CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (3:33). Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, images, and additional information follow below. All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 9-1-17. TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of September 4, 2017. SOUND – ~ 5 sec This week, that sound of construction of a tall, netted facility on the Virginia Tech campus sets the stage for a flying mystery sound.  Have a listen for about 15 seconds, and see if you know the commonly used term for aerial devices poineered by the military but which now have rapidly expanding civilian uses, including many uses related to water. SOUND - ~16 sec If you guessed drones, you’re right! You heard sounds of a drone, or unmanned aerial vehicle, flying and recording video over the Clinch River in Kyles Ford, Tennessee, on August 29, 2017.  The Virginia Tech Conservation Management Institute conducted the flight to help determine the effectiveness of such vehicles for mapping and monitoring shallow-water habitats.  That’s just one of many drone applications being investigated at Virginia Tech, where a new 80-foot tall, netted, enclosed area will allow experimental drone flights but avoid the permitting and safety issues of open-air flights. Well-known for military uses and more recently for their potential commercial uses, drones that are equipped for high-resolution imaging and environmental monitoring are being investigated and used around the world for a variety of applications to water and other natural resources.   Here are six examples: assessing flood conditions and impacts, as done in Houston recently during Hurricane Harvey; mapping coastal erosion; identifying oil and gas pipeline leaks; monitoring sea mammal populations; detecting changes to coral reefs; and monitoring atmospheric conditions in oceans from the tropics to the Arctic. Subject to FAA [Federal Aviation Administration] restrictions on heights and flight areas, drones are likely to play an increasing role in mapping, monitoring, and experimentation in the air spaces above water. Thanks to the Virginia Tech Conservation Management Institute for providing sounds from the Clinch River drone flight. SOUND - ~7 sec SHIP’S BELL For more Virginia water sounds, music, and information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463.  Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  Thanks to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of Cripple Creek to open and close the show.   In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water. AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (1 min./11 sec.) of the “Cripple Creek” arrangement/performance by Stewart Scales that opens and closes this episode.  More information about Mr. Scales and the group New Standard, with which Mr. Scales plays, is available online at http://newstandardbluegrass.com. IMAGES Site of construction of drone research facility on the Virginia Tech Campus in Blacksburg, August 30, 2017.  The sound heard in the audio of this episode was drilling holes for placing poles like those shown in this photo. Clinch River at Kyles Ford, Tenn., as photographed on August 29, 2017, during an unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) flight conducted by the Conservation Management Institute in Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment. Photo courtesy of Daniel Cross, used with permission. Photos and descriptions of the two types of unmanned aerial systems (drones) currently used by the Conservation Management Institute in Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment (CNRE).  Image from “CNRE Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Capabilities—Summer 2017,” courtesy of Scott Klopfer, used with p

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (3:56). Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, images, and additional information follow below. All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 8-25-17. Listeners: Please note that the musical excerpt in this episode has somewhat suggestive lyrics, so adults should preview it to determine whether they consider it appropriate for their children or students. TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of August 28, 2017, updating an episode from August 2014. MUSIC – ~9 sec This week, we feature a southwestern Virginia band with a song about a riverside rogue whose confession of bad behavior is our cue to look at some good behaviors from the river’s point of view.  Have a listen for about 20 seconds. MUSIC - ~21 sec You’ve been listening to part of “River Song,” by The Floorboards, in a live performance in Richmond in December 2013.  When the song’s mischievous narrator says he’s “doin’ things I should never do,” he’s talking about his riverside affairs of the romantic kind.  But if you’re talking about water resources affairs, what should one do, and NOT do, down by or on the river?  