Digital Commons Network^™

Project G.L.E.N., Alexis Peshehonoff, Makaylei Huggins, Bernard Muich, William John, Nicholas Fazzolari, Kai Hong, Nicholas Krasznavolgyi, Caitlyn A. Gabrinowitz, Grace Forbes, Harris Meyer, Jakob Graudons, Georgii Dubrov, Aditya Bhattacharya, Augustine Balish, Zachary Ort, Stephen Syvertson, Sajid Berhane

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

Project G.L.E.N., formally known as “Refining Enhanced Fujita Wind Estimates via Unmanned Collection of In-Situ Tornadic Data Measurements,” is an ongoing initiative aimed at advancing tornado research through the development and deployment of an unmanned tornado probe. Through the Gale Level Environmental Navigator (G.L.E.N.) probe, a remote-controlled unit equipped with specialized meteorological sensors and innovative design features, we aim to collect real-time, onsite data from within tornadoes. This approach allows for direct measurement of internal atmospheric conditions such as wind speeds, pressure fluctuations, temperature, humidity, and other storm dynamics while removing human risk from tornado interception, significantly enhancing the safety …

Real-Time Fused Sensor System For Early Onboard Detection Of Weather Phenomena, Sanjana Singh

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

Weather-related hazards continue to be a major cause of operational interruptions and safety issues in the aviation sector. Atmospheric phenomena, including turbulence, microbursts, convective storms, and rapidly changing boundary-layer conditions, can arise quickly and often occur on spatial scales that are not adequately addressed by regional forecasting systems. These phenomena particularly endanger aircraft flying at low altitudes, such as general aviation planes, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and those during takeoff and landing Although meteorological forecasting systems and ground-based radar networks offer important regional insights, they may fail to detect localized atmospheric variations encountered along specific flight routes. Consequently, pilots and …

Investigating The Spatial Scales Of Ionospheric Irregularities Using Wavelet Analysis, Nash Mcleod

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

Investigating the Spatial Scales of Ionospheric Irregularities Using Wavelet Analysis:   Ionospheric radio wave scintillation arises from plasma density irregularities in Earth’s ionosphere. Consequently, rapid fluctuations occur in the phase and amplitude of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals and can impact communication and navigation systems. These irregularities span from a wide range of spatial and temporal scales and evolve dynamically under the influence of magnetosphere-ionosphere (MI) processes. We investigate phase and amplitude scintillation events using Continuous Wavelet Transform (CWT) to study the spatial evolution of ionospheric irregularities. These irregularities are thought to be formed via different plasma mechanisms such as …

Bounded Thunderstorm Tracking Of Lightning Events With Muon Detection, Skylar Wardlaw, Ainsley Helgerson, Maria Kaminska, Logan Velvet, Georgii Dubrov, Jackson Stewart, Aaron Jung, Nathaniel O’Hara, Amelia Koth, Nash Mcleod, Emaleth Wyckoff

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

The muon is a high-energy particle that can be produced by cosmic rays and trigger upper-atmospheric particle cascades and energetic processes. It has been hypothesized that such cascades are at the onset of lightning. As such, muons serve as a valuable probe for investigating the underlying mechanisms of its initiation, whose full governing dynamics remain vastly unknown despite extensive research. Traditional approaches to lightning research involve simulations and observations of the discharge itself, but the role of high-energy particle interactions has yet to be fully constrained. The CosmicWatch Muon Detector design enables the detection of atmospheric muons through scintillation events, …

Stormtrack: A Regime-Aware Classifier-Router Architecture For Multi-Horizon Kp Index Forecasting, John Rendleman

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

STORMTRACK: A Regime-Aware Classifier-Router Architecture for Multi-Horizon Kp Index Forecasting Current algorithms in operational space weather face extreme difficultly predicting the Kp geomagnetic index beyond 24 hours, a lead time that is critical for protecting high-frequency communications and infrastructure. Most regression models are optimized for quiet conditions, which dominate the data, leading to systematic underpredictions of storm events that cripple space infrastructure. Probabilistic approaches and physics-based numerical models also falter due to the same class imbalance plaguing standard regressors at multi-day lead times. The ICARUS 6 architecture addresses this by splitting the forecasting component into quiet and storm regimes, which …

Modeling Seiche Oscillations Using Damped Vibration Differential Equations, Bianca Gerity, Arineh Shahbazi

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

A seiche oscillation is a standing wave that oscillates in an enclosed body of water, like a lake or pool. Seiches are caused by strong winds, earthquakes, and rapid atmospheric changes. Seiches are an excellent real-world example of damped harmonic motion. The physics of these unique vibrations can actually be modeled using a second-order differential equation for damped oscillators of the general form mx''+cx'+kx=0, where m represents the mass of the vibrating water column, c represents the energy dissipation due to friction and viscosity, and k represents the force governed by gravity and the basin's geometry. The objective of this …

