opm revolution tiger woods passover Florida Gulf Coast University Aaron Craft school closings
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
HopStop Live!: It's Like Waze But For Public Transportation
High salt levels in Saharan groundwater endanger oases farming
Apr. 8, 2013 ? For more than 40 years, snowmelt and runoff from Morocco's High Atlas Mountains has been dammed and redirected hundreds of kilometers to the south to irrigate oases farms in the arid, sub-Saharan Draa Basin.
But a new study by American and Moroccan scientists finds that far from alleviating water woes for the six farm oases in the basin, the inflow of imported water has exacerbated problems by dramatically increasing the natural saltiness of their groundwater.
Researchers from Duke University in Durham, N.C., and Ibn Zohr University in Agadir, Morocco, measured dissolved salt levels as high as 12,000 milligrams per liter at some locations -- far above the 1,000 to 2,000 milligrams per liter most crops can tolerate.
Dissolved salt levels in the groundwater of the three southernmost farm oases are now so high they endanger the long-term sustainability of date palm farming there.
"The flow of imported surface water onto farm fields has caused natural salts in the desert soil and underlying rock strata to dissolve and leach into local groundwater supplies," said Avner Vengosh, professor of geochemistry and water quality at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment. "Over time, the buildup of dissolved salt levels has become irreversible."
The team of Duke and Ibn Zohr scientists was able to know this by identifying the distinctive geochemical and isotopic signatures of different elements in the water, such as oxygen, strontium and boron. Elements in low-saline water have different stable isotope signatures, or fingerprints, than those in high-saline water.
"Once we get a water sample's fingerprint, we can compare it to the fingerprints of other samples and track the nature of the salinity source," explained Nathaniel Warner, a Ph.D. student at Duke's Nicholas School who led the study. "We can also track the source of low-saline water flowing into a system."
The practice of importing freshwater to irrigate crops is widespread throughout much of the world's arid regions, Vengosh noted. Governments have invested billions of dollars to construct reservoirs, dams, pipelines, canals and other infrastructure to bring the vital resource from areas where it is plentiful to where it is scarce.
This is a short-term solution at best, he said. Future climate change models predict significant reductions in precipitation in the Southern Mediterranean and Northern Africa regions in coming decades. Snowmelt and runoff will diminish. Local groundwater may be the best -- perhaps only -- source of water remaining for many communities.
"Protecting this vital resource, and helping governments in desert areas worldwide find new, untapped sources of it, is the wiser approach in the long run," Vengosh said. "The forensic tracing technologies we used in this study can help do that."
Warner noted that by using the isotopic fingerprinting technologies, the researchers discovered a previously overlooked low-saline water source that flows naturally into the Draa Basin from the adjacent Anti-Atlas Jabel Saghro Mountains. The natural flow of freshwater from this source dilutes the saltiness of nearby groundwater aquifers and improves prospects for the future of farming at the basin's three northernmost oases.
Dissolved salt levels in these oases' groundwater are between 450 and 4,225 milligrams per liter -- a more sustainable level, especially for growing date palms, which are the primary commercial crop in the basin and relatively salt-tolerant.
"Prior to our study, people didn't think this was a major water input into the Draa system," Vengosh said. "We now know it is -- and that it deserves to be protected as such."
Vengosh and Warner conducted the study with five Moroccan scientists and graduate students led by Lhoussaine Bouchaou of the Applied Geology and Geo-Environment Laboratory at Ibn Zohr University. They analyzed more than 100 water samples collected in 2009 and 2010 from sites above, below and at the human-made reservoir that stores and releases runoff from the High Atlas Mountains into the Draa Basin. Samples were collected from surface water, hand-dug wells, boreholes and springs.
Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:
Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:
Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Duke University, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- N. Warner, Z. Lgourna, L. Bouchaou, S. Boutaleb, T. Tagma, M. Hsaissoune, A. Vengosh. Integration of geochemical and isotopic tracers for elucidating water sources and salinization of shallow aquifers in the sub-Saharan Dr?a Basin, Morocco. Applied Geochemistry, 2013; DOI: 10.1016/j.apgeochem.2013.03.005
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/G_P-ZNzJCLU/130408133859.htm
mad cow pennsylvania primary jerome simpson hand sanitizer obama on jimmy fallon google drive pilar sanders
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
China confident it can control bird flu outbreak
BEIJING (Reuters) - China is confident it can control an outbreak of a new strain of bird flu, a senior Chinese health official said on Sunday as the World Health Organization (WHO) said there had now been 21 human cases of the H7N9 flu with six deaths.
China has said it is mobilizing resources nationwide to combat the new strain, monitoring hundreds of close contacts of confirmed cases and culling tens of thousands of birds where traces of the virus were found.
"We are confident we can effectively control it (H7N9)," the head of China's National Health and Family Planning Commission Li Bin told Reuters on the sidelines of a World Health Organization-backed event in Beijing.
Li did not elaborate, but she is the most senior Chinese health official yet to publicly comment on the subject.
In an update from its headquarters in Geneva, the WHO said more than 530 close contacts of the 21 people now listed as confirmed cases are being closely monitored for any signs of similar disease.
"At this time there is no evidence of ongoing human-to-human transmission," it said.
