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OSU Water in the News

Below is a collection of news stories featuring OSU water faculty and students. To add to this list, please email iww@oregonstate.edu

 

Proof Positive: Alternatives to Plastic Mulch (Organic Broadcaster 05/07/2012)

The WRGP People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) team’s recent first place finish for research posters at the MOSES conference has been highlighted in the Organic Conference's affiliated newspaper, the Organic Broadcaster.

 
Study finds stream temperatures don’t parallel warming climate trend (OSU News & Research Communications 05/02/2012)

A new analysis of streams in the western United States with long-term monitoring programs has found that despite a general increase in air temperatures over the past several decades, streams are not necessarily warming at the same rate. Results of the research, which was supported by the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Forest Service and Oregon State University, have been published online in Geophysical Research Letters by Ivan Arismendi, a post-doctoral researcher at Oregon State University and lead author on the study.  Coauthors: Jason Dunham, an aquatic ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, Roy Haggerty, a professor in OSU’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, and Sherri Johnson, a research ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service.

 
Salty soil can suck water out of atmosphere: Could it happen on Mars? (e! Science News 03/08/2012)

The frigid McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica are a cold, polar desert, yet the sandy soils there are frequently dotted with moist patches in the spring despite a lack of snowmelt and no possibility of rain. A new study, led by an Oregon State University geologist, has found that that the salty soils in the region actually suck moisture out of the atmosphere, raising the possibility that such a process could take place on Mars or on other planets.

The study, which was supported by the National Science Foundation, has been published online this week in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, and will appear in a forthcoming printed edition.

Joseph Levy, a post-doctoral researcher in OSU's College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, said it takes a combination of the right kinds of salts and sufficient humidity to make the process work. But those ingredients are present on Mars and, in fact, in many desert areas on Earth, he pointed out.

 
Grass seed aids fish (Capital Press 03/08/2012)

A study by Oregon State University ecologist Guillermo Giannico found that farm fields provide sanctuary for native fish in floods. Fields inundated with floodwaters provide temporary food sources and shelter from fast waters and introduced fish species during floods, according to the study.

 
Challenges and Opportunities in the Hydrologic Sciences (2012) (National Academy of Science – Division on Earth and Life Sciences 02/17/2012)

New research opportunities to advance hydrologic sciences promise a better understanding of the role of water in the Earth system that could help improve human welfare and the health of the environment. Reaching this understanding will require both exploratory research to better understand how the natural environment functions, and problem-driven research, to meet needs such as flood protection, supply of drinking water, irrigation, and water pollution. Collaboration among hydrologists, engineers, and scientists in other disciplines will be central to meeting the interdisciplinary research challenges outline in this report. New technological capabilities in remote sensing, chemical analysis, computation, and hydrologic modeling will help scientists leverage new research opportunities.

 
Despite risks, ranchers enjoy dry winter (Capital Press 02/16/2012)

Pacific Northwest ranchers are experiencing one of the driest winters on record. With the exception of a week of rain in January that soaked part of the region, they've enjoyed many blue-sky days with temperatures several degrees higher than what has been normal during past winters.

 
1/16/12-1/20/12 - A week that brought snow, ice, torrential rains, floods and high winds to the mid-valley. (Beaver Eclips 01/27/2012)

A break between storms
"Unbelievable," Albany resident Joe Doerner said Saturday, as he surveyed a flooded basketball court at Bryant Park. "I don't believe I've ever seen it that high." Many mid-valley residents could have echoed his sentiments at the end of a week that brought snow, ice, torrential rains, floods and high wind. A break in the stormy weather Saturday — when the sun actually came — gave rain-weary mid-valley residents a chance to get outside and reflect on the past week.
More:
• Benton County declared disaster area
• Flooding causes building leakage, city evacuations
• High water hits close to home for south Corvallis resident
• Oregon flooding may give native fish a break, Oregon State University professor says

 
OSU’s Dawn Wright to receive national award (OSU News & Research Communications 01/16/2012)

Dawn Wright, a professor of geography and oceanography at Oregon State University, has received the 2012 Presidential Achievement Award from the Association of American Geographers.

 
Brook, Ciuffetti named AAAS Fellows (OSU News & Research Communications 01/16/2012)

Two prominent Oregon State University faculty members have been elected as fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Edward Brook, a professor of geosciences in the newly expanded College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, and Lynda Ciuffetti, professor and head of the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, are the new AAAS Fellows. The organization annually elects fellows whose “efforts on behalf of the advancement of science or its applications are scientifically or socially distinguished.”

 
An Evolutionary Step (International Water Power and Dam Construction 01/16/2012)

“As scientists we tend to look at things through our own tiny little drinking straw, studying our one narrow field,” says Bryan Tilt, Associate Professor of Anthropology at Oregon State University in the US. “When it comes to dams we felt a broader perspective was needed. Because when you put up a dam it affects whole ecosystems and whole communities."