scholarly journals GOES Climatology and Analysis of Thunderstorms with Enhanced 3.9-μm Reflectivity

2006 ◽  
Vol 134 (9) ◽  
pp. 2342-2353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel T. Lindsey ◽  
Donald W. Hillger ◽  
Louie Grasso ◽  
John A. Knaff ◽  
John F. Dostalek
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
The United States ◽  
Vertical Shear ◽  
High Plains ◽  
Eastern United States ◽  
Ice Crystal ◽  
Reanalysis Dataset ◽  
The North ◽  
Ice Crystal Size

Abstract By combining observations from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) 3.9- and 10.7-μm channels, the reflected component of the 3.9-μm radiance can be isolated. In this paper, these 3.9-μm reflectivity measurements of thunderstorm tops are studied in terms of their climatological values and their utility in diagnosing cloud-top microphysical structure. These measurements provide information about internal thunderstorm processes, including updraft strength, and may be useful for severe weather nowcasting. Three years of summertime thunderstorm-top 3.9-μm reflectivity values are analyzed to produce maps of climatological means across the United States. Maxima occur in the high plains and Rocky Mountain regions, while lower values are observed over much of the eastern United States. A simple model is used to establish a relationship between 3.9-μm reflectivity and ice crystal size at cloud top. As the mean diameter of a cloud-top ice crystal distribution decreases, more solar radiation near 3.9 μm is reflected. Using the North American Regional Reanalysis dataset, the thermodynamic environment that favors thunderstorms with large 3.9-μm reflectivity values is identified. In the high plains and mountains, environments with relatively dry boundary layers, steep lapse rates, and large vertical shear values favor thunderstorms with enhanced 3.9-μm reflectivity. Thunderstorm processes that lead to small ice crystals at cloud top are discussed, and a possible relationship between updraft strength and 3.9-μm reflectivity is presented.

Detections of Directional Dynamic Triggering in Intraplate Regions of the United States

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivian Tang ◽  
Kevin Chao ◽  
Suzan van der Lee
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Surface Waves ◽  
Seismic Activity ◽  
Active Regions ◽  
The United States ◽  
North American Plate ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
Eastern United States ◽  
Dynamic Triggering ◽  
The North

ABSTRACT We report tremor or local earthquake signals that occurred during the propagation of Love and Rayleigh waves from the 2012 Mw 8.6 Sumatra earthquake in three intraplate regions: Yellowstone, central Utah, and Raton basin (Colorado). These surface waves likely also dynamically triggered seismic activity along the western boundary of the North American plate, and did not trigger seismic activity in the central and eastern United States. We report additional potential dynamic triggering in the three aforementioned intraplate regions by surface waves from 37 additional large earthquakes, recorded between 2004 and 2017. These surface waves’ transient stresses generally appear to trigger tremor in seismically, volcanically, and hydrothermally active regions, such as Yellowstone, if the waves also arrive from favorable directions. These stresses do not appear to be decisive factors for triggering local earthquakes reported for the Raton basin and central Utah, whereas, surface waves’ incidence angles do appear to be important there.

scholarly journals The recent development of melanism in the larvæ of certain species of Lepidoptera, with an account of its inheritance in Selenia bilunaria esp

1932 ◽  
Vol 111 (770) ◽  
pp. 188-200 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Central Europe ◽  
The United States ◽  
Eastern United States ◽  
Evolutionary Processes ◽  
Number Of Species ◽  
The North ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Geometrid Moth ◽  
State Of Affairs

One of the most remarkable evolutionary processes, the more striking since it has occured before our eyes, has been the rise and spread of melanism and melanochroism amongst the Lepidopetera. Commencing about 1850 in the Manchester area in England with the Geometrid moth Amphidasys betularia L., which yielded the black form carbonaria Jord. ( doubledayaria Mill.), this development has proceeded so rapidly, and become so widespread, that now there is scarcely a country in Northern and Central Europe which does not produce its quota of melanic insects. Moreover, the same state of affairs exists in the North-Eastern United States, although there the number of species affected, up to the present, is not so great as in Europe. Another important feature about these changes lies in the circumstance that, almost uniformly, in Europe and in the United States, the first species to exhibit melanism in any given area have been Amphidasys betularia and Tephrosia crepuscularia . From the beginning, the Geometridæ, more especially the subfamily Boarmiinæ, have provided not only the bulk of the melanic varieties, but also the greatest numbers of individuals. In many areas, as for example in the case of A. betularia and Y psipetes trifasciata , only black examples occur. Nevertheless, other groups include species which have gone black; for instance, the Noctuidæ present black forms of Aplecta nebulosa Hufn., the Cymatophoridæ of Cymatophora or F., the Arctiidæ of Spilosoma lubricipeda L., the Gelechiidæ of Chimabacche fagella F., and so on.

