Earth Sciences Commons^™

Linear And Nonlinear Effects Of Temperature And Precipitation On Ecosystem Properties In Tidal Saline Wetlands, Laura C. Feher, Michael J. Osland, Kereen T. Griffith, James B. Grace, Rebecca J. Howard, Camille L. Stagg, Nicholas M. Enwright, Ken W. Krauss, Christopher A. Gabler, Richard H. Day, Kerrylee Rogers

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Climate greatly influences the structure and functioning of tidal saline wetland ecosystems. However, there is a need to better quantify the effects of climatic drivers on ecosystem properties, particularly near climate-sensitive ecological transition zones. Here, we used climate- and literature-derived ecological data from tidal saline wetlands to test hypotheses regarding the influence of climatic drivers (i.e., temperature and precipitation regimes) on the following six ecosystem properties: canopy height, biomass, productivity, decomposition, soil carbon density, and soil carbon accumulation. Our analyses quantify and elucidate linear and nonlinear effects of climatic drivers. We quantified positive linear relationships between temperature and above-ground productivity …

Exploring The Impact Of Climate And Land Cover Change On Regional Hydrology In A Snowmelt-Dominated Watershed: The Upper Boise River Basin, Idaho, Amy Steimke

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Seasonally snow-dominated, mountainous watersheds supply water to many human populations globally. However, the timing and magnitude of water delivery from these watersheds has already and will continue to change as climate is altered. Associated changes in watershed vegetation cover further affect the runoff responses of watersheds, from altering evapotranspiration rates to changing surface energy fluxes, and there exists a need to incorporate land cover change in hydrologic modeling studies. However, few land cover projections exist at the scale needed for watershed studies, and current models may be unable to simulate key interactions that occur between land cover and hydrologic processes. …

Moving From Generalisations To Specificity About Mangrove –Saltmarsh Dynamics, Kerrylee Rogers, Ken W. Krauss

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Spatial and temporal variability in factors influencing mangrove establishment and survival affects the distribution of mangrove, particularly near their latitudinal limit, where mangrove expansion into saltmarsh is conspicuous. In this paper the spatial variability in mangrove distribution and variability in factors influencing mangrove establishment and survival during the Quaternary period are reviewed, focusing on research at latitudinal limits in Australia and mainland USA. Despite similarities in the response of mangrove to some drivers, the expression of these drivers is both spatially and temporally variable, demonstrating the need for analyses of mangrove-saltmarsh dynamics to move beyond generalizations and incorporate regional and …

Observed Changes In Climate And Streamflow In The Upper Rio Grande Basin, Shaleene Chavarria

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Observed streamflow and climate data are used to test the hypothesis that climate change is already affecting the streamflow volume derived from snow accumulation in ways consistent with climate model-based projections of 21st century streamflow. Annual and monthly changes in streamflow volume and surface climate variables on the upper Rio Grande (URG) near its headwaters in southern Colorado are assessed for water years 1958-2015. Trends in discharge are examined together with variations in snow water equivalent and surface climate variables. Results indicate that temperatures in the basin have increased significantly primarily in the winter and spring seasons, April 1 snow …

Impact Of Heatwave On A Megacity: An Observational Analysis Of New York City During July 2016, Prathap Ramamurthy, Jorge Gonzalez, Luis E. Ortiz, Mark Arend, Fred Moshary

Publications and Research

More than half of the world's current population resides in urban areas, and cities account for roughly three-quarters of the total greenhouse gas emissions. Current and future trends in urbanization will have significant impacts on global climate. However, our collective understanding of the climate of urban areas remains deficient, which is mainly related to significant knowledge gaps in observations. The New York City Summer Heat Campaign was initiated to address some of these critical knowledge gaps. As part of the campaign the urban boundary layer over New York City was continuously monitored during July 2016, a period that witnessed three …

Possible Evaporite Karst In An Interior Layered Deposit In Juventae Chasma, Mars, Davide Baioni, Mario Tramontana

International Journal of Speleology

This paper describes karst landforms observed in an interior layered deposit (ILD) located within Juventae Chasma a trough of the Valles Marineris, a rift system that belongs to the Tharsis region of Mars. The ILD investigated is characterized by spectral signatures of kieserite, an evaporitic mineral present on Earth. A morphologic and morphometric survey of the ILD surface performed on data of the Orbiter High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) highlighted the presence of depressions of various shapes and sizes. These landforms interpreted as dolines resemble similar karst landforms on Earth and in other regions of Mars. The observed karst …

