Bed Site Research Articles

Effects of human disturbance on movement, foraging and bed selection in red deerCervus elaphus xanthopygus from the Wandashan Mountains, northeastern China

We characterized 716 sites (including 22 beds, 60 foraging and 604 movement sites) used by red deerCervus elaphus xanthopygus Milne-Edwards, 1867 in the Wandashan Mountains, northeastern China in the winter period. We used covariates for vegetation, topography, disturbances by other ungulates, and disturbance by humans to develop movement, forage and bed site resource-selection models. We used an information-theoretic approach to select the top 5 models for movement, forage and bed site occurrences respectively. The three most parsimonious autologistic models were good predictors of movement, forage and bed occurrence of this species. Vegetation covariates were important components of all models. We recorded avoidance responses by the behaviours of species to each disturbance type (ie, villages, forest roads and abandoned roads); bed site occurrences were most sensitive to all human disturbances for their lowest odds encountered. Across all parsimonious models, villages have the largest negative effect on movement, foraging and bed occurrences. Movement and bedding behaviours were also affected by other ungulate disturbances. Altitude had slightly negative effect on movement and foraging behaviours. Ridges, topographic aspect and shrub stands were all correlated with bed-site selection. Although different behaviours may be associated with different microhabitat features, behaviours of red deer responded similarly to the same human disturbance on a broad scale. Based on the observations above, we believe that red deer are avoiding human-altered habitat for movement, bedding and foraging because of disturbances during the critical late winter period. Furthermore, various behavioural resource selection models and corresponding graphs of important habitat disturbances can be used to guide and evaluate future development proposals.

Base load – displacement response of piles in sand

The paper presents the results of a series of laboratory and field model pile tests performed to study the factors controlling the base pressure – settlement reponse of piles in sand. One series of tests involved the installation and load testing of steel open- and closed-ended piles in loose sand contained in a large pile testing chamber. A second series involved tests on open- and closed-ended steel piles and a concrete bored pile at a dense sand test bed site. The experiments were designed to investigate the effects of pile type, sand consistency, and installation resistance on a pile’s base response during static loading. The tests revealed that both the base capacity and stiffness of piles in sand are controlled by the degree of prestress imposed on the soil below the pile tip. Simple expressions, which require the small strain stiffness and cone penetration test data as the input parameters, are developed to predict the base pressure – settlement response. The final part of the paper employs other field tests on full-scale displacement piles and bored piles to verify the validity of the proposed approach.

Survival of Pronghorns in Western South Dakota

Abstract: Survival and cause‐specific mortality of pronghorns (Antilocapra americana) have been well‐documented in several western states and Canadian provinces. However, no information has been collected in western South Dakota, USA, where mixed‐grass prairie habitats characterize rangelands. The objectives of our study were to determine survival and cause‐specific mortality of adult (>18 months) and yearling (6‐18 months) pronghorns and to determine monthly and summer (Jun‐Aug) survival for neonatal (<1 month of age) pronghorns in South Dakota. We radiocollared 93 adult female and 142 neonatal pronghorns on 3 areas in western South Dakota. We used bed sites from initial neonate captures to collect microhabitat information throughout Harding and Fall River counties. We measured vegetation understory and overstory height, shrub canopy, and distance to nearest concealment cover to the nearest centimeter inside 1‐m2 quadrats by collecting measurements at 15 random points within a 30‐m radius of the bed site. We documented that coyote (Canis latrans) predation was the primary cause of mortality for neonates in western South Dakota and that microhabitat characteristics at neonate bed sites differed between northwestern and southwestern South Dakota. More intensive aerial predator control may increase neonate survival in Fall River County. Management of rangelands by state and federal employees throughout western South Dakota and Wind Cave National Park that maximizes height of overstory and understory vegetation would provide neonates with adequate concealment cover for protection from predators, thereby increasing 4‐week and 12‐week postcapture survival. Our study provides South Dakota game managers with region‐specific, annual and seasonal survival rates that were previously only estimated, thus improving the accuracy of simulated pronghorn population model output. Hunting was the primary cause of mortality (26%) for adult females in Harding and Fall River counties, thereby confirming the continued use of annual harvest by South Dakota game managers as the primary management tool for maintaining pronghorn populations within statewide population management goals.

