Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

Multi-Source Eo For Dynamic Wetland Mapping And Monitoring In The Great Lakes Basin, Michael Battaglia, Sarah Banks, Amir Behnamian, Laura Bourgeau-Chavez

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Wetland managers, citizens and government leaders are observing rapid changes in coastal wetlands and associated habitats around the Great Lakes Basin due to human activity and climate variability. SAR and optical satellite sensors offer cost effective management tools that can be used to monitor wetlands over time, covering large areas like the Great Lakes and providing information to those making management and policy decisions. In this paper we describe ongoing efforts to monitor dynamic changes in wetland vegetation, surface water extent, and water level change. Included are assessments of simulated Radarsat Constellation Mission data to determine feasibility of continued monitoring …

Weather And Climate Summary And Forecast: February 2021 Report, Gregory V. Jones

Linfield University Wine Studies Reports

This report provides a summary of the weather and climate forecast for February 2021. It includes forecast information specific to the Pacific Northwest and the western United States, as well as forecast information for other portions of the United States and abroad.

A Reimagining Of The Chacoan World, Larry Benson, Richard W. Loose

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

A new paradigm of the Chacoan world is presented, wherein Chaco Canyon is considered to be a mostly unoccupied architectural complex that functioned primarily as a pilgrimage destination. Chaco was the political, religious, and social focal point of people living in outlying regions. The resident population of the Canyon consisted of a small number of caretakers, charged with maintaining great house structures, food supplies, and their ceremonial contents. Chacoan chiefdoms were mostly located in large, well-watered, agriculturally-based communities situated at the base of mountains that ring the San Juan Basin, e.g., the Chuskas. Chiefly elites lived year-round in those areas, …

Air Quality Over Major Cities Of Saudi Arabia During Hajj Periods Of 2019 And 2020, Ashraf Farahat, Akshansha Chauhan, Mohammed Al Otaibi, Ramesh P. Singh

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Mecca and Madinah are two holy cities where millions of people in general, visit throughout the years, during Hajj (Muslim's pilgrimage) time number of people visit these holy cities from different parts of the world is very high. However, the Government of Saudi Arabia only allowed 1000 pilgrims during the 2020 Hajj especially when the world is suffering from COVID-19. In the present paper, a detailed analysis of air quality parameters available from ground measurements have been carried over major cities of Saudi Arabia, Mecca, Madinah, and Jeddah from June to September 2019 and 2020. At Mecca and Jeddah, PM …

Coastal Watershed Monitoring And Management: Geomorphology, Geochemistry, And Hydrologic Modeling Of Los Peñasquitos Creek, Ca, Ravleen Khalsa-Basra

Theses

Rivers in semi-arid climates are directly influenced by local geographic and hydrologic conditions and impacted by modifications to hydrology via urbanization. Changes can influence erosion, morphology, habitat sustainability, and watershed health. In highly urbanized southern California coastal regions, these rare open spaces provide vital ecosystem services. Los Peñasquitos Creek in San Diego County is one such watershed. Using stream surveying and laboratory methods we quantified channel characteristics, grain size distribution, total metal concentration [M], organic carbon (%OC), and phosphate to longitudinally characterize the creek for improved management. Results identified three distinct reaches in the watershed (upper, middle, lower). Downstream, depth …

A Continental-Scale Assessment Of Density, Size, Distribution And Historical Trends Of Farm Dams Using Deep Learning Convolutional Neural Networks, Martino E. Malerba, Nicholas J. Wright, Peter I. Macreadie

Climate Science Research Articles

Farm dams are a ubiquitous limnological feature of agricultural landscapes worldwide. While their primary function is to capture and store water, they also have disproportionally large effects on biodiversity and biogeochemical cycling, with important relevance to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, the abundance and distribution of farm dams is unknown in most parts of the world. Therefore, we used artificial intelligence and remote sensing data to address this critical global information gap. Specifically, we trained a deep learning convolutional neural network (CNN) on high-definition satellite images to detect farm dams and carry out the first continental-scale assessment on density, …

Weather And Climate Summary And Forecast: January 2021 Report, Gregory V. Jones

Linfield University Wine Studies Reports

This report provides a summary of the weather and climate forecast for January 2021. It includes forecast information specific to the Pacific Northwest and the western United States, as well as forecast information for other portions of the United States and abroad.

