Texas Panhandle Research Articles

Avian Use of Black-Tailed Prairie Dog Colonies in Shortgrass Prairie

Downward trends in populations of many grassland bird species are of conservation concern. Declines in black-tailed prairie dog ( Cynomys ludovicianus ) populations result in loss of habitat for birds and other species associated with their colonies. We measured abundance, diversity, and species composition of avian communities on prairie dog colonies and noncolony sites in the Texas Panhandle. More resident species ( P < 0.001) occurred on prairie dog colonies than on noncolony areas whereas, more nearctic-neoptropical migrants ( P = 0.003) and nearctic-temperate migrants ( P < 0.001) occurred on noncolony sites. Total avian abundance was greater ( P < 0.001) on noncolony sites than at prairie dog colonies, and differed by season ( P < 0.001). Barn swallows ( Hirundo rustica ), red-winged blackbirds ( Agelaius phoeniceus ), horned larks ( Eremophila alpestris ), and chipping sparrows ( Spizella passerina ) were more abundant on noncolony sites than on prairie dog colonies. Burrowing owl ( Athene cunicularia ), Cassin’s sparrow ( Peucaea cassinnii ), and lark bunting ( Calamospiza melanocorys ) abundances were greater on prairie dog colonies. Vegetative alterations made by prairie dogs may not influence bird populations as much in these shortgrass prairies as has been reported in mixed-grass prairies.

The Role of AHPCO Technology in Reducing Allergic Rhinitis Cases As Air Purifier, Surface Sterilizer and Ice Maker Sterilizer

FEBRUARY 2015 AB70 Abstracts S A T U R D A Y 225 The Role of AHPCO Technology in Reducing Allergic Rhinitis Cases As Air Purifier, Surface Sterilizer and Ice Maker Sterilizer Nabarun K. Ghosh, PhD, Constantine K. Saadeh, MD, FAAAAI, Jeff Bennert, PhD, CTN, Griselda Estrada, MS; West Texas A&M University, Canyon, TX, Allergy ARTS ACCR, Amarillo, TX, AIR OASIS, Amarillo, TX. RATIONALE: Fifteen year’s aeroallergen data that we collected using a Burkard Spore Trap showed a steady increase in aeroallergen concentration in the Texas Panhandle area. Data showed a strong correlation with the allergy and asthma cases that have doubled since 2007. We developed a novel AHPCO or Advanced Hydrated Photocatalytic Oxidation technology to produce filter less air purifiers, surface sterilizer for cell phones and in meat processing facilities and in ice makers to reduce contamination. METHODS: We analyzed the daily aeroallergen by using the coated Melinex tape from the Burkard Volumetric Spore Trap. Exposed, stained Melinex tape was observed under a BX-40 Olympus microscope. We developed and assessed the AHPCO Technology for potential uses as air purification unit, surface sterilizer and net reduction of bacteria, fungi during food processing. Petri dish culture, meat blocks, fruits were placed in the chamber to assess the capacity of sterilization. Images were captured with FITC, TRITC Filters with a BX40 and SZ-CTV Olympus Microscopes and SEM. RESULTS: A fluctuation and gradual shift in aeroallergen index with the warmer climate and a shift in flowering seasons were noticed that contributed the increased allergy cases. AHPCO Technology produces negative ions that can be successfully applied in devices to reduce indoor aeroallergen and bacterial contamination in food processing and ice makers. CONCLUSIONS: Environmental factors contribute to a high concentration of aeroallergen that led to increased allergy cases among the residents of Texas Panhandle. AHPCO Technology can be successfully used in air purifiers, food processing and in ice makers in reducing contamination.

