Initial Wetness Research Articles

Low-temperature and in-situ regenerable ozone decomposition in aircraft with zeolite-encapsulated manganese-oxo cluster catalyst

Eliminating Ozone (O3) in aircraft cabin via catalytic decomposition is of vital importance to passenger health and oil tank anti-explosion. However, commercial catalysts work constantly at high temperature and need take-out regeneration after deactivation, causing high energy consumption and tedious maintenance. Here we attempt to address this issue by developing a manganese-oxo cluster encapsulated zeolite with initial wetness impregnation and microwave drying coupled method. Time-dependent O3 decomposition test show that the efficiency on the optimized sample was kept over 95 % for 98 h at low-temperature (−5 °C) and superhigh space velocity (720000 h−1), and well reproduced after mild regeneration (180 °C by air for 1 h, the lowest temperature for reversible regeneration of O3 catalyst reported ever). Combined EXAFTS, XPS, and DFT calculations reveal the mechanism: luxuriant charge transfer path within the [Mn3O3]n+ cluster accommodated in FAU supercage facilitates the allocation of electrons released from the rate-controlling step, rendering lower barrier energy and stabilized state of manganese for O3 decomposition. An application strategy of “cold air direct-processing and periodic in-situ regeneration” was patterned by robust performance on washcoated structured catalysts. This work affords new insights for upgrading aircraft O3 decomposition and presents metal-oxo zeolite as a platform to tailor practical catalysts.

Characterizing Satellite Soil Moisture Drydown: A Bivariate Filtering Approach

AbstractDrying of soil impacts land energy and water balance, influences the sustainability of vegetation growth, and modulates hydrological extremes including floods. While satellite soil moisture data are widely used for a range of environmental applications, systematic differences from regional in‐situ data prevent their optimal use as key physical signatures (such as soil moisture recession, also termed drydown) are represented differently. This study investigates differences in drydowns from the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) level 4 product with reference to in‐situ observations. A bivariate filtering alternative is proposed to minimize the disparity noted by modeling the relationship between the rate of drying and initial soil wetness and representing the same as in‐situ. Considerable improvements are observed in the resulting SMAP soil moisture filtered estimates. Although the algorithm assumes spatial stationarity, improvements exist across different soil properties and climatic conditions, providing a parsimonious alternative to better capture the dynamics of soil moisture loss.

Impact of inlet steam state on ejector internal flow and performance considering non-equilibrium condensation

Most of the numerical studies adopted dry gas model to predict transonic and supersonic flow in steam ejectors, but it cannot accurately reflect flow characteristics in ejectors, since the condensation and evaporation of wet steam is ignored. The current work develops and validates a CFD model describing spontaneous condensation to simulate complicated flow behaviors and phase transition inside an ejector, and illustrates the impact of initial state of primary fluid including wet, saturated and superheated state on flow characteristics, mass and heat exchange and ejector performance. It is found that the initial steam wetness obviously impacts the average liquid fraction in the ejector. Both the superheated and wet initial primary steam suppress the process of mass and heat exchange during nucleation, and the position and intensity of nucleation are influenced by the inlet steam state. Compared with the case of dry saturated inlet steam, the superheated inlet steam improves entrainment ratio by 3.7%, and decreases compression ratio by 2.5%.

Effect of Dimethyl Sulfoxide Primer on Microtensile Bond Strength and Micromorphological Pattern of HEMA-free Universal Adhesive to Dry/Wet Dentin After Thermomechanical Aging.

