Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

Nightside Electron Precipitation Patterns As Observed By Elfin And Cirbe Cubesats, Kun Zhang, Anton V. Artemyev, Xinlin Li, Xiao-Jia Zhang, Vassilis Angelopoulos, Yang Mei, Zheng Xiang, Niklas Grimmich

Publications

The rapidly expanding fleet of low-altitude CubeSats equipped with energetic particle detectors brings new opportunities for monitoring the dynamics of the radiation belt and near-Earth plasma sheet. Despite their small sizes, CubeSats can carry state-of-the-art instruments that provide electron flux measurements with finer energy resolution and broader energy coverage, compared to conventional missions such as POES satellites. The recently launched CIRBE CubeSat measures 250–6,000 keV electrons with extremely high energy resolution, however, CIRBE typically only measures locally-trapped electrons and cannot directly measure the precipitating electrons. This work aims to develop a technique for identifying indications of nightside precipitation using the …

2026 September 3 - Tennessee Weekly Drought Summary, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Weekly Drought Summaries

No abstract provided.

Evolution Of Global Sea‐Level Rise Projections And Their Uncertainty, Andra J. Garner, Amy Appollina, Jessica Slotter, Gregory G. Garner, Aimée B. A. Slangen, Robert E. Kopp, Benjamin P. Horton

School of Earth, Environment, and Society Faculty Publications and Presentations

For more than 40 years, scientists have projected future sea‐level change. Documenting how sea‐level projections have evolved is vital for tracking progress, uncertainties, and future research needs. Here, we update and analyze a database of global‐mean sea level (GMSL) projections dating from 1982 to 2025, identifying five key findings. First, GMSL projection generation has been concentrated in a small number of developed countries, with 95% of projections produced in the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, or Australia. Second, while GMSL projections for 2050 and 2100 have been published regularly since the early 1980s, only 30 of 103 studies have …

2026 August 27 - Tennessee Weekly Drought Summary, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Weekly Drought Summaries

No abstract provided.

Deep Learning-Based Burned Area Mapping Of California Wildfires Using Sentinel-2 And Landsat-8 Imagery Enhanced With Super-Resolution Techniques, Youngmin Seo, Seung Hee Kim, Menas Kafatos, Jinsoo Kim, Yangwon Lee

Institute for ECHO Articles and Research

The increasing frequency of wildfires under a changing climate has led to extensive ecosystem destruction, highlighting the need for reliable burned area assessment using satellite imagery. Single-satellite data are constrained by observation gaps and interference from smoke and clouds, whereas multi-satellite data fusion can mitigate these limitations. Nonetheless, the fusion techniques still encounter challenges such as spatial information loss from resolution differences and cross-satellite domain mismatch. This study presents a burned area mapping framework that integrates super-resolution (SR) with transfer learning to address spatial and domain gaps in multi-satellite data. Specifically, Landsat-8 imagery is super-resolved to 7.5 m resolution, and …

2026 August 20 - Tennessee Weekly Drought Summary, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Weekly Drought Summaries

No abstract provided.

2026 August 13 - Tennessee Weekly Drought Summary, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Weekly Drought Summaries

No abstract provided.

An Atmospheric Optical Turbulence Structure Parameter Measurements System Based On Direct Ri Sensing Using High-Resolution Fiber-Optic Sensors, Matej Njegovec, Simon Pevec, Vedran Budinski, Boris Macuh, Melissa K. Beason, Denis Onlagic

Faculty Publications

The paper presents a method to characterize the refractive index structure parameter (C_n²) associated with optical turbulence directly. The characterization system is based on miniature, high‑resolution, all‑fiber refractive index (RI) sensors. The refractive index sensors employ open‑path, low‑finesse Fabry–Perot interferometers that are approximately 8 mm long and 200 μm in diameter. The active part of the interferometers is made of ultra‑low‑expansion glass, which eliminates the influence of thermal expansion on the refractive index measurements. The proposed refractive index sensor, operating in a differential configuration, achieved a resolution of 2×10^-9 RIU using a custom‑designed spectral interrogation system …

Effective Visibility In The Infrared Bands, Peter L. Dean-Erlander, Steven T. Fiorino, Ronald G. Driggers

Faculty Publications

Visibility is an atmospheric metric for the comparison of terrestrial imaging conditions and locations. A limitation of visibility is that it is defined for the visible spectrum only, and there is no simple infrared equivalent. This study compares three reflective infrared wavebands: near-IR (NIR), shortwave IR (SWIR), and extended shortwave IR (eSWIR), to the visible band across a global set of cities to develop three rule-of-thumb functions for IR effective visibility. To accomplish this, a radiometric sensor model is combined with the Laser Environmental Effects Definition and Reference (LEEDR) software package to calculate the visibility of a black-and-white contrast target …

2026 August 6 - Tennessee Weekly Drought Summary, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Weekly Drought Summaries

No abstract provided.