Case Management: Challenges for the Rural Panhandle of Texas

Case Management: Challenges for the Rural Panhandle of Texas Billy P. Blodgett Abstract This paper addresses certain challenges case managers face in the rural Texas Panhandle, but is applicable to a variety of human service workers with different backgrounds who practice in other nonmetropolitan areas. A brief history of case management is discussed in the context of early mental health treatment and deinstitutionalization. The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is a secondary geographical region that is mentioned, based on the author’s personal background. Four specific barriers to providing effective case management in the Texas Panhandle are highlighted. In conclusion, questions are posed in dichotomous formats in order to broaden the scope in the traditional perceptions of case management. Full Text: PDF DOI: 10.15640/jssw.v3n1a9

Standing Up to Severe Winds

In the early summer evening of 1970, Lubbock, Texas, a city (population 200,000) in the Texas Panhandle, was hit by an F-5 tornado, leading to 26 fatalities and US$1.52 billion (in 2013 dollars) of damage. One-third of the city was damaged (including eight elementary schools and two high schools), and the downtown area was devastated. This particular tornado remains listed in the top ten most costly tornadoes in the United States even when compared to the significant tornadic events of recent years. Researchers from Texas Tech University (TTU), the local university, realized that there was no one else in the academic world who was focused on how to make communities and their structures safer when hit by a severe wind event, and so the cornerstone for the National Wind Institute (NWI) was laid.

Sunflower oil and its applications

Sunflower is one of the oldest oilseeds in the Americas. It is the state flower of Kansas State and constitutes a significant segment of oilseeds produced in the former Soviet Union Block. Sunflower is admired worldwide for its vibrant beauty and is an important source of food. Its oil is viewed as a healthy vegetable oil and its seeds contain a wide range of nutrients that are enjoyed as a tasty snack as well as nutritious ingredient in many foods, such as health bars, salad garnish and spreads similar to peanut butter. Sunflower is an important crop choice for US growers from the northern plains of Dakotas to Texas panhandle. The oil has very good taste and appearance. Today, there is the traditional sunflower oil, which is high in linoleic acid content that makes it excellent for both domestic and industrial use. The high linoleic acid content makes the oil unstable in industrial or institutional frying. Mid‐oleic sunflower, which contains higher oleic acid and lower level of linoleic acid than the garden variety sunflower oil is more suitable for industrial and institutional frying along with the applications such as salad oil and cooking oil. High oleic sunflower oil, that contains 80% or higher oleic acid and very low linoleic acid, is one of the most stable oils for all applications, including industrial and institutional frying, and also for industrial non‐food applications such as lubricant, as transformer oil and various other applications.

Georgia O’Keeffe in Texas: A Guide by Paul H. Carlson and John T. Becker (review)

Reviewed by: Georgia O’Keeffe in Texas: A Guide by Paul H. Carlson and John T. Becker Mark Thistlethwaite Georgia O’Keeffe in Texas: A Guide. By Paul H. Carlson and John T. Becker. Buffalo Gap: State House Press, 2012. viii + 132 pp. Includes illustrations, photographs, bibliographical references, index. $19.95 paper. At first glance, this slim volume appears to be a welcome addition to the literature on the much-celebrated American artist Georgia O’Keeffe. With maps, vintage photographs, and lists of Texas museums holding O’Keeffe artworks, the book offers, in the authors’ words, “something of a guide.” [End Page 282] The text begins with a well-written, succinct biographical essay, which inevitably rehearses information familiar to many readers. But the biography also brings attention to the High Plains, specifically the Texas Panhandle region known as Llano Estacado, as the setting for and a source of O’Keeffe’s art. The authors delve into the geological history, geography, and ecology of this region. They suggest, convincingly, that when O’Keeffe stepped off the train in Amarillo in 1912, the Llano Estacado looked much like it did 12,000 years earlier when the first humans arrived. These sections are informative and engaging; unfortunately, this cannot be said of the remainder of the book. Organizational arrangement and art historical inaccuracies undercut the guide’s usefulness. For instance, the account of the Canyon Suite paintings would have been more effective if placed after the Ted Reid section. The division of the text into the short sections that follow the biographical and Panhandle portions results in unwarranted repetition of information. This distraction might have been avoided by incorporating the individual textual segments into a single, fluid narrative. The inclusion and placement of John F. Matthews’s essay on the influence of the Texas Panhandle on O’Keeffe’s art (originally published in 1983 but revised here) is problematic in that it produces a sense of déjà vu, as previous sections have already drawn upon Matthews’s insights. Besides the book’s organization weakening its coherency, several questionable or incorrect art-related descriptions and comments detract from its reliability—for instance, the claim that Alfred Stieglitz brought some of the first European modernist art, specifically that by Auguste Rodin and Claude Monet, to the United States in 1917. Stieglitz’s “291” gallery began exhibiting such art in 1908, and apparently never showed work by Monet. Other factual errors concerning art and artists undermine the guide’s creditability. The lack of reproductions of the artist’s Texas artworks, except on the cover, is a serious drawback to a book about that subject. Ultimately, what appears initially to be a helpful volume on the art Georgia O’Keeffe produced in Texas turns out to be less than “something of a guide.” Mark Thistlethwaite Kay and Velma Kimbell Chair of Art History tcu School of Art Texas Christian University Copyright © 2014 Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Long-term (1930–2010) trends in groundwater levels in Texas: Influences of soils, landcover and water use

