Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

Multiscale Variability Of Heavy Metals In A Western U.S. Snowpack, Kelsey Hefner

Student Research Symposium

Natural and anthropogenically sourced particulates are deposited from the atmosphere to landscapes via dry and wet deposition, making frozen winter snowpack a natural archive of atmospheric elemental composition. Wildfires in the Western United States are increasing in extent, duration, and severity, especially in alpine regions. Severe fires remove forest canopy and can impact how atmospheric elements are dispersed and stored across snow-dominated watersheds. We evaluated Al, V, Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, As, Zn, Se, Mo, Cd, and Pb concentrations in 394 winter snow core samples. We collected samples in 2019 and 2020 from a chronosequence of eight forests that burned …

Stakeholder Perceptions Of Microplastics Management In Oregon, Maya Hurst-Mayr

Environmental Science and Management Professional Master's Project Reports

There is currently no federal policy in the United States that specifically addresses microplastics (MPs) pollution. However, states are beginning to act on this issue; California's SB 1422 initiates measurement of MPs in drinking water resources and Senate Bill 1263 requires the state to adopt a strategy to reduce the ecological impact of MPs in marine ecosystems. Other West Coast states like Oregon and Washington are expected to follow California's example. It is important to know what the actors who are a part of shaping MPs policy in Oregon would see as barriers and opportunities to doing so. We conducted …

Microplastic Prevalence In Four Oregon Rivers Along A Rural To Urban Gradient Applying A Cost-Effective Validation Technique, Amy Valine, Ashley Peterson, Dorothy Horn, Kaegan M. Scully‐Engelmeyer, Elise F. Granek

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Microplastics are ubiquitous in our environment and are found in rivers, streams, oceans, and even tap water. Riverine microplastics are relatively understudied compared to those in marine ecosystems. In Oregon, we sampled eight sites along four freshwater rivers spanning rural to urban areas to quantify microplastics. Plankton tow samples from sites along the Columbia, Willamette, Deschutes, and Rogue Rivers were analyzed using traditional light microscopy for initial microplastic counts. Application of Nile Red dye to validate microplastics improved microplastic identification, particularly for particles (Wilcox Test; p‐value=0.001). Nile Red‐corrected microfiber abundance was correlated with human population within five kilometers of the …

Microplastics In Aquatic Organisms: Improving Understanding And Identifying Research Directions For The Next Decade, Elise F. Granek, Susanne Brander, E. B. Holland

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

The study of environmental microplastics has increased over the past decade, with hundreds of new studies and resultant papers on the presence, fate, and sources of microplastics in marine and freshwater systems (Fig. 1). Despite the explosion of interest in the topic and in comparison to the research on the presence of microplastics in marine or fresh waters, there have been notably fewer studies on the extent to which these debris items are ingested by aquatic organisms and far fewer on the potential consequences, or response to their presence in organismal guts, tissues, and food webs. Even less research has …

Monitoring Lesser Known Harmful Algal Blooms On The Oregon Coast, Taylor Dodrill, Tawnya D. Peterson, Matthew Hunter, Micah Rogers

OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Annual Conference

Ocean warming has expanded the niche of harmful algal blooms (HABs), including HABs previously believed to pose little risk of shellfish contamination in the Pacific Northwest. Monitoring efforts in Washington and California have demonstrated that Dinophysis spp. is a HAB of emerging concern and has been linked to diarrhetic shellfish poisoning events. However, quantitative monitoring for Dinophysis spp. on the Oregon Coast has been limited. This analysis provides a preliminary characterization of risk that Dinophysis spp. poses to shellfish consumers in Oregon. Furthermore, we assess the predator-prey interaction between Dinophysis spp. and its prey, Mesodinium rubrum, to determine whether …

