Long-term Changes in Soil and Stream Chemistry across an Acid Deposition Gradient in the Northeastern United States

Abstract Long-term changes in the number of lightning deaths from 1900 to 1991 have been examined for the contiguous United States. The population-normalized series revealed an exponential decrease in the number of deaths per million people. This exponential trend is also present in the decrease of the rural U.S. population for the period. The two datasets agree remarkably well and this suggests the downward trend in lightning deaths resulted to a large extent from the reduction of the rural population. Superimposed on the overall downward trend in lightning deaths were fluctuations of two or three decades in duration. The patterns of these fluctuations are paralleled by nationwide changes in thunder-day frequencies and average surface temperature values. Thus, it appears that the lightning death fluctuations are climatically induced.

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Examining the Climatology of Shortwave Radiation in the Northeastern United States

Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology ◽

10.1175/jamc-d-16-0420.1 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 56 (10) ◽

pp. 2869-2881

Author(s):

Janel Hanrahan ◽

Alexandria Maynard ◽

Sarah Y. Murphy ◽

Colton Zercher ◽

Allison Fitzpatrick

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

United States ◽

Renewable Energy ◽

Renewable Energy Sources ◽

Predictor Variable ◽

Shortwave Radiation ◽

Northeastern United States ◽

Weather Patterns ◽

Long Term Trends

AbstractAs demand for renewable energy grows, so does the need for an improved understanding of renewable energy sources. Paradoxically, the climate change mitigation strategy of fossil fuel divestment is in itself subject to shifts in weather patterns resulting from climate change. This is particularly true with solar power, which depends on local cloud cover. However, because observed shortwave radiation data usually span a decade or less, persistent long-term trends may not be identified. A simple linear regression model is created here using diurnal temperature range (DTR) during 2002–15 as a predictor variable to estimate long-term shortwave radiation (SR) values in the northeastern United States. Using an extended DTR dataset, SR values are computed for 1956–2015. Statistically significant decreases in shortwave radiation are identified that are dominated by changes during the summer months. Because this coincides with the season of greatest insolation and the highest potential for energy production, financial implications may be large for the solar energy industry if such trends persist into the future.

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Sample-Selection Biases and the Industrialization Puzzle

The Journal of Economic History ◽

10.1017/s0022050717000031 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 77 (1) ◽

pp. 171-207 ◽

Cited By ~ 46

Author(s):

Howard Bodenhorn ◽

Timothy W. Guinnane ◽

Thomas A. Mroz

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Selection Bias ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Sample Selection ◽

Well Being ◽

The United States ◽

Compelling Evidence ◽

Long Term Changes ◽

The U.S

Understanding long-term changes in human well-being is central to understanding the consequences of economic development. An extensive anthropometric literature purports to show that heights in the United States declined between the 1830s and the 1890s, which is when the U.S. economy modernized. Most anthropometric research contends that declining heights reflect the negative health consequences of industrialization and urbanization. This interpretation, however, relies on sources subject to selection bias. Our meta-analysis shows that the declining height during industrialization emerges primarily in selected samples. We also develop a parsimonious diagnostic test that reveals, but does not correct for, selection bias in height samples. When applied to four representative height samples, the diagnostic provides compelling evidence of selection.

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