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Articles 1261 - 1290 of 1402

Full-Text Articles in Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology

From The Director: February 1999, Donald A. Wilhite Feb 1999

From The Director: February 1999, Donald A. Wilhite

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

Many of the readers of Drought Network News are familiar with the “hydro-illogical cycle” cartoon that I use frequently in presentations and publications. This illustration has been translated into many languages and serves as a constant reminder of the crisis management mentality often displayed in responding to drought emergencies and the proverbial “window of opportunity” following a drought when planning for the next event is of high priority. I hear comments routinely from government officials that recognize the need to plan, but they express hesitancy in moving forward now if water supply conditions are normal or above. The concern is …

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Global Rural Temperature Trends, Thomas C. Peterson, Kevin P. Gallo, Jay Lawrimore, Timothy W. Owen, Alex Huang, David A. Mckittrick Jan 1999

Global Rural Temperature Trends, Thomas C. Peterson, Kevin P. Gallo, Jay Lawrimore, Timothy W. Owen, Alex Huang, David A. Mckittrick

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Using rural/urban land surface classifications derived from maps and satellite observed nighttime surface lights, global mean land surface air temperature time series were created using data from all weather observing stations in a global temperature data base and from rural stations only. The global rural temperature time series and trends are very similar to those derived from the full data set. Therefore, the well-known global temperature time series from in situ stations is not significantly impacted by urban warming.

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Classification Of Explosives Transformation Products In Plant Tissue, Steven L. Larson, Robert P. Jones, Lynn Escalon, Don Parker Jan 1999

Classification Of Explosives Transformation Products In Plant Tissue, Steven L. Larson, Robert P. Jones, Lynn Escalon, Don Parker

United States Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District

Explosives contamination in surface or groundwater used for the irrigation of food crops and phytoremediation of explosives-contaminated soil or water using plant-assisted biodegradation have brought about concerns as to the fate of explosives in plants. Liquid scintillation counting, high-performance liquid chromatography, and gel permeation chromatography were utilized to characterize explosives (hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine and trinitrotoluene) and their metabolites in plant tissues obtained from three separate studies. Analyzing tissues of yellow nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus), corn (Zea mays), lettuce (Lacuta sativa), tomato (Lyopersicum esculentum), radish (Raphanus sativus), and parrot feather (Myriophyllum aquaticum) …

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Monitoring The 1996 Drought Using The Standardized Precipitation Index, Michael J. Hayes, Mark D. Svoboda, Donald A. Wilhite, Olga V. Vanyarkho Jan 1999

Monitoring The 1996 Drought Using The Standardized Precipitation Index, Michael J. Hayes, Mark D. Svoboda, Donald A. Wilhite, Olga V. Vanyarkho

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Droughts are difficult to detect and monitor. Drought indices, most commonly the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI), have been used with limited success as operational drought monitoring tools and triggers for policy responses. Recently, a new index, the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), was developed to improve drought detection and monitoring capabilities. The SPI has several characteristics that are an improvement over previous indices, including its simplicity and temporal flexibility, that allow its application for water resources on all timescales. In this article, the 1996 drought in the southern plains and southwestern United States is examined using the SPI. A series …

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Comparison Of An Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (Elisa) To Gas Chromatography (Gc) - Measurement Of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (Pcbs) In Selected Us Fish Extracts, James L. Zajicek, Donald E. Tillitt, Ted R. Schwartz, Christopher J. Schmitt, Robert O. Harrison Jan 1999

Comparison Of An Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (Elisa) To Gas Chromatography (Gc) - Measurement Of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (Pcbs) In Selected Us Fish Extracts, James L. Zajicek, Donald E. Tillitt, Ted R. Schwartz, Christopher J. Schmitt, Robert O. Harrison

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The analysis of PCBs in fish tissues by immunoassay methods was evaluated using fish collected from a US monitoring program, the National Contaminant Biomonitoring Program of the US Department of Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. Selected composite whole fish samples, which represented widely varying concentrations and sources of PCBs, were extracted and subjected to congener PCB analysis by gas chromatography (GC) and total PCB analysis using an ELISA (ePCBs) calibrated against technical Aroclor 1248. PCB congener patterns in these fishes were different from the patterns found in commercial Aroclors or their combinations as demonstrated by principal component analysis of normalized …

