Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

Talking Imperative For Grieving Farmers, Others, Cheryl Alberts

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

Farmers who are losing their livelihoods to the drought shouldn’t be surprised to feel depressed or angry, and neither should people around them. After all, these farmers are suffering a very real loss and they are grieving.

Farmers who lose a crop in many ways will react as have people who have lost loved ones, said John DeFrain, family and community development specialist at the University of Nebraska here. That is, they go into shock, denial and anger, and not necessarily in that order.

The loss of a crop means a loss of time, expenses, identity and, in some cases, …

From The Director: Summer 2000, Donald A. Wilhite

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

We had a fairly good response to the call in the previous issue of Drought Network News for readers to receive future issues online. I would encourage more of you to consider this option, as it will save distribution costs and expedite receipt of the newsletter. If you are willing to receive the newsletter electronically, please contact Kim Klemsz ([email protected]). Our plan is to notify you via e-mail when each new issue of Drought Network News is available. Back issues of Drought Network News are also available online.

At this writing, I am making final preparations for the Expert Group …

Announcements: Summer 2000

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

Contents:

Disaster Management Workshops

Fifth Annual Conference on Crises and Disasters Management

DROUGHT 2000 Conference: Impacts, Policy, and Technology

16th Annual International Conference on Contaminated Soils, Sediments and Water

The Climatic Impact Of La Niña-Related Droughts In Entre Rios (Argentina), Alicia E. Codromaz De Rojas

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

The National Institute of Tecnologia Agropecuaria (INTA) at Parana, Entre Rios (Argentina), has a farming experimental station (E.E.A.) located at 31.5°S and 60.31°W, 110m above sea level. A meteorological observatory has existed at the site since 1934.

The region has a temperate humid climate and receives an average annual rainfall total of 1,000 mm. Distribution is monsoonal, with October–April rains accounting for 73% of the annual total.

Since August 1998, the area has been affected by La Niña, and experts expected the conditions of the cold episode to persist into 2000. The La Niña event in the humid Pampean region …

Using The Spi To Identify Drought, C. T. Agnew

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

This article was written in response to the recent analysis of drought in Turkey by Komuscu (1999). The study showed the relationship between drought duration, drought frequency, and drought time scale using the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI).

Announcements: Spring 2000

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

Contents:

Droughts: A Global Assessment

Proceedings of the National Workshop on Dynamic Crop Simulation Modeling for Agrometeorological Advisory Services

Central and Eastern European Workshop on Drought Mitigation

11th Global Warming International Conference and Expo

GLOBE Data Set

Revisiting The Spi: Clarifying The Process, Michael J. Hayes

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

The number of applications using the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) around the world continues to increase (e.g., Agnew, pp. 6–12 of this newsletter, and Komuscu 1999). However, there are relatively few publications explaining the SPI, and occasional misconceptions about the index have occurred.

When the SPI was first developed by McKee et al. (1993, 1995), it was meant to address some of the limitations that exist within the Palmer Drought Index (PDI). These first publications were relatively simple introductions of the SPI to the scientific community, appearing in the Proceedings of the Eighth and Ninth Applied Climatology Conferences, respectively, sponsored …

Characteristics Of Drought In Kerala, India, K. K. Nathan

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

Kerala state in India, which is the first area of the country to experience the southwest monsoon, has a moist and wet climate. Kerala is in the extreme southwestern part of the Indian subcontinent; it borders Karnataka state in the north, Tamil Nadu in the east, and the Arabian Sea in the west (Figure 1). The entire state is one of the 35 meteorological subdivisions in India.

Kerala’s climate is tropical monsoon and tropical savanna, according to Koppen’s climatic classification (Figure 1). The state normally experiences excessive seasonal rainfall, with hot summers (except in the extreme southern districts like Trivandrum, …

An Introduction To The Drought Monitor, Mark Svoboda

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

The idea of better monitoring and assessing drought has been a quest of NDMC director Don Wilhite for more than two decades. He has been an advocate of better climate monitoring, particularly drought monitoring, because drought is a normal, recurring hazard in virtually all of the United States. The challenge is to recognize drought, a slow-onset or “creeping” natural disaster, before a region is in the middle of one.

The most recent surge in interest in drought arose during the 1995–96 drought in the Southwest and southern Great Plains states. At the NDMC we discussed how we could do a …

From The Director: Spring 2000, Donald A. Wilhite

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

I hope that those of our readers with Internet access will consider receiving future issues of Drought Network News online. We realize that some of you do not have access to the Internet, so we will continue to publish hard copies of the newsletter. If you are willing to receive the newsletter electronically, please contact Kim Klemsz as soon as possible. Our plan is to notify readers via email when each new issue of Drought Network News is available. Back issues of the newsletter are also available online.

