What’s
New Archive 2007
Jan| Feb |Mar| Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov
Archives for 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009
Current "What's New"
December
News
Non-Farm Businesses Hurt by Drought Qualify for Low-Interest Loans
The Small Business Administration is reminding business owners that low-interest (4%) loans are available for those in areas affected by drought. See “Drought Disaster Designations” under Recent Disaster Designations on the SBA’s web site, and “How to Apply for Assistance” for more information on applying for loans. (Press Release | Flyer)
NDMC to Work with Tribal Governments Under New Contract
The National Drought Mitigation Center will work with the Bureau of Indian Affairs to help tribes plan for drought, according to a contract finalized in early November. Officials anticipate that the one-year contract will be extended for three years. The NDMC has been working with tribal governments on drought planning directly and indirectly for the past 10 years. Faculty and staff have developed expertise and understanding of tribal drought planning issues.
Calendar: Presentations & Conferences
December 1-15, Morocco: Dr. Michael J. Hayes and Mark Svoboda will be consulting with Moroccan government officials on next steps for the country to take to prepare for drought. This is a follow-up to an August meeting with officials. The trip is sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development.
December 3, North Platte, NE: Meghan Sittler and Drs. Brian Wardlow and Tsegaye Tadesse are conducting a listening session with ranchers and others on the Vegetation Drought Response Index (VegDRI) and the Vegetation Outlook (VegOut) at the West Central Research and Extension Center. They are joined by research partner Jesslyn Brown, from Science Applications International Corporation at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science.
December 11-12, Nebraska City, NE: Dr. Cody Knutson will be participating in an expert panel meeting to review "The Grazing Manager" computer program. The software was developed by researchers from Texas A&M University and Agren Inc. of Caroll, Iowa, and provides planning and record-keeping systems to help with grazing management decisions.
December 17-18, Lincoln, NE: Two drought researchers from the Czech Republic will visit the NDMC: Mirek Trnka, from the Institute of Agriculture Systems and Bioclimatology at the Mendel University of Agriculture and Forestry in Brno, and Martin Dubrowsky, at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic in Prague.
News
Drought Monitor Forum Presentations Available
Drought Monitor authors, contributors, stakeholders and policymakers heard updates on data and policy at the U.S. Drought Monitor Forum Oct. 10-11 in Portland, Ore. Speakers’ presentations are available.
Southeast Drought Brings Media to NDMC
NDMC drought-trackers have fielded more media calls than usual due to the intense drought currently in the Southeastern United States. Our climatologists’ comments have been incorporated into broadcasts on “Talk of the Nation,” “Morning Edition,” “The Diane Rehm Show,” “The Lou Dobbs Show,” and the “NBC Nightly News,” and into articles in The New York Times, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, USA Today, The Washington Post, The Sacramento Bee, and The Miami Herald, among others. We were also featured in a recent History Channel show, “Mega Drought,” part of the “Mega Disasters” series.
“Drought.gov” On-Line
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) went live Nov. 1 with the web portal for the National Integrated Drought Information System (NDIS), following a NIDIS Implementation Team meeting in Boulder, Colo. NDMC faculty and staff work closely with the NDIS effort. Read NOAA’s press release.
NDMC Welcomes Data Miner Zhang
The NDMC welcomes Bo Zhang, who joined the NDMC in October 2007 and brings considerable skill as a data miner. Read more.
Texas Workshop Scheduled; Bismarck Workshop Presentations Available
The National Drought Mitigation Center will present its next workshop on drought management tools on December 5 at the Randall County Extension Office outside Amarillo, TX. If you’d like to attend, please contact Meghan Sittler, NDMC Research & Outreach Specialist, by emailing msittler2@unl.edu or by calling 402-472-2712. To get a better sense of what to expect, the presentations from the NDMC’s October 22 workshops in Bismarck are available online.
NDMC Explores China Connections
Dr. Cody Knutson of the NDMC met with a delegation of water researchers from Hohai University in China on Nov. 1 to discuss potential collaborative projects. A representative of the NDMC will probably attend a workshop in China in April to discuss potential collaborative projects in more detail.
Drought Impact Reporter
We were pleased to receive official word that the NDMC’s Drought Impact Reporter will be enhanced by a Transition of Research Applications to Climate Services (TRACS) grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The three-year award will help make the tool more robust for policy makers and agricultural producers.
Publications
- Drs. Tsegaye Tadesse and Brian Wardlow, NDMC researchers, presented, “The Vegetation Outlook: A New Tool for Providing Outlooks of Vegetation Conditions Using Data Mining Techniques” to the IEEE International Conference on Data Mining (ICDM) in Omaha in October.
- Dr. Brian Wardlow, NDMC Remote Sensing Specialist, co-authored “An evaluation of MODIS 250-m data for green LAI estimation in crops,” which is published in Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 34. The paper was an initial investigation into the use of time-series MODIS 250-meter vegetation index (VI) data for estimating the green leaf area index (LAI) values for crops. The results of this research will be used to develop a regional-scale mapping protocol to monitor the spatio-temporal changes in green LAI for corn and soybeans across the growing season. Further research using the MODIS VI data will be undertaken to estimate other biophysical characteristics of crops such as chlorophyll content and green biomass.