Mountain Lakes: Eyes On Global Environmental Change, Katrina A. Moser, Jill S. Baron, Janice Brahney, Isabella A. Olesky, Jasmine E. Saros, Elizabeth J. Hundey, Steven A. Sadro, Jiri Kopácek, Ruben Sommaruga, Martin J. Kainz, Angela L. Strecker, Sudeep Chandra, David M. Walters, Daniel L. Preston, Neal Michelutti, Fabio Lepori, Sarah A. Spaulding, Kyle R. Christianson, John M. Melack, J. P. Smol

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Mountain lakes are often situated in protected natural areas, a feature that leads to their role as sentinels of global environmental change. Despite variations in latitude, mountain lakes share many features, including their location in catchments with steep topographic gradients, cold temperatures, high incident solar and ultraviolet radiation (UVR), and prolonged ice and snow cover. These characteristics, in turn, affect mountain lake ecosystem structure, diversity, and productivity. The lakes themselves are mostly small and shallow, and up until recently, have been characterized as oligotrophic. This paper provides a review and update of the growing body of research that shows that …

Social Position Influencing The Water Perception Gap Between Local Leaders And Constituents In A Socio-Hydrological System, Melissa Haeffner, Douglas Jackson-Smith, Courtney G. Flint

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

How well city leaders represent their constituents and meet their needs are key concerns in transitioning to local sustainable water governance. To date, however, there is little research documenting the influence of social position between elected leaders who make policy, career staff water managers who design and operate systems and implement policies, and the members of the public whose individual water use behaviors are important drivers of water sustainability outcomes. In this study, we ask: ‘‘How does social position explain variation in water perceptions and concerns between different actors in a sociohydrological system?’’ Using a mixed method approach with survey …

A Multi-Year Data Set On Aerosol-Cloud-Precipitation-Meteorology Interactions For Marine Stratocumulus Clouds, Armin Sorooshian, Alexander B. Macdonald, Hossein Dadashazar, Kelvin H. Bates, Matthew M. Coggon, Jill S. Craven, Ewan Crosbie, Scott P. Hersey, Natasha Hodas, Jack J. Lin, Arnaldo Negrón Marty, Lindsay C. Maudlin, Andrew R. Metcalf, Shane M. Murphy, Luz T. Padró, Gouri Prabhakar, Tracey A. Rissman, Taylor Shingler, Varuntida Varutbangkul, Zhen Wang, Roy K. Woods, Patrick Y. Chuang, Athanasios Nenes, Haflidi H. Jonsson, Richard C. Flagan, John H. Seinfeld

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Airborne measurements of meteorological, aerosol, and stratocumulus cloud properties have been harmonized from six field campaigns during July-August months between 2005 and 2016 off the California coast. A consistent set of core instruments was deployed on the Center for Interdisciplinary Remotely- Piloted Aircraft Studies Twin Otter for 113 flight days, amounting to 514 flight hours. A unique aspect of the compiled data set is detailed measurements of aerosol microphysical properties (size distribution, composition, bioaerosol detection, hygroscopicity, optical), cloud water composition, and different sampling inlets to distinguish between clear air aerosol, interstitial in-cloud aerosol, and droplet residual particles in cloud. Measurements …

Oregon Lake Watch Program: Training Manual, Rich Miller, Crysta Gantz, Vanessa Morgan, Angela L. Strecker, Mark D. Sytsma

Center for Lakes and Reservoirs Publications and Presentations

Oregon is fortunate to have a wide variety of beautiful and enjoyable lakes and reservoirs. The Oregon Lake Watch Program (OLWP), a citizen science volunteer based program, was created to help protect these natural resources. Specifically, the goal of the OLWP is to help protect Oregon’s lakes and reservoir through having citizen volunteers survey for invasive species and gather water quality data, and then disseminating this information to the public and resource managers.

