Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

Studying The Effect Of Sea-Level Rise On Infrastructure And Construction, Michelle Flanagan

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

Climate Central, a nonprofit research organization that aims to provide the public with relevant and reliable information on climate change, developed an interactive application called the Risk Finder tool that launched in October of 2013. This tool collects data from several federal agencies, including NOAA, FEMA, and the EPA, and allows users to research sea-level rise and climate change in their specific state. In an effort to provide a user-friendly platform, Dan Rizza at Climate Central tasked an introductory Technical and Scientific writing course at Old Dominion University with conducting usability testing on the Risk Finder tool. Usability testing is …

The Extraordinary Voyage Of Kamome; A Tsunami Boat Comes Home, Lori Dengler, Amya Miller, Amy Uyeki

Trade & Scholarly Monographs

This sweet story, intended for lower elementary grades, is intended to provide a window for discussing earthquakes, tsunamis, marine debris, preparedness and cultural awareness in the classroom and within families.

On April 7, 2013, a little over two years after the magnitude 9 Tohoku-oki Japan earthquake triggered a massive tsunami off the coast of northeastern Japan, a lone boat washed up on the shores of Crescent City, California. The confirmation of the boat as belonging to a high school in Rikuzentakata was first step in an amazing story that has linked two tsunami-vulnerable communities on opposite sides of the Pacific …

Growth, Injury, And Population Dynamics In The Extant Cyrtocrinid Holopus Mikihe (Crinoidea, Echinodermata) Near Roatan, Honduras, V. J. Syverson, Charles G. Messing, Karl Stanley, Tomasz K. Baumiller

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The crinoid order Cyrtocrinida is known mainly from Mesozoic fossils; its few surviving members, all from bathyal environments, are among the most peculiar living crinoids. Cyrtocrinids attributed to Holopus mikihe Donovan and Pawson, 2008, have been observed in large numbers via submersible off the western coast of Roatán, Honduras, on vertical and overhanging walls at depths between 430 and 640 m. Observations in 2012, 2013, and 2014 have permitted the first estimates of population structure, growth, and regeneration. Two size modes were observed; the flat barnacle-like “juvenile” stage resembles confamilial and co-occurring Cyathidium pourtalesiAméziane, 1999, whereas the larger “adults” …

Overview Of Student Projects And Articles, Padideh Ghadiri, Madeline Brenner

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

All over the globe, the negative impacts of climate change and sea level rise have garnered the attention of prominent researchers and the press alike. Previous research on sea level rise and climate change in Hampton Roads has concluded that this region is one of the most vulnerable areas of land in the United States ("Initiative for Coastal Climate Change Research"). The geographical proximity of the numerous bodies of water found in and around Hampton Roads and the low elevation leads scientists to believe that this area will experience the repercussions of climate change and sea level rise first ("Initiative …

A Fast Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite Simulator For Cloudy Atmospheres, Chao Liu, Ping Yang, Steven Platnick, Kerry G. Meyer, Chenxi Wang, Shouguo Ding

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

A fast instrument simulator is developed to simulate the observations made in cloudy atmospheres by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS). The correlated k distribution technique is used to compute the transmissivities associated with absorbing atmospheric gases. The bulk scattering properties of ice clouds are based on the ice model used for the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Collection 6 ice cloud products, and those ofwater clouds are computedwith the Lorenz-Mie theory. Two fast radiative transfer models based on precomputed ice cloud look-up tables are used for the VIIRS solar and infrared channels. The accuracy and efficiency of the fast …

Anthropogenic Footprint Of Climate Change In The June 2013 Northern India Flood, C. Cho, R. Li, Shih-Yu (Simon) Wang, J. -H. Yoon, R. R. Gillies

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

During 13-17 June 2013, heavy rainfall occurred in the northern Indian state of 15 Uttarakhand and led to one of the worst floods in history and massive landslides, 16 resulting in more than 5,000 casualties and a huge loss of property. In this study, 17 meteorological and climatic conditions leading up to this rainfall event in 2013 and 18 similar cases were analyzed for the period of 1979-2012. Attribution analysis was 19 performed to identify the natural and anthropogenic influences on the climate anomalies 20 using the historical single-forcing experiments in the Coupled Model Intercomparison 21 Project Phase 5 (CMIP5). …