- “Case Study of Tribal Drought Planning: The Hualapai Tribe,” by NDMC researchers Drs. Cody Knutson and Michael J. Hayes, and Mark Svoboda, was published in the Natural Hazards Review, Vol. 8, No. 4, November 2007.
Calendar: Presentations & Conferences
November 11-17, Bauchi, Nigeria: Dr. Tsegaye Tadesse will participate in “US-Nigeria Workshop: Exploring Strategies for Managing Drought Using Climate Forecasts and Local Knowledge.” The workshop is funded by the National Science Foundation.
November 16, Lisbon, Portugal: Mark Svoboda, NDMC Climatologist, will be making a presentation on drought monitoring and prediction at a conference on Drought Management Systems.
November 18, Lincoln, NE: Meghan Sittler, NDMC Research and Outreach Specialist, will present "Worst(?) Hard Time: Past, Present and Future Drought in Nebraska.” Her talk will be at 2 p.m. in the Hardin Hall Auditorium at 33rd and Holdrege on the southwest corner of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s East Campus.
November 27, McCook, NE: NDMC Climatologist Brian Fuchs will give a talk for the Republican River Riparian Partnership, sponsored by seven Research Conservation & Development Councils from Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska, that are collaborating to promote long-term planning. The conference theme is, "The Republican River YR2037 and Beyond," and the title of Brian’s talk is "Drought Projections 30 years and Beyond."
December 17-18, Lincoln, NE: Two drought researchers from the Czech Republic will visit the NDMC: Mirek Trnka, from the Institute of Agriculture Systems and Bioclimatology at the Mendel University of Agriculture and Forestry in Brno, and Martin Dubrowsky, at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic in Prague.
News
Calendar: Presentations & Conference
October 2, Lincoln, NE: Dr. Donna Woudenberg participated in a roundtable discussion, “A Conversation with Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math at UNL,” sponsored by the Women's and Gender Studies program and the UNL Office of Research.
October 3, Great Falls, MT: Meghan Sittler gave a presentation, "Tracking Drought Stays the Same Even if the Climate Changes," at the 11th Annual National Weather Service's Great Divide Workshop
October 10-11, Portland, OR: The National Drought Mitigation Center is organizing the U.S. Drought Monitor Forum to discuss user needs and modifications to the tool. The Forum is held every other year. This year’s Forum is being sponsored by the NDMC and is being hosted by the USDA-NRCS Water and Climate Center.
October 14-17, near Seattle, WA: Dr. Donna Woudenberg will attend the Women Evolving Biological Sciences symposium. http://www.engr.washington.edu/advance/webs/
October 19-26, Cairo, Egypt: Dr. Cody Knutson will meet with representatives of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Near East Regional Office to finalize the creation of a drought planning guide for countries in northern Africa and the Middle East.
October 22, Bismarck, ND: The National Drought Mitigation Center will hold a listening session on the suite of decision-making tools that it is developing with sponsorship from the Risk Management Association. For more information or to register, please contact Dr. Donna Woudenberg, dwoudenberg2@unl.edu, 402-472-8287, or Kelly Smith, ksmith2@unl.edu, 402-472-3373.
October 28-31, Omaha: Dr. Tsegaye Tadesse and Dr. Brian Wardlow will be presenting a paper entitled “The Vegetation Outlook (VegOut): A New Tool for Providing Outlooks of General Vegetation Conditions Using Data Mining Techniques” at the IEEE International Conference on Data Mining (ICDM) in Omaha.
October 29-31, Boulder, CO: Dr. Michael J. Hayes, Director of the NDMC, and Mark Svoboda, NDMC climatologist, will participate in the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) Implementation Team meeting.
November 11-17, Bauchi, Nigeria: Dr. Tsegaye Tadesse will participate in “US-Nigeria Workshop: Exploring Strategies for Managing Drought Using Climate Forecasts and Local Knowledge.” The workshop is funded by the National Science Foundation.
November 16, Lisbon, Portugal: Mark Svoboda, NDMC Climatologist, will be making a presentation on drought monitoring and prediction at a conference on Drought Management Systems.
News
Calendar: Presentations & Conferences
September 11-13, Grand Island, NE: National Drought Mitigation Center representatives will be distributing information and listening to ag producers at Husker Harvest Days, “the world’s largest totally irrigated working farm show.”
September 10-12, Washington, D.C.: Dr. Michael J. Hayes, director of the NDMC, will be in Washington to meet with people from USAID and NOAA.
September 10-12, Silver Spring, MD: Dr. Jae Ryu, NDMC Hydrologist, will be an invited participant at the Distributed Model Intercomparison Project (DMIP), which will be at the headquarters of the National Weather Service.
