Geophysics and Seismology Commons^™

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 …

Detection Of The 2010 Chilean Tsunami Using Satellite Altimetry, B. D. Hamlington, R. R. Leben, O. A. Godin, J. F. Legeais, E. Gica, V. V. Titov

CCPO Publications

Tsunamis are difficult to detect and measure in the open ocean because the wave amplitude is much smaller than it is closer to shore. An effective early warning system, however, must be able to observe an impending tsunami threat far away from the shore in order to provide the necessary lead-time for coastal inhabitants to find safety. Given the expansiveness of the ocean, sensors capable of detecting the tsunami must also have very broad areal coverage. The 2004 Sumatra-Andaman tsunami was definitively detected in the open ocean from both sea surface height and sea surface roughness measurements provided by satellite …

Lithospheric Control On The Spatial Pattern Of Azores Hotspot Seafloor Anomalies: Constraints From A Model Of Plume-Triple Junction Interaction, Jennifer E. Georgen

OES Faculty Publications

The Azores hotspot is located near a plate boundary triple junction (TJ) consisting of the Terceira Rift (TER) and two branches of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR). The seafloor expression of the Azores hotspot has a complex spatial pattern. Latitudinal anomalies in seafloor depth and other data along the MAR extend farther to the south of the inferred location of the mantle heterogeneity than to the north. Longitudinal anomalies span a greater distance to the east of the MAR (along the TER) than to the west. A finite element model is used to investigate how the divergence of three plates away …

Towards An Integrated Multiscale Simulation Of Turbulent Clouds On Petascale Computers, Lian-Ping Wang, Orlando Ayala, Hossein Parishani, Wojciech W. Grabowski, Andrzej A. Wyszogrodzki, Zbigniew Piotrowski, Guang R. Gao, Chandra Kambhamettu, Xiaoming Li, Louis Rossi

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

The development of precipitating warm clouds is affected by several effects of small-scale air turbulence including enhancement of droplet-droplet collision rate by turbulence, entrainment and mixing at the cloud edges, and coupling of mechanical and thermal energies at various scales. Large-scale computation is a viable research tool for quantifying these multiscale processes. Specifically, top-down large-eddy simulations (LES) of shallow convective clouds typically resolve scales of turbulent energy-containing eddies while the effects of turbulent cascade toward viscous dissipation are parameterized. Bottom-up hybrid direct numerical simulations (HDNS) of cloud microphysical processes resolve fully the dissipation-range flow scales but only partially the inertial …

Kinematic And Dynamic Pair Collision Statistics Of Sedimenting Inertial Particles Relevant To Warm Rain Initiation, Bogdan Rosa, Hossein Parishani, Orlando Ayala, Lian-Ping Wang, Wojciech W. Grabowski

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

In recent years, direct numerical simulation (DNS) approach has become a reliable tool for studying turbulent collision-coalescence of cloud droplets relevant to warm rain development. It has been shown that small-scale turbulent motion can enhance the collision rate of droplets by either enhancing the relative velocity and collision efficiency or by inertia-induced droplet clustering. A hybrid DNS approach incorporating DNS of air turbulence, disturbance flows due to droplets, and droplet equation of motion has been developed to quantify these effects of air turbulence. Due to the computational complexity of the approach, a major challenge is to increase the range of …

Modern Dirty Sea Ice Characteristics And Sources: The Role Of Anchor Ice, Dennis A. Darby, Wesley B. Myers, Martin Jakobsson, Ignatius Rigor

OES Faculty Publications

Extensive dirty ice patches with up to 7 kg m^-2 sediment concentrations in layers of up to 10 cm thickness were encountered in 2005 and 2007 in numerous areas across the central Arctic. The Fe grain fingerprint determination of sources for these sampled dirty ice floes indicated both Russian and Canadian sources, with the latter dominating. The presence of benthic shells and sea weeds along with thick layers (2-10 cm) of sediment covering 5-10 m² indicates an anchor ice entrainment origin as opposed to suspension freezing for some of these floes. The anchor ice origin might explain the …

Mixing By Shear Instability At High Reynolds Number, W. R. Geyer, A. C. Lavery, M. E. Scully, J. H. Trowbridge

