Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Is Sea Level Rise Accelerating In The Chesapeake Bay? A Demonstation Of A Novel New Approach For Analyzing Sea Level Data, Tal Ezer, William Bryce Corlett

CCPO Publications

Sea level data from the Chesapeake Bay are used to test a novel new analysis method for studies of sea level rise (SLR). The method, based on Empirical Mode Decomposition and Hilbert-Huang Transformation, separates the sea level trend from other oscillating modes and reveals how the mean sea level changes over time. Bootstrap calculations test the robustness of the method and provide confidence levels. The analysis shows that rates of SLR have increased from similar to 1-3 mm y(-1) in the 1930s to similar to 4-10 mm y(-1) in 2011, an acceleration of similar to 0.05-0.10 mm y(-2) that is …

The Ross Sea: In A Sea Of Change, Walker O. Smith, Peter N. Sedwick, Kevin R. Arrigo, David G. Ainley, Alejandro H. Orsi

OES Faculty Publications

The Ross Sea, the most productive region in the Antarctic, reaches farther south than any body of water in the world. While its food web is relatively intact, its oceanography, biogeochemistry, and sea ice coverage have been changing dramatically, and likely will continue to do so in the future. Sea ice cover and persistence have been increasing, in contrast to the Amundsen-Bellingshausen sector, which has resulted in reduced open water duration for its biota. Models predict that as the ozone hole recovers, ice cover will begin to diminish. Currents on the continental shelf will likely change in the coming century, …

Sequias En El Sur De La Peninsula De Yucatan: Analisis De La Variabilidad Anual Y Estacional De La Precipitacion (Droughts In The Southern Yucatan Peninsula: Analysis Of The Annual And Seasonal Precipitation Variability), Sofia Mardero, Elsa Nickl, Birgit Schmook, Laura Schneider, John Rogan, Zachary Christman, Deborah Lawrence

School of Earth & Environment Faculty Scholarship

Paper is in Spanish. English abstract: This study analyzes the spatial and temporal variability of precipitation across the Southern Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, addressing the anomalies and trends of annual and seasonal precipitation as well as the occurrence of meteorological droughts, using rainfall data from nine weather stations during the period 1953-2007. Linear regression in the annual and seasonal rainfall were used to analyze the increase or decrease in precipitation trends over this period. Precipitation anomalies enabled the evaluation of the stability, deficit, or surplus of precipitation for each year or season, and a quintile method was used to …

03 Characteristics Of The Quasi-16 Day Wave In The Mesosphere And Lower Thermosphere (Mlt): A Review Over An Equatorial Station Thumba (8.50n, 76.50e), Siddarth Shankar Das

Modern Climatology

To understand the climate variability and weather prediction in the Earth’s atmosphere, measurements of winds, temperature and wave activities are very crucial. The Earth’s atmosphere is believed to act as a source and sink for the waves of a broader spectrum with periods from few seconds to years. Generally, the Earth’s atmosphere is stably stratified except the planetary boundary layer and thus makes a reasonable assumption for the presence of atmospheric waves. A barotropic atmosphere in a resting basic state is able to support these spectra of waves. These waves move diagonally upward or downward and horizontally. The mean zonal …

01 Southern Hemisphere Tropical Cyclone Climatology, Yuriy Kuleshov

Modern Climatology

Southern Hemisphere Tropical Cyclone Climatology:

Each year, around 80 tropical cyclones (TCs) form around the world, with about one-third of them in the Southern Hemisphere (SH) (Gray, 1979). Tropical cyclones within the South Indian Ocean (SIO) and the South Pacific Ocean (SPO) are frequent and intense, and they dramatically affect maritime navigation and the lives of communities in coastal areas. Australia and the island nations are affected each year by TCs. In extreme cases they can have devastating consequences on life, property and the economic well-being of the communities directly affected and the country as a whole, as in the …

09 Paleotempestology: Reconstructing Atlantic Tropical Cyclone Tracks In The Pre-Hurdat Era, Jill S.M. Coleman, Steven A. Lavoie

Modern Climatology

The study of past tropical cyclone activity by means of geological proxies and/or historical documentary records is known as paleotempestology. This scientific discipline has become prominent over the course of the last decade partially in response to the recent increase in tropical cyclone count and intensity in the North Atlantic basin witnessed since 1995. The field has also developed due to the socioeconomic impacts of tropical cyclones particularly along vulnerable coastal regions. During the twenty-five years prior to the start of the most recent increase in hurricane activity, major (Category 3, 4, or 5) hurricanes were less frequent than in …

07 Climatology Of The Northern-Central Adriatic Sea, Aniello Russo, Sandro Carniel, Mauro Sclavo, Maja Krzelj

Modern Climatology

It is well know that the ocean processes exert a great influence on global climate as well as affect the local climate of coastal areas (Russo et al., 2002). Within the Mediterranean region (see Fig. 1a), the presence of the Adriatic Sea influences the atmospheric properties of the surrounding regions over long and short time-scales, and has obviously a relevant influence on human activities and ecosystems (Boldrin et al., 2009).

