Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

Spatiotemporal Dynamics Of Coastal Nekton Metacommunities In The Western Atlantic, Jonathan A. Peake

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The processes of diversification, selection, dispersal, and stochastic drift can combine in many ways to assemble ecological communities. A key focus in ecology is to describe and quantify the relative influences of these processes for different systems and explain the mechanisms by which these processes produce patterns of community structure. To accomplish this goal, ecologists have developed several frameworks that seek to integrate processes that occur locally andregionally. The metacommunity concept treats local communities as pieces of a broader landscape that are connected through dispersal of their constituent organisms. Empirical studies have generally lagged behind the development of metacommunity theory. …

Examining Wildfire Dynamics Using Ecostress Data With Machine Learning Approaches: The Case Of South-Eastern Australia's Black Summer, Yuanhui Zhu, Shakthi B. Murugesan, Ivone K. Masara, Soe W. Myint, Joshua B. Fisher

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Wildfires are increasing in risk and prevalence. The most destructive wildfires in decades in Australia occurred in 2019–2020. However, there is still a challenge in developing effective models to understand the likelihood of wildfire spread (susceptibility) and pre-fire vegetation conditions. The recent launch of NASA's ECOSTRESS presents an opportunity to monitor fire dynamics with a high resolution of 70 m by measuring ecosystem stress and drought conditions preceding wildfires. We incorporated ECOSTRESS data, vegetation indices, rainfall, and topographic data as independent variables and fire events as dependent variables into machine learning algorithms applied to the historic Australian wildfires of 2019–2020. …

Evaporation Basins For Salinity Management, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Natural resources factsheets

An evaporation basin is an engineered earth structure designed to safely store and evaporate saline water discharged from drainage or pumping, while protecting high-value agricultural land, natural assets or built infrastructure.

DPIRD recommends that evaporation basins should form part of an integrated water and salinity management program. Information on this page is a guide only.

It is recommended that landholders seek expert advice plus engineering design and related support from qualified contractors.

Measuring Soil Salinity, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Natural resources factsheets

To make sound decisions on managing saline sites, you need to know the source of salt, how salinisation is occurring, the landscape context, and most importantly, the actual salt concentration of the soil.

The most common 'measures' of salt concentration are actually estimates based on electrical conductivity of a soil and water solution. Soil salt content can be measured in a laboratory by measuring the total dissolved solids in a sample. In the field, salt concentration can also be estimated using electromagnetic induction-based soil sensors.

Roaded Catchments In Wa, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Natural resources factsheets

Roaded catchments are earthwork structures designed to increase the amount of run-off from the catchment above a receiving farm dam.

Roaded catchments are lined with clay and compacted to make a smooth surface that reduces infiltration and increases run-off. Roaded catchments should discharge into a silt trap and then into a dam (excavated earth tank). This combined structure should be fenced to exclude livestock.

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development recommends that roaded catchments are part of an integrated water and salinity management program.

The information in this page is only a guide – seek expert advice before …

Managing Subsurface Water In Wa, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Natural resources factsheets

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) recommends that subsurface water management is part of an integrated water and salinity program. An integrated program can help to lower water tables and alleviate problems with waterlogging, rising salinity, and infrastructure damage.

Improving Lambing Rates And Changing Turnoff Times To Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Mandy Curnow, Sud Kharel, Claire Macleay

Animal production and livestock research reports

Running a flock of sheep and raising lambs generates both direct (enteric fermentation) and indirect (lime, fertiliser, fuel, production of feed) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. There are ways to reduce emissions through sheep reproduction.

