NutraMaize receives three-year, $460,455 USDA NIFA research grant to address heat stress in laying hens

Project will assess how antioxidant carotenoids in NutraMaize Orange Corn can mitigate negative health effects associated with heat-induced oxidative stress

Grant and Award Announcement

PURDUE UNIVERSITY

 

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AGRICULTURE COMPANY NUTRAMAIZE HAS RECEIVED A THREE-YEAR, $460,455 LAYING HEN AND TURKEY RESEARCH PROGRAM GRANT FROM THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE, PART OF THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. RESEARCHERS WILL ASSESS HOW THE ANTIOXIDANT CAROTENOIDS ABUNDANT IN NUTRAMAIZE ORANGE CORN CAN MITIGATE THE NEGATIVE HEALTH EFFECTS AND PRODUCTION LOSSES ASSOCIATED WITH HEAT STRESS IN LAYING HENS.

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CREDIT: (PHOTO PROVIDED BY GODADDY/KELLY NGO)

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — NutraMaize, an agriculture company, has received a three-year, $460,455 grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The grant will study how a class of antioxidants called xanthophyll carotenoids affect egg-laying hens that experience heat stress. The project builds on previous studies conducted by NutraMaize and Purdue University collaborators funded by USDA Small Business Innovation Research grants. These studies demonstrated the ability of NutraMaize Orange Corn to reduce the incidence and severity of foot pad dermatitis in broiler chickens and significantly enhance yolk pigmentation in laying hens. The findings were published in the peer-reviewed journal Poultry Science.

NutraMaize was founded by CEO Evan Rocheford and his father, Torbert Rocheford, the Dr. Fred L. Patterson Endowed Chair in Translational Genomics for Crop Improvement and a professor of agronomy in Purdue University’s College of Agriculture. The company’s nutritionally enhanced orange corn is currently available through a line of premium milled products under the brand Professor Torbert’s Orange Corn.

Heat stress and its effects on laying hens

Evan Rocheford said heat stress is a major health and productivity challenge for egg-laying hens. Due to climate change, heat stress events are becoming increasingly frequent and severe, leading to physiological changes in laying hens. These changes result in reductions in productivity that equate to millions of dollars of lost revenue for egg producers every year. 

“One of the major consequences is oxidative stress, which is caused by the production of excess free radicals, or unstable atoms that damage cells,” Rocheford said. “Antioxidants neutralize free radicals and prevent damage. Therefore, increasing the antioxidant intake of birds has been proposed as a mitigation strategy for heat stress.”

Several antioxidant compounds have demonstrated beneficial effects against heat stress, but no studies have been conducted on the effect of xanthophyll carotenoids.

“Xanthophylls are potent antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents that have high physiological activity within laying hens,” Rocheford said. “Xanthophylls are involved in yolk pigmentation and they bioaccumulate throughout laying hens’ bodies. They provide the color of the birds’ distinctive yellow fat, beaks, shanks and feet.” 

Goals of the NutraMaize project 

Rocheford said the research project has three goals:

1. Investigate the role xanthophyll carotenoids play in the physiological response of egg-laying hens during a heat stress event.
2. Determine if increasing carotenoid intake can be used as a strategy to help mitigate the negative health and production effects of heat stress.
3. Evaluate NutraMaize’s high-carotenoid Orange Corn as an alternative feed ingredient to deliver the potential benefits to egg-laying hens.

“NutraMaize Orange Corn has significantly higher xanthophyll carotenoid levels compared to yellow corn,” Rocheford said. “The carotenoids in orange corn also appear to be more bioavailable than commercial carotenoid supplements, making it an attractive alternative for delivering higher levels of carotenoids into the diets of laying hens.”

Rocheford said the project will test the hypothesis that the NutraMaize Orange Corn will deliver more carotenoids into the blood and tissues of egg-laying hens and increase their total antioxidant capacity. It is hypothesized that, in turn, this will reduce oxidative stress, stabilizing egg-laying hen health and performance during a heat stress event.

“This project will make a meaningful contribution to poultry science and the laying hen industry for a number of reasons,” Rocheford said. “First, there is a need for more investigation into the effects of heat stress on laying hens as most heat stress research is conducted on broiler chickens. Second, there is a need to investigate how heat stress affects laying hens across their lifetime, not just during an acute challenge period. Third, there have been no previous investigations into the role of xanthophyll carotenoids in the laying hens’ response to heat stress. Finally, if successful, this project would offer the laying hen industry a practical nutritional approach for addressing heat stress that also enhances yolk pigmentation and the nutritional quality of the table egg, one of America’s most important sources of protein.”