To evaluate the effect of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) primer on microtensile bond strength (μTBS) and the micromorphological pattern of a hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA)-free universal adhesive (UA) applied on wet/dry dentin in etch and rinse (E&R) mode before/after thermomechanical aging. For the μTBS test, the mid-coronal dentin of 80 human mandibular first molars was exposed and etched with 35% phosphoric acid. Teeth were randomly divided into two equal groups: dry and wet dentin (n = 40). Then, each group was subdivided according to dentin pretreatment by DMSO before UA (Gluma Bond Universal, Heraeus Kulzer, Hanau, Germany) application into unpretreated and 10% DMSO/water (OT Primer S100, OT Oy Dent, Turku, Finland) pretreated (n = 20). Resin composite blocks were built up using a specially designed Teflon mold. In every subgroup, both the μTBS test and failure analysis by stereomicroscope were evaluated immediately after 24 h and after thermomechanical aging (n = 10). The data were statistically analyzed using a three-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) (p = 0.05). For the micromorphological pattern, 16 maxillary first premolars were distributed as mentioned in the μTBS test, prepared, and buccolingually sectioned. The dentin-resin interface was examined using an environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) (n = 2). Three-way ANOVA revealed that the main effects and interactions between dentin wetness, dentin pretreatment, and evaluation time (thermomechanical aging) were not significant for µTBS (p> 0.05). Adhesive failure was the predominant type in all immediate and delayed specimens. Longer and more prominent resin tags were observed at dentin-resin interfaces after DMSO application. Neither the initial dentin wetness condition, dentin pretreatment, nor thermomechanical aging could affect the dentin bond strength. No correlation was found between the bond strength and the micromorphology findings. Key words:Wet/dry dentin bonding, Microtensile bond strength, Micromorphology, Universal adhesive, Dimethyl sulfoxide, Thermomechanical aging.

Probabilistic Conditioning and Recalibration of an Event-Based Flood Forecasting Model Using Real-Time Streamflow Observations

Flood warnings provide information about the timing and magnitude of impending floods, which can help mitigate the adverse impacts of flooding. Flood forecasts are highly influenced by uncertainty associated with rainfall forecasts as well as initial catchment wetness. Event-based models are simple and parsimonious and are widely favored by practitioners for flood estimation. However, these models require loss parameters to be manually specified for each simulated event, and this represents an additional source of uncertainty that needs to be considered along with errors in observations and rainfall forecasts. Little attention has been given to the coupling of updating techniques with event-based models to reduce the uncertainty associated with catchment wetness. To this end, we devised a sequential recalibration scheme to characterize uncertainty in ensemble forecasts derived using an event-based flood model. This scheme uses information on both observation and model errors to filter and update catchment loss estimates to improve the accuracy of the forecasts. Analysis of flood forecasts for 22 events showed that although initially, there was low skill in forecasts derived solely from external estimates of catchment wetness, the reliability and accuracy of the forecasts improved rapidly once the flood event commenced and the flood model was coupled with an updating scheme. Compared with forecasts made without any updating scheme, the conditioning and recalibration steps progressively improved the accuracy of the forecasts as measured by Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency from −0.14 to 0.88, bias was reduced by 78%, and root-mean square error reduced by 67%. The use of such schemes thus reinforces the advantages of using parsimonious models that have long been favored by practitioners for design and other purposes.

Warming-induced greenhouse gas fluxes from global croplands modified by agricultural practices: A meta-analysis

Climate warming increases the emissions of soil greenhouse gases (GHGs) by stimulating carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) processes in terrestrial ecosystems, contributing to climate change. However, the responses of soil GHG fluxes to warming from global agricultural ecosystems remain unknown. Here, we evaluate the effects of warming on soil GHG fluxes from global croplands under different agro-ecosystems, cropping systems, crop species, and N fertilizer levels, and determine the potential mechanisms through a meta-analysis of field observations. The results showed that warming (+2.0 °C on average) significantly enhanced soil carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions (i.e., soil respiration) by 14.7% and nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes by 12.6% across croplands and increased soil methane (CH4) uptake by 21.8% in uplands and CH4 release by 23.4% in paddy fields. The responses of C gas fluxes to warming were regulated by initial C substrates, initial wetness, and changes in temperature in croplands. The responses of N2O fluxes to warming were mainly associated with changed NH4+-N and NO3−-N as well as initial wetness and N fertilizer in croplands. The responses of soil GHG fluxes to warming were generally comparable among different crop species and N fertilizer levels, respectively. However, the responses of CO2 emissions and CH4 release to warming were significantly higher in upland-paddy fields than in uplands and paddy fields; the warming-induced changes in CH4 release was significantly greater in rotation cropping systems than in single- and double-cropping systems. This synthesis highlights the important role of climate warming in increasing soil GHG fluxes from croplands, underscoring the critical need for agricultural practice adjustment to mitigate climate change in the future.