Greenhouse Gas Accounting For Western Australian Agriculture 2022, Johnny Machon, Mandy Curnow, Christophe D'Abbadie

Climate Science Published Reports

This report presents new modelling of the greenhouse gas emissions attributable to Western Australia’s agricultural industries and provides an overview of sequestration at the state level. The report improves and expands on the estimates from previous technical reports by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), most notably Curnow et al. (2022). The report presents a new, much broader picture, capturing not only emissions from agricultural activities in Western Australia (WA), but also the emissions associated with the production of agricultural inputs and the sequestration that occurs on agriculturally managed lands. This broader picture of emissions aligns with …

Carbon Restoration Potential On Global Land Under Water Resource Constraints, Shouzhang Peng, César Terrer, Benjamin Smith, Philippe Ciais, Qinggong Han, Jialan Nan, Joshua B. Fisher, Liang Chen, Lei Deng, Kailiang Yu

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Ecosystem restoration is a critical nature-based solution to mitigate climate change. However, the carbon sequestration potential of restoration, defined as the maximum achievable carbon storage, has likely been overestimated because previous studies have not adequately accounted for the competition between ecosystem water demands for maximizing carbon sequestration and human water needs. Here we used a comprehensive process-based model combined with extensive land-use data and evaporation recycling accounting for land–atmosphere feedback to estimate the water requirements associated with ecosystem restoration. We found that achieving the carbon sequestration potential of restoration would significantly reduce global water availability per capita by 26%, posing …

Creating Sustainable School And Home Gardens: Using Weather Stations, Jake Sanders, Daniel Findlay, Kathy Cabe Trundle, Rita Hagevik, Kaitlin Campbell

All Current Publications

This fact sheet provides an overview of how weather stations work and the steps to set up your own weather station. To help monitor the water conditions, wind speeds, and temperatures that can impact your plants, we suggest adding a weather station to your garden area or greenhouse.

Scaling Individual Tree Transpiration With Thermal Cameras Reveals Interspecies Differences To Drought Vulnerability, Mostafa Javadian, Donald M. Aubrecht, Joshua B. Fisher, Russell L. Scott, Sean P. Burns, Jen L. Diehl, J. William Munger, Andrew D. Richardson

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Understanding tree transpiration variability is vital for assessing ecosystem water-use efficiency and forest health amid climate change, yet most landscape-level measurements do not differentiate individual trees. Using canopy temperature data from thermal cameras, we estimated the transpiration rates of individual trees at Harvard Forest and Niwot Ridge. PT-JPL model was used to derive latent heat flux from thermal images at the canopy-level, showing strong agreement with tower measurements (R2 = 0.70–0.96 at Niwot, 0.59–0.78 at Harvard at half-hourly to monthly scales) and daily RMSE of 33.5 W/m2 (Niwot) and 52.8 W/m2 (Harvard). Tree-level analysis revealed species-specific responses to …

"The Words We Do Not Yet Have." A Creative Inquiry Into Human-Plant Relationships, Maliheh Ghajargar

Art Faculty Articles and Research

Climate change, loss of plant biodiversity, and ocean pollution signal the drastic changes in our ecology that call us to attend to the needs of more than human forms of life on Earth. Sustainable design and HCI research are responding to this call by offering methods and approaches to design more sustainable products and systems and recently, more than human design is building momentum. This agenda seeks to reform traditional design processes by decentering the creative agency of the dominant socio-economical group of humans and foregrounding those of diverse Others. In this paper, I focus on plants as a nonhuman …

Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction And Well-Being Among Seafarers: An Investigation Of Interaction Effects Through The Lens Of Self-Determination Theory, Nong Vuong Phi, Kung Don Ye, Feng Ming Tsai, Hsiao Chao Hsieh, Shiou-Yu Chen

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Enhancing employee well-being is a primary goal for enterprise sustainable development. Although seafarers represent a major human resource in the maritime industry, the distinctive demands of their profession often compel them to compromise on certain elements in fulfilling their basic psychological needs, thereby contributing to mental health challenges. Recently, COVID-19 and its associated border control measures have prolonged the voyages of seafarers, drawing public attention to the topic of seafarer well-being. In this study, self-determination theory was used to explore the effects of autonomy, competence, and relatedness as fundamental psychological needs on seafarer well-being. After the independent effects of these …

Managing Frost Risk, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Grains and other field crops factsheets

Frost occurs on clear nights in early spring when the air temperature drops to 2°C or less. Crop damage from frost may occur at any stage of development but is most damaging at or around flowering.

Frost is difficult to manage, and damage will be unavoidable in some seasons. Risk management options proven to reduce frost risk include paddock zoning, crop and variety selection, time of sowing, stubble management and managing inputs. The greatest gains result from in paddock choice/zoning, crop and variety choice, and manipulating the canopy.

