Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

Construction Of A High Temperature (~ 200 °C) Oil Pump For Solar Thermal Energy Storage System For Cooking Applications, Jimmy Chaciga, Nyeinga Karidewa, Denis Okello, Benard Tabu

Tanzania Journal of Science

In this study, a positive displacement (PD) oil pump capable of operating at temperatures about 200 °C was constructed using locally available materials. The oil pump was tested to circulate pre-heated refined sunflower oil in Thermal Energy Storage (TES) tank comprising of an oil only and rock pebble-oil system and cooking application. The oil pump was constructed of harden steel and mild steel materials driven by AC/DC electric motor rated 8000 rpm. Standard gear teeth cutting tool was employed to produce the spurs and the pumps’ speed was varied using variable AC transformer connected to 220V AC main source. The …

Climate Evolution Across The Mid-Brunhes Transition, Aaron M. Barth, Peter U. Clark, Nicholas S. Bill, Feng He, Nicklas G. Pisias

School of Earth & Environment Departmental Research

The Mid-Brunhes Transition (MBT) began ∼ 430 ka with an increase in the amplitude of the 100 kyr climate cycles of the past 800 000 years. The MBT has been identified in ice-core records, which indicate interglaciations became warmer with higher atmospheric CO2 levels after the MBT, and benthic oxygen isotope (δ18O) records, which suggest that post-MBT interglaciations had higher sea levels and warmer temperatures than pre-MBT interglaciations. It remains unclear, however, whether the MBT was a globally synchronous phenomenon that included other components of the climate system. Here, we further characterize changes in the climate system across the MBT …

Leveraging Student Experience With Water For Active Learning In A Large Introductory Oceanography Classroom, Rebecca Freeman

Earth and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Species Richness, Diversity, And Abundance Of Sponge Communities In Broward County, Florida, 2000-2015, Jessica Price

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Sponges (Porifera) are a major component of coral reef ecosystems. They outnumber coral species on the Florida Reef Tract, and in places, account for more living cover. Because coral reefs are a vital part of Florida’s economy, it is important to understand how local sponge assemblages vary spatially and temporally, especially as corals continue to decline. However, long-term observations of sponge assemblages (species richness, diversity and abundance) are lacking. To address this, annual photoquadrats were analyzed from a series of 25 sites off Broward County between 2000 and 2015. Variations in sponge assemblages were then compared to several natural and …

Peruvian Pinnipeds As Archivists Of Enso Effects, Mickie Rae Edwards

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Environmental fluctuations in the eastern Pacific Ocean are reflected in the tissues of some of its most vulnerable apex predators, the Peruvian fur seal (PFS) Arctocephalus australis ssp.and the South American sea lion (SASL) Otaria byronia.These large pinnipeds live in sympatry along the Pacific coastline of South America and forage within the neritic waters over the continental shelf. The coastal waters off Peru are a region of great environmental fluctuations due to periodic, oscillating El Niño- La Niña- Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events, which result in ecosystem-wide food web changes. Pinniped vibrissae (whiskers) are continuously growing keratinous tissues and …

The Circulation Of Climate Change Denial Online: Rhetorical And Networking Strategies On Facebook, Emma Frances Bloomfield, Denise Tillery

Communication Studies Faculty Research

This study uses a topical, rhetorical approach to analyze how climate change denial circulates online through the 25 most popular posts on the Watts Up With That and the Global Warming Policy Forum Facebook pages. These groups adopt the appearance of credibility through reposting and hyperlinking, thus establishing a supportive, networked space among other skeptical sites, while distancing readers from original sources of scientific information. Visitors use a variety of rhetorical strategies to echo posts’ main themes and to discredit alternative viewpoints. Differences between the topoi and rhetorical strategies of WUWT and the GWPF show that the climate change denial …

Ecophysiology Of Lionfish Metabolic And Visual Systems: Are There Physiological Limits To Inshore Invasion?, Aaron Hasenei