September 16-17, Ames, IA: Dr. Ya Ding of the NDMC and Dr. Karina Schoengold of the School of Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will present results from their recent project "The Impact of Weather Extremes on Agricultural Production Methods," at the Heartland Environmental and Resource Workshop.
September 21, Lincoln, NE: The NDMC will meet with the Center for Advanced Land Management Information Technologies about bolstering the remote sensing capabilities within the School of Natural Resources. One of the NDMC’s main products, the Vegetation Drought Response Index (VegDRI), is based on remote sensing data.
September 24-25, Kearney, NE: Dr. Cody Knutson will present information on the development of a real-time groundwater monitoring network in Nebraska at the Nebraska Association of Resource Districts Fall Conference.
October 10-11, Portland, OR: The National Drought Mitigation Center is organizing the U.S. Drought Monitor Forum to discuss user needs and modifications to the tool. The Forum is held every other year. This year’s Forum is being sponsored by the NDMC and is being hosted by the USDA-NRCS Water and Climate Center.
October 19-26, Cairo, Egypt: Dr. Cody Knutson will meet with representatives of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Near East Regional Office to finalize the creation of a drought planning guide for countries in northern Africa and the Middle East.
News
-
Roadmap Document Released
Managing Drought: A Roadmap for Change in the United States is now available. It was first released in July to accompany testimony before Congress, the culmination of last September’s drought conference in Longmont, Colorado.
Presentations
The National Drought Mitigation Center recently presented a day-long workshop in Cheyenne, Wyoming, to gather users’ reactions to new drought planning tools. The presentations are available on-line.
Publications
The United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction document "Drought Risk Reduction Framework and Practices" is now available on the web at http://www.unisdr.org/. The National Drought Mitigation Center spearheaded collaboration with the UNISDR to produce the document, which builds on the UN’s Hyogo Framework for Action and the efforts of its Ad Hoc Discussion Group on Drought, which met in China in June 2006.
Calendar: Presentations & Conferences
August 20-29, Morocco: Dr. Michael J. Hayes, NDMC Director, and Mark Svoboda, NDMC Climatologist, will provide an assessment of Morocco’s National Drought Observatory activities.
September 24-25, Kearney, NE: Dr. Cody Knutson will present information on the development of a real-time groundwater monitoring network in Nebraska at the Nebraska Association of Resource Districts Fall Conference.
September 10-12, Silver Spring, MD: Dr. Jae Ryu, NDMC Hydrologist, will be an invited participant at the Distributed Model Intercomparison Project (DMIP), which will be at the headquarters of the National Weather Service.
October 10-11, Portland, OR: The National Drought Mitigation Center is organizing the U.S. Drought Monitor Forum to discuss user needs and modifications to the tool. The Forum is held every other year. This year’s Forum is being sponsored by the NDMC and is being hosted by the USDA-NRCS Water and Climate Center.
October 19-26, Cairo, Egypt: Dr. Cody Knutson will meet with representatives of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Near East Regional Office to finalize the creation of a drought planning guide for countries in northern Africa and the Middle East.
News
New Grant Awards
-
Congratulations to Dr. Ya Ding, NDMC Agricultural Economist, whose proposal entitled "The Impact of Weather Extremes on Agricultural Production Methods: Does Drought Increase the Adoption of Conservation Tillage Practices?" will receive the Alan and Irene Williams Endowment Grant from the Agricultural Research Division of UNL’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. The funding began July 1, 2007. Co-investigators are Dr. Tsegaye Tadesse, NDMC, and Dr. Karina Schoengold, School of Natural Resources.
-
The National Drought Mitigation Center recently learned that it will receive funding on August 1 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for further development of the Drought Impact Reporter. The funds will come through the Transition of Research Application to Climate Services (TRACS) program within the Climate Program Office of NOAA.
Calendar: Presentations & Conferences
July 7-10, Brussels: Mark Svoboda will be sitting on an Experts Evaluation Panel for research proposals on drought for the European Commission's Environment/Climate Change Program.
July 10-13, Kansas City, MO: Brian Fuchs will present invited drought lectures for NOAA's National Hydrologic Program Managers Conference at the Training Center.
July 11-13, Geneva, Switzerland: Dr. Donald A. Wilhite will chair a meeting of the World Meteorological Organization Task Force on the Socio-Economic Benefits of Weather, Climate and Water Services.
July 16-20, Coeur d'Alene, ID: Mark Svoboda and Brian Fuchs, NDMC climatologists, will both be attending and presenting talks at the American Association of State Climatologists (AASC) annual meeting.
July 25, Boise, Idaho: Dr. Cody Knutson will present the lecture, "Development of a Low Flow Early Warning System for the National Weather Service" at the 2007 Universities Council on Water Resources Annual Conference. The conference focuses on hazards in water resources.
July 25-27, Pierre, SD: Dr. Michael J. Hayes will present information on drought and drought planning at the seventh annual Legislators Forum meeting. Legislators from North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Manitoba will be in attendance.
