Evidence of road salt in New Hampshire’s snowpack hundreds of meters from roadways

Salinization of surface and groundwater has been directly linked to the area of road surfaces in a watershed and the subsequent wintertime maintenance used to keep roads free of snow and ice. Most studies that explore road salt in snow along roadways limit the study to within 100 m from a roadway and conclude that there is negligible deposition of de-icing salt at distances greater than 100 m. In this study, we analyze the ion content of the southern New Hampshire snowpack and use Mg2+ as a conservative sea-salt tracer to calculate sea salt and non-sea salt fractions of Cl−. There is a minimum of 60% non-sea salt Cl−, which we attribute to road salt, in the snowpack at our study sites 115 to 350 m from the nearest maintained roadways. This suggests that larger areas need to be considered when investigating the negative impact of Cl− loading due to winter-time maintenance

MAJOR FRACTION OF BLACK CARBON IS FLUSHED FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE SEASONAL SNOWPACK EARLY IN MELT

Seasonal snowpacks accumulate soluble impurities derived from atmospheric aerosols and trace gases throughout the winter and release them quickly early during snow melt. Previous field and laboratory studies have shown that a snowpack can lose up to 80% of the ion burden in the first 20% of the melt, an event commonly known as an ionic pulse. Other studies have concluded that particulate impurities (e.g. black carbon (BC)) concentrate in surface layers during melt which can have important implications for snowpack albedo. To characterize snow chemistry, quantify the release of impurities, and qualify enhancement effects, we collected and analyzed near daily chemical profiles in the snowpack at three sites during two winters in New Hampshire, United States of America. We observe an ionic pulse of major ions and a pulse of BC from the snowpack at the onset of melt, with up to 62% of BC leaving with the first 24% of the melt. Surface concentrations of BC are higher than seasonal medians at the end of the winter season, but enhancements do not appear to be closely linked to decreases in snow-water equivalence

Collective and Family Agriculture in Socialist Economies

summary This article analyses existing theories concerning the relationship between private and collective agricultural sectors in socialist economies with special reference to Vietnam. Dong argues that the household sector retains its vitality within socialist agriculture since it is a distinct and historically necessary mode of mobilising surplus labour and should be seen as playing a developmentally desirable role in both the rural reproduction process and surplus accumulation. Resumen La agricultura colectiva y familiar en economies socialistas Mediante este articulo se analizan las teorias actuales concernientes a la relación entre los sectores agricoles privados y colectivos dentro de economias socialistas, con referencia especiai al Vietnam. Dong argumenta que el sector familiar retiene su vitalidad dentro de la agricultura socialista, puesto que constituye un modo distinto e históricamente necesario, de movilizar la mano de obra excedente y deberia interpretarse como emprendedor de una misión deseable en cuanto al desarrollo, tanto dentro del proceso rural de reproducción como en la acumulación de excedentes. Résumé L'agriculture familiale et collective dans les économies socialistes Cet article analyse les théories actuelles concernant les relations entre les secteurs agricoles privés et collectifs dans les économies socialistes avec une référence spéciale au Vietnam. Dong démontre que le secteur familial conserve sa vitalité au sein de l'agriculture socialiste dès lors que c'est un mode distinct et historiquement nécessaire de mobilisation de surplus de main?d'oeuvre et qu'il devrait être considéré comme ayant un rôle désirable à jouer dans le développement à la fois du processus de reproduction rurale et de surplus d'accumulation

Dominance of grain size impacts on seasonal snow albedo at deforested sites in New Hampshire

