New Tool to Help Ranchers Predict Drought
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Technology
Weather Researchers Are Developing a Tool That Could Give Oklahoma Farmers as Much as a Month's Warning When Drought Conditions are On The Way
The Evaporative Stress Index is a system being developed by the United States Department of Agriculture that uses satellite data to predict drought. An experimental version of the index is online now, and researchers expect the full version will be available next year.
Jason Otkin, an assistant scientist in the University of Wisconsin's Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies, said the system uses data that show how much moisture plants give off into the atmosphere to predict dry conditions.
As plants draw water from the soil, they release water vapor into the atmosphere through small pores on the underside of leaves, a process called transpiration. Otkin, a member of the team developing the system, said when water becomes scarce and plants are stressed, they give off less water vapor. That change takes place before plants show visible signs of stress like wilting or changing color, he said.
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