Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Coast-To-Interior Gradient In Recent Northwest Greenland Precipitation Trends (1952–2012), G J. Wong, E C. Osterberg, R L. Hawley, Z R. Courville, D G. Ferris, J A. Howley

Dartmouth Scholarship

The spatial and temporal variability of precipitation on the Greenland ice sheet is an essential component of surface mass balance, which has been declining in recent years with rising temperatures. We present an analysis of precipitation trends in northwest (NW) Greenland (1952–2012) using instrumental (coastal meteorological station) and proxy records (snow pits and ice cores) to characterize the precipitation gradient from the coast to the ice sheet interior. Snow-pit-derived precipitation near the coast (1950–2000) has increased (~7% decade⁻¹, p < 0.01) whereas there is no significant change observed in interior snow pits. This trend holds for 1981–2012, where calculated precipitation changes decrease in magnitude with increasing distance from the coast: 13% decade⁻¹ (2.4 mm water equivalent (w.e.) decade⁻²) at coastal Thule air base (AB), 8.6% decade⁻¹ (4.7 …

Policy And Planning Mechanisms For Coastal Relocation: Barriers And Opportunities, Anamaria Bukvic

October 30, 2015: Beyond Toolkits: Adaptation Strategies and Lessons

No abstract provided.

Agenda, Hr Adaptation Forum

October 30, 2015: Beyond Toolkits: Adaptation Strategies and Lessons

No abstract provided.

Lessons From Cities On The Front Line Of Sea Level Rise, Diane Horn

October 30, 2015: Beyond Toolkits: Adaptation Strategies and Lessons

No abstract provided.

Corps Efforts On Sea Level Rise In Hampton Roads, Greg Steele

October 30, 2015: Beyond Toolkits: Adaptation Strategies and Lessons

No abstract provided.

Panel Presentation: Regional Working Group, Regional Working Group

October 30, 2015: Beyond Toolkits: Adaptation Strategies and Lessons

No abstract provided.

Panel Presentation: Norfolk: Thriving With Water, Norfolk Working Group

October 30, 2015: Beyond Toolkits: Adaptation Strategies and Lessons

No abstract provided.

Virginia's Road To Resiliency, Paul Olsen

News Items

No abstract provided.

The Vulnerability Of Indo-Pacific Mangrove Forests To Sea-Level Rise, Catherine E. Lovelock, Donald R. Cahoon, Daniel A. Friess, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Ken W. Krauss, Ruth Reef, Kerrylee Rogers, Megan L. Saunders, Frida Sidik, Andrew Swales, Neil Saintilan, Le Xuan Thuyen, Tran Triet

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Sea-level rise can threaten the long-term sustainability of coastal communities and valuable ecosystems such as coral reefs, salt marshes and mangroves^1,2. Mangrove forests have the capacity to keep pace with sea-level rise and to avoid inundation through vertical accretion of sediments, which allows them to maintain wetland soil elevations suitable for plant growth³. The Indo- Pacific region holds most of the world’s mangrove forests⁴, but sediment delivery in this region is declining, owing to anthropogenic activities such as damming of rivers⁵. This decline is of particular concern because the Indo-Pacific region is …

Characteristics Of Sediment Transport At Selected Sites Along The Missouri River, 2011–12, David L. Rus, Joel M. Galloway, Jason S. Alexander

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

Extreme flooding in the Missouri River in 2011, followed by a year of more typical streamflows in 2012, allowed the sediment-transport regime to be compared between the unprecedented conditions of 2011 and the year immediately following the flooding. As part of a cooperative effort between the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the United States Army Corps of Engineers, this report follows up USGS Scientific Investigations Report 2013–5006 by comparing sediment transport between years and among sampling sites spanning the Garrison Segment in North Dakota, the Gavins Point Segment downstream from Lewis and Clark Lake, and a part of the …

Role Of The Strengthened El Nino Teleconnection In The May 2015 Floods Over The Southern Great Plains, S.-Y. Wang, W.-R. Huang, H.-H. Hsu, R. R. Gillies

