Agricultural droughts, caused by long periods with little to no rain or heat waves, are generally defined as soil moisture deficits that are severe enough to negatively impact vegetation growth. A new study by van Hateren et al. (2021) shows that there is ambiguity between soil moisture drought and their …
Continue readingAuthor: Ryan Teuling
PhD defense Jasper Foets
On 13 April 2021, Jasper Foets will be defending his PhD thesis entitled “Ecohydrological characterization of terrestrial diatoms”. Diatoms are microscopic, single-celled algae living in almost all moist and aquatic environments with sufficient light. Recently, diatoms living on soils have been explored as tracers of water flow-paths during rainfall-runoff events. …
Continue readingSoil moisture conditions reflected in observations from weather balloons
It has long since been known that soil moisture controls the partitioning of energy fluxes at the land surface, and that this partitioning affects the humidity and temperature of the air. A global synthesis of how soil moisture impacts the properties of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL), however, was missing. …
Continue readingHow sustainable is drinking water supply in The Netherlands during drought?
Drinking water supply in the Netherlands is of a high standard compared to many other countries. Extreme conditions, such as the 2018 drought, pose a serious challenge the sustainability of drinking water supply. Recent research identifies hydrological, technical, and socio-economic characteristics that determine the sustainability of a local drinking water …
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