The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, August 13, 1975, Image 4
Page 4 THE BATTALION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13, 1975 Scientists find new way to study aquatic plants A group of TAM U researchers is studying aquatic plants at Lake Livingston. Arthur R. Benton, Jr., a research coordinator at the TAMU Remote Sensing Center, is the head of two projects that are investigating new research techniques in aquatic plant detection. “Expanding populations, greater urbanization and heavier use of chemical fertilizers have brought about much higher pollution levels in lakes and streams in the U. S.,” Benton said. “One effect has been the rapid spread of aquatic plants in this nutrient-rich water,” he said. “To avoid more damage to the aquatic environment the federal and state governments are now financing programs aimed at controlling the more noxious plant species. “But effective control requires that one must be able to identify the species, determine their location, and see how effective the method of chemical, biological or mechanical control is turning out to be, ” Benton said. “Remote sensing from aircraft has the potential for doing this quickly, reliably and economically, even where the plants are wide spread and very hard to get to. “This research is based on the fact, demonstrated at the Remote Sensing Center and elsewhere, that different types of vegetation show up in a wide variety of colors on color infrared photography,” he Area police to train at TAMU academy Law-enforcement officers in the local seven-county area have their own training academy at TAMU. Like programs of major city academies, it provides a full range of courses to help the officer in his pro fession. The training is provided by the Police Training Division of the Texas Engineering Extension Ser vice. From basic certification of peace officers through courses in accident and homicide investigation, finger printing, crowd and mob control, probable cause and police photo graphy, the programs meet certifi cation requirements under state law. A basic certification course is to start Sept. 2. The 240-hour course continues through Oct. 10, accord ing to Chief Ira Z. Scott. The course covers all areas re quired for a full-time peace officer to meet minimum requirements for required training. Requirements are set by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Stan dards and Education. The course will be taught by Charles Kenner and Bill Cooksey of the police training staff . In the first segment, criminal jus tice and basic law will be covered. Instruction on laws of arrest, rules of evidence and search and seizure will be discussed. Police procedures will include general patrol practice, communi cations, disaster operations, liquor- law violations and civil disorder con trol. Traf fic-con trol, cri m inal- investigation and juvenile proce dures also will be covered. Profi ciency instruction will cover firearms training, defensive tactics, first aid, traffic direction, crime scene techniques, courtroom de meanor and testimony. Community relations, with discussion on officers and their roles in society, also will be discussed. Law-enforcement personnel wishing information should contact Chief Scott by writing the Police Training Division, Texas Engineer ing Extension Service, Texas A&M University, College Station, 77843. Sen. Moore to address PV graduates PRAIRIE VIEW — State Sen. Bill Moore will deliver the com mencement address Aug. 17 at PVAMU summer graduation exer cises. Moore will speak to 300 graduate students and 160 undergraduates expecting to receive degrees from PVAMU. The exercises will be held at 11 a.m. in the PVAMU Health & Phys ical Education Building. Moore, from the 5th Senatorial District, is a native of Brazos County and received a degree in economics from TAMU in 1940. He taught at TAMU for IV2 years before he entered the military’ His career in politics began as a member of the Texas House. In 1949 he became the youngest Texas state senator. Through his career, Moore has served with five lieuten ant governors. Presently, he is chairman of the Senate Committee on State Affairs, Legislative Budget Board and Committee on Economic De velopment. said. “Most vegetation appears in dull shades of green in normal color photography or to the naked eye,” Benton said, “but on color infrared film it ranges from pale pink to bright red to magenta and deep purple. This usually makes it possi ble to readily identify an aquatic plant by its color infrared image. “Since the image color also changes with the plants’ stage of growth, we document these changes by taking pictures through a full growing season, he said. “Our research program involves monthly aerial photography of Lake Livingston, a 90,000 acre lake whose increasing populations of water hyacinth, duckweed, coon- tail, pondweedand hydrilla covered about 2000 acres in 1974. ” The group is coordinating their work with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Trin ity River Authority. They are inves tigating the growth patterns of plants and the effects of using her bicides. One result of the program will be a season’s pictorial record of how the plants grow and react to chemical stress. Another result will be the development of an economical monitoring technique. The Remote Sensing Center team is also doing a feasibility study to find out if this method of aerial monitoring can be used with coastal marsh grasses. They hope to dis cover how changes in the quantity and quality of inflowing river water can alter the coastal environment. “The productivity of the coastal estuarine areas is vital to the ocean’s food chain,” Benton said. Airborne remote sensing can track the cover age and vigor of estuarine grasses and thus detect changes which arise from unusual environmental stress.” The feasibility study centers on San Antonio Bay and Lavaca Bay. Ever eat a pine tree? This Southern Pine Beetle, about the size of a grain of rice, is the single most destructive insect in the southern pine forest, which includes Texas. In 1973 alone, landowners suffered a timber loss of more than $103 million from this one insect. Enough trees were killed to have built 48,000 new homes. This electron microscope picture was taken at the TAMU Electron Microscopy Center by Dr. Tom Payne. THE GREATEST SANDWICH The greatest sandwiches in the Southwest are served from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. each day Monday through Friday on floor 11M, Conference Tower. The greatness of these sand wiches is no accident. There are several types of meats and you can select your choice and mix or match any three pieces for your sandwich on the bread of your choice. Two of the several types of bread are sour dough and baked fresh daily in our Duncan bakery. Further, these breads are prepared without shortening for the diet conscious guest. For the greatest taste tempting delight just make your sandwich exactly like you want it and pop it into one of the handy micro-wave ovens. This wonderful sandwich and a bowl of soup for only $1.50 plus tax will place you on cloud 11M. We agree this is a bit of a long story, but it is difficult to stop talking about our tasty sandwiches. ‘QUALITY FIRST”