Phosphonate herbicide interactions with quartz, montmorillonite, and quartz‐enriched agricultural soil

AbstractPhosphonate‐based herbicides are extensively used in agriculture. Glyphosate was long considered immobile in soils due to strong complexation with metal oxides, but detection in agricultural effluents and surface waters points to glyphosate mobilization and transport. In particular, mechanisms of glyphosate adsorption and subsequent mobility from runoff‐prone soils enriched in quartz have not been fully elucidated. Here we used theoretical and experimental approaches to gain new insights on the soil mobility of glyphosate and two other phosphonate herbicides, glufosinate and fosamine. Molecular modeling simulations of optimized adsorbate complexes of the phosphonate herbicides with quartz and montmorillonite revealed Ca‐enhanced interactions for all three herbicides at both mineral interfaces, weak binding of Na‐complexed phosphonate herbicides on quartz, and more favorable interactions for glufosinate and fosamine with Na‐montmorillonite than for glyphosate. We conducted adsorption and desorption experiments to evaluate the mobility of glyphosate on quartz‐enriched agricultural soils. Consistent with our theoretical findings, adsorption experiments conducted with CaCl2 resulted in greater than a twofold increase in glyphosate retention compared with experiments with NaCl. The desorption experiments revealed release of about 30–90% of the initially bound glyphosate into solution, whereby Ca in the desorption solution promoted glyphosate mobility compared with Na. Furthermore, in all conditions, the relative initial wetness of the agricultural soil was correlated positively with the enhanced glyphosate mobilization, consistent with field‐scale reports that herbicide applied to soils following rain events were prone to runoff.

An experimental study of the integral characteristics of the intrachannel liquid film suction in a turbine stator blades cascade

This paper presents the results of an experimental study of the integral characteristics of the intrachannel liquid film suction in a flat cascade of turbine stator blades. Two slots for removing the liquid film from the interblade channel were arranged on the pressure surface of the stator blade. The experiments were carried out with initial steam wetness y 0 = 3 ÷ 9.5 % and theoretical Mach number downstream the cascade M lt = 0.6 ÷ 0.78. The operation mode of the moisture removal system was determined by the relative pressure drop on the moisture-removing slots and varied over a wide range. The investigations were carried out for both the operation of the moisture-removing slots one at a time and the combined suction of the liquid film simultaneously through both slots. The measurement system used in the experiments allowed separately determining the mass flow rates of steam and liquid removed from the interblade channel. The obtained integral characteristics served to evaluate the influence of various factors on the efficiency of the intrachannel moisture removal system. Based on the analysis of the research results, recommendations on the design and operation of intrachannel moisture removal systems have been formulated.

Segmentation of thermal infrared images of cucumber leaves using K-means clustering for estimating leaf wetness duration

Leaf wetness duration (LWD) is a critical parameter used to predict plant disease, but its determination under actual field conditions is a major challenge. In this study, a method for determining LWD using thermal infrared imaging was developed and applied to cucumber plants grown in a solar greenhouse. Thermal images of the plant leaves were captured using an infrared scanning camera, and a leaf wetness area segmentation method consisting of two procedures was applied. First, a color space conversion was performed automatically by an image-processing algorithm. Then, the K-means clustering algorithm was applied to enable the segmentation of the wetness area on the thermal image. Subsequently, to enable overall thermal image analysis, an initial leaf wetness threshold (LWT) of 5% was defined (where wetness values higher than 5% indicated that the leaf was in a wet state). The results of comparative experiments conducted using thermal images of plant leaves captured using an infrared scanning camera and human visual observation indicated that the estimated LWD values were generally higher than the observed LWD values, because slight leaf wetness condensations were overlooked by the human eye but detected by the infrared scanning camera. While these differences were not found to be statistically significant in this study, the proposed method for determining LWD using thermal infrared imaging may provide a new LWD detection method for cucumber and other plants grown in solar greenhouses. Keywords: thermal imaging, K-means clustering algorithm, leaf wetness duration, cucumber DOI: 10.25165/j.ijabe.20201303.4301 Citation: Wen D M, Ren A X, Ji T, Flores-Parra I M, Yang X T, Li M. Segmentation of thermal infrared images of cucumber leaves using K-means clustering for estimating leaf wetness duration. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2020; 13(3): 161–167.