Research approach of the NutraMaize project

NutraMaize will collaborate with researchers at Purdue’s College of Agriculture and Egg Innovations, a leading producer of humanely raised eggs based in Warsaw, Indiana.

Purdue co-principal investigators Darrin Karcher, associate professor of animal sciences and poultry extension specialist, and Gregory Fraley, associate professor of animal sciences and the Terry and Sandra Tucker Endowed Chair in Poultry Science, will oversee a 90-week controlled environment heat stress study at Purdue’s Animal Sciences Research and Education Center. The NutraMaize and Purdue team will also work closely with Egg Innovations to conduct an 84-week field study on three 20,000-bird barns located across the Midwest.

Egg Innovations CEO John Brunnquell said, “As a leading producer of humanely raised eggs with an active research program, we are very excited to partner with NutraMaize and Purdue on this project. Heat stress is becoming an increasingly serious problem for producers like us, so there is an urgent need to identify practical and effective solutions to help mitigate its negative effects on both animal welfare and producer profitability.”

NutraMaize licenses its orange corn through the Purdue Innovates Office of Technology Commercialization.

NIFA is the extramural funding agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Research, Education and Economics mission area. This is the first year NIFA awarded grants under its Laying Hen and Turkey Research Program.

About NutraMaize

NutraMaize is a company transforming the United States’ largest staple crop — corn — into a platform for delivering better nutrition on a population-wide scale. NutraMaize’s innovation is a unique variety of naturally selected orange corn. The vibrant orange color comes from significantly higher levels of carotenoids, the same kind of natural antioxidant pigments that give carrots their color and well-known health benefits. Since its founding, NutraMaize has secured over $2.9 million in SBIR, STTR and research grants from the National Science Foundation and USDA to bring the benefits of its Orange Corn to the American public. The company’s antioxidant-rich orange corn is currently available to Americans through its line of premium milled products marketed under the brand Professor Torbert’s Orange Corn.

About Egg Innovations

Egg Innovations leads the way in regenerative agriculture practices and the ethical treatment of animals as a world leader in 100% free range and pasture-raised eggs. With more than 50 family farms and thousands of acres of pastureland dedicated to egg-laying hens, Egg Innovations provides premium eggs under the Blue Sky Family Farms and Helpful Hens brands, in addition to a strong private label business. As the pioneer in humane care for the laying hen industry, Egg Innovations is now the first egg producer to bring certified regeneratively farmed free range and pasture-raised eggs to a commercial scale. Additionally, Egg Innovations has been named the 2024 Ethical Farming Company of the Year and Most Sustainable Egg Farming Business 2023 — USA. 

About Purdue Innovates Office of Technology Commercialization

The Purdue Innovates Office of Technology Commercialization operates one of the most comprehensive technology transfer programs among leading research universities in the U.S. Services provided by this office support the economic development initiatives of Purdue University and benefit the university’s academic activities through commercializing, licensing and protecting Purdue intellectual property. In fiscal year 2023, the office reported 150 deals finalized with 203 technologies signed, 400 disclosures received and 218 issued U.S. patents. The office is managed by the Purdue Research Foundation, which received the 2019 Innovation and Economic Prosperity Universities Award for Place from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. In 2020, IPWatchdog Institute ranked Purdue third nationally in startup creation and in the top 20 for patents. The Purdue Research Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation created to advance the mission of Purdue University. Contact otcip@prf.org for more information.

Writer/Media contact: Steve Martin, sgmartin@prf.org

Source: Evan Rocheford, evan@nutramaize.com

 

Light measurement enables estimation of the chemical attributes of spice extracts

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF TSUKUBA

Tsukuba, Japan—Spices and other plant-derived products contain many active components, such as polyphenols and flavonoids. However, even the slightest variations in conditions can considerably affect the extraction efficiency of these active components, posing challenges in determining the exact quantity of active components in the extract solution.

In this study, researchers comprehensively measured the fluorescence emitted by polyphenols and flavonoids and analyzed the acquired data using machine learning methods. This approach yielded a highly accurate, simple, and rapid method of estimating the total polyphenol and flavonoid contents and antioxidant capacity. The crucial factor in achieving accuracy was to integrate measurements acquired at multiple concentrations. While the conventional practice during measuring fluorescence involves diluting the sample to a single concentration, the wide variation in component amounts in plant extracts renders determining a universally suitable dilution concentration. Consequently, the researchers conducted exhaustive fluorescence measurements at four different dilution levels and integrated this data into the machine learning process.

