Life Is Not Linear

Soil Fertility Testing

solarx10 — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 17:51:13 +0000

Gardening can be enjoyable and help save money by providing fresh vegetables and herbs. There are a few different options you can do to transform some of your yard into garden space but before you begin planting for the season, it is important to know the state of your soil and what you may need to add to your soil for fertility for optimal growth. You may be tempted to add lime without adding a sample, but the truth is adding lime when it is not needed can be harmful to the soil and plants and actually prevent anything from growing and damage the plant roots.

Testing a soil fertility sample is also important in determining pH values and nutrient levels. The test results then can provide recommendations on planting and adjusting fertility with (N) Nitrogen and (P) Phosphorus.

If there are excessive amounts of N (Nitrogen) it can lead to contamination in wells and water supplies and elevated levels of NO3. Excess amounts of P (Phosphorus) in streams can lead to excess growth in algae and other weeds where decomposition of the growth consumes oxygen otherwise available to fish leading to deaths in fish life.

pH is the measure of acidity or basicity (alkaline) in a soil or solution. Mathematically expressed as pH = log(1/H+) activity in miles H+/liter.
Measuring pH can be done in the lab with a water test using a 1:1 water to soil ratio. Two tests are preformed, one for the pH and a second (buffer test) to determine the acidity if the pH is lower than 7.0.

pH can influence the mineral weathering in soil as well as decomposition of organic matter. pH can also have an effect on the performance of some pesticides. Another relationship is the effect of the cation exchange capacity (CEC), the capacity to hold positively charged cations like K, Mg and Ca.
The pH in soil controls the availability of nutrients by affecting microbial activity. An optimal pH value for the availability of nutrients can be achieved by adjusting the pH value where toxic materials are absent. Increasing a pH value above 5.5 would decrease aluminum activity which can be toxic to plant roots. A value lower than 4.5 can inhibit Rhizobium bacteria.
pH can be increased by adding other materials such as limestone and mixing with a fertilizer.
pH can be reduced with sulfur, Sphagnum moss peat, and Iron sulfate.

There are soil fertility sample test kits available for use in the field and once you have the soil you just simply send it to a lab for analysis. A sample can be collected by digging a small hold about four to six inches deep to sufficiently collect soil. You want to collect about 2 cups worth. Do not use brass, bronze, or galvanized tools because they will contaminate the sample. Let the soil dry in a tray for about three to four days or longer depending on humidity. Then simply send in the sample with a garden vegetable form. Within two weeks you will receive your results with recommendations on fertilizers and how much to apply.

Irene

solarx10 — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 19:32:03 +0000

The east coast and NE does see some hurricane action, although its rare for one to have a considerable impact on the larger cities in the northeast.

Vortex Data Message

Aircraft recon missions have a vital and important part in forecasting tropical cyclones. Data is transmitted to the National Hurricane Center through coded messages. These coded messages are known as Vortex Data Messages. Data includes latitude and longitude of the storm center as well as its maximum winds, maximum temperature, and minimum sea level pressure.
One key piece of data I would like to focus on is line P, the flight meteorologists remarks. These are flight level winds in the eastern side of the storm.

Vortex Data Message

000
URNT12 KNHC 280635
VORTEX DATA MESSAGE AL092011
A. 28/05:49:30Z
B. 38 deg 10 min N
074 deg 57 min W
C. 700 mb 2716 m
D. 65 kt
E. 045 deg 8 nm
F. 140 deg 51 kt
G. 042 deg 18 nm
H. 959 mb
I. 10 C / 3048 m
J. 13 C / 3046 m
K. 13 C / NA
L. NA
M. NA
N. 1345 / 7
O. 0.02 / 1 nm
P. AF304 3409A IRENE OB 35
MAX FL WIND 94 KT E QUAD 03:57:40Z
MAX OUTBOUND FL WIND 59 KT SW QUAD 06:06:20Z
;
Now here’s a more detailed list of what that data means:

000 URNT12 KNHC 280635 VORTEX DATA MESSAGE AL092011
A. 28/05:49:30z	Date and center or “fix” is located. Local EDT is 1:49am Aug 28 2011
B. 38 deg 10min N 074 deg 57 min W	Latitude and Longitude of the fix location
C. 700mb 2716m	Flight level pressure and height (of flight)
D. 65 KT	Estimated maximum surface wind speed. MPH
E. 045 deg 8 nm	Bearing of max est surface wind from center of storm
F. 140 deg 51kt	Max flight level wind on last flight in the eye
G. 042 deg 18 nm	Bearing of max flight level wind from center of storm
H. 959 mb	Minimum Sea Level Pressure (measured or extrapolated)
I. 10 C / 3048 m	Max flight level temp and pressure altitude outside eye
J. 13 C / 3046 m	Max flight level temp and pressure altitude inside eye
K. 13 C/ NA
L. NA	Flight meteorologist’s notes about the eyewall
M. NA
N. 1345 /7
P. AF304 3409A IRENE OB 35 MAX FL WIND 94 KT E QUAD 03:57:40Z MAX OUTBOUND FL WIND 59 KT SW QUAD 06:06:20Z	Flight meteorologist’s comments: max flight level winds during recon were 94 kt (mph) in the East Quadrant

Multiplatform Satellite Surface Wind Analysis

The multiplatform wind analysis was calculated with four different data sources. They are AMSU (Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit), Cloud Drift Wind Imagery, Infrared Imagery, and Scatterometry (ASCAT). Since scatterometry has attenuation problems where there are areas of heavy rain, the other three data sources where valuable in creating an analysis. There was a lot of moisture and heavy rain bands with Irene and so there is no extensive data near or around the center of the storm from the scatterometry.

Multiplatform Satellite Surface Wind Analysis

The wind speed observed is 65 knots in its VMAX, this is also matching data from line D in the vortex data message that was transmitted around the same time.

HRD Wind Analysis

The HRD wind analysis comes from several different data sources including aircraft reconnaissance, GPS dropsondes, ASCAT, a moored buoy, CMAN and ASOS.

HRD Wind Analysis

This wind analysis was created approximately one hour prior to the other data sources used in this assignment. Observed maximum surface winds at this time were 57 kts which indicate it had a trend in strengthening.

Conclusion

Data sources yielded agreeing results with surface winds 65 kts (75MPH) on the vortex data message and multiplatform wind analysis. The HRD analysis was also within range at 57 kts (65mph)

New Design

solarx10 — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 16:14:59 +0000

consolidating