Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

Effect Of Reworking And Bioturbation On Sedimentary Reactive Iron Within A Microtidal Estuary, Amy Kathleen Pitts

OES Theses and Dissertations

Mixed redox conditions in sediments due to physical reworking may allow for enhanced remineralization of refractory organic matter due to Fe(III) redox cycling. In part this may occur because easily reducible iron oxides can be used by heterotrophic bacteria to remineralize the organic carbon. This phenomena has been observed in bioturbated sediments and in areas where physical factors (such as strong bottom currents) constantly rework the sediments. To specifically determine the effects of physical reworking and bioturbation on concentrations of easily reducible iron oxides, reactive iron concentrations were measured in surface sediments taken from two contrasting sites in the York …

Iron Limitation Of A Springtime Bacterial And Phytoplankton Community In The Ross Sea: Implications For Vitamin B12 Nutrition, Erin M. Bertrand, Mak A. Saito, Peter A. Lee, Robert B. Dunbar, Peter N. Sedwick, Giacomo R. Ditullio

OES Faculty Publications

The Ross Sea is home to some of the largest phytoplankton blooms in the Southern Ocean. Primary production in this system has previously been shown to be iron limited in the summer and periodically iron and vitamin B-12 colimited. In this study, we examined trace metal limitation of biological activity in the Ross Sea in the austral spring and considered possible implications for vitamin B-12 nutrition. Bottle incubation experiments demonstrated that iron limited phytoplankton growth in the austral spring while B-12, cobalt, and zinc did not. This is the first demonstration of iron limitation in a Phaeocystis antarctica-dominated, early …

Application Of A Gene-Based Population Dynamics Model To The Optimal Egg Size Problem: Why Do Bivalve Planktotrophic Eggs Vary In Size?, Eric N. Powell, Jason Morson, John M. Klinck

CCPO Publications

The presumption is that egg quality influences larval survival and that egg size influences egg quality. Thus, larger eggs should be favored by selection. Counterweighing the tendency for egg size to increase is the number of eggs that can be produced if egg size remains small. We examine how egg size and egg number counterbalance in Crassostrea oysters, resulting in an average egg size near 50 mu m. Simulations imposing a diversity of ranges in larval survivorship-from little advantage for large eggs relative to small eggs to a great advantage-yield some anticipated outcomes in which genotypes generating larger eggs are …

Old Dominion University Climate Change And Sea Level Rise Initiative, Summer Update 2011, Larry P. Atkinson (Editor)

CCSLRI Newsletters

Summer 2011 Newsletter of the Old Dominion University Climate Change and Sea Level Rise Initiative

The Effect Of An Offshore Wind Turbine Array On Circulation In An Idealized Coastal Ocean, Mahmoud Kamel

OES Theses and Dissertations

The effect of arrays of wind turbines on circulation in the coastal ocean is analyzed with a coastal numerical model applied to a shallow coastal area like the Mid Atlantic Bight (MAB). A simplified model domain is specified with a linearly deepening shelf along a straight coastline. The initial density structure is a quasi-two layer situation with a sharp thermocline. Wind stress in most of the cases is either upwelling or downwelling favorable with constant amplitude continuing after a smooth start. There are two cases where oscillating wind forcing is used. Simulations consider wind arrays having different widths, different locations …

Controls On The Formation Of Algal Blooms In The Lower Chesapeake Bay And Its Tributaries, Ryan Eric Morse

OES Theses and Dissertations

Algal blooms occur seasonally in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, and while the consequences of algal blooms have been qualitatively and quantitatively assessed, the causes of algal blooms and mechanisms of bloom initiation are still not well understood despite decades of research. In order to understand nutrient dynamics and other factors that promote the initiation of algal blooms, the Lafayette River, a tidal sub-estuary of Chesapeake Bay that experiences seasonal algal blooms, was sampled daily in the fall of 2005. Three phytoplankton blooms (Chlorophyll a concentrations exceeding twice the average of monthly measurements from 2000-2009) occurred during this period, …

Model-Based Analyses Of Nitrogen On The Mid-Atlantic Bight Continental Shelf, Tian Tian

