Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Studies Of Warm-Core Rings Using A Particle-In-Cell Method, John James Holdzkom Ii

OES Theses and Dissertations

A particle-in-cell (PIC) model is developed and applied to problems involving the evolution of warm-core rings. Such models are a hybrid of conventional Eulerian and Lagrangian models. They are ideally suited for problems in which a lower layer outcrops to the surface, such as at the boundary of a ring.

The model is developed in three implementations. First, for purposes of model validation, a reduced gravity model is described. The PIC model reproduces the essential characteristics of analytical solutions to the reduced gravity equations and integral invariants are conserved to a high degree. Next, a 1.5-layer model is developed and …

Modeling Environmental Effects On Msx Prevalence And Intensity In Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea Virginica) Populations, Michelle Christine Paraso

OES Theses and Dissertations

An oyster population model coupled with a model for Haplosporidium nelsoni, the causative agent of the oyster disease MSX, was used with salinity time-series constructed from Delaware River flow measurements to study environmentally-induced variations in the annual cycle of this disease. Simulations with this model were designed to investigate the effect of increased or decreased spring freshwater discharge, the timing of high freshwater runoff, the presence or absence of a fall or late spring phytoplankton bloom, and the occurrence of a warm winter on MSX prevalence and intensity in Delaware Bay oyster populations. Model simulations for the lower Bay site …

Identification Of Past Climate Variability Of The Eastern Pacific Ocean Using Both D13c And D18o Records In Corals From Clipperton Atoll (1994-1906), Lei Ren

Geology Theses and Dissertations

The ENSO (El Nino and the Southern Oscillation) is a fundamental ocean-atmosphere phenomenon that dominates interannual global climate variability. Reconstructing past ENSO events is therefore important for documenting and understanding the past behavior of the global climate system and enabling us to predict future climate change. However, the present understanding of ENSO events has been mainly based on the instrumental record of Pacific climate which provides detailed data only for the past few decades. Recent studies have shown that the stable isotope record in coral skeletons can be used as a valuable indicator of paleoclimatic changes in tropical regions, and …

The Effects Of Increased Inundation And Wrack Deposition On Photosynthesis And Respiration In A Virginia Salt Marsh, W. David Miller

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Oyster Reef Broodstock Enhancement In The Great Wicomico River, Virginia, Melissa Southworth

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Distribution, Partitioning And Fluxes Of Dissolved And Particulate Organic Carbon, Nitrogen And Phosphorus In The Eastern North Pacific And Southern Oceans, Ai Ning Loh

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Tagging And Habitat Utilization Of Juvenile Summer Flounder, Paralichthys Dentatus, Richard Thomas Kraus

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

The Parasite Fauna Of The Wreckfish, Polyprion Americanus, In The North Atlantic Ocean: Application To Host Biology And Stock Identification, Colleen Jill Fennessy

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Tidal Freshwater And Oligohaline Benthos: Evaluating The Development Of A Benthic Index Of Biological Integrity For Chesapeake Bay, Robyn C. Draheim

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Comparative Evolution Of Molecular Markers: An Analysis Of Genetic Variation Within The Blue Marlin (Makaira Nigricans), Vincent Patrick Buonaccorsi

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Blue marlin diversity was assessed at mtDNA, scnDNA, microsatellite DNA, and allozyme molecular markers. Hierarchical analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed that most genetic variation was maintained within populations, with a non-significant fraction attributable to variation among temporal replicates and between locations within oceans. In contrast, inter-ocean divergence was highly significant for a majority of loci within each marker class. Previous studies of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA; n = 104) genetic variation within the blue marlin revealed two distinct clades of haplotypes, one of which was present only in the Atlantic (the 'Atlantic clade'), at a frequency of 40% &(F\sb{lcub}st{rcub}& = …

Wind Interaction With Buoyant Plumes On The Inner Continental Shelf, Sarah E. Rennie

