Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

Transport Out Of The Antarctic Polar Vortex From A Three-Dimensional Transport Model, Shuhua Li, Eugene Cordero, David J. Karoly

Faculty Publications, Meteorology and Climate Science

[1] A three-dimensional chemical transport model is utilized to study the transport out of the Antarctic polar vortex during the southern hemisphere spring. On average, over five consecutive years between 1993 and 1997, horizontal transport out of the vortex into the midlatitude stratosphere is smaller than vertical transport into the troposphere. However, there is significant interannual variability in the magnitude of mass exchange, which is related to year-to-year fluctuations in planetary wave activity. In 1994 the net loss of the vortex tracer mass in September is similar to that in October. However, the relative mass flux entering the midlatitude stratosphere …

Humidity And Temperature Boundaries For Biofilm Formation In Yucca Mountain, Terry Ann Else, Penny S. Amy, James Jay, Amy J. Smiecinski

Publications (YM)

To determine the long-term success of the recommended Yucca Mountain high-level nuclear waste repository, studies of bacterial colonization and biofilm development are needed. Bacteria involved in microbially-influenced corrosion and degradation are known to form biofilms with the potential to impact the integrity of repository packaging and structural materials. Temperature and humidity are environmental factors that can greatly affect biofilm formation. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the temperature and humidity conditions that affect biofilm formation. Microcosms, which simulated the repository environment of Yucca Mountain, were placed at temperatures ranging from 30° C to 70° C and in relative humidities ranging …

Three Years And Counting: What’S New With The Drought Monitor, Mark D. Svoboda, Michael J. Hayes, Rich J. Tinker

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Operational since late summer 1999, the Drought Monitor (http://drought.unl.edu/monitor/) has refused to remain static. This unique weekly product attempts to make an assessment of current drought conditions in the contiguous United States, Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico. Four entities now share in authoring the map: the National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC), Climate Prediction Center (CPC), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and National Climatic Data Center (NCDC).
The Drought Monitor effort has led to the development of new products and has reinforced the need for improvement and support of existing climate networks critical to monitoring our nation’s climate. One of …

The Drought Monitor, Mark D. Svoboda, Doug Lecomte, Mike Hayes, Richard Heim, Karin Gleason, Jim Angel, Brad Rippey, Rich Tinker, Mike Palecki, David Stooksbury, David Miskus, Scott Stephens

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

There is a need for improved drought monitoring and assessment methods in the United States. Drought is the most costly natural disaster [Federal Emergency Management Agancy (FEMA 1995; Wilhite 2000)], but it is often neglected by developers of assessment and forecast products. Drought is more nebulous than other disasters and does not lend itself to traditional assessments or forecast methods. Its relatively slow onset and the complexity of its impacts are reasons for the new assessment methodology. Improvements in drought monitoring and forecasting techniques will allow for better preparation, lead to better management practices, and reduce the vulnerability of society …

An Examination Of Anomalously Low Column Ozone In The Southern Hemisphere Midlatitudes During 1997, Eugene C. Cordero, Terrence R. Nathan

Faculty Publications, Meteorology and Climate Science

[1] Observations from both ground-based and satellite instruments show record low column ozone abundance between 20°S and 40°S during 1997. The 1997 monthly averaged column ozone from the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) is up to 25 Dobson units (DU) lower than the TOMS climatological mean (1979–1996) and up to 20 DU below the previous record low values. Observations from the Halogen Occultation Experiment show that below average ozone concentrations during 1997 were confined primarily to the lower stratosphere. Residual circulation statistics calculated from the United Kingdom Meteorological Office temperature analyses indicate that circulation anomalies during 1997 can account for …

Fisheries Research Report No. 134, Vol 1 - Towards An Assessment Of The Natural And Human Use Impacts On The Marine Environment Of The Abrolhos Islands, F J. Webster, C J. Dibden, C F. Chubb

Fisheries Research Reports

The State Territorial Waters surrounding the Abrolhos Islands are gazetted as a Fish Habitat Protection Area and vested with the Minister for Fisheries under the Fish Resources Management Act 1994. Three Fisheries Management Papers have identified management priorities for the marine environment at the Abrolhos Islands:

• Management of the Houtman Abrolhos System
• Aquaculture Plan for the Houtman Abrolhos Islands
• Sustainable Tourism Plan for the Houtman Abrolhos Islands.