This is a joint winter/spring issue of Drought Network News. It …

Dating Marine Terraces With Relative-Age And Correlated-Age Methods, Daniel R. Muhs

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Coastal landforms, and particularly emergent marine terraces, a re amongt he most importantg eomorphicfe aturesi n studieso f Quaternarys eal evel fluctuationsa nd neotectonics. A general model, first articulated by Alexander (1953) and borne out by detailedr ecent studieso n many coastlinesi,s that emergent flights of erosional terraces and coral reefs (Fig. 1) are the resulto f glacioeustaticallyc ontrolledf luctuations of global sea level superimposed on steady uplift. Similiarity of U-series ages of coral from both constructional reefsi n the tropicsa nd erosionalt erracesi n midlatitudesh as provided a rigorous test of this model (Mesolella and others, 1969; Bloom and …

Aquatic Dissipation Of The Herbicide Triclopyr In Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota, Kurt D. Getsinger, David G. Petty, John D. Madsen, John G. Skogerboe, Bruce A. Houtman, William T. Haller, Alison M. Fox

United States Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District

A study of the aquatic fate of the triethylamine salt of triclopyr (3,5,6-trichloro-2- pyridinyloxyacetic acid) was conducted in three bays of Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota. Triclopyr is under review by the US Environmental Protection Agency as a selective aquatic herbicide. The primary purpose of this study was to determine dissipation rates of the parent active ingredient, triclopyr, and its major metabolites, 3,5,6-trichloropyridinol (TCP) and 3,5,6-trichloro-2-methoxypyridine (TMP) in selected matrices including water, sediment, plants, finfish and shellfish. Two 6.5- ha plots dominated by the weedy species Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum L) were treated with triclopyr-triethylammonum at a rate of 2.5mg AE liter …

Expression Of A Dominant-Negative Mutant Of P21ras Inhibits Induction Of Nitric Oxide Synthase And Activation Of Nuclear Factor-Kb In Primary Astrocytes, Kalipada Pahan, Xiaojuan Lu, Michael J. Mckinney, Charles Wood, Faruk G. Sheikh, John R. Raymond

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The present study underlines the importance of p21ras in regulating the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in primary astrocytes. Bacterial lipopolysaccharides induced the GTP loading of p21ras, and the expression of a dominant-negative mutant of p21ras (Dp21ras) inhibited lipopolysaccharide-induced GTP loading in rat primary astrocytes. To delineate the role of p21ras in the induction of iNOS, we examined the effect of Dp21ras on the expression of iNOS and the production of nitric oxide. It is interesting that expression of Dp21ras markedly inhibited the production of nitric oxide and the expression of iNOS in lipopolysaccharide- and pro-inflammatory cytokine (tumor necrosis factor-a, …

Viability Of Piping Plover Charadrius Melodus Metapopulations, Jonathan H. Plissner, Susan M. Haig

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The meta-population viability analysis package, vortex, was used to examine viability and recovery objectives for piping plovers Charadrius melodus, an endangered shorebird that breeds in three distinct regions of North America. Baseline models indicate that while Atlantic Coast populations, under current management practices, are at little risk of near-term extinction, Great Plains and Great Lakes populations require 36% higher mean fecundity for a significant probability of persisting for the next 100 years. Meta-population structure (i.e. the delineation of populations within the meta-population) and inter-population dispersal rates had varying effects on model results; however, spatially-structured meta-populations exhibited lower viability than …

Geomorphometry – Diversity In Quantitative Surface Analysis, Richard J. Pike

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

A widening variety of applications is diversifying geomorphometry (digital terrain modelling), the quantitative study of topography. An amalgam of earth science, mathematics, engineering and computer science, the discipline has been revolutionized by the computer manipulation of gridded terrain heights, or digital elevation models (DEMs). Its rapid expansion continues. This article reviews the remarkable diversity of recent morphometric work in 15 selected topics and discusses their significance and prospects. The quantitative analysis of industrial microsurface topography is introduced to the earth science community. The 14 other topics are Internet access to geomorphometry; global DEMs; DEM modelling of channel networks; …

Single-Dilution Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay For Quantification Of Antigen-Specific Salmonid Antibody, Stewart W. Alcorn, Ronald J. Pascho

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed on the basis of testing a single dilution of serum to quantify the level of antibody to the p57 protein of Renibacterium salmoninarum in sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka). The levels of antibody were interpolated from a standard curve constructed by relating the optical densities (OD) produced by several dilutions of a high-titer rainbow trout (O. mykiss) antiserum to the p57 protein. The ELISA OD values produced by as many as 36 test sera on each microplate were compared with the standard curve to calculate the antigen-specific antibody activity. Repeated …