Translocation Of Acropora Cervicornis Across Geographic Regions: Investigating Species Recovery And Restoration, Bradley Cody Bliss

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is the first known study to relocate Acropora cervicornis across multiple regions of the Florida Reef Tract. Since 2006, A. cervicornis has been listed as a threatened coral species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. In response, restoration efforts utilizing coral nursery methods have been implemented throughout the Caribbean. The primary objective of this research was to determine the response of A. cervicornis colonies to being relocated between two coral nurseries separated by approximately 150km along the Florida Reef Tract. To accomplish this, a reciprocal transport was conducted between coral fragments with known genotypes from Broward County and …

Feeding Ecology And Habitat Utilization Of The Great Barracuda Sphyraena Barracuda (Edwards 1771) In Southeast Florida, Noah R. Hansen

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Great barracuda Sphyraena barracuda is a large predatory teleost found circumglobally, other than the Eastern Pacific Ocean. The species is commonly caught by both recreational and commercial fishermen as bycatch while targeting other, more economically or recreationally valuable fishes. This species also exhibits an ontogenetic shift in habitat, with juveniles inhabiting mangrove and seagrass habitats, while adults live near offshore reefs and associated structure.

This thesis consists of two separate studies of S. barracuda: 1) feeding ecology along an ontogenetic gradient and 2) habitat utilization of as derived through electronic tagging. The first chapter of this thesis describes the …

A Study Of The Effects Of Usability On Risk Perception And User Affinity Of Risk Finder, Erin Jacobson

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

In October 2013, Climate Central, a non-profit research organization, released Risk Finder, an online, interactive mapping tool that allows users to explore the effects of rising sea level in a specific geographic region. A research study for client Dan Rizza of Climate Central was conducted on the usability of the Risk Finder tool in an effort to identify potential system errors, improve user experience, and assess the future use of this tool based on user perception. Primary investigators Dr. Daniel Richards and Mrs. Megan McKittrick utilized an approach known as “productive usability,” which allows researchers to openly observe participants …

Student Contributors -- Global Perspectives/Regional Solutions: A Public Journalism Project Curated, Peter Adams

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

[Editor note: This project is in the form of a Wordpress site containing interviews, articles and other materials by students in a public journalism course. The primary pages were saved as a pdf document for download. For the full text of student works, please see the full Wordpress site at: https://snaax123.wordpress.com/

from "About":
Welcome to a project of Public Journalism CRN 10745
Climate Change: Global Perspectives. Regional Solutions
Students have learned the fundamentals of journalism research and reporting. Students also examined issues surrounding climate change and sea-level rise globally and regionally in Hampton Roads.]

Dimethylsulfide Gas Transfer Coefficients From Algal Blooms In The Southern Ocean, T. G. Bell, Warren J. De Bruyn, Christa A. Marandino, S. D. Miller, C. S. Law, Eric S. Saltzman

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Air-sea dimethylsulfide (DMS) fluxes and bulk air-sea gradients were measured over the Southern Ocean in February-March 2012 during the Surface Ocean Aerosol Production (SOAP) study. The cruise encountered three distinct phytoplankton bloom regions, consisting of two blooms with moderate DMS levels, and a high biomass, dinoflagellate-dominated bloom with high seawater DMS levels (> 15 nM). Gas transfer coefficients were considerably scattered at wind speeds above 5 m s(-1). Bin averaging the data resulted in a linear relationship between wind speed and mean gas transfer velocity consistent with that previously observed. However, the wind-speed-binned gas transfer data distribution at all wind …

Proof-Of-Concept Of Environmental Dna Tools For Atlantic Sturgeon Management, Jameson Hinkle