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Lionfish (Pterois spp.), an invasive species native to the Indo-Pacific, have permanently established themselves throughout the greater Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and regions of the Western Atlantic ranging from as far north as North Carolina to central Brazil. As their fundamental range expands, lionfish threaten to migrate into estuarine environments as they have been found to tolerate low salinities and an eclectic range of temperatures. The physiological capacity of invasion was assessed by quantifying the visual ecology of lionfish utilizing corneal electroretinography (ERG) as well as their metabolic scope and hypoxia tolerances under various temperature-oxygen-regimes utilizing intermittent-flow respirometry. Seasonal …

Coupling Between Land–Ocean–Atmosphere And Pronounced Changes In Atmospheric/Meteorological Parameters Associated With The Hudhud Cyclone Of October 2014, Akshansa Chauhan, Rajesh Kumar, Ramesh P. Singh

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

India is vulnerable to all kinds of natural hazards associated with land, ocean, biosphere, atmosphere, and snow/glaciers. These natural hazards impact large areas and the population living in the affected regions. India is surrounded by ocean on three sides and is vulnerable to cyclonic activities. Every year cyclones hit the east and west coasts of India, affecting the population living along the coasts and infrastructure and inland areas. The extent of the affected inland areas depends on the intensity of the cyclone. On 12 October 2014, a strong cyclone “Hudhud” hit the east coast of India that caused a high …

Transition Pathways To Sustainable Agricultural Water Management: A Review Of Integrated Modeling Approaches, Erin M.K. Haacker, Vaishali Sharda, Amanda M. Cano, R. Aaron Hrozencik, Agustin Nunez, Zachary Zambreski, Soheil Nozari, Garvey Engulu B, Smith, Lacey Moore, Sumit Sharma, Prasanna Gowda, Chittaranjan Ray, Meagan Schipanski, Reagan Waskom

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Agricultural water management (AWM) is an interdisciplinary concern, cutting across traditional domains such as agronomy, climatology, geology, economics, and sociology. Each of these disciplines has developed numerous process-based and empirical models for AWM. However, models that simulate all major hydrologic, water quality, and crop growth processes in agricultural systems are still lacking. As computers become more powerful, more researchers are choosing to integrate existing models to account for these major processes rather than building new cross-disciplinary models. Model integration carries the hope that, as in a real system, the sum of the model will be greater than the parts. However, …

Turbulent And Electromagnetic Signature Of Small- And Fine-Scale Biological And Oceanographic Processes, Cayla Whitney Dean

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Small- and fine-scale biological and oceanographic processes may have a measurable electromagnetic signature. These types of processes inherently involve turbulence and three-dimensional dynamics. Traditional models of the electromagnetic signature of oceanographic processes are of an analytical nature, do not account for three-dimensional boundary layer dynamics or turbulence, self-inductance, and may not describe the variety of the environmental conditions occurring in the ocean. In order to address this problem, I have implemented magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools, which has allowed for the evaluation of the electromagnetic signature of a number of small- and fine-scale biological and oceanographic processes in …

Indirect Effects Of Ocean Warming And Acidification On The Realized Recruitment Of Agaricia Agaricites, Allan Anderson

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Over the past few decades, coral cover has declined worldwide due to overfishing, disease, and storms, and these effects have been exacerbated by ocean warming and acidification. Corals are extremely susceptible to these changes because they are already living close to their thermal and aragonite saturation thresholds. Ocean warming and acidification (OAW) may also impact coral survival and growth by impacting their settlement cues. Coral larvae use crustose coralline algae (CCA) and their associated biofilms as cues for settlement, i.e., habitat selection. Settlement cues can also be negatively affected by increased water temperature and acidity. It was hypothesized that the …

Simulating The Impacts Of Irrigation Levels On Soybean Production In Texas High Plains To Manage Diminishing Groundwater Levels, Vaishali Sharda, Prasanna H. Gowda, Gary Marek, Isaya Kisekka, Chittaranjan Ray, Pradip Adhikari

