The featured chart presents daily climatology and 2022 values for vapor pressure deficit. The bottom panel shows the departure from a simple daily averaged climatology. This value is useful for diagnosing the magnitude of "suction" or "pull" the atmosphere exerts on plants for water. Drier and warmer temperatures will demand more water than cooler and more humid conditions. While a small positive of the ongoing drought conditions this summer is the lack of persistent muggy weather, the big downside is that vegetation struggles to retain water and smaller reservoirs of water are dried up. The daily departures this summer for Ames show many days since mid June with above average VPD values (implying an increased demand of water from the atmosphere).

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Tags:   vpd