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2026 March - Tennessee Monthly Climate Report, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Monthly Reports

Hi All,

It was a very warm and dry March across Tennessee, with temperatures 10°F+ above average for most parts of the state through the 1st, 2nd, and 4th weeks of March. Based on monthly mean temperatures, it was a top-5 warmest month on record for Memphis, Nashville, Oak Ridge, Knoxville, Chattanooga, and the Tri-Cities, and a top-5 driest month for Nashville. A strong cold front March 16-17 produced the first tornadoes of the year, in Middle Tennessee.   With warm and dry conditions, we've also seen areas classified by the US Drought Monitor as Abnormally Dry (D0) to Extreme Drought …

Automated Machine Learning For High-Resolution Daily And Hourly Methane Emission Mapping For Rice Paddies Over South Korea: Integrating Modis, Era5-Land, And Soil Data, Jiah Jang, Seung Hee Kim, Menas Kafatos, Jaeil Cho, Gayoung Yoo, Sujong Jeong, Yangwon Lee

Institute for ECHO Articles and Research

Agriculture is a major global source of methane (CH4), and accurate emission estimates are essential for refining national greenhouse gas inventories and supporting climate-resilient policies. This study develops a high-resolution estimation framework for CH4 emissions from Korean rice paddies by integrating multi-source datasets, including Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) vegetation indices, European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Reanalysis Version 5 (ERA5)-Land meteorological variables, and Harmonized World Soil Database (HWSD) soil properties. Using CH4 flux observations from four global rice ecosystems (Italy, Japan, South Korea, and USA), we constructed parallel daily and hourly machine learning models using an automated machine …

2026 February 26 - Tennessee Weekly Drought Summary, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Weekly Drought Summaries

No abstract provided.

A Probabilistic Deep Learning Framework For Retrieving Chlorophyll-A From Hyperspectral Imagery: Integrating Channel Attention And Mixture Density Networks, Wenzhao Li, Surendra Maharjan, Rejoice Thomas, Junde Chen, Hesham Morgan, Michael J. Garay, Olga V. Kalashnikova, Shahryar Fazli, Charles Ichoku, Hesham El-Askary

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Accurate monitoring of Chlorophyll-a (Chla) is critical for assessing aquatic ecosystem health, yet ecological complexity often leads to ambiguous spectral signatures in satellite data. Traditional deterministic models assume a one-to-one mapping between spectra and pigments, often failing to capture these high-dimensional analytical challenges. In this study, we propose a novel deep learning architecture, the Channel Attention-Mixture Density Network (CA-MDN), to retrieve Chla from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) hyperspectral mission. The CA-MDN integrates an attention mechanism to dynamically select ecologically relevant spectral bands and employs a probabilistic output layer to quantify …

Monitoring Strategies In Cave Microclimate Studies, Nenad Buzjak, Dalibor Paar, Aurel Persoiu, Christos Pennos, Franci Gabrovšek, Valerija Rossi

International Journal of Speleology

Cave atmospheres are spatially confined but dynamical systems that influence subterranean ecosystems, geomorphological processes, registration and preservation of climatic signals in sedimentary archives, cultural heritage, and conservation management. Despite major advances in cave climatology, methodological approaches to microclimate monitoring remain fragmented and are in some cases still shaped by the long-standing assumption that cave air temperature simply reflects the mean annual surface temperature. This paper revisits that assumption and develops an experience- and literature-based methodological framework for cave microclimate research. Key terminology is addressed by distinguishing between cave climate, cave microclimate, and cave meteorology, and by situating microclimatic variability within …

2026 February 19 - Tennessee Weekly Drought Summary, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Weekly Drought Summaries

No abstract provided.

Satellites, Urban Heat, And Environmental Justice: Community As The Bridge Between Analysis And Action, Joshua B. Fisher, Ambar Rivera, Ava Cison, Ashley Agatep, Kainani Tacazon, Sophia Spiegleman, Alison Mckenery, Rio E. Fisher, Reginald Archer, Jason A. Douglas

