Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Limnological Assistance For The Lake Mead National Recreation Area In Meeting The Challenge Of The Water 2025 Initiative: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending: October 1, 2007, Limnological Assistance For Lake Mead National Recreation Area

Limnological Studies

• Task Agreement has been formally executed

• Position description and announcement have been drafted for limnologist position

• All projects have been initiated

A Statistical Model To Forecast Short-Term Atlantic Hurricane Intensity, Kevin Law, Jay S. Hobgood

Geography Faculty Research

An alternative 24-h statistical hurricane intensity model is presented and verified for 13 hurricanes during the 2004–05 seasons. The model uses a new method involving a discriminant function analysis (DFA) to select from a collection of multiple regression equations. These equations were developed to predict the future 24-h wind speed increase and the 24-h pressure drop that were constructed from a dataset of 103 hurricanes from 1988 to 2003 that utilized 25 predictors of rapid intensification. The accuracy of the 24-h wind speed increase models was tested and compared with the official National Hurricane Center (NHC) 24-h intensity forecasts, which …

Drought Scape- Fall 2007, The National Drought Mitigation Center

Droughtscape, Quarterly Newsletter of NDMC, 2007-

Fall 2007 Outlook

Diverse Impacts Reported in Summer of 2007

Decadal Climate Cycles Hold Predictive Potential

Drought Experts Take Roadmap to Congress

NDMC Research Updates

Seasonal And Diel Variation Of Atmospheric Mercury Concentrations In The Reno (Nevada, Usa) Airshed, Jelena Stamenkovic, Seth Lyman, Mae S. Gustin

USU Uintah Basin Faculty Publications

This paper describes total gaseous mercury (TGM) concentrations measured in Reno, Nevada from 2002 to 2005. The 3-year mean and median air Hg concentrations were 2.3 and 2.1 ng m−3, respectively. Mercury concentrations exhibited seasonality, with the highest concentrations in winter, and the lowest in summer and fall. A well-defined diel pattern in TGM concentration was observed, with maximum daily concentrations observed in the morning and minimum in the afternoon. A gradual increase of TGM concentration was observed in the evening and over night. The early morning increase in TGM was likely due to activation of local surface emission sources …

Soil Survey Of The Bettink Dairy Farm, Riverway Road, Northcliffe, Peter J. Tille, Tilwin Westrup

Resource management technical reports

This soil survey of the Bettink dairy farm in Northcliffe, Western Australia aimed to: provide detailed soil descriptions to add to information associated with the environment in which the dairy industry in Western Australia is located; collect soil samples at predetermined standard depths from documented farm locations for nutrient analysis; map soils with similar characteristics based on description and analysis.

Benthic Mapping For Habitat Classification In The Peconic Estuary: Phase I Groundtruth Studies, Robert M. Cerrato, Nicole P. Maher

School of Marine & Atmospheric Sciences Faculty Publications

Benthic habitat maps of the estuary seafloor will increase our knowledge of range and variability in benthic habitats, will assist managers in their efforts to protect and/or restore commercially and recreationally important finfish and shellfish, will link land usage (e.g. developed vs. undeveloped areas) and water quality data to benthic habitat quality, and will make it possible to utilize faunal data as a long-term indicator of the overall “health” of the estuary. We are developing benthic habitat maps by combining high-resolution remote sensing techniques with detailed study of the physical and faunal characteristics at point locations in different seafloor environments. …

Limb Regeneration After Multiple Autotomy And Coxae Removal In The Blue Crab Callinectes Sapidus, Jennifer Ambler

OES Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated limb regeneration in the juvenile blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, specifically the role of the coxa and pedal nerve innervation of the regenerative limb bud over time. The coxa is a leg segment that has been defined as the source of positional, cellular, and neuronal information needed for limb regeneration in brachyuran crabs. This study indicates that removal of coxae under regenerative and non-regenerative conditions did not deter limb regeneration. The coxa is not the exclusive location of limb regenerative information since limbs re-grew with normal positional and functional arrangement in 86% of crabs showing regeneration at removal …

Ontogenetic Changes In Feeding Ecology And Habitat Of The Damselfish Neoglyphidodon Melas At Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Sai-Wing Chan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study examines ontogenetic shift in habitat and feeding ecology of the black damselfish, Neoglyphidodon melas in three patch reef sites at Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef. This rarely studied species is unique in its coprophagous relationship with the faeces of the giant clam Tridacna gigas. Distribution and habitat composition between three sites and two reef zones was estimated with 48 Visual Belt and Point Intercept Transects. 80 Focal Animal Studies revealed specific foraging strategies and aggressive behaviours. The timing of this study permitted the inclusion of juvenile recruits resulting in a more complete and comprehensive study across developmental stages. …

