Application of the Western Hemisphere Health Index to Prehistoric Populations from Tennessee and the Semi-arid North of Chile: A Comparative Bioarchaeological Study of the Implications of Subsistence Choice

The Western Hemisphere Health Index was applied to prehistoric contemporaneous skeletal populations from Tennessee and the semi-arid North of Chile to ascertain four things: 1. overall health status for each culture; 2. comparison of health status between contemporaneous cultures; 3. if subsistence change (i.e., transition from gathering-hunting to agriculture) is consistently accompanied by a decline in overall health; and 4. the utility of the health index methodology. The skeletal populations analyzed from the semi-arid North of Chile were Archaic (7730 B.C. – A.D. 245) and Diaguita (A.D. 1000 – 1536). Prehistoric individuals examined from Tennessee were Archaic (8000 – 1000 B.C.); Woodland (1000 B.C. – A.D. 1000); and Mississippian (A.D. 1000 – 1600). (Total n = 433 individuals). Both Archaic populations had primarily a gathering and hunting subsistence strategy, Woodland peoples were emerging horticulturalists, and Mississippian and Diaguita populations practiced full-scale agriculture. As per health index methodology, seven indicators of health were scored (stature, linear enamel hypoplasia, dental disease, anemia, infection, degenerative joint disease, and trauma). Health index statistical methodology and Pearson chi-square were used to test the proposed hypotheses. Results indicated that the Archaic Tennessee population had the lowest health index value, and both Chilean populations had the highest. The results of the chi-square analyses run on each of the health indicators by population were in tandem with the health index results. In Tennessee, health appeared to improve through time; while in Chile, health essentially stayed the same during the subsistence transition. Such results suggest that the hypothesis of a health decline during and after subsistence change to agriculture is not always demonstrated. These findings further indicate that general rules regarding the association between health and subsistence change do not exist. Rather than applying generalizations to populations, research should focus on the specific situation of each population (environment, subsistence, socio-political organization, etcetera) followed by a comparison between populations to reveal similarities and differences. Such analyses will assist with identifying the relative importance of particular factors for each site. The utility of the health index methodology was also discussed. The index is a useful tool for population comparison, though further refinement of the methodological protocol is warranted

A Study Of The Electrical, Microphysical, And Kinematic Properties Of The 29 May 2012 Kingfisher Supercell

A supercell thunderstorm formed as part of a cluster of severe storms near Kingfisher, OK on 29 May 2012 during the Deep Convective Clouds & Chemistry (DC3) experiment. This storm produced 5” hail, an EF-1 tornado, and copious lightning over the course of a few hours. For part of the storm's lifetime, observations were obtained from mobile polarimetric radars and a balloon-borne electric field meter (EFM) and particle imager, while aircraft sampled the chemistry of the inflow and anvil. In addition, the storm was within the domain of the 3-dimensional Oklahoma Lightning Mapping Array (LMA), and the National Weather Service’s KTLX WSR-88D radar.This study focuses on a one-hour interval during which multi-Doppler coverage was available, and a balloon carrying an electric field meter (EFM), radiosonde, and particle imager flew through the storm. Data from KTLX are used to supplement mobile radar data. Flash rates, mapped very high frequency (VHF) source densities, and charge analyses are examined to give an overview of the storm’s electrical nature and evolution during that period. The charge inferred from lightning is compared to the charge inferred from EFM measurements to test how well the lightning-inferred charge analysis can be expanded to the whole storm.After an initial overview of the storm’s lifetime and the environment in which the storm formed, the evolution of the flash size distribution as it relates to the kinematics and microphysics of the storm is examined at three analysis times spanning the approximately 40 minute period during which triple-Doppler data were acquired. Flash rates increased rapidly during this time. Lightning flash density, the horizontal areas (i.e., footprints) of flashes, VHF source density, and the locations of flash initiations are then compared to storm microphysics and kinematics as observed by radar and retrieved by a diabatic Lagrangian analysis of the synthesized three- dimensional winds and reflectivity. The inferred charge structure of the storm and its evolution are also compared to these flash parameters and to the storm’s microphysics and kinematics. When the storm matured, flashes in an around the updraft were typically small. Flash sizes tended to increase as distance from the updraft increased; as the storm strengthened, the overall size of flashes in the storm decreased.Lightning flashes in the anvil, particularly those flashes that occurred several tens of kilometers from regions of deep convection, are also analyzed relative to radar reflectivity, ground strike points (provided by the National Lightning Detection Network), and inferred charge structure, to test hypotheses concerning how the flashes were initiated and why they propagated along certain paths. A region of convection strong enough to initiate lightning developed in the anvil during the analysis time and eventually propagated beyond the anvil. Its formation was consistent with being produced by evaporating virga falling from the anvil, as has been suggested previously

