Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

Microwave Remote Sensing Of Soil Moisture Science And Applications, Son V. Nghiem, Brian D. Wardlow, David Allured, Mark Svoboda, Doug Lecomte, Matthew Rosencrans, Steven K. Chan, Gregory Neumann

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Soil moisture is a fundamental link between global water and carbon cycles and has major applications in predicting natural hazards such as droughts and floods (National Research Council, 2007). From precipitation data, soil wetness can be estimated by hydrological land-surface models. In the United States, preliminary precipitation data are based on measurements gathered from many active stations nationwide each month, and it takes 3–4 months to assemble final, quality-controlled data. In the western United States, some climate divisions may have no stations reporting in a particular month or may lack first- or second-order stations, and significant blockages by mountains limit …

Drought Triggers And Declarations: Science And Policy Considerations For Drought Risk Management, Linda Courtenay Botterill, Michael J. Hayes

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

This paper explores the value of triggers and declarations in the management of drought, bringing together two disciplinary perspectives, those of the public policy scholar and the climate scientist. These two perspectives highlight the complexity of the development and use of triggers in drought risk management by drawing on the experience of the United States, which has the most sophisticated system of drought triggers in the world, and that of Australia that has the most developed and longest standing national drought policy based on principles of risk management. The paper explores the advantages and disadvantages of triggers in managing drought, …

Interannual And Spatial Impacts Of Phenological Transitions, Growing Season Length, And Spring And Autumn Temperatures On Carbon Sequestration: A North America Flux Data Synthesis, Chaoyang Wu, Alemu Gonsamo, Jing Ming Chen, Werner A. Kurz, David T. Price, Peter M. Lafleur, Rachhpal S. Jassal, Danilo Dragoni, Gil Bohrer, Christopher M. Gough, Shashi B. Verma, Andrew E. Suyker, J. William Munger

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Understanding feedbacks of ecosystem carbon sequestration to climate change is an urgent step in developing future ecosystem models. Using 187 site-years of flux data observed at 24 sites covering three plant functional types (i.e. evergreen forests (EF), deciduous forests (DF) and non-forest ecosystems (NF) (e.g., crop, grassland, wetland)) in North America, we present an analysis of both interannual and spatial relationships between annual net ecosystem production (NEP) and phenological indicators, including the flux-based carbon uptake period (CUP) and its transitions, degree-day-derived growing season length (GSL), and spring and autumn temperatures. Diverse responses were acquired between annul NEP and these indicators …

A Synoptic Perspective Of The Record 1-2 May 2010 Mid-South Heavy Precipitation Event, Joshua D. Durkee, Lee Campbell, Kyle Berry, Dustin Jordan, Gregory Goodrich, Rezaul Mahmood, Stuart Foster

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

During 1–2 May 2010, a series of strong thunderstorms led to 41, 57, and 43 tornado, severe wind, and severe hail reports, respectively, across portions of the southern United States. In addition to severe weather, these storms also distributed recordsetting rainfall amounts across the mid-South region, which contributed to historic flooding across portions of central and western Kentucky and Tennessee (Fig. 1). This heavy precipitation event was sampled by multiple surface observational networks, including (but not limited to) 48 research-grade automated stations from the Kentucky Mesonet (www.kymesonet .org), first-order automated stations from the National Weather Service (NWS; www.ncdc.noaa.gov /oa/ncdc.html), and …

Sea-Level History Of Past Interglacial Periods From Uranium-Series Dating Of Corals, Curaçao, Leeward Antilles Islands, Daniel R. Muhs, John M. Pandolfi, Kathleen R. Simmons, R. Randall Schumann

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Curaçao has reef terraces with the potential to provide sea-level histories of interglacial periods. Ages of the Hato (upper) unit of the “Lower Terrace” indicate that this reef dates to the last interglacial period, Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5.5. On Curaçao, this high sea stand lasted at least 8000 yr (~126 to ~118 ka). Elevations and age of this reef show that late Quaternary uplift rates on Curaçao are low, 0.026–0.054 m/ka, consistent with its tectonic setting. Ages of ~200 ka for corals from the older Cortalein unit of the Lower Terrace correlate this reef to MIS 7, with paleo-sea …

Saturated Thickness And Water In Storage In The High Plains Aquifer, 2009, And Water-Level Changes And Changes In Water In Storage In The High Plains Aquifer, 1980 To 1995, 1995 To 2000, 2000 To 2005, And 2005 To 2009, Virginia L. Mcguire, Kris D. Lund, Brenda K. Densmore