July 29-31, Portland, OR: Dr. Ya Ding, NDMC Agricultural Economist, will present, “The Impact of Weather Extremes on Agricultural Production Methods: Does drought increase adoption of conservation tillage practices?” at the American Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meeting.
News
- Cheyenne Workshop to Focus on Fine-Tuning Tools
- Knutson Participates in First Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction
- Knutson Reviews UN/FAO Drought Programs in the Near East
- Still Time to Register On-Line for US Drought Monitor Conference, Portland, October 10-11, 2007
Publications
-
Understanding Multiple Environmental Stresses, workshop report, National Research Council of the National Academies, Committee on Earth-Atmosphere Interactions. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press, 2007. Dr. Donald A. Wilhite, director of the NDMC, was one of five prominent scientists serving on the Committee.
Calendar: Presentations & Conferences
Summer 2007, Lincoln, NE: NDMC staff members Meghan Sittler, Dr. Donna Woudenberg, Brian Fuchs and Dr. Brian Wardlow will be participating in Lincoln Public Schools summer science workshops for teachers.
June 4-8, Geneva, Switzerland: Dr. Cody Knutson will participate in the First Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, sponsored by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR). Dr. Knutson is currently leading an NDMC effort to finalize a global drought risk reduction policy framework in collaboration with ISDR, which will unveiled at the conference in Geneva.
June 11-14, Savannah, GA: Mark Svoboda will give an invited plenary talk for the National Hydrologic Warning Council's annual meetings.
June 17-19, Seville, Spain: Dr. Donald A. Wilhite, Director of the NDMC, will give a keynote address to the International Forum on Drought, on U.S. experiences in drought planning and management.
June 21, Cheyenne, WY: The NDMC will present a day-long workshop for ranchers, farmers and others to help develop a suite of new drought-monitoring and decision-making tools, with sponsorship from the Risk Management Agency. Tools being discussed in Cheyenne will include VegDRI, VegOut, Greenleaf, the Drought Impact Reporter, the Drought Monitor, the Drought Atlas, and the Drought Decision Support System. Participation is limited and mostly by invitation, but if you would like to attend or otherwise provide input and feedback on the products, please contact Meghan Sittler, NDMC Research & Outreach Specialist, msittler2@unl.edu, or 402-472-2712.
June 18-July 3, Cairo, Egypt: Dr. Cody Knutson will meet with representatives of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ Near East Region, which includes 32 countries in northern Africa and southwest Asia. He will prepare an assessment report of drought and drought-related activities by FAO and related stakeholders in the Near East Region, and prepare a practical guide or manual on drought management tailored to meet the needs of countries, researchers, and other stakeholders in the region.
June 26-27, Laramie, WY: Mark Svoboda will be participating in and presenting at the National Weather Service Central Region's Data Stewardship sub-regional workshop.
July 7-10, Brussels: Mark Svoboda will be sitting on an Experts Evaluation Panel for research proposals on drought for the European Commission's Environment/Climate Change Program.
July 10-13, Kansas City, MO: Brian Fuchs will present invited drought lectures for NOAA's National Hydrologic Program Managers Conference at the Training Center.
July 11-13, Geneva, Switzerland: Dr. Donald A. Wilhite will chair a meeting of the World Meteorological Organization Task Force on the Socio-Economic Benefits of Weather, Climate and Water Services.
July 16-20, Coeur d'Alene, ID: Mark Svoboda and Brian Fuchs, NDMC climatologists, will both be attending and presenting talks at the American Association of State Climatologists (AASC) annual meeting.
July 25, Boise, Idaho: Dr. Cody Knutson will present the lecture, "Development of a Low Flow Early Warning System for the National Weather Service" at the 2007 Universities Council on Water Resources Annual Conference. The conference focuses on hazards in water resources.
July 29-31, Portland, OR: Dr. Ya Ding, NDMC Agricultural Economist, will present, “The Impact of Weather Extremes on Agricultural Production Methods: Does drought increase adoption of conservation tillage practices?” at the American Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meeting.
News
- Top Atmospheric Scientist To Address Effects of Climate Change
- NDMC, NASA Partner to Benefit Drought Monitor
- NDMC Researcher Develops New Course
-
On-Line Registration Available for US Drought Monitor Conference in Portland, Oregon
October 10-11, 2007 - Wilhite Provides Expertise to Iran
Publications
-
Dr. Brian Wardlow, NDMC Remote Sensing Specialist, recently co-authored, “Multi-temporal, moderate spatial resolution remote sensing of modern agricultural production and land modification in the Brazilian Amazon," published in the April edition of GIScience and Remote Sensing. Wardlow and collaborators from the University of Kansas and Texas A&M focused on developing a multi-temporal remote sensing-based approach to study processes of intensification of mechanized agricultural in the Brazilian Amazon and investigate its relationship to deforestation. Such information is critical to socio-economic, political, and environmental questions surrounding large-scale land transformations occurring in the Amazon.