Minimal insect herbivory for the Lower Permian Coprolite Bone Bed site of north-central Texas, USA, and comparison to other Late Paleozoic floras

An examination of 598 leaves from the Lower Permian (late Sakmarian) Coprolite Bone Bed (CBB) site in north-central Texas, USA, reveals low herbivory levels based on analyses of foliar surface-area removed (0.25%) and frequency of herbivorized leaves (15.6%). These values contrast with a similar study from a somewhat younger (mid-Artinskian) nearby site where analogous values are 2.55% and 31.8%, respectively. As at the younger site, when compared to all other co-occurring plant taxa, CBB pteridosperms were overwhelmingly herbivorized, particularly the peltasperm Autunia cf. conferta and the medullosan Odontopteris cf. lingulata, the latter preserving an exceptionally high herbivory level of 3.31%. These two host-plant taxa accounted for 96.8% of all herbivorized leaves and 96.4% of all leaf surface area removed by insects. For the bulk flora, four subgroups of feeding were documented: margin feeding (70.1% of all occurrences), hole feeding (24.1%), and minor skeletonization (earliest occurrence), and galling. Distinctive gall types, one on the midveinal region of A. cf. conferta and the other on a branchlet of Walchia piniformis (also occurring in the European Early Permian) add to an existing but depauperate insect gall record for the Pennsylvanian and Permian. Emerging evidence indicates that herbivory intensity was spatiotemporally heterogeneous across fluvially-associated landscapes during the Early Permian in both western Euramerica (Texas, USA) and western Gondwana (Paraná Basin, Brazil), differing by an order of magnitude within each of these areas. Localities with the highest percentages of bulk leaf surface-area removed by herbivores in both realms ranged from 2.39 to 2.97%. This range approximates about a third of modern surface-area removal values by insect herbivores in both subtropical to tropical floras.

Limitations of Thermal Infrared Imaging for Locating Neonatal Deer in Semiarid Shrub Communities

Neonate capture can be an important part of ungulate research. Systematic grid searching has been the most common method, but it is time consuming and usually requires a large number of people. A variety of methods have been used by wildlife professionals to capture ungulate neonates. We used a Raytheon PalmIR 250 Digital (Raytheon Commercial Infrared, Dallas, Texas) thermal infrared camera during the coolest time of night to search for deer (Odocoileus spp.) neonates in west-central Texas, USA. Using 2 methods (stationary observation and mobile searching), we detected one fawn and captured none. Efficacy of this technology at our study site may have been limited by the lack of a forest canopy and density of shrubs and herbaceous cover on our study site. Ground cover can obscure a bedded fawn, and direct sunlight on bed site habitat can result in false signals. We suggest wildlife professionals consider vegetation parameters, ungulate density, and road quality before purchasing expensive thermal imaging equipment.

Rainfall Profiling Using Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program Vertically Pointing 8-mm Wavelength Radars

Abstract An attenuation-based method to retrieve vertical profiles of rainfall rate from vertically pointing Ka-band radar measurements has been refined and adjusted for use with the U.S. Department of Energy’s cloud radars deployed at multiple Atmospheric Radiation Program (ARM) test bed sites. This method takes advantage of the linear relationship between the rainfall rate and the attenuation coefficient, and can account for a priori information about the vertical profile of nonattenuated reflectivity. The retrieval method is applied to a wide variety of rainfall events observed at different ARM sites ranging from stratiform events with low-to-moderate rainfall rates (∼5 mm h−1) to heavy convective rains with rainfall rates approaching 100 mm h−1. The Ka-band attenuation-based retrieval results expressed in both instantaneous rainfall rates and in rainfall accumulations are compared to available surface data and measurements of a scanning C-band precipitation polarimetric radar located near the Darwin, Australia, ARM test bed site. The Ka-band retrievals are found to be in good agreement with the C-band radar estimates, which are based both on conventional radar reflectivity approaches and on polarimetric differential phase shift measurements. Typically, the C-band–Ka-band radar estimate differences are within the expected retrieval uncertainties. The magnitude of the Ka-band rainfall-rate estimate error depends on the retrieval resolution, rain intensity, and uncertainties in the profiles of nonattenuated reflectivity. It is shown that reasonable retrieval accuracies (∼15%–40%) can be achieved for a large dynamic range of observed rainfall rates (4–100 mm h−1) and the effective vertical resolution of about 1 km. The potential enhancements of the Ka-band attenuation-based method by including a priori information on vertical profiles of nonattenuated reflectivity and increasing the height range of the retrievals by using Ka-band polarization measurements are also discussed. The addition of the precipitation products to the suite of ARM hydrometeor retrievals can enhance the overall characterization of the vertical atmospheric column.

