ESTIMATED RUNOFF FROM MAN-MADE SNOW1

ABSTRACT: The consumptive loss from man-made snowmaking at six Colorado ski areas is calculated. The focus of the procedures in this investigation is on the consumptive loss that occurs to man-made snow particles during the period they reside on or in the snowpack until spring snowmelt (termed the watershed loss). Calculated watershed losses under a variety of precipitation and temperature conditions at six ski areas varied from 7 to 33 percent. These calculations were made using the calibrated Subalpine Water Balance Simulation Model (Leaf and Brink, 1973a, 1973b). The watershed loss of 7 to 33 percent indicates the range of likely watershed losses that can be expected at Colorado ski areas. A previous paper by the authors (Eisel et al., 1988) provided estimates of the mean consumptive loss during the snowmaking process (termed initial loss) for conditions existing at Colorado ski areas to be 6 percent of water applied. Therefore, based on the mean initial loss, the total consumptive loss from man-made snowmaking under conditions found at Colorado ski areas could be expected to range from 13 to 37 percent. These results demonstrate the range of total consumptive losses that could be expected in various years and for various watershed conditions. These total percentage losses cannot be extrapolated directly to other specific sites because the total consumptive loss is dependent on temperature during actual snowmaking, temperature and precipitation throughout the winter at the specific ski area, and watershed conditions at the ski area. Consumptive losses to man-made snow for a specific ski area should be estimated using the handbook procedures developed especially for this purpose (Colorado Ski Country USA, 1986b).     

The use of silver as a selective precipitant for I in radioactive waste management

¹²⁹I is one of the more hazardous nuclides occurring in radioactive waste. In the form of I⁻, its most likely speciation, it is poorly sorbed on most geologic media. Several workers have suggested the use of silver to precipitate I⁻ as the insoluble AgI, in a cemented waste form, or as a “getter”. The efficacy of this procedure is examined by experiment, in conjunction with thermodynamic predictions.The addition of AgNO₃ to Portland cement leads to coprecipitation with C-S-H, with low Ag solubilities ( 10 μmg/L); 2–;3 orders of magnitude lower than predicted (from Ag₂O). AgI is stable in these matrices, with low aqueous I concentrations (<2 mg/L). In 85% BFS-15% OPC pastes, AgI is unstable due to redox and complexation reactions, with much I⁻ passing into solution; concentrations up to 900 mg/L were observed. It is shown that repository conditions, on closure, are also likely to induce solubilisation of I⁻ from AgI. It is concluded that the use of Ag is unlikely to significantly improve the immobilisation properties of the near field for radioiodine.     

Air borne particulate distributions and their accumulation in tree canopies,Nottingham, UK

Summary The deposition of particulates emanating from the south of Nottingham, UK, where the coal-fired power station of Ratcliffe- on-Soar is an important industry was assessed using snow samples, dry deposition gauges, and precipitation gauges.Effects of leaf characteristics in terms of shape, surface area, presentation, and cuticular texture on particulate accumulation were examined. Leaves possessing a large surface area, rough cuticular surface and with a horizontal presentation, were particularly effective in the accumulation of particulates. The penetration of particulates through the foliar canopy is discussed.The senior author is Section Leader and Principal Lecturer in Ecology in the Department of Life Sciences at Trent Polytechnic.     

Three years after Chernobyl: Some γ-radioactivity values from barra,Outer Hebrides,UK

Summary Plants and animals were investigated to ascertain their- radioactivity values on both dune sites (machair) and inter-tidal sites on the western coast of Barra, Outer Hebrides, UK. Material in both habitats was clearly contaminated. The accumulation of-radioactivity through food webs to organisms such asNucella lapillus (dog whelk) in the inter-tidal sites and in sheep and cattle in terrestrial sites is described.Dr F.B. Pyatt is the Section Leader and Principal Lecturer in Ecology in the Department of Life Sciences at Trent Polytechnic. Dr E.H. Beaumont was previously Lecturer in Zoology at St Hugh's College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.     

COMPARISON OF REGRESSION AND TIME-SERIES METHODS FOR SYNTHESIZING MISSING STREAMFLOW RECORDS1

ABSTRACT: Regression and time-series techniques have been used to synthesize and predict the stream flow at the Foresta Bridge gage from information at the upstream Pohono Bridge gage on the Merced River near Yosemite National Park. Using the available data from two time periods (calendar year 1979 and water year 1986), we evaluated the two techniques in their ability to model the variation in the observed flows and in their ability to predict stream flow at the Foresta Bridge gage for the 1979 time period with data from the 1986 time period. Both techniques produced reasonably good estimates and forecasts of the flow at the downstream gage. However, the regression model was found to have a significant amount of autocorrelation in the residuals, which the time-series model was able to eliminate. The time-series technique presented can be of great assistance in arriving at reasonable estimates of flow in data sets that have large missing portions of data.     

Social organization in deer: Implications for localized management

Populations of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) inhabiting many state and national parks and suburban areas have grown to the point that they conflict with human activities. Conflicts range from destruction of vegetation through browsing to public perception that diseases carried by deer pose threats to human health. Traditional modes of hunting to control populations are inappropriate in many of these areas because of intense human development and activity. This article explores an alternative approach for population reduction based on deer social organization. Female white-tailed deer are highly philopatric and female offspring remain near their dams for life. This suggests that a population expands slowly as a series of overlapping home ranges in a form analogous to the petals on a rose. Incorporating the rose petal concept into a model of population growth shows that removal of deer by family unit can potentially alleviate conflicts in localized areas for as many as 10–15 yr.     

PARTITIONING SMALL SCALE SPATIAL VARIABILITY OF RUNOFF AND EROSION ON SAGEBRUSH RANGELAND1

ABSTRACT: Most hydrologic models require input parameters which represent the variability found across an entire landscape. The estimation of such parameters is very difficult, particularly on rangeland. Improved model parameter estimation procedures are needed which incorporate the small-scale and temporal variability found on rangeland. This study investigates the use of a surface soil classification scheme to partition the spatial variability in hydrologic and interrill erosion processes in a sagebrush plant community. Four distinct microsites were found to exist within the sagebrush coppice-dune dune-interspace complex. The microsites explained the majority of variation in hydrologic and interrill erosion response found on the site and were discernable based on readily available soil and vegetation information. The variability within each microsite was quite low and was not well correlated with soil and vegetation properties. The surface soil classification scheme defined in this study can be quite useful for defining sampling procedures, for understanding hydrologic and erosion processes, and for parameterizing hydrologic models for use on sagebrush range-land.