This OLWP training manual provides protocols for collecting important water quality data, surveying for invasive plants and animals, photo documentation and preservation of invasive species, and recording …

Influence Of Recreational Activity On Water Quality Perceptions And Concerns In Utah: A Replicated Analysis, Matthew J. Barnett, Douglas Jackson-Smith, Melissa Haeffner

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Both social structural factors and direct sensory experiences can contribute to the development of environmental perceptions and concerns. We use two separate surveys of Utah adults to explore the association between sociodemographic characteristics and participation in recreational activities on water quality perceptions and concerns. We find that engaging in outdoor recreation is systematically associated with more positive water quality perceptions and higher levels of concern about impaired water quality. However, water quality perceptions appear to be shaped more by social characteristics (age, education, gender, race, religion, and income) and by generic measures of overall recreation behavior than by indicators of …

Mapping Water Availability, Cost And Projected Consumptive Use In The Eastern United States With Comparisons To The West, Vincent C. Tidwell, Barbie D. Moreland, Calvin R. Shaneyfelt, Peter Kobos

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

The availability of freshwater supplies to meet future demand is a growing concern. Water availability metrics are needed to inform future water development decisions. Furthermore, with the help of water managers, water availability was mapped for over 1300 watersheds throughout the 31-contiguous states in the eastern U.S. complimenting a prior study of the west. The compiled set of water availability data is unique in that it considers multiple sources of water (fresh surface and groundwater, wastewater and brackish groundwater); accommodates institutional controls placed on water use; is accompanied by cost estimates to access, treat and convey each unique source of …

A Comparative Assessment Of Projected Meteorological And Hydrological Droughts: Elucidating The Role Of Temperature, Ali Ahmadalipour, Hamid Moradkhani, Mehmet C. Demirel

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The changing climate and the associated future increases in temperature are expected to have impacts on drought characteristics and hydrologic cycle. This paper investigates the projected changes in spatiotemporal characteristics of droughts and their future attributes over the Willamette River Basin (WRB) in the Pacific Northwest U.S. The analysis is performed using two subsets of downscaled CMIP5 global climate models (GCMs) each consisting of 10 models from two future scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) for 30 years of historical period (1970–1999) and 90 years of future projections (2010–2099). Hydrologic modeling is conducted using the Precipitation Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) as a …

The Influence Of Recurrent Modes Of Climate Variability On The Occurrence Of Monthly Temperature Extremes Over South America, Paul C. Loikith, Judah Detzer, Carlos R. Mechoso, Huikyo Lee, Armineh Barkhordarian

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

The associations between extreme temperature months and four prominent modes of recurrent climate variability are examined over South America. Associations are computed as the percent of extreme temperature months concurrent with the upper and lower quartiles of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the Atlantic Niño, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), and the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) index distributions, stratified by season. The relationship is strongest for ENSO, with nearly every extreme temperature month concurrent with the upper or lower quartiles of its distribution in portions of northwestern South America during some seasons. The likelihood of extreme warm temperatures is enhanced …

Forecasted Range Shifts Of Arid-Land Fishes In Response To Climate Change, James E. Whitney, Joanna B. Whittier, Craig Patrick Paukert, Julian D. Olden, Angela L. Strecker

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Climate change is poised to alter the distributional limits, center, and size of many species. Traits may influence different aspects of range shifts, with trophic generality facilitating shifts at the leading edge, and greater thermal tolerance limiting contractions at the trailing edge. The generality of relationships between traits and range shifts remains ambiguous however, especially for imperiled fishes residing in xeric riverscapes. Our objectives were to quantify contemporary fish distributions in the Lower Colorado River Basin, forecast climate change by 2085 using two general circulation models, and quantify shifts in the limits, center, and size of fish elevational ranges according …

Watershed Response To Climate Change And Fire-Burns In The Upper Umatilla River Basin, Usa, Kimberly Crystal Yazzie, Heejun Chang

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study analyzed watershed response to climate change and forest fire impacts in the upper Umatilla River Basin (URB), Oregon, using the precipitation runoff modeling system. Ten global climate models using Coupled Intercomparison Project Phase 5 experiments with Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) 4.5 and 8.5 were used to simulate the effects of climate and fire-burns on runoff behavior throughout the 21st century. We observed the center timing (CT) of flow, seasonal flows, snow water equivalent (SWE) and basin recharge. In the upper URB, hydrologic regime shifts from a snow-rain-dominated to rain-dominated basin. Ensemble mean CT occurs 27 days earlier in …