-
Wardlow co-authored a proceedings paper, "Using MODIS to Detect Cropping Frequency Variation in Mechanized Agriculture in Amazonia," presented at the 13th Annual Brazilian Remote Sensing Symposium (April 21-26) in Florianopolis, Brazil. The study involved researchers from the University of Kansas, Texas A&M, and several Brazilian government agencies. The research evaluated the utility of time-series MODIS 250-meter Vegetation Index data for monitoring intra- and inter-annual cropping frequencies in two municipalities, Vilhena, Rondonia, and Santarem, Para, in the Brazilian Amazon.
-
"A New Automated Assessment of National Irrigated Area from MODIS Earth Observations," a poster, was presented at the USGS Land Remote Sensing Annual Review in Reston, VA by Jess Brown (USGS EROS). Co-authors included Wardlow and Karin Callahan from the NDMC. The poster outlined an automated, national-level irrigated land mapping approach that integrates multi-year time series of MODIS 250-meter Vegetation Index data and USDA crop area statistics. This approach can be applied for rapid classification and assessment of irrigated lands across the U.S. Click here to view the poster (46 Mb).
Calendar: Presentations & Conferences
May 8, Lincoln, NE: “Expanding Your Horizons” helps middle school girls envision careers in math and science. For more information, please contact Megan C. Patent-Nygren in UNL’s Department of Food Science and Technology at 402-472- 5783.
May 8-10, Ann Arbor, MI: Mike Hayes will be an invited expert contributor at a National Summit on Coping with Climate Change, hosted by the University of Michigan. The summit is a contribution to the Clinton Global Initiative – http://www.clintonglobalinitiative.org.
May 13-18, Lincoln, NE: The NDMC is providing expertise for a local radio program, KFOR’s Lincoln Live, which will devote a week to water and climate issues. Brian Fuchs, NDMC Climatologist, and Meghan Sittler, NDMC Research & Outreach Specialist, along with Al Dutcher, the Nebraska State Climatologist, will be on air on Tuesday, May 14. Meghan will return on Friday, May 18, along with a representative of the Groundwater Foundation. KFOR is at 1240 on the AM radio spectrum, and the show airs from 12:30 to 1 p.m. on weekdays.
May 15-16, Marrakesh, Morocco: Don Wilhite will attend the concluding workshop for the MEDROPLAN project. This has been a 4-year effort to develop drought preparedness guidelines for the Mediterranean regions, including southern Europe and Northern Africa. Project funding was provided by the European Commission and Wilhite has served as an external advisor.
May 17-18, Rabat, Morocco: Wilhite will help discuss and evaluate progress on the creation of a National Drought Observatory for Morocco. The NDMC has been involved with this effort for the past 5 years. The project was funded by USDA's Foreign Ag Service, USAID, and the Moroccan government.
May 16-18, Irvine, CA: The Western States Water Council, the Western Governors Association and the California Department of Water Resources are hosting a Climate Change Research Needs Workshop. Mike Hayes will discuss the economic impacts of drought.
May 21-22, Omaha, NE: Brian Fuchs, NDMC Climatologist, will present “Drought Monitoring in the Western United States” at the Association of State Dam Safety Officials’ 2007 West Regional Conference in Omaha at the Quest Center.
May 23-24, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada: Cody Knutson will present a lecture on U.S. drought policy experiences and participate in a panel discussion on the development of a National Drought Strategy for Agriculture in Canada at a workshop sponsored by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
May 24, Boulder, CO: Mark Svoboda will teach a drought module at COMET (Cooperative Program for Operational Meteorology, Education, and Training) as part of an Advanced Hydrologic Sciences Course for NOAA scientists.
June 4-8, Geneva, Switzerland: Cody Knutson will participate in the First Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, sponsored by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR). Dr. Knutson is currently leading an NDMC effort to finalize a global drought risk reduction policy framework in collaboration with ISDR, which will unveiled at the conference in Geneva.
June 11-14, Savannah, GA: Mark Svoboda will give an invited plenary talk for the National Hydrologic Warning Council's annual meetings.
July 10-13, Kansas City, MO: Mark Svoboda will present invited drought lectures for NOAA's National Hydrologic Program Managers Conference at the Training Center.
July 25, Boise, Idaho: Cody Knutson will present the lecture, "Development of a Low Flow Early Warning System for the National Weather Service" at the 2007 Universities Council on Water Resources Annual Conference. The conference focuses on hazards in water resources.
