Divide and Conquer: Pharaoh Shishak’s Campaign in Post-Solomonic Palestine

During the early days of the Divided Monarchy in Israel and Judah, the Bible tells of an invasion by an Egyptian king named Shishak. This presentation will discuss Pharaoh Shishak’s identity and the archeological evidence concerning his campaign, addressing relevant Egyptian records, chronology, political context, and how all this relates to the biblical account and biblical scholarship as a whole

Assessing Potential Impacts of Whale Watching on Humpback Whale Behavior in Juneau, AK

Whale watching serves as an important industry in Juneau, Alaska during the summer when humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) arrive to prey on abundant food resources. This coincides with the arrival of cruise ships packed with tourists, ¼ of whom embark on whale watching excursions that generate millions of dollars for Juneau\u27s economy. However, because the sustainability of whale watching depends on the abundance and health of the whales, assessment of the impacts is essential to creating a mutually beneficial industry for both whales and humans. Energy is a significant factor in the determination of the fitness of an organism, and vessel presence may provoke behavioral changes among cetaceans resulting in overall greater energy expenditure. The objective of this study was to demonstrate the short-term effects of whale watching vessel presence or absence on humpback whale respiration rate and dive time, which can serve as proxies for energy expenditure in cetaceans. Shore-based observations were used to record the behavior of whales with respect to whale watching vessels during the summer of 2017 in Juneau. Results indicate that boat presence did not significantly impact respiration rates and dive times for humpback whales in Juneau. However, further data analysis of humpback whale behaviors and continued research is necessary to adequately determine if and how vessel presence influences whale behavior in Juneau in both the short and long-term. These assessments will aid in the development of conservation policy and help to promote the best practices for the whale watching industry

Reconnoitering the effect of shallow groundwater on land surface temperature and surface energy balance using MODIS and SEBS

The possibility of observing shallow groundwater depth and areal extent using satellite measurements can support groundwater models and vast irrigation systems management. Moreover, these measurements can help to include the effect of shallow groundwater on surface energy balance within land surface models and climate studies, which broadens the methods that yield more reliable and informative results. To examine the capacity of MODIS in detecting the effect of shallow groundwater on land surface temperature and the surface energy balance in an area within Al-Balikh River basin in northern Syria, we studied the interrelationship between in-situ measured water table depths and land surface temperatures measured by MODIS. We, also, used the Surface Energy Balance System (SEBS) to calculate surface energy fluxes, evaporative fraction and daily evaporation, and inspected their relationships with water table depths. We found out that the daytime temperature increased while the nighttime temperature decreased when the depth of the water table increased. And, when the water table depth increased, net radiation, latent and ground heat fluxes, evaporative fraction and daily evaporation decreased, while sensible heat flux increased. This concords with the findings of a companion paper (Alkhaier et al., 2012). The observed clear relationships were the result of meeting both conditions that were concluded in the companion paper, i.e. high potential evaporation and big contrast in day-night temperature. Moreover, the prevailing conditions in this study area helped SEBS to yield accurate estimates. Under bare soil conditions and under the prevailing weather conditions, we conclude that MODIS is suitable for detecting the effect of shallow groundwater because it has proper imaging times and adequate sensor accuracy; nevertheless, its coarse spatial resolution is disadvantageous

Comparison of Algorithms and Parameterisations for Infiltration into Organic-Covered Permafrost Soils

Infiltration into frozen and unfrozen soils is critical in hydrology, controlling active layer soil water dynamics and influencing runoff. Few Land Surface Models (LSMs) and Hydrological Models (HMs) have been developed, adapted or tested for frozen conditions and permafrost soils. Considering the vast geographical area influenced by freeze/thaw processes and permafrost, and the rapid environmental change observed worldwide in these regions, a need exists to improve models to better represent their hydrology. In this study, various infiltration algorithms and parameterisation methods, which are commonly employed in current LSMs and HMs were tested against detailed measurements at three sites in Canada’s discontinuous permafrost region with organic soil depths ranging from 0.02 to 3 m. Field data from two consecutive years were used to calibrate and evaluate the infiltration algorithms and parameterisations. Important conclusions include: (1) the single most important factor that controls the infiltration at permafrost sites is ground thaw depth, (2) differences among the simulated infiltration by different algorithms and parameterisations were only found when the ground was frozen or during the initial fast thawing stages, but not after ground thaw reaches a critical depth of 15 to 30 cm, (3) despite similarities in simulated total infiltration after ground thaw reaches the critical depth, the choice of algorithm influenced the distribution of water among the soil layers, and (4) the ice impedance factor for hydraulic conductivity, which is commonly used in LSMs and HMs, may not be necessary once the water potential driven frozen soil parameterisation is employed. Results from this work provide guidelines that can be directly implemented in LSMs and HMs to improve their application in organic covered permafrost soils

