J. Otis Laws

Bio: J. Otis Laws is an academic researcher from United States Department of Agriculture. The author has an hindex of 2, co-authored 2 publication(s) receiving 1227 citation(s).

The relation of raindrop-size to intensity

Abstract: Curiosity concerning the drop-size composition of natural rain has arisen from attempts to measure erodibility and infiltration-capacity by sprinkling small areas of land with artificial rain. The results have been found to be affected by the drop-size and velocity of the artificial rains applied, and the applicability of such results to conditions of natural rainfall has been thrown in doubt.

Measurements of the fall-velocity of water -drops and raindrops

Abstract: This paper presents measurements of the velocities of water-drops of sizes ranging from one to six mm in diameter, falling in still air from heights of 0.5 meter to 20 meters. A few measurements of raindrop velocities are also reported. The measurements were undertaken to assist in an understanding of the action of rain, both real and artificial, in eroding soil. The drop-sizes of rains have also been measured and will be reported separately. All of these studies were carried out at the Hydraulic Laboratory of the National Bureau of Standards as a part of the work of the Soil Conservation Service.

Physics of liquid jets

Abstract: Jets, ie collimated streams of matter, occur from the microscale up to the large-scale structure of the universe Our focus will be mostly on surface tension effects, which result from the cohesive properties of liquids Paradoxically, cohesive forces promote the breakup of jets, widely encountered in nature, technology and basic science, for example in nuclear fission, DNA sampling, medical diagnostics, sprays, agricultural irrigation and jet engine technology Liquid jets thus serve as a paradigm for free-surface motion, hydrodynamic instability and singularity formation leading to drop breakup In addition to their practical usefulness, jets are an ideal probe for liquid properties, such as surface tension, viscosity or non-Newtonian rheology They also arise from the last but one topology change of liquid masses bursting into sprays Jet dynamics are sensitive to the turbulent or thermal excitation of the fluid, as well as to the surrounding gas or fluid medium The aim of this review is to provide a unified description of the fundamental and the technological aspects of these subjects

Aggregate stability and assessment of soil crustability and erodibility: I. Theory and methodology

Abstract: Summary Crusting and erosion of cultivated soils result from aggregate breakdown and the detachment of soil fragments by rain, and the susceptibility of soil to these processes is often inferred from measurements of aggregate stability. Here, theories of aggregate breakdown are reviewed and four main mechanisms (i.e. slaking, breakdown by differential swelling, mechanical breakdown by raindrop impact and physico–chemical dispersion) are defined. Their relative importance depends on the nature of the rain, as well as on the soil's physical and chemical properties. The relations between aggregate breakdown, crusting and water erosion are analysed, and existing methods for the assessment of aggregate stability are reviewed. A unified framework for the measurement of aggregate stability is proposed to assess a soil's susceptibility to crusting and erosion. It combines three treatments having various wetting conditions and energies (fast wetting, slow wetting, and stirring after pre-wetting) and measures the resulting fragment size distribution after each treatment. It is designed to compare different soils, or different climatic conditions for a given soil, not to compare time-dependent changes in that soil.

Microwave Remote Sensing

Abstract: The sections in this article are 1 Radiometers 2 Radar Scattering 3 Radar Scatterometers 4 Radar Altimeters 5 Ground-Penetrating Radars 6 Imaging Radars 7 Real-Aperture Radars 8 Synthetic-Aperture Radars

The European Soil Erosion Model (EUROSEM): A dynamic approach for predicting sediment transport from fields and small catchments.

Abstract: The European Soil Erosion Model (EUROSEM) is a dynamic distributed model, able to simulate sediment transport, erosion and deposition over the land surface by rill and interill processes in single storms for both individual fields and small catchments. Model output includes total runoff, total soil loss, the storm hydrograph and storm sediment graph. Compared with other erosion models, EUROSEM has explicit simulation of interill and rill flow; plant cover effects on interception and rainfall energy; rock fragment (stoniness) effects on infiltration, flow velocity and splash erosion; and changes in the shape and size of rill channels as a result of erosion and deposition. The transport capacity of runoff is modelled using relationships based on over 500 experimental observations of shallow surface flows. EUROSEM can be applied to smooth slope planes without rills, rilled surfaces and surfaces with furrows. Examples are given of model output and of the unique capabilities of dynamic erosion modelling in general. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Rainfall energy and its relationship to soil loss

Abstract: A relatively simple procedure is presented for computation of kinetic energy of a rainstorm from information on a recording-raingage chart. An equation is developed describing rainfall energy as a function of rainfall intensity. The effects of rainfall energy and its interaction with other variables are evaluated in multiple regression analyses based on data representing four soil types. Application of this information to separate the effects of rainfall from those of physical and management characteristics in plot data is discussed briefly.