13A.4
Development of an upper-level synoptic index for examination of the dispersion of White Pine Blister Rust (WPBR) in the western U. S.
Katrina L. Frank, University of Delaware, Newark, DE
White Pine Blister Rust (WPBR), Cronartium ribicola, is believed to have arrived in the Sacramento Mountains of south-central New Mexico around 1970. The New Mexico rust is genetically identical to that present in the southern Sierra Nevada. The goal of this project is to evaluate the possibility that WPBR was spread from the Sierra Nevada to south-central New Mexico by a discrete atmospheric transport event. An upper level synoptic index is developed to identify days with upper level flow patterns that were favorable for the transport of the rust spores from California to New Mexico. The results of this upper level investigation are then compared to a subjective surface evaluation of days favorable for transport. This comparison provides an indication of the viability of the use of the upper level index alone for the prediction of days when WPBR is likely to spread by long distance atmospheric transport. This information may then be chronicled to identify other areas that may frequently be subject to favorable conditions for long distance transport of WPBR.
Session 13A, Aerobiology: Spores
Thursday, 31 October 2002, 3:30 PM-4:30 PM
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