Here are four big things. First - [SOUND - ~ 2 sec - bottles] - Help keep trash and pollutants out of waterways and drainage ditches; and, if you want to go further, participate in one of the waterways clean-ups coordinated by Clean Virginia Waterways each September and October. Second - [SOUND - ~ 4 sec – boat motor] - If you’re a boater, be a safe, responsible one, including taking Virginia’s required boater-education course, and never boating under the influence of alcohol. Third - [SOUND - ~ 3 sec – fishing line reeling] - Recycle used fishing line, so that birds and other wildlife don’t gather used line and ultimately get ensnared; recycling receptacles are available at many fishing piers and boat-launch sites. And fourth - [SOUND - ~ 4 sec – spraying hose] - Help stop the spread of harmful, invasive aquatic plants and animals by cleaning boats and water gear after use, and by NOT putting unused baitfish or other non-native species into waterways. Thanks to The Floorboards for permission to use this week’s music.  As we close with a few more seconds of “River Song,” here’s hoping you get lots of chances to one thing that’s always OK on Virginia’s rivers—enjoy ‘em! MUSIC - ~16 sec SHIP’S BELL For more Virginia water sounds, music, and information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463.  Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  Thanks to Ben Cosgrove for his version of “Shenandoah” to open and close the show.   In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water. AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This episode is a revised repeat of Episode 228 (8-25-14), which has been archived. The excerpts of “River Songs” were taken from a live performance by The Floorboards at the Cary Street Cafe in Richmond, Va., on December 13, 2013; used with permission.  The recording was accessed from The Floorboards’ page on Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/TheFloorboards.  More information about The Floorboards is available online at http://thefloorboards.net/. Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (2 min./22 sec.) of the “Shenandoah” arrangement/performance by Ben Cosgrove that opens and closes this episode.  More information about Mr. Cosgrove is available online at http://www.bencosgrove.com.   IMAGES Trash beside Passage Creek in Shenandoah County, Va., August 22, 2016. Life jacket promotional poster made available for free from the National Safe Boating Council, accessed online at http://www.safeboatingcouncil.org/non-members#!/Wear-It-Poster/p/62419081/category=18136007. Fishin

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (3:54). Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, images, and additional information follow below. All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 8-18-17. TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of August 21, 2017. MUSIC – ~ 7 sec This week, that excerpt of “Turn Out the Lights,” from the album “See Further in the Darkness,” by Bob Gramann of Fredericksburg, sets the stage for a nighttime mystery sound.  Have a listen for about 20 seconds, and see if you can guess who’s making these nocturnal hoots.  And here’s a hint: not seeing this creature doesn’t BAR you from identifying it. SOUNDS - ~19 sec If you guessed a Barred Owl, you’re right!  You heard Barred Owls—along with crows—calling at Mountain Lake, Virginia, under a bright moon near midnight on August 5, 2017.  Named for brown horizontal and vertical feather bars, the Barred Owl is one of 19 owl species in North America, seven of which are found regularly in Virginia.  The Barred Owl is found year-round in the Commonwealth’s wooded habitats, both in uplands and lowlands, and frequently around water.  According to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, it “prefers low, wet, deep woods [and] heavily wooded swamps, often near open country where it [hunts] for food.” That food is mainly rodents, but also includes other small mammals, insects, crayfish, amphibians, birds, reptiles, and fish. Like owls generally, the Barred Owl has exceptional hearing and night vision for finding prey, a strong beak and talons for seizing prey, and feathers adpated for silent flight to avoid alerting prey.  In the early 1800s, John James Audubon described a Barred Owl’s silent flight this way: “So very lightly do they fly, that I have frequently discovered one passing over me, and only a few yards distant, by first seeing its shadow on the ground, during clear moon-light nights, when not the faintest rustling of its wings could be heard.” Thanks to Bob Gramann for this week’s music, and we close with about 25 more seconds of what could be an owl’s theme song: “Turn Out the Lights.” MUSIC – ~25 sec SHIP’S BELL For more Virginia water sounds, music, and information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463.  Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  Thanks to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of Cripple Creek to open and close the show.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water. AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS “Turn Out the Lights,” from the 2001 album “See Further in the Darkness,” is copyright by Bob Gramann, used with permission.  More information about Bob Gramann is available online at http://www.bobgramann.com/. Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (1 min./11 sec.) of the “Cripple Creek” arrangement/performance by Stewart Scales that opens and closes this episode.   More information about Mr. Scales and the group New Standard, with which Mr. Scales plays, is available online at http://newstandardbluegrass.com. Thanks to Carola Haas and Peter Lazar for their help with this episode. IMAGES Barred Owl painting originally published between 1827 and 1838 by John James Audubon in Birds of America (plate LXVI [46]), as reprinted in 1985 by Abbeville Press, New York.  Photo taken August 18, 2017, from the reprint copy (no. 6 of 350 copies printed in 1985) owned by Special Collections of Virginia Tech Libraries.  Virginia Water Radio thanks Special Collections for permission to photograph their copy and for their assistance. Information about Birds of America is available from the National Audubon Society, online at http://www.audubon.org/birds-of-america. Barred Owl in South Carolina, da

