Other Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

Characterizing El Niño-Southern Oscillation Effects On The Blue Nile Yield And The Nile River Basin Precipitation Using Empirical Mode Decomposition, Justin A. Le, Hesham El-Askary, Mohamed Allali, Eman Sayed, Hani Sweliem, Thomas C. Piechota, Daniele C. Struppa

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Using new mathematical and data-driven techniques, we propose new indices to measure and predict the strength of different El Niño events and how they affect regions like the Nile River Basin (NRB). Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD), when applied to Southern Oscillation Index (SOI), yields three Intrinsic Mode Functions (IMF) tracking recognizable and physically significant non-stationary processes. The aim is to characterize underlying signals driving ENSO as reflected in SOI, and show that those signals also meaningfully affect other physical processes with scientific and predictive utility. In the end, signals are identified which have a strong statistical relationship with various physical …

Tidal Locking And The Gravitational Fold Catastrophe, Andrea Ferroglia, Miguel C. N. Fiolhais

Publications and Research

The purpose of this work is to study the phenomenon of tidal locking in a pedagogical framework by analyzing the effective gravitational potential of a two-body system with two spinning objects. It is shown that the effective potential of such a system is an example of a fold catastrophe. In fact, the existence of a local minimum and saddle point, corresponding to tidally locked circular orbits, is regulated by a single dimensionless control parameter that depends on the properties of the two bodies and on the total angular momentum of the system. The method described in this work results in …

Modeling Early Life: Ontogenetic Growth And Behavior Affect Population Connectivity In Gulf Of Mexico Marine Fish, Kelly Vasbinder

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an examination of growth, behavior, and dispersal during the early life stages of marine fishes in the Gulf of Mexico. Understanding movements of early life stages is a key part of managing exploited fish populations. Position in the water column can impact larval dispersal, since it determines those currents to which larvae are exposed. First, I investigated the relationship between length and age in early life stages of marine fishes. I found that demersal fish taxa tend to be represented by exponential models, while pelagic fish tend to be represented by linear models. I suggest this may …

Analytical Methods And Critical Analyses Supporting Thermodynamically Consistent Characterizations Of The Marine Co2 System, Jonathan D. Sharp

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Chemical equilibria describing the unique behavior of gaseous and ionic forms of dissolved carbon dioxide (CO₂) in seawater comprise what is known as the marine CO₂ (or carbonate) system. Observations of the marine CO₂ system with high degrees of accuracy, reproducibility, spatial coverage, and temporal resolution are critical for evaluating natural cycles of carbon within the Earth system, as well as chemical and biological responses to anthropogenic CO₂ emissions.

One component of the CO₂ system is the carbonate ion (CO²−₃), a dissolved ion that is produced when carbonic acid (H …

Assessment Of Aerosol Optical Depth Under Background And Polluted Conditions Using Aeronet And Viirs Datasets, Mijin Kim, Seung Hee Kim, Woogyung Vincent Kim, Yun Gon Lee, Jhoon Kim, Menas C. Kafatos

Institute for ECHO Articles and Research

We investigated aerosol optical depth (AOD) under background and polluted conditions using Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) and Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) observations. The AOD data were separated into background, high, and median AOD (BAOD, HAOD, and MAOD, respectively) based on the cumulative AOD distribution at each point and then their spatiotemporal variations were analyzed. Persistent pollutant emissions from industrial activity in South Asia (SUA) and Northeast Asia (NEA) produced the highest BAOD values. Gridded-BAODs obtained from VIIRS Deep Blue AOD products showed widespread high-level BAOD over the oceans associated with transport from dust and biomass burning events. The …

Principles Of Organizing Earthquake Forecasting Based On Multiparameter Sensor-Web Monitoring Data, Sergey Pulinets, Dimitar Ouzounov, Dmitry Davidenko, Pavel Budnikov