OES Theses and Dissertations

The biogeochemistry of continental shelf systems is an important, but poorly quantified, component of the global cycling of nitrogen and carbon. In this study, simulations obtained from a one-dimensional (ID) biogeochemical model developed for the Middle Atlantic Bight (MAB) portion of the U.S. eastern continental shelf were analyzed to investigate nitrogen cycling processes. The 1D model included lower trophic level interactions and was forced by advective fields obtained from a corresponding three-dimensional biogeochemical model. Taylor and target diagram analyses, which compared in situ measurements of sea surface temperature (SST) and salinity, and chlorophyll and particulate organic carbon (POC) derived from …

Circulation, Vol. 16, No. 3, Center For Coastal Physical Oceanography, Old Dominion University, Larry P. Atkinson

CCPO Circulation

Spring 2011 issue of CCPO Circulation featuring article "Offshore Wind Power and Oceanography" by Larry Atkinson

Population Dynamics Of Sheepshead (Archosargus Probatocephalus; Walbaum 1792) In The Chesapeake Bay Region: A Comparison To Other Areas And An Assessment Of Their Current Status, Joseph Charles Ballenger

OES Theses and Dissertations

Sheepshead recently have seen an increase in fishing pressure in Virginian waters of the Chesapeake Bay. This increase in fishing pressure has led to demands to install effective management measures to protect the fishery. However, no study regarding the population dynamics, and thus potential yield, of sheepshead has been conducted north of Cape Hatteras. We addressed the need for information regarding the population dynamics of Chesapeake Bay sheepshead by investigating their age distribution, growth rate and reproductive biology. We used this information to construct yield-per-recruit models, which local management agencies may use in the formation of scientifically based management measures. …

Design And Demonstration Of A Miniature Lidar System For Rover Applications, Benjamin Robinson

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Public awareness of harmful human environmental effects such as global warming has increased greatly in recent years and researchers have increased their efforts in gaining more knowledge about the Earth's atmosphere. Natural and man-made processes pose threats lo the environment and human life, so knowledge of all atmospheric processes is necessary. Ozone and aerosols are important factors in many atmospheric processes and active remote sensing techniques provide a way lo analyze their quantity and distribution.

A compact ground-based lidar system for a robotic platform meant for atmospheric aerosol measurements was designed, tested, and evaluated. The system will eventually be deployed …

Evaluating Methods For Optimizing Classification Success From Otolith Tracers For Spotted Seatrout (Cynoscion Nebulosus) In The Chesapeake Bay, Stacy Kavita Beharry

OES Theses and Dissertations

Identifying the natal sources of fish is an important step in understanding its population dynamics. Adult recruits are often sourced from multiple nursery areas, with good quality locations contributing disproportionately more fish to the adult stock. Because population persistence is strongly influenced by nursery habitat, methods that correctly identify the source of recruits are necessary for effective management. Within the last decade, otolith chemistry signatures have been increasingly used as a natural marker to delineate fish from a mixture of nursery sources. Despite the widespread use of otolith trace element and stable isotope ratios as habitat markers, the statistical approaches …

Use Of Sarima Models To Assess Data-Poor Fisheries: A Case Study With A Sciaenid Fishery Off Portugal, Nuno Prista, Norou Diawara, Maria J. Costa, Cynthia M. Jones

OES Faculty Publications

Research on assessment and monitoring methods has primarily focused on fisheries with long multivariate data sets. Less research exists on methods applicable to data-poor fisheries with univariate data sets with a small sample size. In this study, we examine the capabilities of seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA) models to fit, forecast, and monitor the landings of such data-poor fisheries. We use a European fishery on meagre (Sciaenidae: Argyrosomus regius), where only a short time series of landings was available to model (n=60 months), as our case-study. We show that despite the limited sample size, a SARIMA model could …

Anaerobic Oxidation Of Methane And The Stoichiometry Of Remineralization Processes In Continental Margin Sediments, David J. Burdige, Tomoko Kamada

OES Faculty Publications

In many coastal and continental margin sediments, pore-water property-property plots yield values of r_c:s, the stoichiometric ratio of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) produced to sulfate reduced, that are lower than the commonly assumed value of 2. Remineralization of organic matter more reduced than CH₂O can cause such observations, as can DIC loss due to authigenic carbonate precipitation. However, through studies of Santa Monica Basin sediments, we have observed that these observations could also be related to the occurrence of anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) in sediments. Specifically, using a reactive transport sediment model, we have shown …

Cascading Migrations And Implications For Vertical Fluxes In Pelagic Ecosystems, Stephen M. Bollens, Gretchen Rollwagen-Bollens, Joel A. Quenette, Alexander B. Bochdansky

