scholarly journals A Climatology of Springtime Dryline Position in the U.S. Great Plains Region

2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. 2132-2137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Hoch ◽  
Paul Markowski
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Relative Humidity ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
Peak Frequency ◽  
The United States ◽  
Specific Humidity ◽  
Western Great Plains ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Surface Observations ◽  
Relative Humidity Data

Abstract A climatology of dryline frequency and location is presented based on 30 yr (1973–2002) of April, May, and June surface observations from the Great Plains region of the United States. Drylines having a horizontal specific humidity gradient greater than or equal to 3 × 10−8 m−1 [greater than or equal to 3 g kg−1 (100 km)−1] are found to be present on 32% of the days, with the peak frequency occurring in mid- to late May. The most favored longitude of the generally meridionally oriented drylines is near −101°W at 0000 UTC, although the favored longitude tends to shift westward as the April–June period elapses. There is no robust suggestion of a shift in the annual mean dryline position over the period studied. Relationships between dryline position and wind and relative humidity data at mandatory levels (e.g., 850, 700, and 500 mb) also are investigated. Dryline longitude increases with increasing westerly momentum aloft. Dryline longitude also increases with decreasing relative humidity at 850 mb, primarily at stations in the western Great Plains region, west of the climatologically favored dryline position near −101°. Dryline position is not as closely associated with either 850-mb relative humidity east of the climatologically favored dryline position or relative humidity in the middle troposphere.

scholarly journals Refining Ornamental Heat Zone Categories with Evapotranspiration

HortScience ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 884A-884
Author(s):  
Albert Sutherland* ◽  
Mike Schnelle ◽  
Derek Arndt
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Relative Humidity ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Cold Hardiness ◽  
Reference Evapotranspiration ◽  
The United States ◽  
Ornamental Plant ◽  
Heat Zone ◽  
Oklahoma Mesonet

The American Horticulture Society (AHS) Heat Zone categories have been developed to categorize ornamental plant adaptability to different air temperature climates. These zones, like the Plant Hardiness map showing plant cold hardiness zones within the United States, are primarily north to south zones. Within the Great Plains region of the United States, the AHS Heat Zone categories provide a basic level of plant adaptability to air temperature, but do not account for plant reaction to variations in wind, relative humidity or sunlight. Daily reference evapotranspiration provides a single number that responds to variations in air temperature, wind, relative humidity and sunlight. In Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Mesonet provides a uniform statewide network of weather monitor towers that can be used to accurately calculate both short and tall American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) reference evapotranspiration (ref ET) across the entire state. Accumulated daily ref ET values can be used to provide further refinement in categorizing ornamental plant adaptability.

scholarly journals Drought and Pluvial Dipole Events within the Great Plains of the United States

2015 ◽  
Vol 54 (9) ◽  
pp. 1886-1898 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan Christian ◽  
Katarina Christian ◽  
Jeffrey B. Basara
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Standard Deviation ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
The United States ◽  
Northern Great Plains ◽  
High Plains ◽  
Southern Great Plains ◽  
One Year ◽  
The U.S

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to quantify dipole events (a drought year followed by a pluvial year) for various spatial scales including the nine Oklahoma climate divisions and the author-defined regions of the U.S. Southern Great Plains (SGP), High Plains (HP), and Northern Great Plains (NGP). Analyses revealed that, on average, over twice as many standard deviation (STDEV) dipoles existed in the latter half of the dataset (1955–2013) relative to the first half (1896–1954), suggesting that dramatic increases in precipitation from one year to the next within the Oklahoma climate divisions are increasing with time. For the larger regions within the Great Plains of the United States, the percent chance of a significant pluvial year following a significant drought year was approximately 25% of the time for the SGP and NGP and approximately 16% of the time for the HP. The STDEV dipole analyses further revealed that the frequency of dipoles was consistent between the first and second half of the dataset for the NGP and HP but was increasing with time in the SGP. The temporal periods of anomalous precipitation during relative pluvial years within the STDEV dipole events were unique for each region whereby October occurred most frequently (70%) within the SGP, September occurred most frequently (60%) within the HP, and May occurred most frequently (62%) within the NGP.