Therefore, machine learning was able to accurately estimate important indices for evaluating spice extracts, including the total polyphenol content, total flavonoid content, antioxidant capacity, and reducing capacity. Notably, the optical measurement's estimation of total flavonoid content, in particular, represents a groundbreaking achievement, marking the effectiveness of this method where such estimations have not been conducted optically in the past.

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This work was partly supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 17H03891 and 22J11143 and the Sapporo Bioscience Foundation.

Original Paper

Title of original paper:
Utilization of multiple-dilution fluorescence fingerprint facilitates prediction of chemical attributes in spice extracts

Journal:
Food Chemistry

DOI:
10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.138028

Correspondence

Assistant Professor KOKAWA, Mito
Institute of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba

Postdoctoral (PD) Research Fellow Thi Bao Chau Bui
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science

Related Link

Institute of Life and Environmental Sciences

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JOURNAL

Food Chemistry

DOI

10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.138028 

ARTICLE TITLE

Utilization of multiple-dilution fluorescence fingerprint facilitates prediction of chemical attributes in spice extracts

 

Study reveals key molecular mechanisms involved in development of tomato plant

Research shows how interaction between plant hormone gibberellin and small RNA molecules enables development of ovaries, followed by fruit and seeds. This knowledge serves as a basis for ways to increase tomato yield.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO

 

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A SIMULTANEOUS RISE IN THE ACTIVITY OF MIR156 AND GIBBERELLIN IN THE TOMATO’S FLORAL MERISTEM RESULTS IN MALFORMED OVARIES AND MISSHAPEN SEEDLESS FRUIT.

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CREDIT: ESALQ-USP

In an article published in the journal Development, researchers at the University of São Paulo’s Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (ESALQ-USP) in Brazil describe mechanisms relating to the development of the tomato plant (Solanum lycopersicum) and point to ways of creating novel technologies for tomato yield improvement.

Many processes in plants associated with fruit development occur at the floral meristem, a region rich in stem cells. The tomato plant’s flowers have both a male organ called the androecium, consisting mainly of the anther and pollen, and a female organ, or gynoecium, with ovaries containing ovules (egg cells) for seed and fruit production. Fertilized ovules ripen into seeds, which are covered by fruits. A fruit is technically a ripened ovary. 

According to the researchers, even under ideal conditions of pollination and fertilization, the tomato plant can develop only if pathways mediated by microRNAs (small RNA molecules that regulate gene expression) and a hormone called gibberellin interact correctly to trigger initial ovary development.

Almost a decade ago, previous research by the same group demonstrated the effects of a microRNA called miR156 in regulating tomato floral meristem size and shape. Two genetic pathways were described, one involved in the initial establishment of the ovary as fruit and the other in the formation of seeds inside the fruit.

“Along the way, we realized that these small RNAs could interact with certain plant hormones, which are also important to formation and establishment of the ovary and its later development into fruit. One of these phytohormones is gibberellin, which promotes tomato flowering in association with the microRNAs,” said Fábio Tebaldi Silveira Nogueira, last author of the article. Nogueira is a researcher at the Plant Development Molecular Genetics Laboratory in ESALQ-USP’s Department of Biological Sciences.

In their latest study, which was funded by FAPESP via three projects (18/17441-3, 18/13316-0 and 19/20157-8), the researchers connected the two sets of findings to show for the first time in the literature that the genetic pathways regulated by miR156 strongly interact with gibberellin when the ovary is formed in the floral meristem.

To understand the process in detail, they analyzed the tomato’s transcriptome (all RNAs expressed by the plant’s genes) and modified it to produce large and small amounts of the phytohormone and microRNA. Initially, this created transgenic plants with more miR156 activity. These were then combined with mutant plants that responded strongly to gibberellin. When they combined these alterations in the same plant, the researchers found that the ovary was unable to form fruit.

“We observed that when these two pathways are altered and can’t talk to each other – interact defectively or not at all – the floral meristem, which should give rise to the ovary and fruit, develops amorphous structures that don’t form the locular cavities in which seeds should develop. In this manner, we described the initial control of the establishment of ovary formation in tomato floral meristems, a key stage for the plant to produce fruit later on,” Nogueira said. 

Even when pollination and fertilization conditions are ideal, he added, the fruit will not be formed unless initial ovary development occurs correctly, with appropriate interaction between the gibberellin and microRNA pathways.