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

The High Plains aquifer underlies about 112 million acres (about 175,000 square miles) in parts of eight States—Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. Water levels declined in parts of the High Plains aquifer soon after the onset of substantial irrigation with groundwater (about 1950). This report presents the volume of saturated aquifer material and drainable water in storage in the High Plains aquifer in 2009; water-level changes in the High Plains aquifer from 1980 to 1995, 1995 to 2000, 2000 to 2005, and 2005 to 2009; and changes in the volume of drainable water in …

Hydrostratigraphic Interpretation Of Test-Hole And Surface Geophysical Data, Elkhorn And Loup River Basins, Nebraska, 2008 To 2011, Christopher M. Hobza, Paul A. Bedrosian, Benjamin R. Bloss

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

The Elkhorn-Loup Model (ELM) was begun in 2006 to understand the effect of various groundwater-management scenarios on surface-water resources. During phase one of the ELM study, a lack of subsurface geological information was identified as a data gap. Test holes drilled to the base of the aquifer in the ELM study area are spaced as much as 25 miles apart, especially in areas of the western Sand Hills. Given the variable character of the hydrostratigraphic units that compose the High Plains aquifer system, substantial variation in aquifer thickness and characteristics can exist between test holes. To improve the hydrogeologic understanding …

A Brief History And Summary Of The Effects Of River Engineering And Dams On The Mississippi River System And Delta, Jason S. Alexander, Richard C. Wilson, W. Reed Green

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

The United States Geological Survey Forecast Mekong project is providing technical assistance and information to aid management decisions and build science capacity of institutions in the Mekong River Basin. A component of this effort is to produce a synthesis of the effects of dams and other engineering structures on large-river hydrology, sediment transport, geomorphology, ecology, water quality, and deltaic systems. The Mississippi River Basin (MRB) of the United States was used as the backdrop and context for this synthesis because it is a continental scale river system with a total annual water discharge proportional to the Mekong River, has been …

Soil Genesis On The Island Of Bermuda In The Quaternary: The Importance Of African Dust Transport And Deposition, Daniel R. Muhs, James R. Budahn, Joseph M. Prospero, Gary Skipp, Stanley R. Herwitz

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The origin of terra rossa, red or reddish-brown, clay-rich soils overlying high-purity carbonate substrates, has intrigued geologists and pedologists for decades. Terra rossa soils can form from accumulation of insoluble residues during dissolution of the host limestones, addition of volcanic ash, or addition of externally derived, long-range-transported (LRT) aeolian particles. We studied soils and paleosols on high-purity, carbonate aeolianites of Quaternary age on Bermuda, where terra rossa origins have been debated for more than a century. Potential soil parent materials on this island include sand-sized fragments of local volcanic bedrock, the LRT, fine-grained (µm) component of distal loess from the …

East Versus West: Organic Contaminant Differences In Brown Pelican (Pelecanus Occidentalis) Eggs From South Carolina, Usa And The Gulf Of California, Mexico, Stacy S. Vander Pol, Daniel W. Anderson, Patrick G.R. Jodice, Joyce E. Stuckey

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) were listed as endangered in the United States in 1970, largely due to reproductive failure and mortality caused by organochlorine contaminants, such as DDT. The southeast population, P.o. carolinensis, was delisted in 1985, while the west coast population, P.o. californicus, was not delisted until 2009. As fish-eating coastal seabirds, brown pelicans may serve as a biomonitors. Organic contaminants were examined in brown pelican eggs collected from the Gulf of California in 2004 and South Carolina in 2005 using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Contaminants were compared using all individual data as well as …

Strontium Isotope Systematics Of Mixing Groundwater And Oil-Field Brine At Goose Lake In Northeastern Montana, Usa, Zell E. Peterman, Joanna N. Thamke, Kiyoto Futa, Todd M. Preston

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Groundwater, surface water, and soil in the Goose Lake oil field in northeastern Montana have been affected by Cl^- rich oil-field brines during long-term petroleum production. Ongoing multidisciplinary geochemical and geophysical studies have identified the degree and local extent of interaction between brine and groundwater. Fourteen samples representing groundwater, surface water, and brine were collected for Sr isotope analyses to evaluate the usefulness of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr in detecting small amounts of brine. Differences in Sr concentrations and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr are optimal at this site for the experiment. Strontium concentrations range from 0.13 to 36.9 mg/L, …

Critique On The Use Of The Standardized Avian Acute Oral Toxicity Test For First Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides, Nimish B. Vyas, Barnett A. Rattner

