Other Earth Sciences Commons^™

Information Content Of Seasonal Forecasts In A Changing Climate, Nir Krakauer, Michael D. Grossberg, Irina Gladkova, Hannah Aizenman

Publications and Research

We study the potential value to stakeholders of probabilistic long-term forecasts, as quantified by the mean information gain of the forecast compared to climatology. We use as a case study the USA Climate Prediction Center (CPC) forecasts of 3-month temperature and precipitation anomalies made at 0.5-month lead time since 1995. Mean information gain was positive but low (about 2% and 0.5% of the maximum possible for temperature and precipitation forecasts, resp.) and has not increased over time. Information-based skill scores showed similar patterns to other, non-information-based, skill scores commonly used for evaluating seasonal forecasts but tended to be smaller, suggesting …

Autumn Migration Of Mississippi Flyway Mallards As Determined By Satellite Telemetry, David George G. Krementz, Kwasi Asante, Luke W. Naylor

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

We used satellite telemetry to study autumn migration timing, routes, stopover duration, and final destinations of mallards Anas platyrhynchos captured the previous spring in Arkansas from 2004 to 2007. Of those mallards that still had functioning transmitters on September 15 (n = 55), the average date when autumn migration began was October 23 (SE = 2.62 d; range = September 17–December 7). For those mallards that stopped for .1 d during migration, the average stopover length was 15.4 d (SE = 1.47 d). Ten mallards migrated nonstop to wintering sites. The eastern Dakotas were a heavily utilized stopover area. The …

Agricultural Advisors: A Receptive Audience For Weather And Climate Information?, Linda Stalker Prokopy, Tonya Haigh, Amber Saylor Mase, Jim Angel, Chad Hart, Cody Knutson, Maria Carmen Lemos, Yun Jia Lo, Jean Mcguire, Lois Wright Morton, Jennifer Perron, Dennis Todey, Melissa Widhalm

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

As the climate in the midwestern United States becomes increasingly variable because of global climate change, it is critical to provide tools to the agricultural community to ensure adaptability and profitability of agricultural cropping systems. When used by farmers and their advisors, agricultural decision support tools can reduce uncertainty and risks in the planning, operation, and management decisions of the farm enterprise. Agricultural advisors have historically played a key role in providing information and guidance in these decisions. However, little is known about what these advisors know or think about weather and climate information and their willingness to incorporate this …

Applicability And Estimation Of Error For Determination Of Hydraulic Conductivity Values Based Upon Traditional Aquifer Test Methods For 2-D Groundwater Modeling, Timothy W. Freed Sr.

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The Theis method and its derivative Cooper-Jacob method are commonly used for determining hydraulic conductivity (K) for aquifer studies using two-dimensional (2-D) groundwater modeling. Theis and derivative equations assume isotropic, homogeneous aquifers and horizontal flow. In nature, saturated permeable layers of an aquifer are often separated by less permeable layers or lenses, which commonly have K's that are lower by several orders of magnitude. The presence of such geologic features induces vertical flow during aquifer tests violating assumptions for Theis based methods. This study assesses the appropriateness and error of using Theis based equations to determine K for use in …

Geological Survey Of Cueva Guhamra, Cassandra L. Baumgartner

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As it has been said by many of the great scientists before us, “Geology Rocks.” While this may not be entirely scientific, the debatably of this statement as a whole truth is next to zero. But we mustn’t forget the latest contester in the battle of rocks- that is- Speleology. As the boundaries of science are continually being stretched to greater distances, we see the development of new branches of science to accommodate these boundary-breakthroughs. Speleology refers to the study of caves and is considered to be relatively new and unexplored. Generally, a cave survey (essentially a quantified and tangible …

Geogram 2012, David J. Keeling, Wku Department Of Geography And Geology

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Publications

No abstract provided.