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

The Atlantic Sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus, Mitchell) is an anadromous species that spawns in tidal freshwater rivers from Canada to Florida. Overfishing, river sedimentation and alteration of the river bottom have decreased Atlantic Sturgeon populations, and NOAA lists the species as endangered. Ecologists sometimes find it difficult to locate individuals of a species that is rare, endangered or invasive. The need for methods less invasive that can create more resolution of cryptic species presence is necessary. Environmental DNA (eDNA) is a non-invasive means of detecting rare, endangered, or invasive species by isolating nuclear or mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from the …

Studying Air Pollutants Origin And Associated Meteorological Parameters Over Seoul From 2000 To 2009, Sunmin Park, Hesham El-Askary, Ismail Sabbah, Hanbin Kwak, Anup K. Prasad, Woo-Kyun Lee, Menas Kafatos

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

We investigate the temporal characteristics of major air pollutants collected from 44 air quality stations over the city of Seoul, Korea, namely, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, particular matter at 10 microns, and sulfur dioxide (SO2) between 2000 and 2009. The corresponding satellite datasets, namely, aerosol optical depth (AOD_sat), Ångström exponent, and fine mode fraction, collected from moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) as well as the Aeronet ground aerosol optical depth (AOD_aeronet), have been analyzed. Pollutants’ seasonal effect has been inferred from the precipitation and temperature. The four pollutants under study show varying temporal characteristics with different …

Wtic Research At Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Jessica Cruit, Beth Blickensderfer, John Lanicci, Bob Thomas, Thomas A. Guinn

Aviation Weather Training Research

No abstract provided.

Ecology, Population Dynamics, And Sexual Characteristics Of Commensal Leucothoid Amphipods With The Sponge Cliona Varians In The Florida Keys (Crustacea: Amphipoda), Stephanie Lynn Andringa

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Recent observations have identified a new species of leucothoid amphipod, Leucothoe “sp. F,” associated with the sponge Cliona varians. This project examined the relationship between this amphipod and its sponge host at three sites in the Florida Keys with differing hydrodynamic regimes. Ninety-eight sponge samples with a total of 2,030 amphipods were collected between December 2011 and September 2012. Leucothoe “sp. F” is currently a common species in the Florida Keys strongly associated with C. varians; its distribution strongly coincides with open tidal currents from the Gulf of Mexico. Seasonality, depth, and tidal regimes not only influence population …

Caffeine Elicits Time Dependent Biphasic Response Of Functional Recovery In Carassius Auratus Hemilabyrinthectomy Lesion Model, Bethany Brockhoff

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Caffeine is one of the most popular psychostimulant drugs worldwide. Its effects are exerted through a variety of complex mechanisms, apparently primarily via interactions with adenosine A1 and A2A receptors. This drug has also been proven to elicit neuroprotective responses in a number of different brain disorders of the Central Nervous System (CNS), as well as provide enhancement of cognitive abilities. Moreover, a biphasic set of functional and structural neurological changes are often found in these receptors among diverse vertebrates. I investigated the effects of chronic caffeine exposure on functional recovery of the dorsal light reflex (DLR) in hemilabyrinthectomized common …

The Prairie Post Quarterly Newsletter Of The High Plains Regional Climate Center- January 2015, Martha Shulski, Natalie Umphlett, Bill Sorensen, Crystal J. Stiles

Prairie Post: Quarterly Newsletter of the High Plains Regional Climate Center

Inside this issue:

Message from the director........................................1

Stakeholder engagement activities......................................2

AWDN news...............................3

Marketing efforts.....................3

Climate services and information................................4

Product highlight....................5

Outreach events and research highlights.................5

Recent and upcoming travel and activities.............................6

The Gravity Environment Of Zhouqu Debris Flow Of August 2010 And Its Implication For Future Recurrence, Diandong Ren, Lance M. Leslie, Xinyi Shen, Yang Hong, Qingyun Duan, Rezaul Mahmood, Yun Li, Gang Huang, Weidong Guo, Mervyn J. Lynch

