Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

Building A High-Resolution Vegetation Outlook Model To Monitor Agricultural Drought For The Upper Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia, Yared Bayissa, Tsegaye Tadesse, Getachew B. Demisse

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

To reduce the impacts of drought, developing an integrated drought monitoring tool and early warning system is crucial and more effective than the crisis management approach that is commonly used in developing countries like Ethiopia. The overarching goal of this study was to develop a higher-spatial-resolution vegetation outlook (VegOut-UBN) model that integrates multiple satellite, climatic, and biophysical input variables for the Upper Blue Nile (UBN) basin. VegOut-UBN uses current and historical observations in predicting the vegetation condition at multiple leading time steps of 1, 3, 6, and 9 dekades. VegOut-UBN was developed to predict the vegetation condition during the main …

Ecological Response Of Phytoplankton To The Oil Spills In The Oceans, Danling Tang, Jing Sun, Li Zhou, Sufen Wang, Ramesh P. Singh, Gang Pan

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Oil spills in oceans have substantial influence on marine ecosystems. This study investigates 21 oil spills in the world. Analyzing Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiomerer (MODIS) data after Penglai oil spills on 4 June 2011, found a bloom with peak value of Chl-a (13.66 mg m⁻³) spread over an area of 800 km² during 18–25 June 2011, and a pronounced increase in the monthly Chl-a concentration (6.40 mg m⁻³) on June 2012 in the Bohai Sea. Out of the 21 oil spills, 14 blooms were observed, while 11 …

A Global Database Of Surface Urban Heat Island Intensity, Tc Chakraborty, Xuhui Lee

Yale Day of Data

The urban heat island (UHI) effect - the phenomenon of higher temperatures in urban environments - is one of the most well-known consequences of urbanization on local climate. We develop the simplified urban-extent (SUE) algorithm, a new algorithm to estimate the urban heat island (UHI) intensity at a global scale. This algorithm is implemented on the Google Earth Engine platform and uses satellite-derived images to calculate the surface UHI intensity for over 9500 urban clusters covering 15 years, making this the most comprehensive global UHI database. The data are validated against previous multi-city studies and then used to estimate the …

Assessing The Evolution Of Soil Moisture And Vegetation Conditions During A Flash Drought–Flash Recovery Sequence Over The South-Central United States, Jason A. Otkin, Yafang Zhong, Eric D. Hunt, Jeff Basara, Mark Svoboda, Martha C. Anderson, Christopher Hain

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

This study examines the evolution of soil moisture, evapotranspiration, vegetation, and atmospheric conditions during an unusual flash drought–flash recovery sequence that occurred across the south-central United States during 2015. This event was characterized by a period of rapid drought intensification (flash drought) during late summer that was terminated by heavy rainfall at the end of October that eliminated the extreme drought conditions over a 2-week period (flash recovery). A detailed analysis was performed using time series of environmental variables derived from meteorological, remote sensing, and land surface modeling datasets. Though the analysis revealed a similar progression of cascading effects in …

Soil Moisture Monitoring Using Remote Sensing Data And A Stepwise-Cluster Prediction Model: The Case Of Upper Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia, Getachew Ayehu, Tsegaye Tadesse, Berhan Gessesse, Yibeltal Yigrem

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

In this study, a residual soil moisture prediction model was developed using the stepwise cluster analysis (SCA) and model prediction approach in the Upper Blue Nile basin. The SCA has the advantage of capturing the nonlinear relationships between remote sensing variables and volumetric soil moisture. The principle of SCA is to generate a set of prediction cluster trees based on a series of cutting and merging process according to a given statistical criterion. The proposed model incorporates the combinations of dual-polarized Sentinel-1 SAR data, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and digital elevation model as input parameters. In this regard, two …

Socioecological Determinants Of Drought Impacts And Coping Strategies For Ranching Operations In The Great Plains, Tonya Haigh, Walter H. Schacht, Cody L. Knutson, Alexander J. Smart, Jerry Volesky, Craig R. Allen, Michael Hayes, Mark E. Burbach