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

There is an increasing need to strategize and plan irrigation systems under varied climatic conditions to support efficient irrigation practices while maintaining and improving the sustainability of groundwater systems. This study was undertaken to simulate the growth and production of soybean [Glycine max (L.)] under different irrigation scenarios. The objectives of this study were to calibrate and validate the CROPGRO-Soybean model under Texas High Plains’ (THP) climatic conditions and to apply the calibrated model to simulate the impacts of different irrigation levels and triggers on soybean production. The methodology involved combining short-term experimental data with long-term historical weather data (1951–2012), …

Analysis Of Land Surface Temperature Over Urban Landcover Types Using Satellite Remote Sensing And Ground-Based Applications, Makini Valentine, Justine Ginchereau

Publications and Research

Urban areas have discrete differences in their land surface temperatures (LST) compared to rural areas. These regions are covered with impermeable materials with less vegetation and moisture. Consequently, this phenomenon causes major thermal intensities of different land surfaces, negatively impact people and environment. The objective of this project is to examine and to compare land surface temperature obtained from in-situ data and satellite-based observations in order to understand the diurnal variation and heat transfer at each surface type. The study utilizes series of hand held thermal infrared cameras and one Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) infrared camera to find land surface …

Weather And Climate Summary And Forecast: December 2018 Report, Gregory V. Jones

Linfield University Wine Studies Reports

This report provides a summary of the weather and climate forecast for December 2018. It includes forecast information specific to the Pacific Northwest and the western United States, as well as forecast information for other portions of the United States and abroad.

Optimization Of Light Irradiance During The Early Life Of Sexually-Produced Porites Astreoides And Agaricia Agaricites Recruits, Nicholas J. Mcmahon

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Current solutions of coral restoration rely mainly on fragmentation. Though a reliable technique, this asexual form of reproduction does not benefit the genetic diversity of the coral reef. With many global and local stressors threatening corals’ existence, the resiliency of corals to future ocean conditions depends highly on sexual reproduction to produce new genotypes. New technology allows coral spawning/larval release, larval settlement and rearing to be carried out in an aquarium system. Many of the techniques necessary to maintain coral recruits are well-established, however the effects of light intensity remain to be studied for these early life stages. Newly …

Empirical Validation And Comparison Of The Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (Hycom) Between The Gulf Of Mexico And The Tongue Of The Ocean, Cynthia A. Cleveland

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Ocean models are increasingly able to synthesize a large temporal domain with fine spatial resolution. With this increase in functionality and availability, ocean models are in high demand by researchers, establishing a critical need for validating a model’s ability to represent interior ocean dynamics. Satellite measurements are typically used for validation, however these measurements are limited to the upper layers of the ocean and therefore satellite measurements of sea surface height and sea surface temperature are the most validated output parameters of three-dimensional ocean models. Unfortunately there is a paucity of model validation studies for the interior ocean. This study …

Attributing Accelerated Increases In Salinity In The Mediterranean Coastal Zone To Climate Change And Seawater Desalination Brine And The Resultant Unsustainability Of Modern Desalination Technology, Brandon W. Harper

HCNSO Student Capstones

Anthropogenic climate change influences our oceans on a global scale and has brought about increased salinity levels in large areas of our oceans such as the North Atlantic (Dunbar 2009). Concentrations of large scale desalination plants around small bodies of water add to this pattern and have shown even larger increases in salinity due to desalination brine discharge (Purnama et al., 2005). Salinity profile data over time should show similar increases in salinity in the Mediterranean Sea due to climate change and localized data should show increased salinity due to brine discharge. This study aims to pinpoint the extent of …

Characterizing Temperature Variability States Across Southern South America And Associated Synoptic-Scale Meteorological Patterns, Judah Adam Detzer

Dissertations and Theses

The aim of this thesis is to understand spatiotemporal temperature variability in southern South America by identifying overarching temperature variability states and their associated synoptic-scale meteorological patterns. Further, the temporal frequency of occurrence of those temperature variability states is investigated as is the role of recurrent low-frequency modes of climate variability (El Niño Southern Oscillation and the Southern Annular Mode) on temperature variability. K-means cluster analysis is used to group all months during the period 1980-2015 into four primary categories for summer and winter separately. Monthly maps of temperature anomalies are provided as input to the k-means algorithm and the …