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

The paper describes an approach that allows, basing on the data of multiparameter monitoring of atmospheric and ionospheric parameters and using ground-based and satellite measurements, to select from the data stream a time interval indicating the beginning of the final stage of earthquake preparation, and finally using intelligent data processing to carry out a short-term forecast for a time interval of 2 weeks to 1 day before the main shock. Based on the physical model of the lithosphere-atmospheric-ionospheric coupling, the precursors are selected, the ensemble of which is observed only during the precursory periods, and their identification is based on …

Escolar (Lepidocybium Flavobrunneum) Neurocranium, Meredith M. Pratt, Katerina D. Sawickij, David W. Kerstetter

All Scans: Kerstetter Fisheries and Avian Ecology 3D Scan Series

Neurocranium prep of escolar Lepidocybium flavobrunneum obtained from longlining vessel.

The Source Detection Of 28 September 2018 Sulawesi Tsunami By Using Ionospheric Gnss Total Electron Content Disturbance, Jann-Yenq Liu, Chi-Yen Lin, Yuh-Ing Chen, Tso-Ren Wu, Meng-Ju Chung, Tien-Chi Liu, Yu-Lin Tsai, Loren C. Chang, Chi-Kuang Chao, Dimitar Ouzounov, Katsumi Hattori

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

The 28 September 2018 magnitude Mw7.8 Palu, Indonesia earthquake (0.178° S, 119.840° E, depth 13 km) occurred at 10:02 UTC. The major earthquake triggered catastrophic liquefaction, landslides, and a near-field tsunami. The ionospheric total electron content (TEC) derived from records of 5 ground-based global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers is employed to detect tsunami traveling ionospheric disturbances (TTIDs). In total, 15 TTIDs have been detected. The ray-tracing and beamforming techniques are then used to find the TTID source location. The bootstrap method is applied in order to further explore the possible location of the tsunami source based on results of …

Statement Of World Aquatic Scientific Societies On The Need To Take Urgent Action Against Human-Caused Climate Change, Based On Scientific Evidence [Dear Colleague Letter], Scott A. Bonar, Brian R. Murphy, Leanne H. Roulson, Jesse T. Trushenski, Douglas J. Austen, Michael Edward Douglas

United States Fish and Wildlife: Staff Publications

Dear Colleague Letter from the American Fisheries Society to fellow scientific societies, July 25, 2020, about the urgent need for responsive collective action to mitigate impending radical climate change. Includes the Statement of World Aquatic Scientific Societies on the Need to Take Urgent Action Against Human-Caused Climate Change, Based on Scientific Evidence, emphasizing the importance of aquatic ecosystems. Includes extensive citations and notes.

"Water is the most important natural resource on Earth as it is vital for life. Aquatic ecosystems, freshwater or marine, provide multiple benefits to human society, such as provisioning of oxygen, food, drinking water, genetic resources; regulation …

Global Atmospheric Budget Of Acetone: Air-Sea Exchange And The Contribution To Hydroxyl Radicals, Siyuan Wang, Eric C. Apel, Rebecca H. Schwantes, Kelvin H. Bates, Daniel J. Jacob, Emily V. Fischer, Rebecca S. Hornbrook, Alan J. Hills, Louisa K. Emmons, Laura L. Pan, Shawn Honomichl, Simone Tilmes, Jean‐François Lamarque, Mingxi Yang, Christa A. Marandino, E. S. Saltzman, Warren J. De Bruyn, Sohiko Kameyama, Hiroshi Tanimoto, Yuko Omori, Samuel R. Hall, Kirk Ullmann, Thomas B. Ryerson, Chelsea R. Thompson, Jeff Peischl, Bruce C. Daube, Róisín Commane, Kathryn Mckain, Colm Sweeney, Alexander B. Thames, David O. Miller, William H. Brune, Glenn S. Diskin, Joshua P. Digangi, Steven C. Wofsy

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Acetone is one of the most abundant oxygenated volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the atmosphere. The oceans impose a strong control on atmospheric acetone, yet the oceanic fluxes of acetone remain poorly constrained. In this work, the global budget of acetone is evaluated using two global models: CAM‐chem and GEOS‐Chem. CAM‐chem uses an online air‐sea exchange framework to calculate the bidirectional oceanic acetone fluxes, which is coupled to a data‐oriented machine‐learning approach. The machine‐learning algorithm is trained using a global suite of seawater acetone measurements. GEOS‐Chem uses a fixed surface seawater concentration of acetone to calculate the oceanic fluxes. Both …

