Ticker for May 6, 2004

                
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May 6, 2004        May 6, 2004        May 6, 2004        May 6, 2004



Urgent Program Message

The Ticker mailing list got obliterated (yikes!) yesterday, and we've
reverted to a version from late 2003.  We should eventually recover
all the new subscribers. However, if you know somebody that has
recently subjected themselves to the Ticker's, uh, output, please
encourage them to contact us!

ticker@mesonet.org or darndt@ou.edu


Sophisticated Ag-Meteorology Device Works Wonders in Norman!

Bermudagrass grows best at soil temps in the mid-60s or above.
During the last week, average soil temps in Norman have been,
you guessed it, right around the mid-60s.  So, if something can
nudge them upward by a degree or two, bermuda will really flourish.

The Ticker Staff has acquired such a device from a major scientific
instruments manufacturer by the name of "Little Tikes".  Their
Longwave Emissivity Enhancement Device has shown tremendous results:




Notice the greatly enhanced growth underneath the slide, er, device.
All of the grass was cut at the same time to the same length, but
the bermuda underneath the slide has grown rapidly since then.

How so?

Well, the slide is positioned so that the sun's direct rays can
strike the surface, allowing near-normal daytime heating.  It is
also positioned to absorb and re-emit much of the longwave radiation
from the surface.  Much of that re-emitted longwave radiation is
re-absorbed by the area underneath the slide.  This keeps overnight
temperatures slightly higher than the rest of the lawn, where longwave
radiation escapes deeper into the atmosphere, and overnight cooling
occurs unhindered.

The bottom line is that the slide's absorption/re-emission activity
keeps overnight soil temps higher for the bermudagrass in its
"shadow".  This affects the average temperatures just enough to
keep them above keep them above bermuda's critical mid-60s value.
The bermudagrass in the warm spot has responded with rapid growth.

Here's another shot that shows the situation a bit more clearly:



That's a Ticker Junior Assistant in the background, calibrating the
Little Tikes Unwanted Neighborhood Cat Attractor.