Characteristics of brown carbon in Western United States wildfires

Brown carbon (BrC) associated with aerosol particles in western United States wildfires was measured between Jul. and Aug. 2019 onboard the NASA DC-8 research aircraft during the Fire Influence on Regional to Global Environments and Air Quality (FIREX-AQ) study. Two BrC measurement methods are investigated; highly spectrally-resolved light absorption in solvent (water and methanol) extracts of particles collected on filters and in-situ bulk aerosol particle light absorption measured at three wavelengths (405, 532, 664 nm) with a photo acoustic spectrometer (PAS). A light absorption closure analysis for wavelengths between 300 and 700 nm was performed. The combined light absorption of particle pure black carbon material, including enhancements due to internally mixed materials, plus soluble BrC and a Mie-predicted factor for conversion of soluble BrC to aerosol particle BrC, was compared to absorption spectra from a power law fit to the three PAS wavelengths. For the various parameters used, at a wavelength of roughly 400 nm they agreed, at lower wavelengths the individual component-predicted particle light absorption significantly exceeded the PAS and at higher wavelengths the PAS absorption was consistently higher, but more variable. Limitations with extrapolation of PAS data to wavelengths below 405 nm and missing BrC species of low solubility that more strongly absorb at higher wavelengths may account for the differences. Based on measurements closest to fires, the emission ratio of PAS measured BrC at 405 nm relative to carbon monoxide (CO) was on average 0.13 Mm−1 ppbv−1, emission ratios for soluble BrC are also provided. As the smoke moved away from the burning regions the evolution over time of BrC was observed to be highly complex; BrC enhancement, depletion, or constant levels with age were all observed in the first 8 hours after emission in different plumes. Within 8 hours following emissions, 4-nitrocatechol, a well characterized BrC chromophore commonly found in smoke particles, was largely depleted relative to the bulk BrC. In a descending plume where temperature increased by 15 K, 4-nitrocatechol dropped possibly due to temperature-driven evaporation, but bulk BrC remained largely unchanged. Evidence was found for reactions with ozone, or related species, as a pathway for secondary formation of BrC under both low and high oxides of nitrogen (NOx) conditions, while BrC was also observed to be bleached in regions of higher ozone and low NOx, consistent with complex behaviors of BrC observed in laboratory studies. Although the evolution of smoke in the first hours following emission is highly variable, a limited number of measurements of more aged smoke (15 to 30 hours) indicate a net loss of BrC. It is yet to be determined how the near-field BrC evolution in smoke affects the characteristics of smoke over longer time and spatial scales, where its environmental impacts are likely to be greater

Measurement report: Emission factors of NH3 and NHx for wildfires and agricultural fires in the United States.