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

In Great Plains rangelands, drought is a recurring disturbance. Ranchers in this region expect to encounter drought but may not be adequately prepared for it. Efforts to encourage drought preparednesswould benefit froma better understanding of the conditions under which managers make decisions to minimize the impacts of drought.We tested the direct andmoderating roles of the drought hazard and the social-ecological context on drought impacts and response. This study was conducted with ranchers in western and central South Dakota and Nebraska following the drought that began in 2012. We surveyed ranchers regarding the effects of the drought and their responses and …

The Prairie Post Quarterly Newsletter Of The High Plains Regional Climate Center- January 2019, Natalie Umphlett, Rezaul Mamood, Warren Pettee, Gannon Rush, Crystal J. Stiles

Prairie Post: Quarterly Newsletter of the High Plains Regional Climate Center

Inside this issue:

Message from the director........................................1

Staff spotlight...........................1

Year in review............................2

Drought THIRA toolkit...........3

Product highlight....................4

Update on regional climate conditions..................................4

Other HPRCC news.................5

Recent and upcoming travel and activities.............................6

Role Of Sea Surface Temperatures In Forcing Circulation Anomalies Driving U.S. Great Plains Pluvial Years, Paul X. Flanagan, Jeffrey B. Basara, Jason C. Furtado, Elinor R. Martin, Xiangming Xiao

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

In the U.S. Great Plains (GP), diagnosing precipitation variability is key in developing an understanding of the present and future availability of water in the region. Building on previous work investigating U.S. GP pluvial years, this study usesERAtwentieth century (ERA-20C) reanalysis data to investigate key circulation anomalies driving GP precipitation anomalies during a subset of GP pluvial years (called in this paper Pattern pluvial years). With previous research showing links between tropical Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies and GP climate variability, this study diagnoses the key circulation anomalies through an analysis of SSTs and their influence on the atmosphere. …

Characterizing Freshwater Phytoplankton Dynamics With Electro-Optical Remote Sensing, Michael Sayers

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Freshwater lakes are an important component contributing to ecosystem health and biodiversity on local, regional, and global scales. And while lakes only represent <5% of the global surface area, they are often very productive systems which contribute significantly to carbon cycling dynamics and freshwater fish production on a number of spatial scales. Due to the remote location and sheer size of some of these lakes it has proven difficult to adequately document changes in water quality. Significant challenges exist to adequately monitor water quality, and in particular phytoplankton dynamics, over large spatial and temporal scales using traditional in situ methods. Satellite electro-optical remote sensing offers a potential tool to provide better characterization of phytoplankton dynamics for a variety of freshwater systems. This work resulted in an approach to quantify global summer phytoplankton abundance using a newly developed remote sensing derived chlorophyll-a product. This product was also used in conjunction with a newly created carbon fixation model to assess global freshwater phytoplankton production which provided new insights into the role freshwater systems play in the …

Influence Of Land Cover And Soil Moisture Based Brown Ocean Effect On An Extreme Rainfall Event From A Louisiana Gulf Coast Tropical System, Udaysankar S. Nair, Eric Rappin, Emily Foshee, Warren Smith, Roger A. Pielke Sr., Rezaul Mahmood, Jonathan L. Case, Clay B. Blankenship, Marshall Shepherd, Joseph A. Santanello, Dev Niyogi

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

Extreme flooding over southern Louisiana in mid-August of 2016 resulted from an unusual tropical low that formed and intensified over land. We used numerical experiments to highlight the role of the ‘Brown Ocean’ effect (where saturated soils function similar to a warm ocean surface) on intensification and it’s modulation by land cover change. A numerical modeling experiment that successfully captured the flood event (control) was modified to alter moisture availability by converting wetlands to open water, wet croplands, and dry croplands. Storm evolution in the control experiment with wet antecedent soils most resembles tropical lows that form and intensify over …