Droughtscape, Fall 2012, National Drought Mitigation Center

DroughtScape: Quarterly Newsletter of the National Drought Mitigation Center (2007–2023)

Contents

Director’s report

Updated resources

Drought outlook and review

2012 and past droughters

Summer impacts summary

Urban planners and drought

USDM wins CLEAN seal

Meixiu Yu's Chinese SPEI

Ethiopian project

Mexican VegDRI

Drought monitor sculpture

Catching Air - Those Magnificent Jumping Suwannee Sturgeons, Ken Sulak

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

It starts deep at the bottom of the dark silent river, three to four powerful tail beats and three sharp acoustic clicks. Then, a sudden upturn of the body and the fish explodes upward, 100 pounds going vertical, catching air, lots of air. A good jump can power a big fish, six to nine feet into the air. You have to be quick to get a photo, hang time is only about a second, but an accomplished jump by a big old Suwannee River Gulf Sturgeon is impressive; a magnificent display of power. The exit is almost vertical. The tail …

Impacts Of Climate Change On The Surface Water Balance Of The Central United States, 1984–2007, Bo Dong

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The climate system and the hydrologic cycle are strongly connected with each other. Understanding the interactions between these two systems is important, since variations in climate can trigger extensive changes in the hydrologic cycle, with significant impacts on agriculture, ecosystems, and society. Observations over the central U.S. in recent decades show numerous changes in climatic variables. This includes decreases in cloud cover and wind speed, increases in air temperature, and seasonal shifts in precipitation rate and rain/snow fraction. To assess the impacts of these variations in climate on the regional water cycle, a terrestrial ecosystem/land surface hydrologic model (Agro-IBIS) is …

The Geologic Records Of Dust In The Quaternary, Daniel R. Muhs

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Study of geologic records of dust composition, sources and deposition rates is important for understanding the role of dust in the overall planetary radiation balance, fertilization of organisms in the world’s oceans, nutrient additions to the terrestrial biosphere and soils, and for paleoclimatic reconstructions. Both glacial and non-glacial processes produce fine-grained particles that can be transported by the wind. Geologic records of dust flux occur in a number of depositional archives for sediments: (1) loess deposits; (2) lake sediments; (3) soils; (4) deep-ocean basins; and (5) ice sheets and smaller glaciers. These archives have several characteristics that make them highly …

Leds And Astronomy, Britny N. Delp, Stephen M. Pompea

STAR Program Research Presentations

Using a Czerny-Turner spectrometer, 45 different types of outdoor lights were categorized. These spectra were used to determine how useful the light is to human eyes and how dark skies friendly these lights are. Dark skies friendly lighting means that little to no light shines above a right angle to the light, and should emit as little as possible below 500nm (green) wavelengths. The short wavelengths present a problem to astronomers in the form of Rayleigh scattering. The following criterion were used in selecting the best source for urban and rural lighting: color rendition measured by color rendering index (CRI), …

Accuracy Assessment Of Aqua-Modis Aerosol Optical Depth Over Coastal Regions: Importance Of Quality Flag And Sea Surface Wind Speed, Jacob Anderson

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Using data collected from 62 coastal stations worldwide from the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) from 2002-2011, accuracy assessments are made for coastal aerosol optical depth (AOD) retrieved from MODIS aboard the Aqua satellite. It is found that coastal AODs (at 550 nm) characterized respectively by the MODIS Dark Land (Land) surface algorithm, the Open Ocean (Ocean) algorithm, and AERONET all exhibit a log-normal distribution. After filtering by quality flags, the coastal MODIS AODs retrieved from the Land and Ocean algorithms are highly correlated with AERONET (with R²≈0.8), but only the Land algorithm AODs fall within the expected error …

Soil Geomorphology Of The Eastern Sevilleta Long Term Ecological Research Site, Debra Bryan-Ricketts