Ammonia (NH3) is an important trace gas in the atmosphere and fires are among the poorly investigated sources. During the FIREX-AQ aircraft campaign in 2019, we measured gaseous ammonia and particulate ammonium (NH4+) in smoke plumes emitted from six wildfires in the Western US and 66 small agricultural fires in the Southeastern US. We herein present a comprehensive set of emission factors of NH3 and NHx, with NHx = NH3 + NH4+

Observations of Evolving Lightning, Microphysics, and Kinematics for a Supercell, a Multicell, and a Mesoscale Convective System

The Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry (DC3) field experiment collected data on a variety of storms to investigate the relationships between lightning and other storm processes. This study focuses on the relationships between lightning and storm microphysics and kinematics for a supercell storm, a multicell storm, and a mesoscale convective system. All three storms occurred in Oklahoma, in range of the 3-D Oklahoma Lightning Mapping Array (LMA), and were sampled by ground-based mobile radars. 3-D wind fields derived from the mobile radar data and the results of a C-band hydrometeor classification algorithm are compared with gridded lightning parameters, including flash extent density, flash initiation density, mean flash size, and charge distribution for each storm. A series of horizontal and vertical cross-sections is shown for each of the three cases, along with bulk analyses of the microphysical and updraft characteristics compared with the gridded lightning parameters. The relationships between all these datasets and the implications these results have on the electrification of thunderstorms will be discussed. In general, evidence of the noninductive charging mechanism generating the most charge was present in all three cases, and many of the lightning-storm intensity relationships investigated by past studies apply to all three of the storms studied here

Upgrades of the Earth Networks Total Lightning Network in 2021

The Earth Networks Total Lightning Network (ENTLN) launched a new processor (P2021) in December 2021. Some major upgrades were made in the new processor, including a new classification algorithm, a new propagation model, and regional data processing architecture. Ground-truth datasets of natural and rocket-triggered lightning acquired in Florida were used to evaluate the performance characteristics of the new processor. Compared to the last processor launched in 2015 (P2015), the stroke classification accuracy increased from 91% to 94% for natural lightning and from 86% to 88% for rocket-triggered lightning. The location accuracy improved significantly with the median location error decreasing from 215 m to 92 m. On a global scale, we found the number of pulses detected by the ENLTN increased in all regions with an overall detection gain of 149%. One can see modest gains in detection in regions with a fairly dense network of sensors and significant gains in regions where sensor density is much lower. Each of the major upgrades as well as their influences on the performance characteristics of the ENLTN are discussed

Upgrades of the Earth Networks Total Lightning Network in 2021

The Earth Networks Total Lightning Network (ENTLN) launched a new processor (P2021) in December 2021. Some major upgrades were made in the new processor, including a new classification algorithm, a new propagation model, and regional data processing architecture. Ground-truth datasets of natural and rocket-triggered lightning acquired in Florida were used to evaluate the performance characteristics of the new processor. Compared to the last processor launched in 2015 (P2015), the stroke classification accuracy increased from 91% to 94% for natural lightning and from 86% to 88% for rocket-triggered lightning. The location accuracy improved significantly with the median location error decreasing from 215 m to 92 m. On a global scale, we found the number of pulses detected by the ENLTN increased in all regions with an overall detection gain of 149%. One can see modest gains in detection in regions with a fairly dense network of sensors and significant gains in regions where sensor density is much lower. Each of the major upgrades as well as their influences on the performance characteristics of the ENLTN are discussed

Beyond the report: Prospects and challenges in forensic anthropological investigations of structural vulnerability

Forensic anthropologists are increasingly interested in accounting for embodied marginalization in addition to the biological profile. A structural vulnerability framework, which assesses biomarkers of social marginalization in individuals within forensic casework, is worthwhile but its application must be informed by ethical, interdisciplinary perspectives that reject categorizing suffering within the pages of a case report. Drawing from anthropological perspectives, we explore prospects and challenges of evaluating embodied experience in forensic work. Particular attention is paid to how forensic practitioners and stakeholders utilize a structural vulnerability profile within and beyond the written report. We argue that any investigation of forensic vulnerability must: (1) integrate rich contextual data, (2) be evaluated for potential to perpetuate harm, and (3) serve the needs of a diverse array of stakeholders. We call for a community-oriented forensic practice, wherein anthropologists may act as advocates for policy change to disrupt power structures driving vulnerability trends in their region