Evaluating Hourly Rainfall Characteristics Over The U.S. Great Plains In Dynamically Downscaled Climate Model Simulations Using Nasa-Unified Wrf, Huikyo Lee, Duane E. Waliser, Robert Ferraro, Takamichi Iguchi, Christa D. Peters-Lidard, Baijun Tian, Paul C. Loikith, Daniel B. Wright

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Accurate simulation of extreme precipitation events remains a challenge in climate models. This study utilizes hourly precipitation data from ground stations and satellite instruments to evaluate rainfall characteristics simulated by the NASA-Unified Weather Research and Forecasting (NU-WRF) regional climate model at horizontal resolutions of 4, 12, and 24 km over the Great Plains of the United States. We also examined the sensitivity of the simulated precipitation to different spectral nudging approaches and the cumulus parameterizations. The rainfall characteristics in the observations and simulations were defined as an hourly diurnal cycle of precipitation and a joint probability distribution function (JPDF) between …

Sea-Level Rise Induced Amplification Of Coastal Protection Design Heights, Arne Arns, Soenke Dangendorf, Juergen Jensen, Stefan Talke, Jens Bender, Charitha Pattiaratchi

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Coastal protection design heights typically consider the superimposed effects of tides, surges, waves, and relative sea-level rise (SLR), neglecting non-linear feedbacks between these forcing factors. Here, we use hydrodynamic modelling and multivariate statistics to show that shallow coastal areas are extremely sensitive to changing non-linear interactions between individual components caused by SLR. As sea-level increases, the depth-limitation of waves relaxes, resulting in waves with larger periods, greater amplitudes, and higher run-up; moreover, depth and frictional changes affect tide, surge, and wave characteristics, altering the relative importance of other risk factors. Consequently, sea-level driven changes in wave characteristics, and to a …

Parameterizing A Water-Balance Model For Predicting Stormwater Runoff From Green Roofs, Olyssa Starry, John Lea-Cox, Andrew Ristvey, Steven Cohan

University Honors College Faculty Publication and Presentations

Crop coefficients (kc) were calculated for three different species of common green roof succulents from March to November in 2011, to parameterize the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Penman-Monteith equation for use in a mechanistic green roof water-balance model. Seasonally averaged kc values for each species for 2011 were used to predict plant evapotranspiration (ET) in 2012. The adjusted FAO Penman-Monteith equation predicted the total annual ET within 3–13 mm, a substantial improvement over model predictions with kc set to 1, which overpredicted ET by 100 mm or more, depending on the species. The adjusted equation …

Watershed Response To Climate Change And Fire-Burns In The Upper Umatilla River Basin Using The Precipitation Runoff Modeling System, Kimberly Crystal Yazzie

Dissertations and Theses

This study provides an analysis of watershed response to climate change and forest fire impacts, to better understand the hydrologic budget and inform water management decisions for present and future needs. The study site is 2,365 km², located in the upper Umatilla River Basin (URB) in northeastern Oregon. The Precipitation Runoff Modeling System, a distributed-parameter, physical-process watershed model, was used in this study. Model calibration yielded a Nash Sutcliffe Model Efficiency of 0.73 for both calibration (1995-2010) and validation (2010-2014) of daily streamflow. Ten Global Climate Models using Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 experiments with Representative Concentration …

Trajectory Analysis Of Black Carbon In The Arctic Region, Kimberly Gottschalk

PSU McNair Scholars Online Journal

Black carbon (BC) is a troubling particulate. Commonly known as soot, BC forms through the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, biofuels, and biomass. It has a very low albedo compared to natural particulates making it a very efficient absorber of solar radiation. As BC is deposited on snow and ice, albedo is decreased - enhancing solar heating and increasing meltwater production. With rising air temperatures, melting rates of polar ice are increasing and are being enhanced by BC, leading to accelerated global sea level rise.