Valuation Of Drought Information: Understanding The Value Of The Us Drought Monitor In Land Management, Tingting Liu, Richard Krop, Tonya Haigh, Kelly Helm Smith, Mark D. Svoboda

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Droughts affect recreation and tourism, grazing, forests, and timber, and can have important indirect effects for the ecosystems and species that rely on water. Despite its importance, the effect of drought in the land management sector is less understood than in other water-intensive sectors, such as agriculture and public water supplies. This study presents the first-ever estimates of the economic valuation of the information provided by the U.S. Drought Monitor using the avoided cost method. These estimates are based on the time and labor saved by using the U.S. Drought Monitor rather than compiling drought-related information from other sources, or …

Exploiting Common Senses: Sensory Ecology Meets Wildlife Conservation And Management, Laura K. Elmer, Christine L. Madliger, Daniel T. Blumstein, Chris K. Elvidge, Esteban Ernández-Juricic, Andrij Z. Horodysky, Nicholas S. Johnson, Liam P. Mcguire, Ronald R. Swaisgood, Steven J. Cooke

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Multidisciplinary approaches to conservation and wildlife management are often effective in addressing complex, multi-factor problems. Emerging fields such as conservation physiology and conservation behaviour can provide innovative solutions and management strategies for target species and systems. Sensory ecology combines the study of ‘how animals acquire’ and process sensory stimuli from their environments, and the ecological and evolutionary significance of ‘how animals respond’ to this information. We review the benefits that sensory ecology can bring to wildlife conservation and management by discussing case studies across major taxa and sensory modalities. Conservation practices informed by a sensory ecology approach include the amelioration …

Vintage 2020: Rogue Valley Reference Vineyard Report, Gregory V. Jones

Linfield University Wine Studies Reports

This report describes the impacts of climate and phenology on vintage for the Rogue Valley in Oregon in 2020. A mild and dry winter in 2019-20 was followed by a dry growing season continuing the ongoing drought concerns for Oregon and the majority of the western US. The spring was relatively cool with mild frosts into early May, then followed by wide swings between early season heat then cool, wet conditions leading up to and during flowering. The result was widespread issues with fruit set leading to generally high amounts of shatter, smaller berries and clusters for many in the …

Vintage Report 2020: North Willamette Valley, Gregory V. Jones

Linfield University Wine Studies Reports

This report describes the impacts of climate and phenology on vintage for the North Willamette Valley in Oregon in 2020. A mild and dry winter in 2019-20 was followed by a dry growing season continuing the ongoing drought concerns for Oregon and the majority of the western US. The spring was relatively cool with mild frosts in early April, then followed by wide swings between early season heat then cool, wet conditions leading up to and during flowering. The result was widespread issues with fruit set leading to generally high amounts of shatter, smaller berries and clusters for many in …

Vintage 2020: Umpqua Valley Reference Vineyard Report, Gregory V. Jones

Linfield University Wine Studies Reports

This report describes the impacts of climate and phenology on vintage for the Umpqua Valley in Oregon in 2020. A mild and dry winter in 2019-20 was followed by a dry growing season continuing the ongoing drought concerns for Oregon and the majority of the western US. The spring was relatively cool in the Umpqua Valley with mild frosts into mid-April, then followed by wide swings between early season heat then cool, wet conditions leading up to and during flowering. The result was widespread issues with fruit set leading to generally high amounts of shatter, smaller berries and clusters for …

Long Island Horseshoe Crab Network Annual Inventory Report, Cercom, Molloy University, John Tanacredi Ph.D., Kyle F. Maurelli

CERCOM Reports

CERCOM monitors 115 beach locations from Brooklyn – Montauk during optimal Limulus Polyphemus breeding season. These beach surveys take place for approximately 15 weeks, ranging from May- August. These beach locations are marked specifically using GPS coordinates, to assure the same location is visited each year. Students and volunteers are required to attend a HSC Survey training orientation lead by CERCOM’s research assistant, Mr. Kyle Maurelli. Surveying is done around tide and moon cycles (New/Full Moon). Each site takes about 1-2 hours and data is recorded along an approximate 1 mile distance. Walking along the water’s edge the number of …