A Process-Based Approach To Evaluating The Role Of Organic Ligands In Trace Metal Cycling In The Marine Environment, Travis Mellett

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In addition to control by major nutrient elements (nitrogen, phosphorous, and silicon) growth and community composition of marine phytoplankton is also regulated by trace element nutrients (iron, copper, manganese, zinc, cobalt, nickel, and cadmium). Of these, iron is the most influential in the modern ocean, regulating phytoplankton growth and carbon export in high-nutrient low-chlorophyll regimes and exerting an important control on the marine nitrogen cycle through its role in di-nitrogen fixation. The distributions of these metals has the capacity to control primary production and phytoplankton community composition through differences in cellular quotas or metal sensitivities amongst species. The relationship between …

Investigating The Isotope Signatures Of Dissolved Iron In The Southern Atlantic Ocean, Brent A. Summers

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Iron (Fe), used as a cofactor in nitrogen fixation and photosynthesis by oceanic microorganisms, has extremely low dissolved concentrations in the surface ocean, leading to widespread limitation of phytoplankton growth. Dissolved Fe isotope ratios (δ56Fe) have been shown to be useful in helping to quantify the sources and cycling of Fe in the oceans if Fe source signatures and fractionation processes are well understood. Here, this thesis presents data from GEOTRACES section GA10W, and investigate the isotopic signature of sediment-derived dissolved Fe from the South Atlantic margins. My results show that there are both shallow (δ56Fe of -0.2‰) and deep …

Long-Term Ndvi And Recent Vegetation Cover Profiles Of Major Offshore Island Nesting Sites Of Sea Turtles In Saudi Waters Of The Northern Arabian Gulf, Rommel H. Maneja, Jeffrey D. Miller, Wenzhao Li, Hesham El-Askary, Ace Vincent B. Flandez, Joshua J. Dagoy, Joselito Francis A. Alcaria, Abdullajid U. Basali, Khaled A. Al-Abdulkader, Ronald A. Loughland, Mohamed A. Qurban

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Vegetation is an important ecological component of offshore islands in the Arabian Gulf (AG), which maintains long-term resilience of these islands. This is achieved by influencing sediment retention and moisture acquisition via condensation during periods of high humidity and by providing a variety of microhabitats for island fauna. The resilience of offshore islands’ ecosystems in the Saudi waters is important because they host the largest number of nesting hawksbill and green turtles in the AG. This study defines the characteristics and the long-term trends in vegetation cover of the offshore islands used by sea turtles as nesting grounds in the …

Seasonal Transport Of Dissolved Inorganic Carbon And Total Alkalinity Across The Louisiana Shelf, Michelle M. Anderson

LSU Master's Theses

Rivers and wetlands are a major source of terrestrial derived carbon for coastal ocean margins. Unfortunately, Louisiana’s wetlands are threatened by ongoing high rates of erosion, deterioration, and unprecedented rates of river water discharge that changes seasonally, leading to a net loss of terrestrial carbon into the northern Gulf of Mexico (nGOM). There exists a current lack of understanding about the distribution of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and total alkalinity (TAlk) within the shallowest regions of the Louisiana shelf. Even less is known about how the transport of DIC alters seasonally with changes in river outflow and shelf currents. Quantifying …

Reconstructing Deep-Ocean Circulation During Cenozoic Climate Transitions From The Marine Sediment Record, Brian Romans

Sustainability Seminar Series

Ocean circulation plays a critical role in the Earth’s climate system through the storage and transfer of heat and carbon dioxide. The North Atlantic and Southern Ocean are of particular interest because these are regions where deep-water components of global circulation develop. Dr. Romans uses the deep-sea sedimentary record to reconstruct past ocean circulation and its relationship to past climatic and tectonic conditions. He integrates information from a broad range of spatial and temporal scales, from seismic-reflection data that reveals regional sedimentation patterns to high resolution records based on quantitative grain-size analysis from cores. Dr. Romans will present research from …