The Total Solar Eclipse Of 2017: Meteorological Observations From A Statewide Mesonet And Atmospheric Profiling Systems, Rezaul Mahmood, Megan Schargorodski, Eric Rappin, Melissa Griffin, Patrick Collins, Kevin Knupp, Andrew Quilligan, Ryan Wade, Kevin Cary, Stuart Foster

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

A total solar eclipse traversed 37 the continental United States on August 21, 2017. It 38 was the first such event in 99 years and provided a rare opportunity to observe the atmospheric response from a variety of instrumented observational platforms. This paper discusses the high quality observations collected by the Kentucky Mesonet (www.kymesonet.org), a research-grade meteorological and climatological observation network consisting of 72 stations and measuring air temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, solar radiation, wind speed, and wind direction. The network samples the atmosphere, for most variables, every three seconds and then calculates and records observations every five minutes. During …

Irrigation Impacts On Minimum And Maximum Surface Moist Enthalpy In The Central Great Plains Of The Usa, Tianyi Zhang, Rezaul Mahmood, Xiaomao Lin, Roger A. Pielke Sr.

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

Agricultural activities notably alter weather and climate including near-surface heat content. However, past research primarily focused on dry bulb temperature without considering the role of water vapor (dew point temperature) on surface air heat content. When using dry bulb temperature trends to assess these changes, for example, not including concurrent trends in absolute humidity can lead to errors in the actual rate of warming or cooling. Here we examined minimum and maximum surface moist enthalpy, which can be expressed as “equivalent temperature.” Using hourly climate data in the Central Great Plains (Nebraska and Kansas) from 1990 to 2014, the averages …

Enhancing Acis Maps: Increasing Usability Through A Gis Portal, Natalie Umphlett, Warren Pettee, Bill Sorensen, Crystal J. Stiles

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

The High Plains Regional Climate Center (HPRCC) is one of six NOAA Regional Climate Centers (RCCs) in the United States that aims to provide timely climate data and information to the public for cost-effective decision-making. As part of a three-tiered approach to climate services, the RCCs address needs on the national, regional, state, and local scales for a variety of sectors including agriculture, energy, natural resource management, research, transportation, and water resources. Working together, the RCCs develop and disseminate a wide range of valueadded climate products and services.

One of the HPRCC’s most popular products is the Applied Climate Information …

Conducting A Drought-Specific Thira (Threat And Hazard Identification And Risk Assessment): A Powerful Tool For Integrating All-Hazard Mitigation And Drought Planning Efforts To Increase Drought Mitigation Quality, Elliot Wickham, Deborah J. Bathke, Tarik Abdel-Monem, Tonya K. Bernadt, Denise Bulling, Lisa M. Pytlikzillig, Crystal J. Stiles, Nicole Wall

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

In the United States, drought is the second costliest natural disaster, which leads to the need for increased drought mitigation efforts over time. However, drought planning has lagged behind other hazard mitigation efforts, which is likely due to the lack of a national drought planning policy. Although the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) requires all jurisdictions have a hazard mitigation plan (HMP) to receive pre-disaster mitigation funds, drought has only recently been a requirement in HMPs. In 2012, Nebraska witnessed its worse drought in recent history, which exposed the gaps in drought planning effectiveness at all jurisdictional levels. To address …

Assessing The Spatial And Temporal Variability Of The Detroit River And Harmful Algal Blooms In Western Lake Erie, Angela W. Yu

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Despite efforts to reduce the occurrence of harmful algal blooms (HABs) in western Lake Erie, blooms recur annually due to agricultural runoff, storms with high winds and heavy rains, and weak lake circulation patterns. The influence from river inputs on the spatial and temporal characteristics of HABs remains relatively unknown. The Detroit River, which contributes about 80% of the basin's total inflow can have a large influence on the spatial and temporal distribution of the bloom. To understand this, optically classified imagery, in situ water measurements, and meteorological and river discharge observations were compiled and synthesized to examine the spatiotemporal …