These plans and other national and international obligations to examine the effect of extractive and non-extractive anthropogenic activities on marine habitats (eg. Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999) led to …

Crop Updates 2002 - Cereals, Peter Burgess, Gary Fawell, Dean A. Diepeveen, Tim Setter, Jeff Russell, Tony Seymour, Robin Wilson, Iain Barclay, Robyn Mclean, Robert Loughman, Jenny Garlinge, Bill Lambe, Neil Venn, Peter Clarke, Mohammad Amjad, Wal Anderson, Raffael Del Cima, James Bee, Darshen Sharma, Sheena Lyon, Melaine Kupsch, Pam Burges, Veronika Reck, Brenda Shackley, Ray Tugwell, Bindi Webb, Steve Penny Jr, James Fisher, Bill Bowden, Craig Scanlan, Senthold Asseng, Michael Robertson, M. A. Hamza, G. Mcconnell, W. K. Anderson, Md Shahajahan Miyan, Darshan Sharma, Daya Patabendige, Patrick Gethin, Stephen Loss, Tim O'Dea, Ryan Guthrie, Lisa Leaver, Tyrone Henning, Lionel Martin, Narelle Hill, Simon Wallwork, Laurence Carslake, Darren Hughes, Glen Mcdonald, Nichole Burges, Dominie Wright, Jenny Hawkes, Roger Jones, Kith Jayasena, Kazue Tanaka, Vanessa Johnson, Robert Loughman, Josh Jury, Sean Kelly, Shashi Sharma, Robert Park, Phil Michael, Debbie Thackray, Christopher Newman, Garren Knell, Kevin Povey, David Stephens

Crop Updates

This session covers thirty one papers from different authors:

VARIETIES AND BREEDING

1. Agronomic evaluation of wheat and barley in the central wheatbelt of Western Australia, Peter Burgess¹and Gary Fawell², ¹Agritech and ²Farmanco Management

2. Evaluating stress tolerance to terminal drought by Western Australian wheats, Dean Diepeveen and Dr Tim Setter, Department of Agriculture

3. Broadscale wheat variety comparisons featuring Wyalkatchem, Jeff Russell, Department of Agriculture

4. Australian crop accreditation system variety selector, Tony Seymour, Australian Crop Accreditation System

5. Future wheat varieties, Robin Wilson, Iain Barclay,Robyn McLean, Robert Loughman, …

Is The Ozone Hole Over Your Classroom?, Eugene Cordero

Faculty Publications, Meteorology and Climate Science

First year university science students are surveyed about their understanding of the ozone layer, ozone depletion and the effect of ozone depletion on Australia. Although students seem to understand the basic function of the ozone layer, over 65% of students incorrectly believe that the ozone hole is over Australia, and over 90% of students incorrectly believe that the ozone hole is present during the summer. Together these ideas seem to explain why nearly 75% of students blame the ozone hole for Australia’s high rate of skin cancer. Survey results also indicate that students seem confused about global warming, and the …

Assessing Vulnerability To Agricultural Drought: A Nebraska Case Study, Olga V. Wilhelmi, Donald A. Wilhite

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Recent drought events in the United States and the magnitude of drought losses indicate the continuing vulnerability of the country to drought. Until recently, drought management in many states, including Nebraska, has been largely response oriented with little or no attention to mitigation and preparedness. In 1998, Nebraska began to revise its drought plan in order to place more emphasis on mitigation. One of the main aspects of drought mitigation and planning is the assessment of who and what is vulnerable and why. This paper presents a method for spatial, Geographic Information Systems-based assessment of agricultural drought vulnerability in Nebraska. …

Spatial Representation Of Agroclimatology In A Study Of Agricultural Drought, Olga V. Wilhelmi, Kenneth Hubbard, Donald A. Wilhite

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Agricultural drought is the leading cause for crop failure throughout the world. In the USA, significant impacts of recent droughts on agricultural production indicate the continuing vulnerability of the country to drought. This paper presents a methodology for spatial representation of the agroclimatic component of agricultural drought vulnerability. This methodology was developed as a part of an integrated assessment of drought vulnerability. For the spatial analysis, the state of Nebraska was selected as a study area because of the considerable variation in climatology, soil characteristics, land use, and cropping patterns. The underlying approach assumes that the best spatial characterization of …