The Role Of Island-Marsh Couplings In The Long-Term Sustainability Barrier Islands In The Face Of Accelerated Sea-Level Rise, Christopher Hein

Sustainability Seminar Series

Barrier islands are one of the most ubiquitous features of the coast . . . at least here along the US East Coast, which accounts for >10% of the world’s barrier islands. Little more than large, partially vegetated, subaerial sand bars, barrier island provide for recreation, ecosystem services, and protection of mainland communities from storm impacts. They are also some of the most dynamic features on earth, constantly changing in the face of waves, tides, wind, and currents. With examples from northern Massachusetts and the Virginia Eastern Shore, this talk will focus on the long-term sustainability of barrier islands, and …

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Exposure, Hepatic Accumulation, And Associated Health Impacts In Gulf Of Mexico Tilefish (Lopholatilus Chamaeleonticeps), Susan M. Snyder

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, systematic demersal longline surveys were conducted throughout the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) continental shelf to evaluate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposure, hepatic accumulation, and health indices in demersal fishes. Tilefish (Lopholatilus chamaeleonticeps) were chosen as a target species due to high vulnerability to environmental disturbance, commercial importance, Gulf-wide distribution, and documented high exposure to PAHs post-Deepwater Horizon. Over 200 Tilefish were sampled in the north central GoM at repeat stations from 2012 to 2017, and from the northwest GoM, southwest GoM, Bay of Campeche, and Yucatán Shelf over years 2015 and 2016. Tilefish …

Large Thecosome Pteropods Of The Northern Gulf Of Mexico: Species Abundance, Spatial And Vertical Distribution With A Temporal Comparison Of Shell Thickness, Sarah M. Shedler

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Large thecosome pteropods have a significant role in the pelagic ecosystem of the northern Gulf of Mexico (GoM). This research analyzed species abundances, vertical and horizontal distributions, and trends in shell thickness between 2011 and 2015. Pteropod samples were collected following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill by two midwater sampling programs: the Offshore Nekton Sampling and Analysis Program (ONSAP, 2011) and the Deep Pelagic Nekton Dynamics of the Gulf of Mexico (DEEPEND, 2015). All samples were collected using a 10-m2 Multiple Opening/Closing Net and Environmental Sensing System (MOC10) midwater trawl, with 3-mm mesh size. This gear sampled five discrete …

Changes In Atmospheric, Meteorological, And Ocean Parameters Associated With The 12 January 2020 Taal Volcanic Eruption, Feng Jing, Akshansa Chauhan, Ramesh P. Singh, Prasanjit Dash

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

The Taal volcano erupted on 12 January 2020, the first time since 1977. About 35 mild earthquakes (magnitude greater than 4.0) were observed on 12 January 2020 induced from the eruption. In the present paper, we analyzed optical properties of volcanic aerosols, volcanic gas emission, ocean parameters using multi-satellite sensors, namely, MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer), AIRS (Atmospheric Infrared Sounder), OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument), TROPOMI (TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument) and ground observations, namely, Argo, and AERONET (AErosol RObotic NETwork) data. Our detailed analysis shows pronounced changes in all the parameters, which mainly occurred in the western and south-western regions because the …

Testing The Efficacy Of Recompression Tools To Reduce The Discard Mortality Of Reef Fishes In The Gulf Of Mexico, Oscar E. Ayala

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In order to enhance the recovery of overfished stocks, fishery managers have implemented increasingly restrictive harvest regulations. However, discarded fish are susceptible to mortality from barotrauma when retrieved from depth. Venting tools are commonly used to enable fish to return to their depth of capture. An alternative method has been developed that involves the rapid descent of fish to their depth of capture to reduce buoyancy. In the Gulf of Mexico, the released portion of Red Snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) and Red Grouper (Epinephelus morio) has exceeded 80% of total catch. I tested the survival of these two economically important species …