Tumor Bed Boost Omission After Negative Re-Excision in Breast-Conservation Treatment

We evaluated the necessity of a tumor bed boost after whole-breast radiotherapy for early-stage breast cancer after breast-conserving surgery and negative re-excision. Of patients treated at the Virginia Commonwealth and Tufts Universities with breast-conservation therapy for early-stage breast cancer between 1983 and 1999, 205 required re-excision of the tumor cavity to obtain clear margins and were found to be without residual disease. Adjuvant conventionally fractionated whole-breast radiotherapy was given to a total dose of 50 Gy in 25 fractions. The tumor bed boost was omitted. The median follow-up was 98 months (range, 6-229 months). The tumor histological diagnosis was primarily infiltrating ductal carcinoma (183 cases; 89%). Nodal involvement was documented in 49 cases (24%). There were four documented recurrences at the tumor bed site. Five in-breast recurrences were documented to be in a location removed from the tumor bed. The overall Kaplan-Meier 15-year in-breast control rate was 92.4%, and the freedom from true recurrence rate was 97.6%. The findings support the concept that postlumpectomy radiotherapy can be tailored according to the degree of surgical resection. There is an easily identifiable subgroup of patients who can avoid a tumor bed boost, thus resulting in a reduced treatment time and improved cosmesis, while maintaining local control rates that approach 100%. The data suggest that in patients who undergo a negative re-excision, treatment with whole-breast radiotherapy to 50 Gy is a sufficient dose to maximally reduce the risk of local recurrence.

Seasonal distribution of red deer (Cervus elaphus) in a forest-agriculture habitat in Hungary / Distribution saisonniere du cerf elaphe (Gervus elaphus) dans un habitat agro-forestier en Hongrie

Abstract Habitat use by red deer (Gervus elaphus L. 1758) in forest and grassland habitats is relatively well known; however, few studies have been carried out in forest-agriculture habitats. We conducted seasonal track and bed site counts to estimate annual changes in red deer density and describe annual habitat in a Hungarian lowland area between 1995 and 2000. We found that the entire red deer population grouped into the forest in winter, while its presence during the vegetation growth period (mainly in summer) increased in agricultural areas, when track and bed site density between these two areas were equal. Our results do not support the notion that forests are abandoned in summer for agricultural food resources of better quality. Likewise, water resource locations had no significant influence on the population distribution. We conclude that increasing population density could lead to an expansion of the area occupied by the population during the vegetation growth period, i.e., when agricultural areas can provide suitable conditions for red deer.

New Early Cretaceous paleomagnetic data from volcanic and red beds of the eastern Qaidam Block and its implications for tectonics of Central Asia

Abstract In order to better understand anomalously low paleomagnetic inclinations in the Cretaceous rocks of central Asia, a combined geochronologic and paleomagnetic investigation has been performed on Cretaceous basalt sequences intercalated with red beds from Zeku area in the eastern Qaidam Block, northeastern Tibetan Plateau. Potassium–argon (K–Ar) dating indicates that the basalt sequences are of Early Cretaceous age (89.9 ± 2.8 to 112.1 ± 2.4 Ma). Isothermal remanent magnetization (IRM), thermal demagnetization of a three-component IRM, and Curie point experiment suggest that magnetite and hematite dominate in red beds, magnetite in basalt flows. Stepwise thermal demagnetization successfully isolated stable characteristic remanent magnetization (ChRM) from 7 lava flows and 12 red beds sites. The ChRMs of red bed and basalt sites pass fold test and likely represent primary remanent magnetization. The tilt-corrected mean direction from red bed sites (basalts plus baked red bed site) is Ds = 18.4°, Is = 55.3°, κs = 69.1, α95 = 5.5°, N = 11 sites (Ds = 16.1°, Is = 52.0°, κs = 42.6, α95 = 8.6°, N = 8), corresponding to a pole at 75.2°N, 182.3°E with A95 = 7.07° (76.9°N, 194.9°E with A95 = 10.0°), respectively. The consistent inclination recorded in red beds and basalts implies no significant inclination shallowing caused by deposition compaction in red beds from the studied area. Compared with the Early Cretaceous poles from the North China Block (NCB) or Eurasia, insignificant post-Early Cretaceous northward motion may have occurred between the Qaidam Block and the NCB. On the basis of the existing regional paleomagnetic data, the Qaidam Block has not experienced wholescale vertical axis rotation since the Early Cretaceous with respect to NCB.

