A SYNOPTIC CLIMATOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF SUMMERTIME PRECIPITATION INTENSITY IN THE EASTERN UNITED STATES

The spatial patterns of precipitation frequency and intensity over the eastern United States for summer from 1961 to 1990 are analyzed using a recently developed continental-scale air mass-based synoptic classification. This procedure, the spatial synoptic classification (SSC), is based on “seed” day identification of synoptic events and discriminant analysis to group together days that are within the same air-mass type. Results show differences in the types of precipitation associated with different air masses. Two air masses in particular-Moist Tropical and Moist Temperate-appear to be highly correlated with a majority of the precipitation, particularly in the southeast. The synoptic characteristics, daily intensity of rainfall, and radiosonde soundings during prevalence of these two air masses suggest that convective rainfall is common during Moist Tropical, and stratiform-type rainfall occurs during Moist Temperate. A simple stratification scheme based upon a synoptic-based air-mass delineation may be useful for studies that need to divide days into stratiform or convective regimes.     

彭门蒸发力快速表算法

本文简要介绍了彭门蒸发力公式的计算方法,然后给出了计算该公式的查算表、并举例说明了计算方法。     

THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SNOW COVER AND CYCLONES IN THE EASTERN UNITED STATES

Snow cover extent is correlated with the latitude, pressure, and frequency of cyclones at every five degrees of longitude from 70° to 100° West, for the winter seasons 1971 to 1980. Each cyclone parameter is also lag correlated with snow cover extent to test relationships between snow cover extent of one week and cyclone variables of successive weeks. More extensive snow cover is related to cyclones traveling farther south, having higher central pressure, and becoming less frequent.     

DIURNAL VARIATIONS OF SUMMERTIME VERY HEAVY PRECIPITATION IN THE EASTERN AND CENTRAL UNITED STATES

This study was prompted by the apparent confusion in the meteorological and climatological literature on the time of day very heavy precipitation is most likely to occur. Harmonic analysis and cluster analysis were used to investigate the large-scale spatial variations in the diurnal cycle of very heavy precipitation in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. Significant spatial variations in the diurnal cycle of very heavy precipitation were found to exist, and seven largely contiguous regions with unique diurnal characteristics of very heavy precipitation were identified.     

REGIONAL DEMOGRAPHIC STRUCTURE OF THE UNITED STATES

This paper analyzes the surprisingly great variation in demographic character across the states, utilizing data on fertility, mortality, age, sex, mobility, household character, abortion, race and ethnicity. A fairly simple regional pattern is revealed that is less related to levels of economic development than to long-standing historical cultural differences.     

AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ADEQUACY OF THE SOLAR RADIATION DATA NETWORK FOR THE CONTIGUOUS UNITED STATES

Relationships between the coefficient of variability and the logarithm of extrapolation distance are established by an assessment of the spatial coherence of solar radiation. Equations for different confidence levels and daily and monthly time intervals are presented. These relationships are utilized in an assessment of the adequacy of the solar radiation data network in the contiguous United States. Results indicate that the present network maintained by the federal government provides adequate coverage on a monthly basis for all but 5% of the area for an error tolerance of ±10% at a 90% confidence level. However, on a daily basis, very inadequate spatial coverage is provided.     

美国中东部温带稳定≥10℃积温

应用修订的康拉德公式计算美国中东部温带地区日均温稳定≥10℃积温,并同我国相应纬度地区作了对比。这一对比揭示出我国东部温带并非世界同纬度地带夏半年热量资源最丰富。     

BRAZILIAN IMMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES AND THE GEOGRAPHICAL IMAGINATION*

ABSTRACT. In the late 1980s more than 1 million Brazilians left Brazil without returning. Today an estimated 2 million Brazilians live abroad, 1.2 million of them in the United States. In this article I show that Brazilians migrate for a variety of reasons, including the geographical imagination. Why are so many Brazilians leaving for the United States? What are their geographical imaginations, and how are they described in their migration process? Using primary and secondary data and multiple methods, I address these questions by providing insights into Brazilian migrants' place perceptions, experiences, and reasons for migrating, focusing on the geographical imagination. Those migrants who end up returning to Brazil are more likely to cite financial and curiosity reasons for having migrated. A web of transnational religious and social networks sustains those immigrants who remain in the United States. Reasons for migrating are not economic alone; rather, they are based on interrelated and complex factors that range from adventure to curiosity, the cultural influence of the United States, family members, education, and escape.     

INTERANNUAL TO INTERDECADAL VARIATIONS OF THE REGIONALIZED SURFACE CLIMATE OF THE UNITED STATES AND RELATIONSHIPS TO GENERALIZED FLOW PARAMETERS

This analysis attempts to discern primary causes of interannual and interdecadal climate variations for precipitation and temperature regions of the conterminous United States. Varimax rotated principal components analysis of annual climate division data is used in the derivation of nine precipitation and five temperature regions. Each region's time series is examined for underlying linear trends, representing long-term climate change, and tests for variance changes, to determine regional climate variability shifts. The first six precipitation components, representing the entire eastern half of the country and the Northwest, displayed significant temporal increases. Of these, four displayed significant increases in interannual variability through time. For temperature, only the Southwestern region showed a significant change (increase) through time. However, significant reductions in temperature variability were confirmed for three regions. To determine the causes of the derived climate shifts, correlation analysis was performed with various atmospheric teleconnection indices. Precipitation trends are most strongly associated with variations in the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) at the interannual time scale while interdecadal variations are associated more with variations in the Pacific/North American (PNA) teleconnection. Both interannual and interdecadal variations of regional temperature are most strongly related to the PNA, except for the Southwest, which showed a significant correlation to the SOI. This suggests that El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events are the source for much of the precipitation change evident in the eastern and Northwestern United States and temperature change in the Southwest. [Key words: climate change, precipitation, temperature, El Niño, Southern Oscillation, United States climate.]     

AVOIDING THE DEMISE OF GEOGRAPHY IN THE UNITED STATES

This is the second of two articles about challenges that confront geography departments in a changing academic environment. College enrollment trends and tightening budgets are placing geography programs in jeopardy because the discipline is not considered by society to be indispensable. Departmental survival in a period of retrenchment may depend upon successfully demonstrating utility and quality, identifying unfilled niches in individual institutions, developing new interdisciplinary organizational arrangements, or finding ways to strengthen geography's position in governmental definitions of useful academic training.