Summertime Connecticut River Water Pathways And Wind Impacts, Yan Jia, Michael M. Whitney

Department of Marine Sciences

Long Island Sound is a large macrotidal estuary. Connecticut River as the primary freshwater source enters near the sound’s mouth. The summertime pathways of river water under low discharge and mild wind conditions are studied through both numerical simulations with a passive dye pulse and field surface drifter observations. Within the 19-day modeling analysis period, a third of the river dye pulse moves up-estuary with the near-bottom dense inflow into central and western sound with a spring-neap tidal modulation; another third leaves the sound with the near-surface outflow towards the continental shelf through Block Island Sound. The latter pathway is …

Uncovering The Role Of Propagule Pressure In Determining Establishment Success Using A Synthetic Biology Approach, Michael D. Dressler

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

The spread of invasive species poses a major ecological and economical threat. Consequently there are ongoing efforts to develop a generalizable mechanism to predict establishment success of non-native species. One proposed mechanism to predict establishment success is propagule pressure, which is defined as the number of individuals introduced at a given time. Although some studies have demonstrated a positive correlation between propagule pressure and establishment success, others have not, and the effect of propagule pressure on establishment success remains unclear. To address this challenge, a strain of bacteria engineered with an Allee effect, a growth dynamic that is often associated …

Calcareous Nannofossil Biostratigraphy And Paleoecology Of The Fort Hays Limestone Of Western Kansas, Western Interior Basin (Wib), Bryan Hermosillo

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

Investigations of Upper Cretaceous hemi-pelagic sediments from the Western Interior Basin suggest that high surface water fertility caused increased production of biogenic carbonate, resulting in the deposition of limestone. We examined calcareous nannofossils from the Turonian/Coniacian Fort Hays Member of the Niobrara Formation to evaluate the correlation between nannofossil surface water fertility proxies and associated lithology. Our paleoecology results indicate that oligotrophic surface water conditions were present during limestone deposition. This stands at odds with existing depositional models for the Western Interior Seaway (WIS). Paleoecological data within the interbedded marls was artificially skewed due to the prevalence of etching caused …

Designing A Protected Area To Safeguard Imperiled Species From Urbanization, Stephanie S. Romanach, Brad Stith, Fred A. Johnson

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Reserve design is a process that can address ecological, social, and political factors to identify parcels of land needed to sustain wildlife populations and other natural resources. Acquisition of parcels for a large terrestrial reserve is difficult because it typically occurs over a long timeframe and thus invokes consideration of future conditions such as climate and urbanization changes. In central Florida, the U.S. government has authorized a new protected area, the Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge. The new refuge will host important threatened and endangered species and habitats, and will be located to allow for species adaptation from climate change …

Methanogens, Plausible Extraterrestrial Life Forms On Mars, And Their Tolerance To Increasing Concentrations Of Illite Clay, Chandler Kern

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Methanogens, some of Earth’s most primitive prokaryotic organisms, are candidates for possible life forms capable of inhabiting Mars. Specifically, four different species (Methanobacterium formicicum, Methanococcus maripaludis, Methanosarcina barkeri, Methanothermobacter wolfeii) were analyzed for their tolerance to the presence of illite clay. Illite is a crystalline mineral that has been identified from regions of Mars’s surface. Results indicated that all four species grew with some success in the illite at different concentrations. This experimentation with methanogens’ abilities to survive and reproduce in the presence of illite allows for a more accurate understanding of the potential capability of microbial …

2018 December - Tennessee Monthly Climate Report, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Monthly Reports

No abstract provided.

