The frequency of moderate to heavy rainfall events is projected to change in response to global warming. Here we show that these hydrologic changes may have a profound effect on mosquito population dynamics and rates of mosquito-borne disease transmission. We develop a simple model, which treats the mosquito reproductive cycle as a phase oscillator that responds to rainfall frequency forcing. T...

Aedes aegypti is the main vector of multiple diseases, such as Dengue, Zika, and Chikungunya. Due to modifications in weather patterns, its geographical range is continuously evolving. Temperature is a key factor for its expansion into regions with cool winters, but rainfall can also have a strong impact on the colonization of these regions, since larvae emerging after a rainfall are likely to ...

Savanna rangelands are characterized by dynamic interactions between grass, shrubs, fire and livestock driven by highly variable rainfall. When the livestock are grazers (only or preferentially eating grass) the desirable state of the system is dominated by grass, with scattered trees and shrubs. However, the system can have multiple stable attractors and a perturbation such as a drought can ca...

We develop a simple stochastic theory for erosion and sediment transport, based on the Poisson pulse rainfall model, in order to analyze how variability in rainfall and runoff influences drainage basin evolution. Two cases are considered: sediment transport by runoff in rills and channels and particle detachment from bedrock or cohesive soils. Analytical and numerical results show that under so...

There is a need to develop improved accelerated test methods for evaluating the leaching of wood preservatives from treated wood exposed to precipitation. In this study the effects of rate of rainfall and length of intervals between rainfall events on leaching was evaluated by exposing specimens to varying patterns of simulated rainfall under controlled laboratory conditions. Lumber specimens w...