Trophic Niche Of A Nonnative Invader And Environmental Drivers Of Its Increasing Populations In The Coastal Everglades, Grace Kahmann, Jennifer S. Rehage, Jordan A. Massie, James A. Nelson, Rolando O. Santos, Natasha M. Viadero, W. Ryan James, Ross E. Boucek, Derek P. Crane, Ryan J. Rezek

Marine Science

The Florida Everglades is a critically important, but highly threatened ecosystem that is becoming increasingly susceptible to the invasion of non-native species. This study investigated the ecological role of the invasive peacock eel (Macrognathus siamensis) within this ecosystem using 15 years of electrofishing data and stable isotope analysis. We investigated the population trends of peacock eels at the marsh-mangrove ecotone of the Shark River Estuary, the environmental factors contributing to their abundance, and the potential interactions they may have with native fish assemblages and coastal food webs. We used stable isotope analysis to provide insights into the basal resource contribution …

An Optimal Schedule Recovery Model For Transportation Carriers Under Uncertain Typhoon Disruption Periods, Yi-Chun Chen, Shangyao Yan

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Due to the unsettled weather conditions caused by typhoons, it is not possible to forecast the time when a typhoon will arrive or depart accurately. The uncertainty regarding the duration of typhoon disruptions makes it challenging for transportation carriers to efficiently adjust their schedules. In this study, to deal with the problem of airline fleet rerouting, flight rescheduling, and passenger reassignment for uncertain disruption periods caused by a typhoon, we utilize network flow techniques with the concept of probability to construct a stochastic model for minimizing the total operating costs. A heuristic algorithm based on the divide-and-conquer technique is adopted …

Seasonal Dynamics In Land Surface Temperature In Response To Land Use Land Cover Changes Using Google Earth Engine, Lei Feng, Sajjad Hussain, Narcisa G. Pricope, Sana Arshad, Aqil Tariq, Li Feng, Muhammad Mubeen, Rana Waqar Aslam, Mohammed S. Fnais, Wenzhao Li, Hesham El-Askary

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Changes in land use and land cover (LULC) are critical for evaluating global spatiotemporal trends, especially regarding climate change and urbanization. This study investigates the dynamics of Landsat surface temperature (LST) in response to LULC changes and their effects on the seasonal microclimate in Kasur District, Pakistan. Using the Google Earth Engine platform, we employed a random forest algorithm to detect LULC changes (cropland, forest, built-up, fallow, barren, and water) and analyze seasonal spectral indices from Landsat imagery for 1988, 2002, and 2022. Significant LULC changes were observed, including a 9.8% increase in built-up areas, a 4.2% decrease in cropland, …

Climate Smart Agriculture, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

There are several programs encouraging producers to reduce their carbon intensity, including United States Department of Agriculture climate-smart agriculture programs, the 2024 Nebraska Climate Action Plan, and the 2024 Nitrogen Reduction Incentive Act. The hope is that producers with lower carbon intensity (CI) scores will receive a premium for their products. Producers would be well advised to learn more about these programs, as reducing carbon intensity in agriculture seems to be an emerging agricultural policy trend that will be with us for some time to come.

Effects Of Microplastic Biofilms On An Anthropogenically Impacted Suburban Lake, Paris M. Velasquez

Masters Theses

Plastics have been observed in every location on the planet, and their prevalence in the environment is due in part to their strong resistance to degradation. Inland lakes are susceptible to plastic pollution by highway runoff, which contains plastic fragments of brake pads, car tires, litter, and road paint. These plastics eventually enter freshwater environments and degrade into microplastics (

A Generalized Machine Learning Model For Long-Term Coral Reef Monitoring In The Red Sea, Justin J. Gapper, Surendra Maharjan, Wenzhao Li, Erik Linstead, Surya Prakash Tiwari, Mohamed A. Qurban, Hesham El-Askary