CCPO Publications

Shear instability is the dominant mechanism for converting fluid motion to mixing in the stratified ocean and atmosphere. The transition to turbulence has been well characterized in laboratory settings and numerical simulations at moderate Reynolds number-it involves "rolling up", i.e., overturning of the density structure within the cores of the instabilities. In contrast, measurements in an energetic estuarine shear zone reveal that the mixing induced by shear instability at high Reynolds number does not primarily occur by overturning in the cores; rather it results from secondary shear instabilities within the zones of intensified shear separating the cores. This regime is …

Variations In Sea Surface Roughness Induced By The 2004 Sumatra-Andaman Tsunami, O. A. Godin, V. G. Irisov, R. R. Leben, B. D. Hamlington, G. A. Wick

CCPO Publications

Observations of tsunamis away from shore are critically important for improving early warning systems and understanding of tsunami generation and propagation. Tsunamis are difficult to detect and measure in the open ocean because the wave amplitude there is much smaller than it is close to shore. Currently, tsunami observations in deep water rely on measurements of variations in the sea surface height or bottom pressure. Here we demonstrate that there exists a different observable, specifically, ocean surface roughness, which can be used to reveal tsunamis away from shore. The first detailed measurements of the tsunami effect on sea surface height …

Quantifying Vertical Mixing In Estuaries, W. Rockwell Geyer, Malcolm E. Scully, David K. Ralston

CCPO Publications

Estuarine turbulence is notable in that both the dissipation rate and the buoyancy frequency extend to much higher values than in other natural environments. The high dissipation rates lead to a distinct inertial subrange in the velocity and scalar spectra, which can be exploited for quantifying the turbulence quantities. However, high buoyancy frequencies lead to small Ozmidov scales, which require high sampling rates and small spatial aperture to resolve the turbulent fluxes. A set of observations in a highly stratified estuary demonstrate the effectiveness of a vessel-mounted turbulence array for resolving turbulent processes, and for relating the turbulence to the …

Thermometric Measurements Of The Molecular Sublayer At The Air-Water Interface, B. Ward

OES Faculty Publications

[1] A series of measurements was conducted in the AirSea Interaction Saltwater Tank (ASIST) to study the response of the air-water interfacial molecular sublayer under various heat flux and wind speed conditions. In-situ gradients were measured with a platinum-plated tungsten wire microthermometer, which resolved the temperature of the thermally conductive sublayer. Air-sea heat flux was controlled by changing the air-water temperature difference (ΔT^AW) and the wind speed, and measurements were made for three ΔT^AW regimes over a range of wind speeds. A function was fitted to the measured temperature profiles as a way of extracting the boundary …

Western Caribbean Sea Surface Temperatures During The Late Quaternary, Matthew W. Schmidt, Maryline J. Vautravers, Howard J. Spero

OES Faculty Publications

[1] Mg/Ca ratios in the planktonic foraminifera Globigerinoides ruber from Colombian Basin core ODP 999A suggest that Caribbean sea surface temperatures ( SSTs) were from 2.1 to 2.7°C colder than the present during the last three glacial maximums. In comparison, faunal derived SSTs ( SIMMAX method) show that August SSTs in the Caribbean varied < 2° over the past 360 kyr, whereas February SSTs varied between 21.0°C and 26.5°C. Changes in the Mg/Ca-SST record contain a strong 23 kyr periodicity, suggesting the Mg/Ca-SST record reflects a warm season weighted SST average rather than an annual mean SST. Combining several dissolution indices, we identify brief periods of decreased carbonate preservation in our record and show that MIS 11 stands out as the most intensive dissolution cycle in the Caribbean over the last 460 kyr. Comparison of Caribbean SST change with a similar estimate of tropical SST variability in the western Pacific over the past 360 kyr reveals shifts in the east-west tropical SST gradient that are coeval with glacial-interglacial climate change and consistent both with a southward migration of the glacial ITCZ and with a glacial El Niño-like mode of tropical circulation.