Economic importance

Although there is already plenty of robust information in the scientific literature about the genetics and physiology of plant ovaries, this is the first description of the interaction between microRNAs and gibberellin, especially in as economically important a plant as the tomato.

“This knowledge provides the genetic and physiological basis for manipulating and increasing the number of seeds in a fruit to raise crop yield and even modulate fruit size,” Nogueira said. “It’s worth recalling that seeds are among the most valuable items in both table and industrial tomatoes.” 

The researchers now want to find out whether the other pathways for microRNAs and hormones also interact and influence plant development in any way, such as by increasing fruit numbers and sizes, for example.

The study was also supported by CAPES, the Brazilian Ministry of Education’s Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel, and the United Kingdom’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

About São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)

The São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) is a public institution with the mission of supporting scientific research in all fields of knowledge by awarding scholarships, fellowships and grants to investigators linked with higher education and research institutions in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. FAPESP is aware that the very best research can only be done by working with the best researchers internationally. Therefore, it has established partnerships with funding agencies, higher education, private companies, and research organizations in other countries known for the quality of their research and has been encouraging scientists funded by its grants to further develop their international collaboration. You can learn more about FAPESP at www.fapesp.br/en and visit FAPESP news agency at www.agencia.fapesp.br/en to keep updated with the latest scientific breakthroughs FAPESP helps achieve through its many programs, awards and research centers. You may also subscribe to FAPESP news agency at http://agencia.fapesp.br/subscribe.

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JOURNAL

Development

DOI

10.1242/dev.201961 

ARTICLE TITLE

Gibberellin and miRNA156-targeted SlSBP genes synergistically regulate tomato floral meristem determinacy and ovary patterning

Plant warfare: the crucial function of Nrc proteins in tomato defense mechanisms

Peer-Reviewed Publication

BOYCE THOMPSON INSTITUTE

In the fascinating world of plant biology, an innovative study recently featured on the cover of The Plant Journal has been turning heads. The research delves into the intricate defense mechanisms of tomatoes against the notorious bacterial pathogen, Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato (Pst). It's a classic tale of nature's arms race: as pathogens evolve to outsmart plant defenses, plants counter with more sophisticated immune responses.

The study is based on research conducted by scientists in Dr. Greg Martin’s lab at the Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI). Central to the study are proteins called Nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat receptors (NLRs), the plant equivalent of immune system warriors. They recognize and respond to pathogen attacks, triggering a series of defense mechanisms. Among these are the helper NLRs, Nrc2 and Nrc3, which work in concert with the tomato NLR Prf and its partner kinase, Pto, in a well-orchestrated defense against Pst.

The groundbreaking aspect of this research lies in its exploration of the roles of Nrc2 and Nrc3. Using CRISPR technology, the scientists created tomato mutant plants lacking these NLRs. While these mutants appeared normal under typical conditions, they exhibited increased susceptibility to Pst, similar to plants lacking the Prf protein. "This finding was pivotal, highlighting the indispensable role of Nrc2 and Nrc3 in the tomato immune response," noted Dr. Ning Zhang, a post-doctoral researcher at BTI and first author of the study.

One of the most intriguing outcomes of the research is understanding how Nrc2 and Nrc3 fit into the overall defense system. They seem to act upstream in the signaling cascade that leads to programmed cell death - a critical component of the plant's immune response. This places them as essential intermediaries of the complex network of plant immunity.

The attention to Zhang's research is a validation of its significance. "I'm thrilled that our discoveries on the workings of helper NLRs received prominent coverage in The Plant Journal," she remarked. "Our work sheds light on how plants defend themselves - a topic of immense importance in agriculture."

In essence, the research by Zhang and colleagues isn't just a story of scientific discovery; it's a roadmap for future innovations in crop resilience. "By unraveling the roles of helper NLRs like Nrc2 and Nrc3, we are a step closer to developing crops that can better withstand the challenges posed by pathogens, helping ensure food security and agricultural sustainability," said Zhang.