Summer Precipitation Occurrence Effect On Two Passerine Species In Thule, Greenland, Sara E. Baugh

Celebration of Learning

Climate change is occurring at a faster rate in the Arctic than the rest of the globe, causing temperature rises at twice the rate of the global average and increased summer precipitation in the form of rain. These precipitation events are predicted to affect migratory bird species that breed throughout the Arctic. Increased occurrence of heavy rainstorms indirectly affect bird populations by impacting distribution and abundance of food supply, and directly by increasing mortality rates of juveniles. Studies conducted on bird species throughout the low Arctic regions; have shown that it is not the total precipitation of a breeding season …

Precipitation Drivers Of Cropping Frequency In The Brazilian Cerrado: Evidence And Implications For Decision-Making, Keith R. Spangler, Amanda H. Lynch, Stephanie A. Spera

Geography and the Environment Faculty Publications

The Amazon basin has been subjected to unprecedented rates of land-use change over the past several decades, primarily as a result of the expansion of agriculture. Enhanced rain forest conservation efforts toward the end of the twentieth century slowed deforestation of the Amazon but, in turn, increased demand for land repurposing in the adjacent Cerrado (savanna) region, where conservation regulations are less strict. To maintain or increase yields while minimizing the need for additional land, agricultural producers adopted a form of intensification in which two rain-fed crops are planted within a single growing season (double cropping). Using 10 years (August …

Influence Of Internal Variability On Population Exposure To Hydroclimatic Changes, Justin S. Mankin, Daniel Viviroli, Mesfin Mekonnen, Arjen Y. Hoekstra, Radley M. Horton, Jason E. Smerdon, Noah S. Diffenbaugh

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Future freshwater supply, human water demand, and people’s exposure to water stress are subject to multiple sources of uncertainty, including unknown future pathways of fossil fuel and water consumption, and ‘irreducible’ uncertainty arising from internal climate system variability. Such internal variability can conceal forced hydroclimatic changes on multi-decadal timescales and near-continental spatial-scales. Using three projections of population growth, a large ensemble from a single Earth system model, and assuming stationary per capita water consumption, we quantify the likelihoods of future population exposure to increased hydroclimatic deficits, which we define as the average duration and magnitude by which evapotranspiration exceeds precipitation …

Carbon Sequestration By Australian Tidal Marshes, Peter I. Macreadie, Q. R. Oliver, J. J. Kelleway, Oscar Serrano, P. E. Carnell, C. J. Ewers Lewis, T. B. Atwood, J. Sanderman, J. Baldock, R. M. Connolly, C. M. Duarte, Paul Lavery, A. Steven, C. E, Lovelock

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Australia’s tidal marshes have suffered significant losses but their recently recognised importance in CO2 sequestration is creating opportunities for their protection and restoration. We compiled all available data on soil organic carbon (OC) storage in Australia’s tidal marshes (323 cores). OC stocks in the surface 1 m averaged 165.41 (SE 6.96) Mg OC ha − 1 (range 14 – 963 Mg OC ha − 1). The mean OC accumulation rate was 0.55 ± 0.02 Mg OC ha − 1 yr − 1. Geomorphology was the most important predictor of OC stocks, with fluvial sites having twice the stock of OC …

Quantifying The Short-Term Dynamics Of Soil Organic Carbon Decomposition Using A Power Function Model, Weiping Zhou, Jinhong He, Dafeng Hui, Weijun Shen

Biology Faculty Research

Introduction

Soil heterotrophic respiration (R _h, an indicator of soil organic carbon decomposition) is an important carbon efflux of terrestrial ecosystems. However, the dynamics of soil R _h and its empirical relations with climatic factors have not been well understood.

Methods

We incubated soils of three subtropical forests at five temperatures (10, 17, 24, 31, and 38 °C) and five moistures (20, 40, 60, 80, and 100% water holding capacity (WHC)) over 90 days. R _h was measured throughout the course of the incubation. Three types of models (log-linear, exponential, and power model) were fitted to the measurements …

Evidence For A Climate-Driven Hydrologic Regime Shift In The Canadian Columbia Basin, Janice Brahney, Frank Weber, Vanessa Foord, John Janmaat, Paul Jefferson Curtis

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Water resources from the Columbia River Basin are intensely used for domestic, agricultural, industrial and hydroelectric generation needs. Water availability in the Pacific Northwest is influenced by several ocean–atmosphere modes of climate variability that occur in the Pacific Ocean. Climate change has the potential to alter these relationships and influence both the volume and timing of streamflow in the snowmelt-dominated tributaries to the Columbia River. Here, the historical influences of climate variability and recent climate warming on the volume and timing of streamflow for 40 tributary streams in the Columbia River Basin of Canada were evaluated. Regional relationships were found …