Seasonal distribution of red deer (Cervus e/aphus) in a forest-agriculture habitat in Hungary

AbstractHabitat use by red deer (Gervus e/aphus L. 1758) in forest and grassland habitats is relatively well known; however, few studies have been carried out in forest-agriculture habitats. We conducted seasonal track and bed site counts to estimate annual changes in red deer density and describe annual habitat in a Hungarian lowland area between 1995 and 2000. We found that the entire red deer population grouped into the forest in winter, while its presence during the vegetation growth period (mainly in summer) increased in agricultural areas, when track and bed site density between these two areas were equal. Our results do not support the notion that forests are abandoned in summer for agricultural food resources of better quality. Likewise, water resource locations had no significant influence on the population distribution. We conclude that increasing population density could lead to an expansion of the area occupied by the population during the vegetation growth period, i.e., when agricultural areas can provide suitable conditions for red deer.

L'amygdalectomie en 2005

During the past years, the number of tonsillectomies (only palatine tonsils are taken off) has decreased, indications for surgery have changed. A multi-disciplinal group of paediatricians tried to elaborate the state of the art in the field. Tonsils are the first line defense of high respiratory tract. The immune functions of their lymphoid tissue are multiple: mucosal antigens capture, presentation to lymphocytes, antigens specific proliferation of lymphocytes T and B, differentiation of lymphocytes in effectors lymphocytes and immune lymphocytes. Epithelial cells on the tonsils' surface express non-specific defense. These facts explain partly tonsils' hypertrophy. Tonsillectomy has no general immune consequences. In 2002, in France, 75,000 tonsillectomies were realized, of which 90% were in children. Tonsil's hypertrophy is the major indication, mandatory when sleep apnoeas exist. The main historical tonsillectomy indication for recurrent tonsillitis should decrease due to a more precise diagnostic (rapid test at bed site), an efficient antibiotics therapy and better care for pain. Other indications are scarce. Surgery, feasible from 9 months of age, requires a brief general anaesthesia and has very few contra-indications. The technique, operator dependent, relies on his experience. The only potentially severe complication is an haemorrhage due to scab fall between the eighth and twelfth days. It requires explanation and a written note given to parents. The possibility of lack of feeding and voice modification, usually transitory, should be known. Multiple consequences of tonsillectomy especially allergy have been alleged. Since the years 1980, it is well established that pre-existing allergy or asthma are not a contraindication. More, its deleterious impact on allergic children has not been demonstrated. Last, a gain of weight post-tonsillectomy is possible and could become a risk if excessive.

Root and shoot allometry of bareroot and container Douglas-fir seedlings

Detailed root and shoot development of bareroot and container Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) seedling stocktypes were compared during the first growing season after outplanting. The study was installed in raised beds with ideal environmental conditions and at a field reforestation site. Survival at both sites was 98% and did not differ between stocktypes. Seedlings were excavated in spring (5, 8, 12, and 16 weeks after planting) and in fall (35, 40, and 45 weeks after planting). In spring, container seedlings had more numbers of new roots and greater new root and shoot biomass than bareroot seedlings at both sites. In fall, bareroot seedlings consistently averaged more new root growth (though nonsignificant) than container seedlings suggesting that stocktype differences may not continue long-term. Container seedlings had significantly greater water percent than bareroot seedlings at the field site (all sample dates) and the raised bed site (weeks 5, 8, and 40 only). Regardless of environmental conditions or season, seedlings at both sites maintained water percent between 60 and 70% of fresh weight. Seedlings grown in the raised beds had much greater growth than those grown in the field. However, relative growth patterns for the two stocktypes were very similar on each site. The data generated establish baseline differences between stocktypes for root initiation, growth, and allometry during the first year after planting. Challenges associated with root development research are discussed.

A Comparison of GOES Sounder– and Cloud Lidar- and Radar-Retrieved Cloud-Top Heights

Abstract An assessment of the performance of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) sounder cloud-top pressure product is presented. GOES sounder cloud-top-height data were compared with values derived from a consensus cloud boundary dataset that utilizes data from a cloud lidar and a cloud radar located at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program’s Cloud and Radiation Test Bed (CART) site in Lamont, Oklahoma. Comparisons were performed from April 2000 to March 2002. A temporal filtering process was applied to the cloud lidar and cloud radar output so that a representative picture of the cloud field on the same spatial scale of the GOES sounder could be derived. Comparisons between the GOES sounder and ground-based cloud boundary measurements yielded a mean difference of 1772 m and a standard deviation of 1733 m. The difference between GOES cloud-top-height and ground-based retrievals is within ±500 m for 22% of the retrievals and within ±1500 m for 56% of the retrievals. These results are comparable to findings in similar studies that utilized the MODIS Airborne Simulator.

