Congratulations to Suat Irmak and his Ph.D. student Meetpal S. Kukal, who will be receiving the ASABE Educational Aids Blue Ribbon Award for their refereed publication titled “Observed Space and Time Changes in Air Temperatures and Daily Temperature Range for The USA Great Plains Counties from 1968 to 2013 (http://extensionpublications.unl.edu/assets/pdf/ec3009.pdf).”
Their pioneering work presents scientific data, analyses, and interpretation using visual maps and discussion of: (i) geographic variability (trends) that exists in patterns of historical air temperatures (maximum, minimum, and average) and daily temperature range across the US Great Plains; (ii) the temporal (1968-2013) changes that have been observed in these variables; and (iii) potential consequences and significance of these changes in terms of agricultural production in the US Great Plains.
The study region comprises of 9 states and 834 counties extending from Texas to North Dakota and from Iowa to Colorado. The study area is about 30% of the surface area of the continental United States.
The award will be presented at the ASABE Annual International Conference on July 17, 2017 in Spokane, WA.