Droughtscape, Winter 2019, National Drought Mitigation Center

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

Contents

From the Director

Drought intensified in California and Nevada, eased elsewhere

Year in Review: Drought spread and intensified in the West; record precipitation in the East

Drought impact summary for 4th quarter 2018

Drought impact summary 2018

Five states began drought plan updates in 2018

New web-based form makes submitting drought observations easier

FEMA risk assessment process tailored for drought

Upcoming events

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 …

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

Trash Talk: The Effects Of Plastic Pollution On Seabirds In Narragansett Bay, Erin A. O'Neill

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

Plastic pollution in the ocean is a global concern with more than 8 million tons of plastic dumped into our oceans every year. This policy paper assesses plastic pollution in Narragansett Bay and the negative implications it holds on local seabird populations. Also, essential background information on plastic production and throwaway culture is provided. Moreover, the biological significance of seabirds is described, highlighting the vital role such populations play in local ecosystems such as Narragansett Bay. This paper contributes research to the global issue of plastic pollution by observing declining native wildlife life populations, such as seabirds, on a local …

Earth-Observation-Based Estimation And Forecasting Of Particulate Matter Impact On Solar Energy In Egypt, Panagiotis G. Kosmopoulos, Stelios Kazadzis, Hesham El-Askary, Michael Taylor, Antonis Gkikas, Emmanouil Proestakis, Charalampos Kontoes, Mohamed Mostafa El-Khayat

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

This study estimates the impact of dust aerosols on surface solar radiation and solar energy in Egypt based on Earth Observation (EO) related techniques. For this purpose, we exploited the synergy of monthly mean and daily post processed satellite remote sensing observations from theMODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), radiative transfer model (RTM) simulations utilizing machine learning, in conjunction with 1-day forecasts from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS). As cloudy conditions in this region are rare, aerosols in particular dust, are the most common sources of solar irradiance attenuation, causing performance issues in the photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated solar power …

Impacts Of Pacific Ssts On Atmospheric Circulations Leading To California Winter Precipitation Variability: A Diagnostic Modeling, Boksoon Myoung, Sang-Wook Yeh, Jinwon Kim, Menas Kafatos

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

One of the primary meteorological causes of the winter precipitation deficits and droughts in California (CA) is anomalous developments and maintenance of upper-tropospheric ridges over the northeastern Pacific. In order to understand and find the key factors controlling the winter precipitation variability in CA, the present study examines two dominant atmospheric modes of the 500 hPa geopotential height in the Northern Hemisphere using an Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) and their associated large-scale circulation patterns for the last 41 winters (1974/75–2014/15). Explaining 17.5% of variability, the second mode (EOF2) shows strong anti-cyclonic circulations in the North Pacific and cyclonic circulations in …

Evaluation Of Spatial Generalization Characteristics Of A Robust Classifier As Applied To Coral Reef Habitats In Remote Islands Of The Pacific Ocean, Justin J. Gapper, Hesham El-Askary, Erik J. Linstead, Thomas Piechota

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

This study was an evaluation of the spectral signature generalization properties of coral across four remote Pacific Ocean reefs. The sites under consideration have not been the subject of previous studies for coral classification using remote sensing data. Previous research regarding using remote sensing to identify reefs has been limited to in-situ assessment, with some researchers also performing temporal analysis of a selected area of interest. This study expanded the previous in-situ analyses by evaluating the ability of a basic predictor, Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), trained on Depth Invariant Indices calculated from the spectral signature of coral in one location …

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 …

Droughtscape, Fall 2018, National Drought Mitigation Center

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

Contents

From the director

Drought greatly improves in Southern Plains and South

Texas, Missouri, and Colorado logged late-summer impacts

Memory, remote sensing and a new research methodology

Navigating the U.S. Drought Monitor

Planners discuss the barriers to effective drought mitigation planning

Exploring climate issues from a county management perspective

Strategic Framework for Drought Risk Management and Enhancing Resilience in Africa