Facile synthesis of SiO2 supported GaN as an active catalyst for CO2 enhanced dehydrogenation of propane

GaN/Q-x catalysts (Q-x: SiO2 support with varying pore size) were successfully prepared through an initial wetness impregnation of gallium nitrate hydrate and melamine, and subsequent a facile solid-phase reaction. The as-synthesized GaN nanoparticles could be well dispersed upon being loaded on Q-x support. It is found that GaN is an active phase for the dehydrogenation of propane to propene in CO2 atmosphere, wherein CO2 acts as a soft oxidant for not only promoting the activity and selectivity but also closely influencing the deposited carbon formation. In addition, the GaN/Q-3 catalyst with 5 wt % of GaN displays a propane conversion of 31 % with a selectivity of 93 % for propene at 600 °C in CO2 atmosphere, which is obviously superior to bulk GaN under the same reaction conditions. This is due to the synergetic interaction of small particle size and well dispersion of GaN and efficient CO2 adsorption in narrow-pore-rich Q-3 support. So, this finding not only extends the catalytic system of CO2 oxidation dehydrogenation of propane to propene, but also promotes its progress towards potential industrial exploitation.

Investigation of the influence of intra-channel liquid film suction on the structure of the droplet flow downstream a stator blades cascade of a steam turbine

The work is devoted to the study of the effect of intra-channel liquid film suction on the characteristics of the wet steam flow downstream a stator blades cascade of a steam turbine. The moisture removal system consisted of two slots on the pressure side of the blade. Each slot was connected to an individual suction chamber. The investigations were carried out with a theoretical Mach number downstream the cascade M1t = 0.78 and an initial steam wetness y0 = 3%. The main feature of the research was the use of a “PIV-IT” flow laser diagnostics system in which the PTV method was realized. This allowed conducting a detailed study of the structure of a polydisperse wet steam flow. During the investigation an idea of the complex structure of droplets flows downstream the turbine cascade was generated. The analysis of the obtained data allowed us to reveal the main features of the influence of intra-channel liquid film suction on the flows of the liquid particles. It is established that moisture removal does not have a significant effect on the velocity characteristics of the liquid phase. At the same time, the results of studies have shown that intra-channel liquid film suction systems reduce the number of coarse erosion-hazardous droplets downstream a stator blades cascade.

Selective Hydrodeoxygenation of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural to 2,5-Dimethylfuran over Alloyed Cu−Ni Encapsulated in Biochar Catalysts

Alloyed Cu−Ni encapsulated in carbon was prepared by loading Ni and Cu onto biochar (BC) through an initial wetness impregnation method under mild conditions. The bimetallic catalysts were exploited to perform selective hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). 2,5-Dimethylfurfural (DMF), a promising liquid fuel/fuel additive, could be obtained from HMF with the highest yield of 93.5% under the optimized conditions. During HMF HDO, two key intermediates, 5-methylfurfural (MFF) and 2,5-dihydroxymethylfuran (DHMF), dominating two distinct conversion pathways were systematically investigated by Arrhenius kinetics analysis. In addition, the turnover frequencies (TOFs) of HDO reaction over Cu−Ni/BC corresponding with Cu amount were thoroughly discussed, finding that the electron transfer from Cu to Ni in the alloy structure was beneficial to the HDO reaction and the conversion pathways can be regulated by reaction temperature variation. Importantly, the synergy of HDO of HMF by alloyed Cu−Ni m...