OES Faculty Publications

Diel vertical migration is widespread across diverse taxa in the world's lakes and seas, yet its biogeochemical consequences are still poorly understood. The biologically mediated vertical flux of material in the ocean (also known as the "biological pump") is a matter of major interest and concern, as it is thought to play an important role in regulating ocean carbon storage, and by extension, the global carbon cycle. Recent studies spanning multiple trophic levels from fish to dinoflagellates have led us to a concept of coupled vertical migrations that we refer to as "cascading migrations". That is, migrations that …

Modern Dirty Sea Ice Characteristics And Sources: The Role Of Anchor Ice, Dennis A. Darby, Wesley B. Myers, Martin Jakobsson, Ignatius Rigor

OES Faculty Publications

Extensive dirty ice patches with up to 7 kg m^-2 sediment concentrations in layers of up to 10 cm thickness were encountered in 2005 and 2007 in numerous areas across the central Arctic. The Fe grain fingerprint determination of sources for these sampled dirty ice floes indicated both Russian and Canadian sources, with the latter dominating. The presence of benthic shells and sea weeds along with thick layers (2-10 cm) of sediment covering 5-10 m² indicates an anchor ice entrainment origin as opposed to suspension freezing for some of these floes. The anchor ice origin might explain the …

Draft Genome Sequence Of Strain Himb100, A Cultured Representative Of The Sar116 Clade Of Marine Alphaproteobacteria, Jana Grote, Cansu Bayindirli, Kristin Bergauer, Paula C. De Moraes, Huan Chen, Lindsay D'Ambrosio, Bethany Edwards, Beatriz Fernandez-Gomez, Mariam Hamisi, Dan Nguyen, Yoshimi M. Rii, Emily Saeck, Charles Schutte, Brittany Widner

OES Faculty Publications

Strain HIMB100 is a planktonic marine bacterium in the class Alphaproteobacteria. This strain is of interest because it is one of the first known isolates from a globally ubiquitous clade of marine bacteria known as SAR116 within the family Rhodospirillaceae. Here we describe preliminary features of the organism, together with the draft genome sequence and annotation. This is the second genome sequence of a member of the SAR116 clade. The 2,458,945 bp genome contains 2,334 protein-coding and 42 RNA gene

Florida Straits Deglacial Temperature And Salinity Change: Implications For Tropical Hydrologic Cycle Variability During The Younger Dryas, Matthew W. Schmidt, Jean Lynch-Stieglitz

OES Faculty Publications

The prevailing paradigm of abrupt climate change holds that rapid shifts associated with the most extreme climate swings of the last glacial cycle were forced by changes in the strength and northward extension of Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), resulting in an abrupt reorganization of atmospheric circulation patterns with global teleconnections. To determine the timing of tropical Atlantic atmospheric circulation changes over the past 21 ka BP, we reconstruct high resolution sea surface temperature and δ¹⁸O_SW (a proxy for surface salinity) records based on Mg/Ca ratios and oxygen isotope measurements in the planktonic foraminifera Globigerinoides ruber from …

Meridional Shifts In The Marine Itcz And The Tropical Hydrologic Cycle Over The Last Three Glacial Cycles, Matthew W. Schmidt, Howard J. Spero

OES Faculty Publications

Paleoproxy studies show a strong correlation between tropical climate and high-latitude temperature variability recorded in the Greenland ice cores over the last glacial cycle. In particular, abrupt cooling events in the Greenland Ice Sheet Project II δ¹⁸O ice record appear synchronous with a southward migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) in the Atlantic, a weakening of the Indian and East Asian monsoon systems, and a strengthening of the South American monsoon system. Because this high-to-low-latitude climate teleconnection significantly alters the tropical hydrologic cycle around the globe, it plays a critical role in regulating global climate on glacial-interglacial …

Evidence From The Florida Straits For Younger Dryas Ocean Circulation Changes, Jean Lynch-Stieglitz, Matthew W. Schmidt, William B. Curry

OES Faculty Publications

The waters passing through the Florida Straits today reflect both the western portion of the wind-driven subtropical gyre and the northward flow of the upper waters which cross the equator, compensating North Atlantic Deep Water export as part of the large-scale Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. It has been postulated from various lines of evidence that the overturning circulation was weaker during the Younger Dryas cold event of the last deglaciation. We show here that the contrast in the oxygen isotopic composition of benthic foraminiferal tests across the Florida Current is reduced during the Younger Dryas. This most likely reflects a …