Investigation Of Retention Versus Export Of Planktonic Fish Eggs In The Northeastern Gulf Of Mexico, Bich Vi Viviane Nguyen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Planktonic fish eggs can be reliably identified with DNA barcoding, and their distribution and abundance can be monitored. Passive drifting fish eggs can be advected by ocean currents and as a result, can either be locally retained or exported away from the West Florida Shelf (WFS). Investigating their retention or export helps in the interpretation of egg abundance trends and in understanding their distribution in long-term surveys. The present investigation was performed in two steps using a combination of biological and physical oceanographic methods. First, fish fecundity of three species (Red Snapper, Vermilion Snapper, and Sand Perch) was assessed, first, …

Homestead National Monument Of America, Acoustic Monitoring, 2011-2012

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

This report presents acoustical data gathered by Student Conservation Association interns and the Natural Resource Specialist at Homestead National Monument of America in 2011 and 2012. Data were collected at four sites to provide park managers with information on the acoustical environment, sources of noise, and the existing ambient sound levels within the monument. The data will also inform the park managers with information regarding the potential impact of traffic on Highway 4.

Monitoring occurred at each site during two different seasons (except HOME002) in order to document seasonal variations. In each deployment, sound pressure level (SPL) was …

Air/Sea Transfer Of Highly Soluble Gases Over Coastal Waters, J. G. Porter, Warren J. De Bruyn, S. D. Miller, E. S. Saltzman

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

The deposition of soluble trace gases to the sea surface is not well studied due to a lack of flux measurements over the ocean. Here we report simultaneous air/sea eddy covariance flux measurements of water vapor, sulfur dioxide (SO₂), and momentum from a coastal North Atlantic pier. Gas transfer velocities were on average about 20% lower for SO₂ than for H₂O. This difference is attributed to the difference in molecular diffusivity between the two molecules (D _{SO 2}/D _{H 2O} = 0.5), in reasonable agreement with bulk parameterizations in air/sea gas …

Internet Of Things For Environmental Sustainability And Climate Change, Abdul Salam

Faculty Publications

Our world is vulnerable to climate change risks such as glacier retreat, rising temperatures, more variable and intense weather events (e.g., floods, droughts, and frosts), deteriorating mountain ecosystems, soil degradation, and increasing water scarcity. However, there are big gaps in our understanding of changes in regional climate and how these changes will impact human and natural systems, making it difficult to anticipate, plan, and adapt to the coming changes. The IoT paradigm in this area can enhance our understanding of regional climate by using technology solutions, while providing the dynamic climate elements based on integrated environmental sensing and communications that …

Development Of A Sensor Suite For Atmospheric Boundary Layer Measurement With A Small Multirotor Unmanned Aerial System, Kevin A. Adkins, Christopher J. Swinford, Peter D. Wambolt, Gordon Bease

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) are increasingly being used to conduct atmospheric research. Because of the dynamic nature and inhomogeneity of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL), the ability of instrumented sUAS to make on-demand 3-dimensional high-resolution spatial measurements of atmospheric parameters makes them particularly suited to ABL investigations. Both fixed-wing and multirotor sUAS have been used for ABL investigations. Most investigations to date have included in-situ measurement of thermodynamic quantities such as temperature, pressure and humidity. When wind has been measured, a variety of strategies have been used. Two of the most popular techniques have been deducing wind from inertial …

Flood Detection Using Multi-Modal And Multi-Temporal Images: A Comparative Study, Kazi Aminul Islam, Mohammad Shahab Uddin, Chiman Kwan, Jiang Li

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Natural disasters such as flooding can severely affect human life and property. To provide rescue through an emergency response team, we need an accurate flooding assessment of the affected area after the event. Traditionally, it requires a lot of human resources to obtain an accurate estimation of a flooded area. In this paper, we compared several traditional machine-learning approaches for flood detection including multi-layer perceptron (MLP), support vector machine (SVM), deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) with recent domain adaptation-based approaches, based on a multi-modal and multi-temporal image dataset. Specifically, we used SPOT-5 and RADAR images from the flood event that …