Computational Study of Wet Steam Flow to Optimize Steam Ejector Efficiency for Potential Fire Suppression Application

The steam ejector is a core component of an ejector-based refrigeration system. Additionally, steam ejectors can also be potentially applied for a fire suppression system by using pressurized steam droplets to rapidly quench and extinguish the fire. The use of steam will significantly reduce the amount of water consumption and pipe flow rate compared to conventional sprinklers. However, the efficiency of the steam ejector nozzle is one of major factors that can influence the extinguishing mechanisms and the performance of pressurized steam for fire suppression. In this article, to formulate an assessment tool for studying the ideal entrainment ratio and initial flow wetness, a wet steam model has been proposed to enhance our understanding of the condensation and evaporation effects of water droplets from a numerical perspective. The entire steam-ejector system including the nozzle, mixing chamber, throat and diffuser were modeled to study the profiles in axial pressure and temperature across the system, and were compared with self-measured experimental data. In addition, the flow and heat transfer interactions between the fluid mixture and nucleating water droplets were numerically examined by comparing initial conditions with different liquid fractions, as opposed to the ideal gas assumption. With the application of the proposed wet-steam model, the numerical model showed vast improvement in the axial pressure distribution over the ideal gas model. Through numerical conditions, it was found that reducing the wetness of the secondary inlet flow will potentially optimize the system performance with a significant increase of the entrainment ratio from 0.38 to 0.47 (i.e., improvement of around 23%).

Achieving More Efficient and Reliable Operation of Geothermal Turbines by Using a Secondary Flash Steam Superheating System

Problems encountered in operation of saturated steam geothermal turbine units that stem from the specific features of a geothermal heat carrier are considered. A two-phase state, increased content of salts, and corrosiveness of geothermal working medium have a negative influence on the efficiency and reliability of the turbine’s first and last stages. Owing to high concentrations of impurities in the liquid phase, the first stages suffer from intense generation of deposits. The resulting decrease in the power output is due to both fouling of the flow path and significantly growing roughness of the turbine cascade blades. The flow of wet steam in the geothermal turbine flow path is accompanied by droplet impingement erosion of the last-stage blades and corrosion fatigue of the metal of rotor elements. In addition, the losses due to steam wetness in the flow path cause an essential decrease of the geothermal turbine efficiency. The article gives examples of erosioninduced damage inflicted to the last-stage rotor blades, corrosion fatigue of the metal of integrally-machined shroud elements, and deposits in the nozzle vane cascades of geothermal turbine stages. The article also presents the results from numerical investigations of the effect that the initial steam wetness has on the silicic acid concentration in the wet steam flow liquid phase in a 4.0 MW geothermal turbine’s stages. A method for achieving more efficient and reliable operation of the geothermal turbine low-pressure section by applying a secondary flash steam superheating system with the use of a hydrogen steam generator is proposed. The article presents a process arrangement for preparing secondary flash steam supplied to the geothermal turbine low-pressure section in which the flash steam is evaporated and superheated through the use of a hydrogen steam generator. The technical characteristics of the system for preparing secondary flash steam to be used in the intermediate inlet to the turbine were preliminarily assessed (taking the upgrading of the Mutnovsk geothermal power plant as an example), and it has been shown from this assessment that the wetness degree in the low-pressure section can be decreased down to its final value equal to 2.0%.

Occurrence of subsurface lateral flow in the Shale Hills Catchment indicated by a soil water mass balance method

Subsurface lateral flow (SLF) contributes substantially to hillslope runoff. However, because of the lack of appropriate methods, field investigation of SLF at the hillslope and catchment scales has been limited. Recently, high‐frequency soil moisture monitoring has been tested to characterize SLF. This study presented a simple approach to determine SLF based on soil water mass balance and compared this method with an established approach that used the depth‐specific soil moisture response time to precipitation to identify preferential flow. The new method defined the occurrence of SLF when the increase in soil water storage was greater than the accumulated quantity of effective precipitation during a rain event. We applied this method to a 10‐minute resolution soil moisture dataset collected over 3 years from nine soil profiles along a concave hillslope. We found that (i) SLF frequency derived by the proposed method matched well with preferential flow frequency obtained by the established method (r > 0.9), (ii) precipitation and initial soil wetness together controlled the generation of SLF, precipitation intensity determined whether or not the hillslope produced SLF and the quantity of precipitation governed the spatial extent of SLF, and (iii) topographic and small‐scale soil features led to spatially different frequencies of SLF during small storms. Identifying SLF from a soil moisture time series over an entire rain event complements the established method based on soil moisture dynamics at the beginning of an event. Applying both methods creates the potential to measure SLF frequency and vertical preferential flow frequency, respectively. Soil moisture sensor networks have improved the large‐scale investigation of such preferential flows.Highlights How can the occurrence of subsurface lateral flow (SLF) be detected by soil moisture time series? A simple approach is proposed to detect SLF in a forested hillslope using soil water mass balance. Three‐year SLF frequency obtained by the new method agreed with that from an established method. Rain, topography and soil attributes control the generation and spatial distribution of SLF.