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

The climate anomalies leading to the May 2015 floods in Texas and Oklahoma were analyzed in the context of El Niño teleconnection in a warmer climate. A developing El Niño tends to increase late-spring precipitation in the southern Great Plains, and this effect has intensified since 1980. Anthropogenic global warming contributed to the physical processes that caused the persistent precipitation in May 2015: Warming in the tropical Pacific acted to strengthen the teleconnection toward North America, modification of zonal wave 5 circulation that deepened the stationary trough west of Texas, and enhanced Great Plains low-level southerlies increasing moisture supply from …

Observations Of Backscatter From Sand And Gravel Seafloors Between 170-250 Khz, Thomas C. Weber, Larry G. Ward

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

Interpreting observations of frequency-dependence in backscatter from the seafloor offers many challenges, either because multiple frequencies are used for different observations that will later be merged or simply because seafloor scattering models are not well-understood above 100 kHz. Hindering the understanding of these observations is the paucity of reported, calibratedacoustic measurements above 100 kHz. This manuscript seeks to help elucidate the linkages between seafloor properties and frequency-dependent seafloor backscatter by describing observations of backscatter collected from sand, gravel, and bedrock seafloors at frequencies between 170 and 250 kHz and at a grazing angle of 45°. Overall, the frequency dependence appeared …

Suspended Particulate Matter Longitudinal Survey – Currituck Sound, Nc; Oct 13-15, 2015, Cruise: Cs151013-15, Chsd Stations: S5566-5587, Grace M. Massey, Kelsey A. Fall

Data

Dataset consists of water column and bottom burst data, PICS, and light attenuation data collected as part of a 21 station longitudinal survey of the Currituck Sound, NC along a ~60 km transect northward from the Wright Memorial Bridge.

Diel Vertical Distribution Patterns Of Zooplankton Along The Western Antarctic Peninsula, Patricia S. Thibodeau, John A. Conroy, Deborah K. Steinberg

Presentations

The Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) is a region that has undergone significant change over the past several decades due to unprecedented increases sea surface temperature and decreases in sea ice cover. The ongoing Palmer Antarctica Long-Term Ecological Research (PAL LTER) study shows that these environmental changes are significantly affecting the marine pelagic ecosystem along the WAP. The goal of this study was to analyze diel vertical distribution patterns of zooplankton along the WAP.

Informing Social Decision Making: Physical Vulnerability To Sea Level Rise, Alexander D. Renaud, Karinna Nunez, Molly Mitchell, Carl Hershner

Presentations

Social indices on census tract and other geopolitical levels are increasingly being considered to inform decision making. In a flooding and sea level rise context, the likelihood of an area flooding is an important component of adaptation and the decision-making framework, however it is frequently modeled on a continuous scale. In our work, we have developed an index of physical vulnerability to flooding on a census tract scale, specifically designed to complement social vulnerability indices.

Linking Seasonal Predictions To Decision-Making And Disaster Management In The Greater Horn Of Africa, Tsegaye Tadesse, Tonya Haigh, Nicole Wall, Andualem Shiferaw, Ben Zaitchik, Shimelis Beyene, Getachew Berhan, Jacob Petr

Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Seventy-six participants, including experts from seven countries from the Greater Horn of Africa (GHA) and project coinvestigators from the United States, met to discuss experimental seasonal prediction models and products for the GHA, to engage decision-makers and users in the assessment of hydroclimatic information requirements, and to use feedback to build a framework to support decision-making and disaster management. In pre- and postworkshop surveys, workshop participants were asked how the utility of forecasts to decision-makers might be improved. Their recommendations are presented

The 2011 Great Flood In Thailand: Climate Diagnostics And Implications From Climate Change, Parichart Promchote, S. -Y. Simon Wang, Paul G. Johnson