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

This study investigates the geological background of the August 7-8, 2010 Zhouqu debris flows in the northwestern Chinese province of Gansu, and possible future occurrence of such hazards in the peri-Tibetan Plateau (TP) regions. Debris flows are a more predictable type of landslide because of its strong correlation with extreme precipitation. However, two factors affecting the frequency and magnitude of debris flows: very fine scale precipitation and degree of fracture of bedrock, both defy direct observations. Annual mean Net Primary production (NPP) is used as a surrogate for regional precipitation with patchiness filtered out, and gravity satellite measured regional mass …

Development Of A Long-Term (1884-2006) Serially Complete Dataset Of U.S. Temperatures And Precipitation For Climate Services, Jinshing You, Kenneth G. Hubbard, Martha Shulski, Mark D. Svoboda, Michael J. Hayes

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

Serially complete climate datasets with no missing data are necessary for a diverse group of users working in many economic sectors. In this article we describe the procedures used to create a Serially Complete Data set (SCD) for the U.S. We include the selection criterion applied to potential SCD stations, the various procedural steps and the details applied to each step. A few observations that were not previously digitized were obtained from observers official paper reports. The methods used to estimate missing data are the Spatial Regression Test and the Inverse Distance Weighting technique. Using the criterion for selecting stations …

A Historical Perspective On Nebraska’S Variable And Changing Climate, Martha Shulski, William Baule, Crystal J. Stiles, Natalie A. Umphlett

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

Nebraska is situated at the intersection of the northern and southern Great Plains, exhibiting a dramatic longitudinal gradient for precipitation and humidity, and benefiting from groundwater resources. The continental climate is highly variable temporally both for temperature and precipitation. Our assessment of long-term meteorological observations shows that over the last century the annual average temperature in Nebraska has warmed approximately 0.6°C, which is similar to the increase in the global average temperature over the same time period. Furthermore, we found minimum temperatures have warmed more than maximum temperatures, and winter and spring show the strongest warming. We found no significant …

Wind, Waves And Surge: An Analysis Of The Movement And Post-Storm Recovery Of Bushy Point Beach In Groton, Ct, Grace Medley

Physics, Astronomy and Geophysics Honors Papers

Barrier beaches are highly dynamic systems that respond to variations in wave energy, increases in storm surge heights and changes in relative sea level. Bushy Point barrier beach is a barrier spit located in Groton, Connecticut, and is one of the last unconstrained barrier systems in the State of Connecticut. Since 1934, the morphology of the beach has been changing in response to storm events as well as the local rise in sea level. On September 21, 1938, a category three hurricane made landfall in southern New England and devastated many coastal communities, including a summer community on Bushy Point …

How Do Personal Connections Play A Role In Risk Perception Of Climate Change And Sea Level Rise?, Katelyn Sheeley

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

The threat of sea level rise is unknown to many coastal residents living in the United States, including Virginians. Climate Central, a nonprofit research-based organization, has created the Risk Finder tool to help inform the public about the potential dangers posed by sea level rise. Risk Finder is an interactive, online mapping tool intended to inform residents of useful data concerning sea level rise. Dr. Daniel Richards and Mrs. Megan Mckittrick from Old Dominion University acted as primary investigators for a study of the Risk Finder tool, serving client Dan Rizza of Climate Central. Students of ENGL 231C served as …

Changes To Climate Central’S Risk Finder Tool: A Usability Report, Justin Sikes

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

Students in the Fall English 231C Honors Climate Change and Crisis Communication course worked with instructor Megan McKittrick and Dr. Richards to conduct a usability test of Climate Central’s Risk Finder tool. Using the qualitative data, general trends that indicate potential areas of improvement for the website were identified. Students’ tasks were to find volunteers for the usability test through systematic sampling, conduct the test and analyze the audio recordings, and finally to code the data for themes to see if any trends became apparent. Several things became noticeable after looking at the responses of the four research participants, particularly …

Climate Change And Infrastructural Damage, Macey Vansavage

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

With the assistance of ENGL 231C students at Old Dominion University, Dr. Daniel Richards and Mrs. Megan McKittrick led this study testing the usability of Climate Central’s Risk Finder tool. The study was conducted as a client-based, service learning project for a Technical and Scientific writing course, serving client Dan Rizza at Climate Central, a nonprofit research organization. The study serves as a way for local collegiate students to be able to gain knowledge about the execution of faculty-level research. The Risk Finder tool allows users to view the potential effects of sea level rise on their area. The tool …

