Survey of methods for soil moisture determination

Existing and proposed methods for soil moisture determination are discussed. These include: (1) in situ investigations including gravimetric, nuclear, and electromagnetic techniques; (2) remote sensing approaches that use the reflected solar, thermal infrared, and microwave portions of the electromagnetic spectrum; and (3) soil physics models that track the behavior of water in the soil in response to meteorological inputs (precipitation) and demands (evapotranspiration). The capacities of these approaches to satisfy various user needs for soil moisture information vary from application to application, but a conceptual scheme for merging these approaches into integrated systems to provide soil moisture information is proposed that has the potential for meeting various application requirements

Civil Procedure-Trial Practice-Special Verdict Question That Can Be Decisive Only if Answered Negatively

Plaintiff was severely burned by the explosion of a can of liquid bug killer allegedly sold to him by defendant. Four issues of fact were raised: whether defendant sold the can in question to plaintiff, the former\u27s negligence, the latter\u27s contributory negligence, and the amount of the damages. The trial judge submitted to the jury, over the objections of both parties, only the first issue, in the form of a single question of fact. The jury, having served three days past the end of its term and one hour past the normal time for adjournment, was instructed that a finding for defendant on the single question submitted would exonerate defendant, while a finding for plaintiff would necessitate submission of further issues. The jury found for defendant on the issue submitted, and the trial judge entered judgment accordingly. The state intermediate appellate court affirmed. On certiorari to the Supreme Court of Tennessee, held, reversed, one judge dissenting. The right of trial by jury, as preserved by the Tennessee constitution, requires that the jury be informed as to its option to return a general verdict for either party, that the jury not be informed of the legal effect of its answers to special verdict questions, and that all issues raised by the pleadings be submitted to the jury. Harbison v. Briggs Bros. Paint Mfg. Co., 209 Tenn. 534, 354 S.W.2d 464 (1962)

Taxation-Federal Tax Liens--Priority of Senior Federal Lien Over Local Tax Lien in Mortgage Foreclosure

Plaintiff, a first mortgagee, instituted a foreclosure proceeding joining the mortgagors, a second mortgagee, several judgment creditors, and the United States Government. The Government\u27s lien had been recorded subsequently to the first mortgage but had attached prior to the accrual of various local real estate taxes. Plaintiff\u27s motion for summary judgment, that the premises be sold free of the United States lien but subject to all local real property taxes, was granted. After reversal on appeal, the court again granted summary judgment and effected the same distribution, this time by directing that all local real property taxes be paid as expenses of sale pursuant to section 1087 of the New York Civil Practice Act. The appellate division modified this judgment so as to give the United States priority over the local tax liens, and affirmed. On appeal to the court of appeals, held, reversed, two judges dissenting. State law determines the interest held by the taxpayer, the procedure in lien foreclosure and the method of payment. A federal tax lien is enforceable only against the surplus from a mortgage foreclosure sale in which the mortgagor has an interest. Such a lien does not, therefore, have priority over subsequently accruing local real property taxes which are deemed, under state law, to be expenses of a foreclosure sale. Buffalo Savings Bank v. Victory, 11 N.Y.2d 31, 181 N.E.2d 413, 226 N.Y.S.2d 382 (1962), rev\u27d per curiam sub nom. United States v. Buffalo Savings Bank, 371 U.S. 229 (1963)

The use of the LANDSAT data collection system and imagery in reservoir management and operation

The author has identified the following significant results. An increase in the data collection system's (DCS) ability to function in the flood control mission with no additional manpower was demonstrated during the storms which struck New England during April and May of 1975 and August 1976. It was found that for this watershed, creditable flood hydrographs could be generated from DCS data. It was concluded that an ideal DCS for reservoir regulation would draw features from LANDSAT and GOES. MSS grayscale computer printout and a USGS topographic map were compared, yielding an optimum computer classification map of the wetland areas of the Merrimack River estuary. A classification accuracy of 75% was obtained for the wetlands unit, taking into account the misclassified and the unclassified pixels. The MSS band 7 grayscale printouts of the Franklin Falls reservoir showed good agreement to USGS topographic maps in total area of water depicted at the low water reservoir stage and at the maximum inundation level. Preliminary analysis of the LANDSAT digital data using the GISS computer algorithms showed that the radiance of snow cover/vegetation varied from approximately 20 mW/sq cm sr in nonvegetated areas to less than 4 mW/sq cm sr for densely covered forested area

