Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

Bay Water Level Influences On Inundation And Morphological Changes Of A Semi-Connected Barrier Island During A Hurricane, Sydney D. Goodman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

This research aims to identify flooding and erosion changes along a semi-connected barrier island system due to varying bay water levels during storm conditions. The numerical model XBeach is used to simulate Hurricane Michael conditions and the resulting inundation and morphological change near Tyndall Air Force Base (Tyndall AFB). The installation is located 12 miles southeast of Panama City Beach along the panhandle of Florida and is vulnerable to flooding due to its proximity to the Gulf of Mexico (GoM), Saint Andrew Sound and Saint Andrew Bay. A land bridge connects the barrier island to the mainland of Tyndall AFB …

Hydrologic Impact Index For The Pinhoti Hiking Trail, Allie Field

Theses

Author note: The author of this thesis is also published under the name Allie Bobo.

This study aimed to identify flood-prone areas along the Pinhoti Trail and Chinnabee Silent Trail in the Talladega National Forest. Using the Hydrology Flood Index layer that was created using several essential data layers, the research aimed to provide campers, hikers, nature enthusiasts, and trail maintenance teams with information about areas at a higher risk of flash flooding. The Hydrology Flood Index layer rates the risk of flooding on a scale of 1 to 4, with level 1 indicating a low risk of flooding and …

Evaluating Future Water Availability In Texas Through The Lens Of A Data-Driven Approach Leveraged With Cmip6 General Circulation Models, Wenzhao Li, Dongfeng Li, Hesham El-Askary, Joshua B. Fisher, Zheng N. Fang

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Climate change is escalating the frequency and intensity of extreme precipitation events, significantly influencing the spatial and temporal distributions of water resources. This is particularly evident in Texas, a rapidly growing state with a pronounced west-east gradient in water supply. This study utilizes Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) data and data-driven methodology to improve projections of Texas's future water resources, focusing on actual evapotranspiration (AET) and water availability through enhanced Multi-Model Ensembles. The results reveal that the data-driven model significantly outperforms the CMIP5 and CMIP6 models across all skill metrics, underscoring the potential of data-driven methodologies in advancing …

Estimation Of Sugarcane Yield Using Multi-Temporal Sentinel 2 Satellite Imagery And Random Forest Regression, Alireza Taravat, Gebeyehu Abebe, Berhan Gessesse, Tsegaye Tadesse

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Advancements in remote sensing techniques have greatly enhanced crop monitoring and yield estimation, with spectral vegetation indices (VIs) serving as a key component. Our study investigates the use of Sentinel-2 data, notable for its red-edge bands, in estimating sugarcane yield in Ethiopia's Awash Basin. Utilizing 22 VIs from S2 imagery, our approach combines Random Forest (RF) regression with the Recursive Feature Elimination (RFE) algorithm to improve the accuracy of sugarcane yield predictions. The results demonstrate the superior performance of the RF-RFE method over traditional RF with full datasets and Stepwise Multiple Regression (SMR). Particularly, VIs focusing on the red-edge spectral …

Water-Level And Recoverable Water In Storage Changes, High Plains Aquifer, Predevelopment To 2019 And 2017 To 2019, Virginia L. Mcguire, Kellan R. Strauch

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

The High Plains aquifer underlies 111.8 million acres (about 175,000 square miles) in parts of eight States: Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. Water-level declines began in parts of the High Plains aquifer soon after the beginning of substantial groundwater irrigation (about 1950). This report presents water-level changes and change in recoverable water in storage in the High Plains aquifer from predevelopment (about 1950) to 2019 and from 2017 to 2019.