Comparison of algorithms for incoming atmospheric long-wave radiation

While numerous algorithms exist for predicting incident atmospheric long-wave radiation under clear (Lclr) and cloudy skies, few comparisons have been published to assess the accuracy of the different algorithms. Virtually no comparisons have been made for both clear and cloudy skies across multiple sites. This study evaluates the accuracy of 13 algorithms for predicting incident long-wave radiation under clear skies, ten cloud correction algorithms, and four algorithms for all-sky conditions using data from 21 sites across North America and China. Data from five research sites were combined with publicly available data from nine sites in the AmeriFlux network for initial evaluation and optimization of cloud cover estimates; seven additional AmeriFlux sites were used as an independent test of the algorithms. Clear-sky algorithms that excelled in predicting Lclr were the Dilley, Prata, and Angström algorithms. Root mean square deviation (RMSD) between predicted and measured 30-minute or hourly Lclr averaged approximately 23 W m-2 for these three algorithms across all sites, while RMSD of daily estimates was as low as 14 W m-2. Cloud-correction algorithms of Kimball, Unsworth, and Crawford described the data best when combined with the Dilley clear-sky algorithm. Average RMSD across all sites for these three cloud corrections was approximately 24 to 25 W m -2 for 30-minute or hourly estimates and approximately 15 to 16 W m-2 for daily estimates. The Kimball and Unsworth cloud corrections require an estimate of cloud cover, while the Crawford algorithm corrects for cloud cover directly from measured solar radiation. Optimum limits in the clearness index, defined as the ratio of observed solar radiation to theoretical terrestrial solar radiation, for complete cloud cover and clear skies were suggested for the Kimball and Unsworth algorithms. Application of the optimized algorithms to seven independent sites yielded similar results. On the basis of the results, the recommended algorithms can be applied with reasonable accuracy for a wide range of climates, elevations, and latitudes. © 2009 by American Geophysical Union

Energy balance simulation of a wheat canopy using the RZ-SHAW (RZWQM-SHAW) model

RZ-SHAW is a new hybrid model coupling the Root Zone Water Quality Model (RZWQM) and the Simultaneous Heat and Water (SHAW) model to extend RZWQM applications to conditions of frozen soil and crop residue cover. RZ-SHAW offers the comprehensive land management options of RZWQM with the additional capability to simulate diurnal changes in energy balance needed for simulating the near-surface microclimate and leaf temperature. The objective of this study was to evaluate RZ-SHAW for simulations of radiation balance and sensible and latent heat fluxes over plant canopies. Canopy energy balance data were collected at various growing stages of winter wheat in the North China Plain (36° 57'N, 116° 6'E, 28 m above sea level). RZ-SHAW and SHAW simulations using hourly meteorological data were compared with measured net radiation, latent heat flux, sensible heat flux, and soil heat flux. RZ-SHAW provided similar goodness-of-prediction statistics as the original SHAW model for all the energy balance components when using observed plant growth input data. The root mean square error (RMSE) for simulated net radiation, latent heat, sensible heat, and soil heat fluxes was 29.7, 30.7, 29.9, and 25.9 W m -2 for SHAW and 30.6, 32.9, 34.2, and 30.6 W m -2 for RZ-SHAW, respectively. Nash-Sutcliffe R 2 ranged from 0.67 for sensible heat flux to 0.98 for net radiation. Subsequently, an analysis was performed using the plant growth component of RZ-SHAW instead of inputting LAI and plant height. The model simulation results agreed with measured plant height, yield, and LAI very well. As a result, RMSE for the energy balance components were very similar to the original RZ-SHAW simulation, and latent, sensible, and soil heat fluxes were actually simulated slightly better. RMSE for simulated net radiation, latent heat, sensible heat, and soil heat fluxes was 31.5, 30.4, 30.2, and 27.6 W m -2, respectively. Overall, the results demonstrated a successful coupling of RZWQM and SHAW in terms of canopy energy balance simulation, which has important implications for prediction of crop growth, crop water stress, and irrigation scheduling

Ecosystem modeling: supermodel or coupling approach?

Non-Peer Reviewe