G E O S Earth and Environmental Sciences Doctoral Program Graduate Center City University of New York
Presents "Whither the 100th Meridian? The once and future physical and human geography of America's arid-humid divide" Richard Seager Palisades Geophysical Institute, Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018 at 5:30pm The Graduate Center, CUNY Concourse Level, Rm. 415A 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY Reception to follow (no pod or webcast available) In the late 19th Century famed American explorer, scientist and Federal Worker John Wesley Powell proposed the 100th meridian as the divide between the humid east and arid west of the US and argued that European settlement west of the meridian must be based on sound scientific assessment of the limits to development posed by water availability, topography, natural resources and climate. His recommendations - an early example of sustainable development - were rejected by western politicians who did not want to hear about environmental limits to their growing economic and political influence - an early example of an enduring problem. We present the first scientific analysis based on modern data of the reality of the 100th meridian as an arid-humid divide, the physical mechanisms whereby it arises, its expression in land hydrology and natural vegetation. We then examine how it has influenced development in terms of settlement and the farm economy as Powell's environmental limits held sway even in the absence of conscious environment-informed planning. Finally we examine how climate change will move the 100th meridian eastward requiring, all else being equal (which it won't be), shifts in farm size, crops grown and land use to adjust to eastward encroaching aridity.