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Coral reefs, despite covering less than 0.2 % of the ocean floor, harbor approximately 35 % of all known marine species, making their conservation critical. However, coral bleaching, exacerbated by climate change and phenomena such as El Niño, poses a significant threat to these ecosystems. This study focuses on the Red Sea, proposing a generalized machine learning approach to detect and monitor changes in coral reef cover over an 18-year period (2000–2018). Using Landsat 7 and 8 data, a Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier was trained on depth-invariant indices (DII) derived from the Gulf of Aqaba and validated against ground …

Prediction Of Mooring System Characteristics Of The Floating Barge Using Deep Neural Networks, Janghoon Seo, Dong-Woo Park

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The present study establishes deep learning models to predict the tensions and inclinations of mooring lines of a floating barge and verifies applicability of these models. Hydrodynamic and mooring analyses are conducted on the dataset used for the deep learning models. Three types of neural network models include a deep neural network (DNN) with input data representing the six degrees of freedom motions of a floating barge, convolutional neural network (CNN) with input images of the floating barge and mooring lines on a horizontal plane, and hybrid neural network (HNN) that consolidates the characteristics of DNN and CNN models. The …

Characteristics, Protection, And Utilization Of Marine Ecosystems With Chinese Characteristics, Xin Liu, Si Zhang

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the concept of “Martime Community with a Shared Future”. The ocean circulation, the mid-oceanic ridge, and the thermal lava flows constitute the dynamical systems of the maritime community, while the ocean circulation and the material and energy cycles are essential to the global ocean’s connectivity, the mid-oceanic ridge and its thermal lava flows underlie global submarine connectivity, and the marine circulation system, together with the marginal sea submarine system, supports the highly complex biological habitats in the China Sea. Coral island reefs and cold seeps constitute the most characteristic marine ecosystems in China. Conducting research, …

A Preliminary Fuzzy Inference System For Predicting Atmospheric Ozone In An Intermountain Basin, John R. Lawson, Seth N. Lyman

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications

High concentrations of ozone in the Uinta Basin, Utah, can occur after sufficient snowfall and a strong atmospheric anticyclone creates a persistent cold pool that traps emissions from oil and gas operations, where sustained photolysis of the precursors builds ozone to unhealthy concentrations. The basin's winter-ozone system is well understood by domain experts and supported by archives of atmospheric observations. Rules of the system can be formulated in natural language ("sufficient snowfall and high pressure leads to high ozone"), lending itself to analysis with a fuzzy-logic inference system. This method encodes human expertise as machine intelligence in a more prescribed …

High Mountain Ecosystems And Snow Cover In A Changing Climate: For Better Or For Worse, Philippe Choler

FRONTIERS UNBOUND: Exploring Extreme Environments

No abstract provided.

Low-Emission Beef Production In The Southern Rangelands Of Western Australia: An Analysis Of Herd Structure And Stocking Rate Experiencing Droughts, Christophe D'Abbadie

Animal production and livestock research articles

Reconciling profitable cattle production with rangeland health and reduced emissions is a key challenge in the southern rangelands of Western Australia (WA). Stocking rate and herd structure selection are crucial decisions to achieve this balance. This study assessed the emission profiles of three contrasting herd structures (weaner production, live export, and slaughter production), and three stocking rates within a herd–carbon accounting modelling framework. The analysis considers the impact of varying drought frequencies on these cattle production systems. Herd models were developed for the semiarid southern WA rangelands. Stocking rates were set at 100%, 80% and 66% of the government recommended …

Integrated Environmental Vulnerability Assessment And Adaptation Strategies For Coastal Areas Under Sustainable Development, Lien-Kwei Chien, Yu-Chi Li, Chia-Feng Hsu

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

This research focuses on the holistic management and environmental vulnerability of coastal areas in Taiwan within the framework of sustainable development. With economic and social growth gravitating towards coastal regions, the strain on the natural environment is increasing. Therefore, discovering a balance between economic progress and environmental conservation is paramount. To decipher the vulnerability of Taiwan's coastal zones, this study first defines ‘Integrated Environmental Vulnerability of Coastal Areas.’Key vulnerability factors were identified across environmental, social, and economic dimensions. Seven core determinants were determined using the Fuzzy Delphi method: biodiversity, coastal erosion, water pollution, population density, population aging, land utilization, and …

