Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

Coastal Wetlands: A Synthesis, Charles S. Hopkinson, Eric Wolanski, Mark M. Brinson, Daonald R. Cahoon, Gerardo M.E. Perillo

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

What are coastal wetland ecosystems, what are their limits of distribution, and where do they exist in the overall coastal landscape? There are several general definitions for wetlands, but the Ramsar definition is likely the most broadly encompassing (http://www.ramsar. org/), whereas others are more focused definitions tailored to country-specific protection and management policies (Mitsch and Gosselink, 2006). We offer a very general approach rather than a precise definition: coastal wetlands are ecosystems that are found within an elevation gradient that ranges between subtidal depths where light penetrates to support photosynthesis of benthic plants to the landward edge where the sea …

Promoting Change In Common Tern (Sterna Hirundo) Nest Site Selection To Minimize Construction Related Disturbance., Peter C. Mcgowan, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Carl R. Callahan, William Schultz, Jennifer L. Wall, Diann J. Prosser

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Due to the many challenges facing waterbird populations (Jia et al. 2018, Wetlands International 2018), it has become common practice to limit disturbance to breeding colonies whenever possible to maximize reproductive success. While this may require often unpopular management techniques including beach closures (Jorgensen et al. 2015, Mayo et al. 2015) and predator removal (Neuman et al. 2004, Stocking et al. 2017), such actions are sometimes necessary for the success of the colony. However, there are instances when eliminating disturbance is not possible and birds must be attracted to a new site. A common method for attracting waterbirds to a …

Optimizing Historic Preservation Under Climate Change: Decision Support For Cultural Resource Adaptation Planning In National Parks, Xiao Xiao, Erin Seekamp, Max Post Van Der Burg, Mitchell Eaton, Sandra Fatorić, Allie Mccreary

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Climate change poses great challenges for cultural resource management, particularly in coastal areas. Cultural resources, such as historic buildings, in coastal areas are vulnerable to climate impacts including inundation, deterioration, and destruction from sea-level rise and storm-related flooding and erosion. However, research that assesses the trade-offs between actions for protecting vulnerable and valuable cultural resources under bud- getary constraints is limited. This study focused on developing a decision support model for managing historic buildings at Cape Lookout National Seashore. We designed the Optimal Preservation Decision Support (OptiPres) model to: (a) identify optimal, annual adaptation actions for historic buildings across a …

Assessment Of Chronic Low-Dose Elemental And Radiological Exposures Of Biota At The Kanab North Uranium Mine Site In The Grand Canyon Watershed, Danielle Cleveland, Jo Ellen Hinck, Julia S. Lankton

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

High-grade U ore deposits are in various stages of exploitation across the Grand Canyon watershed, yet the effects of U mining on ecological and cultural resources are largely unknown. Wecharacterized the concentrations of Al, As, Bi, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Pb, Hg, Mo, Ni, Se, Ag, Tl, Th, U, and Zn, gross alpha and beta activities, and U and Th radioisotopes in soil, vegetation (Hesperostipa comata, Artemisia tridentata, Tamarix chinensis), and rodents (Peromyscus maniculatus, P. boylii) to waste material at the Kanab North mine, a mine with decades-long surficial contamination, and compared the concentrations (P<0.01) to those at a premining site (Canyon Mine). Rodent tissues were also analyzed for radium-226 and microscopic lesions. Radioactivities and some elemental concentrations (e.g., Co, Pb, U) were greater in the Kanab North mine biological samples than in Canyon Mine biota, indicating a mining-related elemental signature. Mean rodent Ra-226 (111 Bq/kg dry weight [dry wt]) was 3 times greater than expected, indicating radioactive disequilibrium. Multiple soil sample U concentrations exceeded a screening benchmark, growth inhibition thresholds for sensitive plants, and an EC20 for a soil arthropod. Lesions associated with metals exposure were also observed more frequently in rodents at Kanab North than those at Canyon Mine but could not be definitively attributed to U mining. Our results indicate that Kanab North biota have taken up U mining-related elements owing to chronic exposure to surficial contamination. However, no literature-based effects thresholds for small rodents were exceeded, and only a few soil and vegetation thresholds for sensitive species were exceeded; therefore, adverse effects to biota from U mining-related elements at Kanab North are unlikely despite chronic exposure.