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200,000 Years Of Climate Change Recorded In Eolian Sediments Of The High Plains Of Eastern Colorado And Western Nebraska, Daniel R. Muhs, James Swinehart, David Loope, John N. Aleinikoff, Josh Been Jan 1999

200,000 Years Of Climate Change Recorded In Eolian Sediments Of The High Plains Of Eastern Colorado And Western Nebraska, Daniel R. Muhs, James Swinehart, David Loope, John N. Aleinikoff, Josh Been

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Loess and eolian sand cover vast areas of the western Great Plains of Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado (Fig. 1). In recent studies of Quaternary climate change, there has been a renewed interest in loess and eolian sand. Much of the attention now given to loess stems from new studies of long loess sequences that contain detailed records of Quaternary glacial-interglacial cycles, thought to be a terrestrial equivalent to the foraminiferal oxygen isotope record in deep-sea sediments (Fig. 2). Loess is also a direct record of atmospheric circulation, and identification of loess paleowinds in the geologic record can test atmospheric general …

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Announcements: October 1998 Oct 1998

Announcements: October 1998

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

Contents:

IUGG–99 XXII General Assembly - Inter-Association Symposium on Geophysical Hazards: Risk Assessment, Mitigation and Warning Systems

1999 National Disaster Medical System Conference

International Conference on Integrated Drought Management—Lessons for Sub-Saharan Africa

4th International Congress on Energy, Environment and Technological Innovation

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Comparative Hydrometeorology Of Temperate And Semiarid Environments In India, Badrul Hasan Oct 1998

Comparative Hydrometeorology Of Temperate And Semiarid Environments In India, Badrul Hasan

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

Out of a total cropped area of 178 m ha, India has 59 m ha of irrigated cropland. The remaining 119 m ha is rainfed. Crop production under rainfed conditions either occurs during the rainy season or depends on conserved or residual soil moisture. In temperate countries, the economy largely depends on production of goods and services that are less affected by the variabilities of weather. Although India receives adequate amounts of rainfall annually through the four different types of weather phenomena—southwest monsoon (74%), northeast monsoon (3%), pre-monsoon (13%), and post-monsoon (10%)—the distribution in time and space is erratic, resulting …

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Persian Gulf Sea Surface Temperature As A Drought Diagnostic For Southern Iran, M. Jafar Nasemosadat Oct 1998

Persian Gulf Sea Surface Temperature As A Drought Diagnostic For Southern Iran, M. Jafar Nasemosadat

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

The Persian Gulf and Oman Sea, situated over the northwestern extremity of the tropical Indian Ocean, make up the southern border of Iran (Figure 1). During hot seasons, the sea surface temperatures (SSTs) of these water bodies are high, and a huge thermal trough system is usually dominant over the region (Bitan and Sa’aroni, 1992). The summer SSTs of the Persian Gulf are reported to be the highest in the world (Gabler, 1977).

About 30% of the total rain-bearing air masses coming to the country originate in north Africa, the Red Sea, and western Saudi Arabia (Khalili, 1992). These air …

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Droughts In Tamil Nadu: A Qualitative And Quantitative Appraisal, K. K. Nathan Oct 1998

Droughts In Tamil Nadu: A Qualitative And Quantitative Appraisal, K. K. Nathan

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

Tamil Nadu experiences recurrent droughts. Tamil literature also indicates that famine-like conditions prevailed during the Pandiyan Kingdom for nearly 12 years. The state normally benefits from northeast monsoon rainfall from October to December, unlike other regions of India, which are dominated by southwest monsoon rainfall.