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Heat waves are increasing in frequency, intensity, magnitude, and duration, causing a disproportionate impact on marginalized communities exposed to urban heat islands. Newly emerging spaceborne thermal sensing instruments, such as ECOSTRESS and Hydrosat, now have the capabilities to measure urban surface temperatures accurately at the block level (< 100 m) and with enough frequency to capture transient heat waves (daily to subweekly). Such data are critical for monitoring and informing policy and mitigation efforts, such as resurfacing, green space, cooling stations, and medical mobilization. These serve to advance environmental justice and reduce health risks—and deaths—among the most vulnerable: minority, low-income, elderly, those with physical- and mental-health preconditions, unhoused, children, and outdoor workers. While scientists have increasingly used satellite data to quantify urban heat islands and risks to communities, there remains a significant gap in action resulting from such analyses—a figurative and literal “valley of death.” Reviewing over 500 scientific publications, we identify a critical lack of engagement with the communities being analyzed (10.9%; n = 58); yet, community engagement is key to bridging such analysis with subsequent action. Here, we demonstrate how participatory community engagement directly with data and analysis leads to increased policy changes and mitigation efforts. Our framework has immediate implications for how scientists may augment their work and thought processes to achieve …

2026 February 12 - Tennessee Weekly Drought Summary, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Weekly Drought Summaries

No abstract provided.

News Briefs, Marvin H. Jeter Iii, Joyce Shaw

Mississippi Libraries

News updates from Gunter Library at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory and from the Mississippi Library Commission.

Understanding The 2016–2018 Freshening Dynamics Of The Beaufort Gyre Through Observations And Model Reanalysis, Christina Gregory, Ganesh Gopalakrishnan, Bulusu Subrahmanyam

Faculty Publications

The Beaufort Gyre (BG) in the Arctic Ocean has experienced rapid changes in losing extensive amounts of sea-ice and undergoing freshening over the past few decades. In this study, we highlight important recent changes in BG’s surface circulation, and its impact on freshwater (FW) fluxes and freshwater content (FWC) and draw attention to the critical importance of continuous monitoring of BG dynamics. Using satellite observations of the upper ocean state and ocean and atmospheric reanalysis, here we attempt to understand the anomalous behavior of BG dynamics over the past few decades. In recent years, atmospheric forcings increasingly influenced important judications …

2026 February 5 - Tennessee Weekly Drought Summary, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Weekly Drought Summaries

No abstract provided.

2026 February - Tennessee Monthly Climate Report, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Monthly Reports

Hi All

February 2026 began with a volatile combination of a mid-level low from the Central U.S. and a powerful system moving up the East Coast, trapping Tennessee in a deep freeze. This convergence brought heavy snowfall to East Tennessee while much of the rest of the state was still recovering from a major winter storm just a week prior. On the morning of February 2, record-breaking temperatures hit 15-20°F below normal across the state. In particular, the Bristol/Tri-Cities airport recorded a low of -7°F, breaking its daily record by seven degrees and marking its first sub-zero temperature since 2015. …

Variation In Food Web Reliance On Green And Brown Energy Pathways Across Ecosystem Gradients, James W. Sturges, W. Ryan James, Ryan J. Rezek, Rolando O. Santos, Mack White, Gina A. Badlowski, Shakira Trabelsi, Jordan Massie, Justin S. Lesser, Joel C. Trexler, James Nelson, Jennifer S. Rehage

Marine Science

Aquatic food webs typically include highly coupled fast, ‘green’ energy pathways driven by algae or phytoplankton and slower, ‘brown’ energy channels driven by detritus and terrestrial plants. Quantifying how much energy biological communities obtain from each of these pathways is essential, particularly across multiple interconnected food webs over large areas, because energy dynamics are known to influence ecosystem structure and function. Despite their importance, few studies track variance in energy channel contributions to food webs across interconnected habitats during distinct hydrologic seasons. In this study, we used tri-isotope Bayesian mixing models to quantify seasonal contributions of energy pathways to consumers …

2026 February - Tennessee Climate Snapshot, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Monthly Reports

No abstract provided.