The Urban Heat Island Mitigation Impact Screening Tool (Mist), David J. Sailor, Nikolaas Dietsch

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

A web-based software tool has been developed to assist urban planners and air quality management officials in assessing the potential of urban heat island mitigation strategies to affect the urban climate, air quality, and energy consumption within their cities. The user of the tool can select from over 170 US cities for which to conduct the analysis, and can specify city-wide changes in surface reflectivity and/or vegetative cover. The Mitigation Impact Screening Tool (MIST) then extrapolates results from a suite of simulations for 20 cities to estimate air temperature changes associated with the specified changes in surface characteristics for the …

To Live With The Sea: Community-Based Management Of Marine Resources In Southwest Madagascar, Hannah Pitt

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

“God intended us to fish, and we will fish until the end,” the elderly Vezo fisherman explained, shrugging his shoulders as if in resignation to an unavoidable truth (Niry). For a people whose history, culture, and economy have revolved around the sea for generations, the idea of preservation is just not palatable, he seemed to be saying. The momentum of tradition, in other words, cannot be stopped. Yet in 23 Vezo fishing villages in the region of Andavadoaka, along the southwest coast of Madagascar, communities have collectively established seasonal and permanent restrictions on critical fishing grounds that together make up …

Salt Fluxes At The Chesapeake Bay Entrance, Ruth Lane

OES Theses and Dissertations

Underway measurements of salinity and flow profiles were used to compute salt fluxes at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in spring and summer. Waters were sampled along a cross-bay transect over four tidal cycles in 1997: at the end of April, during neap tides, and in mid-July, during spring tides. Data were interpolated onto a uniform grid along the transect area. A least squares regression with semidiurnal and diurnal harmonics was fit on both salinity and flow at each point of the grid to separate tidal from non-tidal influences. The results of the least squares fit were used to …

Investigating A Method To Measure Sperm Transfer In Chelidonura Sandrana (Opisthobranchia: Cephalaspidea), Kate Kunigelis

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper investigates possible methods for measuring sperm transfer in the internal fertilizing, simultaneous hermaphrodite Chelidonura sandrana (Opisthobranchia: Cephalaspidea). Comparing sperm amount transferred in copulations has significance for testing the assumption that sperm transfer is linearly correlated with copulation duration as well as providing a tool for future studies. Various methods of preparing, treating, and viewing sperm samples were attempted. Two unsuccessful pilot studies were conducted to test free sperm counts and measuring sperm pellet surface area. Future research should focus on optimizing centrifugation method for surface area measurements of sperm clusters and resuspending sperm clusters to enable sperm counting. …

Distribution Of Ultraviolet-Absorbing Sunscreen Compounds Across The Body Surface Of Two Species Of Scaridae, Elizabeth Cerny-Chipman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Ultraviolet radiation has far-reaching effects in marine ecosystems, but many marine organisms have UV-absorbing compounds that protect them from sun-induced damage. The mucus of coral reef fish has been found to contain mycosporine-like amino acids that absorb UV light from 309-360 nm. Using UV spectrophotometry, we examined whether fish are able to allocate these MAA sunscreen compounds to areas of the body that receive the most UV radiation. We compared absorbance spectra of mucus from the body surface of dorsal, ventral, caudal and head areas in two species of Scaridae (Scarus schlegeli and Chlorurus sordidus) from Coral Bay, Western Australia. …

Approaches To Mitigating Decayed Buried Timber Within Railway Embankments, Barry A. Palynchuk Phd

Barry A. Palynchuk PhD

During the last three years, several sinkholes have been observed along CPR railway lines in Southern Ontario. The sinkholes have formed as a result of the decay of buried timber trestles in railway embankments. Although it has not occurred the sinkholes could result in hazardous changes in track geometry under load. This study summarizes the site investigation results and remedial methods implemented at five sites in southern Ontario. Remedial methods include placement geosynthetic reinforcement, soil-cement column reinforcement and grouting of voids at the trestle bents. The design, installation methods and construction constraints for the remedial options are described in this …

U.S. Law Of The Sea Cruise To Map The Foot Of The Slope And 2500-M Isobath Of The U.S. Arctic Ocean Margin. Cruise Report For 2007, Larry A. Mayer, Andy Armstrong

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

USCGC Icebreaker Healy (WAGB-20) U.S. Law of the Sea cruise to map the foot of the slope and 2500-m isobath of the US Arctic Ocean margin

CRUISES HE-0703

August 17 to September 15, 2007

Barrow, AK to Barrow, AK

Top Ten Geological Reason To Use The Library, Maxine G. Schmidt

Maxine G Schmidt

Geoscience researchers rely heavily on electronic resources. Unfortunately, they tend to access these resources through Google, or, sometimes, Google Scholar. The Library has provided resources which cannot be found or cannot be accessed using Google.