Effective Visibility In The Infrared Bands, Peter L. Dean-Erlander, Steven T. Fiorino, Ronald G. Driggers

Faculty Publications

Visibility is an atmospheric metric for the comparison of terrestrial imaging conditions and locations. A limitation of visibility is that it is defined for the visible spectrum only, and there is no simple infrared equivalent. This study compares three reflective infrared wavebands: near-IR (NIR), shortwave IR (SWIR), and extended shortwave IR (eSWIR), to the visible band across a global set of cities to develop three rule-of-thumb functions for IR effective visibility. To accomplish this, a radiometric sensor model is combined with the Laser Environmental Effects Definition and Reference (LEEDR) software package to calculate the visibility of a black-and-white contrast target …

An Atmospheric Optical Turbulence Structure Parameter Measurements System Based On Direct Ri Sensing Using High-Resolution Fiber-Optic Sensors, Matej Njegovec, Simon Pevec, Vedran Budinski, Boris Macuh, Melissa K. Beason, Denis Onlagic

Faculty Publications

The paper presents a method to characterize the refractive index structure parameter (C_n²) associated with optical turbulence directly. The characterization system is based on miniature, high‑resolution, all‑fiber refractive index (RI) sensors. The refractive index sensors employ open‑path, low‑finesse Fabry–Perot interferometers that are approximately 8 mm long and 200 μm in diameter. The active part of the interferometers is made of ultra‑low‑expansion glass, which eliminates the influence of thermal expansion on the refractive index measurements. The proposed refractive index sensor, operating in a differential configuration, achieved a resolution of 2×10^-9 RIU using a custom‑designed spectral interrogation system …

2026 August 6 - Tennessee Weekly Drought Summary, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Weekly Drought Summaries

No abstract provided.

Modeling Formation Of Turbulent Sporadic-E Clouds Using Realistic Wind Data, Aaron M. Schinder, Kenneth S. Obenberger, Jorge L. Chau, Juan M. Urco, Matthias Clahsen, Benjamin F. Akers, Daniel J. Emmons

Faculty Publications

A high resolution two-dimensional multi-fluid model of sporadic-E layers was developed and driven with physically realistic mesosphere, lower thermosphere (MLT) winds measured over Albuquerque, New Mexico. The realistic E-region winds are produced by the HYdrodynamic Point-wise Environment Reconstructor (HYPER) model that ingests meteor derived wind observations from a Spread-spectrum Interferometric Multistatic meteor radar Observing Network (SIMONe) system combined with the Navier-Stokes equations to provide high resolution three-dimensional wind fields over time. Sporadic-E dynamics are simulated using both realistic winds from HYPER as well as idealized hyperbolic tangent windshears to compare and contrast. Overall, the model shows greater inhomogeneity and irregularity …

Ground To Roof Snow Load Ratio (Gr) Data Release, Brennan Bean, Cooper Nelson, Jesse Wheeler, Scout Jarman, Salam Adil Al-Rubaye, Marc Maguire

Browse all Datasets

This data release provides historical ground-to-roof snow load ratio (GR) datasets used for snow load research and model development. The release includes original referenced datasets, cleaned country specific datasets, and a master dataset that combines Canadian and United States datasets into a standardized format for research and engineering applications.

Changes In Water Quality And Microbiota Over Two Years In Florida Hard Clam (Mercenaria Mercenaria) Hatcheries, Bonnie Getter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

This thesis characterized the water quality and bacterial communities in nine hard clam hatcheries over two production years through weekly or biweekly water quality and chemistry monitoring, monthly bacterial plating in the second year of production, and select 16S microbiome sampling at select hatcheries to address production bottlenecks and support the reliable production of high-quality seed for Florida’s growing hard clam aquaculture industry. Logistic regression models showed that water source was distinguished by pH, salinity, alkalinity, and nitrite, whereas geographic location was distinguished by temperature, salinity, nitrate, and calcium; temperature, dissolved oxygen, salinity, and alkalinity distinguished seasons. Vibrio bacteria differed …

The Aggregation Of Microplastics By Enhancing Extracellular Polymeric Substance Production In Pseudoalteromonas Sp. Ncimb 2021 To Improve Removal Efficiencies In Environmental Matrices, Janelle L. Mercer

All Theses

Microplastics (MP) are ubiquitous in the natural environment and are a growing threat due to their small size and durability. Plastics are released into the environment through improper waste management, wastewater treatment outfalls, industrial spills, agricultural runoff, and landfills. These particles breakdown into secondary MP through degradation pathways. MP, less than 5 mm, require intricate removal techniques from water systems. Filtration techniques, though viable and effective, have implementation constraints due to high cost, maintenance demands, and filter fouling. By integrating coagulation and flocculation processes prior to filtration, MP removal efficiencies can increase, while minimizing operational challenges during filtration. Extracellular polymeric …