In general, four major parameters determine the nature and extent of drought conditions in Tamil Nadu: (1) rainfall, (2) ground water, (3) reservoir levels, and (4) crop conditions. It is estimated that nearly 50% of the districts in the state are drought-prone. The state receives nearly 80% of its annual rainfall during the northeast monsoon, …

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From The Director: October 1998, Donald A. Wilhite Oct 1998

From The Director: October 1998, Donald A. Wilhite

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

On July 16, 1998, President Clinton signed the National Drought Policy Act into law. This law creates the National Drought Policy Commission (NDPC), which will examine current laws and programs and make recommendations to the president and Congress on the needs for a national drought policy. The Farm Service Agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture will serve as the chair for the Commission, which will comprise 16 members. In addition to the Secretary of Agriculture, other members of the Commission will include the Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of the Army, Secretary of Commerce, Director of the Federal Emergency …

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Announcements: June 1998 Jun 1998

Announcements: June 1998

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

Contents:

Western Drought Coordination Council Products Available

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Implications Of Climate Change For Soil Moisture Availability In Turkey’S Southeastern Anatolia Project Region, Ali Umran Komuscu Jun 1998

Implications Of Climate Change For Soil Moisture Availability In Turkey’S Southeastern Anatolia Project Region, Ali Umran Komuscu

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

The Southeast Anatolia Development Project (known as GAP) is a multifaceted development project for agriculture and water resources within the Turkish portions of the Euphrates and Tigris river basins. Through this project, the vulnerability of the region to drought has been investigated in both temporal and spatial terms. On completion of the project, 28% of the total water potential of Turkey will be brought under control through facilities on the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, which have a joint flow of more than 50 billion m3 (GAP Regional Development Administration, 1997). The GAP project aims to irrigate 8.5 million hectares …

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No Droughts Over India Following Very Strong El Niño Episodes, R. H. Kripalani, Ashwini Kulkarni Jun 1998

No Droughts Over India Following Very Strong El Niño Episodes, R. H. Kripalani, Ashwini Kulkarni

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

One of the external factors responsible for the interannual variability of Indian summer monsoon rainfall (ISMR—June through September) is the El Niño phenomenon. About half of the droughts over India have been related to this phenomenon. Other external factors, such as the Eurasian snow, also affect the year-to-year variability of the ISMR. It is believed that in such cases, the ISMR becomes locked into its own internal dynamics.

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Improving Drought Management And Planning Through Better Monitoring In Africa, Tsegaye Tadesse Jun 1998

Improving Drought Management And Planning Through Better Monitoring In Africa, Tsegaye Tadesse

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

Drought is part of the environment. It occurs in every part of the globe and adversely affects the lives of a large number of people, causing considerable damage to economies, the environment, and property. It also affects countries differently, having a greater impact on countries with poor economic conditions.

Recurrent drought in Africa in the last 30 years has had a disastrous effect on an economic and social situation that already had serious problems. Today, in the aftermath of these devastating droughts, planning and preparedness have become more important. Most disasters, including droughts, are no accident. They are made by …

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Australia’S National Drought Policy Continues To Evolve, David H. White Jun 1998

Australia’S National Drought Policy Continues To Evolve, David H. White

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

Australia is an arid continent with a high variability in its annual rainfall. Given the frequency and severity of droughts and the consequent high financial and social costs to the nation and to individuals, and the associated potential for further degradation of the land, a national policy on drought was clearly needed.

Australia’s National Drought Policy (NDP) was ratified by the state and Commonwealth (federal) governments in 1992 (White, 1993; White et al., 1993; White and O’Meagher, 1995). Its aims are to:

• encourage primary producers and other sections of rural Australia to adopt self-reliant approaches to managing for climatic …

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From The Director: June 1998, Donald A. Wilhite Jun 1998

From The Director: June 1998, Donald A. Wilhite

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

The 1997–98 El Niño event has certainly raised the public’s level of awareness of the impact of climate on society. Although the concern in the United States has focused more on mitigating the potential effects of floods, not all regions of the country are dealing with water surplus situations. An emerging drought in Montana and parts of some surrounding states has caught the attention of scientists and policy makers in recent months. Worldwide, droughts in Central America, Mexico, Brazil, Hawaii, some Pacific island nations, Indonesia, Australia, southern Africa, and elsewhere have attracted the attention of scientists, policy makers, and the …

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How To Reduce Drought Risk, Cody Knutson, Mike Hayes, Tom Phillips Mar 1998

How To Reduce Drought Risk, Cody Knutson, Mike Hayes, Tom Phillips

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

This guide describes a practical step-by-step process for identifying actions that can be taken to reduce potential drought-related impacts before a drought occurs. Step 1 begins with making sure that the right people are brought together and supplied with adequate data to make informed and equitable decisions during the process. Steps 2 and 3 narrow the focus of the study by identifying high priority drought-related impacts that are relevant to the user’s location or activity. Step 4 demonstrates that in order to reduce the potential for the identified impacts to occur in the future, it is necessary to understand the …

