Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

A Drought Watch System For Southeast Spain, Ramon Garrido Abenza

Drought Network News (1994-2001)

One of the main climatological characteristics of the region of Murcia (11,300 km2), located almost entirely in the Segura Basin (in southeast Spain), is the great temporal and spatial irregularity of its precipitation. Average annual precipitation values range between 200 and 500 mm, and coefficients of variation (CV) are high, with some values about 50%. It is a semiarid region (including a small arid area), and agriculture plays a major role in its economy. Because of this, drought is one characteristic of the region’s climate that has far-reaching consequences, from unemployment to social conflicts.

It is important to define drought …

Drought Follows The Deluge In Vermont, Lesley-Ann Dupigny-Giroux

Drought Network News (1994-2001)

The incidence of both drought and flooding on the Vermont landscape within the same calendar year is not an uncommon occurrence. The year 1998 was no exception, in that the ice storm of January and statewide flooding of June/July finally gave way to drought conditions as the year drew to a close. These dry conditions continued into late June/early July 1999, when a series of convective and frontal systems brought steady rainfall amounts that were helpful in reducing the surface moisture deficits. Hydrologic deficits, however, still existed in mid-July.

With the exception of the most severe events, which can span …

Low Temperature And Cold Drought Risks In Crop Production In Temperate Kashmir, Badrul Hasan, Ashok Kumar, A. A. Khan

Drought Network News (1994-2001)

Temperature plays a vital role in life processes and crop production. Physical and chemical processes within plants are temperature dependent; these processes in turn control biological reactions in crop plants. Temperature also plays a significant role in some aspects of crop physiological cycles: the diffusion rate of gases and liquids changes with temperature; the solubility of substances is temperature dependent; rapid progress occurs as a result of temperature increases; and the equilibrium and stability of various systems and compounds (including enzymes) is a function of temperature.

Air temperature at the screen level is one of the most important variables affecting …

From The Director: May-August 1999, Donald A. Wilhite

Drought Network News (1994-2001)

With increased understanding of El Niño and La Niña events and growing awareness of the wide range of potential impacts, as well as the increased reliability of seasonal climate forecasts for some regions of the world, there is growing interest in the use of climate information to help reduce risk for some weather-sensitive industries, especially agriculture. The National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) is currently involved in a project sponsored by the UNDP Office to Combat Desertification and Drought (UNSO) and the World Meteorological Organization, with additional support from NOAA and USAID. The next phase of this project will be a …

Water Current, Volume 31, No. 4, August 1999

Water Current Newsletter

From Buffalo to Bottled Water, Summer Water Tour Attracts Newcomers
From the Director: Nebraska's Number One Resource? You Be the Judge
1999 Nebraska Water Legislation
Seventh Annual Festival of Color Will be August 28, Near Mead
Two Join Water Sciences Lab Staff
Water News Briefs
Overview of Vision Statements Available
The Value of Water
1999 USBR Hydrologic Modeling Inventory (HMI)
Understanding and Addressing Groundwater Risks
Water Center Faculty Responds to Request from "Down Under"

Announcements: August 1999

Drought Network News (1994-2001)

Contents:

Disaster Management Workshops

National Workshop on Dynamic Crop Simulation Modeling

International Conference on Integrated Drought Management

15th Annual Conference on Contaminated Soils

2000 National Disaster Medical System Conference

Enso’S Impact On The Occurrence Of Autumnal Drought In Iran, M. J. Nazemosadat

Drought Network News (1994-2001)

Recent extreme rainfall events and the frequent occurrence of worldwide droughts and their associated natural disasters (i.e., devastating bushfires in Australia, Indonesia, and Italy during 1997; the current severe drought in Iran) have increased the scientific community’s interest in the broad characteristics of rainfall variation and the potential for rainfall prediction.