Potential Contaminants At A Dredged Spoil Placement Site, Charles City County, Virginia, As Revealed By Sequential Extraction, Jianwu Tang, G. Richard Whittecar, Karen H. Johannesson, W. Lee Daniels

OES Faculty Publications

Backfills of dredged sediments onto a former sand and gravel mine site in Charles City County, VA may have the potential to contaminate local groundwater. To evaluate the mobility of trace elements and to identify the potential contaminants from the dredged sediments, a sequential extraction scheme was used to partition trace elements associated with the sediments from the local aquifer and the dredged sediments into five fractions: exchangeable, acidic, reducible, oxidizable, and residual phases. Sequential extractions indicate that, for most of the trace elements examined, the residual phases account for the largest proportion of the total concentrations, and their total …

Modeled And Observed Empirical Orthogonal Functions Of Currents In The Yucatan Channel, Gulf Of Mexico, Lie-Yauw Oey, Tal Ezer, Wilton Sturges

CCPO Publications

Candela et al. [2003] have reported empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analyses based on 23-month current-meter and acoustic Doppler current profiler measurements in the Yucatan Channel. Those authors noted the difference between EOFs obtained from observations and their z-level models and EOFs calculated by Ezer et al. [2003] from the results of a terrain-following model. Here a new analysis is reported that explains this difference, and that also suggests the importance of shelf-edge meander mode of the core Loop Current in the channel. We show that the terrain-following model gives EOFs with characteristics similar to those observed when data from the …

Modifications Of The C37 Alkenone And Alkenoate Composition In The Water Column And Sediment: Possible Implications For Sea Surface Temperature Estimates In Paleoceanography, Joan O. Grimalt, Jürgen Rullkötter, Marie-Alexandrine Sicre, Roger Summons, John Farrington, H. Rodger Harvey, Miguel Goñi, Ken Sawada

OES Faculty Publications

The literature pertaining to C37 alkenone and C37 and C38 alkenoate production and diagenesis has been reviewed and evaluated for issues that might jeopardize their usefulness in paleotemperature estimation. We also examined the use of the C37 alkenones as paleoproductivity indicators, the stability of their δ13C isotopic compositions, and their incorporation into the nonsolvent extractable organic matter fraction. Biological transformation of organic matter by bacteria and zooplankton does not appear to cause significant changes to the ratio of C37:2 and C37:3 alkenones, but there are major alterations in the relative composition of alkenoates. Studies of water column processes and postdepositional …

Alteration Processes Of Alkenones And Related Lipids In Water Columns And Sediments, H. Rodger Harvey

OES Faculty Publications

Alkenones produced by the haptophyte algae are currently being used as indices of sea surface temperature in recent and past ocean environments, but limited information is available concerning the impact of biotic and abiotic processes on the integrity of these long chain lipids. This synthesis provides selected background information on major alteration processes that must be considered before such indices can be used with confidence. A number of processes in the water column and surface sediments have the potential to impact the structural integrity of alkenones and compromise their ability as temperature markers. Processes discussed include the alteration of alkenone …

The Study Of Wave-Blocking And Current Effects On Nonlinear Interactions Of Shallow-Water Waves Using Advanced Boussinesq Models, Qin Chen

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The first part of this work focuses on the derivation of enhanced Boussinesq-type equations for the combined motion of waves and currents in shallow water areas.

The strategy proposed in this work is to couple two known methods which are the sponge layer concept suitable for short waves and Sommerfeld radiation condition for currents. This coupling method provides satisfactory non-reflective boundaries for the simulation of fully coupled wave/current motion as demonstrated by the numerical experiments. We verify the model against the well known solutions based on the existing theories and good agreement has been observed. The numerical results confirm the …

Observation Of Shelfwater Overrunning The Southern Slope Sea, Ajoy Kumar

OES Theses and Dissertations

Analyses of two years (1992 and 1993) of high resolution (1.47 km²) sea surface temperature satellite images of the southern Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB), showed that unusually extensive overhang of shelf water occurs episodically, and coherently over along shelf distances of several hundred kilometers. These episodes are dubbed overrunning of the Slope Sea by shelf water. The overrunning volume has a "face" and a "back" (southern and northern limit). It transports substantial quantities of shelf water southward, and does not retreat onto the shelf, but eventually joins the western edge of the Gulf Stream in the vicinity of Chesapeake …

"A Geological Interpretation Of The Stanley Fault And Other Thrust Faults In Page County, Virginia", Michael James Sarros

OES Theses and Dissertations

Paleozoic carbonate rocks flooring Page Valley (within Page County) are overthrust by Precambrian to Cambrian elastic rocks of the Blue Ridge to the east of the study area. King (1950) recognized that the Cambrian carbonate sequence of Page Valley, near Stanley, Virginia, is broken by a large transverse fault which he named the Stanley fault. King (1950) interpreted the Stanley fault as a high-angle reverse fault with oblique-slip displacement. However, detailed mapping and structural data collected in this study indicate the Stanley fault is a low angle thrust fault which cuts all pre-Alleghanian and Early Alleghanian structures.