Exploration of warm-up period in conceptual hydrological modelling

One of the important issues in hydrological modelling is to specify the initial conditions of the catchment since it has a major impact on the response of the model. Although this issue should be a high priority among modelers, it has remained unaddressed by the community. The typical suggested warm-up period for the hydrological models has ranged from one to several years, which may lead to an underuse of data. The model warm-up is an adjustment process for the model to reach an ‘optimal’ state, where internal stores (e.g., soil moisture) move from the estimated initial condition to an ‘optimal’ state. This study explores the warm-up period of two conceptual hydrological models, HYMOD and IHACRES, in a southwestern England catchment. A series of hydrologic simulations were performed for different initial soil moisture conditions and different rainfall amounts to evaluate the sensitivity of the warm-up period. Evaluation of the results indicates that both initial wetness and rainfall amount affect the time required for model warm up, although it depends on the structure of the hydrological model. Approximately one and a half months are required for the model to warm up in HYMOD for our study catchment and climatic conditions. In addition, it requires less time to warm up under wetter initial conditions (i.e., saturated initial conditions). On the other hand, approximately six months is required for warm-up in IHACRES, and the wet or dry initial conditions have little effect on the warm-up period. Instead, the initial values that are close to the optimal value result in less warm-up time. These findings have implications for hydrologic model development, specifically in determining soil moisture initial conditions and warm-up periods to make full use of the available data, which is very important for catchments with short hydrological records.

Evaluating the atmospheric drivers leading to the December 2014 flood in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

Abstract. Regional analyses of atmospheric conditions that may cause flooding of important transport infrastructure (railway tracks, highways/roads, rivers/channels) and subsequent adaptation measures are part of topic 1 of the network of experts initiated by the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI). As an example case study, the December 2014 flood in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, was investigated. Atmospheric conditions at the onset of the flood event are described and evaluated with respect to the general weather circulation, initial wetness, and event precipitation. Persistent, predominantly westerly general weather circulations (GWCs) directed several low-pressure systems over the North Sea to Schleswig-Holstein during December 2014, accompanied by prolonged rainfall and finally a strong precipitation event in southern Schleswig-Holstein, causing several inland gauges to exceed their, by then maximum, water levels. Results show that the antecedent precipitation index (API) is able to reflect the soil moisture conditions and, in combination with the maximum 3-day precipitation sum (R3d), to capture the two main drivers finally leading to the flood: (1) the initial wetness of north-western Schleswig-Holstein and (2) strong event precipitation in southern and eastern Schleswig-Holstein from 21 to 23 December; at the same time, both indices exceeded their respective 5-year return periods. Further, trend analyses show that both API and R3d have been increasing during recent years, while regional patterns match the north-eastward shift of cyclone pathways, leading to a higher risk of flooding in Schleswig-Holstein. Within the network of experts, investigations of these and further indices/drivers for earth system changes (e.g. wind surge and sea level rise) derived from observations, reanalyses, and regional climate model data are planned for all German coastal areas. Results can be expected to lead to improved adaptation measures to floods under climate change conditions wherever catchments have to be drained and infrastructures and ecosystems may be harmed.

Effects of Inoculum Dose, Temperature, Cultivar, and Interrupted Leaf Wetness Period on Infection of Boxwood by Calonectria pseudonaviculata.