scholarly journals An Examination of Precipitation in Observations and Model Forecasts during NAME with Emphasis on the Diurnal Cycle

2007 ◽  
Vol 20 (9) ◽  
pp. 1680-1692 ◽  
Author(s):  
John E. Janowiak ◽  
Valery J. Dagostaro ◽  
Vernon E. Kousky ◽  
Robert J. Joyce
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Diurnal Cycle ◽  
Prediction Models ◽  
Numerical Models ◽  
The United States ◽  
Rain Gauge ◽  
North American Monsoon ◽  
Eastern United States ◽  
Direct Evaluation ◽  
The North

Abstract Summertime rainfall over the United States and Mexico is examined and is compared with forecasts from operational numerical prediction models. In particular, the distribution of rainfall amounts is examined and the diurnal cycle of rainfall is investigated and compared with the model forecasts. This study focuses on a 35-day period (12 July–15 August 2004) that occurred amid the North American Monsoon Experiment (NAME) field campaign. Three-hour precipitation forecasts from the numerical models were validated against satellite-derived estimates of rainfall that were adjusted by daily rain gauge data to remove bias from the remotely sensed estimates. The model forecasts that are evaluated are for the 36–60-h period after the model initial run time so that the effects of updated observational data are reduced substantially and a more direct evaluation of the model precipitation parameterization can be accomplished. The main findings of this study show that the effective spatial resolution of the model-generated precipitation is considerably more coarse than the native model resolution. On a national scale, the models overforecast the frequency of rainfall events in the 1–75 mm day−1 range and underforecast heavy events (>85 mm day−1). The models also have a diurnal cycle that peaks 3–6 h earlier than is observed over portions of the eastern United States and the NAME tier-1 region. Time series and harmonic analysis are used to identify where the models perform well and poorly in characterizing the amplitude and phase of the diurnal cycle of precipitation.

scholarly journals Tropopause-Penetrating Convection from Three-Dimensional Gridded NEXRAD Data

2016 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 465-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
David L. Solomon ◽  
Kenneth P. Bowman ◽  
Cameron R. Homeyer
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Warm Season ◽  
The United States ◽  
Lapse Rate ◽  
High Plains ◽  
Annual Cycles ◽  
Weather Radars ◽  
The North ◽  
The Stability

AbstractA new method that combines radar reflectivities from individual Next Generation Weather Radars (NEXRAD) into a three-dimensional composite with high horizontal and vertical resolution is used to estimate storm-top altitudes for the continental United States east of the Rocky Mountains. Echo-top altitudes are compared with the altitude of the lapse-rate tropopause calculated from the ERA-Interim reanalysis and radiosondes. To sample the diurnal and annual cycles, tropopause-penetrating convection is analyzed at 3-h intervals throughout 2004. Overshooting convection is most common in the north-central part of the United States (the high plains). There is a pronounced seasonal cycle; the majority of overshooting systems occur during the warm season (March–August). There is also a strong diurnal cycle, with maximum overshooting occurring near 0000 UTC. The overshooting volume decreases rapidly with height above the tropopause. Radiosonde observations are used to evaluate the quality of the reanalysis tropopause altitudes and the dependence of overshooting depth on environmental characteristics. The radar–radiosonde comparison reveals that overshooting is deeper in double-tropopause environments and increases as the stability of the lower stratosphere decreases.

scholarly journals The experience of guestworkers at a United States tourist resort

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 198-228
Author(s):  
Guilherme Mansur Dias
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Temporary Employment ◽  
Eastern United States ◽  
Labour Relations ◽  
The North ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
The Us ◽  
Ethnographic Analysis