The bird flu outbreak has caused global concern and some Chinese internet users and newspapers have questioned why it took so long for the government to announce the new cases, especially as two of the victims fell ill in February.
The government has said it needed time to correctly identify the virus.
The WHO's representative to China, Dr. Michael O'Leary, repeated that no evidence of transmission between humans has been found and praised China for its efforts to determine the source of the virus.
"I'm very impressed with the action of the laboratories in this regard," O'Leary said at a World Health Day event in the Chinese capital.
"China is demonstrating their ability to get on top of this problem quickly," he said.
In 2003, authorities initially tried to cover up an epidemic of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which emerged in China and killed about 10 percent of the 8,000 people it infected worldwide.
Other strains of bird flu, such as H5N1, have been circulating for many years and can be transmitted from bird to bird, and bird to human, but not generally from human to human.
(Reporting by Michael Martina in Beijing and Kate Kelland in London, Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Jason Webb)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/china-confident-control-bird-flu-outbreak-084931042.html
nicki minaj beez in the trap video food network f/a 18 f 18 crash virginia tenebrae the lake house petrino arkansas
Russian opposition leader: Putin ordered trial
MOSCOW (AP) ? One of Russia's most prominent opposition leaders claims that President Vladimir Putin has "undoubtedly" ordered an embezzlement trial against him.
Alexey Navalny, a lawyer and popular blogger, exposed official corruption and spearheaded a series of massive protests in Moscow against Putin's return to the presidency. He is to go on trial April 17 on charges of leading an organized crime group that stole timber worth about $500,000 while he worked for a provincial governor.
Navalny said in an interview on Ekho Moskvy radio Monday that "of course, he had no doubts" that Putin gave direct orders to try him.
Scores of opposition activists have faced arrests, searches and criminal probes after the anti-Putin rallies.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russian-opposition-leader-putin-ordered-trial-181635865.html
nflx chicago blackhawks giuliana rancic giuliana rancic elie wiesel temptations work hard play hard
Monday, April 8, 2013
04/06/2013 - Garage Sale at Grace Lutheran Church
Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.
Source: http://www.monroetalks.com/events/index.php?com=detail&eID=48356
lytro camera lytro camera andrew brietbart branson mo monkees songs rail gun harrisburg
Flour Sack Mama: Family-Focused Home Concerns on The Housing ...
A note from Stonyfield about Yo-Getters...
"Over the past several months, we at Stonyfield have met, worked with, and been following so many amazing parenting bloggers. We wanted to formalize those relationships and continue the dialogue on healthy eating.
Many of you wanted to know more about the food you feed your families and we wanted a way to empower you with information that you can share with your networks. As a result, the Yo-Getters ambassador group was born!
We wanted to get to know this passionate group of parents and bring them inside our world so that can get to know us better, too. Throughout this first year, we'd like to provide exciting and meaningful opportunities for you to engage with our brands and learn more about the mission that drives us - healthy, organic food that's better for us and the planet. The more we share with you, the more you can share with your networks- and the more people that get to know their food the better.
Since this is not a paid ambassador group, we also understand the importance of highlighting and promoting your blogs through our networks to increase traffic and readership. We are trying to communicate the same message: We're all invested in feeding our families in a healthy way, and in order to do so, we need to know what's in the food we're eating. "
A Word about Photos
If you have an interest in using one of the many original photos on this site, please inquire at floursackmama@gmail.com for a price quote and courtesy/link requirements.
Disclaimer
All content on this site is for informational and/or entertainment purposes only and is not expert or professional advice in health, medicine, science, environmentalism, construction, law, taxation, economics or any area. Flour Sack Mama makes no representations about accuracy or timeliness of content and will not be liable for any errors on the site or on sites linked to it. Not responsible for any results or damages arising from the information consumed. Individuals should seek professional medical advice from their physicians about any and all health-related issues, including, but not limited to, exercise, diet and the use of skin care products. Some individuals may have sensitivities even to natural, plant-based, organic products and should use caution. Pregnant or breastfeeding mothers should consult their physician about the use of natural ingredients, just as they would for synthetic product ingredients. All content provided on an as-is basis. All text, photos, entire content of site, unless otherwise noted with specific copyright, are copyright Flour Sack Mama 2010, 2011, 2012.
Disclosure Policy
This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. For questions about this blog, please contact floursackmama@gmail.com.This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation.
This blog abides by word of mouth marketing standards. We believe in honesty of relationship, opinion and identity. The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post will be clearly identified as paid or sponsorship content.
The owner of this blog could potentially be compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner of this blog receives compensation for our posts or advertisements, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blogger's own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufactureer, provider or party in question.
This blog could potentially contain content which might present a conflict of interest. This content will always be identified.
To get your own policy, go to http://www.disclosurepolicy.org
Source: http://floursackmama.blogspot.com/2013/04/family-focused-home-concerns-on-housing.html
glee boxing news Coptic Christian saturday night live julio cesar chavez jr Topless Kate university of texas
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Civilian hospitalized after shooting at Fort Knox
Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.
new dark knight rises trailer khloe and lamar oklahoma city thunder sunoco titanic ii babe ruth new jersey nets
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)