This past Wednesday we were out at Lubbock Lake Landmark observing and learning about the weather.
March 24, 2010
2:20-5:00
L^3
Notes about weather:
When a front is coming in, the winds blow from the Northern region
When a front is leaving, the winds blow from the Southern region
Before the front comes in, the barometric pressure increases, the temperature gets colder, the winds are light, and there are cumulus clouds
When the front the comes in, the barometric pressure fluctuates, the temperature gets steadily colder, the winds shift and come in gusts,there is rain, and cumulonimbus clouds
After the front has left, the barometric pressure steadily decreases, the temperature increases, there are light winds, and cirrus clouds
Some people will feel joint pain or sinus pressure the day before the weather changes because of the drop in barometric pressure
Wednesday: Cumulonimbus, cumulus, and cirrus clouds were all seen in different regions of the sky. It was sunny. The winds were in the low 20s but were so gusty that it felt as though they were constantly in the 30s. They were coming from the Northwest which to me meant that the front had already arrived and was on its way out. The clouds were moving quickly. The wind was shifting.
Thursday: My prediction was that it was going to be sunnier, warmer, with calmer winds and cumulus clouds.
Thursday: It was sunny with very light winds and no clouds in the sky. It was also quite nice out temperature wise and I was actually able to wear shorts.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
And so it begins...
It has been a while since I have ever posted on a blog and at the time, I did not know that Xanga was a blog site. So we shall see how this goes :)
March 10, 2010
2:20-5:00
Lubbock Lake Landmark
The weather was better than what it usually is when we go out to L^3, sunny...amazing in my book, but the wind was crazy and was so loud at some points that I couldn't even hear what Mr. Trevey was saying. When I could hear him though, it was really interesting. He talked about why L^3 was such a big deal and the history of it. To begin with, L^3 is in Yellowhouse Draw and back in the 1930s, had a lot of springs that fed into it but when irrigation became popular, so much water was taken from the springs that they began to dry up. Because of its water resources back in the day, evidence has been found that people from the last 5 periods over the course of the past 12,000 years existed in what is today known as L^3. That is amazing to me and yet at the same time makes perfect since, where else would you want to live on the grasslands than near water? In 1988 Texas Parks and Wildlife owned L^3 and its archaeological sites but in 2000, Texas Tech gained ownership.
L^3's mission is to make this land as it once used to be before white settlement without disturbing the archaeological sites (which means that they are not allowed to dig). They have been very creative and extremely efficient in designing ways to accommodate visitors such as walkways and platforms without effecting the ground soil. They were not allowed to disturb the soil which meant that when they built the boardwalk, they were not allowed to use machinery and therefore it was all done by hand. Kudos to Matt McEwen. As for some of the hard work that the staff at L^3 has put in to restoring the land as it should be: they have attempted to clear out numerous invasive and nonnative species including the Siberian Elm, the Kochia, and the Russian Thistle. The Salt Cedar is another invasive species that heavily impacted the prairie ecosystem. A study was done to measure the amount of water one 20 ft Salt Cedar consumed during the course of one day (95 degrees in July)...the answer, 200 gallons of water in a single day! That is ridiculous! That is truly an example of an invasive species because besides is purely being there, it is taking valuable water that could have otherwise been used to sustain the native grasses and animals accordingly.
Something that I found interesting when Mr. Trevey was discussing the water table in the aquifer was the the water level depends on the amount of irrigation done, not the amount of rainfall.
The prairie ecosystem is extremely delicate, it depends on fire, heat, cold, wind, and water to prosper and without even one of those factors, the ecosystem will suffer.
Evidence that the labor exerted by the staff at L^3 has not been for nothing is the Switchgrass that has started to come back and the Netleaf Hackberry that is coming up on its own now that they have cleared out some of the invasive species.
March 10, 2010
2:20-5:00
Lubbock Lake Landmark
The weather was better than what it usually is when we go out to L^3, sunny...amazing in my book, but the wind was crazy and was so loud at some points that I couldn't even hear what Mr. Trevey was saying. When I could hear him though, it was really interesting. He talked about why L^3 was such a big deal and the history of it. To begin with, L^3 is in Yellowhouse Draw and back in the 1930s, had a lot of springs that fed into it but when irrigation became popular, so much water was taken from the springs that they began to dry up. Because of its water resources back in the day, evidence has been found that people from the last 5 periods over the course of the past 12,000 years existed in what is today known as L^3. That is amazing to me and yet at the same time makes perfect since, where else would you want to live on the grasslands than near water? In 1988 Texas Parks and Wildlife owned L^3 and its archaeological sites but in 2000, Texas Tech gained ownership.
L^3's mission is to make this land as it once used to be before white settlement without disturbing the archaeological sites (which means that they are not allowed to dig). They have been very creative and extremely efficient in designing ways to accommodate visitors such as walkways and platforms without effecting the ground soil. They were not allowed to disturb the soil which meant that when they built the boardwalk, they were not allowed to use machinery and therefore it was all done by hand. Kudos to Matt McEwen. As for some of the hard work that the staff at L^3 has put in to restoring the land as it should be: they have attempted to clear out numerous invasive and nonnative species including the Siberian Elm, the Kochia, and the Russian Thistle. The Salt Cedar is another invasive species that heavily impacted the prairie ecosystem. A study was done to measure the amount of water one 20 ft Salt Cedar consumed during the course of one day (95 degrees in July)...the answer, 200 gallons of water in a single day! That is ridiculous! That is truly an example of an invasive species because besides is purely being there, it is taking valuable water that could have otherwise been used to sustain the native grasses and animals accordingly.
Something that I found interesting when Mr. Trevey was discussing the water table in the aquifer was the the water level depends on the amount of irrigation done, not the amount of rainfall.
The prairie ecosystem is extremely delicate, it depends on fire, heat, cold, wind, and water to prosper and without even one of those factors, the ecosystem will suffer.
Evidence that the labor exerted by the staff at L^3 has not been for nothing is the Switchgrass that has started to come back and the Netleaf Hackberry that is coming up on its own now that they have cleared out some of the invasive species.
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