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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Hurricane Disturbance And Recovery Of Energy Balance, Co2 Fluxes And Canopy Structure In A Mangrove Forest Of The Florida Everglades, Jordan G. Barr, Vic Engel, Thomas J. Smith, José D. Fuentes Jan 2012

Hurricane Disturbance And Recovery Of Energy Balance, Co2 Fluxes And Canopy Structure In A Mangrove Forest Of The Florida Everglades, Jordan G. Barr, Vic Engel, Thomas J. Smith, José D. Fuentes

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Eddy covariance (EC) estimates of carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes and energy balance are examined to investigate the functional responses of a mature mangrove forest to a disturbance generated by Hurricane Wilma on October 24, 2005 in the Florida Everglades. At the EC site, high winds from the hurricane caused nearly 100% defoliation in the upper canopy and widespread tree mortality. Soil temperatures down to −50 cm increased, and air temperature lapse rates within the forest canopy switched from statically stable to statically unstable conditions following the disturbance. Unstable conditions allowed more efficient transport of water vapor and CO2 from …


The Reduction Of Storm Surge By Vegetation Canopies: Three-Dimensional Simulations, Y. Peter Sheng, Andrew Lapetina, Gangfeng Ma Jan 2012

The Reduction Of Storm Surge By Vegetation Canopies: Three-Dimensional Simulations, Y. Peter Sheng, Andrew Lapetina, Gangfeng Ma

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Significant buffering of storm surges by vegetation canopies has been suggested by limited observations and simple numerical studies, particularly following recent Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. Here we simulate storm surge and inundation over idealized topographies using a three-dimensional vegetation-resolving storm surge model coupled to a shallow water wave model and show that a sufficiently wide and tall vegetation canopy reduces inundation on land by 5 to 40 percent, depending upon various storm and canopy parameters. Effectiveness of the vegetation in dissipating storm surge and inundation depends on the intensity and forward speed of the hurricane, as well as the …