Summary Report: Second Conference On Attribution Science And Climate Law, Jessica A. Wentz

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

The Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and the Columbia Climate School hosted the Second Conference on Attribution Science and Climate Law at Columbia University on June 10–11, 2026. This event brought together an interdisciplinary group of researchers and practitioners to discuss recent developments in attribution science and the field’s relevance to climate law and policy. Participants included physical scientists, public health researchers, economists, social scientists, legal scholars, advocates, and policy experts. This report provides a written summary of the conference proceedings.

Leveraging Deep Learning Recurrence And Attention Mechanisms For Flood Forecasting And Assessment, Elnaz Heidari

All Dissertations

Predicting how much water will flow in rivers and streams is important for managing floods, water supply, and the environment. Traditionally, government agencies have used complex models, such as the National Water Model (NWM), which simulate how much water moves through landscapes using physical laws and real-world data. However, recent advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) have enabled new ways to make these predictions. This research explored whether AI-based models could predict river discharge more accurately. These AI models learn patterns from past data instead of relying only on physical rules. To find out how well they work, the AI models …

Understanding And Predicting Precipitation Characteristics In The United States Through Machine Learning, Numerical Modeling And Measurements, Cody Luther Ratterman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Precipitation is one of the most important yet uncertain variables in the climate system. It varies dramatically in terms of timing, accumulation, rate, and phase, depending on location, season, circulation patterns, and atmospheric conditions. Precipitation forecasts, especially snowfall, are essential to supporting drought mitigation and water management in the Intermountain West. Because rainfall and snowfall lead to opposite effects on snowpack, accurately partitioning rain and snow is important to estimate snowpack levels, winter recreation, mountain ecosystems and runoff. The research findings in this dissertation have advanced the understanding and prediction of precipitation and snowpack in the U.S. by addressing the …

Unsupervised Learning For Minimum Error Adaptive Sampling Of Atmospheric Vertical Temperature Profiles, Alejandro Medina

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) collect atmospheric data on fixed schedules, and endurance limits make blind searching costly. This thesis develops an unsupervised representation that summarizes a multi-decade radiosonde archive into a compact library of atmospheric states, giving a UAS an expectation of the column before it flies. The method standardizes both axes of a profile against the sounding's own surface conditions, which makes the representation independent of season and of station elevation. Applied to 27,270 soundings from Norman, Oklahoma, over the lowest 1.5 km of the atmosphere, 12 representative profiles reconstruct the record to within 1.0 °C of mean absolute …

Variability In Nutrient And Enterococcus Concentrations In Tidal Floodwater Across Watersheds With Different Land Uses, Alyssa Bucci

OES Theses and Dissertations

Tidal flooding is an increasingly pressing hazard in coastal Virginia due to sea level rise and land subsidence. The Hampton Roads region of Virginia has the second-highest rate of relative sea level rise in the United States and experiences frequent tidal flooding, but the water quality impacts of this flooding on the Chesapeake Bay are not being accounted for. High concentrations of dissolved nutrients and Enterococcus bacteria (a fecal indicator) have been observed in tidal floodwater of the Lafayette River, a tributary of the James River and the lower Chesapeake Bay. This study investigates variability in dissolved nutrient and Enterococcus …

Reconstruction Of Copepod Populations In Sierra Nevada Lakes Using The Diatom Fragilaria Cyclopum, Rorie Reisner

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Copepods are one of the most abundant types of zooplankton, and their populations are often a vital part of the food chain, but their past populations cannot be estimated from lake sediments because their exoskeleton usually does not fossilize. Gull Lake is a glacial lake located in the subalpine region of the Sierra Nevada, California, which stands out due to the presence of the diatom Fragilaria cyclopum, which is rarer in diatom assemblages. Fragilaria cyclopum exclusively grows on copepods in lakes. Diatoms have an opaline silica skeleton that often fossilizes in lake sediments, so we can use this relationship with …

Transformative Climate Change Mitigation And Adaptation Policy Analysis In Medan City, Citra Tatius, Mega Anggraeni, Wiwandari Handayani, Rukuh Setiadi

Cities and Urban Development Journal

Background: Climate change is not only a global challenge but also a strategic issue of development in Indonesia. The Medan City Government has implemented various mitigation and adaptation efforts, yet it continues to produce greenhouse gas emissions and is exposed to climate change impacts. A transformative approach in mitigation and adaptation is needed to enable systemic change to comprehensively address climate change from its root causes.