News
- Drought Monitor Archives: Go to http://drought.unl.edu/dm/archive.htm
- History Channel to Feature Drought as “Mega Disaster”
- US Drought Monitor Conference Scheduled for Portland,
October 11-12, 2007 - Top Atmospheric Scientist To Address Effects of Climate Change
Awards
| Wilhite Named International Scholar of the Year | |||
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln chapter of Phi Beta Delta, the honor society for international scholars, gave Dr. Donald A. Wilhite its International Scholar of the Year Award at a ceremony on April 5. Phi Beta Delta, founded 20 years ago at California State University in Long Beach, “honors those who serve internationalism – the idea of a world connected, of respect for different traditions, of the need for education to enhance knowledge of the many cultures that are part of a globe that we all must share.” |
|
||
Presenting the award, PBD Chapter President Dwayne Ball praised Wilhite for his contribution to the well-being of people around the world. “His work will outlive him for many centuries,” Ball said. In his acceptance remarks, Wilhite said, “Drought management is a two-way street. We transfer information to other countries, and bring their experiences back to help us deal with drought and other water supply issues.” Wilhite established the National Drought Mitigation Center at UNL in 1995, building on the earlier successes of the International Drought Information Center, and works with the United Nations, the World Meteorological Organization, and governments around the world. The Drought Center is based in the School of Natural Resources, where Wilhite is a professor in the Applied Climate Science group. Wardlow et al Paper Receives Top Honors The NDMC is pleased to report that Dr. Brian Wardlow, NDMC Remote Sensing Specialist, and two coauthors received two awards from ASPRS, The Imaging & Geospatial Information Society, for a publication in the November 2006 edition of Photogrammetric Imaging & Remote Sensing. The awards were the 2007 John I. Davidson President’s Award for Practical Papers, and the 2007 Leica Geosystems Award for Best Scientific paper in Remote Sensing. The award-winning paper is “Using USDA Crop Progress Data for the Evaluation of Green-up Onset Data Calculated from MODIS 250-Meter Data.” Wardlow joined the NDMC in 2006 and is one of the main researchers on the VegDRI product.
|
|||
Jordan Thanks Wilhite for Leadership Dr. Donald A. Wilhite, Director of the National Drought Mitigation Center, is honored by Mostafa M. Qrunfleh, Minister of Agriculture, Jordan, with an award of appreciation for the development of the framework for Jordan's national drought strategy. Dr. Wilhite’s trip to Jordan in March was for a workshop that concluded a Technical Cooperation Project funded by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Dr. Wilhite served as the international team leader for the project, and the National Drought Mitigation Center hosted four Jordanian drought planners for several days in November 2006. |
 |
||
Publications
- “A five-year analysis of MODIS NDVI and NDWI for grassland drought assessment over the central Great Plains of the United States,” by Yingxin Gu, Jesslyn F. Brown, James P. Verdin, and Brian Wardlow, published in Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 34, L06407, March 2007, a publication of the American Geophysical Union.
This publication, co-authored by NDMC researcher Dr. Brian Wardlow, is available on our web site as a pdf. The research compares the use of several remote-sensing-based indices for monitoring drought conditions over the Flint Hills tallgrass prairie. The research team will be further evaluating these indices by comparing their responses to soil moisture conditions measured across Oklahoma's Mesonet for a 7-year period. This initial research suggests that the NDWI and NDDI may be more responsive to drought-induced vegetation stress over grasslands than the traditional NDVI measure.
- “Appropriate application of the Standardized Precipitation Index in arid locations and dry seasons,” by Hong Wu, Mark D. Svoboda, Michael J. Hayes, Donald A. Wilhite and Fujiang Wen, in the International Journal of Climatology 27:65-79 (2007).
Calendar: Presentations & Conferences
April 11, Rapid City, S.D.: Mike Hayes and Cody Knutson will be present a drought planning workshop during the Mni Sose Intertribal Water Rights Coalition's Board of Directors Meeting.
April 24, Lincoln, NE: Cody Knutson will present "The Story of Drought in Nebraska: Past, Present, and Future" as part of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI).
April 26-28, Waikoloa, Hawaii: Michael J. Hayes will be at the CRCES Workshop on Societal Impacts of Decadal Climate Variability in the United States, leading a session on Climate Impacts Inventory.
May 3-4, Lincoln, NE: Dr. Tim Killeen, Director of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, will visit. Details are pending. His schedule is likely to include a talk on climate change that is open to the public as well as a session with students, discussing career paths in atmospheric sciences.
May 8, Lincoln, NE: “Expanding Your Horizons” helps middle school girls envision careers in math and science. For more information, please contact Megan C. Patent-Nygren in UNL’s Department of Food Science and Technology at 402-472- 5783.
May 8-10, Ann Arbor, MI: Mike Hayes will be an invited expert contributor at a National Summit on Coping with Climate Change, hosted by the University of Michigan. The summit is a contribution to the Clinton Global Initiative – http://www.clintonglobalinitiative.org.
May 16-18, Midvale, UT: The Western States Water Council, the Western Governors Association and the California Department of Water Resources are hosting a Climate Change Research Needs Workshop. Mike Hayes will discuss the economic impacts of drought.
May 21-22, Omaha, NE: Brian Fuchs, NDMC Climatologist, will present “Drought Monitoring in the Western United States” at the Association of State Dam Safety Officials’ 2007 West Regional Conference in Omaha at the Quest Center.