This article examines temporary employment among foreign workers at the Okemo Mountain Resort, a tourist ski complex located in Vermont state in the north-eastern United States. I discuss the meanings associated with the international displacement of these workers, focusing especially on the ideas and imagery surrounding 'mobility', 'work,' 'travel' and 'youth.' By describing their experiences, along with the practices and discourses of the employer and the US State, the case study shows how Okemo's strategy of hiring a flexible foreign workforce is connected to the multiple meanings through which these groups represent their experience of temporary migration to the United States in the context of increasingly precarious labour relations. The ethnographic analysis proposed by the research provides a counterpoint to the 'macro-analytical' approach employed by most studies on the issue of foreign temporary work in the United States.

scholarly journals The vascular flora of Choctaw County, Mississippi, U.S.A.

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 319-348
Author(s):  
Kevin D. Philley
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Vascular Plant ◽  
The United States ◽  
The State ◽  
Eastern United States ◽  
Central Plateau ◽  
Vascular Flora ◽  
Floristic Survey ◽  
The North

The state of Mississippi is one of the least botanically explored areas in the eastern United States. A floristic survey of Choctaw County, Mississippi, was conducted from November 2009 through November 2017 in order to document the vascular flora and describe its plant communities. The county is located in the central portion of the state within the North Central Plateau physiographic region, an area dominated by dissected uplands with acidic to circumneutral sandy-clay soils. Three major river basins occur in the county, including the Big Black River, Noxubee River, and Pearl River. A total of 950 vascular plant species (958 taxa including varieties, subspecies, and recognized hybrids) was recorded. Three-hundred thirteen of these taxa were new county records. Twenty-eight species of special concern as designated by the Mississippi Natural Heritage Program were documented. Approximately 15 percent of the flora is considered non-native to the United States. Eight primary plant communities are also described.

Raising the West: Mid-Cenozoic Colorado-plano related to subvolcanic batholith assembly in the Southern Rocky Mountains (USA)?

Geology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter W. Lipman
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Rocky Mountains ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
The United States ◽  
Crustal Thickness ◽  
Crustal Thickening ◽  
High Plains ◽  
High Potassium ◽  
Southern Rocky Mountains ◽  
Moho Depths

The Southern Rocky Mountains of Colorado, United States, have the highest regional elevation in North America, but present-day crustal thickness (~42–47 km) is no greater than for the adjacent, topographically lower High Plains and Colorado Plateau. The chemistry of continental-arc rocks of the mid-Cenozoic Southern Rocky Mountain volcanic field, calibrated to compositions and Moho depths at young arcs, suggests that paleocrustal thickness may have been 20%–35% greater than at present and elevations accordingly higher. Thick mid-Cenozoic Rocky Mountain crust and high paleo-elevations, comparable to those inferred for the Nevadaplano farther west in the United States from analogous volcanic chemistry, could be consistent with otherwise-perplexing evidence for widespread rapid erosion during volcanism. Variable mid-Cenozoic crustal thickening and uplift could have resulted from composite batholith growth during volcanism, superimposed on prior crustal thickening during early Cenozoic (Laramide) compression. Alternatively, the arc–crustal thickness calibration may be inappropriate for high-potassium continental arcs, in which case other published interpretations using similar methods may also be unreliable.

Precipitation Distribution Associated with Landfalling Tropical Cyclones over the Eastern United States

2007 ◽  
Vol 135 (6) ◽  
pp. 2185-2206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eyad Atallah ◽  
Lance F. Bosart ◽  
Anantha R. Aiyyer
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Tropical Cyclones ◽  
Potential Vorticity ◽  
Diabatic Heating ◽  
The United States ◽  
Eastern United States ◽  
Precipitation Distribution ◽  
Thermal Wind ◽  
The North ◽  
The Right