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Spring Crops In Bulgaria Damaged By 1996 Summer Drought, Nikola Slavov, Vesselin Alexandrov Feb 1998

Spring Crops In Bulgaria Damaged By 1996 Summer Drought, Nikola Slavov, Vesselin Alexandrov

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

Studies suggest there is a decreasing trend in precipitation in both north and south Bulgaria because of precipitation deficiencies in the 1940s and since the 1970s. Bulgaria has experienced several summer drought episodes during the last century, most notably in the 1940s and 1980s. There has been a decreasing trend in precipitation during the potential crop-growing season since the end of the 1970s, and the number of 10-day dry spells during this season has increased since the beginning of the 1970s. In the course of the last 3 decades, there was a decreasing trend in precipitation during the non-growing season …

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Announcements: February 1998 Feb 1998

Announcements: February 1998

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

Contents:

Hazards and Sustainability: Contemporary Issues in Risk Management

Hazards–98: Seventh International Symposium on Natural and Man-made Hazards

Water: A Looming Crisis? International Conference on World Water Resources at the Beginning of the 21st Century

Disaster Forum ’98

National Conference on Lifesaving Intervention

New Book: Reaching the Unreached: Challenges for the 21st Century

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Droughts In Poland, 1951-90, R. Farat, M. Kepinska - Kasprzak, P. Kowalczak, P. Mager Feb 1998

Droughts In Poland, 1951-90, R. Farat, M. Kepinska - Kasprzak, P. Kowalczak, P. Mager

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

One of the negative features of Poland’s climate is the periodic occurrence of atmospheric droughts. The most frequent source of this phenomenon is the occurrence of long-term (sometimes lasting several weeks) rainless periods. The occurrence of these periods is connected with the persistence of a stationary east European high that joins with the Azores anticyclone via central Europe. In such situations, with the accompanying lack or insufficiency of atmospheric precipitation, a drought begins to develop gradually. First, a soil drought appears, followed by hydrologic drought. During a hydrologic drought, a decrease in the ground water flow into surface waters is …

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India, Indonesia Experiencing Opposite Effects From 1997 El Niño, R. H. Kripalani, Ashwini Kulkarni Feb 1998

India, Indonesia Experiencing Opposite Effects From 1997 El Niño, R. H. Kripalani, Ashwini Kulkarni

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

It is now well recognized that the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon is the single most important cause of year-to-year climatic variability. Several studies have documented that a majority of the warm extremes (El Niño events) cause below-normal rainfall over Indonesia, while cold extremes (La Niña events) cause above-normal rainfall over India.

During the current ongoing El Niño episode, temperature anomalies in the Niño 1+2, Niño 3, and Niño 3.4 regions have been the largest values observed in the last 50 years. The pattern of anomalous tropical convection with enhanced activity across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific and suppressed …

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Planning For The Next Drought: A National Drought Mitigation Center Workshop Sponsored By The U.S. Bureau Of Reclamation And The National Governors’ Association Feb 1998

Planning For The Next Drought: A National Drought Mitigation Center Workshop Sponsored By The U.S. Bureau Of Reclamation And The National Governors’ Association

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

The drought that gripped the Southwest and southern Great Plains states in 1996 was the most recent reminder of the nation’s continuing and apparently increasing vulnerability to drought. Although drought is a common feature in the West, it is a normal part of the climate of each region of the United States: drought struck the Southeast in 1986; most of the country, especially the Midwest and Plains states, in 1988–89; the West from 1987 to 1992; and the Northeast in 1995. Experiences from each of these droughts reinforce the need for advance planning. Even though drought is a slow-onset disaster, …

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Quarterly Report Provides Assessment Of Western Water Supply Indicators Feb 1998

Quarterly Report Provides Assessment Of Western Water Supply Indicators

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

A new quarterly report, Western Climate and Water Status, provides decision makers in the western United States with a comprehensive assessment of water supply indicators that can give early warning of emerging droughts. A product of the Western Drought Coordination Council, the report is an important new connection between scientists and policy makers.