Deep Learning Style Transfer For Enhanced Smoke Plume Visibility: A Standardized False Color Composite (Sfcc) In Gems Satellite Imagery, Yemin Jeong, Seung Hee Kim, Menas Kafatos, Jeong-Ah Yu, Kyoung-Hee Sung, Seung-Yeon Kim, Goo Kim, Jae-Jin Kim, Yangwon Lee

Institute for ECHO Articles and Research

Wildfire smoke visualization using geostationary satellite imagery is essential for real-time monitoring and atmospheric analysis; however, inconsistencies in color tone across Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) images hinder reliable interpretation and model training. This study proposes a Standardized False Color Composite (SFCC) framework based on deep learning style transfer to enhance the visual consistency and interpretability of wildfire smoke scenes. Four tone-standardization methods were compared: the statistical Empirical Cumulative Distribution Function (ECDF) correction and three neural approaches—ReHistoGAN, StyTr2, and Style Injection Diffusion Model (SI-DM). Each model was evaluated visually and quantitatively using six metrics (SSIM, LPIPS, FID, histogram similarity, ArtFID, …

Microplastics In St. John, United States Virgin Islands Sediments: Methodological Approaches And Variability Of Microplastics Concentrations And Accumulation Rates, Henry B. Arbaugh, Sarah C. Gray, Dimitri Deheyn

Theses

Sediment samples were collected from a near shore and reef site in Coral Bay, St. John, United States Virgin Islands (USVI) from 2007-2016, using tube sediment traps. These samples provide an opportunity to study microplastics (MPs) in an area where no previous MP studies have been performed. Most sedimentary MP studies utilize benthic samples which can only measure MP concentrations (#MP/g or #MP/mL sediment), while sediment traps can provide MP accumulation rates (#MP/cm²/day) as a function of time. However, the methods used for extracting MPs from benthic samples have not been tested using sediment trap samples whose characteristics, …

A Systematic Literature Review On The Influence Of The El Niño Southern Oscillation On Rainfall Variability In Central Java, Indonesia, Sri Endah Ardhi Ningrum Abdullah, Trinah Wati, Wahyu Hardyanto

Jurnal Pendidikan Geografi: Kajian, Teori, dan Praktek dalam Bidang Pendidikan dan Ilmu Geografi

The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon greatly influences rainfall variability in tropical regions, including Central Java, Indonesia. This study employs a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) approach in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. This study examines 50 articles from 2010 to 2025, as well as conducting a bibliometric analysis using VOSviewer, to identify trends and the evolution of themes. The results of the study indicate that El Niño generally reduces rainfall and increases the risk of drought, while La Niña tends to increase rainfall, potentially causing flooding. The impacts of ENSO extend to agriculture, food security, and water management, and are …

2026 January 29 - Tennessee Weekly Drought Summary, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Weekly Drought Summaries

No abstract provided.

A High-Resolution Daily Precipitation Fusion Framework Integrating Radar, Satellite, And Nwp Data Using Machine Learning Over South Korea, Hyoju Park, Hiroyuki Miyazaki, Menas Kafatos, Seung Hee Kim, Yangwon Lee

Institute for ECHO Articles and Research

Accurate precipitation mapping is essential for effective disaster management; however, individual radar, satellite, and numerical weather prediction products often struggle in the topographically complex terrain of South Korea. This study proposes a high-resolution (~500 m) daily precipitation fusion framework that integrates Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) radar, Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Integrated Multi-Satellite Retrievals for GPM (IMERG), and Local Data Assimilation and Prediction System (LDAPS) data. The framework employs a Random Forest model augmented with a monthly Empirical Cumulative Distribution Function (ECDF) correction. Auxiliary predictors are incorporated to enhance physical interpretability and stability, including terrain attributes to represent orographic effects, land-cover …

Observation-Based Reconstruction Of High-Resolution Daily Temperature Field Using Lapse-Rate-Constrained Kriging In Complex Terrain: A Nationwide Dataset For South Korea, Youjeong Youn, Menas Kafatos, Seung Hee Kim, Yangwon Lee

Institute for ECHO Articles and Research

High-resolution air-temperature fields are essential for climate, hydrologic, and ecological applications in complex terrain, yet operational products often lack the spatial detail to resolve topographic effects. We develop an observation-driven reconstruction of daily air temperature fields for South Korea (2024) using ordinary kriging with lapse-rate correction (OKLR), integrating a dense network of over 500 stations from the Automatic Mountain Meteorology Observation System (AMOS) and the Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS). The OKLR framework systematically removes elevation-driven trends using a physically based fixed lapse rate (–6.5 °C km−1), performs kriging on detrended residuals, and reapplies Digital Elevation Model (DEM)-based corrections to …

Data And Code For "Stratocumulus Drizzle Readily, Cumulus Drizzle Selectively: Evidence From Four Oceanic Regions", Katia Lamer

SoMAS Research Data

Data and Code for "Stratocumulus drizzle readily, cumulus drizzle selectively: evidence from four oceanic regions"

2026 January 22 - Tennessee Weekly Drought Summary, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Weekly Drought Summaries

No abstract provided.