Use of Remote Sensing to Quantify Construction Material and to Define Geologic Lineations : Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project, Maine

This report contains Appendixes A and B of Special Report 242, use of remote sensing to quantify construction material and to define geologic lineations

Land use/vegetation mapping in reservoir management. Merrimack River basin

This report consists of an analysis of: ERTS-1 Multispectral Scanner imagery obtained 10 August 1973; Skylab 3 S190A and S190B photography, track 29, taken 21 September 1973; and RB-57 high-altitude aircraft photography acquired 26 September 1973. These data products were acquired on three cloud-free days within a 47-day period. The objectives of this study were: (1) to make quantitative comparisons between high-altitude aircraft photography and satellite imagery, and (2) to demonstrate the extent to which high resolution (S190A and B) space-acquired data can be used for land use/vegetation mapping and management of drainage basins

An Analysis of Superintendent and Principal Perceptions Regarding the Supervision and Evaluation of Principals

The goals for this study were to examine principals’ perceptions regarding their own supervision and evaluation and compare to superintendents’ perceptions regarding the supervision and evaluation of principals. Three research questions guided the inquiry: (1) What are the perceptions of principal and superintendents’ regarding their own supervision?; (2) What are the perceptions of principal and superintendents’ regarding their own evaluation?; and (3) What are the differences in perceptions of principal and superintendents’ regarding supervision and evaluation? This study followed a descriptive format and used a 20 item on-line survey to measure principal and superintendents’ perceptions regarding critical elements in their own supervision and evaluation cycle. Out of the participants solicited, 102 principals agreed to participate (37% response rate) and 23 superintendents agreed to participate (48% response rate). Results indicated overall superintendents and principals were in agreement regarding 19 out of 20 statements describing the supervision and evaluation of principals. In addition, there was a significant difference in both supervision and evaluation perceptions between superintendents and principals. Results from this study provide implications for those who supervise principals, as well as for those who train superintendents

Hydrothermally Emplaced, Lower Mississippian, Tripolitic Chert and Its Possible Relationship to the Tri-State Lead-Zinc Mining District

Across the southern Ozark Region, northern Arkansas, southwestern Missouri, and northeastern Oklahoma, exposures of the Lower Mississippian Boone Formation and its equivalents exhibit well-developed tripolitic chert that has been mined, more or less continuously, for at least 80 years. The tripolitic chert is a replacement of an interval within the basal portion of the upper Boone Formation in Arkansas and Oklahoma, and equivalent to the Elsey Formation in Missouri. The movement of silica-rich, hydrothermal fluids appears to have been much like that of a confined aquifer. It followed the basal upper Boone Formation (Arkansas) = Elsey Formation (Missouri) and was bound below by an impermeable interval at the top of the lower Boone Formation (Arkansas) = Reeds Spring Formation (Missouri), and above by the base of the upper Boone Formation (Arkansas) = Burlington-Keokuk (Missouri). The first hydrothermal event incompletely silicified the basal upper Boone = Elsey Formation. After leaching of the remnant carbonate, thus forming the tripolitic chert, a second hydrothermal event deposited terminated and doubly terminated quartz crystals, and druse in the tripolitic chert voids. This hydrothermal event may have pro-duced the Mississippi Valley-Type (MVT) lead-zinc deposits in northeast Oklahoma and southwestern Missouri. The famous deposits at Picher, Oklahoma, and Joplin, Missouri, appear to be positioned in the apparent path of the hydrothermal fluid migration. While timing of these hydrothermal events is unclear, they may reflect lateral secretion produced by the Ouachita Orogeny in the Late Pennsylvanian

Skylab imagery: Application to reservoir management in New England

The author has identified the following significant results. S190B imagery is superior to the LANDSAT imagery for land use mapping and is as useful for level 1 and 2 land use mapping as the RB-57/RC8 high altitude imagery. Detailed land use mapping at levels 3 and finer from satellite imagery requires better resolution. For evaluating factors that are required to determine volume runoff potentials in a watershed, the S190B imagery was found to be as useful as the RB-57/RC8 high altitude aircraft imagery