A model for estimating time-variant rainfall infiltration as a function of antecedent surface moisture and hydrologic soil type

Recent research indicates that the use of remote sensing techniques for the measurement of near surface soil moisture could be practical in the not too distant future. Other research shows that infiltration rates, especially for average or frequent rainfall events, are extremely sensitive to the proper definition and consideration of the role of the soil moisture at the beginning of the rainfall. Thus, it is important that an easy to use, but theoretically sound, rainfall infiltration model be available if the anticipated remotely sensed soil moisture data is to be optimally utilized for hydrologic simulation. A series of numerical experiments with the Richards' equation for an array of conditions anticipated in watershed hydrology were used to develop functional relationships that describe temporal infiltration rates as a function of soil type and initial moisture conditions

Occupation Time for Classical and Quantum Walks

This is a personal tribute to Lance Littlejohn on the occasion of his 70th birthday. It is meant as a present to him for many years of friendship. It is not written in the “Satz-Beweis” style of Edmund Landau or even in the format of a standard mathematics paper. It is rather an invitation to a fairly new, largely unexplored, topic in the hope that Lance will read it some afternoon and enjoy it. If he cares about complete proofs he will have to wait a bit longer; we almost have them but not in time for this volume. We hope that the figures will convince him and other readers that the phenomena displayed here are interesting enough

Effects of action on children’s and adults’ mental imagery

The aim of this study was to investigate whether and which aspects of a concurrent motor activity can facilitate children’s and adults’ performance in a dynamic imagery task. Children (5-, 7-, and 9-year-olds) and adults were asked to tilt empty glasses, filled with varied amounts of imaginary water, so that the imagined water would reach the rim. Results showed that in a manual tilting task where glasses could be tilted actively with visual feedback, even 5-year-olds performed well. However, in a blind tilting task and in a static judgment task, all age groups showed markedly lower performance. This implies that visual movement information facilitates imagery. In a task where the tilting movement was visible but regulated by means of an on-and-off remote control, a clear age trend was found, indicating that active motor control and motor feedback are particularly important in imagery performance of younger children

Access to metastable complex ion conductors via mechanosynthesis: Preparation, microstructure and conductivity of (Ba,Sr)LiF3 with inverse perovskite structure

Highly metastable Ba1−xSrxLiF3 (0 < x ≤ xmax ≈ 0.4) with an inverse perovskite structure analogous to that of BaLiF3 was synthesized by soft mechanical treatment of BaF2 and LiF together with SrF2 at ambient temperature. Ex as well as in situX-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) measurements show that heat treatment at 393 K initiates the decomposition of the mixed phase into BaLiF3, LiF and (Sr,Ba)F2. Structural details of the metastable compound (Ba,Sr)LiF3 were investigated by ultrafast 19F magic angle spinning (MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Interestingly, five magnetically inequivalent F sites were identified which correspond to fluorine anions coordinated by a variable number of Ba and Sr cations, respectively. Details from XRPD and NMR spectroscopy are discussed with respect to the formation mechanisms and thermal stability of the as prepared fluorides. Impedance spectroscopy is used to characterize (long-range) ionic transport properties. Results are compared with those obtained recently on mechanosynthesized BaLiF3

Planning for family relocation : preliminary report on procedures followed and results obtained in evacuation of the basin of the Wappapello Dam, Wayne County, Missouri

Cover title."Rural Sociology Department, Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station and the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, United States Department of Agriculture cooperating"--Cover.Includes bibliographical references

Landscape-Scale Conservation And Management Of Montane Wildlife: Contemporary Climate May Be Changing The Rules

Both paleontological and contemporary results have suggested that montane ecosystems to be systems of relatively rapid faunal change compared to many valley-bottom counterparts. In addition to experiencing greater magnitudes of contemporary change in climatic parameters than species in other ecosystems, mountain-dwelling wildlife must also accommodate often greater intra-annual swings in temperature and wind speeds, poorly developed soils, and generally harsher conditions. Research on a mountain-dwelling mammal species across 15 yrs of contemporary data and historical records from 1898-1956 suggest that pace of local extinctions and rate of upslope retraction have been markedly more rapid and governed by markedly different dynamics in the last decade than during the 20th century. This may mean that understanding past dynamics of species losses may not always help predict patterns of future loss. Given the importance of clinal variability and ecotypic variation, phenotypic plasticity, behavioral plasticity, and variation in climatic conditions, for widely-distributed species’ geographic ranges to be determined by different factors in different portions of their range is not uncommon. Consequently, greatest progress in understanding distributionalchange phenomena will occur with coordinated, landscape-scale research and monitoring. Landscape Conservation Cooperatives and Climate Science Centers are newly emerging efforts that may contribute greatly to such broad-scale investigations, e.g., climate-wildlife relationships. Based on our empirical findings and our review of related literature, we propose tenets that may serve as foundational starting points for mechanism-based research at broad scales to inform management and conservation of diverse montane wildlife and the ecosystem components with which they interact

How farm people accept new ideas

Some farmers will try any new idea that comes along, while others will accept an idea only after it is proven in their neighborhood. A major concern of agricultural leaders is that of narrowing the time gap between the early and late adoptions of recommended practices. Some new ideas and practices are accepted quickly and with little apparent effort, while others re accepted only after years of effort on the part of agencies and leaders working with rural people.https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/specialreports/1012/thumbnail.jp

Stress-associated metabolites vary with both season and habitat across populations of a climate sentinel species

Relating physiological stress to habitat quality could refine conservation efforts. Habitat quality, which is often inferred from patch occupancy or demographic rates, might be measured in a more timely and nuanced way using metrics of physiological stress. To understand whether stress-associated hormones vary with metrics of habitat quality, we measured fecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGM) levels in the American pika (Ochotona princeps), a small mammal with well-defined habitat (talus), which can vary in quality depending on the presence of subsurface ice features. In spring and fall 2018, we collected feces noninvasively from pika territories in taluses “with” or “without” subsurface ice to capture seasonal variation in FGM between habitat types. We used linear mixed effects models to explore the interactions among season, habitat metrics (including subsurface ice status), and subsurface temperature as predictors of FGM. We found support for interacting effects on FGM levels, which covaried with season, elevation, putative ice presence, graminoid to forb ratio, graminoid cover, and measures of acute subsurface heat exposure. However, only one subsurface temperature metric differed according to putative presence of subsurface ice. Our results contribute to the growing evidence that FGMs might be developed as a tool to assess habitat quality