Australia: An Integrated Curriculum Unit, Grades 2-4, Institute For The Development Of Gifted Education, Ricks Center For Gifted Children, University Of Denver

Ricks Curriculum Units Series

An integrated curriculum is an instructional approach that connects the disciplines to an underlying theme or topic. Immersing students in an integrated-thematic unit provides the backdrop for experiences to occur across the disciplines. Shaping coursework around integrated themes is especially appropriate for gifted students, however using an integrated-thematic curriculum is appropriate for all learners as it develops students' abilities to make connections, to solve problems by looking at multiple perspectives, and to integrate information from different fields of experience. An integrated-thematic curriculum permits students to be active participants in their own learning as they design their own explorations and take …

Land Use Change And Modification Of Near-Surface Thermal Records In The Northern Great Plains, Rezaul Mahmood, Ken Hubbard, Christy Carlson

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

The North American Great Plains have experienced a rapid overturning of natural grasslands to agricultural land use over the last century. Moreover, in some areas more than 80% of the land use has changed from dry land to irrigated agriculture during the second half of the twentieth century. It is speculated that these changes have modified near-surface atmospheric condition and our modeling study seems to support this. To identify changes in land surface- atmospheric modifications we have applied a soil moistureenergy balance model at three locations in Nebraska: Mead, York, and McCook. The model was applied for three land uses …

Hydrographic Conditions Off Northern Chile During The 1996-1998 La Niña And El Niño Events, Jose Luis Blanco, Mary-Elena Carr, Andrew C. Thomas, P. Ted Strub

CCPO Publications

The evolution of oceanographic conditions in the upwelling region off northern Chile (18°-24°S) between 1996 and 1998 (including the 1997-1998 El Niño) is presented using hydrographic measurements acquired on quarterly cruises of the Chilean Fisheries Institute, with sea surface temperature (SST), sea level, and wind speeds from Arica (18.5°S), Iquique (20.5°S), and Antofagasta (23.5°S) and a time series of vertical temperature profiles off Iquique. Spatial patterns of sea surface temperature and salinity from May 1996 to March 1997 followed a normal seasonal progression, though conditions were anomalously cool and fresh. Starting in March 1997, positive anomalies in sea level and …

The Northeast Pacific Globec Program: Coastal Gulf Of Alaska, Thomas J. Weingartner, Kenneth Coyle, Bruce Finney, Russell Hopcroft, Terry Whitledge, Richard Brodeur, Michael Dagg, Edward Farley, Dale Haidvogel, Thomas Royer

CCPO Publications

(First Paragraph) The Gulf of Alaska (GOA) continental shelf encompasses approximately 370,000 km², or about 13% of the U.S. continental shell and supports a rich and diverse marine ecosystem including some of the largest commercial fisheries in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone. Of particular economic importance is the salmon fishery, which was worth on the order of $170 million (landed value) in 2000 accrued from a catch of over 100 million fish. However, there is considerable variability on both interannual and longer time scales in harvest and recruitment success to this and other GOA fisheries. Of recent interest …

Strontium Isotopic Signatures Of The Streams And Lakes Of Taylor Valley, Southern Victoria Land, Antarctica: Chemical Weathering In A Polar Climate, W. B. Lyons, Carmen A. Nezat, Larry V. Benson, Thomas D. Bullen, Elizabeth Y. Graham, Jesicca Kidd, Kathleen A. Welch, James M. Thomas

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

We have collected and analyzed a series of water samples from three closed-basin lakes (Lakes Bonney, Fryxell, and Hoare) in Taylor Valley, Antarctica, and the streams that flow into them. In all three lakes, the hypolimnetic waters have different ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios than the surface waters, with the deep water of Lakes Fryxell and Hoare being less radiogenic than the surface waters. The opposite occurs in Lake Bonney. The Lake Fryxell isotopic ratios are lower than modern-day ocean water and most of the whole-rock ratios of the surrounding geologic materials. A conceivable source of Sr to the system …

A Conceptual Model Relating The Quasi-Biennial Oscillation And The Troposheric Biennial Oscillation, Kok Foo Kwan