This study aimed to document sources and deposition areas of BC in the Arctic. Utilizing …

Investigating The Potential Of Land Use Modifications To Mitigate The Respiratory Health Impacts Of No2: A Case Study In The Portland-Vancouver Metropolitan Area, Meenakshi Rao

Dissertations and Theses

The health impacts of urban air pollution are a growing concern in our rapidly urbanizing world. Urban air pollutants show high intra-urban spatial variability linked to urban land use and land cover (LULC). This correlation of air pollutants with LULC is widely recognized; LULC data is an integral input into a wide range of models, especially land use regression models developed by epidemiologists to study the impact of air pollution on human health. Given the demonstrated links between LULC and urban air pollution, and between urban air pollution and health, an interesting question arises: what is the potential of LULC …

Evaluation Of Large‑Scale Meteorological Patterns Associated With Temperature Extremes In The Narccap Regional Climate Model Simulations, Paul C. Loikith, Duane E. Waliser, Huikyo Lee, J. David Neelin, Benjamin Lintner, Seth Mcginnis, Linda Mears, Jinwon Kim

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Large-scale meteorological patterns (LSMPs) associated with temperature extremes are evaluated in a suite of regional climate model (RCM) simulations contributing to the North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program. LSMPs are characterized through composites of surface air temperature, sea level pressure, and 500 hPa geopotential height anomalies concurrent with extreme temperature days. Six of the seventeen RCM simulations are driven by boundary conditions from reanalysis while the other eleven are driven by one of four global climate models (GCMs). Four illustrative case studies are analyzed in detail. Model fidelity in LSMP spatial representation is high for cold winter extremes near …

Utilizing Humidity And Temperature Data To Advance Monitoring And Prediction Of Meteorological Drought, Ali Behrangi, Paul C. Loikith, Eric J. Fetzer, Hai M. Nguyen, Stephanie L. Granger

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

The fraction of land area over the Continental United States experiencing extreme hot and dry conditions has been increasing over the past several decades, consistent with expectation from anthropogenic climate change. A clear concurrent change in precipitation, however, has not been confirmed. Vapor pressure deficit (VPD), combining temperature and humidity, is utilized here as an indicator of the background atmospheric conditions associated with meteorological drought. Furthermore, atmospheric conditions associated with warm season drought events are assessed by partitioning associated VPD anomalies into the temperature and humidity components. This approach suggests that the concurrence of anomalously high temperature and low humidity …

Urban Scale Modeling Of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide And Validation Of Emission Inventories, James E. Powell, Christopher L. Butenhoff, Andrew L. Rice

Student Research Symposium

There exists a pressing need for high resolution emissions inventories for cities. For greenhouse gases, cities and regions need a careful analysis of their carbon footprint to design effective policies to control and mitigate emissions. High resolution emissions inventories can be used in conjunction with meteorology models and atmospheric measurements to place top-down constraints on emissions. High resolution emissions inventories for criteria pollutants like NO_x, CO, and O₃ enable urban-scale air pollution modeling down to the neighborhood level. For example, the Vulcan project estimates CO₂ using county-scale vehicle miles traveled (VMT) from the National Mobile Inventory …

Comparison Of Fish Assemblages In Restored And Natural Mangrove Habitats Along An Urban Shoreline, Joseph R. Peters, Lauren A. Yeager, Craig A. Layman

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

The installation of living shorelines is one strategy used to ameliorate habitat degradation along developed coastlines. In this process, existing hard structures, such as sea walls and riprap revetments, are supplemented with habitat forming species, e.g., oysters and mangrove trees, to improve habitat quality and function. Shoreline restorations in Biscayne Bay, Florida, USA, often utilize red mangroves, Rhizophora mangle (Linneaus, 1753), in addition to riprap revetments, to help stabilize the shoreline. This riprap-mangrove habitat provides structure for marine organisms to utilize and is believed to improve shoreline habitats in areas previously cleared of mangroves. We examined whether habitat provisioning was …

