Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Sedimentological And Geochemical Analysis Of Deep-Water Deposits In The Mojón De Hierro Formation At Arroyo Garrido, Tepuel-Genoa Basin, Patagonia, Argentina, Natalie Beatrice Mcnall

Theses and Dissertations

The Earth has had multiple Phanerozoic glacial intervals but the Late Paleozoic Ice Age (LPIA) was its longest and most extensive, lasting from the Late Devonian (~372 Ma) until the Late Permian (~254 Ma). The LPIA is the last complete climate shift from a greenhouse to icehouse and back to a greenhouse state and the only one to occur on a biologically complex Earth. Therefore, it provides perspectives on deep-time climatic transitions, the parameters controlling them, and the Earth’s physical, chemical and biological responses to such climate changes. Research on mid to high-latitude deposits in Gondwana provides evidence that the …

An Analysis Of Momentum Flux Budgets And Profiles In A Large-Eddy Model, Steffen Domke

Theses and Dissertations

Momentum fluxes and variances play an important role in the characterization and forecast of weather phenomena, but cannot be measured easily.

A subdivision of the flux changes into budget terms by the underlying physical processes, such as buoyancy transport, can assist in understanding their sources and influences.

Momentum flux and variance budgets for SAM, the System for Atmospheric Modeling, have been implemented and are compared to existing budgets from other simulations.

A tool for the visualization of these quantities from three-dimensional grid data has been developed to show and explain their distribution in conjunction with shallow cumulus and stratocumulus clouds. …

Using Evolutionary Programming To Generate A Tropical Cyclone Intensity Model, Jesse Schaffer

Theses and Dissertations

An innovative statistical-dynamical tropical cyclone (TC) intensity model is developed from a large ensemble of algorithms through evolutionary programming (EP). EP mimics the evolutionary principles of genetic information, reproduction, and mutation to develop through selective pressure a population of algorithms with skillful predictor combinations. From this process the 100 most skillful algorithms as determined by root-mean square error on cross-validation data is kept and bias corrected. Bayesian model combination is then used to assign individual weights to a subset of ten algorithms from the 100 best algorithms list, which are chosen to minimize mean-absolute error (MAE) and maximize mean-absolute difference …

An Analysis Of Momentum Flux Budgets And Profiles In A Large-Eddy Model, Steffen Domke

Theses and Dissertations

Momentum fluxes and variances play an important role in the characterization and forecast of weather phenomena, but cannot be measured easily.

A subdivision of the flux changes into budget terms by the underlying physical processes, such as buoyancy transport, can assist in understanding their sources and influences.

Momentum flux and variance budgets for SAM, the System for Atmospheric Modeling, have been implemented and are compared to existing budgets from other simulations.

A tool for the visualization of these quantities from three-dimensional grid data has been developed to show and explain their distribution in conjunction with shallow cumulus and stratocumulus clouds. …

Using Evolutionary Programming To Generate A Tropical Cyclone Intensity Model, Jesse Schaffer

Theses and Dissertations

An innovative statistical-dynamical tropical cyclone (TC) intensity model is developed from a large ensemble of algorithms through evolutionary programming (EP). EP mimics the evolutionary principles of genetic information, reproduction, and mutation to develop through selective pressure a population of algorithms with skillful predictor combinations. From this process the 100 most skillful algorithms as determined by root-mean square error on cross-validation data is kept and bias corrected. Bayesian model combination is then used to assign individual weights to a subset of ten algorithms from the 100 best algorithms list, which are chosen to minimize mean-absolute error (MAE) and maximize mean-absolute difference …

Green Energy At Any Cost: How Ethanol Producer Magazine Uses Science To Frame Ethanol Production, Ashley Kappers

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the use of science by media to shape discussions about policy in society. Specifically, it investigates how one influential trade publication, Ethanol Producer Magazine, used science in its construction of pro-ethanol production stories. This study is a multi-method analysis of Ethanol Producer Magazine’s feature articles. To determine how sources and writers use science to frame ethanol production during policy changes in the industry, 36 feature stories from four issues in 2009 and 2010 of Ethanol Producer Magazine were analyzed. The results of this study found that Ethanol Producer Magazine is a publication that presents one side of …