Rapid groundwater depletion has raised grave concerns about sustainable development in many parts of Texas, as well as in other parts of the world. Previous hydrologic investigations on groundwater levels in Texas were conducted mostly on aquifer-specific basis, and hence lacked state-wide panoramic view. The aim of this study was to present a qualitative overview of long-term (1930–2010) trends in groundwater levels in Texas and identify spatial patterns by applying different statistical (boxplots, correlation–regression, hierarchical cluster analysis) and geospatial techniques (Moran's I, Local Indicators of Spatial Association) on 136,930 groundwater level observations from Texas Water Development Board's database. State-wide decadal median water-levels declined from about 14m from land surface in the 1930s to about 36m in the 2000s. Number of counties with deeper median water-levels (water-level depth>100m) increased from 2 to 13 between 1930s and 2000s, accompanied by a decrease in number of counties having shallower median water-levels (water-level depth<25m) from 134 to 113. Water-level declines across Texas, however, mostly followed logarithmic trends marked by leveling-off phenomena in recent times. Assessment of water-levels by Groundwater Management Areas (GMA), management units created to address groundwater depletion issues, indicated hotspots of deep water-levels in Texas Panhandle and GMA 8 since the 1960s. Contrasting patterns in water use, landcover, geology and soil properties distinguished Texas Panhandle from GMA 8. Irrigated agriculture is the major cause of depletion in the Texas Panhandle as compared to increasing urbanization in GMA 8. Overall our study indicated that use of robust spatial and statistical methods can reveal important details about the trends in water-level changes and shed lights on the associated factors. Due to very generic nature, techniques used in this study can also be applied to other areas with similar eco-hydrologic issues to identify regions that warrant future management actions.

Climatic and paleogeographic significance of eolian sediment in the Middle Permian Dog Creek Shale (Midcontinent U.S.)

Middle Permian fine-grained redbeds of Midcontinent North America are analogous to many Permian units globally. They archive an interesting time in Earth history, but the lack of fossils and the fine grain size have confounded attempts to refine the age and depositional setting, respectively. Here we focus on the Dog Creek Shale and correlatives of Oklahoma and Kansas (paleo-tropical western Pangaea), which are representative of many analogous Permian units across the region and globe, to assess the age, depositional environment, and provenance of siliciclastic material.These mudstone-dominant units have long been interpreted to record marine deltaic or tidal flat deposition based primarily on the presence of evaporites and an inferred relationship with sandstone units southward. However, the uniform grain size, and occurrence of common paleosols, together with the lack of typical deltaic attributes such as hyper/hypo-pycnites, proximal deltaic channels, and large-scale upwardly coarsening trends, in addition to the problematic correlation, complicate this interpretation. Sheet-like tabular siliciclastic units thin northward from the Anadarko foredeep (Oklahoma) onto the Anadarko shelf (Kansas), and undergo lateral facies changes into marginal marine evaporites of the San Andres Formation in the Palo Duro Basin (Texas Panhandle). The fine and uniform grain size, massive bedding, and sheet-like geometry indicate that the siliciclastic units are eolian in origin, but at times were transported by wind and deposited and reworked in mudflats. Abundant Vertisols within the Dog Creek Shale indicate periods of wetting and drying in a low-relief setting. Major detrital zircon age populations reflect a dominantly east to southeasterly Appalachian–Ouachita source, with minor input from derivative sediment from the Ancestral Rocky Mountains to the west and northwest. These data indicate prevailing easterlies, and some westerly and southwesterly winds in western equatorial Pangaea, possibly representing north to south shifting of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), likely associated with monsoonal circulation. The predominance of eolian-transported material and its capture in a series of mudflats and soils indicates that midcontinent North America (western equatorial Pangaea) formed a major sink for large volumes of atmospheric dust in middle Permian time, quite unlike the modern and recent tropics.