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Avian risk assessments for rodenticides are often driven by the results of standardized acute oral toxicity tests without regards to a toxicant’s mode of action and time course of adverse effects. First generation anticoagulant rodenticides (FGARs) generally require multiple feedings over several days to achieve a threshold concentration in tissue and cause adverse effects. This exposure regimen is much different than that used in the standardized acute oral toxicity test methodology. Median lethal dose values derived from standardized acute oral toxicity tests underestimate the environmental hazard and risk of FGARs. Caution is warranted when FGAR toxicity, physiological effects, and pharmacokinetics …

Climate Change And Infectious Disease Dynamics, Raina K. Plowright, Paul C. Cross, Gary M. Tabor, Emily Almberg, Leslie Bienen, Peter J. Hudson

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The International Panel on Climate Change has made an unequivocal case that the earth's climate is changing in profound ways, and that human activities are contributing significantly to climate disruption (IPCC 2007). The weight of evidence demonstrates warming global temperatures, changing patterns of precipitation, and increasing climate variability, with more extreme events. Thus, the physical underpinnings of ecology are changing, with pervasive effects on disease dynamics. Interactions among environment, hosts, and pathogens drive disease processes, and climate change will influence every interaction in this triad, directly and indirectly.

Wildlife Toxicology: Environmental Contaminants And Their National And International Regulation, K. Christiana Grim, Anne Fairbrother, Barnett A. Rattner

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Wildlife toxicology is the study of potentially harmful effects of toxic agents in wild animals, focusing on amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Fish and aquatic invertebrates are not usually included as part of wildlife toxicology since they fall within the field of aquatic toxicology, but collectively both disciplines often provide inSight into one another and both are integral parts of ecotoxicology (Hoffman et al. 2003). It entails monitoring, hypothesis testing, forensics, and risk assessment; encompasses molecular through ecosystem responses and various research venues (laboratory, mesocosm, field); and has been shaped by chemical use and misuse, ecological mishaps, and biomedical research. …

Sorta Situ: The New Reality Of Management Conditions For Wildlife Populations In The Absence Of "Wild" Spaces, Barbara A. Wolfe, Roberto F. Aguilar, A. Alonso Aguirre, Glenn H. Olsen, Evan S. Blumer

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The rate of species loss today is approaching catastrophic levels. Scientists project that over the next two decades, more than 1 million species of plants and animals will become extinct. E.O. Wilson has estimated that "the rate ofloss may exceed 50,000 a year, 137 a day ... this rate, while horrendous, is actually the minimal estimate, based on the species/area relationship alone" (Kellert and Wilson 1993, p. 16; Aguirre 2009). Ever-expanding communities, strained natural resources, changes in land use, and other anthropogenic drivers are compromising ecosystems and rapidly changing the landscape and the availability of "wild" spaces.

Agricultural Drought Monitoring In Kenya Using Evapotranspiration Derived From Remote Sensing And Reanalysis Data, Michael T. Marshall, Christopher Funk, Joel Michaelsen

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

More than half of the people in sub-Saharan Africa live on less than US$ 1.25 per day, and nearly 30% do not receive sufficient nourishment to maintain daily health (UN, 2009a). These figures are expected to rise as a result of the recent global financial crisis that has led to an increase in food prices. Food for Peace (FFP), the program that administers more than 85% of U.S. international food aid, recently reported that the seven largest recipient countries of food aid worldwide are in sub-Saharan Africa (FFP, 2010). In Kenya, the fifth largest recipient of food aid from FFP …

Thermal-Based Evaporative Stress Index For Monitoring Surface Moisture Depletion, Martha C. Anderson, Christopher R. Hain, Brian D. Wardlow, Agustin Pimstein, John R. Mecikalski, William P. Kustas

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

The standard suite of indicators currently used in operational drought monitoring reflects anomalous conditions in several major components of the hydrologic budget—representing deficits in precipitation, soil moisture content, runoff, surface and groundwater storage, snowpack, and streamflow. In principle, it is useful to have a diversity of indices because drought can assume many forms (meteorological, agricultural, hydrological, and socioeconomic), over broad ranges in timescale (weeks to years), and with varied impacts of interest to different stakeholder groups. Farmers, for example, may be principally interested in soil moisture deficits, river forecasters will focus on streamflow fluctuations, and water managers will be concerned …

Diatom Evidence For The Onset Of Pliocene Cooling From And-1b, Mcmurdo Sound, Antarctica, Christina R. Riesselman, Robert B. Dunbar