Hydroclimate Drivers And Atmospheric Dynamics Of Floods, Nasser Najibi

Dissertations and Theses

Our preliminary survey showed that most of the recent flood-related studies did not formally explain the physical mechanisms of long-duration and large-peak flood events that can evoke substantial damages to properties and infrastructure systems. These studies also fell short of fully assessing the interactions of coupled ocean-atmosphere and land dynamics which are capable of forcing substantial changes to the flood attributes by governing the exceeding surface flow regimes and moisture source-sink relationships at the spatiotemporal scales important for risk management. This dissertation advances the understanding of the variability in flood duration, peak, volume, and timing at the regional to the …

Utilizing Radiolarian Assemblages To Track Changes In The Agulhas Current Through The Mid-Pleistocene Transition: Iodp Site U1479, William Alberto Bugbee

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The objective of this study was to assess the radiolarian assemblage of the Agulhas Current at International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 361, Site U1479 (the most westward site), through the Mid-Pleistocene Transition (MPT). Samples between 1,000 to 777ka were utilized to (1) characterize the radiolarian assemblage, (2) observe whether the radiolarian assemblage is sufficiently distinctive to help discern the occurrence of the MPT in the Southern Ocean, and (3) determine whether changes in the radiolarian assemblage reflect a change or changes in ocean currents that may have occurred during the MPT.

Over 300 radiolarian species from 15 different families were …

Spatial And Temporal Analysis Of The 27 April 2011 Tornado Outbreak In Central Alabama, Whitney Flynn, Tanveer Islam

Research, Publications & Creative Work

This study investigates the spatial and temporal patterns of the 27 April 2011 tornado outbreak in Central Alabama. Disasters, and vulnerabilities to such events, vary across space and time. The 2011 Super Outbreak was the largest, most costly, and one of the most deadly tornado outbreaks ever recorded in U.S. history. In this study, the results of 29 documented tornado tracks (889 data points total) in Central Alabama reveal findings related to complex topography and its effects on tornado intensity. The temporal pattern s of this particular outbreak are - consistent with other studies’ evidence that suggests a small peak …

Climate Evolution Across The Mid-Brunhes Transition, Aaron M. Barth, Peter U. Clark, Nicholas S. Bill, Feng He, Nicklas G. Pisias

School of Earth & Environment Departmental Research

The Mid-Brunhes Transition (MBT) began ∼ 430 ka with an increase in the amplitude of the 100 kyr climate cycles of the past 800 000 years. The MBT has been identified in ice-core records, which indicate interglaciations became warmer with higher atmospheric CO2 levels after the MBT, and benthic oxygen isotope (δ18O) records, which suggest that post-MBT interglaciations had higher sea levels and warmer temperatures than pre-MBT interglaciations. It remains unclear, however, whether the MBT was a globally synchronous phenomenon that included other components of the climate system. Here, we further characterize changes in the climate system across the MBT …

Coupling Between Land–Ocean–Atmosphere And Pronounced Changes In Atmospheric/Meteorological Parameters Associated With The Hudhud Cyclone Of October 2014, Akshansa Chauhan, Rajesh Kumar, Ramesh P. Singh

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

India is vulnerable to all kinds of natural hazards associated with land, ocean, biosphere, atmosphere, and snow/glaciers. These natural hazards impact large areas and the population living in the affected regions. India is surrounded by ocean on three sides and is vulnerable to cyclonic activities. Every year cyclones hit the east and west coasts of India, affecting the population living along the coasts and infrastructure and inland areas. The extent of the affected inland areas depends on the intensity of the cyclone. On 12 October 2014, a strong cyclone “Hudhud” hit the east coast of India that caused a high …