May 23-24, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada: Cody Knutson will present a lecture on U.S. drought policy experiences and participate in a panel discussion on the development of a National Drought Strategy for Agriculture in Canada at a workshop sponsored by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
May 24, Boulder, CO: Mark Svoboda will teach a drought module at COMET (Cooperative Program for Operational Meteorology, Education, and Training) as part of an Advanced Hydrologic Sciences Course for NOAA scientists.
June 4-8, Geneva, Switzerland: Cody Knutson will participate in the First Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, sponsored by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR). Dr. Knutson is currently leading an NDMC effort to finalize a global drought risk reduction policy framework in collaboration with ISDR, which will unveiled at the conference in Geneva.
June 11-14, Savannah, GA: Mark Svoboda will give an invited plenary talk for the National Hydrologic Warning Council's annual meetings.
July 10-13, Kansas City, MO: Mark Svoboda will present invited drought lectures for NOAA's National Hydrologic Program Managers Conference at the Training Center.
July 25, Boise, Idaho: Cody Knutson will present the lecture, "Development of a Low Flow Early Warning System for the National Weather Service" at the 2007 Universities Council on Water Resources Annual Conference. The conference focuses on hazards in water resources.
News
Publication
“Drought in the U.S.: A Roadmap for Science and Public Policy,” by David M. Diodato, U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board; Donald A. Wilhite, Director of the National Drought Mitigation Center; and Deborah I. Nelson, Geological Society of America, appeared in the February 27, 2007, edition of EOS, the weekly newspaper of geophysics. The article summarizes recommendations emerging from a conference held in September 2006. The comprehensive version of the “Roadmap” will be available in June 2007 from the Geological Society of America.
Calendar: Presentations & Conferences
March 4-7, Washington, D.C.: Dr. Donald A. Wilhite, Director of the NDMC, and Dr. Michael J. Hayes, Associate Director, will be meeting with members of Congress and U.S. Department of Agriculture officials.
March 7-9, National Academies, Washington, D.C.: Mike Hayes will be on a National Academies panel reviewing a climate change science program report. For more information, please visit http://www8.nationalacademies.org/cp/ProjectView.aspx?key=BASC-U-06-03-A
March 8-9, Four Corners Research Alliance, Kansas City, MO: Don Wilhite will participate in a retreat to help identify collaboration opportunities for research scientists from universities in Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa and Missouri.
March 11-17: National Ground Water Awareness Week http://www.ngwa.org/awareness/aware.cfm
March 16-22, Madrid: Don Wilhite will participate in a World Meteorological Organization conference, “Secure and Sustainable Living: Social and Economic Benefits of Weather, Climate and Water Services.”
March 17, Acreage Expo, Mead, NE: Mike Hayes will present “Understanding Drought in Nebraska” at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension Acreage Expo at the Agricultural Research and Development Center near Mead, Nebraska. Mike’s session will be 9-9:45 a.m. Water will be the focus of the 2007 Expo, with sessions that emphasize protecting and conserving groundwater as well as managing private drinking water systems.
March 19, Lincoln, NE: Eric Hunt, NDMC graduate student, will present “A Soil Moisture and Remote Sensing Perspective of Drought on Nebraska” as part of the Climate and Bio-Atmospheric Sciences Seminar Series, in Room 207, Hardin Hall.
March 19-30, Visiting Scholar, Lincoln, NE: Dr. S.V.R.K. Prabhakar, from India via Japan, will visit to learn more about the NDMC and climate and social science analysis techniques.
March 21 & 22, earth wellness festival, Lincoln, NE: Meghan Sittler, NDMC Research & Outreach, is an organizer of the earth wellness festival, helping turn the fifth graders of Lancaster County into future stewards of the earth. For more information, please visit: http://lancaster.unl.edu/ewf/.
March 20-23, Climate Prediction Applications Science Workshop, Seattle: Mark Svoboda, NDMC Climatologist, will present “The High Cost Hazard: Monitoring Drought and Its Impacts” at the Fifth Climate Prediction Applications Science Workshop (CPASW), hosted by the National Weather Service Climate Services Division and the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group. Conference web site: http://www.cses.washington.edu/cig/outreach/workshopfiles/cpasw07/index.shtml.
March 23-29, Amman: Don Wilhite is providing a draft national drought strategy and plan of action for Jordan, which will serve as the basis for dialog between participating ministries at a workshop there. This will be the culmination of a Technical Cooperation Project funded by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Dr. Wilhite served as the international team leader for the project, and the National Drought Mitigation Center hosted four Jordanian drought planners for several days in November 2006.
March 24, Severe Weather Symposium, Lincoln, NE: Drought is a slow-moving form of severe weather, and the NDMC will be represented at the symposium in the newly renovated Hardin Hall, home to the School of Natural Resources. To read more, please visit http://cpsws.unl.edu/.