Contemporary And Future Characteristics Of Precipitation Indices In The Kentucky River Basin, Somsubhra Chattopadhyay, Dwayne R. Edwards, Yao Yu

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Climatic variability can lead to large-scale alterations in the hydrologic cycle, some of which can be characterized in terms of indices involving precipitation depth, duration and frequency. This study evaluated the spatiotemporal behavior of precipitation indices over the Kentucky River watershed for both the baseline period of 1986–2015 and late-century time frame of 2070–2099. Historical precipitation data were collected from 16 weather stations in the watershed, while future rainfall time-series were obtained from an ensemble of 10 Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) global circulation models under two future emission pathways: Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) 4.5 and 8.5. Annual …

Agricultural Trade Publications And The 2012 Midwestern U.S. Drought: A Missed Opportunity For Climate Risk Communication, Sarah P. Church, Tonya Haigh, Melissa Widhalm, Silvestre Garcia De Jalon, Nicholas Babin, J. Stuart Carlton, Michael Dunn, Katie Fagan, Cody L. Knutson, Linda Stalker Prokopy

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

The Midwestern United States experienced a devastating drought in 2012, leading to reduced corn and soybean yields and increased instances of pests and disease. Climate change induced weather variability and extremes are expected to increase in the future, and have and will continue to impact the agricultural sector. This study investigated how agricultural trade publications portrayed the 2012 U.S. Midwestern drought, whether climate change was associated with drought, and whether these publications laid out transformative adaptation measures farmers could undertake in order to increase their adaptive capacity for future climate uncertainty. We performed a content analysis of 1000 media reports …

Useful To Usable: Developing Usable Climate Science For Agriculture, Linda Stalker Prokopy, J. Stuart Carlton, Tonya Haigh, Maria Carmen Lemos, Amber Saylor Mase, Melissa Widhalm

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

The Useful to Usable (U2U) project was a six-year research and extension project funded by the United States Department of Agriculture to provide both useful and usable climate information for the agricultural (corn) sector in the Midwestern United States. The project adopted an extensive co-production of knowledge and decision-making approach that involved intense iteration with potential end-users, including farmers and a variety of professional agricultural advisors, through focus groups and surveys, feedback at outreach events, and frequent informal interactions to develop both decision support tools and delivery mechanisms that met stakeholder needs. This overview paper for this special issue illustrates …

A Comparison Of Benthic Macroinvertebrate Assemblages Between Perennial And Intermittent Headwater Streams Of The Mattole River In Northern California, Usa, Mason S. London

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Intermittent streams are common throughout the world and comprise 60% or more of total river lengths in the conterminous United States. Despite their prevalence, intermittent streams are understudied, particularly first-order headwater streams, which are vital for maintaining the function, health and biotic diversity of river networks. In June 2016, I sampled five intermittent and five perennial headwater streams in the Mattole River watershed in northwestern coastal California, USA, to compare benthic macroinvertebrate (BMI) assemblages between intermittent and perennial streams. BMI samples were collected using a 500µm mesh D-net at eight randomly located riffles along a 150-m reach, and then composited, …

Quaternary River Erosion, Provenance, And Climate Variability In The Nw Himalaya And Vietnam, Tara Nicole Jonell

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The influence of Quaternary climate variation on sediment generation, storage, and transport in two mountainous Asian river basin was examined in the largest tributary to the upper Indus River in the Himalayan rain shadow, the Zanskar River basin (~15,000 km²), and the smaller, subtropical Song Gianh basin (<3,500 km²) of central Vietnam. Spatial patterns of erosion in the Zanskar River Basin were established to quantify the dominant controls on Quaternary sedimentation in the Himalayan rain shadow on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau. Glacial erosion and precipitation along the High Himalaya together dominate sediment production and transport …

Effects Of Sea Level Rise On Hydrology: Case Study In A Typical Mid-Atlantic Coastal Watershed, Xixi Wang, Rui Li, Homa Jalaeian Taghadomi, Shohreh Pedram, Xiao Zhao

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Sea level rise (SLR) can negatively affect the hydrology of coastal watersheds. However, the relevant information is incomplete and insufficient in existing literature. The objective of this study is to present a modeling approach to predict long-term effects of SLR on changes of flood peak, flood stage, and groundwater table with an assumption that the historical climate would reoccur in the future. The study was conducted for a typical coastal watershed in southeast USA. The results indicate that sea level had been rising at a rate of 4.21 mm yr⁻¹ from 1948 to 1982 but at a faster rate …