Early Season Depletion Of Dissolved Iron In The Ross Sea Polynya: Implications For Iron Dynamics On The Antarctic Continental Shelf, Peter N. Sedwick, C. M. Marsay, B. M. Sohst, A. M. Aguilar-Islas, M. C. Lohan, M. C. Long, K. R. Arrigo, R. B. Dunbar, M. A. Saito, W. O. Smith, G. R. Ditullio

OES Faculty Publications

The Ross Sea polynya is among the most productive regions in the Southern Ocean and may constitute a significant oceanic CO₂sink. Based on results from several field studies, this region has been considered seasonally iron limited, whereby a "winter reserve" of dissolved iron (dFe) is progressively depleted during the growing season to low concentrations (~ 0.1 nM) that limit phytoplankton growth in the austral summer (December-February). Here we report new iron data for the Ross Sea polynya during austral summer 2005-2006 (27 December-22 January) and the following austral spring 2006 (16 November-3 December). The summer 2005-2006 data show …

Characterization Of Heterogeneities And Domains In Aquatic And Sedimentary Organic Matter By 1 H Spin Diffusion: Potential For Elucidating The Formation Mechanisms, Jingdong Mao, Xiaoyan Cao

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Although the information on domains and heterogeneities of natural organic matter (NOM) can provide insights into its formation mechanisms, the appropriate solid-state NMR technique for measuring them is still lacking. The traditional technique requires mobility differences in NOM whereas NOM components are primarily rigid. We introduced a new ¹H spin diffusion technique, ¹H-¹³C two-dimensional heteronuclear correlation (2D HETCOR) NMR with ¹H spin diffusion, for characterization of domains and heterogeneities in aquatic and sedimentary organic matter. It was achieved by collecting a series of 2D HETCOR spectra with a variable mixing time, t_m', and …

Reconstructing Sea Level Using Cyclostationary Empirical Orthogonal Functions, B. D. Hamlington, R. R. Leben, R. S. Nerem, W. Han, K.-Y. Kim

CCPO Publications

Cyclostationary empirical orthogonal functions, derived from satellite altimetry, are combined with historical sea level measurements from tide gauges to reconstruct sea level fields from 1950 through 2009. Previous sea level reconstructions have utilized empirical orthogonal functions as basis functions, but by using cyclostationary empirical orthogonal functions and by addressing other aspects of the reconstruction procedure, an alternative sea level reconstruction can be computed. The procedure introduced here is capable of capturing the annual cycle and El Nio-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) signals back to 1950, with correlations between the reconstructed ENSO signal and common ENSO indices found to be over 0.9. The …

The Us Southern Ocean Global Ocean Ecosystems Dynamics Program, Eileen E. Hofmann, John M. Klinck, Dan P. Costa, Kendra L. Daly, Joseph J. Torres

CCPO Publications

The article presents information on the U.S. Southern Ocean Global Ocean Ecosystem Dynamics program (US SO GLOBEC). It was aimed at understanding the environmental and biological factors that contribute to enhanced Antarctic krill growth, reproduction, recruitment and survivorship, as well as the interactions between Antarctic krill and its predators and competitors. The highlights of US SO GLOBEC research are also discussed.

Improving Simulations Of The Upper Ocean By Inclusion Of Surface Waves In The Mellor-Yamada Turbulence Scheme, Chuan Jiang Huang, Fangli Qiao, Zhenya Song, Tal Ezer

CCPO Publications

The Mellor-Yamada turbulence closure scheme, used in many ocean circulation models, is often blamed for overly high simulated surface temperature and overly low simulated subsurface temperature in summer due to insufficient vertical mixing. Surface waves can enhance turbulence kinetic energy and mixing of the upper ocean via wave breaking and nonbreaking-wave-turbulence interaction. The influences of wave breaking and wave-turbulence interaction on the Mellor-Yamada scheme and upper ocean thermal structure are examined and compared with each other using one-dimensional and three-dimensional ocean circulation models. Model results show that the wave-turbulence interaction can effectively amend the problem of insufficient mixing in the …

Detection Of The 2010 Chilean Tsunami Using Satellite Altimetry, B. D. Hamlington, R. R. Leben, O. A. Godin, J. F. Legeais, E. Gica, V. V. Titov