Characterization of organic matter in beef feedyard manure by ultraviolet-visible and fourier transform infrared spectroscopies.

Manure from beef cattle feedyards is a valuable source of nutrients and assists with maintaining soil quality. However, humification and decomposition processes occurring during feedyard manure's on-farm life cycle influence the forms, concentrations, and availability of carbon (C) and nutrients such as nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). Improved understanding of manure organic matter (OM) chemistry will provide better estimates of potential fertilizer value of manure from different feedyard sources (e.g., manure accumulated in pens, stockpiled manure after pen scraping) and in settling basin and retention pond sediments. This will also assist with identifying factors related to nutrient loss and environmental degradation via volatilization of ammonia and nitrous oxide and nitrate leaching. We used Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopies to characterize structural and functional properties of OM and water-extractable OM (WEOM) from different sources (surface manure, manure pack, settling basin, retention pond) on a typical commercial beef feedyard in the Texas Panhandle. Results showed that as beef manure completes its on-farm life cycle, concentrations of dissolved organic C and N decrease up to 98 and 95%, respectively. The UV-vis analysis of WEOM indicated large differences in molecular weight, lignin content, and proportion of humified OM between manures from different sources. The FTIR spectra of OM and WEOM indicate preferential decomposition of fats, lipids, and proteins over aromatic polysaccharides such as lignin. Further work is warranted to evaluate how application of feedyard manure from different sources influences soil metabolic functioning and fertility.

Comparison of the accuracy of kriging and IDW interpolations in estimating groundwater arsenic concentrations in Texas

Exposure to arsenic causes many diseases. Most Americans in rural areas use groundwater for drinking, which may contain arsenic above the currently allowable level, 10µg/L. It is cost-effective to estimate groundwater arsenic levels based on data from wells with known arsenic concentrations. We compared the accuracy of several commonly used interpolation methods in estimating arsenic concentrations in >8000 wells in Texas by the leave-one-out-cross-validation technique. Correlation coefficient between measured and estimated arsenic levels was greater with inverse distance weighted (IDW) than kriging Gaussian, kriging spherical or cokriging interpolations when analyzing data from wells in the entire Texas (p<0.0001). Correlation coefficient was significantly lower with cokriging than any other methods (p<0.006) for wells in Texas, east Texas or the Edwards aquifer. Correlation coefficient was significantly greater for wells in southwestern Texas Panhandle than in east Texas, and was higher for wells in Ogallala aquifer than in Edwards aquifer (p<0.0001) regardless of interpolation methods. In regression analysis, the best models are when well depth and/or elevation were entered into the model as covariates regardless of area/aquifer or interpolation methods, and models with IDW are better than kriging in any area/aquifer. In conclusion, the accuracy in estimating groundwater arsenic level depends on both interpolation methods and wells’ geographic distributions and characteristics in Texas. Taking well depth and elevation into regression analysis as covariates significantly increases the accuracy in estimating groundwater arsenic level in Texas with IDW in particular.

Aerobiology Of Texas Panhandle and Efficiency Of AHPCO Technology As Air Purifier, Surface Sterilizer In Food Processing

Allergy and Asthma cases have doubled in Texas Panhandle area since 2007. We have collected aeroallergen samples and characterized for 14 years. We used a novel AHPCO or Advanced Hydrated Photocatalytic Oxidation technology to produce filter less air purifier, surface sterilizer for cell phones and meat processing facilities.