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JOURNAL

The Plant Journal

DOI

10.1111/tpj.16502 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Cells

ARTICLE TITLE

Helper NLRs Nrc2 and Nrc3 act codependently with Prf/Pto and activate MAPK signaling to induce immunity in tomato

 

New research sheds light on an old fossil solving an evolutionary mystery

A student and a professor from CUNY’s Graduate Center and Brooklyn College have pruned a branch off the primate tree.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

THE GRADUATE CENTER, CUNY

 

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THREE-DIMENSIONAL MODEL OF THE ONLY KNOWN PICRODONTID SKULL IN TOP (LEFT) AND BOTTOM (RIGHT) VIEWS. CT SCAN TECHNOLOGY REVEALED PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN BONES OF THE SKULL (COLORED ON THE RIGHT) THAT HELPED DEMONSTRATE THAT PICRODONTIDS ARE NOT PRIMATES AS PREVIOUSLY BELIEVED

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CREDIT: JORDAN CROWELL

New York, January 9, 2024 — A research paper published in Royal Society’s Biology Letters on January 10 has revealed that picrodontids —an extinct family of placental mammals that lived several million years after the extinction of the dinosaurs—are not primates as previously believed.

The paper—co-authored by Jordan Crowell, an Anthropology Ph.D. candidate at the CUNY Graduate Center; Stephen Chester, an Associate Professor of Anthropology at Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center; and John Wible, Curator of Mammals at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History— is significant in that it settled a paleontological debate that has been brewing for over 100 years while helping to paint a more clear picture of primate evolution.

For the last 50 years, paleontologists have believed picrodontids, which were no larger than a mouse and likely ate foods such as fruit, nectar, and pollen, were primates, based on features of their teeth that they share with living primates. But by using modern CT scan technology to analyze the only known preserved picrodontid skull in Brooklyn College’s Mammalian Evolutionary Morphology Laboratory, Crowell, the lead author on the paper, worked with Chester, the paper’s senior author, and Wible to determine they are not closely related to primates at all.

“While picrodontids share features of their teeth with living primates, the bones of the skull, specifically the bone that surrounds the ear, are unlike that of any living primate or close fossil relatives of primates,” Crowell said. “This suggests picrodontids and primates independently evolved similarities of their teeth likely for similar diets. This study also highlights the importance of revisiting old specimens with updated techniques to examine them.”

Chester, who serves as Crowell’s Ph.D. adviser, has both a professional and personal interest in this research. It was Chester’s renowned colleague and “academic grandfather,” Professor Emeritus Frederick Szalay from CUNY’s Hunter College and the Graduate Center, who in 1968 first convincingly classified picrodontids as primates based on evidence from fossilized teeth. Szalay studied the teeth of the only known picrodontid skull, Zanycteris paleocenus, for his research—the same skull this team examined with the new technology that led to their discovery.

“The Zanycteris cranium was prepared and partially submerged in plaster around 1917, so researchers studying this important specimen at the American Museum of Natural History were not aware of how much cranial anatomy was hidden over the last 100 years” Chester said. “Micro-CT scanning has revolutionized the field of paleontology and allows researchers to discover so much more about previously studied fossils housed in natural history museum collections.”

The research was funded by grants Chester and Crowell secured through Brooklyn College from the National Science Foundation and The Leakey Foundation. Chester and Crowell are also currently working on several additional externally funded research projects focused on how primates and other mammals evolved following the extinction of the dinosaurs. They encourage undergraduates to contact them regarding funded research opportunities in the Mammalian Evolutionary Morphology Laboratory.

 

About the Graduate Center of The City University of New York

The CUNY Graduate Center is a leader in public graduate education devoted to enhancing the public good through pioneering research, serious learning, and reasoned debate. The Graduate Center offers ambitious students nearly 50 doctoral and master’s programs of the highest caliber, taught by top faculty from throughout CUNY — the nation’s largest urban public university. Through its nearly 40 centers, institutes, initiatives, and the Advanced Science Research Center, the Graduate Center influences public policy and discourse and shapes innovation. The Graduate Center’s extensive public programs make it a home for culture and conversation. 

 

About Brooklyn College

Widely known for its offer of an excellent education at an affordable tuition and recognized nationally for its diverse student body, Brooklyn College has been an anchor institution within the borough of Brooklyn and greater New York City for more than 90 years. With approximately 15,000 students in more than 100 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the arts, humanities, sciences, education, and business, the college is renowned for its rigorous academics, award-winning faculty, distinguished alumni, and community impact. Part of the City University of New York (CUNY), Brooklyn College offers a vibrant and supportive student experience on a beautifully landscaped 35-acre campus in the borough’s Midwood neighborhood.

 

Jordan Crowell, an Anthropology Ph.D. candidate at the CUNY Graduate Center worked with modern CT scan technology to analyze the picrodontid skull in Brooklyn College’s Mammalian Evolutionary Morphology Laboratory. 