Water-level changes from predevelopment to 2019, by well, ranged from a rise of 86 feet to a decline of 265 feet; the range for …

Submarine Groundwater Discharge At A Mega-Tidal Beach, Raymond D. Craddock, Aaron A. Mohammed, Joseph J. Tamborski, Barret L. Kurylyk

OES Faculty Publications

Tidally influenced groundwater systems in coastal environments represent important mixing zones of fresh groundwater and circulating seawater, manifesting as submarine groundwater discharge (SGD). Water circulation induced by tidal pumping enhances the exchange of chemicals between aquifers and coastal waters and thereby influences the biogeochemistry of coastal zones. Here, we report the results of an SGD field study conducted at a steep, mega-tidal sand and gravel beach along the Canadian coast of the Bay of Fundy, a region with the world's highest tides (semi-diurnal tidal ranges exceeding 10 m). Several physical and geochemical measurement techniques were employed to document the spatiotemporal …

Marine Emissions Of Methanethiol Increase Aerosol Cooling In The Southern Ocean, Charel Wohl, Julián Villamayor, Martí Galí, Anoop S. Mahajan, Rafael P. Fernández, Carlos A. Cuevas, Adriana Bossolasco, Qinyi Li, Anthony J. Kettle, Tara Williams, Roland Sarda-Esteve, Valérie Gros, Rafel Simó, Alfonso Saiz-Lopez

OES Faculty Publications

Ocean-emitted dimethyl sulfide (DMS) is a major source of climate-cooling aerosols. However, most of the marine biogenic sulfur cycling is not routed to DMS but to methanethiol (MeSH), another volatile whose reactivity has hitherto hampered measurements. Therefore, the global emissions and climate impact of MeSH remain unexplored. We compiled a database of seawater MeSH concentrations, identified their statistical predictors, and produced monthly fields of global marine MeSH emissions adding to DMS emissions. Implemented into a global chemistry-climate model, MeSH emissions increase the sulfate aerosol burden by 30 to 70% over the Southern Ocean and enhance the aerosol cooling effect while …

Improving Accessibility And Understanding: Studying The Impact Of Human Activities And Dam Removals On Anadromous Fish Species In The Pacific Northwest, Adia F. Bennett

Scripps Senior Theses

Human activities in North American watersheds have significantly impacted anadromous fish, causing some species of salmon and steelhead to become threatened and endangered. These fish hold ecological, cultural, and economic importance, yet factors such as habitat destruction, overfishing, pollution, climate change, and hydroelectric dams continue to degrade populations. Dams are particularly harmful to anadromous fish, sparking a recent movement advocating for dam removals. This study uses NOAA’s 2022 Biological Viability Assessment to examine the response of anadromous fish to recent dam removals in the Pacific Northwest. Four populations were selected to analyze due to their interaction with sites that had …

Delayed Coastal Inundations Caused By Ocean Dynamics Post-Hurricane Matthew, Kyungmin Park, Emanuele Di Lorenzo, Yinglong J. Zhang, Tal Ezer, Fei Yi

CCPO Publications

Post Hurricane Abnormal Water Level (PHAWL) poses a persistent inundation threat to coastal communities, yet unresolved knowledge gaps exist regarding its spatiotemporal impacts and causal mechanisms. Using a high-resolution coastal model with a set of observations, we find that the PHAWLs are up to 50 cm higher than the normal water levels for several weeks and cause delayed inundations around residential areas of the U.S. Southeast Coast (USSC). Numerical experiments reveal that while atmospheric forcing modulates the coastal PHAWLs, ocean dynamics primarily driven by the Gulf Stream control the mean component and duration of the shelf-scale PHAWLs. Because of the …

The Effect Of Seasonal Ice Cover Duration On Shoreline Erosion In Lake Michigan, Ryan S. Navarre

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Shoreline erosion in Lake Michigan has been a significant concern for coastal management. Promoting coastal stability and resilience is paramount to protecting these environments, especially amid climate change. While several factors are key in understanding shoreline erosion, seasonal ice cover duration is a prominent yet understudied factor in the Great Lakes region. Here, the relationship between ice cover duration and shoreline erosion rates is assessed across 7 regions of Lake Michigan. An ice cover duration dataset was created for Lake Michigan for 2011 – 2020 and its shorelines were digitized for years with available high-resolution aerial imagery. The statistical relationship …