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Soils in the arid to semi-arid piedmont landscapes of central New Mexico were examined in order to evaluate surficial processes and landscape evolution in the central Rio Grande Rift. These soils were found to contain key information regarding pedologic and geomorphic responses to climate change, rifting and base level drop. A rare association of sepiolite and palygorskite occurs in old soils formed in eolian fines. Pedologic and mineralogical data indicate that palygorskite formed by transformation of dust-borne, aluminum-rich minerals, and that sepiolite subsequently formed by transformation of palygorskite. The association of these two minerals, and geomorphic observations, confirm the existence …

Spreadsheets Across The Curriculum, 4: Evidence Of Student Learning And Attitudes About Spreadsheets In A Physical Geology Course, Heather L. Lehto, H. L. Vacher

Numeracy

Spreadsheets have been used in education for teaching math concepts for years. However, when faculty at the University of South Florida began using a new set of spreadsheet-based modules to help teach students math and geology concepts the students were not receptive. The complaint most often heard was that students spent more time learning how to use Excel than they did learning the concepts presented in the modules. We began to wonder if the learning curve for Excel was so great that it prevented our students from attaining the level of learning for the math and geology concepts that we …

Droughtscape, Summer 2012, National Drought Mitigation Center

DroughtScape: Quarterly Newsletter of the National Drought Mitigation Center (2007–2023)

Contents

Director’s report 1

Drought expanse 1

Upcoming ranch workshops. 3

Drought outlook and review 4

Spring impacts summary 6

Hawaii impact workshops 9

Remote sensing of drought. 10

China workshop . 12

A Discussion Of Factors Involved In The Formation Of Slab Avalanches And An Analysis Of Avalanche Risk In The Sierra Nevada Mountains Using Gis, Kevin C. Howen

Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences

As winter recreational activities increase in mountainous environments, the need for a better understanding of snow avalanches is necessary. This project consists of a study into the physical factors that contribute to slab avalanche formation, and a GIS analysis of an avalanche prone area within the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The primary physical factors that contribute to the conditions that lead to avalanches include the slope of a mountain face, the aspect, and bare ground conditions lacking thick forest vegetation. ArcGIS is a powerful software tool that was used to map each of these factors, and then combine them to create …

A Study Of Enhanced De-Chlorination And Bio-Remediation: Molasses Injections Into Groundwater, Brent Anderson

Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences

No abstract provided.

Chlorophyll-Based Approach For Remote Estimation Of Crop Gross Primary Production: From In Situ Measurements To Satellite Imagery, Yi Peng

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The synoptic and accurate quantification of crop gross primary production (GPP) is essential for studying carbon budgets in croplands and monitoring crop status. The objective of this dissertation is to develop a quantitative technique to estimate crop GPP using remotely sensed data collected from close range to satellite altitudes. In this study, a model based on a recently developed paradigm, which relates crop GPP to a product of total crop chlorophyll content and incident radiation affecting vegetation photosynthesis, was justified for the remote estimation of GPP in crops. The model was tested with ground-observed incoming photosynthetically active radiation (PAR_{in …}

The International Bathymetric Chart Of The Arctic Ocean (Ibcao) Version 3.0, Martin Jakobsson, Larry A. Mayer, Bernard Coakley, Julian A. Dowdeswell, Steve Forbes, Boris Fridman, Hanne Hodnesdal, Riko Noormets, Richard Pedersen, Michele Rebesco, Hans Werner Schenke, Yulia Zarayskaya, Daniela Accettella, Andy Armstrong, Robert M. Anderson, Paul Beinhoff, Angelo Camerlenghi, Ian Church, Margo Edwards, James V. Gardner, John K. Hall, Benjamin Hell, Ole Hestvik, Yngve Krisoffersen, Christian Marcussen, Rezwen Mohammad, David Mosher, Son V. Nghiem, Maria Teresa Pedrosa, Paola G. Travaglini, Pauline Weatherall

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

[1] The International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO) released its first gridded bathymetric compilation in 1999. The IBCAO bathymetric portrayals have since supported a wide range of Arctic science activities, for example, by providing constraint for ocean circulation models and the means to define and formulate hypotheses about the geologic origin of Arctic undersea features. IBCAO Version 3.0 represents the largest improvement since 1999 taking advantage of new data sets collected by the circum-Arctic nations, opportunistic data collected from fishing vessels, data acquired from US Navy submarines and from research ships of various nations. Built using an improved …

