Supplemental Colorado River water for a developed groundwater agriculture: A problem of quantities,qualities and conjunctive use

Upon completion of the Central Arizona Project (CAP), Colorado River water will be delivered some 200 miles inland for agricultural, domestic, and industrial use. Any new importation of water to an area implies adjustments in the organization of the economy of the area. For irrigated agriculture, adjustments will occur in input mix, output mix, acreage farmed, and in gross and net incomes. A complicating factor associated with importation of Colorado River water is that the imported water will contain different dissolved salt concentrations than the groundwater and surface water currently being used.Mathematical programming models of representative irrigated farms in Pinal County, Arizona, are used to project adjustments implied under several assumptions as to the availability, cost and salinity of the various sources of irrigation water. Conclusions are drawn as to the potential winners and losers from project development. Conclusions include the following: Increased salinity should not be of concern to the farmers in the county and Indian farms will reap the greatest share of benefits from the Project.     

Preface and Dedication

Earth, Moon, and Planets -     

Structures in a non-magnetic solar corona

A fluid mechanical convective instability is examined under the conditions found in the solar corona. Linearized density perturbations are shown to grow as they are carried outward by the solar wind. The non-linear instability may be proposed as a cause of coronal structures in non-magnetic stars, or in regions of the solar corona with weak magnetic fields.     

Spatio-temporal pattern of viral meningitis in Michigan, 1993-2001

To characterize Michigans high viral meningitis incidence rates, 8,803 cases from 1993–2001 were analyzed for standard epidemiological indices, geographic distribution, and spatio-temporal clusters. Blacks and infants were found to be high-risk groups. Annual seasonality and interannual variability in epidemic magnitude were apparent. Cases were concentrated in southern Michigan, and cumulative incidence was correlated with population density at the county level (r=0.45, p<0.001). Kulldorffs Scan test identified the occurrence of spatio-temporal clusters in Lower Michigan during July–October 1998 and 2001 (p=0.01). More extensive data on cases, laboratory isolates, sociodemographics, and environmental exposures should improve detection and enhance the effectiveness of a Space-Time Information System aimed at prevention.The authors gratefully acknowledge Dr. Duane Newton, former manager of the Virology Section, Michigan Department of Community Health Bureau of Laboratories, for his provision of data on viral isolates. We also appreciate the contributions of Drs. Leah Estberg and Dunrie Greiling for ClusterSeer support, Scott Swan for his assistance with ArcView GIS, and Dr. Edward L. Ionides for his advice on time series analysis. We are grateful to Dr. Pierre Goovaerts and two anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments on an earlier draft of this paper. This project was supported in part by a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations Joint Program on Climate Variability and Human Health, a consortium including the EPA, NASA, NSF, and EPRI (NA16GP2361) to MLW.     

Local and regional variations in Central American arc lavas controlled by variations in subducted sediment input

The sedimentary section (at DSDP Site 495) on the subducting Cocos Plate has large stratigraphic changes in incompatible elements and element ratios, the result of early carbonate deposition followed by late hemipelagic deposition. Lavas from Central America define both local and regional geochemical trends that reflect the strong influence of the two Cocos Plate sediment units. Element ratios with large stratigraphic variations on the Cocos Plate (e.g. Ba/Th, U/La) define local variations within individual volcanic centers in Central America, indicating that marine stratigraphy controls some geochemical characteristics of the lavas. These local trends can be explained by changing the proportions of hemipelagic sediment input into the magma generation process. These local trends are observed in all the segments of the arc, regardless of the intensity of the slab signature. Regional variations are most clearly seen in element ratios that are nearly constant through the Cocos Plate sediment stratigraphy (e.g. Ba/La, U/Th), suggesting that regional variations reflect differences in the intensity of the flux from the subducting slab. The slab signal is strongest in Nicaragua and along the volcanic front. The signal decreases to the northwest and southeast of Nicaragua and toward the back arc. The large slab signature in the lavas from western Nicaragua occurs in the area with the thinnest continental crust and steepest dip of the slab. The mass flux of incompatible elements into the system is easily estimated, except for elements, like Pb, that have high and variable abundances in the basaltic oceanic crust section. The mass flux of elements out of the system depends on eruption rates, which are variable along the arc and only approximately known. Comparison of input and output fluxes for five different segments of the arc reveals that some elements (K, B, Cs, and Rb) are very efficiently delivered to the volcanoes from the subducted slab. Other elements (Sr, Ba, and U) are returned to the surface with moderate efficiency, whereas some elements (REEs) may come mostly from the mantle wedge with minor slab contribution. The relative order of recycling efficiencies of incompatible elements implies that a hydrous fluid dominates the transfer of material from the slab to mantle. Received: 7 September 1998 / Accepted: 30 September 1999     

Detection of the optical counterpart of the proposed double degenerate polar RX J1914+24

We have detected the optical counterpart of the proposed double degenerate polar RX J1914+24. The I -band light curve is modulated on the 9.5-min period seen in X-rays. There is no evidence for any other periods. No significant modulation is seen in J . The infrared colours of RX J1914+24 are not consistent with a main-sequence dwarf secondary star. Our ASCA spectrum of RX J1914+24 is typical of a heavily absorbed polar and our ASCA light curve also shows only the 9.5-min period. We find that the folded I band and X-ray light curves are out of phase. We attribute the I -band flux to the irradiated face of the donor star. The long-term X-ray light curve shows a variation in the observed flux of up to an order of magnitude. These observations strengthen the view that RX J1914+24 is indeed the first double degenerate polar to be detected. In this light, we discuss the synchronizing mechanisms in such a close binary and other system parameters.