Mena global policy forum looks from data to mitigation

About us

State-by-state drought classification table developed by NDMC graduate student

The Prairie Post Quarterly Newsletter Of The High Plains Regional Climate Center- October 2018, Natalie Umphlett, Rezaul Mamood, Jamie Lahowetz, Warren Pettee, Dalton Van Stratten, Crystal J. Stiles

Prairie Post: Quarterly Newsletter of the High Plains Regional Climate Center

Inside this issue:

Message from the interim director........................................1

Staff spotlight...........................1

ACIS GIS portal release..........2

ACIS maps enhancement.....3

Product highlight....................4

Update on regional climate conditions..................................4

Update on tribal engagement............................................. 5

Recent and upcoming travel and activities.............................6

The Influence Of Habitat Preference On Longitudinal Population Composition And Distribution Of Groupers (Serranidae) In Chumbe Island Coral Park, Zanzibar Tanzania, Caroline Daley

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

A survey of six common grouper (Serranidae) species was conducted on both the western protected and eastern unprotected reefs around Chumbe Island. Species, estimated maturity, and fundamental niche and general habitat preference was extrapolated based on observed realized niche and qualified according to substrate, depth, slope position, and general reef region. Abundance, biomass density, and biodiversity of Serranid populations were compared among locations on the reef with habitat preference in mind in order to best assess how habitat influences population composition, distribution, and health. The results of this study provide depth to previous research on the protected reef and indicate …

Correlations Between Reef Health And Vertical Zonation On Ushongo Village Reef And Fungu Zinga Reef, Daniel Gates

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

While the existence of vertical zonation on coral reefs is well-known, the driving mechanisms and the influence each has is not clear. This study seeks to investigate the influence of reef health on vertical zonation. Reef health is used as a potential factor since it is essentially a broad description of reef diversity. Therefore, a healthy reef which is very diverse is likely to have more and different interspecies interactions than an unhealthy one. This project investigates whether these altered interactions results in different depth distributions of various coral types, categorized broadly by colony shape. Reef health did not seem …

Characterizing Diatom Biofilms And Their Influence On The Sand Biogeochemistry Of High Energy Beaches, Logan C. Jarrell

Honors Theses

High energy beaches are among the most dynamic ecological settings on Earth. Compared to mudflats, diatoms of high energy beaches have been more neglected in the literature, particularly true of the intertidal biofilms that form and dissipate with nutrient cycling and light intensity over the tidal cycle. Although short lived, the productivity of these biofilms may be critical to the organic-poor sand. Through sediment coring and subsequent analyses of the uppermost sand of three suspected biofilm stations—non-runnel, runnel crest, and runnel trough—along with seemingly bare sand as a control, this study sought to verify the presence of diatom biofilms and …

Evaluation Of The Bsc-Dream8b Regional Dust Model Using The 3d Livas-Calipso Product, Dimitra Konsta, Ioannis Binietoglou, Antonis Gkikas, Stavros Solomos, Eleni Marinou, Emmanouil Proestakis, Sara Basart, Carlos Pérez García-Pando, Hesham El-Askary, Vassilis Amiridis

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

The ability of regional atmospheric models to accurately represent long-range transport of dust is crucial for describing dust effects on radiation and clouds and for reducing their uncertainties on these processes. The optimized CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations) pure-dust product that provides the three-dimensional patterns of dust and its transport pathways is a unique tool that can address the aforementioned model's issues. In this study we use the CALIPSO dust extinction profiles as a tool for examining the performance of the regional dust model BSC-DREAM8b in space and time, for the period 2009–2013 over Northern Africa, the …

Umphlett Qci Sept 2018, Natalie Umphlett

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

Highlights for the Basin

Temperature and Precipitation Anomalies

Drought

Water Resources

Agriculture

Temperature

Precipitation