Trajectories of the mount st. Helens eruption plume

The plume of the major eruption of Mount St. Helens on 18 May 1980 penetrated 10 to 11 kilometers into the stratosphere, attaining heights of 22 to 23 kilometers. Wind shears rapidly converted the plume from an expanding vertical cone to a thin, slightly inclined lamina. The lamina was extruded zonally in the stratosphere as the lower part moved eastward at jet stream velocities, while the upper part slowly moved westward in the region of nonsteady transition from the westerlies to the summer stratospheric easterlies. Trajectories computed to position the NASA U-2 aircraft for sampling in the plume are described. Plume volume after 8 hours of strong volcanic emission is estimated at 2 x 10(6) cubic kilometers. Only about 1 percent of this volume is attributed to the volcano; the rest was entrained from the environment.     

The effects of restricted feeding on adrenal cortical activity in the immature domestic fowl

1. The effect of reducing food intake to 75% of the ad libitum intake was determined from hatching to 8 weeks in young Light Sussex chickens.

2. Restricted birds were lighter throughout the experiment.

3. Relative adrenal weight tended to be greater in restricted birds but the difference decreased with time.

4. There was no depletion of adrenal cholesterol: from week 5 there was a significantly greater amount in the adrenals of restricted birds.

5. After 1 week of restriction plasma corticosterone concentration was 73% greater than in controls. It decreased progressively, falling within the normal range at 5 weeks.

6. Restricted birds were hypoglycaemic from weeks 2 to 7 and hyper‐lipacidaemic throughout. A negative correlation between plasma glucose and free fatty acids was found.     

Concentrations of plasma luteinising hormone,prolactin, progesterone and androgens during the ovulatory cycle of the Turkey

1. Changes in the concentrations of plasma luteinising hormone (LH), prolactin, androgen and progesterone were measured during the ovulatory cycle of the turkey.

2. Single pre‐ovulatory peaks of plasma LH, androgen and progesterone were observed which took 8, 8 and 12 h respectively, to increase and return to base‐line values. The concentration of plasma prolactin tended to be elevated between 6 h before and 6 h after the LH peak with the maximum values occurring after the peak.

3. The changes in the concentrations of plasma LH and progesterone were 3‐ and 7‐fold respectively while 2‐fold changes were observed in the concentrations of plasma androgen and prolactin.

4. The pre‐ovulatory concentration of plasma progesterone and prolactin began to decrease 4 and 6 h respectively, after the pre‐ovulatory peak of LH.

5. Ovulation and oviposition occurred 6 to 8 h and 36.10+ 0.57 h (SEM) ( n= 11) respectively after the pre‐ovulatory peak of LH.

6. In birds kept on 14 h light/d, pre‐ovulatory peaks of LH were initiated only during a 10 to 11‐h period starting within 2 h after the onset of darkness.

7. A comparison between these data and those from the fowl suggest that the egg is retained in the turkey's oviduct for about 3 to 4 h longer than in the fowl.     

Preservation of fowl semen in liquid nitrogen: Application to breeding programmes

1. A method of freezing semen of individual males was adapted for use under farm conditions using an automated freezing apparatus.

2. An insemination programme to produce high fertility and hatchability with semen which had been deep frozen for 2 months was devised.

3. Over 90% fertile eggs with a 90% hatch of all eggs set was obtained with frozen and thawed semen over a period from the 2nd to the 12th day after the first of four inseminations. The persistency of fertility was also tested and 93, 86.6 and 30.7% of the eggs were fertile during days 2 to 6, 2 to 8 and 9 to 15 after the last insemination.

4. Corresponding with the high fertility rate, chicks were produced by every hen that was inseminated and from every male whose semen was frozen and stored. The implications for future breeding practices of this successful result are discussed.