On the basis of the Koppen climate classification (Ahrens, 1998), the Islamic Republic of Iran (Figure 1) is categorized as generally having arid (BW) and semiarid (BS) climates. This signifies that the annual precipitation is less than the potential annual loss of water through evapotranspiration. The occurrence of rainfall …

Near-Threshold Measurement Of Integrated Stokes Parameters For Kr Excited By Polarized Electrons, B. G. Birdsey, H. M. Al-Khateeb, M. E. Johnston, T. C. Bowen, Timothy J. Gay, V. Zeman, K. Bartschat

Timothy J. Gay Publications

We have made high-accuracy measurements of the integrated Stokes parameters for resonance fluorescence from polarized electron-impact excitation of the ⁴p⁵5p[5/2] ³D₃ and ⁴p⁵5p [5/2] ³D₂ states of Kr. We report measurements in the region within 0.6 eV of threshold, which is below the first cascade threshold. We also present theoretical calculations of these Stokes parameters using a recently developed relativistic Breit-Pauli Rmatrix code. In well LS-coupled systems, nonzero values of the integrated Stokes parameter P₂ signal relativistic effects (like continuum spin-orbit coupling, i.e., Mott scattering). …

The Probe, Issue 203 – August 1999

The Probe: Newsletter of the National Animal Damage Control Association

Trappers Association Challenges Ballot Initiatives
Troubling Horizon for NADCA -- Robert H. Schmidt, President
Reed-Joseph International recently announced the availability of CAPA long range pyrotechnic cartridges.
Hazards of Deer Relocation: Mixed Success
Book Review : "Conibear Beaver Trapping in Open Water" by Wesley Murphey. Lost Creek Books, Eugene, Oregon, 1996. 109 pp. Illustrated. ($14.00 postpaid)
Eastern Black Bear Workshop Held in Massachusetts

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 31, No.3 September 1999

The Prairie Naturalist

HANTA VIRUS INFECTION IN NORTH DAKOTA SMALL MAMMALS: 1994,1995 ▪ R. W. Seabloom, J. J. Feist, and S L. McDonough

AMERICAN WOODCOCK IN COLORADO ▪ C. E. Braun

AVIFAUNA OF AN EARLY SUCCESSIONAL HABITAT ALONG THE MIDDLE MISSOURI RIVER ▪ D. L. Swanson

REPRODUCTIVE STATUS OF FLEA BEETLES IN NORTH DAKOTA AND SOUTH DAKOTA ▪ M. A. Brinkman and S. A. Clay

NUTRIENT AND ENERGY CHARACTERISTICS OF INVERTEBRATES FROM TWO LOCATIONS IN KANSAS ▪ S. G. Papon, R. J. Robel, and K. Kemp

BOOK REVIEWS

The Wood Warblers ▪ M. G. Knutson

A Fascination With Birds. ▪ J. A. Dechant …

Interannual Variations In Snowmelt Onset And Links To 500 Hpa Atmospheric Anomalies Over The Arctic, Sheldon D. Drobot, Mark R. Anderson

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Interannual variations in the melt onset of snow provide a mechanism to observe climatic fluctuations. Timing of initial ablation is associated with certain poorly defined overlying atmospheric conditions. This paper investigates the spatial and temporal patterns in melt onset dates and associated 500 hPa height anomalies over the Arctic region from 1982 to 1992. Melt onset dates are derived from Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) and Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) data, while 500 hPa height anomalies are computed from the National Centers for Environmental Protection (NCEP) reanalysis models. Results indicate significant interannual variations in the spatial pattern and timing …

The Probe, Issue 202 – July 1999

The Probe: Newsletter of the National Animal Damage Control Association

Bird Strike USA Meeting a Success -- Eugene LeBoeuf, Bird Strike Scientist, HQ Air Force Safety Center, KirtlandAFB, New Mexico, and Past President, NADCA
Position Available: Wildlife Biologist, JFK Airport
Hawk Starts Grass Fire
Juicy Fruit Gum Remedy Story Persists
Cambodian Artifacts Threatened by Bats
Predator Killings Planned: State Game Managers Target Cougars, Coyotes
Video review: "Cleaning Skulls for Pleasure or Profit" by Ken Carver, Maplewood, MN. VHS. Approx. 120 minutes. $19.95 postpaid.
House Backs Funding of Program That Targets Predators
Armadillos Considered Delicacies By Some; Leprosy Threat by Others

Nickelocene Adsorption On Single-Crystal Surfaces, D. L. Pugmire, C. M. Woodbridge, S. Root, Marjorie Langell