Abstract Tropical cyclones (TCs) making landfall over the United States are examined by separating those associated with precipitation predominantly left of their tracks from those with the same to the right of their tracks. Composites of atmospheric variables for these two TC categories are performed and analyzed using potential vorticity (PV) and quasigeostrophic (QG) frameworks. Dynamical signatures are retrieved from these composites to help understand the evolution of precipitation in these storms. Results indicate that a left of track precipitation distribution (e.g., Floyd 1999) is characteristic of TCs undergoing extratropical transition (ET). In these cases, a positively tilted midlatitude trough approaches the TC from the northwest, shifting precipitation to the north-northwest of the TC. Potential vorticity redistribution through diabatic heating leads to enhanced ridging over and downstream of the TC, resulting in an increase in the cyclonic advection of vorticity by the thermal wind over the transitioning TC. A right of track precipitation distribution is characteristic of TCs interacting with a downstream ridge (e.g., David 1979). When the downstream ridge amplifies in response to TC-induced diabatic heating ahead of a weak midlatitude trough, the PV gradient between the TC and the downstream ridge is accentuated, producing a region of enhanced positive PV advection (and cyclonic vorticity advection by the thermal wind) over the TC. The diabatic enhancement of the downstream ridge is instrumental in the redistribution of precipitation about the transitioning TCs in both cases and poses a significant forecast challenge.

An Observational Examination of Long-Lived Supercells. Part I: Characteristics, Evolution, and Demise

2006 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 673-688 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Bunkers ◽  
Mark R. Hjelmfelt ◽  
Paul L. Smith
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Eastern United States ◽  
North Central ◽  
The North ◽  
Central United States ◽  
Bow Echo ◽  
Primary Focus ◽  
Convective Mode

Abstract Observations of supercells and their longevity across the central and eastern United States are examined, with the primary focus on understanding the properties of long-lived supercells (defined as supercells lasting ≥4 h). A total of 224 long-lived supercells, occurring in 184 separate events, are investigated. These properties are compared with those of short-lived supercells (lifetimes ≤2 h) to determine the salient differences between the two classifications. A key finding is that long-lived supercells are considerably more isolated and discrete than short-lived supercells; as a result, the demise of a long-lived supercell (i.e., the end of the supercell phase) is often signaled by a weakening of the storm’s circulation and/or a rapid dissipation of the thunderstorm. In contrast, short-lived supercells commonly experience a demise linked to storm mergers and convective transitions (e.g., evolution to a bow echo). Also noteworthy, 36% of the long-lived supercell events were associated with strong or violent tornadoes (F2–F5), compared with only 8% for the short-lived supercell events. Evolutionary characteristics of long-lived supercells vary geographically across the United States, with the largest contrasts between the north-central United States and the Southeast. For example, 86% of the long-lived supercells across the north-central United States were isolated for most of their lifetime, whereas only 35% of those in the Southeast displayed this characteristic. Not surprisingly, the convective mode was discrete for 70% of the long-lived supercell events across the north-central United States, compared with 39% for the Southeast.

Mafias on the Move

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federico Varese
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
New York ◽  
Organized Crime ◽  
The United States ◽  
The West ◽  
Market Expansion ◽  
The North ◽  
Economic Transformations ◽  
At Will

Organized crime is spreading like a global virus as mobs take advantage of open borders to establish local franchises at will. That at least is the fear, inspired by stories of Russian mobsters in New York, Chinese triads in London, and Italian mafias throughout the West. As this book explains, the truth is more complicated. The author has spent years researching mafia groups in Italy, Russia, the United States, and China, and argues that mafiosi often find themselves abroad against their will, rather than through a strategic plan to colonize new territories. Once there, they do not always succeed in establishing themselves. The book spells out the conditions that lead to their long-term success, namely sudden market expansion that is neither exploited by local rivals nor blocked by authorities. Ultimately the inability of the state to govern economic transformations gives mafias their opportunity. In a series of matched comparisons, the book charts the attempts of the Calabrese 'Ndrangheta to move to the north of Italy, and shows how the Sicilian mafia expanded to early twentieth-century New York, but failed around the same time to find a niche in Argentina. The book explains why the Russian mafia failed to penetrate Rome but succeeded in Hungary. A pioneering chapter on China examines the challenges that triads from Taiwan and Hong Kong find in branching out to the mainland. This book is both a compelling read and a sober assessment of the risks posed by globalization and immigration for the spread of mafias.

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