Using Phenology To Unravel Differential Soil Water Use And Productivity In A Semiarid Savanna, Blake Steiner, Russell L. Scott, Jia Hu, Natasha Mcbean, Andrew Richardson, David J. P. Moore

University Administration Publications

Savannas are water-limited ecosystems characterized by two dominant plant types: trees and an understory primarily made up grass. Different phenology and root structures of these plant types complicate how savanna primary productivity responds to changes in water availability. We tested the hypothesis that productivity in savannas is controlled by the temporal and vertical distribution of soil water content (SWC) and differences in growing season length of understory and tree plant functional types. To quantify the relationship between tree, understory, and savanna-wide phenology and productivity, we used PhenoCam and satellite observations surrounding an eddy covariance tower at a semiarid savanna site …

Stage And Discharge Prediction From Documentary Time-Lapse Imagery, Kenneth W. Chapman, Troy E. Gilmore, Mehrube Mehrubeoglu, Christian D. Chapman, Aaron R. Mittelstet, John E. Stranzl Jr.

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Imagery from fixed, ground-based cameras is rich in qualitative and quantitative information that can improve stream discharge monitoring. For instance, time-lapse imagery may be valuable for filling data gaps when sensors fail and/or during lapses in funding for monitoring programs. In this study, we used a large image archive (> 40,000 images from 2012 to 2019) from a fixed, ground-based camera that is part of a documentary watershed imaging project (https://plattebasintimelapse.com/). Scalar image features were extracted from daylight images taken at one-hour intervals. The image features were fused with United States Geological Survey stage and discharge data as …

Determining The 2022-2023 Mass Balance Of The Palisade Glacier In The Sierra Nevada Mountains Of California With Remote Sensing, Density Modeling, And Temperature-Index Techniques, Vijay Jain, Eric Grosfils, Sarah Kavassalis

CMC Senior Theses

Small, alpine glaciers, such as those in the Sierra Nevada, are difficult to study because of their small size and remoteness, however, they are important recorders of the impacts of climate change in temperate, alpine environments. Previous studies have attempted to characterize the health of these glaciers using extent change techniques, but these methodologies can only roughly approximate the rudimentary measurement of changing ice volume. This thesis uses the Airborne Snow Observatory Inc.’s (ASO’s) aerial lidar snow depth datasets to perform a mass balance calculation for the Palisade Glacier over the remarkable 2022-2023 water year (October 1 through September 30), …

Geoelectrical And Hydrochemical Characterization Of Submarine Groundwater Discharge In Florida Bay, Ifeanyi Emmanuel Eze

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Florida Bay, situated at the southern tip of Everglades National Park and underlain by the Miami Limestone formation, is an ecosystem of global significance. Over the past century, the bay has faced threats such as droughts, seagrass mortality, and hypersalinity. Despite various studies and management efforts, the dynamics of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) in the region remain underexplored. Given that SGD plays a significant role in the chemical dynamics of coastal ecosystems, it warrants thorough investigation. This study aims to characterize the spatial and temporal patterns of SGD in Florida Bay by surveying three basins – Rankin, Whipray, and Rabbit …

Assessing Stormwater Management Pond Water Quality, Function, And The Potential Biotic Effects To Receiving Waters, Mitchell Elstone

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The use of stormwater management ponds (SWMPs) has been increasing over the past five decades. However, an in-depth understanding of the daily performance of SWMPs and functionality during cold periods is limited. This is in part because mandated monitoring is relatively infrequent, and the assumption that SWMPs are inactive between storm events and during the winter. The goals of this research were to better understand daily stormwater (SW) characteristics, the performance of SWMPs based on current forms of evaluation and assess the potential for SWMP effluent to impact downstream biota. Influent and effluent samples from two SWMPs were collected daily …