Boxwood blight is an emerging disease of great concern for the ornamental horticulture industry, historic garden managers, landscapers, and homeowners. Controlled-environment experiments were conducted to determine the effects of conidial concentration, temperature, interrupted leaf wetness period, cultivar, and leaf age on infection of boxwood leaves by Calonectria pseudonaviculata. Boxwood blight incidence (BBI) increased with increasing concentration up to 2.0 × 104 spores/ml. BBI also increased as temperature increased from 18 to 25°C, then declined gradually to zero at 29°C. Similar infection effects of inoculum concentration were observed in an experiment with four boxwood cultivars ('Justin Brouwers', 'John Baldwin', 'Green Mound', and 'Nana') of various degrees of susceptibility. The hypothesis that younger leaves are more susceptible than older leaves was supported for Justin Brouwers and Nana but not for Green Mound; and younger leaves of John Baldwin were less susceptible than older leaves. When inoculated plants ('Suffruticosa') were exposed to dry interruptions of 3 h or longer between 5 or 8 h of initial wetness and 12 h of additional wetness, these plants had significantly lower BBI compared with those exposed to continuous wetness for 20 h, and similar or at most slightly more infection than plants exposed to only the 5- or 8-h initial wetness. Continuous wetness durations beyond 20 h did not increase infection in these experiments. These results advanced our understanding of the environmental requirements of the infection process in boxwood blight development and they are essential for refining disease forecasting models.

Robust Initial Wetness Condition Framework of an Event-Based Rainfall–Runoff Model Using Remotely Sensed Soil Moisture

Runoff prediction in limited-data areas is vital for hydrological applications, such as the design of infrastructure and flood defenses, runoff forecasting, and water management. Rainfall–runoff models may be useful for simulation of runoff generation, particularly event-based models, which offer a practical modeling scheme because of their simplicity. However, there is a need to reduce the uncertainties related to the estimation of the initial wetness condition (IWC) prior to a rainfall event. Soil moisture is one of the most important variables in rainfall–runoff modeling, and remotely sensed soil moisture is recognized as an effective way to improve the accuracy of runoff prediction. In this study, the IWC was evaluated based on remotely sensed soil moisture by using the Soil Conservation Service-Curve Number (SCS-CN) method, which is one of the representative event-based models used for reducing the uncertainty of runoff prediction. Four proxy variables for the IWC were determined from the measurements of total rainfall depth (API5), ground-based soil moisture (SSMinsitu), remotely sensed surface soil moisture (SSM), and soil water index (SWI) provided by the advanced scatterometer (ASCAT). To obtain a robust IWC framework, this study consists of two main parts: the validation of remotely sensed soil moisture, and the evaluation of runoff prediction using four proxy variables with a set of rainfall–runoff events in the East Asian monsoon region. The results showed an acceptable agreement between remotely sensed soil moisture (SSM and SWI) and ground based soil moisture data (SSMinsitu). In the proxy variable analysis, the SWI indicated the optimal value among the proposed proxy variables. In the runoff prediction analysis considering various infiltration conditions, the SSM and SWI proxy variables significantly reduced the runoff prediction error as compared with API5 by 60% and 66%, respectively. Moreover, the proposed IWC framework with remotely sensed soil moisture indicates an improved Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency from 0.48 to 0.74 for the four catchments in the Korean Peninsula. It can be concluded that the SCS-CN method extended with remotely sensed soil moisture for reducing uncertainty in the runoff prediction and the proxy variables obtained from the soil moisture data provided by the ASCAT can be useful in enhancing the accuracy of runoff prediction over a range of spatial scales.

Crack Formation in a Swell–Shrink Soil Under Various Managements

Swell–shrink soils generate wide and deep cracks, generally considered undesirable for crop husbandry. However, there is a lack of information about the management options available to reduce formation of wide and deep cracks in such soil. Therefore, the present study was conducted on an Entic Chromusterts. The results revealed that width (mm) and depth (mm) were 7 and 23, respectively, for initial soil wetness by weight 43% compared to their negligible values for initial wetness 14%, at bulk density 1.15 g cm−3, and these two parameters were 7 and 27 mm, respectively, compared to 6 and 19 mm at bulk density 1.02 g cm−3. Thus excessive wetness and higher compaction generated wide and deep cracks and should be avoided. Incorporation @10 t ha−1 of organic matter and gypsum in the soil reduced width and depth of the cracks and may be practiced; temperature beyond 35 °C generated narrow and shallow cracks. These management options should, however, be adapted for field application as per local needs and available resources.