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (4:29). Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, photos, and additional information follow below. All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 8-11-17. TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of August 14, 2017. MUSIC – ~6 sec. This week, “Midnight on the Water,” a tune attributed to Texan Luke Thomasson and performed here by Timothy Seaman of Williamsburg, introduces an exploration of midnight sounds at waters in Virginia.  Have a listen while I play six short recordings, one at a time, from water locations visited near midnight over several nights last week. We start at Mountain Lake in Giles County, where right at midnight, owls, crows, and a songbird piped up. SOUNDS - ~16 sec. Next, at a public boat launch on the New River in Montgomery County, midnight wasn’t too late for some boaters or for a Great Blue Heron. SOUNDS - ~15 sec. On to Pandapas Pond, in the Jefferson National Forest in Montgomery County, where rain was accompanied by Green Frogs and mosquitoes. SOUNDS - ~16 sec. Next, at the Virginia Tech Duck Pond in Blacksburg, about 100 ducks and geese were congregated and calling. SOUNDS - ~16 sec. Finally, to two spots on Claytor Lake in Pulaski County.  First, near a private dock, a Bullfrog’s call sounded faintly underneath insects chirping. SOUNDS - ~12 sec. And last, at Claytor Lake State Park, the sounds of banging boat gear, katydids, and a nearly silent beach ended this series of midnight adventures. SOUNDS - ~22 sec. Thanks to several people who helped make these recordings possible.   Thanks also to Timothy Seaman for this week’s music, and we close with a few more seconds of “Midnight on the Water.” MUSIC - ~16 sec SHIP’S BELL For more Virginia water sounds, music, and information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463.  Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  Thanks to Ben Cosgrove for his version of “Shenandoah” to open and close the show.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water. AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks to the following people for their help with this episode: Rhonda Bollinger, Mike Dunn, Tara Fowlkes, Nancy Mignone, and Stephen Schoenholtz. Thanks to the staff at Mountain Lake Hotel, and to Claytor Lake State Park Manager Chris Doss and his staff, for their hospitality. The dates and locations of the recordings in this episode are as follows (all dates in 2017; all locations in Virginia): Late August 5 to early August 6 - Mountain Lake in Giles County; Late August 6 to early August 7 - Whitethorn public boat launch on the New River in Montgomery County; Late August 7 to early August 8 - Pandapas Pond in the Jefferson National Forest in Montgomery County; Late August 8 to early August 9 - Virginia Tech Duck Pond in Blacksburg (Montgomery County); Late August 9 - private boat dock beside the confluence of Sloan Branch with Claytor Lake in Pulaski County; Late August 9 to early August 10 - Claytor Lake State Park in Pulaski County. “Midnight on the Water,” a fiddle tune attributed to Texan Luke Thomasson, was recorded for this episode by Timothy Seaman of Williamsburg, Va., in his studio August 9, 2017.  For more information on the tune, please see Andrew Kuntz, “The Fiddler’s Companion,” online at http://www.ceolas.org/cgi-bin/ht2/ht2-fc2/file=/tunes/fc2/fc.html&style=&refer=&abstract=&ftpstyle=&grab=&linemode=&max=250?Midnight. More information on Timothy Seaman is available online at http://timothyseaman.com/en/. The title of this episode was inspired by “Midnight at the Oasis,” written by David Nichtern and recorded by Maria Muldaur on her 1974 self-titled album.  For more information about that song

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (5:10). Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, and additional information follow below. All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 8-4-17. TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of August 7, 2017. This week, we feature a series of water and energy mystery sounds.   Have a listen for about 20 seconds, and see if you can guess what kind of pipeline-transported fuel is the subject of Clean Water Act-related public hearings in Virginia this week.  And here’s a hint: you can’t see this fuel naturally, but you can see it in the news. SOUNDS - ~22 sec If you guessed natural gas, you’re right!  A gas furnace, a gas meter at an industrial building, and the buzz of a power line all represent uses of natural gas.  The flowing water sound is from Sinking Creek in Giles County, Va., a water body potentially affected by one of two currently proposed natural gas pipelines in Virginia.  The Atlantic Coast Pipeline would run from West Virginia to North Carolina, crossing approximately 307 miles in Virginia from Highland County to the City of Chesapeake.  