendly event on Thursday, May 1, from 4 to 8 p.m., and an opportunity to promote science and technology within the community. There will be hands-on STM activities, lab tours, and free admission into the Atomic Museum. There's even some lightsaber training with Star Wars characters. JC was joined by Detra Page, Communications Manager at DRI May the Science Be With You is just one of the many events leading up to the Las Vegas Science and Technology Expo, which takes place on Saturday at the World Market Center. There will be more than 100 interactive booths and exhibits, live science demonstrations and stage shows, STEM activities for all ages, robotics, environmental & health science, and much more, according to Sarah Elliot, festival director. She added there's a special incentive for Clark County School District students to attend and scan a QR code to register for their school. The CCSD school with the most registered attendees will receive a $1,000 donation. Click here for more information on all the events associated with the Las Vegas Science & Technology Festival. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
New data reveals shocking turnaround in water supply for millions of people: 'In pretty good shape'
After years of frightening drought, California's reservoirs have been restored to roughly 115% of their normal levels for this time of year, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. California's dry spell wasn't to be taken lightly. It lasted several years and saw reservoirs reach dangerously low levels. However, unusual storms, heavy rains, and snow have restored the state's water supply over the last couple of years. Not only is California healthier at the moment, but it's preparing to weather the next drought as well. "Most of the reservoirs in California are in pretty good shape," said climatologist Dan McEvoy from the Western Regional Climate Center at the Desert Research Institute, per the Chronicle. Having an emergency water supply in the local reservoirs means that when drought strikes, officials can release water to the people. California's reservoirs hold enough water to supply the state through a one- or even two-year drought, depending on the exact conditions and how full they are to begin with. Right now, they're very full — they gained 200,000 acre-feet of water, or about 100,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools, in the first 2.5 weeks of March. Not only that, but the snowpack on California's mountain peaks recovered to 93% of the normal as of mid-March. Snow melting in warmer weather is what keeps the reservoirs topped up in the drier parts of the year. The timing of all this rain and snow couldn't be better, as April is an important time of year for California's water system. "With several weeks left of March, we will have to wait to see where the state is on April 1, a critical date when the snowpack is usually at its highest," Department of Water Resources agency spokesperson Raquel Borrayo said. "Snow survey data from April helps inform critical water management decisions for the rest of the year." Would you install water-collecting hydropanels on your home? Definitely Not sure No way If the government pays for it Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