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The characteristics and effects of intrusions of estuarine outflow over the inner shelf were examined, based on hydrographic and meteorological observations obtained during the "Coastal Ocean Processes" (CoOP'94) field experiment located off the Outer Banks at Duck, North Carolina. The episodic presence of distinct low salinity water masses issuing from the Chesapeake Bay created an intermittent baroclinic coastal current along the North Carolina coast. Under low wind conditions, this current occupied the upper half of the water column within 9 km of the coast. The plume was bounded by a distinct southward-propagating front, a region offshore of high horizontal salinity …

Caribbean Spiny Lobster And Their Molluscan Prey: Are Top-Down Forces Key In Structuring Prey Assemblages In A Florida Bay Seagrass System, Martha Nizinski

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Relative importance of predator-prey dynamics and several environmental variables in structuring gastropod and bivalve diversity and distribution was investigated in the subtropical seagrass and macroalgal community of Florida Bay, a highly productive system and primary nursery and foraging ground for finfish and invertebrate predators, including the numerically dominant Caribbean spiny lobster, Panulirus argus. The molluscan assemblage, a primary food source for P. argus in particular, is speciose (75 gastropod and 25 bivalve species) and a significant component of epifaunal and infaunal invertebrate assemblages within Florida Bay. Two experimental areas, located within separate basins and each comprised of two experimental sites, …

Vertebral Cartilage Of The Clearnose Skate, Raja Eglanteria: Development, Structure, Ageing, And Hormonal Regulation Of Growth, James J. Gelsleichter

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Incremental marks formed in the vertebral cartilage of most sharks, skates and rays are widely used as indicators of age in elasmobranch growth studies. Such information is essential for fisheries management, thus vertebral ageing has become an invaluable tool for investigating elasmobranch life history. Unfortunately, lack of information on the processes that regulate vertebral growth and mineralization limit efforts to correlate episodic stimuli with increment production. to address this research need, this dissertation investigated these processes through a detailed study on the vertebral cartilage of the clearnose skate, Raja eglanteria. Histologic observations indicated that changes in appositional cartilage growth are …

Development Of A Quantitative Competetive Polymerase Chain Reaction Assay For The Detection And Quantitation Of Perkinsus Marinus In Oyster Tissues And Environmental Water Samples, Heather A. Yarnall

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Biogeography Of Amphi-Atlantic And Amphi-American Fishes: The Scomberomorus Regalis (Scombridae), Strongylura Marina (Belonidae) And Hyporhamphus Unifasciatus (Hemiramphidae) Species Groups, Heidi M. Banford

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Phylogenetic and historical biogeographic hypotheses were explored for three groups of teleost fishes that are hypothesized to share a common biogeographic track. Distributed across the eastern Pacific/eastern Atlantic (EP/EA) biogeographic track of Rosen (1975) are the Scomberomorus regalis (Scombridae), Strongylura marina (Belonidae) and Hyporhamphus unifasciatus (Hemiramphidae) species groups comprised of one eastern Atlantic; three, three and four western Atlantic; and two, two and four eastern Pacific species, respectively, for each group. In addition, two species in the Strongylura marina and Hyporhamphus unifasciatus groups, have invaded freshwater drainages of Central and South America. Each of the three species groups were found …

Non-Volatile Dissolved Organic Iodine In Marine Water, Xianhao Cheng

OES Theses and Dissertations

An analytical scheme for the determination of marine DOI has been established. The concentration of DOI is estimated as total iodine (TI) minus total inorganic iodine (TII). The concentration of total iodine is determined as [special characters omitted] after DOI has been oxidized to inorganic iodine quantitatively by intensive UV-irradiation and all the inorganic iodine in the samples had been converted to [special characters omitted] by the addition of NaClO.

Production of DOI in seawater can be via both non-phytoplankton and phytoplankton related processes. In the former, iodide is converted to DOI. In the latter, most likely, iodate is converted …