The Mountain Valley Pipeline would also begin in West Virginia but end in Virginia, crossing approximately 106 miles in Virginia from Craig County to Pittsylvania County. In summer 2017, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, issued a final Environmental Impact Statement for each proposal.   According to those documents, the two pipelines collectively and in all states would involve over 2700 waterbody crossings; hundreds of wetland acres; dozens of miles of karst terrain featuring sinkholes, caves, and wells; and dozens of miles of areas with steep slopes.  Both documents assert that most impacts on these and other natural resources would be, quote, “less than significant,” but those assertions have been challenged by opponents of the projects.  The projects now await a decision by FERC commissioners. If approved by them, the projects would then move to other permitting processes, including those under the federal Clean Water Act. Under that law, any activity that may discharge pollutants, including dredged-and-fill material, into the waters of the United States requires certain permits.   For the pipeline projects, stream and wetland crossings would be subject to the Army Corps of Engineers Nationwide Permit #12 for utility line activities.  The Clean Water Act also requires states to certify whether projects granted licenses by federal agencies, like FERC, meet federal and state water-quality laws and regulations; this is known as Section 401 Water Quality Certification.  For the two pipeline projects, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, or DEQ, has proposed to grant 401 certification for the stream and wetland crossings if the Corps issues the nationwide permit, but with additional conditions for upland activities that may affect water resources.  The proposed additional conditions concern steep slopes, karst terrain, spills, riparian areas, acid-forming materials, public water supplies, horizontal drilling, hydrostatic pressure testing, and dust control. The proposed conditions are the subject of a public comment period ending August 22, and a series of public hearings—for the Mountain Valley project in Radford August 8 and Chatham August 9; and for the Atlantic Coast project in Harrisonburg August 7, Farmville August 10, and Alberta August 14. Clean Water Act procedures, and indeed water resources altogether, are only part of complicated and controversial gas pipeline proposals.  But pipelines and water are clearly the focus in Virginia during this month of August 2017. [Additional note, not in the audio: Two more information hearings on the DEQ’s proposed additional conditions for 401 certification will take place on August 10, 2017, at 1 p.m. at the Newport Community Center,

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (3:57). Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, images, and additional information follow below. All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 7-28-17. TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of July 31, 2017. SOUND - ~5 sec This week, the sound of the James River at Richmond sets the stage for a headwaters mystery sound.  Have a listen for about 10 seconds, and see if you can guess what groundwater-based resource in the region where the James begins has been a settlement and tourist attraction for centuries. SOUND - ~12 sec If you guessed springs, you’re right!  You heard sounds from Magnesia Spring and Boiler Spring at the historic Homestead Resort in the Bath County town of Hot Springs.  As the names Hot Springs and Boiler Spring indicate, the area is particularly known for thermal springs, where groundwater emerges on the land surface at warm or hot temperatures.  Springs—both thermal ones and cool-water ones—are a focal point of the past and present of Virginia’s western highlands or Alleghany Highlands, names used for all or parts of the four county area of Alleghany, Bath, Craig, and Highland counties.  The Homestead, for example, began in 1766 around thermal springs that attracted visitors seeking to bathe in warm, mineral-rich water for its perceived healing effects. Bath County seat Warm Springs and other communities similarly developed around this groundwater-generated resource. On the land’s surface, spring outfalls and streams in the four counties give rise to the Cowpasture River in Bath County and the Jackson River in Alleghany County.  Those two rivers meet to form the James in Botetourt County, just across Alleghany’s southern border. Virginia has other highlands, other areas of springs, and of course other river headwaters areas, but none exceed the highlands of the James River headwaters area—from Natural Well in the south to Hot Springs in the middle to the community of Headwaters in the north—for being influenced and identified by their water, above and below the surface. We close with some music by a Blacksburg-based group with a western highlands water name: Sweet Chalybeate, named for an Alleghany County town and the word for iron-enriched spring water. MUSIC - ~ 27 sec - instrumental from “See What I Have Done” by Sweet Chalybeate SHIP’S BELL For more Virginia water sounds, music, and information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463.  Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  Thanks to Ben Cosgrove for his version of “Shenandoah” to open and close the show.