Observation Of New Particle Formation In The Northern Hemisphere At Altitude From 4 To 20 Km, Mohamed Saad

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

New particle formation (NPF) is investigated using measurements of aerosol size distributions and meteorological variables made in two continents, including USA and Europe. Despite the considerably different aerosol particle abundances among the sites, a common relationship was found between the characteristics of NPF events and the air mass convective and/or advective transport. CO and O3 act as tracers of tropospheric and stratospheric air, respectively, their statistical relationship can be used to quantify air mass characteristics and origins. The mixing ratio values of CO increased within the upper troposphere layer before/during NPF events, which may serve as an indicator of occurring …

Ranchers’ Use Of Drought Contingency Plans In Protective Action Decision Making, Tonya Haigh, Michael Hayes, Jolene Smyth, Linda Stalker Prokopy, Charles A. Francis, Mark Burbach

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Drought contingency planning is an increasingly common tool in the ranchers’ climate adaptation toolboxes, but its effect on drought response has not yet been evaluated. We use cognitive models of protective action decision making and planning to explore the effects of having a drought plan on the use of drought early warning information and drought response (and timing). Results of a cross-sectional, probability-based survey of livestock producers affected by a 2016 flash-drought are used to describe the characteristics of operations with drought plans and provide evidence of whether having a plan predicts drought information use and response. While larger operations …

Water Quality Monitoring In The Upper Poteau River Watershed, Abbie Lasater, Brian E. Haggard

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

The Upper Poteau River Watershed (UPRW) has been listed as a priority watershed in Arkansas since 1998 due to nutrient and sediment enrichment from point and nonpoint sources (NPS). According to the Arkansas NPS pollution management plan, the goals for the UPRW are to reduce pollutant levels that will restore all designates uses and target subwatersheds where implementation of management practices can have the greatest impact. Over the last several years, many 319(h) projects have been implemented and point sources have been reduced in order to improve water quality in the UPRW. The purpose of this study was to monitor …

Whose Ground Truth Is It? Harvesting Lessons From Missouri’S 2018 Bumper Crop Of Drought Observations, Kelly Helm Smith, Mark E. Burbach, Michael Hayes, Patrick Guinan, Andrew Tyre, Brian Fuchs, Tonya Haigh, Mark Svoboda

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Drought-related decision-making and policy should go beyond numeric hydrometeorological data to incorporate information on how drought affects people, livelihoods, and ecosystems. The effects of drought are nested within environmental and human systems, and relevant data may not exist in readily accessible form. For example, drought may reduce forage growth, compounded by both late-season freezes and management decisions. An effort to gather crowdsourced drought observations in Missouri in 2018 yielded a much higher number of observations than did previous related efforts. Here we examine 1) the interests, circumstances, history, and recruitment messaging that coincided to produce a high number of reports …

Tweetdrought: A Deep-Learning Drought Impacts Recognizer Based On Twitter Data, Beichen Zhang, Frank Schilder, Kelly Helm Smith, Michael Hayes, Sherri Harms, Tsegaye Tadesse

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Acquiring a better understanding of drought impacts becomes increasingly vital under a warming climate. Traditional drought indices describe mainly biophysical variables and not impacts on social, economic, and environmental systems. We utilized natural language processing and bidirectional encoder representation from Transformers (BERT) based transfer learning to fine-tune the model on the data from the news-based Drought Impact Report (DIR) and then apply it to recognize seven types of drought impacts based on the filtered Twitter data from the United States. Our model achieved a satisfying macro-F1 score of 0.89 on the DIR test set. The model was then applied to …

Developing A Strategy For The National Coordinated Soil Moisture Monitoring Network, Michael H. Cosh, Todd G. Caldwell, C. Bruce Baker, John D. Bolten, Nathan Edwards, Peter Goble, Heather Hofman, Tyson E. Ochsner, Steven Quiring, Charles Schalk, Marina Skumanich, Mark D. Svoboda, Mary E. Woloszyn