Zebra And Quagga Mussel Early-Detection Monitoring In High Risk Oregon Waters 2014, Steve W. Wells, Mark D. Sytsma

Center for Lakes and Reservoirs Publications and Presentations

Zebra and quagga mussels (Dreissena polymorpha and D. rostriformis bugensis, respectively) were not detected by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) and Portland State University (PSU) during their early detection sampling in Oregon water bodies during 2014. Six high-risk Oregon water bodies were sampled for planktonic larvae and adult mussels during the August to September period. A total of 37 plankton samples were collected and over 520,000 liters of reservoir/lake water were filtered through 64-μm mesh nets during plankton sample collection. The greatest sampling effort occurred in Emigrant Lake, Lake Billy Chinook, and Prineville Reservoir but sampling also occurred …

Oregon Lake Watch, 2014 Annual Report, Meredith Jordan, Rich Miller, Angela L. Strecker

Center for Lakes and Reservoirs Publications and Presentations

The Oregon Lake Watch (OLW) volunteer monitoring program is now in its second year of operation, continuing its focus on early detection of aquatic invasive species (AIS), with a secondary focus on lake water quality. The aquatic invasive species chosen as Watch List priorities for the OLW are based on the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s Noxious Weed List (Oregon Department of Agriculture Noxious Weed Control Program 2014) as well as professional judgement (more information can be found in Oregon Lake Watch Final Report 2014). This report summarizes the data collected by 15 of 24 OLW volunteers over 2014, across 110 …

Comparison Between Observed And Model-Simulated Atmospheric Circulationpatterns Associated With Extreme Temperature Days Over North Americausing Cmip5 Historical Simulations, Paul C. Loikith, Anthony J. Broccoli

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Circulation patterns associated with extreme temperature days over North America, as simulated by a suite of climate models, are compared with those obtained from observations. The authors analyze 17 coupled atmosphere–ocean general circulation models contributing to the fifth phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project. Circulation patterns are defined as composites of anomalies in sea level pressure and 500-hPa geopotential height concurrent with days in the tails of temperature distribution. Several metrics used to systematically describe circulation patterns associated with extreme temperature days are applied to both the observed and model-simulated data. Additionally, self-organizing maps are employed as a means …

Surface Temperature Probability Distributions In The Narccap Hindcast Experiment: Evaluation Methodology, Metrics, And Results, Paul C. Loikith, Duane E. Waliser, Huikyo Lee, Jinwon Kim, J. David Neelin, Benjamin R. Lintner, Seth Mcginnis, Chris A. Mattmann, Linda O. Mears

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Methodology is developed and applied to evaluate the characteristics of daily surface temperature distributions in a six-member regional climate model (RCM) hindcast experiment conducted as part of the North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program (NARCCAP). A surface temperature dataset combining gridded station observations and reanalysis is employed as the primary reference. Temperature biases are documented across the distribution, focusing on the median and tails. Temperature variance is generally higher in the RCMs than reference, while skewness is reasonably simulated in winter over the entire domain and over the western United States and Canada in summer. Substantial differences in skewness …

Oregon Lake Watch, 2015 Annual Report, Samuel Cimino, Rich Miller, Angela L. Strecker

Center for Lakes and Reservoirs Publications and Presentations

The Oregon Lake Watch (OLW) volunteer monitoring program completed its third year of operation during 2015 with a focus on early detection of aquatic invasive species (AIS) and water quality status and trend assessments for the better management of Oregon’s lakes and reservoirs. AIS surveys emphasized the detection of Watch List aquatic plant and species that can have a negative impacts on the beneficial uses of our waterbodies. Water transparency and temperature measurements were used to track the condition of volunteers' lakes.

Thirty-one Oregon lakes have been surveyed during the OLW’s three years, 16 of which were surveyed during 2015. …