Heavy Rainfall Linked to Drought in Northeastern U.S.
A recent study led by YSE doctoral student Samuel Jurado uncovered a surprising connection between increased heavy precipitation events and dry soil conditions in the Northeastern United States, revealing that feedback loops, not previously observed in the Northeast, contribute to regional dryness during the summer months.
The study, published in Water Resources Research and co-authored by Jackie Matthes, a researcher at Harvard University, explores how more frequent heavy rainfall and increased soil dryness can exist simultaneously and intensify summer drought through a process known as land-atmosphere coupling.
“Imagine you have a flowerpot and one cup of water,” explained Jurado. “Each day for a week, you add a bit of water to keep the soil moist and the flower healthy. Now, imagine you have two cups of water, poured all at once at the beginning of the week, and the pot is left alone. Most of the water overflows or drains out. At the end of the week, the flower that received only one cup of water remains healthy, while the other, despite receiving two cups, may be stressed and dried out. As the climate changes, the Northeast is increasingly resembling the latter flower.”
The study has implications for land management practices, suggesting a need for strategies that enhance soil water retention.
“As water management becomes increasingly challenging for Northeastern U.S. communities, it is crucial to explore how landscapes influence atmospheric conditions, especially as precipitation patterns change and more frequent summer dry periods grow beyond historical experience,” Jurado said.
More News in Brief
Nyeema Harris Named to National Academies Leadership Program
Nyeema Harris, the Knobloch Family Associate Professor of Wildlife and Land Conservation, has been named a member of the 2026 cohort of New Voices in Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
The leadership program by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine aims to expand expertise in the functions of the National Academies while building a network of emerging U.S. leaders to address national and global challenges. New Voices members are competitively selected through a merit-based competition. Each cohort serves a two-year term before transitioning to alumni status.
“New Voices provides unique exposure to the National Academy of Sciences, enhancing my practical application of science diplomacy,” Harris said. "I am honored and elated by this growth opportunity and know my career trajectory will forever be changed as a result of the relationships built, data shared, and lessons learned."
Harris’ research explores carnivore behavior and movement and ecology and conservation in urban systems and national parks. She is director of the Applied Wildlife Ecology (AWE) lab at YSE.
Nyeema Harris
Knobloch Family Associate Professor of Wildlife and Land Conservation
Anthropology and Environment Program Students Earn Prizes for Research
Three YSE doctoral students — Al Lim, Botau Zhao, and Yuefei You — were recognized for their research during the American Anthropological Association in New Orleans.
Lim won the H Russell Bernard Student Paper Prize from the Society for Anthropological Sciences for his paper on how taxes and fiscal design shape subjects in AI-crypto ecosystems.
Zhao received the Nancy Abelmann Prize from the East Asia Society for best graduate student paper. The paper examines the decline of horse caravans in Yanjing, Markham, Tibet.
You earned the 2025 best student film prize from the Society for Visual Anthropology Festival of Film and Media for her documentary “What Do Ghosts Think?” The film examines how various communities in East Kalimantan respond to displacement, supernatural tales, and political censorship surrounding the construction of the new city of Nusantara.
Lim, Zhao, and You work in the lab of Michael Dove, the Margaret K. Musser Professor of Social Ecology and co-director of the Combined Doctoral Program in Anthropology.
Al Lim, Botao Zhao, and Yuefei You
Five YSE Faculty Members Named to 2025 ‘Highly Cited Researchers’ List
Five Yale School of the Environment faculty members have been named to the world’s most influential researchers list by Clarivate Analytics, a company that compiles a list of scientists and social scientists whose papers rank in the top 1% of citations.
Included on this year’s list were: Mark Bradford, the E.H. Harriman Professor of Soils and Ecosystem Ecology; Xuhui Lee the Sara Shallenberger Brown Professor of Climate Science; Anthony Leiserowitz, the JoshAni-TomKat Professor of Climate Communication; Peter Raymond, the Oastler Professor of Biogeochemistry; and Karen Seto, the Frederick C. Hixon Professor of Geography and Urbanization Science. In total, 49 faculty members from Yale University made the list of 6,868 researchers worldwide.
Mark Bradford
E.H. Harriman Professor of Soils and Ecosystem Ecology
Xuhui Lee
Sara Shallenberger Brown Professor of Climate Science
Anthony Leiserowitz
JoshAni-TomKat Professor of Climate Communication; Director of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (YPCCC)
Peter A. Raymond
Oastler Professor of Biogeochemistry; Co-Director, Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture
Karen Seto
Frederick C. Hixon Professor of Geography and Urbanization Science; Director of the Hixon Center for Urban Sustainability; Co-Director of the Yale Center for Geospatial Solutions