Enhancing A Computer Model To Evaluate Rainwater Harvesting And Reuse Strategies For Landscape Irrigation Under Current And Future Climate Conditions, Siyu Li

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Urbanization and climate change have detrimental impacts on water quantity and quality. Rainwater harvesting/reuse for landscape irrigation with rain barrels/cisterns, which can assist urban hydrological/water quality restoration and provide a beneficial resource for irrigating landscape, holds significant potentials in urban areas under current and future climates. However, the impacts of rainwater harvesting/reuse strategies for landscape irrigation under a changing climate need to be comprehensively evaluated to assist decision-making. In addition, a comprehensive tool is needed to help stakeholders develop efficient strategies to harvest rainwater for landscape irrigation with rain barrels/cisterns.

To address the needs, the simulation of the sub-daily hydrological …

Prevalence, Faunal Composition, And Vertical Distribution Of Bioluminescence In The Pelagic Gulf Of Mexico: Fishes, Crustaceans, Cephalopods And Gelatinous Megaplankton, Devynne M. Brown

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Bioluminescence is the phenomenon of light emission by living organisms. It occurs through a chemical reaction within an organism and serves various purposes. The diversity of bioluminescent capabilities and occurrence in unrelated taxa suggest that bioluminescence has evolved independently numerous times amongst taxa thriving in certain environments. One such environment is the deep ocean, where little to no sunlight penetrates the water column, specifically in the mesopelagic (200-1000 m depth) and bathypelagic (> 1000 m) zones. The mesopelagic and bathypelagic zones have been extensively sampled and well documented in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM), one of the few places globally …

Tree-Ring Reconstruction Of Ouachita River Streamflow, Keaton Cade Jenkins-Joyce

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Ouachita River drains the Ouachita Mountains and Upper Coastal Plain in Arkansas and Louisiana. The Ouachita River is used for navigation, power generation, recreation, water supply, and wastewater treatment. The river has been prone to low flows during drought and extreme flooding, which were principal justifications for the construction of three large multipurpose dams on the stream. It is likely that the use of the Ouachita River will be stressed by future population growth, economic expansion, and climate change. For this study, tree-ring chronologies from various locations in and near the Ouachita River drainage basin were used to reconstruct …

The Tidal Prism, Viable Eelgrass Habitat, And The Effects Of Sea Level Rise In Morro Bay, Kaden A. Caliendo

Master's Theses

The tidal prism, or the volume of water exchanged from the sea to an estuary from mean low to mean high tide, influences system hydrodynamics and ecological functioning. Since 1884, the tidal prism in Morro Bay, California has been estimated to be decreasing over time due to sedimentation from upstream practices. What is the current tidal prism in Morro Bay and how will that change with sea level rise? How will eelgrass respond to rising sea levels?

For this study, inexpensive tidal gauges were deployed at four locations in Morro Bay from March to August 2023 to measure spatially varying …

The Seasonal Origins And Ages Of Water Provisioning Streams And Trees In A Tropical Montane Cloud Forest, Emily Burt, Gregory R. Goldsmith, Roxanne M. Cruz-De Hoyos, Adan Julian Ccahuana Quispe, A. Joshua West

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Determining the sources of water provisioning streams, soils, and vegetation can provide important insights into the water that sustains critical ecosystem functions now and how those functions may be expected to respond given projected changes in the global hydrologic cycle. We developed multi-year time series of water isotope ratios (δ¹⁸O and δ²H) based on twice-monthly collections of precipitation, lysimeter, and tree branch xylem waters from a seasonally dry tropical montane cloud forest in the southeastern Andes mountains of Peru. We then used this information to determine indices of the seasonal origins, the young water fractions …

Examining The Corn Seedling Emergence–Temperature Relationship For Recent Hybrids: Insights From Experimental Studies, Sahila Beegum, Charles Hunt Walne, Krishna N. Reddy, Vangimalla Reddy, Kambham Raja Reddy