Two previously unrecognized …

Seismic Stratigraphic Analysis Of The Upper Indus-Fan Complex A Model For Fan Development, Syed Firasat Shah

OES Theses and Dissertations

The seismic stratigraphic analysis of the upper Indus-Fan Complex has revealed the presence of six depositional sequences. Deposition of these sequences occurred primarily during the Miocene period. The Indus River drainage system that developed as a consequence of Himalayan orogeny transported the bulk of the sediments deposited in the Indus Fan. The distribution and thickness of the sequences of the upper Indus Fan are closely related to the canyon-channel systems. Seismic facies analysis of the slope has revealed the presence of a facies relationship that shows continued deepening from the time of deposition of slope fan to the latest deposits …

Periodic And Homoclinic Orbits In A Toy Climate Model, M. Toner, A. D. Kirwan Jr.

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

A two dimensional system of autonomous nonlinear ordinary differential equations models glacier growth and temperature changes on an idealized planet. We apply standard perturbative techniques from dynamical systems theory to study small amplitude periodic orbits about a constant equilibrium. The equations are put in cononical form and the local phase space topology is examined. Maximum and minimum periods of oscillation are obtained and related to the radius of the orbit. An adjacent equilibrium is shown to have saddle character and the inflowing and outflowing manifolds of this saddle are studied using numerical integration. The inflowing manifolds show the region of …

Invariant Manifolds Of A Toy Climate Model, Michael Toner

Mathematics & Statistics Theses & Dissertations

According to astronomical theory, ice ages are caused by variations in the Earth's orbit. However, ice core data shows strong fluctuations in ice volume at a low frequency not significantly present in orbital variations. To understand how this might occur, the dynamics of a two dimensional nonlinear differential equation representing glacier/temperature interaction of an idealized climate was studied. Self sustained oscillation of the autonomous equation was used to model the internal mechanisms that could produce these fluctuations. Periodic parametric modulation of a damped internal oscillation was used to model periodic climate response at double the external modulation period. Both phenomena …

A Geophysical And Geological Study Of The Farmville Triassic Basin, Charles G. James Jr.

OES Theses and Dissertations

The Farmville basin is one of many Triassic basins which are found along the eastern coast of North America, and is the largest of the central string of basins in Virginia. Meta-volcanic and metasedimentary rocks of the Chopawamsic Formation, as well as felsic intrusives are the primary lithologies surrounding the basin. A detailed gravity survey was conducted along six roads that trend approximately NW-SE, across the basin. Geologic, gravity, magnetic, and radiometric data were used to develop a kinematic model. Gravity anomalies were isolated using two-dimensional harmonic analysis methods to isolate the local, and regional anomalies. This analysis indicates that …

A Geophysical Study Of The Easternmost Piedmont: Brunswick County, Virginia, Mark A. Corbin

OES Theses and Dissertations

Gravity and magnetic models indicate that a steeply dipping, mylonitic shear zone recognized by reconnaissance mapping in the easternmost Piedmont of Brunswick County, Virginia is a listric fault. A pronounced 3 to 5 mgal Bouguer anomaly high is associated with the fault zone. A band of N10° trending aeromagnetic anomalies delineate the areal extent of the fault zone. The fault zone flattens eastward over a short distance to a depth of 15 kms where it joins a near horizontal surface that cuts across the region. This surface is herein interpreted to be a decollement. The fault zone of this study …

The Physics Of The Antarctic Circumpolar Current, Worth D. Nowlin, John M. Klinck

CCPO Publications

A region of transition of surface water characteristics from subantarctic to Antarctic and an associated eastward flowing Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) have long been recognized to exist as a band around Antarctica. In this review we summarize the most important observational and theoretical findings of the past decade regarding the ACC, identify gaps in our knowledge, and recommend studies to address these. The nature of the meridional zonation of the ACC is only now being revealed. The ACC seems to exist as multiple narrow jets imbedded in, or associated with, density fronts (the Subantarctic and Polar fronts) which appear to …

On The Linear Relation Between Mb And Ms For Discrimination Between Explosions And Earthquakes, Ali A. Nowroozi

