Program and demographic characteristics of supplemental security income beneficiaries, December 1984 /

"Revised February 1986"

A lecture on the writings : prose and poetic, and character, public and personal, of John Milton, delivered at several metropolitan literary institutions /

Mode of access: Internet.

Underage first grade enrollees, their achievement and personal and social adjustment,

Mode of access: Internet.

Iron and steel; a treatise on the smelting, refining, and mechanical processes of the iron and steel industry, including the chemical and physical characteristics of wrought iron, carbon, high-speed and alloy steels, cast iron, and steel castings, and the application of these materials in machine and tool construction,

Mode of access: Internet.

Property (real and personal) : with questions, problems and forms /

Mode of access: Internet.

Bergson and Personal realism,

Mode of access: Internet.

The canning industry in Pennsylvania, origin, growth and important characteristics : with yearly, monthly and seasonal indeces of employment /

Caption title.

Shallow ground-water flow and drainage characteristics of the Brown Ditch basin near the East Unit, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Indiana, 1982 /

Mode of access: Internet.

Traditionally Black institutions of higher education : their identification and selected characteristics /

"NCES 79-305"--P. 4 of cover.

Why I am a liberal: being definitions and personal confessions of faith by the best minds of the liberal party,

Mode of access: Internet.

Conifers and their characteristics,

Mode of access: Internet.

Spatial and temporal characteristics of summer precipitation over Central Europe in a suite of high-resolution climate models

High-impact, localized intense rainfall episodes represent a major socio-economic problem for societies worldwide, and at the same time these events are notoriously difficult to simulate properly in climate models. Here, the authors investigate how horizontal resolution and model formulation influence this issue by applying the HARMONIE regional climate model (HCLIM) with three different setups; two using convection parameterization at 15 and 6.25 km horizontal resolution (the latter within the “grey-zone” scale), with lateral boundary conditions provided by ERA-Interim reanalysis and integrated over a pan-European domain, and one with explicit convection at 2 km resolution (HCLIM2) over the Alpine region driven by the 15 km model. Seven summer seasons were sampled and validated against two high-resolution observational data sets. All HCLIM versions underestimate the number of dry days and hours by 20-40%, and overestimate precipitation over the Alpine ridge. Also, only modest added value were found of “grey-zone” resolution. However, the single most important outcome is the substantial added value in HCLIM2 compared to the coarser model versions at sub-daily time scales. It better captures the local-to-regional spatial patterns of precipitation reflecting a more realistic representation of the local and meso-scale dynamics. Further, the duration and spatial frequency of precipitation events, as well as extremes, are closer to observations. These characteristics are key ingredients in heavy rainfall events and associated flash floods, and the outstanding results using HCLIM in convection-permitting setting are convincing and encourage further use of the model to study changes in such events in changing climates.

The Mineralogy and Strength Characteristics of Selected Glaciolacustrine Clays in the Puget Sound Region

The combination of rainy climate, glaciolacustrine clays, and steep topography of the Puget Lowland creates slope stability issues for the regional population. Several glaciolacustrine deposits of laminated silt and clay of different ages contribute to the likelihood of slope failure. The glaciolacustrine deposits are generally wet, range in thickness from absent to >30m, and consist of laminated silt and clay with sand interbeds at the tops and bottoms, sandy laminae throughout the deposits, occasional dropstones and shear zones. The glaciolacustrine deposits destabilize slopes by 1) impeding groundwater flow percolating through overlying glacial outwash sediments, 2) having sandy laminae that lower strength by increasing pore pressure during wet seasons, and 3) increasing the potential for block-style failure because of secondary groundwater pathways such as laminae and vertical fractures. Eight clay samples from six known landslide deposits were analyzed in this study for their mineralogy, clay fraction and strength characteristics. The mineralogy was determined using X-ray Diffractometry (XRD) which revealed an identical mineralogic suite among all eight samples consisting of chlorite, illite and smectite. Nonclay minerals appearing in the X-ray diffractogram include amphibole and plagioclase after removal of abundant quartz grains. Hydrometer tests yielded clay-size fraction percentages of the samples ranging from 10% to 90%, and ring shear tests showed that the angle of residual shear resistance (phi_r) ranged from 11° to 31°. Atterberg limits of the samples were found to have liquid limits ranging from 33 to 83, with plastic limits ranging from 25 to 35 and plasticity indices ranging from 6 to 48. The results of the hydrometer and residual shear strength tests suggest that phi_r varies inversely with the clay-size fraction, but that this relationship was not consistent among all eight samples. The nature of the XRD analysis only revealed the identity of the clay minerals present in the samples, and provided no quantitative information. Thus, the extent to which the mineralogy influenced the strength variability among the samples cannot be determined given that the mineral assemblages are identical. Additional samples from different locations within each deposit along with quantitative compositional analyses would be necessary to properly account for the observed strength variability.

Variation in Coral Photosynthesis, Respiration and Growth Characteristics in Contrasting Light Microhabitats: An Analogue to Plants in Forest Gaps and Understoreys?

1. The often complex architecture of coral reefs forms a diversity of light microhabitats. Analogous to patterns in forest plants, light variation may drive strategies for efficient light utilization and metabolism in corals. 2. We investigated the spatial distribution of light regimes in a spur-and-groove reef environment and examine the photophysiology of the coral Montipora monasteriata (Forskal 1775), a species with a wide habitat distribution. Specifically, we examined the variation in tissue and skeletal thickness, and photosynthetic and metabolic responses among contrasting light microhabitats. 3. Daily irradiances reaching corals in caves and under overhangs were 1-5 and 30-40% of those in open habitats at similar depth (3-5 m), respectively. Daily rates of net photosynthesis of corals in cave habitats approximated zero, suggesting more than two orders of magnitude variation in scope for growth across habitats. 4. Three mechanisms of photoadaptation or acclimation were observed in cave and overhang habitats: (1) a 20-50% thinner tissue layer and 40-60% thinner skeletal plates, maximizing light interception per unit mass; (2) a two- to threefold higher photosynthetic efficiency per unit biomass; and (3) low rates of dark respiration. 5. Specimens from open and cave habitats displayed a high capacity to acclimate to downshifts or upshifts in irradiance, respectively. However, specimens in caves displayed limited acclimation to further irradiance reduction, indicating that these live near their irradiance limit. 6. Analogous to patterns for some plant species in forest gaps, the morphological plasticity and physiological flexibility of M. monasteriata enable it to occupy light habitats that vary by more than two orders of magnitude.