scholarly journals Life-History Parameters of Striacosta albicosta (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Under Laboratory Conditions

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Débora G Montezano ◽  
Thomas E Hunt ◽  
Alexandre Specht ◽  
Priscila M C Luz ◽  
Julie A Peterson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
The United States ◽  
Developmental Time ◽  
Pupal Weight ◽  
Growth Ratio ◽  
Laboratory Conditions ◽  
Striacosta Albicosta ◽  
Western Great Plains ◽  
Lepidoptera Noctuidae

Abstract Striacosta albicosta (Smith) is a key pest of maize and dry beans in North America. It has expanded its distribution from the western Great Plains of the United States to the Great Lakes region in the United States and Canada. There has been limited research on the baseline biological aspects of this insect under controlled conditions. The objective of this study was to detail the biological parameters of S. albicosta feeding on an artificial diet under laboratory conditions. Overall survival from neonate to adult at 26.6 ± 1°C was 36.72% and the total developmental time was approximately 110 d. Survival of the egg, larval, prepupal, and pupal stages were 75.71, 98.50, 51.78, and 95.10%, respectively. Average duration of the egg, larval, prepupal, and pupal stages was 4.64, 28.20, 41.50, and 25.91 d, respectively. During the larval stage, 92.50% of larvae developed through seven instars and the remaining through six instars. Larvae that developed through six and seven instars exhibited a mean growth ratio of 1.60 and 1.47, respectively; however, there was no difference in pupal weight. Eggs laid by field-mated moths showed a fertility of 75.71%, compared with 4.18% from laboratory-reared moths. These data suggest that S. albicosta develop primarily through seven instars and the most vulnerable developmental stage is the prepupa. Laboratory conditions strongly affected fertility success. Information presented here greatly expands our understanding of S. albicosta biology, which can be used to improve the efficiency of laboratory bioassays and management techniques for this critical crop pest.

scholarly journals Surface Water Vapor Pressure and Temperature Trends in North America during 1948–2010

2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (10) ◽  
pp. 3599-3609 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Isaac ◽  
W. A. van Wijngaarden
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Water Vapor ◽  
North America ◽  
Relative Humidity ◽  
Vapor Pressure ◽  
Water Vapor Pressure ◽  
The United States ◽  
Specific Humidity ◽  
Canadian Prairies ◽  
Straight Line

Abstract Over one-quarter billion hourly values of temperature and relative humidity observed at 309 stations located across North America during 1948–2010 were studied. The water vapor pressure was determined and seasonal averages were computed. Data were first examined for inhomogeneities using a statistical test to determine whether the data were fit better to a straight line or a straight line plus an abrupt step, which may arise from changes in instruments and/or procedure. Trends were then found for data not having discontinuities. Statistically significant warming trends affecting the Midwestern United States, Canadian prairies, and the western Arctic are evident in winter and to a lesser extent in spring while statistically significant increases in water vapor pressure occur primarily in summer for some stations in the eastern half of the United States. The temperature (water vapor pressure) trends averaged over all stations were 0.30 (0.07), 0.24 (0.06), 0.13 (0.11), 0.11 (0.07) °C decade−1 (hPa decade−1) in the winter, spring, summer, and autumn seasons, respectively. The averages of these seasonal trends are 0.20°C decade−1 and 0.07 hPa decade−1, which correspond to a specific humidity increase of 0.04 g kg−1 decade−1 and a relative humidity reduction of 0.5% decade−1.

The Great Plains Coal Gasification Project Status

1986 ◽  
Vol 108 (3) ◽  
pp. 432-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. J. Bodnaruk
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
Coal Gasification ◽  
The United States ◽  
First Year ◽  
Original Design ◽  
Capital Projects ◽  
Plant Construction ◽  
Original Plan ◽  
The U.S

The Great Plains Gasification Project is the first commercial-sized plant to produce substitute natural gas from coal in the United States. The plant is designed to convert 14,000 tons/D of North Dakota lignite into 137.5 million standard cubic feet of gas per day. The plant construction has been successfully completed per original design, on schedule and on budget. The plant has also been successfully turned over from construction to operations, as per the original plan. With the completion of the capital projects being implemented at the plant, plans are to achieve 70 percent stream factor in the first year of production (1985). The DOE-Chicago Operations Office has been assigned the responsibility for monitoring the project’s performance against baselines of cost, schedule, and technical criteria. During the startup phase of the project, significant technological advancements have been made and considerable knowledge has been gained, both by the operators and DOE (considering this to be a first of a kind plant built in the U.S.).