Marjorie A. Langell Publications

Nickelocene adsorption onto Ag(100), Ni(100), and NiO(100)/Ni(100) surfaces was studied with x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy at 135 K for monolayer and multilayer coverages of NiCp₂. On the relatively inert Ag(100) surface, nickelocene physisorbs molecularly, with its molecular axis perpendicular to the surface plane. Exposure to the reactive Ni(100) surface results in the decomposition of nickelocene into acetylene and acetylene-like fragments and, when this surface is warmed to 273 K, carbide contamination is observed. There is evidence for double-bond carbon on nickelocene-exposed NiO(100), and vinyl and propenyl fragments are the most likely decomposition products …

Center For Sustainable Agricultural Systems Newsletter, July/August 1999

Center for Sustainable Agricultural Systems -- Newsletters 1993-2000

Contents:

Biotechnology Issues Discussed at NABC Meeting in Lincoln

University Role in Biotechnology: How Do We Sustain Food Production?

CSAS Issues Volumes 10 and 11

SARE Marketing Conference in Lincoln This November

September 10 is Deadline for NCR SARE Preproposals

Nebraska Legislative Bills Study Management and Help Beginning Farmers/Ranchers

Voluntary Program Will Boost Organic Exports

Canada Introduces National Standard for Organic Agriculture

Merrigan to Head USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service

Nominations Sought for Steward of the Land Award

Thanks and Farewell, Glen

Unoccupied Band Structure Of Strained Gadolinium, Takashi Komesu, C. Waldfried, Peter A. Dowben

Peter Dowben Publications

From spin-polarized inverse photoemission, the experimental spin-resolved unoccupied band structure of gadolinium on Mo(112) has been constructed. The spin-dependent unoccupied electronic structure near the Fermi level is dominated by shallow dispersion of a spin-minority band. A spin-majority and -minority bulk-band pair also exhibits some dispersion across the Brillouin zone.

Unoccupied Band Structure Of Strained Gadolinium, Takashi Komesu, C. Waldfried, Peter A. Dowben

Peter Dowben Publications

From spin-polarized inverse photoemission, the experimental spin-resolved unoccupied band structure of gadolinium on Mo(112) has been constructed. The spin-dependent unoccupied electronic structure near the Fermi level is dominated by shallow dispersion of a spin-minority band. A spin-majority and -minority bulk-band pair also exhibits some dispersion across the Brillouin zone.

Structure And Hysteresis Of Patterned Soft-Magnetic Structure, C. N. Borca, Ralph Skomski, Peter A. Dowben

Peter Dowben Publications

We have analyzed the magnetism of Ni features deposited on nonmagnetic substrates using a novel method: laser assisted chemical vapor deposition. Both coercivity and loop shape are determined on a scale of order 1 mm, which is much smaller than the lateral size of the features. The magnetization curves are fitted to a simple substructure morphology model, although there is secondary dependence of the coercivity on the shape of the structures.

Scwds Briefs: Volume 15, Number 2 (July 1999)

Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study: Publications

SCWDS BRIEFS
July 1999
1998 HD Summary
Hemorrhagic disease (HD)
EHD virus serotype 2 (EHDV-2)
Viral RNA
HD Virus Isolation Support
Epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV)
Bluetongue Virus (BTV)
Cattle pulmonary artery endothelial (CPAE)
BHK21 cells
Recommendations for the Use of Lyme Disease Vaccine
Lyme disease
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
Ketamine
Avian Brain Lesion Syndrome (ABLS)
Coot and Eagle Brain Lesion Syndrome (CEBLS)
Harold M. Smith -- 1942-1999

Resource Partitioning Between Coyotes And Swift Foxes: Space, Time, And Diet, Ann M. Kitchen, Eric M. Gese, Edward R. Schauster

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

In its current distribution and abundance, the swift fox (Vulpes velox) has been significantly reduced from its historic range. A possible cause is competition with, and predation by, coyotes (Canis latrans). We investigated the level of spatial, temporal, and dietary resource use overlap between swift foxes and coyotes at the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site in southeastern Colorado. We captured and radio-tracked 73 foxes and 24 coyotes from April 1997 to August 1998. We collected 10 832 and 5350 locations of foxes and coyotes, respectively. Overall, home-range sizes of foxes and coyotes were 7.6 ± 0.5 (mean ± SE) …