Transition Pathways To Sustainable Agricultural Water Management: A Review Of Integrated Modeling Approaches, Erin M.K. Haacker, Vaishali Sharda, Amanda M. Cano, R. Aaron Hrozencik, Agustin Nunez, Zachary Zambreski, Soheil Nozari, Garvey Engulu B, Smith, Lacey Moore, Sumit Sharma, Prasanna Gowda, Chittaranjan Ray, Meagan Schipanski, Reagan Waskom

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Agricultural water management (AWM) is an interdisciplinary concern, cutting across traditional domains such as agronomy, climatology, geology, economics, and sociology. Each of these disciplines has developed numerous process-based and empirical models for AWM. However, models that simulate all major hydrologic, water quality, and crop growth processes in agricultural systems are still lacking. As computers become more powerful, more researchers are choosing to integrate existing models to account for these major processes rather than building new cross-disciplinary models. Model integration carries the hope that, as in a real system, the sum of the model will be greater than the parts. However, …

Simulating The Impacts Of Irrigation Levels On Soybean Production In Texas High Plains To Manage Diminishing Groundwater Levels, Vaishali Sharda, Prasanna H. Gowda, Gary Marek, Isaya Kisekka, Chittaranjan Ray, Pradip Adhikari

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

There is an increasing need to strategize and plan irrigation systems under varied climatic conditions to support efficient irrigation practices while maintaining and improving the sustainability of groundwater systems. This study was undertaken to simulate the growth and production of soybean [Glycine max (L.)] under different irrigation scenarios. The objectives of this study were to calibrate and validate the CROPGRO-Soybean model under Texas High Plains’ (THP) climatic conditions and to apply the calibrated model to simulate the impacts of different irrigation levels and triggers on soybean production. The methodology involved combining short-term experimental data with long-term historical weather data (1951–2012), …

Calcareous Nannofossil Biostratigraphy And Paleoecology Of The Fort Hays Limestone Of Western Kansas, Western Interior Basin (Wib), Bryan Hermosillo

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

Investigations of Upper Cretaceous hemi-pelagic sediments from the Western Interior Basin suggest that high surface water fertility caused increased production of biogenic carbonate, resulting in the deposition of limestone. We examined calcareous nannofossils from the Turonian/Coniacian Fort Hays Member of the Niobrara Formation to evaluate the correlation between nannofossil surface water fertility proxies and associated lithology. Our paleoecology results indicate that oligotrophic surface water conditions were present during limestone deposition. This stands at odds with existing depositional models for the Western Interior Seaway (WIS). Paleoecological data within the interbedded marls was artificially skewed due to the prevalence of etching caused …

Designing A Protected Area To Safeguard Imperiled Species From Urbanization, Stephanie S. Romanach, Brad Stith, Fred A. Johnson

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Reserve design is a process that can address ecological, social, and political factors to identify parcels of land needed to sustain wildlife populations and other natural resources. Acquisition of parcels for a large terrestrial reserve is difficult because it typically occurs over a long timeframe and thus invokes consideration of future conditions such as climate and urbanization changes. In central Florida, the U.S. government has authorized a new protected area, the Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge. The new refuge will host important threatened and endangered species and habitats, and will be located to allow for species adaptation from climate change …

Methanogens, Plausible Extraterrestrial Life Forms On Mars, And Their Tolerance To Increasing Concentrations Of Illite Clay, Chandler Kern

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Methanogens, some of Earth’s most primitive prokaryotic organisms, are candidates for possible life forms capable of inhabiting Mars. Specifically, four different species (Methanobacterium formicicum, Methanococcus maripaludis, Methanosarcina barkeri, Methanothermobacter wolfeii) were analyzed for their tolerance to the presence of illite clay. Illite is a crystalline mineral that has been identified from regions of Mars’s surface. Results indicated that all four species grew with some success in the illite at different concentrations. This experimentation with methanogens’ abilities to survive and reproduce in the presence of illite allows for a more accurate understanding of the potential capability of microbial …