11 Climate Change: Is It More Predictable Than We Think?, Rafail V. Abramov

Modern Climatology

The global climate systemties togethermany physical variables, such as flow velocity, density, pressure, temperature, to name a few. The core equations of the climate system are the primitive evolution equations of the atmosphere and ocean (Lions et al., 1992a;b; 1993a;b; 1995; Majda, 2003), which directly involve the flow velocity (or, alternatively, streamfunction and vorticity), density and pressure. To incorporate the effects of other relevant physical processes which supply the energy to or draw it from the motion of the flow, the primitive equations are coupled to other physical processes through temperature, water vapor, ocean surface pressure, and other variables. The …

05 The South American Monsoon System: Climatology And Variability, Viviane B.S. Silva, Vernon E. Kousky

Modern Climatology

A typical Monsoon System is characterized by a reversal in the low-level wind direction between summer and winter seasons, and distinct wet (summer) and dry (winter) periods. The changes in low-level atmospheric circulation are related to changes in the thermal contrast between oceans and continents. During summer, the air over continents is warmer and more convectively unstable than air over adjacent oceanic regions. Consequently, lower pressure occurs over land and higher pressure occurs over nearby oceanic areas. This pressure pattern causes low-level moist air to converge onto the land, resulting in precipitation, especially during the late afternoon and evening hours. …

14 Rainfall Prediction Using Teleconnection Patterns Through The Application Of Artificial Neural Networks, Gholam Abbas Fallah-Ghalhari

Modern Climatology

All aspects of human life are, directly or indirectly, affected by climatic processes. This effect is especially noticeable in such fields as agriculture, irrigation, economy, telecommunications, transportation, traffic, air pollution and military industries (Haltiner & Williams 1980). A number of researchers have studied the possibility of forecasting rainfall several months in advance using climate indices such as SOI, PDOI and NPI (e.g. Silverman and Dracup 2000). A well-known atmospheric phenomenon is the Southern Oscillation (SO). The SO is an atmospheric see-saw process in the tropical Pacific sea level pressure between the eastern and western hemispheres associated with the El Niño …

Modern Climatology - Full Text, Shih-Yu (Simon) Wang, Robert R. Gillies

Modern Climatology

Climatology, the study of climate, is no longer regarded as a single discipline that treats climate as something that fluctuates only within the unchanging boundaries described by historical statistics. The field has recognized that climate is something that changes continually under the influence of physical and biological forces and so, cannot be understood in isolation but rather, is one that includes diverse scientific disciplines that play their role in understanding a highly complex coupled “whole system” that is the Earth’s climate. The modern era of climatology is echoed in this book. On the one hand it offers a broad synoptic …

13 Synthesizing High-Resolution Climatological Wind Fields With A Mesoscale Atmospheric Boundary Layer Model Forced With Local Weather Observations, Guillermo J. Berri

Modern Climatology

The region of the La Plata River in southeastern South America (see Fig. 1) concentrates important economic and social activities since one third of the population of Argentina and more than one half the population of Uruguay live there. Large urban complexes, different commercial activities and important industries are located along its shores. In addition, the La Plata River and its tributary the Paraná River are main ship tracks with some of the largest ports of the southern cone of South America. Therefore, the region is of vital importance for the two countries. The La Plata River is a large …

02 Indian Monsoon Depression: Climatology And Variability, Jin-Ho Yoon, Wan-Ru Huang

Modern Climatology

The monsoon climate is traditionally characterized by large amount of seasonal rainfall and reversal of wind direction (e.g., Krishnamurti 1979). Most importantly this rainfall is the major source of fresh water to various human activities such as agriculture. The Indian subcontinent resides at the core of the Southeast Asian summer monsoon system with the monsoon trough extended from northern India across Indochina to the Western Tropical Pacific (WTP). Large fraction of annual rainfall occurs during the summer monsoon season, i.e., June – August1, with two distinct maxima. One is located over the Bay of Bengal with rainfall extending northwestward into …

12 On The Relationship Between Boundary Layer Convergence And Cloud-To-Ground Lightning, Michael L. Gauthier

Modern Climatology

It is generally accepted that significant electrification, and subsequent lightning generation, in clouds is attained via non-inductive charging (NIC) when sufficient numbers of ice crystals collide with graupel particles in the presence of supercooled liquid water [e.g. Saunders et al., 1991; Jayaratne et al., 1983; Takahashi, 1978]. As these particle scale interactions are driven by vertical motions it can be argued that, under appropriate thermodynamical and microphysical conditions, any process that enhances updraft strength should also enhance the storms ability to generate lightning. Constrained by mass continuity, updrafts leading to deep moist convection are necessarily associated with sub-cloud horizontal mass …