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water. AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Sounds from Magnesia Spring and Boiling Spring at the Homestead Hotel and Resort in Hot Springs were recorded by Virginia Water Radio on July 22, 2017. “See What I Have Done” is copyright by Sweet Chalybeate, used with permission.  More information on Sweet Chalybeate is available online at http://www.sweetchalybeate.com/. Thanks to Michael Martz for the James River recording, made in Richmond on February 17, 2014. Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (2 min./22 sec.) of the “Shenandoah” arrangement/performance by Ben Cosgrove that opens and closes this episode.  More information about Mr. Cosgrove is available online at http://www.bencosgrove.com. PHOTOS The Homestead Hotel in Hot Springs, Virginia, July 22, 2017. Magnesia Spring information marker at the Homestead in Hot Springs, Va., July 22, 2017. Boiler Spring information marker at the Homestead in Hot Springs, Va., July 22, 2017. Sign at the Jefferson Pools in Warm Springs, Va., July 22, 2017.View to the east from Warm Springs Mounta

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (4:33). Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, images, and additional information follow below. All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 7-21-17. TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of July 24, 2017. This week, we feature a series of clean-water-related mystery sounds.  Have a listen for about 35 seconds, and see if you can guess where theses sounds were recorded.  And here’s a hint: It’s certainly no waste of time to learn about where water gets cleaned. SOUNDS AND VOICE - ~35 sec If you guessed a wastewater-treatment plant, you’re right! Y ou heard sounds from the Blacksburg-VPI Sanitation Authority plant in July 2011.  Conventional wastewater treatment removes solid materials, disinfects water, and removes organic matter whose decomposition can reduce oxygen in streams receiving a plant’s discharge.  As you heard, plants can also take extra steps to reduce levels of nitrogen and phosphorus in order to help prevent an excess of those algae-stimulating nutrients in aquatic systems. Wastewater treatment is just one part of the challenge of maintaining and improving water quality, that is, water’s chemical, physical, and biological conditions.  The job is large, complicated, and expensive.   Improving water quality involves regulation of point sources, like wastewater plants and industries, which have a specific input to water bodies.  It also involves land use practices to reduce non-point source pollution, which enters waterways in many places, not at one specific point. And inputs to water from air pollutants are part of the challenge, too.  Under the federal Clean Water Act and state laws, Virginia regulates point source pollution through permitting and monitoring programs within the Department of Environmental Quality, or DEQ; the Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy; and the Marine Resources Commission, which regulates state-owned submerged lands.  DEQ is also the lead Virginia agency for managing non-point source pollution, with the Department of Conservation and Recreation also playing a role.  Those agencies administer a variety of water-quality financing programs, such as the Water Quality Improvement Fund, the Stormwater Local Assistance Fund, and agricultural Best Management Practices cost-share and tax credit programs. With many players and challenges, water-quality programs all aim toward the goal of having water clean enough to support aquatic life and several designated human uses, including fishing, swimming, and public water supply.  We close with a water-use sound medley, reminding us of what we’re paying for with the common wealth we devote to water quality. SOUNDS - ~26 sec – Little Stony Creek in Giles County, Va.; fishing line; a New River swimmer on January 1; water faucet; ducks; and frogs. SHIP’S BELL For more Virginia water sounds, music, and information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463.  Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  Thanks to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of Cripple Creek to open and close the show.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water. AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This episode is a revision and expansion of Episode 72, 7-25-11, “Wastewater Treatment Plants, Nutrient Removal, and the Virginia Water Quality Improvement Fund,” which has been archived. Quinn Hull recorded this week’s sounds during a July 2011 tour of the Blacksburg-VPI Sanitation Authority wastewater treatment plant.   Plant staff member Bobby Epperly gave the plant tour and is heard in the audio.  The sounds in this recording were of the plant’s incinerator room, chlorination chamber, pump r