Multi-year water allocation: an economic approach towards future planning and management of declining groundwater resources in the Texas Panhandle

Heavy withdrawals from the Ogallala Aquifer, the most dependable source of groundwater in the Texas Panhandle, create an impending need for implementing water conservation policies. This study evaluates the policy option of multi-year water allocation coupled with water-use restriction in Regional Water Planning Area-Region A of Texas, over a 60-year planning horizon for 4 study counties, namely Dallam, Sherman, Moore and Hartley. Dallam County is studied as a representative county and results compared with other study counties. For the unconstrained baseline scenario over 60 years, the counties of study show a decline in saturated thickness that recommends the incorporation of water-use restriction alternatives at different rates. Increasing restrictions rates led to decline in water use per acre as well as total annual water use. Such restrictions, if mandated by the water conservation districts, will result in individual irrigators bearing the cost of water savings in the form of reduction in net present value per acre. The decline in net present value may have implications to the regional economy, and therefore, it is crucial to analyze the socio-economic effects of implementing such a policy alternative and analyze the feasibility in the light of legislative and political scenarios. Citation: Tewari R, Almas LK, Johnson J, Golden B, Amosson SH, Guerrero BL. 2014. Multi-year water allocation: an economic approach towards future planning and management of declining groundwater resources in the Texas Panhandle. Texas Water Journal. 5(1):1-11. Available from: https://doi.org/10.21423/twj.v5i1.6390.

Annual migratory patterns of Long-billed Curlews in the American West

Effective conservation of migratory species requires comprehensive knowledge of annual movement patterns. Such information is sparse for the Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus), a North American endemic shorebird of conservation concern. To test hypotheses about individual and area differences in migratory patterns across western North America, we tagged 29 curlews with satellite transmitters at breeding sites in Oregon, Nevada, and Montana. Transmissions from 28 birds for up to 4 years demonstrated that all wintered within the species’ known winter range, including 9 from Oregon tracked to agricultural areas of California’s Central Valley; 5 from Nevada tracked to the Central Valley, northern Gulf of California, or west coast of Baja California, Mexico; and 14 from Montana that wintered inland, from the Texas Panhandle south to the Mexican Plateau, or near the Gulf of Mexico. Montana breeders migrated east of the Rocky Mountains and traveled more than twice the distance of Oregon and Nevada breeders. Montana birds also stopped more often and longer during most passages. As a group, curlews arrived on their Oregon breeding grounds earlier than in Montana, while males preceded females in Montana and possibly Oregon. No consistent pattern emerged between sexes in departure from breeding areas, although within pairs males departed later than their mates. Individuals exhibited strong fidelity to breeding and wintering sites, and many birds showed a strong propensity for agricultural regions during winter. Our results underscore the importance of studying migration behavior across the breeding range to adequately capture variation in migratory patterns of a species.

Spatially explicit modeling of lesser prairie‐chicken lek density in Texas

ABSTRACTAs with many other grassland birds, lesser prairie‐chickens (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) have experienced population declines in the Southern Great Plains. Currently they are proposed for federal protection under the Endangered Species Act. In addition to a history of land‐uses that have resulted in habitat loss, lesser prairie‐chickens now face a new potential disturbance from energy development. We estimated lek density in the occupied lesser prairie‐chicken range of Texas, USA, and modeled anthropogenic and vegetative landscape features associated with lek density. We used an aerial line‐transect survey method to count lesser prairie‐chicken leks in spring 2010 and 2011 and surveyed 208 randomly selected 51.84‐km2 blocks. We divided each survey block into 12.96‐km2 quadrats and summarized landscape variables within each quadrat. We then used hierarchical distance‐sampling models to examine the relationship between lek density and anthropogenic and vegetative landscape features and predict how lek density may change in response to changes on the landscape, such as an increase in energy development. Our best models indicated lek density was related to percent grassland, region (i.e., the northeast or southwest region of the Texas Panhandle), total percentage of grassland and shrubland, paved road density, and active oil and gas well density. Predicted lek density peaked at 0.39 leks/12.96 km2 (SE = 0.09) and 2.05 leks/12.96 km2 (SE = 0.56) in the northeast and southwest region of the Texas Panhandle, respectively, which corresponds to approximately 88% and 44% grassland in the northeast and southwest region. Lek density increased with an increase in total percentage of grassland and shrubland and was greatest in areas with lower densities of paved roads and lower densities of active oil and gas wells. We used the 2 most competitive models to predict lek abundance and estimated 236 leks (CV = 0.138, 95% CI = 177–306 leks) for our sampling area. Our results suggest that managing landscapes to maintain a greater percentage of grassland and shrubland on the landscape with a greater ratio of grasses to shrubs in the northeast Panhandle should promote greater lek density. Furthermore, increases in paved road and active oil and gas well densities may reduce lek density. This information will be useful for future conservation planning efforts for land protection, policy decisions, and decision analyses. © 2013 The Wildlife Society