10 Cenozoic Climatic Record For Monsoonal Rainfall Over The Indian Region, Mohan Kuppusamy, Prosenjit Ghosh

Modern Climatology

Atmospheric carbon dioxide level is one of the major drivers responsible for the global temperature change (Lacis et al., 2010). The role of carbon dioxide as an important greenhouse gas, and its contribution towards regulation of global surface temperature has been recognized for over a century (Arrhenius, 1896; Chamberlin, 1899; Royer, 2006). The ice core records along with other proxy based records provides an evidence signifying a strong coupling between CO2 and global temperature for at least the last ~65 m.y. (million years) (Petit et al., 1999; Siegenthaler et al., 2005, Zachos et al., 2001). The intensification of convective hydrological …

08 Spatial And Temporal Variability Of Sea Surface Temperature In The Yellow Sea And East China Sea Over The Past 141 Years, Daji Huang, Xiaobo Ni, Qisheng Tang, Xiaohua Zhu, Dongfeng Xu

Modern Climatology

The Yellow Sea and East China Sea (YES) are marginal seas in the northwest Pacific. There is in fact a smaller sea, the Bohai Sea, to the north of the Yellow Sea. For most discussions in the chapter, we shall treat the Bohai Sea as part of the Yellow Sea. The YES is one of the mostly intensively utilized sea in the world, for example, heavy fishery and marine aquaculture. The use of the YES is closely related to its climate variability, though it is not well-know because until now there has been a lack of adequate observational data. To …

06 Climatology Of The U.S. Inter-Mountain West, Shih-Yu (Simon) Wang, Robert R. Gillies

Modern Climatology

The Inter-Mountain West (IMW) of North America is a region that lies between the Rocky Mountains to the east and the Cascades and Sierra Nevada to the west (Fig. 1). The climate of the IMW is generally semi-arid but this varies by location and elevation. An estimated 50- 80% of the IMW’s streams and rivers are fed by mountain snowpack (Marks and Winstral 2001), while the majority of the streams and rivers flow into desert sinks or closed-basin lakes such as the Great Salt Lake (Fig. 1). These streams and rivers create some agriculturally productive areas in the otherwise dry …

04 Thunderstorm And Lightning Climatology Of Australia, Yuriy Kuleshov

Modern Climatology

Thunderstorms are spectacular but hazardous weather phenomena and the associated lightning and wind gusts can be very hazardous to people, buildings, and industry and utility assets. The thunderstorm hazards in Australia are in most respects similar to those in other countries, but some are worthy of special comment. In some instances, the effects of lightning initiated bushfires are so extreme that they are classified as natural disasters. The wildfires started by lightning are known locally in Australia as bushfire and grass fires, and these can cause extensive damage and loss of life. The ignition is caused by the lightning current …

Analysis Of Relative Sea Level Variations And Trends In The Chesapeake Bay: Is There Evidence For Acceleration In Sea Level Rise?, Tal Ezer, William B. Corlett

CCPO Publications

Over the past few decades the pace of relative sea level rise (SLR) in the Chesapeake Bay (CB) has been 2-3 times faster than that of the globally mean absolute sea level. Our study is part of ongoing research that tries to determine if this SLR trend is continuing at the same pace, slowing down (SLR deceleration) or speeding up (SLR acceleration). We introduce a new analysis method for sea level data that is based on Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) and Hilbert-Huang Transform (HHT); the analysis separates the SLR trend from other oscillating modes of different scales. Bootstrap calculations using …

Rainfall And Streamflow Variability In Ghana, Michael Mawutor Tanu

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The objective of this research is to investigate the variability of rainfall and streamflow over Ghana. Analyses of rainfall shows larger daily variability and maxima amounts in the southern coastal belt than in either the middle or northern parts of the country. The high variability in rainfall at the coast is associated with sea surface temperatures (SSTs) changes over the Guinea coast. This is related to the evolution of the cold tongue over the Atlantic during the rainfall season. The results indicate that the extreme rainfall events occur as single events, but there are occasions when they occur sequentially, and …

Influence Of Anomalous Dry Conditions On Aerosols Over India: Transport, Distribution And Properties, Dimitris G. Kaskaoutis, Ritesh Gautam, Ramesh P. Singh, E. E. Housos, D. Goto, S. Singh, A. Bartzokas, P. G. Kosmopoulos, Manish Sharma, N. C. Hsu, B. N. Holben, T. Takemura

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

A synergy of satellite and ground-based radiometric observations, along with chemical transport modeling, was used for the assessment of the influence of drought monsoon conditions of 2002 and prolonged dry pre-monsoon period of 2003 on aerosol properties over south Asia, with emphasis over northern India. Reanalysis data are also examined for studying the dry anomalous period from the climatological mean, that show prevalence of westerlies under anticyclonic circulation and subsidence favoring the accumulation of aerosols. TRMM observations over south Asia indicate significant rainfall deficit over northwestern India in July 2002 and May-June 2003. Subsequently, the anomalous and prolonged dry conditions …