Researching Climate Change

A couple of weeks ago Ann and I toured the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center, the oldest multidisciplinary research center at the Ohio State University. The center's original mission was to study polar and alpine regions. By 2014, the accumulating scientific evidence of the impact a warming atmosphere was having on the coldest parts of the earth led to broadening the center's mission. The center now studies climate changes throughout the world. As part of that mission, BPCRC is advising Columbus city officials about what to expect and how to address the challenges of a rapidly warming environment. The predictions, summarized on a colorful handout, are quite sobering, even to me, who worries about these things much of the time.

I don't mean to make the tour sound like a downer. We saw a video of the 2016 research expedition to the Guliya Glacier on the Tibetan Plateau to retrieve samples of some of the world's oldest ice. The ice cores will give the center's scientists a glimpse into half a million years of Tibetan climate history. Video of the Guliya expedition

The highlight of the tour was the center's Ice Core Facility, the only place in the world where ice from the world's vanishing glaciers exists. That ice is stored in freezers that have been in continuous operation since 1989, and are now at capacity with 4.5 miles of ice cores. (An expansion is underway to add new freezers and other amenities to the center.) We took a VERY brisk walk through one of the freezers; it was - 30 degrees!


It's hard to believe there are still many Americans who doubt that climate change is real. The signs are everywhere, and perhaps nowhere more apparent than in Houston and along the Texas coast this week. The BPCRC handout (right) notes that increased precipitation, especially heavy precipitation, and increased flooding, are to be expected in a warming climate. On August 7, the New York Times published the draft report by scientists from thirteen federal agencies which "concludes that Americans are feeling the effects of climate change right now. It directly contradicts claims....that the human contribution to climate change is uncertain, and that the ability to predict the effects is limited." According to the article, one of the studies cited in the report "concluded that climate change made extreme events 20 times more likely in Texas." In light of what has and is happening in Texas, that prescient warning has tragically become historic fact. NY Times: Government Report Finds Drastic Impact of Climate Change on U.S.

July at Bean Hill

The last daylily has come and gone, but what a show they put on this year, even though they're all past due to be divided. We have dozens and dozens of daylilies. They prefer sunny, well-drained locations, but I find they thrive in almost any condition. They are among my favorites; all those bright yellows and oranges are simply joyous. At the Carr Farm across the road, a horticulturalist raises daylilies of all colors, and mid-July sells them for $5 a plant, so we've expanded the color palette or our daylily collection.

July has been gorgeous, with the average monthly high and low temperatures both 1.5 degrees below the historic averages. We had a few very hot and humid days, but no daytime temperature was more than 5 degrees above normal. Twenty nights had above normal temperatures, with three being 9-11 degrees higher than normal. However, sixteen days registered below normal highs, and so things balanced out nicely. If I pay no attention to what's happened temperature-wise in the Southwest and Pacific Northwest this summer, or to the Antarctic ice shelf that is now an iceberg the size of Delaware, I can pretend that all's right with the world.

There was more than enough rain for the month, and it mostly came in two torrential downpours. The average normal rainfall for July is 4.79". This month we had 8.33", slightly more than 3.5" above normal. Two of those inches covered our basement floor when the sump pumps couldn't keep up with the day-long deluge! That was a first.

At the beginning of the month, we introduced 100 leaf cutter bees to their new home just before a surprising downpour, and never saw them again. Last week we brought in 100 more, and they seem quite happy. As I noted in last month's blog, we're seeing lots of honey bees and bumble bees and more butterflies than in the past two years. The re-emergence of those pollinators plus the introduction of the mason and leaf cutter bees--along with more than plentiful rain--may account for the lush beauty of this year's gardens.

Between mid-September to mid-October we'll be having the daylilies divided. (We don't do this kind of work anymore.) So if you live in the area and are looking to fill space in your garden with a prolific and faithful bloomer, come on by.

Summertime

June's weather statistics for Bean Hill echoed May's, although June had more days of above normal temperatures (23 vs. 14), and more days of 10 degrees or more above normal (6 vs. 2). Like May, June's high average was 1.5 degrees above the historic average high, but the average lows were 2.4 degrees below the historic average. For the second month, precipitation was almost one inch above normal (.98). Overall, the month was beautiful due to low humidity: skies were very blue, and in the shade, even on the hottest days, the breeze was refreshing.

Monarchs and Black Swallowtails have been spotted. Cabbage Whites continue to be seen in abundance. The Mason Bees have completed their life cycle, and left two dozen nesting tubes filled with cocoons. Soon we'll move those to safe keeping, and if all goes well, next spring 5-6 young bees should emerge from each tube.

Hoverfly or flower fly collecting pollen from alyssum

I'm paying a little closer attention to things in nature I've taken for granted, like the tiny flying insects dancing all over the alyssum. With the help of a close-up camera lens, I noticed they were marked like bees, so I snapped a few photos, did a little research, and learned something new. This little guy is a hoverfly, sometimes called a syrphid or flower fly. The hoverflies' bee-like coloration gives them some protection; people (and presumably birds) think they're aggressive and leave them alone. In fact, like native bees, they're gentle and very beneficial pollinators. In addition, their larvae (also known by that unsavory word "maggots") eat aphids and thrips, those unwanted creatures that literally suck the life out of your plants. One insect ID site says if you have these tiny flies in your garden, you can count yourself lucky! We're lucky!

Below are photos of a few other of the smaller summertime residents at Bean Hill.

A tiny grasshopper casts a big shadow

Echinacea (coneflower) and a busy bee

Milkweed community: Monarch-to-be, squash bug eggs, and milkweed bugs