There is an invisible bound that divides the United States in two . To the east , you discover verdant prairies and lush grasslands , but go westand you have a much more arid and drier surround of cacti and yucca .
do it as the 100th meridian , it slices down from Canada , through the Dakotas , Nebraska , Kansas , Oklahoma , and Texas , and was first observe as a climatic curiosity in the 1800s by IE and geologist John Wesley Powell .
But two new work published in the journalEarthInteractionshave found that while Powell was proper in his observation of this line , the boundary has since wobble 225 kilometer ( 140 miles ) to the east . This , it probably die without saying , is most likely due to mood change , as the grasslands of the east start to dry out up .
The line exists in the first place due to a combining of the Rocky Mountains and basically just how massive the United States is . The mountains running down the west coast lug the moist air coming off the Pacific Ocean from die much further , while the wet coming off the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico can only cross so far inland , resulting in the boundary .
Using a whole mixture of data from climate manakin , regional flora mapping , weather station datum , and the US Department of Agriculture data , the researchers were able to track the 100th meridian ’s stiff but inexorable march E . The most potential culprits are the weakening of rain move into the Midwest , something that has been exasperated by human being - induced clime change .
This will intend that forthose living along the boundary , they might well stop up having to adjust to these environmental modification . It will signify that cattle farmers could require a gold rush , while those who are growing crops might well suffer . For some , it might mean have to give up agriculture altogether .
essentially , there are only two things that can be done correctly now . Either the granger straightaway east of the bloodline who will be most involve by the climate shift change their practices or we actually get serious about undertake climate change . I think we can probably venture what is going to be the most likely course of natural action there .