CCPO Publications

Tsunamis are difficult to detect and measure in the open ocean because the wave amplitude is much smaller than it is closer to shore. An effective early warning system, however, must be able to observe an impending tsunami threat far away from the shore in order to provide the necessary lead-time for coastal inhabitants to find safety. Given the expansiveness of the ocean, sensors capable of detecting the tsunami must also have very broad areal coverage. The 2004 Sumatra-Andaman tsunami was definitively detected in the open ocean from both sea surface height and sea surface roughness measurements provided by satellite …

Editorial-The 2nd International Workshop On Modeling The Ocean (Iwmo-2010), Tal Ezer, Lie-Yauw Oey, Huijie Xue, Xiao Hua Wang

CCPO Publications

The formation of the International Workshop on Modeling the Ocean (IWMO) in 2009 has been motivated by the rapid growth in ocean modeling research around the world. In particular, the spread of ocean modeling research in Asia during recent years and the establishment of many international collaborative modeling projects led to the first meeting, IWMO-2009, which was held in Taipei, Taiwan, 23–26 February 2009 (see the two special issues resulted from this meeting: Oey et al. 2010a, b). The second meeting (IWMO-2010; http://www.ccpo.odu.edu/∼tezer/ IWMO_2010/) was hosted by the Center for Coastal Physical Oceanography at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA, …

Fossil And Contemporary Aerosol Particulate Organic Carbon In The Eastern United States: Implications For Deposition And Inputs To Watersheds, Andrew S. Wozniak, James E. Bauer, Rebecca M. Dickhut

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Atmospheric particulate matter samples were collected from mid-Atlantic and northeastern U. S. (Virginia and New York, respectively) sites to assess the fossil versus contemporary sources contributing to aerosol organic carbon (OC) and the implications for its deposition to watersheds. Mean particulate matter total OC (TOC) deposition rates (wet + dry deposition) were calculated to be 1.6 and 2.4 mg C m^-2 d^-1 for the Virginia and New York sites, respectively. Wet deposition of particulate TOC was determined to be the dominant depositional mode, accounting for >65% (Virginia) and >80% (New York) of total aerosol TOC deposition. Isotopic mass …

A Mini-Electrodialysis System For Desalting Small Volume Saline Samples For Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry, Hongmei Chen, Aron Stubbins, Patrick G. Hatcher

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

An affordable, commercially available mini-electrodialysis (mini-ED) system has been evaluated for the efficient desalting of small volume samples of seawater before analysis by electrospray Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (ESI FT-ICR MS). Mini-ED FT-ICR mass spectra were compared with spectra for samples that were treated by C₁₈ solid phase extraction, a commonly used method for rapid sample preparation for this type of analysis. In this comparison, it is clear that mini-ED provides more representative molecular information, compared with C₁₈ isolation, and recovers the overwhelming majority of peaks from salt-free samples, indicating that it adequately represents the …

Ace-Fts Measurements Of Trace Species In The Characterization Of Biomass Burning Plumes, K. A. Tereszchuk, G. González Abad, C. Clerbaux, D. Hurtmans, P.-F. Coheur, P. F. Bernath

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

To further our understanding of the effects of biomass burning emissions on atmospheric composition, we report measurements of trace species in biomass burning plumes made by the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier Transform Spectrometer (ACE-FTS) instrument on the SCISAT-1 satellite. An extensive set of 15 molecules, C₂H₂, C₂H₆, CH₃OH, CH₄, CO, H₂CO, HCN, HCOOH, HNO₃, NO, NO₂, N₂O₅, O-3, OCS and SF₆ are used in our analysis. Even though most biomass burning smoke is typically confined to the …

Classroom Manipulative To Engage Students In Mathematical Modeling Of Disease Spread: 1 + 1 = Achoo!, H. Gaff, M. Lyons, G. Watson

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Infectious diseases ranging from the common cold to cholera affect our society physically, emotionally, ecologically, and economically. Yet despite their importance and impact, there remains a lack of effective teaching materials for epidemiology and disease ecology in K-12, undergraduate, and graduate curricula [2]. To address this deficit, we've developed a classroom lesson with three instructional goals: (1) Familiarize students on basic concepts of infectious disease ecology; (2) Introduce students to a classic compartmental model and its applications in epidemiology; (3) Demonstrate the application and importance of mathematical modeling as a tool in biology. The instructional strategy uses a game-based mathematical …