Umphlett Qci Dec 2018, Natalie A. Umphlett

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

Highlights for the Basin

Temperature and Precipitation Anomalies

Mountain Snowpack

Water Resources and Drought

Agriculture

Temperature

Precipitation

Stable Isotope Geochemistry Of Bioapatite, Amanda E. Drewicz

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The Cenozoic Era was a time period where dynamic shifts in climate created for both warm-wet greenhouse environments of the mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum (MMCO), and cool-dry, glacial periods of the late Pleistocene. The Cenozoic is close to our own time period, and although past climate reconstructions cannot be used as direct analogs for future climate change, understanding previous environmental responses can help inform policy surrounding future climate change. Presented here are climate reconstructions of the interior western United States, from two different geologic time periods. Each had a different climate, that differed greatly from modern day environments. The use of …

Predicted Deepwater Bathymetry From Satellite Altimetry: Non-Fourier Transform Alternatives, Maxsimo Salazar

Dissertations

Robert Parker (1972) demonstrated the effectiveness of Fourier Transforms (FT) to compute gravitational potential anomalies caused by uneven, non-uniform layers of material. This important calculation relates the gravitational potential anomaly to sea-floor topography. As outlined by Sandwell and Smith (1997), a six-step procedure, utilizing the FT, then demonstrated how satellite altimetry measurements of marine geoid height are inverted into seafloor topography. However, FTs are not local in space and produce Gibb’s phenomenon around discontinuities. Seafloor features exhibit spatial locality and features such as seamounts and ridges often have sharp inclines. Initial tests compared the windowed-FT to wavelets in reconstruction of …

Late Quaternary Evolution And Stratigraphic Framework Influence On Coastal Systems Along The North-Central Gulf Of Mexico, Usa, Robert Hollis

Master's Theses

Coastal systems in the Gulf of Mexico are threatened to reduced sediment supply, storm impacts and relative sea level rise (RSLR). The geologic record can provide insights of geomorphic threshold crossings (formation, progradation, transgression, destruction) to these forcing mechanisms to predict future barrier evolution to climate change. The stratigraphic framework and antecedent topography directly influence coastal evolution over geologic timescales. This study synthesizes ~2100km of geophysical data, 700+ sediment cores, and 63 radiocarbon dates to regionally map two sequence boundaries, multiple ravinement surfaces and fourteen depositional facies. One marine isotope stage (MIS) 6 valley’s fill provided up to 300 x10 …

Margaret White Springs Recharge Study, Buffalo National River, North-Central Arkansas, Usa, Ashlon Elizabeth Leonard

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Margaret White Springs (MWS) is one of the largest springs in the middle section of the Buffalo National River (BNR) and contributes several tens of cubic feet per second of flow to river discharge on average, yet the source of the water has not been fully studied or documented. The spring is located approximately 4 miles downstream from Robertson Hole, a losing reach of the river. At Robertson Hole the river loses a significant amount of flow to groundwater, which during the dry season (summer) can be as much as 100%. Flow in the main channel is re-established at MWS; …

Investigating Smoke Aerosol Emission Coefficients Using Modis Active Fire And Aerosol Products – A Case Study In The Conus And Indonesia, Xiaoman Lu, Xiaoyang Zhang, Fangjun Li, Mark Cochrane

Global Land Surface Season Data Sets

This data set is in relation to the paper of the same title, which has been submitted to the Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences.