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From The Director: February 1998, Donald A. Wilhite Feb 1998

From The Director: February 1998, Donald A. Wilhite

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

If it seems like considerable time has elapsed since you received the last issue of Drought Network News, it is not just your imagination. After much discussion, we decided not to publish the newsletter in October 1997. First, we had a limited number of submissions to include. Second, the task of editing the manuscript for a new drought book was an overwhelming task that was involving much of my time and that of my publications specialist, Deborah Wood. She is also responsible for Drought Network News. With more submissions and the near completion of the drought book, I …

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China’S Drought Climate Monitoring System, Zhu Changhan, Zhang Qiang, Wu Hong Feb 1998

China’S Drought Climate Monitoring System, Zhu Changhan, Zhang Qiang, Wu Hong

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

In China, about 50% of the country is in arid and semiarid regions. Drought is the most severe climate disaster to affect China, and it causes significant reductions in grain yields. The area affected annually by drought has been estimated at about 20 million ha, which accounts for 59% of the total area affected by disasters. When severe droughts occur, they can affect as much as 33 million ha.

To monitor the occurrence and development of droughts efficiently and provide information on the strength and range of droughts and floods, the China Drought–Flood Climate Monitoring System was developed by the …

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Hydrology Of Two Interdunal Valleys In The Nebraska Sand Hills, Steve Drda Feb 1998

Hydrology Of Two Interdunal Valleys In The Nebraska Sand Hills, Steve Drda

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Two neighboring interdunal valleys are compared within a study area of about 15 square miles in the Nebraska Sand Hills. One is a subirrigated wet meadow drained by a manmade ditch. The other is topographically lower, but dry at the surface. The goal of this study is to identify the factors responsible for the hydrologic regime present in each valley, and to discern the reasons for the differences between the two valleys. Water levels in 39 piezometers positioned at different locations across both valleys, and at different depths were monitored for two-and-a-half years to determine groundwater flow paths, gradients, and …

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Chapter 2 Climate, Donald A. Wilhite, Kenneth G. Hubbard Jan 1998

Chapter 2 Climate, Donald A. Wilhite, Kenneth G. Hubbard

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

The broad climatic patterns of the Sand Hills region are also characteristic of the central Great Plains environment. The spatial and temporal patterns of these climatic variables have a significant effect on the natural resources of the region.

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An Evaluation Of Methods For Identifying And Interpreting Buried Soils In Late Quaternary Loess In Alaska, Daniel R. Muhs, Thomas A. Ager, Josh M. Been, Joseph G. Rosenbaum, Richard L. Reynolds Jan 1998

An Evaluation Of Methods For Identifying And Interpreting Buried Soils In Late Quaternary Loess In Alaska, Daniel R. Muhs, Thomas A. Ager, Josh M. Been, Joseph G. Rosenbaum, Richard L. Reynolds

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The presence of buried soils in Alaskan loess is controversial, and therefore criteria for identifying buried soils in these deposits need to be evaluated. In this paper, morphologic and chemical criteria for identifying buried soils are evaluated by studying modern soils developed mostly in Holocene loess under tundra, boreal forest, and transitional coastal-boreal forest vegetation in different parts of Alaska. Data from modern Alaskan soils that developed under vegetation similar to that of the present indicate that soil morphology, organic-matter concentrations, and P concentrations can be useful diagnostic tools for identifying buried soils. Soil morphologic criteria, particularly horizon colors and …

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Subsurface Heavy-Metal Detection With The Use Of A Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (Libs) Penetrometer System, Brian Miles, Javier Cortes Jan 1998

Subsurface Heavy-Metal Detection With The Use Of A Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (Libs) Penetrometer System, Brian Miles, Javier Cortes

United States Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District

U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station (WES) investigators have designed, fabricated, and demonstrated a cone penetrometer sensor for subsurface in situ field screening based on LIBS. The LIBS probe (patent pending) presented here is one of a suite of contaminant and geophysical probes developed by the WES Site Characterization and Analysis Penetrometer System (SCAPS) program. The LIBS probe includes a laser as part of the optical LIBS sensor section for metals analysis and a cone and sleeve soil classification module at its tip. Soil classification data are acquired during the push, while LIBS data are recorded during probe retraction, after …

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