Modeling Formation Of Turbulent Sporadic-E Clouds Using Realistic Wind Data, Aaron M. Schinder, Kenneth S. Obenberger, Jorge L. Chau, Juan M. Urco, Matthias Clahsen, Benjamin F. Akers, Daniel J. Emmons

Faculty Publications

A high resolution two-dimensional multi-fluid model of sporadic-E layers was developed and driven with physically realistic mesosphere, lower thermosphere (MLT) winds measured over Albuquerque, New Mexico. The realistic E-region winds are produced by the HYdrodynamic Point-wise Environment Reconstructor (HYPER) model that ingests meteor derived wind observations from a Spread-spectrum Interferometric Multistatic meteor radar Observing Network (SIMONe) system combined with the Navier-Stokes equations to provide high resolution three-dimensional wind fields over time. Sporadic-E dynamics are simulated using both realistic winds from HYPER as well as idealized hyperbolic tangent windshears to compare and contrast. Overall, the model shows greater inhomogeneity and irregularity …

Ground To Roof Snow Load Ratio (Gr) Data Release, Brennan Bean, Cooper Nelson, Jesse Wheeler, Scout Jarman, Salam Adil Al-Rubaye, Marc Maguire

Browse all Datasets

This data release provides historical ground-to-roof snow load ratio (GR) datasets used for snow load research and model development. The release includes original referenced datasets, cleaned country specific datasets, and a master dataset that combines Canadian and United States datasets into a standardized format for research and engineering applications.

Summary Report: Second Conference On Attribution Science And Climate Law, Jessica A. Wentz

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

The Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and the Columbia Climate School hosted the Second Conference on Attribution Science and Climate Law at Columbia University on June 10–11, 2026. This event brought together an interdisciplinary group of researchers and practitioners to discuss recent developments in attribution science and the field’s relevance to climate law and policy. Participants included physical scientists, public health researchers, economists, social scientists, legal scholars, advocates, and policy experts. This report provides a written summary of the conference proceedings.

2026 July 30 - Tennessee Weekly Drought Summary, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Weekly Drought Summaries

No abstract provided.

2026 July 23 - Tennessee Weekly Drought Summary, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Weekly Drought Summaries

No abstract provided.

Global Performance Of Remote Sensing-Based And Reanalysis-Driven Models To Estimate Open Water Evaporation, Júlia Brusso Rossi, Ayan Santos Fleischmann, Leonardo Laipelt, Bruno Comini De Andrade, Joshua B. Fisher, Justin L. Huntington, Christopher Pearson, R. Iestyn Woolway, Roseilson Vale, Júlio Tota, Gabriel B. Senay, Huilin Gao, Anderson Ruhoff

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Evaporation plays an essential role in the water cycle, influencing local and regional climates while directly impacting water availability in lakes. However, directly measuring evaporation over water bodies remains challenging due to the high costs of installing and maintaining the required in situ instrumentation. Although several remote sensing algorithms have been providing evaporation estimates, the lack of a global validation hinders our understanding of their relative uncertainties and performances across different regions. Here, we analyze the performance of a suite of models that leverage satellite data and meteorological reanalysis to estimate evaporation over lakes worldwide. We compare 3 remote sensing‐based …

Career: New Insights Into The Ancient Carbon Cycle From Siliceous Deep-Sea Sediments, Donald Penman

Funded Research Records

No abstract provided.

2026 July 16 - Tennessee Weekly Drought Summary, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Weekly Drought Summaries

No abstract provided.

Ecological Footprint Assessment, Santina Benincasa

Open Educational Resources

This handout guides students through a structured ecological footprint assessment using the online Footprint Calculator. By following a series of steps—selecting their location, entering detailed lifestyle information, and reviewing personalized results—students evaluate how many planets would be required if everyone lived with their same resource consumption patterns. The activity prompts learners to identify the largest contributors to their footprint, quantify their impact in global hectares, and explore scenario-based changes that could reduce their environmental demand. Through reflection, students consider how everyday human behaviors influence Earth’s productive capacity and resource availability. Overall, the exercise encourages critical thinking about sustainability and personal …

2026 July 9 - Tennessee Weekly Drought Summary, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Weekly Drought Summaries

No abstract provided.

2026 July 2 - Tennessee Weekly Drought Summary, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Weekly Drought Summaries

No abstract provided.