A Robust Deep Learning Ensemble Framework For Waterbody Detection Using High-Resolution X-Band Sar Under Data-Constrained Conditions, Soyeon Choi, Seung Hee Kim, Son V. Nghiem, Menas Kafatos, Minha Choi, Jinsoo Kim, Yangwon Lee

Institute for ECHO Articles and Research

Accurate delineation of inland waterbodies is critical for applications such as hydrological monitoring, disaster response preparedness and response, and environmental management. While optical satellite imagery is hindered by cloud cover or low-light conditions, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) provides consistent surface observations regardless of weather or illumination. This study introduces a deep learning-based ensemble framework for precise inland waterbody detection using high-resolution X-band Capella SAR imagery. To improve the discrimination of water from spectrally similar non-water surfaces (e.g., roads and urban structures), an 8-channel input configuration was developed by incorporating auxiliary geospatial features such as height above nearest drainage (HAND), slope, …

2026 January 15 - Tennessee Weekly Drought Summary, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Weekly Drought Summaries

No abstract provided.

A Comparison Of Modeled Daytime E Regions From E-Probed And Pyiri With Ionosonde Observations, Daniel J. Emmons, Cornelius C. J. H. Salinas, Dong L. Wu, Nimalan Swarnalingam, Eugene V. Dao, Jorge L. Chau, Yosuke Yamazaki, Kyle E. Fitch, Victoriya V. Forsythe

Faculty Publications

While the F region is the primary focus of many ionospheric models because it contains the peak electron density, the E region is an important region for ionospheric conductivities and high-frequency radio propagation. This study analyzes modeled E regions from the newly developed PyIRI and E-PROBED models. A long-term comparison of E region predictions from E-PROBED and PyIRI with ionosonde observations is performed for three sites spanning low- (Fortaleza, Brazil), mid- (El Arenosillo, Spain), and high-latitudes (Gakona, Alaska). Modeled foE and hmE trends are compared against a combination of manually-scaled and automatically-scaled ionograms using ARTIST-5 for the period 2009–2024 for …

2026 January 8 - Tennessee Weekly Drought Summary, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Weekly Drought Summaries

No abstract provided.

Metacommunity Coupled Epidemiological And Biophysical Modeling Of An Emergent Coral Disease, Benjamin Holmes Farmer

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Emerging infectious diseases pose imminent risk to the marine realm and coral reefs in particular. Since its emergence in 2014, stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) has dramatically reduced living coral cover in Florida and charted a similar course in the Caribbean. SCTLD is by far the most severe coral disease in history and has driven highly susceptible species to local extinction, yet the mechanisms driving the regional epizootic are not well understood. Here, we developed reef-scale parameterizations of disease spread using model sites in the lower Florida Keys, developed extensive metacommunity habitat maps for the US Caribbean, and then …

Synthesis Study Of Evapotranspiration Evolution In The Mekong Delta Induced By Land Use And Land Cover Changes In The Decades Of 1990–2020, Emiliana Valentini, Serena Sapio, Son V. Nghiem, Seung Hee Kim, Sara Liburdi, Andrea Taramelli

Institute for ECHO Articles and Research

Evapotranspiration (ET) plays a key role in the water cycle and balance, and its estimation is of paramount importance in hydrological studies. This variable is also strongly influenced by the land use and land cover (LULC). This study use a synthesis approach to analyse the relationship between ET variation and LULC transformation in the period 1990–2020. The study area represents a major agricultural region in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam between the Mekong and Bassac rivers. The multivariate dataset was ingested into the hydrological model Soil and Water Assessment Tool to examine the multidecadal ET evolution across the study region. …

2026 January - Tennessee Climate Snapshot, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Monthly Reports

No abstract provided.

2026 January - Tennessee Monthly Climate Report, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Monthly Reports

Hi All,

The main weather and climate story of January 2026 was the major winter storm that impacted the state from Saturday, January 24 through Monday, January 26 with rain, freezing rain, sleet, and snow, followed by extremely cold conditions. Winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories were in place across the state on Friday, January 23, as snow and sleet spread into Tennessee from the west in the overnight hours of Friday into Saturday. Most areas of the state saw an initial round of snow and sleet, before a layer of warm air aloft caused most locations to see …