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Severe flooding occurred in Thailand during the 2011 summer season, which resulted in more than 800 deaths and affected 13.6 million people. The unprecedented nature of this flood in the Chao Phraya River basin (CPRB) was examined and compared with historical flood years. Climate diagnostics were conducted to understand the meteorological conditions and climate forcing that led to the magnitude and duration of this flood. Neither the monsoon rainfall nor the tropical cyclone frequency anomalies alone was sufficient to cause the 2011 flooding event. Instead, a series of abnormal conditions collectively contributed to the intensity of the 2011 flood: anomalously …

A Coordinated Study Of 1-H Mesoscale Gravity Waves Propagating From Logan To Boulder With Crrl Na Doppler Lidars And Temperature Mapper, Xian Liu, Cao Chen, Wentao Huang, John A. Smith, Xinzhao Chu, Tao Yuan, Pierre-Dominique Pautet, Michael J. Taylor, Jie Gong, Chihoko Y. Cullens

Publications

We present the first coordinated study using two lidars at two separate locations to characterize a 1 h mesoscale gravity wave event in the mesopause region. The simultaneous observations were made with the Student Training and Atmospheric Research (STAR) Na Doppler lidar at Boulder, CO, and the Utah State University Na Doppler lidar and temperature mapper at Logan, UT, on 27 November 2013. The high precision possessed by the STAR lidar enabled these waves to be detected in vertical wind. The mean wave amplitudes are ~0.44 m/s in vertical wind and ~1% in relative temperature at altitudes of 82–107 km. …

Initiatives In Using Crowdsourcing, Satellite Derived Bathymetry, And Other Non-Traditional Hydrographic/Bathymetric Measurements, Anthony Klemm, Shachak Pe'eri, John Nyberg

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

No abstract provided.

Temporal Variation In Optical Properties Of Chromophoric Dissolved Organic Matter (Cdom) In Southern California Coastal Waters With Nearshore Kelp And Seagrass, Catherine D. Clark, Warren J. De Bruyn, Paige Aiona

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Optical properties of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) were measured in surf zone waters in diurnal field studies at a Southern California beach with nearshore kelp and seagrass beds and intertidal plant wrack. Absorption coefficients (aCDOM(300 nm)) ranged from 0.35 m21 to 3.7 m21 with short-term variability<1 h, increases at ebb and flood tides and higher values (6 m21) during an offshore storm event. Spectral slopes (S) ranged from 0.0028 nm21 to 0.017 nm21, with higher values after the storm; S was generally inversely correlated with aCDOM(300 nm). 3-D excitation–emission matrix spectra (EEMs) for samples with lower S values had humic-type peaks associated with terrestrial material (A, C), marine microbial material (M) and protein peaks, characteristic of freshly produced organic material. Samples with high S values had no or reduced protein peaks, consistent with aged material. Fluorescent indexes (f450/f500 >2.5, BIX>1.1) were consistent with microbial aquatic sources. Leachates of senescent kelp and seagrass had protein and humic-type EEM peaks. After solar simulator irradiation (4 h), protein peaks rapidly photochemically degraded, humic-type peak C increased in intensity and peak M disappeared. Optical characteristics of kelp leachates were most similar to field samples, …

Effects Of Oil-Contaminated Sediments On Submerged Vegetation: An Experimental Assessment Of Ruppia Maritima, Charles W. Martin, Lauris O. Hollis, R. Eugene Turner

Faculty Publications

Oil spills threaten the productivity of ecosystems through the degradation of coastal flora and the ecosystem services these plants provide. While lab and field investigations have quantified the response of numerous species of emergent vegetation to oil, the effects on submerged vegetation remain uncertain. Here, we discuss the implications of oil exposure for Ruppia maritima, one of the most common species of submerged vegetation found in the region affected by the recent Deepwater Horizon oil spill. We grew R. maritima in a range of manipulated sediment oil concentrations: 0, 0.26, 0.53, and 1.05 mL oil /L tank volume, and tracked …

Modeling Continental Shelf Formation In The Adriatic Sea And Elsewhere, Lincoln Pratson, John Swenson

VIMS Articles

No abstract provided.