Sedimentology And Geochronology Of Holocene Paleochannel Features In The Lower Ohio River Valley, Indiana, Kathryn G. De Rego, C. Russell Stafford, Mark Cantin

Symposium 2012

Rivers condition human settlement strategy by determining both the location of aquatic resources and the stability of the landscape. Therefore, understanding where the river was and how quickly it migrated in the past aids in predicting buried site potential. This study investigates the sedimentology and geochronology of paleochannel deposits along the Lower Ohio River floodplain. A series of low, wide swales are prominent features in a series of bottoms in a ~40 km section of the river valley downstream from the Falls of the Ohio. Previous studies in Knob Creek Bottom indicate that one of these paleochannel swales was active …

Estimating Land Surface Temperature Using A Thermal Sharpening Technique, Yitong Jiang, Qihao Weng

Symposium 2012

No abstract provided.

Assessing The Value Of Improved Snow Information In Operational Hydrologic Models, Alison Christine Burnop

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The National Weather Service’s (NWS) operational hydrologic model, the Sacramento Soil Moisture Accounting Model (SACSMA), coupled with their temperature index snowmelt model, SNOW-17, were implemented in the Dry Creek Experimental Watershed (DCEW), located in the semi-arid region of southwestern Idaho, just north of the city of Boise, Idaho. The model was downscaled from the standard 1 HRAP to ¼ HRAP spatial resolution then calibrated using a modified manual calibration procedure from the NWS. The main modification was to decouple the SNOW-17 and SACSMA models during the calibration stage in order to accurately simulate the snow distribution without the interference of …

Droughtscape, Spring 2012, National Drought Mitigation Center

DroughtScape: Quarterly Newsletter of the National Drought Mitigation Center (2007–2023)

Contents

Director’s report.

Climate Masters 1

Ranch plan workshop . 3

Winter climate summary 4

Winter impacts summary . 6

Zhao research.

Getachew research 0

Other international news

Wardlow move 13

IPCC disaster report .

Water And Energy Balance Response Of A Riparian Wetland To The Removal Of Phragmites Australis, Phillip Mykleby

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Vegetation and climate both play integral roles in water availability, particularly for arid to semi-arid regions. Changes in these variables can lead to extreme shortages in water for regions that rely on water for crop irrigation (i.e., the Great Plains). The objective of this study is to evaluate the impacts of vegetation on water availability in the Republican River basin in central Nebraska. Decreases in streamflow have been observed in the river basin for many years and, as a result, an invasive riparian plant species (Phragmites australis) is being removed in an effort to reduce evapotranspiration and reclaim …

Feeding Habitats Of The Gulf Sturgeon, Acipenser Oxyrinchus Desotoi, In The Suwannee And Yellow Rivers, Florida, As Identified By Multiple Stable Isotope Analyses, Kenneth J. Sulak, J. J. Berg, M. Randall

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Stable ¹³C, ¹⁵N, and ³⁴S isotopes were analyzed to define the feeding habitats of Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi in the Suwannee and Yellow River populations. For the majority (93.9%) of Suwannee sub adults and adults, 13C and 34S signatures indicate use of nearshore marine waters as primary winter feeding habitat, probably due to the limiting size of the Suwannee Sound estuary. In the Yellow River population, 13C isotope signatures indicate that adults remain primarily within Pensacola Bay estuary to feed in winter, rather than immigrating to the open Gulf of Mexico. A minor Suwannee River subset (6% of …

Heterogeneous Detection Probabilities For Imperiled Missouri River Fishes: Implications For Large-River Monitoring Programs, Joshua T. Schloesser, Craig P. Paukert, Wyatt J. Doyle, Tracy D. Hill, Kirk D. Steffensen, Vince H. Travnichek

