Climate change is the principal cause of natural disasters of this century. Since the industrial revolution, the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases (GHG) has been intensifying, resulting in climatic change impacting all earth systems. Climate change threatens people with food and water scarcity, increased flooding, extreme heat, disease, and economic loss. Human activities have been the primary driving force of long-term temperature shifts and weather patterns, primarily due to burning fossil fuels. GHG emissions from agricultural parcels are also crucial to current climatic change. We are researching the GHG emissions from different types and rates of organic amendments in the Prairie View research farm. Our team also applies the modeling tools (COMET-Farm, and others) for evaluating GHG emissions across states at various resolutions.
The consequences of climate change on water resources are the shift in precipitation and temperature patterns and the corresponding increase in the frequency of floods and drought. The state of Texas is currently in the midst of a record-setting drought. Our research team focuses on the impact of drought and aridity on future water security by applying various climate models and corresponding Representative Concentration Pathways. The team also evaluate the extreme precipitation and floods in different river basins of Texas.