Black Bear Damage To Forest Stands In Western Washington, William B. Stewart, Gary W. Witmer, Gary M. Koehler

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Cambium-feeding behavior by black bears (Ursus americanus), or bear damage, is a major reforestation problem in the Pacific Northwest. Historically, studies have measured the cumulative effects of damage over time, but few have viewed damage in the frame of one season. Bear damage occurring in 1996 was surveyed in areas of radio-marked bears in western Washington. Fresh damage occurred on 48% of bear location plots (n = 96). Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) (69%), western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) (19%), and Pacific silverfir (Abies amabilis) (10%) with a mean dbh of 25.1, 29.5, and 30.7cm, …

Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre, Volume 6-1, Summer 1999

Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre: Newsletters and Publications

Message of Appreciation-NonToxic Shot
International News
Cooperative Research with Aboriginal Groups
CCWHC as Observers on Eastern Canadian Harp Seal Hunt
"Emerging" Diseases
Spinal Cord Degeneration in a Bald Eagle
Common Loon Killed by Bald Eagle
Mass Stranding of Long-Finned Pilot Whales on PEI
Congenital Limb Deformity in a Red Fox
Mycoplasmosis Epidemic in Evening and Pine Grosbeaks
Fatal Sphaeridiotrema sp Infection in Lesser Scaup
Aspergillosis in Mallard Ducks
Septicemic Pasteurellosis-Elk
Trumpter Swans-Wye Marsh
Long-Eared Owls
Canada Geese-Unusual Cases
Poisoning of Bohemian Waxwings
Polioencephalomalacia in Deer and Pronghorns
Brucellosis in Marine Mammals of Arctic Canada

Challenges For Directors Of University Natural Science Museums, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Universities and natural science museums have a long, productive history; however, this has been an uneasy alliance in the United States at least since the 1880s. Decreasing resources and increasing expectations have made the position of all museum directors extremely difficult, but the situation for university natural science museum directors is probably the most complicated among these because they direct museums that are small administrative units within larger university organizations. Some of their challenges include conflict between museum and university missions, governance issues, relationship between director and the university administrator/board member, lack of understanding of museum functions, middle management role …

Intermediate Species Possessing Bent Dna Are Present Along The Pathway To Formation Of A Final Tbp-Tata Complex, Kay M. Parkhurst, Robyn M. Richards, Michael Brenowitz, Lawrence J. Parkhurst

Lawrence Parkhurst Publications

Binding of the TATA-binding protein (TBP) to the “TATA” sequences present in the promoters of eukaryotic class II genes is the first step in the sequential assembly of transcription pre-initiation complexes. Myriad structural changes, including severe bending of the DNA, accompany TBP-TATA complex formation. A detailed kinetic study has been conducted to elucidate the mechanistic details of TBP binding and DNA bending. The binding of Saccharomyces cerevisiae TBP to the adenovirus major late promoter (AdMLP) was followed in real-time through a range of temperatures and TBP concentrations using fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) and stopped-flow mixing. The results of association …

Methylene-Only Subspectra In 13C Cpmas Using A New Double Quantum Filtering Sequence, Paola Rossi, Raju Subramanian, Gerard S. Harbison

Gerard Harbison Publications

Methodology for the assignment of ¹³C CPMAS spectra is still in its infancy. Previous methods of CPMAS spectral editing have utilized differences in the strength of the ¹³C–¹H dipolar interaction or the rate and spin thermodynamics of crosspolarization from protons to carbon, to differentiate between quaternary, tertiary, and methylene carbons. We introduce a different approach, which is based on the fact that double-quantum coherence develops between the protons of a methylene group considerably faster than between most other proton spin pairs in an organic solid. We generate this coherence, filter it, convert it back to single …

Dc Field-Induced, Phase And Polarization Control Of Interference Between One- And Two-Photon Ionization Amplitudes, N. L. Manakov, V.D. Osiannikov, Anthony F. Starace

Anthony F. Starace Publications

We demonstrate that a weak, static electric field enables nearly complete coherent phase control of the total ionization yield in a two-color ionization process using fundamental and second-harmonic radiation. The static electric field induces a dipole-forbidden resonance in the two-photon transition amplitude so that the final photoelectron states are identical to those in a single photon transition. We demonstrate also a phase controllable circular dichroism effect in the total photoelectron yield. Experimental realization of this process using alkali metal atoms is discussed.