OES Faculty Publications

Summary. The statistical capability of the m_b :M_s, discriminant for the discrimination of earthquake and explosion populations is examined by application of discriminant functions to a group of 83 explosions and 72 earthquakes in Eurasia. Equations are derived for the probability that an event is an earthquake or an explosion. The positive sign of DIS in the decision index equation,

DIS, = 34.3383 - 11.9569 mb_i, + 7.1 161 M_si,

indicates that the event i is an earthquake. Its negative sign indicates that event i is an explosion. The probability of …

A Geophysical Model Of The Gravity-Magnetic High, Virginia Coastal Plan, Gordon Everett Davison

OES Theses and Dissertations

The coastal plain province of Virginia is characterized by a coincidental gravity and magnetic high separating Appalachian-trend geophysical signatures to the west from non-Appalachian signatures to the east. Two cross-trend gravity and magnetic profiles, one on the Northern Neck of Virginia and one along Interstate Highway 64, were used to interpret the anomalous high. The profile models suggests that the anomaly is characterized by high-density, variably magnetic, east-dipping (60°) crustal blocks. Further information from well-logs indicate that the anomaly is due to meta-mafic rocks of oceanic origin, flanked by low-density, lower susceptibility, granitic units. This suggests that the anomalous gravity-magnetic …

Fault Movements And Tectonics Of Eastern Iran: Boundaries Of The Lut Plate, Ali A. Nowroozi, A. Mohajer-Ashjai

OES Faculty Publications

Summary. From 1977 March 21 to 1981 July 28, about 15 earthquakes with M_s ≥6.0 and many earthquakes with M_s≥4.5 have occurred in Iran. The upsurge of seismic activity started following the Khorqu earthquake of 1977 March 21, M,=7.0, south-east of the Fars folded series of Zagros. This shock had a thrust focal mechanism solution indicating the general northward movement of the Arabian plate with respect to the Iranian landmass. It was followed by six major damaging earthquakes in eastern Iran. The earthquakes are associated with extensive faulting which surrounds the Lut plate. (1) The Zarand earthquake …

Tectonic Implications Of Late Tertiary Strata Exposed Along The Piankatank River, Eastern Virginia, Daniel Stephen Lane

OES Theses and Dissertations

Biostratigraphic analysis of Late Miocene and Pliocene strata along the Piankatank River in eastern Virginia exposes a juxtaposition of the Eastover and Yorktown Formations. This structure is situated on a NE trending alignment of geological, geomorphic, and geophysical features which run from southern Virginia to northern Delaware. Tectonic jointing in isolated sandstone bodies and fracture controlled drainage patterns provide further evidence of post-middle Pliocene tectonism in the region. The lateral spacing of this structure from the Stafford and Brandywine fault zones and other linear features on the Coastal Plain strongly implies that a structural similarity exists between the Piankatank structure …

Seismic Refraction Study Of Post-Pliocene Stratigraphy, Dismal Swamp, Virginia, William Brian Fraser

OES Theses and Dissertations

This study examines Pliocene-Pleistocene lithostratigraphy and the Yorktown unconformity within the Dismal Swamp by means of remote sensing analysis, Wyrobek-Gardner seismic refraction profiling and split-spoon coring. Pre-Sangamon fluvial/tidal channel deposits are not present and the Yorktown unconformity dips irregularly southeastward at 0.35 meters/kilometer (2 feet/mile) from a high at 4 meters above sea level to a low of -1 meter (+12 to -2 ft) below sea level. The marker velocity for the Yorktown Formation is 1600 mps (5250 fps) and regression of seismic depths of the Yorktown Formation with corresponding split-spoon depths yields a high correlation. Short line upper layer …

An Evaluation Of A Stable Isotope Of Dysprosium For Labeling And Tracing Sedimentary Particles, Charles Glenn Boone

OES Theses and Dissertations

An evaluation of the application of dysprosium oxide as a tracer coating to surface label sedimentary particles is made. Physical and chemical properties of the labeled sand are studied. Effective diameters and settling properties of the tracer sand are compared with unlabeled sand. A total of 8.51 kg of labeled sand was placed on the beach at Camp Pendleton. Dispersal patterns obtained 1 and 4 hours after tracer injection indicate a general down current mean tracer migration rate of 0.21 cm/sec (0.42ft/sec). An absolute detection limit of 4 or 5 parts per 100,000 and a real detection limit, after field …