The Prairie Post Quarterly Newsletter Of The High Plains Regional Climate Center- October 2015, Martha Shulski, Natalie Umphlett, Bill Sorensen, Glen Roebke, Crystal J. Stiles

HPRCC Newsletter

Inside this issue:

Message from the director........................................1

Staff spotlight...........................1

New website design and products.....................................2

Training workshops................3

AWDN information.................4

Update on regional climate conditions and El Niño..........4

Research highlight..................5

Outreach/engagement.........5

Recent and upcoming travel and activities.............................6

Reconnaissance Surveying Using Satellite-Derived Bathymetry, Shachak Pe'eri, Patrick Keown, Michael Gonsalves

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

False Pass, AK, USA, is the eastern-most passage through the Aleutian Islands between the Bering Sea and the Pacific Ocean and provides a passage for small to mid-size vessels. The passage is considered an alternative route to Unimak Pass, AK for vessels from mainland Alaska and is estimated to be shorter by 160 to 240km. False Pass is closed every winter due to sea-ice cover that freezes the inlet system around OctoberNovember and melts only towards the spring (around March). As a result, the soft sediment of the seafloor contains mud and sand that may change the path of the …

Topography And Tropical Cyclone Structure Influence On Eyewall Evolution In Typhoon Sinlaku (2008), Cheng-Hsiang Chih, Kun-Hsuan Chou, Sen Chiao

Faculty Publications, Meteorology and Climate Science

Typhoon Sinlaku (2008) was a tropical system that affected many countries in East Asia. Besides the loss of life and economic damage, many scientific questions are associated with this system that need to be addressed. A series of numerical simulations were conducted in this study using V3.2 of the advanced research version of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF-ARW) model to examine the impacts of different terrain conditions and vortex structures on the eyewall evolution when Sinlaku was crossing Taiwan. The sensitivity experiments using different vortex structures show that a storm of the same intensity with a larger eyewall radius …

Simulated Use Of 'First-Order' Ponds To Reduce Peakflow In An Eroding River System, J. Thad Scott, Brian E. Haggard

Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Ogden College Of Science & Engineering Newsletter (Fall 2015), Cheryl Stevens, Dean

Ogden College of Science & Engineering Publications

No abstract provided.

Climate Change And The U. S. Energy Sector: Regional Vulnerabilities And Resilience Solutions, United States Department Of Energy, Office Of Energy Policy And Systems Analysis

US Department of Energy Publications

Executive Summary

Changes in climate create diverse challenges across the U.S. energy system. Some energy infrastructure assets have already suffered damage or disruption in services from a variety of climate-related impacts, such as higher temperatures, rising sea levels, and more severe weather events. In the absence of concerted action to improve resilience, energy system vulnerabilities pose a threat to America’s national security, energy security, economic wellbeing, and quality of life.

Building climate change resilience into our energy infrastructure planning is a challenging and complex undertaking. Planning horizons can span several decades (the typical service life of most energy assets), associated …

Droughtscape- Fall 2015, Kelly Smith

Droughtscape, Quarterly Newsletter of NDMC, 2007-

CONTENTS

Director’s column.........................1

NDMC 20th anniversary .............. 2

Employment opportunity..............3

Third quarter 2015 climate summary ...................................... 4

Third quarter 2015 impacts summary ...................................... 6

Workshop in Ethiopia...................8

San Antonio multi-hazard tournament .................................. 9

Healthy soil is drought buffer ............. 10

U2U Award ................................ 11

Cost-benefit analysis for utilities managing drought......................12

NDMC helps with rural poll questions on climate..................13

Introducing our post-docs..........14

South Korean visitors ................ 14

Environmental Education In Vietnam: A Case Study At Le Loi Elementary School, Emily Heck Heck

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of the research I conducted for this Independent Study Project was to get an in-depth understanding of how elementary school teachers and students think about the environment, environmental problems, and how to include environmental themes in education in Vietnam. I chose to focus on primary school-aged children, as they are a generation growing up in an era of global warming and daunting threats to the environment brought on by human activity. I conducted my research at Le Loi Elementary School in Hue, Vietnam, where I used a variety of research methods to learn from teachers and students including …