Evalution Of The Ability To Infer Tilt Angle And Size Distributions Of Fish Using A Broadband Scientific Echosounder Based On Simulation, Jing Liu

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The biological information, such as species, size, and tilt angle, is crucial for converting the echo data into biomass information in acoustic surveys. Typically, the information can be obtained through trawl net sampling or underwater camera observations. However, both methods have some limitations. To overcome these limitations, scientists have utilized inversion methods with multi-frequency and broadband echosounders to derive biological information about fish, plankton, and krill. However, evaluating the reliability and accuracy of these inversion methods has been challenging due to the difficulty in obtaining accurate biological information. In this study, a numerical simulation method was used to generate fish …

Density-Dependence Inside A Marine Protected Area Increases Natural Mortality And Stunts The Growth Of A Spiny Lobster, Emma-Jade Tuffley, Simon De Lestang

Fisheries Research Articles

Sustainable fisheries management often requires the modelling of stocks under unfished conditions, when the influence of population densities on animal growth and mortality can be substantial. This can be especially true for species such as spiny rock lobster, which are very habitat specific. Using western rock lobster (Panulirus cygnus) tag-recapture data from adjacent and similar fished and unfished areas, the key life history parameters of natural mortality and growth were examined and compared under different population density scenarios. In an area representative of virgin biomass levels, lobsters exhibited reduced growth rates and a substantially higher rate of natural mortality …

Methane Fluxes In Tidal Marshes Of The Conterminous United States, Ariane Arias-Ortiz, Jaxine Wolfe, Scott D. Bridgham, Sara Knox, Gavin Mcnicol, Brian A. Needelman, Julie Shahan, Ellen J. Stuart-Haëntjens, Lisamarie Windham-Myers, Patty Y. Oikawa, Dennis D. Baldocchi, Joshua S. Caplan, Margaret Capooci, Kenneth M. Czapla, R. Kyle Derby, Heida L. Diefenderfer, Inke Forbrich, Gina Groseclose, Jason K. Keller, Cheryl Kelley, Amir E. Keshta, Helena S. Kleiner, Ken W. Krauss, Robert R. Lane, Sarah Mack, Serena Moseman-Valtierra, Thomas J. Mozdzer, Peter Mueller, Scott C. Neubauer, Genevieve Noyce, Katrina V. R. Schäfer, Rebecca Sanders-Demott, Charles A. Schutte, Rodrigo Vargas, Nathaniel B. Weston, Benjamin Wilson, J. Patrick Megonigal, James R. Homquist

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Methane (CH4) is a potent greenhouse gas (GHG) with atmospheric concentrations that have nearly tripled since pre-industrial times. Wetlands account for a large share of global CH4 emissions, yet the magnitude and factors controlling CH4 fluxes in tidal wetlands remain uncertain. We synthesized CH4 flux data from 100 chamber and 9 eddy covariance (EC) sites across tidal marshes in the conterminous United States to assess controlling factors and improve predictions of CH4 emissions. This effort included creating an open-source database of chamber-based GHG fluxes (https://doi.org/10.25573/serc.14227085). Annual fluxes across chamber and EC sites averaged 26 ± 53 g CH4 …

A Marine Knowledge System For Ocean Affairs: Integrating Data, Evaluating Usage, And Enabling Sustainable Marine Management, Yu-Jen Pan

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

This study presents the evolution and assessment of the Marine Knowledge Education System (MKES), designed to improve user acceptance among students in professional marine science courses in Taiwan. The MKES leverages real-world maritime cases from the General Coast Guard Administration and is built upon existing technologies like cloud services, social networks, and data analysis tools. The technology acceptance model (TAM) provides the theoretical underpinning for the assessment of user confidence. Data was collected from 190 participants through purposive sampling. Path analysis confirmed all hypothesized relationships within the TAM with statistical significance (p < 0.001). Additionally, paired-sample t-tests revealed a significant increase in student acceptance of the MKES after integrating it into the marine science curriculum. These findings underscore the capacity of the MKES as a digital learning tool to enrich course pedagogy and improve student learning outcomes, thereby offering valuable support in advancing the education of professional marine managers.