Report on a visit to Israel August-September 1964

The main features in which farming methods and the environment in Israel differ from those in Western Australia, as they appeared to me, are:- the dominant sedimentary and limestone geology with its accompanying soil and moisture conditions population pressure which puts a premium on agricultural productivity and research the widespread use of sprinkler irrigation. These factors interact in various ways so that, although many problems are similar in the two countries (both have many pioneering problems remaining) the approaches to them vary considerably

Water conservation : the storage life of farm dams

HOW MANY stock can a dam of a certain size and depth be expected to carry and how long will the supply last? What size of dam is needed in case the winter rains fail? How many stock can a dam support and still provide a drought supply

Dams

THE ordinary excavated dam is usually considered a simple proposition but there is often more to it than just finding the clay and sinking a hole

Land use in the Kulin-Kondinin-Hyden district : notes on a recent survey

A RECENT survey by the Department of Agriculture\u27s Soil Conservation Service has highlighted the nature of the problems facing farmers with flooded or salt-affected land near salt lake country in the wheatbelt

Soil conservation : contour banks must be maintained

The wet winter of 1963 showed up faults in many contour bank systems and emphasised that banks won\u27t last forever without maintenance. This article tells where to look for weaknesses and how to treat them

Soil conservation : build contour banks with a disc plough

Heavy earthmoving machinery is not necessary for contouring; most farmers are already equipped to do the job themselves. This article by soil conservation advisers G. W. Spencer and D. J. Carder tells how to build contour banks with a disc plough

Thermophysical optimization of specialized concrete pavement materials for collection of surface heat energy and applications for shallow heat storage

There is great potential to use pavement structures to collect and/or store solar energy for the heating and cooling of adjacent buildings, e.g. airport terminals, shopping malls, etc. Therefore, pavement materials comprising both conventional and unconventional concrete mixtures with a wide range of densities, thermal conductivities, specific heat capacities, and thermal diffusivities were investigated. Their thermo-physical properties were then used as inputs to a one dimensional transient heat transport model in order to evaluate the temperature changes at the various depths at which heat might be abstracted or stored. The results indicated that a high diffusivity pavement, e.g. incorporating high conductive aggregates and/or metallic fibres, can significantly enhance heat transfer as well as reduction of thermal stresses across the concrete slab. On the other hand a low diffusivity concrete can induce a more stable temperature at shallower depth enabling easier heat storage in the pavement as well as helping to reduce the risk of damage due to freeze-thaw cycling in cold regions