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Corn seedling emergence is a critical factor affecting crop yields. Accurately predicting emergence is crucial for precise crop growth and development simulation in process-based crop models. While various experimental studies have investigated the relationship between corn seedling emergence and temperature, there remains a scarcity of studies focused on newer corn hybrids. In the present study, statistical models (linear and quadratic functional relationships) are developed based on the seedling emergence of ten current corn hybrids, considering soil and air temperatures as influencing factors. The data used for model development are obtained from controlled soil plant atmospheric research chamber experiments focused on …

Analysis Of Wastewater Samples To Explore Community Substance Use In The United States: Pilot Correlative And Machine Learning Study, Marie A. Severson, Sathaporn Onanong, Alexandra Dolezal, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt, Daniel D. Snow, Lisa M. Mcfadden

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Background: Substance use disorder and associated deaths have increased in the United States, but methods for detecting and monitoring substance use using rapid and unbiased techniques are lacking. Wastewater-based surveillance is a cost-effective method for monitoring community drug use. However, the examination of the results often focuses on descriptive analysis.

Objective: The objective of this study was to explore community substance use in the United States by analyzing wastewater samples. Geographic differences and commonalities of substance use were explored.

Methods: Wastewater was sampled across the United States (n=12). Selected drugs with misuse potential, prescriptions, and over-the-counter drugs …

Characterization Of Environmental Levels Of Pesticide Residues In Household Air And Dust Samples Near A Bioenergy Plant Using Treated Seed As Feedstock, Jabeen Taiba, Eleanor G. Rogan, Daniel D. Snow, Chandran Achutan, Muhammad Zahid

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Exposure to neonicotinoid insecticides is associated with adverse human health outcomes. There is environmental contamination in Saunders County, Nebraska, due to the accumulation of fungicides and insecticides from a now-closed ethanol plant using seed corn as stock. A pilot study quantified environmental contamination in nearby houses from residual pesticides by measuring dust and air (indoor/outdoor) concentrations of neonicotinoids and fungicides at the study site (households within two miles of the plant) and control towns (20–30 miles away). Air (SASS^® 2300 Wetted-Wall Air Sampler) and surface dust (GHOST wipes with 4 × 4-inch template) samples were collected from eleven study …

Leaching Performance Of Nanotechnology-Induced High-Arsenic-Bearing Tooeleite-Like Mineral Nanowaste, Arindam Malakar, Sanjit Das, Samirul Islam, Rajneesh Singh, Sugata Ray

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

For arsenic decontamination from groundwater, arsenic crystallization is becoming adopted due to its sustainability and economic benefits. However, arsenic crystallization technology is a two-step process, which makes it complex and generates hazardous waste. Successful efforts toward making it a single-step process are presented here. The addition of nanorods and ball-milled zinc sulfide nanoparticles to arsenic-contaminated water result in highly monodispersed and higharsenic- containing mineralized nanowaste with a crystalline structure similar to the mineral Tooeleite ((Fe³⁺₆(As³⁺O₃)₄SO₄(OH)₄•4H₂O)). This study reports the results of a short-term stability test …

Reducing Uncertainty In Sea-Level Rise Prediction: A Spatial-Variability-Aware Approach, Subhankar Ghosh, Shuai An, Arun Sharma, Jayant Gupta, Shashi Shekhar, Aneesh Subramanian

I-GUIDE Forum

Given multi-model ensemble climate projections, the goal is to accurately and reliably predict future sea-level rise while lowering the uncertainty. This problem is important because sea-level rise affects millions of people in coastal communities and beyond due to climate change's impacts on polar ice sheets and the ocean. This problem is challenging due to spatial variability and unknowns such as possible tipping points (e.g., collapse of Greenland or West Antarctic ice-shelf), climate feedback loops (e.g., clouds, permafrost thawing), future policy decisions, and human actions. Most existing climate modeling approaches use the same set of weights globally, during either regression or …