ANDRILL Research and Publications

The late Pliocene, ~3.3–3.0 Ma, is the most recent interval of sustained global warmth in the geologic past. This window is the focus of climate reconstruction efforts by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Pliocene Research, Interpretation, and Synoptic Mapping (PRISM) Data/Model Cooperative, and may provide a useful climate analog for the coming century. Reconstructions of past surface ocean conditions proximal to the Antarctic continent are essential to understanding the sensitivity of the cryosphere to this key interval in Earth’s climate evolution. An exceptional marine sediment core collected from the southwestern Ross Sea (78° S), Antarctica, during ANDRILL’s McMurdo Ice Shelf Project …

A Diatom Record Of Late Pliocene Cooling From The Ross Sea Continental Shelf, And-1b, Antarctica, Charlotte Sjunneskog, Diane Winter

ANDRILL Research and Publications

A late Pliocene – early Pleistocene, 2.9–2.0Ma, diatom record from the Antarctic Geological Drilling Program (ANDRILL) MIS drillcore AND-1B is presented. This core, recovered from beneath the Ross Ice Shelf south of Ross Island, comprises multiple diatomaceous-sediment units deposited during interglacial periods with open water over the core site. These represent interglacial phases of orbitally paced climate cycles and are punctuated by glacial advances. Extant diatom assemblages have limited presence in the late Pliocene record, which makes environmental interpretation less straight forward. We employ modern ecological data in combination with late Pliocene to present variation in diatom assemblages across the …

Fragilariopsis Tigris Sp. Nov., A New Late Pliocene Antarctic Continental Shelf Diatom With Biostratigraphic Promise, Christina R. Riesselman

ANDRILL Research and Publications

Anew species within the genus Fragilariopsis, F. tigris, is described and illustrated using light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. This species is restricted to a single 8-meter-thick diatom unit within the 585-meter-long section of alternating diatomites and diamictites recovered in the upper portion of the ANtarctic geological DRILLing (ANDRILL) McMurdo Ice Shelf Project (MIS) AND-1B marine sediment core. This new taxon from a diverse, well-preserved diatom assemblage is inferred to be the youngest member of the well-documented, biostratigraphically useful F. praeinterfrigidaria – F. interfrigidaria – F. weaveri lineage and may represent a near-shore corollary to the open-ocean species …

Droughtscape, Winter 2012, National Drought Mitigation Center

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

Drought Planning for Kansas Ranchers Jan. 21

South Hoping La Niña Dryness Stays Away

2011 Brought Record-Breaking Extent of D4

Reported Impacts Ease as Growing Season Ends

Disaster Planning in Nanjing at Hohai U

Ag, Fire and Water Supply Topped 2011 Impacts

Hurricane Disturbance And Recovery Of Energy Balance, Co2 Fluxes And Canopy Structure In A Mangrove Forest Of The Florida Everglades, Jordan G. Barr, Vic Engel, Thomas J. Smith, José D. Fuentes

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Eddy covariance (EC) estimates of carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes and energy balance are examined to investigate the functional responses of a mature mangrove forest to a disturbance generated by Hurricane Wilma on October 24, 2005 in the Florida Everglades. At the EC site, high winds from the hurricane caused nearly 100% defoliation in the upper canopy and widespread tree mortality. Soil temperatures down to −50 cm increased, and air temperature lapse rates within the forest canopy switched from statically stable to statically unstable conditions following the disturbance. Unstable conditions allowed more efficient transport of water vapor and CO₂ from …

The Global Drought Monitor Portal: The Foundation For A Global Drought Information System, Richard R. Heim Jr., Michael J. Brewer

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

The international scientific community has long recognized the need for coordinated drought monitoring and response, but many factors have prevented progress in the development of a Global Drought Early Warning System (GDEWS): some of which involve administrative issues (coordinated international action and policy) while others involve scientific, technological, and logistical issues. The creation of the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) Portal within the United States provided an opportunity to take the first steps toward building the informational foundation for a GDEWS: that is, a Global Drought Information System (GDIS). At a series of workshops sponsored by the World Meteorological …

Copper Pellets Simulating Oral Exposure To Copper Ammunition: Absence Of Toxicity In American Kestrels (Falco Sparverius), J. Christian Franson, Lesanna L. Lahner, Carol U. Meteyer, Barnett A. Rattner