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (3:56). Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, images, and additional information follow below. All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 7-14-17. TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of July 17, 2017. This week, we drop in on a group of people using the ancient Latin language to describe visible water hundreds or thousands of feet high. Sound highly suspect? Well, just have a listen for about 25 seconds. GUEST VOICES - ~22 sec - “Cumulus. Stratocumulus. Altocumulus. Cirrocumulus. Status. Altostratus. Cirrostratus. Cirrus. Nimbostratus. Cumulonimbus.” You’ve been listening to the 10 basic cloud types, according to the National Weather Service. Since 1802, cloud types have had names from five Latin language roots describing clouds’ appearance, location, or rain potential: cumulus, meaning heap; stratus, meaning strewn or layered; cirrus, meaning curl; altus, meaning high; and nimbus, meaning cloud in Latin but rain in English usage. Meteorologists classify the 10 basic cloud types you heard further into about 100 species or varieties, based on shape, appearance, and internal structure. Clouds form when water vapor molecules in the atmosphere condense into liquid droplets around particles of soil, salt, or other materials, called condensation nuclei. Condensation occurs simultaneouly with evaporation—the process that turns liquid water back into water vapor—so clouds form when, and where, temperatures are low enough that condensation exceeds evaporation. Cloud formation and type also depend on the amount of water in the air, air pressure, winds, and landscape features. The possibilities range in altitude from low, fair-weahter cumulus or rainy nimbostratus; to mid-level altocumulus or altostratus; to high, icy cirrus, or the tops of towering cumulonimbus thunderheads rising above 30,000 feet. At any height, clouds tell us about the atmosphere, using signals much older than Latin or any human language. SOUND - ~2 sec Thanks to several Blacksburg friends for lending their voices to this episode. We close with some music suitable for a clouds conversation: “Storm,” by Torrin Hallett, a student at Oberlin College and Conservatory in Ohio. MUSIC - ~14 sec SHIP’S BELL For more Virginia water sounds, music, and information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463. Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment. Thanks to Ben Cosgrove for his version of “Shenandoah” to open and close the show. In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water. AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The cloud types call-out was recorded July 11, 2017, in Blacksburg, Va. Thanks to several Blacksburg friends for participating in this recording. The thunder sound was recorded in Blacksburg on April 20, 2015. “Storm,” a movement within “Au Naturale,” is copyright 2017 by Torrin Hallett, used with permission. Part of this piece was also used in Episode 362, 4-3-17, on hail. In 2017, Torrin is majoring in music composition, horn performance, and mathematics in the dual degree program at Oberlin College and Conservatory in Oberlin, Ohio. More information about Torrin is available at his Web site, http://www.torrinjhallett.com/. Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (2 min./22 sec.) of the “Shenandoah” arrangement/performance by Ben Cosgrove that opens and closes this episode. More information about Mr. Cosgrove is available online at http://www.bencosgrove.com. IMAGES Cloud chart from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)/National Weather Service (NWS) and the National Aeronautic and Space Agency (NASA), online at http://www.srh.weather.gov/srh/jetstream/clouds/cloudchart.html#myModall5. A Clouds Photo Sampler from Blacksburg,

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (5:40). Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, photos, and additional information follow below. All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 7-7-17. TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of July 10, 2017. This week, we explore of a group of tree species that have a long list of uses and values, but which are experiencing widespread loss in Virginia and many other states.  Have a listen for about 20 seconds to three audio hints and see if you can guess this group of trees. SOUNDS - 21 sec – baseball bat, paddle, railroad If you guessed ash trees, you’re right!  Ash wood is used in baseball bats, boat paddles, railroad ties, and other products, while the living trees provide many benefits to landscapes, wildlife, and water.  North America is home to 16 native ash species; six of those occur naturally in Virginia, with White Ash and Green Ash the two most common.  White Ash tends toward upland habitats, while Green Ash is often found in moist areas, such as along streams and in river bottomlands, where they can be a signficant portion of the vegetation and help create habitats, improve water quality, and stabilize flows. Both species provide food for a variety of animals.   Ashes also have been widely planted in cities and towns, where they join with other trees in providing scenic value, shade, stormwater reduction, and air-quality benefits. But since the early 2000s, ash trees have been put at serious risk by the spread of the Emerald Ash Borer, a beetle native to Asia.  As of June 2017, the insect had been found in 30 states and over 50 Virginia counties.   Once an area’s invaded, ash trees are unlikely to survive for more than a few years without expensive chemical treatment. As a potential alternative, scientists are researching the use of ash borers’ natural enemies to reduce the pest’s impact.  Have a listen for about 65 seconds to a description of one such research effort at Virginia Tech.  The speaker is Max Ragozzino, a Ph.D. student in entomology, on March 2, 2017. VOICE - ~ 66 sec Emerald Ash Borers are only one of many non-native pest species threatening different native trees in Virginia and elsewhere.  