How Sensitive Are Catchment Runoff Estimates To On-Farm Storages Under Current And Future Climates?, David E. Robertson, Hongxing Zheng, Jorge L. Pena-Arancibia, Francis H S Chiew, Santosh Aryal, Martino E. Malerba, Nicholas J. Wright

Climate Science Research Articles

Storage of water in farm dams is important to support irrigation, stock requirements and domestic uses when reticulated water is unavailable. Farm dams that fill by intercepting landscape runoff change the total volume and seasonality of catchment streamflow, potentially impacting water policy outcomes. While numerous studies have quantified how climate change and farm dams independently change streamflow characteristics, few studies have investigated their interactions. This study investigates the interactions between farm dams and climate change in the Murray-Darling Basin of southern and eastern Australia. We use hydrological modelling that explicitly represent farm dams and remotely sensed data describing historical farm …

Causes And Effects Of Shisper Glacial Lake Outburst Flood Event In Karakoram In 2022, Sandeep Kumar Mondal, Vatsal D. Patel, Rishikesh Bharti, Ramesh P. Singh

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Karakoram Himalayas are vulnerable to glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), which cause catastrophic floods in the surrounding areas. The increasing natural and anthropogenic activities, especially in the Indo-Gangetic Plains at the southern flank of the towering Himalayas, could be the cause of climate change affecting the frequency of the natural hazards in the Himalayas. In the present study, a detailed analysis of the Shisper Lake breach of 7 May 2022 is carried out using satellite remote sensing. A decreasing trend in the glacial mass balance is observed between 2017 and 2021; in this period, frequent GLOF episodes occurred. A pronounced …

Reaction Steps In Heterogeneous Photocatalytic Oxidation Of Toluene In Gas Phase—A Review, Yerzhigit Tulebekov, Zhandos Orazov, Bagdat Satybaldiyev, Daniel D. Snow, Raphaël Schneider, Bolat Uralbekov

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

A review of the current literature shows there is no clear consensus regarding the reaction mechanisms of air-borne aromatic compounds such as toluene by photocatalytic oxidation. Potential oxidation reactions over TiO₂ or TiO₂-based catalysts under ultraviolet and visible (UV/VIS) illumination are most commonly considered for removal of these pollutants. Along the pathways from a model pollutant, toluene, to final mineralization products (CO₂ and H₂O), the formation of several intermediates via specific reactions include parallel oxidation reactions and formation of less-reactive intermediates on the TiO₂ surface. The latter may occupy active adsorption sites and …

How Is Flash Drought Understood?—Experts’ Definitions And Decision-Makers’ Perceptions, Caily Schwartz, Tonya Haigh, Mark D. Svoboda, Madeline Goebel

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Because flash drought is a relatively new phenomenon in drought research, defining the concept is critical for scientists and decision-makers. Having detrimental impacts on many sectors, it is important to have a consistent definition and understanding of flash drought, between experts and stakeholders, to provide early warning to the community. This study focuses on onset and progression of conditions and demonstrates the difference in flash drought identification for 15 events across six quantitative definitions of flash drought that use the U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM). Five flash drought events have been studied in the literature while 10 additional events have been …

The Irrigation Efficiency Trap: Rational Farm-Scale Decisions Can Lead To Poor Hydrologic Outcomes At The Basin Scale, Christina N. Morrisett, Robert W. Van Kirk, London O. Bernier, Andrea L. Holt, Chloe B. Perel, Sarah E. Null

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Agricultural irrigation practices have changed through time as technology has enabled more efficient conveyance and application. In some agricultural regions, irrigation can contribute to incidental aquifer recharge important for groundwater return flows to streams. The Henrys Fork Snake River, Idaho (United States) overlies a portion of the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer, where irrigated agriculture has occurred for over a century. Using irrigator interviews, aerial and satellite imagery, and statistical streamflow analysis, we document the impact of farm-scale decisions on basin-scale hydrology. Motivated to improve economic efficiency, irrigators began converting from surface to center-pivot sprinkler irrigation in the 1950s, with rapid …