Water–Soil–Vegetation Dynamic Interactions In Changing Climate, Xixi Wang, Xuefeng Chu, Tingxi Liu, Xiangju Cheng, Rich Whittecar

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Previous studies of land degradation, topsoil erosion, and hydrologic alteration typically focus on these subjects individually, missing important interrelationships among these important aspects of the Earth's system. However, an understanding of water–soil–vegetation dynamic interactions is needed to develop practical and effective solutions to sustain the globe's eco-environment and grassland agriculture, which depends on grasses, legumes, and other fodder or soil-building crops. This special issue is intended to be a platform for a discussion of the relevant scientific findings based on experimental and/or modeling studies. Its 12 peer-reviewed articles present data, novel analysis/modeling approaches, and convincing results of water–soil–vegetation interactions under …

Linear And Nonlinear Effects Of Temperature And Precipitation On Ecosystem Properties In Tidal Saline Wetlands, Laura C. Feher, Michael J. Osland, Kereen T. Griffith, James B. Grace, Rebecca J. Howard, Camille L. Stagg, Nicholas M. Enwright, Ken W. Krauss, Christopher A. Gabler, Richard H. Day, Kerrylee Rogers

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Climate greatly influences the structure and functioning of tidal saline wetland ecosystems. However, there is a need to better quantify the effects of climatic drivers on ecosystem properties, particularly near climate‐sensitive ecological transition zones. Here, we used climate‐ and literature‐derived ecological data from tidal saline wetlands to test hypotheses regarding the influence of climatic drivers (i.e., temperature and precipitation regimes) on the following six ecosystem properties: canopy height, biomass, productivity, decomposition, soil carbon density, and soil carbon accumulation. Our analyses quantify and elucidate linear and nonlinear effects of climatic drivers. We quantified positive linear relationships between temperature and above‐ground productivity …

Exploring The Potential Impacts Of Climate Change On North America's Laurentian Great Lakes Tourism Sector, Natalie Chin

Open Access Dissertations

Climate change is one of the major challenges facing the global hospitality and tourism sector in the coming century and, given the important role that weather and climate play in all aspects of the tourism experience, tourism businesses owners need to start thinking about and enacting climate change adaptation strategies now. This work has utilized a combination of social science and physical science methods to (1) understand how the Great Lakes tourism sector could be impacted by climate change and (2) provide some insights into how researchers can help business owners prepare for these potential impacts. Overall, the results of …

Methane Emissions From Global Rice Fields: Magnitude, Spatiotemporal Patterns, And Environmental Controls, Bowen Zhang, Hanqin Tian, Wei Ren, Bo Tao, Chaoqun Lu, Jia Yang, Kamaljit Banger, Shufen Pan

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

Given the importance of the potential positive feedback between methane (CH₄) emissions and climate change, it is critical to accurately estimate the magnitude and spatiotemporal patterns of CH₄ emissions from global rice fields and better understand the underlying determinants governing the emissions. Here we used a coupled biogeochemical model in combination with satellite-derived contemporary inundation area to quantify the magnitude and spatiotemporal variation of CH₄ emissions from global rice fields and attribute the environmental controls of CH₄ emissions during 1901–2010. Our study estimated that CH₄ emissions from global rice fields varied from 18.3 ± …

Linking In-Situ Data With Remote Sensing To Analyze Tropical Glacier Stability And Retreat In The Cordillera Blanca, Peru, Chandler H. Santos

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Glaciers are a major source of freshwater around the world, but they are melting at an increased rate due to atmospheric warming resulting from anthropogenic climate change. In addition to temperature increases, light-absorbing particulates on glaciers also are contributing to glacial melt. This research examines how black carbon, released into the air through partial combustion of biofuels, is affecting the surface albedo of glaciers. I also delineate possible sources of black carbon in the Cordillera Blanca region of Peru. Ground data were collected each year from 2011 to 2013 during the local dry season. Effective black carbon (eBC) values were …

A Spatio-Temporal Comparison Of Avian Migration Phenology Using Citizen Science Data, Ali Arab, Jason R. Courter, Jessica Zelt