Student Works (2000-2009)

A survey of the zonal wind throughout the troposphere and the lower stratosphere near the equator is made for the 41-year period of 1958-98. A similar survey of the 500- hPa geopotential height, sea surface temperature (SST) and tropopause height is also made, except that the survey period for the tropopause height is shorter than 41 years due to unavailability of data. Other than the well-known Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO) feature in the lower stratosphere and the Tropospheric Biennial Oscillation (TBO) feature exhibited by the SST, similar oscillation features are found throughout the whole troposphere by both surveys. Autocorrelation functions, Pearson …

Poor Water Resources And Drought In The Gujarat/Saurashtra Regions Of India, K. K. Nathan

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

Inadequate water resources pose a big threat to the economy, human activities, and livelihood in the Gujarat/Saurashtra regions of India. Scanty rainfall with wide aberrations in its distribution has made the situation worse, leading to chronic drought in the state in 2001. With the exception of the Narmada and Tapi rivers, there are hardly any water resources to sustain agricultural production in the region. The gradual disappearance of forest cover in the state has further aggravated the drought situation. This has led to large-scale erosion of the topsoil, particularly near the riverside. There is apprehension that the region will soon …

Creating A Network Of Regional Drought Preparedness Networks: A Call For Action, Donald A. Wilhite

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

Drought is a creeping, slow-onset natural hazard that is a normal part of climate for virtually all regions of the world; it results in serious economic, social, and environmental impacts. Its onset and end are often difficult to determine, as is its severity. Drought affects more people than any other natural hazard. Lessons from developed and developing countries demonstrate that drought results in significant impacts, regardless of level of development, although the character of these impacts will differ profoundly. At the Meeting on Opportunities for Sustainable Investment in Rainfed Areas of West Asia and North Africa (WANA), held in June …

Announcements: Summer/Fall 2001

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

Contents:

Allocating and Managing Water for a Sustainable Future: Lessons from Around the World

Defending the Integrity of Ground Water: Understanding the Impacts of Natural and Manmade Disasters

Conference on Energy Climate, Environment and Water—Issues and Opportunities for Irrigation and Drainage

Ozone And Tracer Transport Variations In The Summer Northern Hemisphere Stratosphere, E. C. Cordero, S. R. Kawa

Faculty Publications, Meteorology and Climate Science

Constituent observations from the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) in combination with estimates of the residual circulation are used to examine the transport and chemical budgets of HF, CH₄ and O₃ in the summer Northern Hemisphere. Budget calculations of HF, CH₄ and O₃ show that the transport tendency due to the residual circulation increases in magnitude and is largely opposed by eddy motions through the summer months. Ozone budget analyses show that between 100 and 31 hPa, the magnitudes of the mean circulation and eddy transport terms increase through the summer months, producing tendencies that are …

An Analysis Of Recent Drought Conditions In Turkey In Relation To Circulation Patterns, Ali Umran Komuscu

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

Drought commonly is perceived to be a prolonged period with a significant reduction in precipitation. Namias (1985) argues that drought is associated with persistent or persistently recurring atmospheric circulation patterns. For example, the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) has a major role in controlling European climate and appears to exert a strong influence in modulating North Atlantic ecosystems. During the positive phases of NAO, the North Atlantic westerlies, which provide much of the atmospheric moisture to north Africa and Europe, shift northward. This, in turn, results in drier conditions over southern Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, and northern Africa (Hurrell, 1995; Hurrell …

Announcements: Spring 2001

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

Contents:

IAEM’s 49th Annual Conference and Exhibit

International Conference on Drought Mitigation and Prevention of Land Desertification

New Book

Results Of A Rapid Appraisal Study: Agricultural Producers’ Perceptions Of Drought Vulnerability And Mitigation—Howard County, Nebraska, Cody L. Knutson, Matthew L. Blomstedt, Kara Slaughter

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

Drought is the leading natural disaster in the United States in terms of monetary losses. The National Research Council (1995) estimates that drought costs the United States an average of $6–8 billion per year. Because of these losses and the great effects of drought on many citizens’ quality of life, drought planning is gaining widespread support in the United States. However, U.S. drought planning within the agricultural sector has historically focused on response measures that help producers, primarily farmers, deal with and recover from drought. It has been found that these often ad-hoc drought responses are very expensive and do …