Synoptic Conditions Favoring Tropical Cyclone-Enhanced Southwest Monsoon High Precipitation Events In The Philippines, Alwin Andriel L. Bathan, Lyndon Mark P. Olaguera, Faye Abigail T. Cruz, Jose Ramon T. Villarin, John A. Manalo, Jun Matsumoto

SOSE Affiliate: Manila Observatory

The interaction of tropical cyclones (TCs) with the southwest monsoon frequently causes heavy precipitation events (HPEs) and widespread flooding across the Philippines. Despite their substantial socio-economic impacts, the synoptic conditions that favor these events remain insufficiently understood, underscoring the need for systematic investigation to help improve forecasting and risk assessment. Lag composite analysis of daily rainfall records and reanalysis data from July to September for the period 1981–2023 shows that HPEs are more likely to occur when: (1) enhanced monsoon westerlies are present over the tropical Indian Ocean for at least nine days before the HPE, (2) a TC passes …

Crustal Structure Of The Vøring Plateau And Vøring Spur From Joint Refraction And Reflection Travel-Time Tomography, Anika Nawar Mayeesha

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Crustal architecture of the Vøring Plateau and Vøring Spur in the mid-Norwegian continental margin remains debated because the geophysical data in the area do not uniquely constrain whether the crust is continental, oceanic, or transitional. This study reanalyzes wide-angle ocean-bottom seismometer data from Profile 11-03 across the Vøring passive continental margin using joint travel-time tomography of crustal refractions and Moho reflections. A total of 6,760 first-arrival picks and 542 PmP picks from sixteen instruments were inverted for P-wave velocity and reflector depth. Three starting models were inverted independently to test sensitivity to the initial crustal configuration. The first two used …

Observing System Simulation Experiments To Investigate Impacts Of Deep-Tropospheric Uas Flights On Forecasts, Kenneth Alexander Swan

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Uncrewed aircraft systems have emerged as a promising option to address meteorological gaps in observations in the lower troposphere. With recent advancements, UAS may be able to address gaps aloft in areas that lack coverage from radiosondes and commercial aircraft. UAS have shown the potential to significantly benefit NWP forecasts from profiles in the lowest 2 km AGL, but the impact of UAS profiles to the tropopause has yet to be quantified. Additionally, the impacts of hazardous flying conditions that UAS would encounter need to be addressed to guide future UAS capabilities. To address these questions, we designed an observing …

2026 July - Tennessee Monthly Climate Report, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Monthly Reports

Hi All,

Heavy rains, flooding, and a few heat waves defined the month of July across Tennessee. The rainfall continued to improve drought conditions across the state but flooding impacted many areas, including parts of East Tennessee on July 12th with Cocke County reporting six landslides and infrastructure damage in many locations. A strong heatwave impacted the state during the first week of July and another heatwave impacted western TN in late July.

Mean temperatures for July 2026 were above the NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals for the month across Tennessee, with most areas of West and Middle Tennessee averaging 1-2°F …

2026 July - Tennessee Climate Snapshot, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Monthly Reports

No abstract provided.

Hydroclimatic Whiplash Across The Contiguous United States: Characterizing Wet–Dry Transitions In Pdsi And Phdi, James Lam, Thomas Christopher Piechota

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Hydroclimatic whiplash, characterized by rapid transitions between wet and dry conditions, poses a growing challenge for water resource management and ecosystem stability. However, the spatial and statistical characteristics of wet–dry transitions across the contiguous United States are not fully understood. This study analyzed Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) and Palmer Hydrological Drought Index (PHDI) records from 344 NOAA climate divisions spanning 1895–2024. Whiplash was defined as a transition between severe drought and severe wetness within 12-month rolling windows. Statistical descriptors including lag-1 autocorrelation, variance, and skewness were evaluated for whiplash and non-whiplash windows to assess differences between them. Whiplash hotspots …

Examining Nitrate Concentrations In Rainwater In The Marine Boundary Layer In St. Petersburg, Sam Irvine, Anson Kirsch, Ben Lloyd '25, Yasin Elshorbany, James Ivey

Student Research

Harmful algae blooms (HABs) are a common, natural phenomenon that occur in bodies of water. Karenia brevis is an algae species where, in excess, it can result in red tide events which deplete nutrients in the area, impacting aquatic life and releasing toxic gasses. Past research shows that K. brevis can grow through nutrient absorption in response to excess nitrate in water. This project sought to examine whether nitrates from rainfall are responsible for creating an increase in nitrogen concentrations in the water surrounding St. Petersburg which can lead to algae bloom growth. Results showed that rainwater has higher concentrations …

2026 June 25 - Tennessee Weekly Drought Summary, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Weekly Drought Summaries

No abstract provided.

2026 June 18 - Tennessee Weekly Drought Summary, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Weekly Drought Summaries

No abstract provided.