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The effects of climate change have wide-ranging impacts on wildlife species and recent studies indicate that birds’ spring arrival dates are advancing in response to changes in global climates. In this paper, we propose a spatio-temporal approach for comparing avian first arrival data for multiple species. As an example, we analyze spring arrival data for two long-distance migrants (Rubythroated Hummingbird Archilochus colubris; and Purple Martin Progne subis) in eastern North America from 2001–2010 using Citizen Science data. The proposed approach provides researchers with a tool to compare mean arrival dates while accounting for spatial and temporal variability. Our results show …

Agenda: Coping With Water Scarcity In River Basins Worldwide: Lessons Learned From Shared Experiences, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment

Coping with Water Scarcity in River Basins Worldwide: Lessons Learned from Shared Experiences (Martz Summer Conference, June 9-10)

Water scarcity is increasingly dominating headlines throughout the world. In the southwestern USA, the looming water shortages on the Colorado River system and the unprecedented drought in California are garnering the greatest attention. Similar stories of scarcity and crisis can be found across the globe, suggesting an opportunity for sharing lessons and innovations. For example, the Colorado River and Australia's Murray-Darling Basin likely can share many lessons, as both systems were over-allocated, feature multiple jurisdictions, face similar climatic risks and drought stresses, and struggle to balance human demands with environmental needs. In this conference we cast our net broadly, exploring …

Investigating The Influences Of Climate On The High Elevation Snowpack Hydrology In The Upper Colorado Region., Claire-Louise Bode

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A change in climate in the western United States has already affected and will continue to affect the onset of snow melt in many parts of the country. The effect of climate change on snow water equivalent, snowmelt runoff and total streamflow with respect to their elevation distribution is examined across the Colorado Headwaters Basin. This is a high altitude location within the Upper Colorado Basin region. The total streamflow of this region has a significant contribution from the spring season snow melt. An increase in air temperature in the Colorado Headwaters Basin over a few years will change the …

Investigation Of Climate Variability And Climate Change Impacts On Corn Yield In The Eastern Corn Belt, Usa, Ruoyu Wang

Open Access Dissertations

The increasing demand for both food and biofuels requires more corn production at global scale. However, current corn yield is not able to meet bio-ethanol demand without jeopardizing food security or intensifying and expanding corn cultivation. An alternative solution is to utilize cellulose and hemi-cellulose from perennial grasses to fulfill the increasing demand for biofuel energy. A watershed level scenario analysis is often applied to figure out a sustainable way to strike the balance between food and fuel demands, and maintain environment integrity. However, a solid modeling application requires a clear understanding of crop responses under various climate stresses. This …

Twentieth-Century Warming Preserved In A Geladaindong Mountain Ice Core, Central Tibetan Plateau, Yulan Zhang, Shichang Kang, Bjorn Grigholm, Yongjun Zhang, Susan Kaspari, Uwe Morgenstern, Jiawen Ren, Dahe Qin, Paul A. Mayewski, Qianggong Zhang, Zhiyuan Cong, Mika Sillanpää, Margit Schwikowski, Feng Chen

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

High-resolution δ¹⁸O records from a Geladaindong mountain ice core spanning the period 1477-1982 were used to investigate past temperature variations in the Yangtze River source region of the central Tibetan Plateau (TP). Annual ice-core δ¹⁸O records were positively correlated with temperature data from nearby meteorological stations, suggesting that the δ¹⁸O record represented the air temperature in the region. A generally increasing temperature trend over the past 500 years was identified, with amplified warming during the 20th century. A colder stage, spanning before the 1850s, was found to represent the Little Ice Age with colder …

Influence Of Sea Ice On Arctic Precipitation, Ben G. Kopec, Xiahong Feng, Fred A. Michel, Eric S. Posmentier

Dartmouth Scholarship

Global climate is influenced by the Arctic hydrologic cycle, which is, in part, regulated by sea ice through its control on evaporation and precipitation. However, the quantitative link between precipitation and sea ice extent is poorly constrained. Here we present observational evidence for the response of precipitation to sea ice reduction and assess the sensitivity of the response. Changes in the proportion of moisture sourced from the Arctic with sea ice change in the Canadian Arctic and Greenland Sea regions over the past two decades are inferred from annually averaged deuterium excess (d-excess) measurements from six sites. Other influences on …

Assessing Drought Vulnerability Using A Socioecological Framework, Joel R. Brown, Doug Kluck, Chad Mcnutt, Michael J. Hayes

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Drought is a persistent problem on rangelands and adjusting management to respond appropriately is critical to both preserving natural resources and to maintaining financial viability. • We explore the value of using a structured assessment approach to determining both social and ecological vulnerability. • This approach allows for the identification of vulnerable ecosystems and business operations at regional and local scales as a basis for developing effective policies and programs.