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Soil moisture is a critical land surface variable, affecting a wide variety of climatological, agricultural, and hydrological processes. Determining the current soil moisture status is possible via a variety of methods, including in situ monitoring, remote sensing, and numerical modeling. Although all of these approaches are rapidly evolving, there is no cohesive strategy or framework to integrate these diverse information sources to develop and disseminate coordinated national soil moisture products that will improve our ability to understand climate variability. The National Coordinated Soil Moisture Monitoring Network initiative has developed a national strategy for network coordination with NOAA’s National Integrated Drought …

Evaluation Of Remotely Sensed Precipitation Estimates From The Nasa Power Project For Drought Detection Over Jordan, Muhammad Rasool Al‑Kilani, Michel Rahbeh, Jawad Al‑Bakri, Tsegaye Tadesse, Cody Knutson

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Droughts can cause devastating impacts on water and land resources and therefore monitoring these events forms an integral part of planning. The most common approach for detecting drought events and assessing their intensity is use of the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), which requires abundant precipitation records at good spatial distribution. This may restrict SPI usage in many regions around the world, particularly in areas with limited numbers of ground meteorological stations. Therefore, the use of remotely sensed derived data of precipitation can contribute to drought monitoring. In this study, remotely sensed precipitation estimates from the POWER/Agroclimatology archive of NASA and …

Ua12/13 Student Affairs - Sustainability, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Records created by and about the Office of Sustainability.

Managing For Radical Ecosystem Change: Applying The Resist-Accept- Direct (Rad) Framework, Abigail J. Lynch, Laura M. Thompson, Erik A. Beever, David N. Cole, Augustin C. Engman, Cat Hawkins Hoffman, Stephen T. Jackson, Trevor J. Krabbenhoft, David J. Lawrence, Douglas Limpinsel, Robert T. Magill, Tracy A. Melvin, John M. Morton, Robert A. Newman, Jay O. Peterson, Mark T. Porath, Frank J. Rahel, Gregor W. Schuurman, Suresh A. Sethi, Jennifer L. Wilkening

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Ecosystem transformation involves the emergence of persistent ecological or social–ecological systems that diverge, dramatically and irreversibly, from prior ecosystem structure and function. Such transformations are occurring at increasing rates across the planet in response to changes in climate, land use, and other factors. Consequently, a dynamic view of ecosystem processes that accommodates rapid, irreversible change will be critical for effectively conserving fish, wildlife, and other natural resources, and maintaining ecosystem services. However, managing ecosystems toward states with novel structure and function is an inherently unpredictable and difficult task. Managers navigating ecosystem transformation can benefit from considering broader objectives, beyond a …

Long-Term African Dust Delivery To The Eastern Atlantic Ocean From The Sahara And Sahel Regions: Evidence From Quaternary Paleosols On The Canary Islands, Spain, Daniel R. Muhs, Joaquín Meco, James R. Budahn, Gary L. Skipp, Kathleen R. Simmons, Matthew C. Baddock, Juan F. Betancourt, Alejandro Lomoschitz

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Africa is the most important source of dust in the world today and dust storms from that continent frequently deposit sediment on the nearby Canary Islands. Many investigators have inferred African dust inputs to Canary Islands paleosols based only on the presence of quartz. However, some local rocks do contain this mineral, so quartz alone is insufficient proof of dust deposition. Further, it is not known whether the Sahara Desert or the Sahel region is more important as a dust source. We address these issues by study of sequences of Pleistocene aeolian sands on the islands of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. …

Eolian Sediments, Daniel R. Muhs

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Eolian (windblown) sediments form some of the world’s most dramatic landscapes and comprise important parts of the geologic record. This article reviews the characteristics, origins, and significance of eolian deposits, including windblown sand, silt, and dust.