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 83, No. 3, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Archives Records

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news.

Marine Ship Automatic Identification System (Ais) For Enhanced Coastal Security Capabilities: An Oil Spill Tracking Application, Kurt Schwehr, Philip A. Mcgillivary

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

National and international trade via shipping is already significant, and expected to continue increasing rapidly over the next decade. Both more ships and larger ships will contribute to this trade, includingships from countries with less rigorous shipping maintenance and inspection standards than the United States, and less strict pollution monitoring regulations. Changes in ship traffic management protocols have been implemented in recent years in the U.S. to minimize damage to coastlines, particularly near sensitive or protected marine environments. For example, to reduce risk to coastal resources off central California, shipping lanes for larger vessels were moved further offshore to allow …

Acoustic Positioning And Tracking In Portsmouth Harbour, New Hampshire, Michelle Weirathmueller, Thomas C. Weber, Val E. Schmidt, Glenn Mcgillicuddy, Larry A. Mayer, Lloyd C. Huff

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

Portsmouth Harbor, New Hampshire, is frequently used as a testing area for multibeam and sidescan sonars, and is the location of numerous ground-truthing studies. Having the ability to accurately position underwater sensors is an important aspect of this type of work. However, underwater positioning in Portsmouth Harbor is challenging. It is relatively shallow, approximately one kilometer wide with depths of less than 25 meters. There is mixing between fresh river water and seawater, which is intensified by high currents and strong tides. This causes a very complicated spatial and temporal sound speed structure. Solutions that use the time-of-arrival of an …

Hands-On Oceanography. Diffusion At Work: An Interactive Simulation, Lee Karp-Boss, Emmanuel Boss, James Loftin

Marine Sciences Faculty Scholarship

The goal of this activity is to help students better understand the nonintuitive concept of diffusion and introduce them to a variety of diffusion-related processes in the ocean. As part of this activity, students also practice data collection and statistical analysis (e.g., average, variance, and probability distribution functions). This activity is also used as an introduction for a subsequent lesson on stirring and mixing.

Summer/Fall 2007, Nsu Oceanographic Center

Currents

No abstract provided.

Enhancement Of Underwater Video Mosaics For Post-Processing, Yuri Rzhanov, Fan Gu

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

Mosaics of seafloor created from still images or video acquired underwater have proved to be useful for construction of maps of forensic and archeological sites, species' abundance estimates, habitat characterization, etc. Images taken by a camera mounted on a stable platform are registered (at first pair-wise and then globally) and assembled in a high resolution visual map of the surveyed area. While this map is usually sufficient for a human orientation and even quantitative measurements, it often contains artifacts that complicate an automatic post-processing (for example, extraction of shapes for organism counting, or segmentation for habitat characterization). The most prominent …

The Statistics Of Natural Shapes In Modern Coral Reef Landscapes, Samuel J. Purkis, Kevin E. Kohler, Bernhard Riegl, Steven O. Rohmann

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Spatial heterogeneity is a fundamental characteristic of modern and ancient depositional settings, and the scaling of many carbonate environments has been shown to follow power function distributions. The difficulty in obtaining information on the horizontal persistence of sedimentary lithotopes at the basin scale has, however, hampered evaluation of this fact over larger geographic areas. In recent years, large‐scale maps of reef facies derived from remotely sensed data have become widely available, allowing for an analysis of reef‐scale map products from 26 sites spread through four reef provinces, covering >7000 km² of shallow‐water habitat in the U.S. territorial Pacific. For …

Preliminary Model Tests For The Design Of A Gliding Deep Water Elevator, Christopher Roman, T. Gregory, E. Martin, A. Sanguinetti, J. Drummond

Christopher N. Roman

This paper presents progress on the design of a "smart elevator" to be used in conjunction with deep sea ROV operations. Deep sea elevators are gravity driven untethered platforms used to deliver and or return items from the sea floor. Elevators are used when items are too large or heavy to be handled by the ROV, or when the turn around time to recover and redeploy the ROV system for sample removal is prohibitive. Unfortunately, efficiency is complicated by the precision with which elevators can be landed at a specific location on the bottom and recovered on the surface because …

Particulate And Water-Soluble Carbon Measured In Recent Snow At Summit, Greenland, Gayle S.W. Hagler, M Bergin, Eugene A. Smith, Jack E. Dibb, Casey Anderson, Eric J. Steig