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

To evaluate the potential toxicity of copper

(Cu) in raptors that may consume Cu bullets, shotgun

pellets containing Cu, or Cu fragments as they feed on

wildlife carcasses, we studied the effects of metallic Cu

exposure in a surrogate, the American kestrel (Falco

sparverius). Sixteen kestrels were orally administered

5 mg Cu/g body mass in the form of Cu pellets

(1.18–2.00 mm in diameter) nine times during 38 days and

10 controls were sham gavaged on the same schedule. With

one exception, all birds retained the pellets for at least 1 h,

but most (69%) regurgitated pellets during …

Mapping Recent Decadal Climate Variations In Precipitation And Temperature Across Eastern Africa And The Sahel, Christopher Funk, Joel Michaelsen, Michael T. Marshall

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

This chapter presents a novel interpolation approach that combines long-term mean satellite observations, station data, and topographic fields to produce grids of climate normals and trends. The approach was developed by the Climate Hazard Group (CHG) at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), to support food security analyses for the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET). The resulting FEWS NET Climatology (FCLIM) combines moving window regressions (MWRs) with geostatistical interpolation (kriging). Satellite and topographic fields often exhibit strong local correlations with in situ measurements of air temperature and rainfall. The FCLIM method …

Altitude, Age, And Quality Of Groundwater, Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District, Eastern Nebraska, 1992 To 2009, Virginia L. Mcguire, Derek W. Ryter, Amanda T. Flynn

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

The United States Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District (PMRNRD), conducted this study to map the water-level altitude of 2009 within the Elkhorn River Valley, Missouri River Valley, and Platte River Valley alluvial aquifers; to present the predevelopment potentiometric-surface altitude within the Dakota aquifer; and to describe the age and quality of groundwater in the five principal aquifers of the PMRNRD in eastern Nebraska using data collected from 1992 to 2009. In addition, implications of alternatives to the current PMRNRD groundwater-quality monitoring approach are discussed.

In the PMRNRD, groundwater altitude, relative to National Geodetic …

Standardized Precipitation Index: User Guide, Mark Svoboda, Michael Hayes, Deborah Wood

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Over the years, there has been much discussion on what drought indices should be used in a particular climate and for what application. Many drought definitions and indices have been developed and attempts have been made to provide some guidance on this issue. With this in mind, the Interregional Workshop on Indices and Early Warning Systems for Drought was organized and held at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, United States of America, from 8 to 11 December 2009. It was jointly sponsored by the School of Natural Resources (SNR) of the University of Nebraska, the United States National Drought Mitigation Center …

Gene Transcription In Sea Otters (Enhydra Lutris); Development Of A Diagnostic Tool For Sea Otter And Ecosystem Health, Lizabeth Bowen, A. Keith Miles, Michael Murray, Martin Haulena, Judy Tuttle, William Van Bonn, Lance Adams, James L. Bodkin, Brenda Ballachey, James A. Estes, M. Tim Tinker, Robin Keister, Jeffrey L. Stott

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Gene transcription analysis for diagnosing or monitoring wildlife health requires the ability to distinguish pathophysiological change from natural variation. Herein, we describe methodology for the development of quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assays to measure differential transcript levels of multiple immune function genes in the sea otter (Enhydra lutris); sea otter-specific qPCR primer sequences for the genes of interest are defined. We establish a ‘reference’ range of transcripts for each gene in a group of clinically healthy captive and free-ranging sea otters. The 10 genes of interest represent multiple physiological systems that play a role in immuno-modulation, …

Do Bioclimate Variables Improve Performance Of Climate Envelope Models?, James I. Watling, Stephanie S. Romanach, David N. Bucklin, Carolina Speroterra, Laura A. Brandt, Leonard G. Pearlstine, Frank J. Mazzotti

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Climate envelope models are widely used to forecast potential effects of climate change on species distributions. A key issue in climate envelope modeling is the selection of predictor variables that most directly influence species. To determine whether model performance and spatial predictions were related to the selection of predictor variables, we compared models using bioclimate variables with models constructed from monthly climate data for twelve terrestrial vertebrate species in the southeastern USA using two different algorithms (random forests or generalized linear models), and two model selection techniques (using uncorrelated predictors or a subset of user-defined biologically relevant predictor variables). There …

Global Air Temperature Variability Independent Of Sea-Surface Temperature Influences, Andrew C. Comrie, Gregory J. Mccabe

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Mean global surface air temperature (SAT) and sea surface temperature (SST) display substantial variability on timescales ranging from annual to multi-decadal. We review the key recent literature on connections between global SAT and SST variability. Although individual ocean influences on SAT have been recognized, the combined contributions of worldwide SST variability on the global SAT signal have not been clearly identified in observed data.Weanalyze these relations using principal components of detrended SST, and find that removing the underlying combined annual, decadal, and multi-decadal SST variability from the SAT time series reveals a nearly monotonic global warming trend in SAT since …