Association of pro-melanin concentrating hormone genotype with beef carcass quality and yield1

Beef cattle from 3 independent studies conducted in the Texas Panhandle (Exp. 1: n = 3,906 and Exp. 2: n = 4,000) and southern Idaho (Exp. 3; n = 542) were used to investigate the association of pro-melanin concentrating hormone (PMCH) genotype with beef carcass quality and yield attributes. Tissue samples were collected from each animal to determine which PMCH allele they expressed (Trial 1: AA, 62.60%; AT, 32.05%; and TT, 5.35%; Trial 2: AA, 64.33%; AT, 31.07%; and TT, 4.60%; Trial 3: AA, 65.87%; AT, 29.34%; and TT, 4.80%). Twenty-four hours after harvest, carcass attributes were evaluated for all carcasses and longissimus dorsi steak samples were allocated from a subset of carcasses in Exp. 2 (n = 352; AA, 49.43%; AT, 28.98%; and TT, 21.59%) and each carcass in Exp. 3. Warner-Bratzler shear force measurements were determined for each steak after aging for 7, 14, or 21 d postmortem. Carcasses from Exp. 1 and 2 expressing the AA genotype had greater (P < 0.01) 12th rib subcutaneous (s.c.) fat depth and marbling scores, concurrent with smaller (P < 0.01) LM area than carcasses of AT and TT genotypes. Subsequently, carcasses expressing the AA genotype were represented by a greater (P < 0.02) proportion achieving Prime and Premium Choice quality grades, and a lesser (P < 0.01) proportion grading Select or Standard. In all trials, carcasses of the AA genotype had greater (P < 0.04) calculated yield grades than carcasses of the TT genotype. Carcass composition was associated with PMCH genotype evident by calculated empty body fat differences (P < 0.04) between AA and TT cattle in Exp. 1 and 3, and differences (P < 0.01) among all 3 genotypes in Trial 2. Shear force data on 7-d postmortem aging tended (P = 0.06) to favor cattle of the AA genotype in Exp. 2. However, additional aging to 14 or 21 d minimized any tenderness differences. These data illustrate the potential relationship that may exist among PMCH genotypes and indicators of carcass composition.

Winter habitat use and survival of lesser prairie-chickens in West Texas

The lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) has experienced declines in population and occupied range since the late 1800s and is currently proposed for Federal protection under the Endangered Species Act. Populations and the distribution of lesser prairie-chickens in Texas, USA, are thought to be at or near all-time lows. Currently, there is a paucity of data on the wintering ecology of the species. We measured home range, habitat use, and survival of lesser prairie-chickens during the non-breeding seasons (1 Sep–28 Feb) of 2008–2009, 2009–2010, and 2010–2011 in sand shinnery oak (Quercus havardii) landscapes in the West Texas panhandle region. Home range size did not differ among years or between females (503 ha) and males (489 ha). Over 97% of locations of both male and female prairie-chickens were within 3.2 km of the lek of capture, and 99.9% were within 3.2 km of an available water source (i.e., livestock water tank). Habitat cover types were not used proportional to occurrence within the home ranges; grassland-dominated areas with co-occurring sand shinnery oak were used more than available, but sand sagebrush (Artemisia filifolia)-dominated areas with grassland and sand sagebrush-dominated areas with bare ground were both used less than available. Survival rates during the first 2 non-breeding seasons (>80%) were among the highest reported for the species. However, survival during the third non-breeding season was only 57%, resulting in a 3-year average of 72%. It does not appear that non-breeding season mortality is a strong limiting factor in lesser prairie-chicken persistence in the study area. © 2013 The Wildlife Society.