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Occupancy modeling was used to determine (1) if detection probabilities (p) for 7 regionally imperiled Missouri River fishes (Scaphirhynchus albus, Scaphirhynchus platorynchus, Cycleptus elongatus, Sander canadensis, Macrhybopsis aestivalis, Macrhybopsis gelida, and Macrhybopsis meeki) differed among gear types (i.e. stationary gill nets, drifted trammel nets, and otter trawls), and (2) how detection probabilities were affected by habitat (i.e. pool, bar, and open water), longitudinal position (five 189 to 367 rkm long segments), sampling year (2003 to 2006), and season (July 1 to October 30 and October 31 to June 30). Adult, large-bodied fishes were …

Habitat And Prey Availability Attributes Associated With Juvenile And Early Adult Pallid Sturgeon Occurrence In The Missouri River, Usa, Bryan D. Spindler, Steven R. Chipps, Robert A. Klumb, Brian D. S. Graeb, Michael C. Wimberly

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The pallid sturgeon Scaphirhynchus albus is a federally endangered species native to the Missouri and lower Mississippi Rivers, USA. As part of recovery efforts, over 360 000 pallid sturgeon have been stocked into the Missouri River since 1994, and a standardized, long-term monitoring program was initiated in 2003. Understanding the distribution and habitat requirements of juvenile and early adult pallid sturgeon (fork length <720 mm, age <10 yr) is an important goal of the monitoring and recovery programs. In this study, we collected information on habitat characteristics and prey availability from the upper Missouri River along the Nebraska-South Dakota border and compared these attributes between capture (present) and non-capture (absent) locations (N = 59). To evaluate the relative influence of habitat and prey availability on pallid sturgeon occurrence, we examined several candidate models using an informationtheoretic approach. A prey availability model had the most support and included site-specific information on Diptera and Ephemeroptera abundance. A habitat-based model showed that juveniles and early adults were found in relatively deeper water and avoided areas where bottom velocities were greater than 1.2 m s−1. Although not as well supported as the prey-effects model (evidence ratio = 6.4), habitat features also provided a plausible model for predicting occurrence. The models developed here could be used to evaluate pallid sturgeon habitat potential in the Missouri River basin and help guide future monitoring and conservation management of this endangered species.

Effects Of Stochastic Freshwater Flux On The Atlantic Thermohaline Circulation, Alyssa Pampell, Alejandra Aceves

Mathematics Research

No abstract provided.

Strategies For Wildlife Disease Surveillance, Jonathan M. Sleeman, Christopher J. Brand, Scott D. Wright

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Epidemiologic surveillance is defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as the "ongoing systematic and continuous collection, analysis, and interpretation of health data': The objective of surveillance is to generate data for rapid response to the detection of a disease of concern to apply prevention, control, or eradication measures as well as to evaluate such interventions. This is distinct from disease monitoring, which usually does not involve a particular response to disease detection.

Surveillance for wildlife diseases has increased in importance due to the emergence and re-emergence of wildlife diseases that are threats to human, animal, and …

Climate Divisions For Alaska Based On Objective Methods, Peter A. Bieniek, Uma S. Bhatt, Richard L. Thoman, Heather Angeloff, James Partain, John Papineau, Frederick Fritsch, Eric Holloway, John E. Walsh, Christopher Daly, Martha Shulski, Gary Hufford, David F. Hill, Stavros Calos, Rudiger Gens

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Alaska encompasses several climate types because of its vast size, high-latitude location, proximity to oceans, and complex topography. There is a great need to understand how climate varies regionally for climatic research and forecasting applications. Although climate-type zones have been established for Alaska on the basis of seasonal climatological mean behavior, there has been little attempt to construct climate divisions that identify regions with consistently homogeneous climatic variability. In this study, cluster analysis was applied to monthly-average temperature data from 1977 to 2010 at a robust set of weather stations to develop climate divisions for the state. Mean-adjusted Advanced Very …