Earth Sciences

Water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC), waterinsoluble particulate organic carbon (WIOC), and particulate elemental carbon (EC) were measured simultaneously for the first time on the Greenland Ice Sheet in surface snow and in a 3-meter snow pit. Snow pit concentrations reveal that, on average, WSOC makes up the majority (89%) of carbonaceous species, followed by WIOC (10%) and EC (1%). The enhancement of OC relative to EC (ratio 99:1) in Greenland snow suggests that, along with atmospheric particulate matter, gaseous organics contribute to snow-phase OC. Comparison of summer surface snow concentrations in 2006 with past summer snow pit layers (2002 – 2005) …

Impact Of Multiscale Dynamical Processes And Mixing On The Chemical Composition Of The Upper Troposphere And Lower Stratosphere During The Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment–North America, T D. Fairlie, Melody A. Avery, R B. Pierce, J Al-Saadi, Jack E. Dibb, G W. Sachse

Earth Sciences

We use high-frequency in situ observations made from the DC8 to examine fine-scale tracer structure and correlations observed in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere during INTEX-NA. Two flights of the NASA DC-8 are compared and contrasted. Chemical data from the DC-8 flight on 18 July show evidence for interleaving and mixing of polluted and stratospheric air masses in the vicinity of the subtropical jet in the upper troposphere, while on 2 August the DC-8 flew through a polluted upper troposphere and a lowermost stratosphere that showed evidence of an intrusion of polluted air. We compare data from both flights …

An Overview Of Snow Photochemistry: Evidence, Mechanisms And Impacts, A M. Grannas, A E. Jones, Jack E. Dibb, M Ammann, Cort Anastasio, H J. Beine, M Bergin, J Bottenheim, C S. Boxe, G Carver, G Chen, J H. Crawford, Florent Domine, M M. Frey, M I. Guzman, D E. Heard, D Helmig, M R. Hoffmann, R E. Honrath, L Gregory Huey, Manuel Hutterli, H W. Jacobi, P Klan, Barry Lefer, J Mcconnell, J Plane, R Sander, J Savarino, P B. Shepson, W R. Simpson, J R. Sodeau, R Von Glasow, R Weller, E W. Wolff, T Zhu

Earth Sciences

It has been shown that sunlit snow and ice plays an important role in processing atmospheric species. Photochemical production of a variety of chemicals has recently been reported to occur in snow/ice and the release of these photochemically generated species may significantly impact the chemistry of the overlying atmosphere. Nitrogen oxide and oxidant precursor fluxes have been measured in a number of snow covered environments, where in some cases the emissions significantly impact the overlying boundary layer. For example, photochemical ozone production (such as that occurring in polluted mid-latitudes) of 3-4 ppbv/day has been observed at South Pole, due to …

Characteristics Of Short-Period Wavelike Features Near 87 Km Altitude From Airglow And Lidar Observations Over Maui, J. H. Hecht, A. Z. Liu, R. L. Walterscheid, S. J. Franke, R. J. Rudy, M. J. Taylor, P. -D. Pautet

Physical Sciences - Daytona Beach

Small-scale (less than 15 km horizontal wavelength) wavelike structures known as ripples are a common occurrence in OH airglow images. Recent case studies attribute their origin to the presence of either convective or dynamical instabilities. However, little is known about their frequency of occurrence and period. The Maui-MALT Observatory, located at Mt. Haleakala, is instrumented with a Na wind/temperature lidar, which allows the determination of whether the atmosphere is dynamically or convectively unstable, and a fast OH airglow camera which takes images every 3 s with a sensitivity high enough to see the ripples. This study reports on 2 months …

Responses Of Problematic Cyanobacteria To Exposures Of Copper Containing Algaecides, O'Niell Tedrow

All Theses

Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) are associated with production of potent hepatotoxins (Microcystis; microcystin) and dense surface and benthic mats (Lyngbya), which impede critical water resource usages. Water resource managers are in need of effective and efficient treatment techniques for these problematic algae in field situations. Applications of algaecides are considered in situations where algal problems become acute or when critical water usages are threatened. However, laboratory data are needed that accurately predict responses of algae prior to field-scale algaecide applications. Site water and algae were used in laboratory algal toxicity experiments to predict responses of the target alga following an algaecide …

Mesosphere And Lower Thermosphere Neutral Winds Observations Using Rocket-Released Chemical Trails At Poker Flat, Alaska, Tianyu Zhan

All Dissertations

Sounding rocket campaigns ARIA I through ARIA IV, CODA 2, HEX 1, JOULE 1 and JOULE 2 all carried out at Poker Flat Research Range at Alaska, covering the geomagnetic condition from quiet to highly disturbed. Trimethyl aluminum (TMA) were released during the rocket flights to study the mesosphere and lower thermosphere neutral wind at high-latitude region. The results of horizontal neutral wind profiles are presented. The comparison shows that under disturbed condition the wind velocity is stronger and the jet feature at the bottom side of wind maximum with unstable wind shear is lifted to a higher altitude. Under …