Aims: This paper aims to elaborate on the extent to which mitigation and adaptation policies in Medan City can fulfill the principles of transformative climate actions.

Methods: Data collection for climate profiles and mitigation …

2026 July 30 - Tennessee Weekly Drought Summary, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Weekly Drought Summaries

No abstract provided.

Spatial Heterogeneity And Temporal Trends Of California Extreme Heat Using High-Resolution Earth System Model Simulations, Eleni Konstantelos

Master's Theses

Extreme heat threatens California’s diverse landscapes and populations through intensifying and geographically shifting patterns. This study examined the temporal trend and spatial heterogeneities of California’s extreme heat for 1994–2015. The analysis was based on the fully coupled Energy Exascale Earth System Model version 2 (E3SMv2), specifically its 25-km regionally refined configuration. While the Desert/Inland region exhibited the highest number of days ≥ 35 °C and the highest heatwave severity, Central Valley showed the fastest increase in the number of days ≥ 35 °C and heatwave events, as well as the fastest increases of days exceeding various heat index thresholds over …

2026 July 23 - Tennessee Weekly Drought Summary, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Weekly Drought Summaries

No abstract provided.

Global Performance Of Remote Sensing-Based And Reanalysis-Driven Models To Estimate Open Water Evaporation, Júlia Brusso Rossi, Ayan Santos Fleischmann, Leonardo Laipelt, Bruno Comini De Andrade, Joshua B. Fisher, Justin L. Huntington, Christopher Pearson, R. Iestyn Woolway, Roseilson Vale, Júlio Tota, Gabriel B. Senay, Huilin Gao, Anderson Ruhoff

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Evaporation plays an essential role in the water cycle, influencing local and regional climates while directly impacting water availability in lakes. However, directly measuring evaporation over water bodies remains challenging due to the high costs of installing and maintaining the required in situ instrumentation. Although several remote sensing algorithms have been providing evaporation estimates, the lack of a global validation hinders our understanding of their relative uncertainties and performances across different regions. Here, we analyze the performance of a suite of models that leverage satellite data and meteorological reanalysis to estimate evaporation over lakes worldwide. We compare 3 remote sensing‐based …

Career: New Insights Into The Ancient Carbon Cycle From Siliceous Deep-Sea Sediments, Donald Penman

Funded Research Records

No abstract provided.

2026 July 16 - Tennessee Weekly Drought Summary, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Weekly Drought Summaries

No abstract provided.

Toward The Significance Of Crevasse Orientation In Low And High Crevassed Regions On The Kennicott Glacier, Alaska, Usa, Claire A. Sturm

DePaul Discoveries

Supraglacial landforms serve as potential indicators of underlying bedrock morphology and glacier dynamics. The distribution and morphology of crevasses are closely associated with stress fields and ice-flow regimes, representing processes of stable glaciers, in contrast to their reduced occurrence in stagnant or receding ice masses. The orientation and density of crevasses influence a glacier’s ability to absorb solar energy, as they facilitate movement of meltwater down to subglacial rivers. Beyond the meltwater acting as a lubricant for basal sliding, the slope of the bedrock further impacts the local velocity and ice deformation of a glacier. The study of ice-fracturing mechanics …

Clearing The Air: Tracking Spatial And Temporal Pm2.5 Variability Along A Biking Transect In Chicago, Beau R. Rass

DePaul Discoveries

Fine particulate matter (PM₂.₅) poses significant risks to human health and disproportionately affects marginalized communities in urban environments (World Health Organization [WHO], 2021; Tessum et al., 2021). Using low-cost mobile sensors, this study explored spatiotemporal PM₂.₅ concentration patterns along a north–south transect of Halsted Street in Chicago. A 2B Technologies Portable Aerosol Monitor (PAM) mounted on a bicycle was used to continuously record PM₂.₅ concentrations with associated GPS coordinates at approximately two-second intervals during 16 sampling events between 08-12-2025 and 10-05-2025. PM₂.₅ concentrations did not differ significantly among the South Side, West Loop, and North Side regions, contrary to the …

Ecological Footprint Assessment, Santina Benincasa

Open Educational Resources

This handout guides students through a structured ecological footprint assessment using the online Footprint Calculator. By following a series of steps—selecting their location, entering detailed lifestyle information, and reviewing personalized results—students evaluate how many planets would be required if everyone lived with their same resource consumption patterns. The activity prompts learners to identify the largest contributors to their footprint, quantify their impact in global hectares, and explore scenario-based changes that could reduce their environmental demand. Through reflection, students consider how everyday human behaviors influence Earth’s productive capacity and resource availability. Overall, the exercise encourages critical thinking about sustainability and personal …

2026 July 9 - Tennessee Weekly Drought Summary, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Weekly Drought Summaries

No abstract provided.