Snow cover serves as a major control on the surface energy budget in temperate regions due to its high reflectivity compared to underlying surfaces. Winter in the northeastern United States has changed over the last several decades, resulting in shallower snowpacks, fewer days of snow cover, and increasing precipitation falling as rain in the winter. As these climatic changes occur, it is imperative that we understand current controls on the evolution of seasonal snow albedo in the region. Over three winter seasons between 2013 and 2015, snow characterization measurements were made at three open sites across New Hampshire. These near-daily measurements include spectral albedo, snow optical grain size determined through contact spectroscopy, snow depth, snow density, black carbon content, local meteorological parameters, and analysis of storm trajectories using the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory model. Using analysis of variance, we determine that land-based winter storms result in marginally higher albedo than coastal storms or storms from the Atlantic Ocean. Through multiple regression analysis, we determine that snow grain size is significantly more important in albedo reduction than black carbon content or snow density. And finally, we present a parameterization of albedo based on days since snowfall and temperature that accounts for 52% of variance in albedo over all three sites and years. Our improved understanding of current controls on snow albedo in the region will allow for better assessment of potential response of seasonal snow albedo and snow cover to changing climate

Dominance of grain size impacts on seasonal snow albedo at deforested sites in New Hampshire

Snow cover serves as a major control on the surface energy budget in temperate regions due to its high reflectivity compared to underlying surfaces. Winter in the northeastern United States has changed over the last several decades, resulting in shallower snowpacks, fewer days of snow cover, and increasing precipitation falling as rain in the winter. As these climatic changes occur, it is imperative that we understand current controls on the evolution of seasonal snow albedo in the region. Over three winter seasons between 2013 and 2015, snow characterization measurements were made at three open sites across New Hampshire. These near-daily measurements include spectral albedo, snow optical grain size determined through contact spectroscopy, snow depth, snow density, black carbon content, local meteorological parameters, and analysis of storm trajectories using the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory model. Using analysis of variance, we determine that land-based winter storms result in marginally higher albedo than coastal storms or storms from the Atlantic Ocean. Through multiple regression analysis, we determine that snow grain size is significantly more important in albedo reduction than black carbon content or snow density. And finally, we present a parameterization of albedo based on days since snowfall and temperature that accounts for 52% of variance in albedo over all three sites and years. Our improved understanding of current controls on snow albedo in the region will allow for better assessment of potential response of seasonal snow albedo and snow cover to changing climate

Why did socialist economies fail? The role of factor inputs reconsidered

We re-estimate investment and present revised growth accounts for three socialist economies between 1950 and 1989. Government statistics reported distorted measures for both the rate and trajectory of productivity growth in Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Poland. Researchers have benefited from revised output data, but continued to use official statistics on capital input, or estimated capital stock from official investment data. Investment levels and rates of capital accumulations were much lower than officially claimed and over-reporting worsened over time. A setback in factor accumulation, both equipment investment and labor input, contributed very significantly to the socialist growth failure of the 1980s

EKONOMIKA CHOVU OVIEC V PODMIENKACH SLOVENSKA

To upgrade the economy of sheep farming in new conditions to the level of other agricultural sectors where there is a higher level of factor productivity, sheep breeding must undergo the effective and systematic reclassification. This should be implemented not only through an improvement in the production level but also through changes in the production priorities, i. e. from wool milk-meat to milk meat wool. At present, farmers are gradually adapting to these changes. To make sheep farming profitable, there should be a change in the attitude to farming disipline, labour organization, mechanization, as well as to the state support, which is currently insufficient. If these measures are taken, sheep farming will become interesting and profitable

Improved engineering model for water absorption in softwoods

Modeling of moisture transfer in porous materials is typically partitioned into liquid transport and vapor diffusion. Coefficients for liquid transport are often derived from laboratory measurements of water absorption by partial immersion. Although the assumption that capillary liquid transport is dominant while vapor diffusion is negligible is a reasonable assumption for mineral-based materials, recent work indicates that it is not representative of water absorption in wood across the grain. This article builds on earlier work and develops an improved engineering model for liquid water transport in softwoods. The approach uses a constant liquid diffusivity value, relies primarily on ordinary hygrothermal property measurements, and partitions vapor and liquid transport in a practical way that is informed by current understanding of wood–water interactions. The model is optimized using one-dimensional simulations calibrated against measured water uptake across a range of softwood species. Laboratory measurements were conducted to investigate key properties of eastern white cedar, which had the highest relative error in a previous version of the model, and to examine the practicality and relevance of vacuum saturation and free saturation for southern yellow pine. The model accuracy is improved by paying closer attention to the moisture storage function and capillary saturation value.</p