Improved Matrix Body Design: Five Factors to Achieve Exceptional Bit Performance in Hard, Abrasive Rock

Young Technology Showcase Matrix body bits are known for longevity and reliability in challenging formations such as granite, chert, and abrasive sandstones and conglomerates. What is often missing from bit performance under these conditions is the ability to maintain a relatively high rate of penetration (ROP) while maximizing footage drilled in one run. The goal remains the same: Drill every interval in one run at the optimal ROP. In other words, the bit should not be the limiter when it comes to drilling performance. Focusing on five key factors that contribute to ROP and longevity, a major bit supplier has designed a matrix body fixed-cutter bit that is setting records in a wide range of fields and formations. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts: The five new technologies comprising the design work to create a significantly higher standard of performance than is typically accepted for hard rock/abrasive rock drilling. The examples following represent distinct formation types such as sand and shale intervals in the Rockies, limestone and sandstone in east Texas, the Granite Wash formation in the Texas Panhandle, and limestone and dolomite in the Permian Basin. All of these examples are laden with transition zones and most include conglomerate or other challenges to impact and abrasion resistance. The bits have been run in conventional and motor applications with equally good outcomes. Five Performance Factors Cutters. A critical improvement to the new bit design is the polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) cutter technology. The proprietary interface design of the cutters used provides an extremely durable and efficient cutting element, removing significantly more rock with substantially less wear. Furthermore, increased abrasion resistance in PDC cutters also increases the ability to withstand intense heat situations, contributing to thermal stability. While both thermally stable bits and abrasion-resistant bits perform similarly at the start of drilling, as cutter wear begins, the thermally stable products wear more slowly. Ongoing research into wear mechanisms has optimized abrasion and impact resistance, and advanced the vital performance criterion of thermal mechanical integrity (TMI), or resistance to heat-generated wear. With greater TMI, the new cutters are highly TMI-qualified, able to withstand the extreme temperature cycling that occurs during drilling to provide greater strength and durability.

Agronomic Water Mass Balance vs. Well Measurement for Assessing Ogallala Aquifer Depletion in the Texas Panhandle

AbstractThe Ogallala Aquifer is depleting faster than it is being replenished. Interpretation of well data suggests that the water table in some counties is not declining, or not as much as might be expected in view of the amount of land being irrigated. As the Ogallala Aquifer in the Texas Panhandle receives almost no recharge, a possible explanation is that the current method of using well data for estimating the quantity of water remaining in the aquifer is underestimating water in storage. This study used an agronomic water mass balance approach to estimate how much water has been used for irrigation compared to amounts estimated by well data. The major finding was in counties where irrigation well capacities have declined significantly but irrigation is continuing, there is likely more water in storage than presently estimated, but the amounts of water being used for irrigation in those counties are greater than estimated changes of water in storage. The proposed hypothesis for this difference is there are mounds of water between wells that are not being accounted for and data are presented and discussed to support this conjecture.

Bones Hooks and Western Folklore: A Rhetorical Analysis of a Pioneering African American Cowboy

The myth of the Old West frontier is our national epic; the quintessential American hero is the cowboy. Scrutinizing the history and rhetoric behind the legend, however, reveals more fantasy than fact. The often told story of Mathew “Bones” Hooks, an African American cowboy from the Texas Panhandle, replete with iconic imagery, also reveals Hooks conflicted about his identity and social status as a black man in rapidly changing, early twentieth century society. This paper enlists Walter Fisher's 1984 narrative paradigm, highlights the conflicting characterizations of Hooks and examines the underlying rhetorical themes shaping his story. Lacking the “logic of good reasons,” reality collides with myth dissuading the audience from the narrative's probability and fidelity.

Sweet air: modernism, regionalism, and American popular song

Sweet Air rewrites the history of early twentieth-century pop music in modernist terms. Tracking the evolution of popular regional genres such as blues, country, folk, and rockabilly in relation to the growth of industry and consumer culture, Edward P. Comentale shows how this music became a vital means of exploring the new and often overwhelming feelings brought on by modern life. Comentale examines these rural genres as they translated the traumas of local experience--the racial violence of the Delta, the mass exodus from the South, the Dust Bowl of the Texas panhandle--into sonic form. Considering the accessibility of these popular music forms, he asserts the value of music as a source of progressive cultural investment, linking poor, rural performers and audiences to an increasingly vast network of commerce, transportation, and technology.