Development, Validation, and Potential Enhancements to the Second-Generation Operational Aerosol Product at the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

A revised (phase 2) single-channel algorithm for aerosol optical thickness, tau(sup A)(sub SAT), retrieval over oceans from radiances in channel 1 (0.63 microns) of the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) has been implemented at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service for the NOAA 14 satellite launched December 30, 1994. It is based on careful validation of its operational predecessor (phase 1 algorithm), implemented for NOAA 14 in 1989. Both algorithms scale the upward satellite radiances in cloud-free conditions to aerosol optical thickness using an updated radiative transfer model of the ocean and atmosphere. Application of the phase 2 algorithm to three matchup Sun-photometer and satellite data sets, one with NOAA 9 in 1988 and two with NOAA 11 in 1989 and 1991, respectively, show systematic error is less than 10%, with a random error of sigma(sub tau) approx. equal 0.04. First results of tau(sup A)(sub SAT) retrievals from NOAA 14 using the phase 2 algorithm, and from checking its internal consistency, are presented. The potential two-channel (phase 3) algorithm for the retrieval of an aerosol size parameter, such as the Junge size distribution exponent, by adding either channel 2 (0.83 microns) from the current AVHRR instrument, or a 1.6-microns channel to be available on the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission and the NOAA-KLM satellites by 1997 is under investigation. The possibility of using this additional information in the retrieval of a more accurate estimate of aerosol optical thickness is being explored

Consistency of Global Modis Aerosol Optical Depths over Ocean on Terra and Aqua Ceres SSF Datasets

Aerosol retrievals over ocean from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard Terra and Aqua platforms are available from the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) Single Scanner Footprint (SSF) datasets generated at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC). Two aerosol products are reported side-by-side. The primary M product is generated by sub-setting and remapping the multi-spectral (0.47-2.1 micrometer) MODIS produced oceanic aerosol (MOD04/MYD04 for Terra/Aqua) onto CERES footprints. M*D04 processing uses cloud screening and aerosol algorithms developed by the MODIS science team. The secondary AVHRR-like A product is generated in only two MODIS bands 1 and 6 (on Aqua, bands 1 and 7). The A processing uses the CERES cloud screening algorithm, and NOAA/NESDIS glint identification, and single-channel aerosol retrieval algorithms. The M and A products have been documented elsewhere and preliminarily compared using 2 weeks of global Terra CERES SSF Edition 1A data in which the M product was based on MOD04 collection 3. In this study, the comparisons between the M and A aerosol optical depths (AOD) in MODIS band 1 (0.64 micrometers), tau(sub 1M) and tau(sub 1A) are re-examined using 9 days of global CERES SSF Terra Edition 2A and Aqua Edition 1B data from 13 - 21 October 2002, and extended to include cross-platform comparisons. The M and A products on the new CERES SSF release are generated using the same aerosol algorithms as before, but with different preprocessing and sampling procedures, lending themselves to a simple sensitivity check to non-aerosol factors. Both tau(sub 1M) and tau(sub 1A) generally compare well across platforms. However, the M product shows some differences, which increase with ambient cloud amount and towards the solar side of the orbit. Three types of comparisons conducted in this study - cross-platform, cross-product, and cross-release confirm the previously made observation that the major area for improvement in the current aerosol processing lies in a more formalized and standardized sampling (and most importantly, cloud screening) whereas optimization of the aerosol algorithm is deemed to be an important yet less critical element

Biological efficiency of Pseudomonas fluorescens strains against pathogens of Brassicaceae black rot under controlled conditions

The bacterium Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris causes black rot of cruciferous plants, the most harmful bacterial disease of a wide range of cole crops. Breeding for resistance to the pathogen is carried out considering the racial structure of the pathogen population discovered in 1992 and the race-specific resistance reaction in plants of the Brassicaceae family. The model describing the gene-to-gene relationship between the pathogen and plants does not consider biometric indicators associated with the pathogen’s effect on the suction, conducting, and photosynthetic systems of plants. In this paper, the effect of infestation of spring rape plants with Xanthomonas campestris races 1 and 6 on biometric indicators of plants important for crop formation is studied. A significant positive effect of the use of a preparation based on antagonistic bacteria Pseudomonas fluorescens (Binoram preparation) on the growth and stability of spring rape has been shown

Results obtained with EVOagri technology to improve yield using filtered water in Africa, Tibet, Italy and Bulgaria

The effectiveness of the application of EVOagri technology for purification of water and its use in agriculture in some African countries (Zimbabwe, Burundi, Egypt and Uganda), Nepal (Asia) and in Europe (Italy and Bulgaria) was evaluated. The performance of EVOdrop turbine for water filtration was analysed and the physicochemical composition of water was tested. This was determined in compliance with Ordinance No. 9/2001, published in the Official State Gazette, issue 30, and decree No. 178/23.07.2004, Bulgaria, European Union on the quality of water intended for drinking and household purposes. The results showed a significant increase in production yield of the tested Solanum spp. and lettuces in Zimbabwe, as well as of dill, spinach and onions in Egypt. Treatment of high-salt irrigation water in Burundi with EVOagri reduced its toxic effect upon vegetable plants. In Uganda, plants absorbed 23% less water, when filtered with EVOagri technology. In Italy, 21% water conservation was achieved through the usage of EVOagri technology. Stimulation of seed-germination after soaking with EVOagri water was established in Burundi and Nepal. The importance of the type and composition of irrigation water for crop growth was proved by the experiments in Bulgaria. In Bulgaria, onion seeds were planted in two separate pots. The first one was watered with tap water and this was taken as the control sample with tap water. The second one was watered with EVOdrop filtered water which was saturated with EVOdrop hydrogen technology (EVOwater). In Bulgaria, under natural conditions, Evodrop water was also tested in beans and the growth result was 11 % better than the control sample

Comprehensive analysis of draft genomes of two closely related pseudomonas syringae phylogroup 2b strains infecting mono- and dicotyledon host plants

Comparison of the prophage region in Pseudomonas syringae strain SM (A) with the corresponding regions in strains 1845 (B) and 2507 (C) using MAUVE software (Darling et al. 2010). (PNG 2118 kb

A Caribbean epiphyte community preserved in Miocene Dominican amber

Fossil tree resins preserve a wide range of animals, plants, fungi and microorganisms in microscopic fidelity. Fossil organisms preserved in an individual piece of amber lived at the same time in Earth history and mostly even in the same habitat, but they were not necessarily parts of the same interacting community. Here, we report on an in situ preserved corticolous community from a piece of Miocene Dominican amber which is composed of a lichen, a moss and three species of leafy liverworts. The lichen is assigned to the extant genus Phyllopsora (Ramalinaceae, Lecanoromycetes) and is described as P. magna Kaasalainen, Rikkinen & A. R. Schmidt sp. nov. The moss, Aptychellites fossilis Schaf.-Verw., Hedenas, Ignatov & Heinrichs gen. & sp. nov., closely resembles the extant genus Aptychella of the family Pylaisiadelphaceae. The three leafy liverworts comprise the extinct Lejeuneaceae species Cheilolejeunea antiqua (Grolle) Ye & Zhu, 2010 and Lejeunea miocenica Heinrichs, Schaf.-Verw., M. A. M. Renner & G. E. Lee sp. nov. and the extinct Radulaceae species Radula intecta M. A. M. Renner, Schaf.-Verw. & Heinrichs sp. nov. The presence of five associated extinct cryptogam species, four of which belong to extant genera, further substantiates the notion of a stasis in morphotype diversity, but a certain turnover of species, in the Caribbean since the early Miocene.Peer reviewe