Instructions for viewing the data in “Readme.txt”

Breeding For Resilience To Increasing Temperatures: A Field Trial Assessing Genetic Variation In Soft Red Winter Wheat, Kathleen Russell, David Van Sanford

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

Breeding for resilience to climate change is a daunting prospect. Crop and climate models tell us that global wheat yields are likely to decline as the climate warms, causing a significant risk to global food security. High temperatures are known to affect crop development yet breeding for tolerance to heat stress is difficult to achieve in field environments. We conducted an active warming study over two years to quantify the effects of heat stress on genetic variation of soft red winter (SRW) wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Forty SRW cultivars and breeding lines were chosen based on marker genotypes at …

Longitudinal And Temporal Comparison Of Beach Sand On The Rio Grande Delta System, Samantha B. Moore

Theses and Dissertations

The Rio Grande is the 5th longest river in North America and defines a significant extent of the United States-Mexico border. It extends for 2830 km from its headwaters in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado to the Gulf of Mexico. The Rio Grande is fed by streams from the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the Rio Conchos, the Pecos River, runoff from the Sacramento Mountains area, Devils River, the Rio Salado, and the Rio San Juan. This study addresses how the composition of sand forming the Rio Grande river delta into the Gulf of Mexico at Boca Chica Beach is changed …

Environmental Fate And Microbial Effects Of Monensin, Lincomycin, And Sulfamethazine Residues In Soil, Matteo D'Alessio, Lisa M. Durso, Daniel N. Miller, Brian Woodbury, Chittaranjan Ray, Daniel D. Snow

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

The impact of commonly-used livestock antibiotics on soil nitrogen transformations under varying redox conditions is largely unknown. Soil column incubations were conducted using three livestock antibiotics (monensin, lincomycin and sulfamethazine) to better understand the fate of the antibiotics, their effect on nitrogen transformation, and their impact on soil microbial communities under aerobic, anoxic, and denitrifying conditions. While monensin was not recovered in the effluent, lincomycin and sulfamethazine concentrations decreased slightly during transport through the columns. Sorption, and to a limited extent degradation, are likely to be the primary processes leading to antibiotic attenuation during leaching. Antibiotics also affected microbial respiration …

Molecular Fossils From Phytoplankton Reveal Secular Pco2 Trend Over The Phanerozoic, Caitlyn R. Witkowski, Johan W. H. Weijers, Brian S. Blais, Stefan Schouten, Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté

Science and Technology Department Faculty Journal Articles

Past changes in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide (PCO2) have had a major impact on earth system dynamics; yet, reconstructing secular trends of past PCO2 remains a prevalent challenge in paleoclimate studies. The current long-term PCO2reconstructions rely largely on the compilation of many different proxies, often with discrepancies among proxies, particularly for periods older than 100 million years (Ma). Here, we reconstructed Phanerozoic PCO2 from a single proxy: the stable carbon isotopic fractionation associated with photosynthesis (Ɛp) that increases as PCO2 increases. This concept has been widely applied to alkenones, but here, we …

Flux Of Particulate Elements In The North Atlantic Ocean Constrained By Multiple Radionuclides, Christopher T. Hayes, Erin E. Black, Robert F. Anderson, Mark Baskaran, Ken O. Buesseler, Matthew A. Charette, Hai Cheng, J. Kirk Cochran, R. Lawrence Edwards, Patrick Fitzgerald, Phoebe J. Lam, Yanbin Lu, Stephanie O. Morris, Daniel C. Ohnemus, Frank J. Pavia, Gillian Stewart, Yi Tang

Environmental Science and Geology Faculty Research Publications

Sinking particles strongly regulate the distribution of reactive chemical substances in the ocean, including particulate organic carbon and other elements (e.g., P, Cd, Mn, Cu, Co, Fe, Al, and 232Th). Yet, the sinking fluxes of trace elements have not been well described in the global ocean. The U.S. GEOTRACES campaign in the North Atlantic (GA03) offers the first data set in which the sinking flux of carbon and trace elements can be derived using four different radionuclide pairs (238U:234Th ;210Pb:210Po; 228Ra:228Th; and 234U:230Th) at stations co-located with sediment trap fluxes for comparison. Particulate organic carbon, particulate P, and particulate Cd …

Relating Cyanobacteria And Physicochemical Water-Quality Properties In Willow Creek Lake, Nebraska, 2012–14, David L. Rus, Brent M. Hall, Steven A. Thomas