Landforms composed of eolian sand, either as dunes or sand sheets, occupy substantial areas over the surface of the Earth (perhaps as much as 6% globally, but over ~20% of the world’s arid zones, according to Pye and Tsoar, 2009). Low-latitude arid or semiarid regions, usually under the influence of subtropical high-pressure cells, are some of the largest areas of eolian sand accumulation (Lancaster, …

Ecology Of An Isolated Muskrat Population During Regional Population Declines, Laken S. Ganoe, Matthew J. Lovallo, Justin D. Brown, W. David Walter

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Evidence indicating a decline in Ondatra zibethicus (Muskrat) populations in the United States during the past 40 years has led to speculation regarding factors influencing Muskrat survival. In order to understand population dynamics and survival, it is important to first define the ecology of local populations. We investigated the dwelling structure use, movements, home range, and survival of radio-tagged Muskrats (n = 14) in an urban wetland complex in central Pennsylvania. We used locations collected from intensive radio-telemetry monitoring to determine number of lodging structures used, hourly movement, and size and percent area overlap of home ranges. Muskrats shared …

Quantifying Model Structural Uncertainty Using Airborne Electromagnetic Data, Burke J. Minsley, Nathan Leon Foks, Paul A. Bedrosian

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The ability to quantify structural uncertainty in geological models that incorporate geophysical data is affected by two primary sources of uncertainty: geophysical parameter uncertainty and uncertainty in the relationship between geophysical parameters and geological properties of interest. Here, we introduce an open-source, trans-dimensional Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo (McMC) algorithm GeoBIPy—Geophysical Bayesian Inference in Python—for robust uncertainty analysis of time-domain or frequency-domain airborne electromagnetic (AEM) data. The McMC algorithm provides a robust assessment of geophysical parameter uncertainty using a trans-dimensional approach that lets the AEM data inform the level of model complexity necessary by allowing the number of model layers …

Elemental And Radionuclide Exposures And Uptakes By Small Rodents, Invertebrates, And Vegetation At Active And Post-Production Uranium Mines In The Grand Canyon Watershed, Danielle Cleveland, Jo Ellen Hinck, Julia S. Lankton

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The effects of breccia pipe uranium mining in the Grand Canyon watershed (Arizona) on ecological and cultural resources are largely unknown. We characterized the exposure of biota to uranium and cooccurring ore body elements during active ore production and at a site where ore production had recently concluded. Our results indicate that biota have taken up uranium and other elements (e.g., arsenic, cadmium, copper, molybdenum, uranium) from exposure to ore and surficial contamination, like blowing dust. Results indicate the potential for prolonged exposure to elements and radionuclides upon conclusion of active ore production. Mean radium-226 in deer mice was up …

Great South Bay, Long Island, New York Summer Phytoplankton Identification & Monitoring Program, Cercom, Molloy University, John Tanacredi Ph.D., Kyle F. Maurelli

CERCOM Reports

Phytoplankton Collection Methodologies: 80 micron Plankton Tow Net with sample bottle attachment

Phytoplankton Protocol: 1.Gather Samples 2.Make one slide per sample 3.View slides using microscope connected with computer 4. Record findings using “ Row # “ and “ Colum letter “ 5. Record using “ Tally’s “ per species found within sample 6. Capture anything interesting “ Take Picture “ 7.Duplicate pictures taken 8.Make sure measurement of species found is taken 9. Email Jennifer Maucher at [email protected] , include pictures, questions and names of the species you “guess” you found.

Carbon Dioxide And Particulate Matter Concentration On Hampton Roads Air Quality, Gregory Hubbard

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

Hampton Roads has been a maritime crossroads for the last 400 years. Industrialization has impacted the coastal region for the last 250 years. The expansion of the Port of Virginia in 2019 has created dense traffic in the region resulting in impacts to air quality. Two waste products that affect humans are particulate matter and carbon dioxide. Both respective emissions can cause adverse effects on humans, such as asthma, some lung cancers, and other respiratory distress. Scientists and health practitioners are studying the effects of particulate matter on human health. Hampton Roads, in particular, because of its unique location on …

The 3H/3He Groundwater Age-Dating Method And Applications, Troy E. Gilmore, Mikaela L. Cherry, Didier Gastmans, Douglas Kip Solomon, Eric Christopher Humphrey

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Groundwater age-dating is an important tool for quantifying and managing water resources. Groundwater age is the elapsed time between recharge (at the land surface or water table) and the time when groundwater is sampled. If groundwater is sampled at the point of discharge from an aquifer, then the age represents the groundwater transit time. Groundwater that has recharged in recent decades is considered young groundwater. In many areas, the quality and quantity of young groundwater has been impacted by human activities and groundwater age-dating is useful for quantifying current and historical water and contaminant fluxes into and through aquifers. This …