Positive Microscopic Margins Alter Outcome in Lymph Node-Negative Cholangiocarcinoma When Resection Is Combined With Adjuvant Radiotherapy

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prognostic significance of positive microscopic margins in hilar cholangiocarcinoma in patients treated with resection and adjuvant radiotherapy. Between January 1983 and December 1997, 65 patients were definitively diagnosed with hilar cholangiocarcinoma and treated at our institution. Twenty-eight patients underwent curative resection. Of these patients, 23 received adjuvant radiotherapy with an average dose of 53 Gy (both external beam radiotherapy and low-dose rate brachytherapy). Portals included the preoperative primary tumor bed site with a 3- to 5-cm margin, the porta hepatis, and celiac lymph nodes. The patients with lymph node-negative pathologic specimens were reviewed, and an analysis of microscopic margins and subsequent impact on survival was determined with the Kaplan-Meier method and Wilcoxon test. There were 16 patients who met inclusion criteria. There was no perioperative mortality. Seven patients had negative margins and 9 patients had positive microscopic margins. Median follow up was 55 months, and median survival was 24.5 months for the entire group. Median and 5-year survival were 21.5 months and 18.4% in the margin-negative group and 26 months and 15% in patients with positive margins (P = 0.45). These survival differences were not statistically significant. Positive microscopic margins in lymph node-negative, resected hilar cholangiocarcinoma may not represent a negative prognostic factor when resection is combined with postoperative radiotherapy in this cohort. Further prospective, randomized studies are required to fully elucidate the benefits of adjuvant radiotherapy.

Engineering bone: challenges and obstacles

Repair of large bone defects is still a challenge for the orthopaedic, reconstructive and maxillo-facial surgeon. Availability of pluripotent stem cells from either autologous or allogenic sources and the potential of inducing the osteogenic phenotype is motivating exploration and development of custom-tailored materials known as "bioengineered bone constructs". In such cases, the clinical scenario involves either expansion of stem cells in monolayer and loading them into a porous scaffold prior to surgery or direct cell expansion within the scaffold, and implanting this novel construct back into the donor patient. In this review, we delineate, from an engineering perspective, the progress that has been made to date and the challenges remaining in successfully translating this promising (but not yet definitively established) approach from bench to the bed site.

Signs and symptoms of thin basement membrane nephropathy: A prospective regional study on primary glomerular disease—The Limburg Renal Registry

To chart the epidemiology of primary glomerular disease by means of a prospective regional study in the southern part of The Netherlands. Experienced renal technicians collected renal biopsies, blood, and 24-hour urine samples at the bed site in each of the participating hospitals. The material was processed and analyzed at the University Hospital Maastricht. Analysis included light microscopy, immunohistochemistry, and electron microscopy of the biopsies as well as serologic and chemical analysis. Primary IgA nephropathy (IgAN), membranous glomerulopathy, antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated glomerulonephritis and thin basement membrane nephropathy (TBMN) are the most common primary glomerular diseases in this order of sequence. Our data show the clinical and histologic phenotype of TBMN to be diverse: the vast majority of TBMN has chronic microscopic hematuria, frequently associated with hypertension in late middle age; about 15% of TBMN has in addition substantial proteinuria which is associated in the majority of cases with the lesions of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). In 5% of TBMN a nephrotic syndrome is observed, occasionally associated with FSGS tip lesions. These results support the notion that TBMN is a disease of genetic heterogeneity; it is not a benign renal condition in a substantial number of patients, particularly those in late middle age.

In situ aerosol profiles over the Southern Great Plains cloud and radiation test bed site: 2. Effects of mixing height on aerosol properties