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

Document abstract

Cyanobacteria (also referred to as blue-green algae) are naturally present members of phytoplankton assemblages that may detract from beneficial uses of water because some strains produce cyanotoxins that pose health hazards to people and animals. Cyanobacteria populations observed in Willow Creek Lake during 2012 through 2014 were compared to external nutrient loading from the Willow Creek drainage basin and several other physicochemical properties within the lake, including internal nutrient loading. This report is part of a cooperative study between the United States Geological Survey, the Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District, the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality, the Nebraska …

Water, Energy, And Carbon Footprints Of Bioethanol From The U.S. And Brazil, Mesfin Mekonnen, Thiago L. Romanelli, Chittaranjan Ray, Arjen Y. Hoekstra, Adam Liska, Christopher M. U. Neale

Adam Liska Papers

Driven by biofuel policies, which aim to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and increase domestic energy supply, global production and consumption of bioethanol have doubled between 2007 and 2016, with rapid growth in corn-based bioethanol in the U.S. and sugar cane-based bioethanol in Brazil. Advances in crop yields, energy use efficiency in fertilizer production, biomass-to-ethanol conversion rates, and energy efficiency in ethanol production have improved the energy balance and GHG emission reduction potential of bioethanol. In the current study, the water, energy, and carbon footprints of bioethanol from corn in the U.S. and sugar cane in Brazil were assessed. The …

Spatial Variation In Throughfall, Soil, And Plant Water Isotopes In A Temperate Forest, Gregory R. Goldsmith, Scott T. Allen, Sabine Braun, Nadine Engbersen, Clara Romero González-Quijano, James W. Kirchner, Rolf T. W. Siegwolf

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Studies of stable isotopes of water in the environment have been fundamental to advancing our understanding of how water moves through the soil‐plant‐atmosphere continuum; however, much of this research focuses on how water isotopes vary in time, rather than in space. We examined the spatial variation in the δ¹⁸O and δ²H of throughfall and bulk soil water, as well as branch xylem and bulk leaf water of Picea abies (Norway Spruce) and Fagus sylvatica (Beech), in a 1 ha forest plot in the northern Alps of Switzerland. Means and ranges of water isotope ratios varied considerably …

Elevated Black Carbon Concentrations And Atmospheric Pollution Around Singrauli Coal-Fired Thermal Power Plants (India) Using Ground And Satellite Data, Ramesh Singh, Sarvan Kumar, Abhay K. Singh

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

The tropospheric NO₂ concentration from OMI AURA always shows high concentrations of NO₂ at a few locations in India, one of the high concentrations of NO2 hotspots is associated with the locations of seven coal-fired Thermal Power plants (TPPs) in Singrauli. Emissions from TPPs are among the major sources of black carbon (BC) soot in the atmosphere. Knowledge of BC emissions from TPPs is important in characterizing regional carbonaceous particulate emissions, understanding the fog/haze/smog formation, evaluating regional climate forcing, modeling aerosol optical parameters and concentrations of black carbon, and evaluating human health. Furthermore, elevated BC concentrations, over the …

Nasa Maa (Murep Aerospace Academy) Stem Project At York College: Ensuring Future Stem Pipeline, Nazrul I. Khandaker, Shuayb Siddique, Matthew Khargie, Brandon Dhanraj, Zachary A. Sanichar, Mildred M. Selby, Chabenauth Ramnauth, Theresa Deepan, Yougeeta Singh, Krishna Mahabir, Sashi Singh, Omadevi Singh

Publications and Research

Our ongoing K1-12 NASA-supported STEM activities has served over 5000 children since 2015, largely from groups that are undeserved and underrepresented in the sciences. These STEM activities have been successfully delivered for several years and include earth science, meteorite geology, rocketry, aerodynamics, star gazing, EV3 Mindstorm robotics, basic coding exercises, wind tunnel, 3D-printing, etc., conducted largely through our present MAA (MUREP Aerospace Academy) Project. Corporate funding from the Con Edison and National Grid ensures additional STEM dissemination to the students during the summer operation. Significant positive component of the MAA program is the availability and willingness of the former student …