Some other serious tree pests currently are the Gypsy Moth, Hemlock Wooly Adelgid, and Asian Longhorned Beetle.  But because of ash trees’ familiarity and many uses—from baseball to riverside to curbside—the dramatic loss of ashes is hitting particularly hard and close to home. Thanks to Freesound.org for the baseball bat sound, and to Max Ragozzino for the audio from his talk.  We close with a few seconds of music that reminds us of one way that people can and do respond to watershed and landscape challenges resulting from tree loss: “Grandad Planted Trees,” by Bob Gramann of Fredericksburg. MUSIC - ~19 sec SHIP’S BELL For more Virginia water sounds, music, and information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463.  Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  Thanks to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of Cripple Creek to open and close the show.   In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water. AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The baseball bat/cheering sound was recorded by user AmishRob (dated January 21, 2014), and made available for public use by Freesound.org, at online at https://freesound.org/people/AmishRob/sounds/214989/, under the Creative Commons Attribution License.   For more information on Creative Commons licenses, please see http://creativecommons.org/; information on the Attribution License specifically is online at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/. The paddling sound was recorded by Virginia Wat

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (3:47). Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, photos, and additional information follow below. All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 6-30-17. TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of July 3, 2017. This week we feature a Fourth of July mystery sound.   Have a listen for about 20 seconds, and see if you can guess what’s making the chirping, squawking, and wailing sounds.  And here’s a hint: If Benjamin Franklin had gotten his way, U.S. money might contain a picture of a Wild Turkey instead of a likeness of this creature. SOUND - ~19 sec If you guessed a Bald Eagle, you’re right!  Despite disapproval by Ben Franklin—who wrote that Bald Eagles’ habit of stealing food from other birds set a bad example of dishonesty—the Bald Eagle became the national emblem in 1782 when its image was included in the Great Seal of the United States.  Real Bald Eagles do, in fact, get food by taking fish that other birds have captured, along with scavenging and some hunting for a variety of animals.  Bald Eagles have recovered dramatically from endangered species status in the United States, and they’re found in every state except Hawaii, typically along large water bodies with long shorelines, such as the Chesapeake Bay and Virginia’s major rivers.  In these areas the birds nest in tall trees, using interwoven sticks, grass, and other materials to build large structures that may be re-used for many years.  The eggs incubated in those nests result after courtship flights described as spectacular and acrobatic, and it’s believed that most eagle pairs mate for life. Inspiring appearance; aerial skill; durable constructions and bonds; resilience—apparently the good Dr. Franklin missed these national-emblem-worthy characteristics of Bald Eagles. Thanks to Lang Elliott for permission to use this week’s sounds, from the Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs.  And we close with a few seconds of music for our national bird, “Bald Eagle of Virginia,” by Timothy Seaman of Williamsburg.  Happy July 4th! MUSIC - ~24 sec SHIP’S BELL For more Virginia water sounds, music, and information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463.  Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.   Thanks to Ben Cosgrove for his version of “Shenandoah” to open and close the show.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water. AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The sounds of the Bald Eagle were taken from the Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs-Eastern Region CD set, by Lang Elliott with Donald and Lillian Stokes (Time Warner Audio Books, copyright 1997), used with permission of Lang Elliott, whose work is available online at the “Music of Nature” Web site, http://www.musicofnature.org/. “Bald Eagle of Virginia,” a brand new work composed on June 29, 2017, is copyright by Timothy Seaman and Pine Wind Music; used with permission.  More information about Timothy Seaman is available online at http://timothyseaman.com/.  Click here to hear the full version of the composition (1 min./52 sec.). Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (2 min./22 sec.) of the “Shenandoah” arrangement/performance by Ben Cosgrove that opens and closes this episode.  More information about Mr. Cosgrove is available online at http://www.bencosgrove.com. This episode updates and replaces two previous episodes featuring the Bald Eagle, Episode 57 (3-14-11) and Episode 117 (7-2-12).  Bald Eagle sounds are also included in Episode 294 (12-14-15), on the annual Christmas Bird Count organized by the National Audubon Society. IMAGES White-headed Eagle (a formerly used name for Bald Eagle) painting originally published between