Droughts And Dew Bean Productivity In Northwestern Arid Rajasthan, India, Pratap Narain, R. S. Singh, D. Kumar

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

Arid ecosystems constitute an important part of the world’s dry climates. The Indian arid zone is characterized by a harsh and fragile system, which influences the productivity (both quantitative and qualitative) and socioeconomic status of the inhabitants. The study discussed in this article was conducted in the Bikaner region, which is one of the most drought-prone districts of Rajasthan (Figure 1). Annual rainfall in the district is 268 mm, of which 85% occurs during the southwest summer monsoon (July–September). The region is known to experience extreme variations in diurnal and seasonal temperatures and high wind velocity, particularly during summers, associated …

Winter Drought In Iran: Associations With Enso, M. J. Nazemosadat

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

The Islamic Republic of Iran (Figure 1) has an area of 1,648,000 km² and a population of 65 million people (1995 estimate). The country has arid and semiarid climates and the occurrence of rainfall is unreliable, with a coefficient of variation as high as 70%. The average annual precipitation over the country is around 250 mm. Two mountain ridges, the Alborz and Zagros (Figure 1), which run east and southeast from the northwest corner of the country, play an influential role in determining the amount and spatial distribution of rainfall. The peaks of Alborz and Zagros are about 5,700 …

A Model Of Precipitation Rates In Kentucky, 1965-1996, Kevin Cary

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Hourly precipitation data from thirty cooperative stations in Kentucky from 1965 to 1996 were used to determine the diurnal distribution of precipitation rates. Descriptive summaries for the diurnal distribution for each climate division in Kentucky and for Kentucky as a whole were calculated. In each case, the trends were similar. Precipitation rates increased into the afternoon and then decreased until sunrise. A stochastic model was developed to estimate mean seasonal precipitation rates in Kentucky by using regional and localized parameters. More than half of the variation (r2 = 0.57) in precipitation rates can be explained by the following variables: 1) …

From The Director: Spring 2001, Donald A. Wilhite

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

I recently participated in an advanced course, “Management Strategies to Mitigate Drought in the Mediterranean: Monitoring, Risk Analysis, and Contingency Planning”, in Rabat, Morocco (May 21– 26). The course was organized by the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Zaragoza (CIHEAM– IAMZ) and the Institut Agronomique et Veterinaire Hassan II in Rabat, Morocco, with contribution from the European Commission. The National Drought Mitigation Center’s Mark Svoboda also participated. Other lecturers included M. Wassif (Desert Research Center, Cairo); Eddy dePauw (ICARDA); Ana Iglesias (Universidad Politecnica, Madrid, and Center for Climate Systems Research, Columbia University); Karl Monnik (Institute for Soil, Climate and Water/ARC, South …

Ice Storm Damage To Virginia Coastal Plain Forests During The Christmas 1998 Ice Storm, Peter Elstner, Stewart Ware

Virginia Journal of Science

On December 23-25, 1998, a major ice storm struck southeastern Virginia. The storm-deposited glaze ice felled trees and limbs, causing a power outage and highway blockage. Between February and April, 1999, we recorded occurrence, severity, and type of damage to trees over 2.5 cm dbh in nine mostly gently sloping plots in Matoaka Woods at the College of William and Mary. Frequency and severity of damage varied with species and with size of trees. Canopy damage occurred in 75% of large Fagus grandifolia trees, but in only 6% of small Sassafras albidum stems. As a group, small (2.5 to 15 …

Karst Genetic Model For The French Bay Breccia Deposits, San Salvador, Bahamas, Lee J. Florea, John Mylroie, Jim Carew

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Introduction To Special Section: Saz Project, T. W. Trull, Peter N. Sedwick, F. B. Griffiths, S. R. Rintoul

OES Faculty Publications

Oceanographic processes in the subantarctic region contribute crucially to the phys. and biogeochemical aspects of the global climate system. To explore and quantify these contributions, the Antarctic Cooperative Research Center organized the SAZ Project, a multidisciplinary, multiship study carried out south of Australia in the austral summer of 1997-1998. We present an overview of the SAZ Project and some of its major results.