Sea Level And Turbidity Controls On Mangrove Soil Surface Elevation Change, Catherine E. Lovelock, Maria Fernanda Adame, Vicki Bennion, Matthew Hayes, Ruth Reef, Nadia Santini, Donald R. Cahoon

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Increases in sea level are a threat to seaward fringing mangrove forests if levels of inundation exceed the physiological tolerance of the trees; however, tidal wetlands can keep pace with sea level rise if soil surface elevations can increase at the same pace as sea level rise. Sediment accretion on the soil surface and belowground production of roots are proposed to increase with increasing sea level, enabling intertidal habitats to maintain their position relative to mean sea level, but there are few tests of these predictions in mangrove forests. Here we used variation in sea level and the availability of …

Training Conservation Practitioners To Be Better Decision Makers, Fred Johnson, Mitchell J. Eaton, James H. Williams, Gitte H. Jensen, Jesper Madsen

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Traditional conservation curricula and training typically emphasizes only one part of systematic decision making (i.e., the science), at the expense of preparing conservation practitioners with critical skills in values-setting, working with decision makers and stakeholders, and effective problem framing. In this article we describe how the application of decision science is relevant to conservation problems and suggest how current and future conservation practitioners can be trained to be better decision makers. Though decision-analytic approaches vary considerably, they all involve: (1) properly formulating the decision problem; (2) specifying feasible alternative actions; and (3) selecting criteria for evaluating potential outcomes. Two approaches …

Modeling The Impact Of Future Climate On Drainage Infrastructures, Tyler J. Baumbach

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research has shown a potential 20% increase in future heavy and extreme precipitation events over the Midwestern States. Drainage infrastructures designed using current design conditions may not be able to convey projected runoffs resulting in flooding and damage to infrastructure. The objective of this paper is to determine the effects of future climate variability on culvert selections in a southwest South Dakota watershed. The scope of the study was defined through a comprehensive literature review. Future climate events were based on a 20% increase in current annual precipitation over the Upper White River Subbasin Watershed. A portion of the White …

Caribbean Heat Threatens Health, Well-Being, And The Future Of Humanity, Cheryl C. Macpherson, Muge Akpinar-Elci

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Climate change has substantial impacts on public health and safety, disease risks and the provision of health care, with the poor being particularly disadvantaged. Management of the associated health risks and changing health service requirements requires adequate responses at local levels. Health-care providers are central to these responses. While climate change raises ethical questions about its causes, impacts and social justice, medicine and bioethics typically focus on individual patients and research participants rather than these broader issues. We broaden this focus by examining awareness among health-care providers in the Caribbean region, where geographic and socioeconomic features pose particular vulnerabilities to …

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Dynamics In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Puspa Lal Adhikari

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are introduced into the marine environment via oil seeps/spills, riverine discharges, continental runoff, coastal erosion, and atmospheric deposition. An estimated 2.1 x 1010g of PAHs entered into the northern Gulf of Mexico (GOM) during the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill in 2010. It became evident following the oil spill that accurate quantification of ultimate fate of these potentially carcinogenic and/or mutagenic organic pollutants is extremely challenging. In general, very little is known about PAHs fate, distribution and accumulation in the open ocean ecosystems. This study determines the upper ocean vertical fluxes and sedimentary PAHs accumulation rates …

Testing The Waters: Local Users, Sea Level Rise, And The Productive Usability Of Interactive Geovisualizations, Daniel Richards

English Faculty Publications

This paper explores the potential for technical communicators to employ usability research with risk-based interactive geovisualization technologies as a method of cultivating "critical rhetorics of risk communication" for local communities. Through integrating theories from usability studies and risk communication, I offer some new directions for thinking about the productive usability of online, participatory technologies that promote citizen engagement in science. I argue that the key tenets of productive usability afford technical communicators the opportunity to build localized knowledge of risk in real, local users, which in turn improves the capacity for a community and its stakeholders to more effectively communicate …