CREDIT

Richard Petrias

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JOURNAL

Biology Letters

DOI

10.1098/rsbl.2023.0335 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Imaging analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Basicranial evidence suggests picrodontid mammals are not stem primates

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

9-Jan-2024

 

Is spa water a fossil of water? 

Uncover the real ultra-deep water cycles

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF TSUKUBA

Tsukuba, Japan—

Although most natural spa waters primarily originate from atmospheric precipitation, such as rain and snow (known as meteoric water), the present study explored the unique qualities of certain spa waters. By analyzing the stable isotope compositions of hydrogen and oxygen in water molecules, researchers have identified distinct characteristics that indicate the presence of long-trapped lithospheric water. They traced the isotopic evolution of this water through sophisticated numerical modeling, and found that various types of water, including those found deep beneath the seafloor as well as in submarine mud volcanoes, coastal oil field brines, and volcanic steam from plate subduction zones, share a common evolutionary trajectory. Moreover, the researchers developed a novel method for reconstructing the original isotopic composition of lithospheric water by eliminating the effects of meteoric water contamination from the isotopic data of natural spa waters. Using this approach, the researchers calculated the isotopic composition of lithospheric waters at the depths of various spa sites and compared these values with those reconstructed from natural spa waters. Based on the geographical distribution of spa waters, they were categorized into three groups: those consistent with the subduction of the Philippine Sea Plate or the Pacific Plate and those showing minimal isotopic evolution and thus not aligning with either plate.

These findings not only reveal the complex, three-dimensional structure and evolution of ultra-deep water circulation (>100 km deep) but also hold crucial implications for understanding the role of water in seismic and volcanic activities. This research paves the way for advancements in the prediction and forecasting of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

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This work was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (grant nos. 15H02957 & 19H01370) from Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. The authors thank all managers of individual studied spas for accepting water collection at the spa source.

Original Paper

Title of original paper:
Isotopic evolutionary track of water due to interaction with rocks and its use for tracing water cycle through the lithosphere

Journal:
Journal of Hydrology

DOI:
10.1016/j.jhydrol.2023.130589

Correspondence

Professor YAMANAKA, Tsutomu
Institute of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba

ADACHI, Ikuya
Degree Programs in Life and Earth Sciences, Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba

Related Link

Institute of Life and Environmental Sciences

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JOURNAL

Journal of Hydrology

DOI

10.1016/j.jhydrol.2023.130589 

ARTICLE TITLE

Isotopic evolutionary track of water due to interaction with rocks and its use for tracing water cycle through the lithosphere

 

Attribution of the extreme drought in eastern China in 2022 and its future risk

Peer-Reviewed Publication

INSTITUTE OF ATMOSPHERIC PHYSICS, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

 

IMAGE: 

SUMMER SEVERE DROUGHT IN EASTERN CHINA IN 2022

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CREDIT: ZHANKUN LIU

Eastern China was hit by an extreme drought in summer 2022 that caused severe economic and agricultural damage. The event has attracted a great deal of attention not only because of its severe intensity and huge social impacts, but also because it is yet another example within the hot topic of the influence of anthropogenic forcing induced warming on drought extremes and how they might change under different scenarios of continued warming in the future.

 

Recently, Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Letters published a paper titled “Anthropogenic influence on the extreme drought in eastern China in 2022 and its future risk” by Professor Chen’s team from Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology. This research analyzed the anthropogenic impact on the occurrence probability of a “2022Drought-like event” and provided the projected changes of such an event under various future emission scenarios.

 

Based on DAMIP (Detection and Attribution Model Intercomparison Project) results, it was found that anthropogenic forcing increases the occurrence probability of a 2022Drought-like event by 56%. This change is probably associated with the change in the mean climate state over the eastern China region, including decreased moisture and weakened upward motion. Collectively, the anthropogenic forcing–induced changes in the mean state may stunt convective activity, providing a favorable condition for the formation of drought extremes.

 

“We further analyzed the responses of 2022Drought-like events to different warming scenarios, and found that, under a low-emissions scenario, the risk of such an event occurring declines dramatically, probably because of increased background moisture and enhanced upward motion. In sharp contrast, the high-emissions scenario simulations projected a 79% higher chance of a 2022Drought-like event happening than under present-day conditions, probably because of significantly enhanced background descending motion. The results indicate a nonlinear change in the occurrence of 2022Drought-like events in response to a warmer world”, explains Professor Chen.

 

 

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JOURNAL

Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Letters

DOI

10.1016/j.aosl.2023.100390