Umphlett Qci Dec 2018, Natalie A. Umphlett

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

Highlights for the Basin

Temperature and Precipitation Anomalies

Mountain Snowpack

Water Resources and Drought

Agriculture

Temperature

Precipitation

Aliased Tidal Variability In Mesoscale Sea Level Anomaly Maps, Edward Zaron, Richard D. Ray

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Sea level anomaly (SLA) maps are routinely produced by objective analysis of data from the constellation of satellite altimeter missions in operation since 1992. Beginning in 2014, changes in the Data Unification and Altimeter Combination System (DUACS) used to create the SLA maps resulted in improved spatial resolution of mesoscale variability, but it also increased the levels of aliased tidal variability compared to the methodology employed prior to 2014. The present work investigates the magnitude and spatial distribution of these tidal signals, which are typically smaller than 1 cmin the open ocean but can reach tens of centimeters in the …

Retinex-Based Visibility Enhancement System For Inclement Weather With Tracking And Distance Estimation Capabilities, Marwan S. Alluhaidan

Dissertations

Road conditions affected by weather are well known to have an impact on the number of vehicle accidents and fatalities, due to low- to no-visibility conditions. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, there are more than 1,259,000 crashes each year. On average, 6,000 people are killed and more than 445,000 people are injured annually due to severe weather conditions. These accidents could be significantly reduced if real-time visibility enhancement systems were made available. However, eliminating the impact of weather conditions on visibility is still lacking and beyond our control. The time has come to develop technology that is capable …

Along-Shelf Connectivity And Circumpolar Gene Flow In Antarctic Silverfish (Pleuragramma Antarctica), Jilda Alicia Caccavo, Chiara Papetti, Maj Wetjen, Rainer Knust, Julian R. Ashford, Lorenzo Zane

OES Faculty Publications

The Antarctic silverfish (Pleuragramma antarctica) is a critically important forage species with a circumpolar distribution and is unique among other notothenioid species for its wholly pelagic life cycle. Previous studies have provided mixed evidence of population structure over regional and circumpolar scales. The aim of the present study was to test the recent population hypothesis for Antarctic silverfish, which emphasizes the interplay between life history and hydrography in shaping connectivity. A total of 1067 individuals were collected over 25 years from different locations on a circumpolar scale. Samples were genotyped at fifteen microsatellites to assess population differentiation and …

Spectral Sensitivity In Ray-Finned Fishes: Diversity, Ecology And Shared Descent, Lorian E. Schweikert, Robert R. Fitak, Eleanor M. Caves, Tracey Sutton, Sonke Johnsen

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

A major goal of sensory ecology is to identify factors that underlie sensory-trait variation. One open question centers on why fishes show the greatest diversity among vertebrates in their capacity to detect color (i.e. spectral sensitivity). Over the past several decades, λ_max values (photoreceptor class peak sensitivity) and chromacy (photoreceptor class number) have been cataloged for hundreds of fish species, yet the ecological basis of this diversity and the functional significance of high chromacy levels (e.g. tetra- and pentachromacy) remain unclear. In this study, we examined phylogenetic, physiological and ecological patterns of spectral sensitivity of ray-finned fishes (Actinoptergyii) via …

Pedogenic Carbonates And Radiocarbon Isotopes Of Organic Carbon At Depth In The Russian Chernozem, Elena A. Mikhailova, Ray B. Bryant, John M. Galbraith, Yang Wang, Christopher J. Post, Olga S. Khokhlova, Mark A. Schlautman, Michael P. Cope, Zhixiong Shen

Marine Science

Conversion of native grasslands to agricultural sites has resulted in remarkable changes in soil carbon at depth, but its impact on soil diagnostic horizons is unknown. This study was conducted to radiocarbon date the soil organic carbon (SOC) and quantify pedogenic carbonates in the Russian Chernozem at depth at three sites: a native grassland field (not cultivated for at least 300 years), an adjacent 50-year continuous fallow field in the V.V. Alekhin Central-Chernozem Biosphere State Reserve in the Kursk region of Russia (UNESCO—MAB Biosphere Reserve), and a cropland in the Experimental Station of the Kursk Institute of Agronomy and Soil …