Water Current, Volume 31, No. 3, June 1999

Water Current Newsletter

Summer Water Tour Visits Northeast and North Central Nebraska July 19-21
From the Director: International Center for Ground Water Research and Education Proposed for NU
Northern Wyoming Hosts Four States Summer Tour
SOAR and PROJECT WET Together!
Earth Wellness Festival, Master Navigator Program Win Annual IANR Team Awards
Poll Shows Rural Nebraskans Wary of Large Hog Operations
Tips to Washing Pesticide-Contaminated Clothing
Missouri Named River In Peril for Second Straight Year by American Rivers Group
Water News Brief
Call for Papers - Bison Symposium
Constructed Wetlands Video
Wetlands Tabloids
National Water Quality Database
Planet Protector's Club

A Cooperative Effort By The U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service, The Nez Perce Tribe, The National Park Service, And Usda Wildlife Services

Rocky Mountain Wolf Recovery Annual Reports

Gray wolf populations (Canis lupus) were extirpated from the western U.S. by the 1930s. Subsequently, wolves from Canada occasionally dispersed south into Montana and Idaho but failed to survive long enough to reproduce. Public attitudes toward predators changed and wolves received legal protection with the passage of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1973. Wolves began to successfully recolonize northwestern Montana in the early 1980s. By 1995, 6 packs lived entirely in northwestern Montana. In 1995 and 1996, 66 wolves from southwestern Canada were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park (YNP) (31 wolves) and central Idaho (35 wolves). The …

Self-Focusing, Channel Formation, And High-Energy Ion Generation In Interaction Of An Intense Short Laser Pulse With A He Jet, G.S. Sarkisov, B. Yu. Bychenkov, V.N. Novikov, V.T. Tikhonchuk, Anatoly Maksimchuk, Shouyuan Chen, R. Wagner, G. Mourou, Donald Umstadter

Donald Umstadter Publications

Using interferometry, we investigate the dynamics of interaction of a relativistically intense 4-TW, 400-fs laser pulse with a He gas jet. We observe a stable plasma channel 1 mm long and less than 30 μm in diameter, with a radial gradient of electron density ∼5×10²² cm^-4 and with an on-axis electron density approximately ten times less than its maximum value of 8×10¹⁹ cm^-3. A high radial velocity of the surrounding gas ionization of ∼3.8×10⁸ cm/s has been observed after the channel formation, and it is attributed to the fast ions expelled from the laser …

The Probe, Issue 201 - June 1999

The Probe: Newsletter of the National Animal Damage Control Association

CONTENTS:
GENESIS
THE SECRETARY'S DECISION
PROBING FOR THE PROBE
THE BLACK DEATH
COMPLAINTS
OL'TIMER'S CORNER
BATS IN THE BELFRY?
IT IS NICE TO KNOW YOUR ARE NOT ALONE!!!
ADOPT A 1080 STATION
LETTERS TO YE ED
GOOD GNUS FOR EWES
MEMBERSHIP
ANIMAL RIGHTS
A LAST PLEA FOR MEMBERS
KISSED BY A RAT
EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING - Sept. 21. 1985
HUNTERS BEWARE
ON BEING MASOCHISTIC
EPA DOUBLE TALK
IN THE CAT HOUSE - - AGAIN ? !
CATS AND MORE CATS
ON ADC'S TRANSFER TO USDA
AHH! A KINDRED SPIRIT
MONTEREY PEST CONF.
HUMANS GOT RIGHTS???
THAT SMARTS!
ALL THE NEWS …

Quality Assurance And The Scientific Method, Ray T. Sterner

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

As all RMRCSQA members know, during the 1980s the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Food a d Drug Administration (FDA) implemented 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Parts 160/792 and 21 CFR Part 58, respectively. These regulations outlined GLPs for data data collections needed to register pesticides, toxic substances, and drugs in the U.S.; QA concepts fix study oversight Were also described in these parts (see Sterner and Fagerstone, 1997). What you may not have considered is the relationship of these regulations to the scientific method.