An American Language

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosina Lozano
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
National Policy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Spanish Language ◽  
Spanish Speakers ◽  
Language Recognition ◽  
Political Language ◽  
Political Issue ◽  
History Of ◽  
The U.S

An American Language is a political history of the Spanish language in the United States. The nation has always been multilingual and the Spanish language in particular has remained as an important political issue into the present. After the U.S.-Mexican War, the Spanish language became a language of politics as Spanish speakers in the U.S. Southwest used it to build territorial and state governments. In the twentieth century, Spanish became a political language where speakers and those opposed to its use clashed over what Spanish's presence in the United States meant. This book recovers this story by using evidence that includes Spanish language newspapers, letters, state and territorial session laws, and federal archives to profile the struggle and resilience of Spanish speakers who advocated for their language rights as U.S. citizens. Comparing Spanish as a language of politics and as a political language across the Southwest and noncontiguous territories provides an opportunity to measure shifts in allegiance to the nation and exposes differing forms of nationalism. Language concessions and continued use of Spanish is a measure of power. Official language recognition by federal or state officials validates Spanish speakers' claims to US citizenship. The long history of policies relating to language in the United States provides a way to measure how U.S. visions of itself have shifted due to continuous migration from Latin America. Spanish-speaking U.S. citizens are crucial arbiters of Spanish language politics and their successes have broader implications on national policy and our understanding of Americans.

Palestine Unbound

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 130-134
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Task Force ◽  
The United States ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Tel Aviv ◽  
The Us ◽  
Intention To Move ◽  
Arab Israeli Conflict ◽  
The U.S

This section, updated regularly on the blog Palestine Square, covers popular conversations related to the Palestinians and the Arab-Israeli conflict during the quarter 16 November 2017 to 15 February 2018: #JerusalemIstheCapitalofPalestine went viral after U.S. president Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and announced his intention to move the U.S. embassy there from Tel Aviv. The arrest of Palestinian teenager Ahed Tamimi for slapping an Israeli soldier also prompted a viral campaign under the hashtag #FreeAhed. A smaller campaign protested the exclusion of Palestinian human rights from the agenda of the annual Creating Change conference organized by the US-based National LGBTQ Task Force in Washington. And, UNRWA publicized its emergency funding appeal, following the decision of the United States to slash funding to the organization, with the hashtag #DignityIsPriceless.

The French Way

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard F. Kuisel
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
French Language ◽  
French Cinema ◽  
Free Markets ◽  
Technology Sector ◽  
Aids Epidemic ◽  
Political Reality ◽  
Politics And Culture ◽  
The U.S

There are over 1,000 McDonald's on French soil. Two Disney theme parks have opened near Paris in the last two decades. And American-inspired vocabulary such as “le weekend” has been absorbed into the French language. But as former French president Jacques Chirac put it: “The U.S. finds France unbearably pretentious. And we find the U.S. unbearably hegemonic.” Are the French fascinated or threatened by America? They Americanize yet are notorious for expressions of anti-Americanism. From McDonald's and Coca-Cola to free markets and foreign policy, this book looks closely at the conflicts and contradictions of France's relationship to American politics and culture. The book shows how the French have used America as both yardstick and foil to measure their own distinct national identity. France has charted its own path: it has welcomed America's products but rejected American policies; assailed Americ's “jungle capitalism” while liberalizing its own economy; attacked “Reaganomics” while defending French social security; and protected French cinema, television, food, and language even while ingesting American pop culture. The book examines France's role as an independent ally of the United States, but he also considers the country's failures in influencing the Reagan, Bush, and Clinton administrations. Whether investigating France's successful information technology sector or its spurning of American expertise during the AIDS epidemic, the book asks if this insistence on a French way represents a growing distance between Europe and the United States or a reaction to American globalization. Exploring cultural trends, values, public opinion, and political reality, this book delves into the complex relationship between two modern nations.

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