March 26-27, The Future of Water Use in Agriculture, Lincoln, NE: For more information on the fourth annual Water Law, Policy and Science Conference
hosted by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, please visit: http://snr.unl.edu/waterconference/.
May 7-8, Children’s Groundwater Festival, Grand Island, NE: This annual festival for fourth and fifth graders, sponsored by the Groundwater Foundation, may include presentations by NDMC staff members. For more information, please visit the Foundation’s web site: http://www.groundwater.org/index.html.
May 8, Expanding Your Horizons, Lincoln, NE: Expanding Your Horizons helps middle school girls envision careers in math and science. For more information, please contact Megan C. Patent-Nygren in UNL’s Department of Food Science and Technology at 402-472- 5783.
May 21-22, Association of State Dam Safety Officials, Omaha, NE: Brian Fuchs, NDMC Climatologist, will present “Drought Monitoring in the Western United States” at the Association of State Dam Safety Officials’ 2007 West Regional Conference in Omaha at the Quest Center.
News
- DroughtScape Will Keep Info Flowing
- Newly Added: The Role of Intermediary Organizations and Knowledge Communities in Bridging Barriers
Calendar: Presentations & Conferences
February 5-7, Ahmedabad, India: Cody Knutson will be presenting a lecture on drought impact assessment at the Workshop on Monsoon Climate Variability and Change, and Their Impacts on Water, Food, and Health in Western India. The workshop is sponsored by the Nirma University of Science and Technology, the Center for Research on the Changing Earth System, and the National Science Foundation.
February 17-21, Madrid, Spain: Donald A. Wilhite will go to Madrid as part of the culmination of a four-year project to develop drought preparedness guidelines for countries in the Mediterranean region, including Southern Europe and Northern Africa. In Madrid he will focus on a book he is co-editing with Ana Iglesias and Luis Garrote of the Polytechnic University of Madrid. The book will include the documents and findings of the Mediterranean Drought Planning (MEDROPLAN) project funded through the European Commission. Wilhite has been serving as an external advisor to the project, which will wind up with in a workshop in Marrakech, Morocco, in May, followed this summer by several training workshops in the Mediterranean region.
February 21, Lincoln, NE: Michael J. Hayes will present “Chasing Droughts Across Nebraska’s Past, Present and Future,” as part of the Paul A. Olson Seminar in Great Plains Studies. The presentation will be 3:30-5 p.m. at the Great Plains Art Museum, 1155 Q St., with a reception beginning at 3 p.m.
March 17, Mead, NE: Michael J. Hayes will present “Understanding Drought in Nebraska” at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln Extension Acreage Expo at the Agricultural Research and Development Center near Mead, Nebraska. Mike’s session will be 9-9:45 a.m. Water will be the focus of the 2007 Expo with sessions that emphasize protecting and conserving groundwater as well as managing private drinking water systems.
March 11-17: National Ground Water Awareness Week http://www.ngwa.org/awareness/aware.cfm
March 20-23, Seattle: The Fifth Climate Prediction Applications Science Workshop (CPASW), hosted by the National Weather Service Climate Services Division and the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group.
News
- National Integrated Drought Information System to be Established
- Contact NDMC to Co-Schedule Workshops
- Arizona Focuses on Drought
- Wilhite Advises Southeastern Europe on Drought Center
- Jordan’s Drought Planning Advances
Calendar: Presentations & Conferences January 10, Kearney, NE: Mark Svoboda will be making a presentation to the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers. January 8-26, Lincoln, NE: Visit from Kyuha Han, a grad student in the Department of Civil Engineering of Kongju National University in South Korea, to focus on weekly drought monitoring systems and siting soil moisture sensors. January 9, 2006, San Antonio, TX: Michael J. Hayes, Associate Director of the National Drought Mitigation Center, will be part of a day-long presentation on the Weather and Climate of 2006 at the annual meeting of the American Meteorological Society. January 23-24, 2007, Boulder, CO: Mike Hayes will participate in a Climate and Tourism Workshop at the Mesa Lab of the National Center for Atmospheric Research. The workshop will identify what information tourism industry decision-makers need from scientists and others. It will also focus on developing a strategic research agenda, taking climate extremes and climate change into account to develop a sustainable tourism industry. |
|
Milestones We congratulate Donna Woudenberg, who completed her PhD in December on Drought Perception on the Great Plains and Related Sociological Impacts. Dr. Donald A. Wilhite was her main advisor, and her sponsors were the National Drought Mitigation Center and the Center for Great Plains Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. We further congratulate Donna on her appointment to a post-doctoral position as a Drought Management Specialist at the National Drought Mitigation Center. Congratulations also go to Melissa Melvin, who completed her Master’s Degree in December with a thesis on Collecting and Reporting Drought Impacts at the State Level: Experiences, Lessons Learned, and Guidelines for Improvement. Drs. Donald A. Wilhite and Michael J. Hayes were her co-advisors. The documents are available as pdfs, upon request. Please e-mail ndmc@unl.edu. |
© 2008 National Drought Mitigation Center