Natural And Anthropogenic Influences On The Distribution Of The Threatened Neosho Madtom In A Midwestern Warmwater Stream, Mark L. Wildhaber, Vernon M. Tabor, Daniel W. Mulhern, Kenneth L. Powell, Scott P. Sowa

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

We attempted to discern the contributions of physical habitat, water chemistry, nutrients, and contaminants from historic lead-zinc mining activities on the riffle-dwelling benthic fish community of the Spring River, a mid western warm water stream that originates in Missouri and flows into Kansas and Oklahoma. The Spring River has a fish community that includes the Neosho madtom Noturus placidus, a species federally listed as threatened. Although anthropogenic factors such as contaminants limited populations and densities of fishes, an integrated assessment of natural and anthropogenic factors was necessary to effectively estimate the influence of the latter. Fish populations in the …

Estimating The Probability Of Severe Convective Storms: A Local Perspective For The Central And Northern Plains, Preston W. Leftwich Jr.

National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration: Technical Reports and Related Materials

Summary and Conclusions

A procedure to estimate probabilities of the occurrence of severe convective storms within local areas has been described. Probabilities were based on a simulated climatology and the relative frequency of severe convective events when a selected site was contained within an operational Outlook or Watch. Combined data from five local areas were used to develop a general model for local probabilities within the central and northern Plains region. Attachment of probabilities to specific products placed values within a framework familiar to both forecasters and "end-users." Application of results in an operational scenario demonstrated representative local probabilities and …

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 …

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

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 …

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 …

Close-Range And Satellite Remote Sensing Of Algal Biomass In The Iowa Great Lakes, Eric A. Wilson

Department of Geography: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The utility of both close-range and satellite remote sensing for assessing inland water quality was examined in the Iowa Great Lakes. The water quality of this system is of considerable interest because of its status as an environmental, recreational, and therefore, economic resource. The broad range of optical conditions present in the lakes and the wealth of literature on the system make it an ideal environment for water quality remote sensing research. The goal of this research was to survey the water quality of the Iowa Great Lakes via remote sensing, evaluate different predictive algorithms, and map the distribution of …

Announcements: February 1999

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

Contents:

International Symposium on High Altitude and Sensitive Ecological Environmental Geotechnology

5th International Symposium on Environmental Geotechnology and Global Sustainable Development

10th Global Warming International Conference & Expo (GW10)

New Book

Rainfall Climatology Of Jammu And Kashmir State, India, Badrul Hasan

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

We have written a number of articles on various aspects of weather characterization and forecast verification under temperate environments of Jammu and Kashmir (India). We have also touched on some of the approaches that might help in solving climatically triggered problems (Hasan and Kanth 1997). Fortunately, we were lucky enough to make significant progress in some (if not all) of the approaches. The present article focuses on an analysis of rainfall/ precipitation in this state of the Indian Union under different agroclimatic zones, with an update on forecast verification analysis of temperate Kashmir (India) during 1997–98.

India is classified into …

Using The Spi To Analyze Spatial And Temporal Patterns Of Drought In Turkey, Ali Umran Komuscu

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

Drought is a natural phenomenon that has significant economic, social, and environmental impacts. Drought differs from other natural hazards in that its onset and end are difficult to determine. It develops slowly, and its impacts may remain for years after termination of the event. No single definition of drought exists that applies to all circumstances, but most definitions of drought are based on an expression of deficiency of precipitation resulting in water shortage for some activity related to use of water (Wilhite and Glantz, 1985; Dracup et al., 1980). Water resources planners usually rely on quantitative indices to decide whether …

Heat Waves And Floods Across Asia: Was El Niño, Then La Niña The Cause?, R. H. Kripalani, Ashwini Kulkarni

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

Unprecedented heat wave conditions occurred during May–June 1998 across Asia. Unusually high temperatures were recorded in western India, Pakistan, eastern China, Japan, and Southeast Asia. Even the United States, western Africa, eastern Canada, and western Australia experienced the blistering heat spell.

Some reports blame people for the global warming. The world is warming because of the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation, resulting in an increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The 1998 heat wave prompted the United Nations Environment Programme to issue an urgent warning and a wakeup call to limit the emission of global warming gases. The …

Severe Droughts Becoming Recurrent, More Persistent In Mexico, Israel Velasco

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

During recent years, severe and extreme droughts in Mexico and their consequent water deficits have become more recurrent and persistent, according to historic records and the experiences of those who have lived through these events.

In Mexico, agriculture consumes more than 85% of the available water. When the available water is insufficient to satisfy agricultural requirements, impacts can be acute. In extreme cases, lack of water has caused severe economic, social, and environmental crises, and recovery from these crises has taken much time and money.

The regions that are most affected by drought have some common characteristics: they are the …