The goal of this study was to determine under what meteorological conditions, if any, measurements of aerosol properties made at the Earth's surface are representative of aerosol properties measured within the column of air above the surface. Specifically, this study uses instrumentation from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program's Southern Great Plains (SGP) site to determine how the observed mixing height (MH) and the degree of mixing affects the vertical variation of aerosol extensive and intensive properties. The MH was estimated by applying the Heffter [1980] technique with a critical lapse rate of 0.001 K m−1 to the available radiosonde data. This estimate was then used to determine whether each vertical aerosol profile flight leg from 59 flights was within or above the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). Although the aerosol extensive properties, such as light absorption by particles σap, light scattering by particles σsp, and total extinction by particles σext measured within the ABL were highly correlated with the surface measurements (R2 = 0.74, 0.88, and 0.88, respectively), the airborne measurements of σap were systematically lower (slope = 0.77). By contrast, the σsp and σext regression line slopes were 0.99 and 1.00. The aerosol extensive properties measured above the ABL were poorly correlated with surface values and were almost an order of magnitude lower than the simultaneous measurements made within the ABL. Aerosol intensive properties such as the single‐scattering albedo ϖo, the hemispheric backscatter fraction b, and the Ångström exponent å exhibited a similar behavior (R2 = 0.74, 0.61, and 0.55, respectively) but had regression line slopes within the ABL of 0.88, 0.75, and 0.62, respectively. There were no statistically significant correlations between the intensive aerosol properties measured above the ABL and those measured at the surface. Limiting the analysis to well‐mixed days with near‐neutral static stability did not significantly improve the results. Thus the hypothesis that the best agreement between surface measurements and those within the ABL will occur when the atmosphere is well mixed was not supported by this data set.

In situ aerosol profiles over the Southern Great Plains cloud and radiation test bed site: 1. Aerosol optical properties

Aerosol optical properties were measured over the Southern Great Plains (SGP) cloud and radiation test bed site using a light aircraft (Cessna C‐172N). The aircraft flew level legs at altitudes between 500 m and 3500 m several times per week over the course of 2 years in order to obtain a statistically representative data set of in situ aerosol vertical profiles. Instrumentation on the aircraft was similar to that at the surface SGP site so that measurements at the surface and aloft could easily be compared. Measured parameters included total light scattering, backscattering, and absorption, while calculated parameters included single‐scattering albedo, backscatter fraction, and Ångström exponent. Statistical plots of aerosol optical properties and their variation in the lower column (0–4000 m) showed that over the course of the 2 years studied, albedo, backscatter fraction, and Ångström exponent were fairly invariant with altitude (at least up to 1800 m). Despite the vertical consistency the correlation between column average and surface values for single‐scattering albedo, backscatter fraction, and Ångström exponent tended to be quite low, with R2 ranging from 0.3 to 0.6 and linear regression slopes ranging from 0.2 to 0.6. These results suggest that long‐term surface aerosol measurements capture the column aerosol properties but may not be as representative of day‐to‐day variations in the column. Comparison of aerosol optical depth (AOD) calculated from the vertical profiles with other measurements of AOD made at SGP (i.e., by the Cimel Sun photometer and the multifilter rotating shadowband radiometer (MFRSR)) showed fair correlation (R2 ∼ 0.7 Cimel, R2 ∼ 0.8 MFRSR), although the aircraft AODs tend to have a consistent offset of −0.04, even after incorporating a correction for supermicrometer aerosol and stratospheric aerosol.

Nighttime Multilayered Cloud Detection Using MODIS and ARM Data

This study reports on recent progress toward the discrimination between pixels containing multilayered clouds, specifically optically thin cirrus overlying lower-level water clouds, and those containing single-layered clouds in nighttime Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data. Cloud heights are determined from analysis of the 15-m mC O 2 band data (i.e., the CO 2-slicing method). Cloud phase is inferred from the MODIS operational bispectral technique using the 8.5- and 11-mm IR bands. Clear-sky pixels are identified from application of the MODIS operational cloud-clearing algorithm. The primary assumption invoked is that over a relatively small spatial area, it is likely that two cloud layers exist with some areas that overlap in height. The multilayered cloud pixels are identified through a process of elimination, where pixels from single-layered upper and lower cloud layers are eliminated from the data samples. For two case studies (22 April 2001 and 28 March 2001), ground-based lidar and radar observations are provided by the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program’s Southern Great Plains (SGP) Clouds and Radiation Test Bed (CART) site in Oklahoma. The surface-based cloud observations provide independent information regarding the cloud layering and cloud height statistics in the time period surrounding the MODIS overpass.

Cloud Type and Macrophysical Property Retrieval Using Multiple Remote Sensors

A cloud detection algorithm based on ground-based remote sensors has been developed that can differentiate among various atmospheric targets such as ice and water clouds, virga, precipitation, and aerosol layers. Standard cloud type and macrophysical properties are identified by combining polarization lidar, millimeter-wave radar, infrared radiometer, and dual-channel microwave radiometer measurements. These algorithms are applied to measurements collected during 1998 from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program Cloud and Radiation Test Bed site in north-central Oklahoma. The statistical properties of clouds for this year are presented, illustrating how extended-time remote sensing datasets can be converted to cloud properties of concern to climate research.