Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

Understanding Hurricane Storm Surge Generation And Propagation Using A Forecasting Model, Forecast Advisories And Best Track In A Wind Model, And Observed Data—Case Study Hurricane Rita, Abram Musinguzi, Muhammad K. Akbar, Jason G. Fleming, Samuel K. Hargrove

Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering Faculty Research

Meteorological forcing is the primary driving force and primary source of errors for storm surge forecasting. The objective of this study was to learn how forecasted meteorological forcing influences storm surge generation and propagation during a hurricane so that storm surge models can be reliably used to forecast actual events. Hindcasts and forecasts of Hurricane Rita (2005) storm surge was used as a case study. Meteorological forcing or surface wind/pressure fields for Hurricane Rita were generated using both the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) full-scale forecasting model along with archived hurricane advisories ingested into a sophisticated parametric wind model, namely …

Effect Of Using Probabilistic Contingency Tables To Modify Forecast Predictions, Sarah A. Gold

Theses and Dissertations

The 45th Weather Squadron (45 WS) records daily rain and lightning probabilistic forecasts and the associated binary event outcomes. Subsequently, they evaluate forecast performance and determine necessary adjustments with an implemented verification process. For deterministic outcomes, weather forecast analysis typically utilizes a Tradition Contingency Table (TCT) for verification, however the 45 WS uses an alternative tool, the Probabilistic Contingency Table (PCT). Using the TCT for verification requires a threshold, typically at 50%, to dichotomize probabilistic forecasts. The PCT maintains the valuable information in probabilities and verifies the true forecasts being reported. Simulated forecasts and outcomes as well as 2015-2018 45 …

Characterization Of Tropical Cyclone Intensity Using Microwave Imagery, Amanda M. Nelson

Theses and Dissertations

In the absence of wind speed data from aircraft reconnaissance of tropical cyclones (TCs), analysts rely on remote sensing tools to estimate TC intensity. For over 40 years, the Dvorak technique has been applied to estimate intensity using visible and infrared (IR) satellite imagery, but its accuracy is sometimes limited when the radiative effects of high clouds obscure the TC convective structure below. Microwave imagery highlights areas of precipitation and deep convection revealing different patterns than visible and IR imagery. This study explores application of machine learning algorithms to identify patterns in microwave imagery to infer storm intensity, particularly focusing …

Lightning Prediction Using Recurrent Neural Networks, Dominick V. Speranza

Theses and Dissertations

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), Kennedy Space Center (KSC), and Patrick Air Force Base (PAFB) all reside in the thunderstorm capital of the United States. According to the Florida Climate Center, these installations experience more thunderstorms per year than any other place in the United States. It is the mission of the 45th Weather Squadron to provide timely and accurate warnings of weather conditions such as lightning that pose a risk to assets and personnel CCAFS, KSC and PAFB. To aid 45th Weather Squadron forecasters, a network of 30 Electric Field Mills (EFM) was installed in the area in …

The Effects Of Reactant Concentration And Air Flow Rate In The Consumption Of Dissolved O2 During The Photochemistry Of Aqueous Pyruvic Acid, Alexis J. Eugene, Marcelo I. Guzman

Chemistry Faculty Publications

The sunlight photochemistry of the organic chromophore pyruvic acid (PA) in water generates ketyl and acetyl radicals that contribute to the production and processing of atmospheric aerosols. The photochemical mechanism is highly sensitive to dissolved oxygen content, [O₂(aq)], among other environmental conditions. Thus, herein we investigate the photolysis (λ ≥ 305 nm) of 10–200 mM PA at pH 1.0 in water covering the relevant range 0 ≤ [O₂(aq)] ≤ 1.3 mM. The rapid consumption of dissolved oxygen by the intermediate photolytic radicals is monitored in real time with a dissolved oxygen electrode. …

Complex Tripartite Hydro Politics Of River Ganges, Muttaki Bin Kamal

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper studies if the Flagship Namami Gange program of Cleaning the river Ganges in India aligns with the transcendental discourse on the river. Web contents as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter along with Indian English daily newspaper reports are used here as the source of data. The study shows that the program aligns with the transcendental discourse on river Ganges as the Mother Goddess and reaching out to her devotees.

Dna Barcoding Of Fish Eggs In The Gulf Of Mexico, Makenzie Burrows

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

DNA barcoding of fish eggs is a relatively new technique that enables more accurate identification of early life stages of ecologically and economically important fish species. Using DNA barcoding of individual planktonic percomorph eggs, this thesis determines putative spawning locations of neritic and oceanic fish species in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). Surveys at 40 stations in the Gulf of Mexico showed a clear delineation of spawning sites, with neritic fish eggs generally found on continental shelves, and oceanic fish eggs found at the surface of deeper waters. However, samples collected between Florida and Cuba revealed exceptions to this trend …

Environmental Controls On Dissolved Carbon Export And River Geochemistry - A Case Study In The Mississippi-Atchafalaya System, Jeremy Reiman

LSU Master's Theses

Rivers serve as an important medium for the exchange of elements between land, ocean, and atmosphere. This thesis consists of three interconnected studies with the overarching goal of analyzing the environmental factors influencing dissolved carbon dynamics and river geochemistry in large rivers. These studies utilized river water samples and in-stream measurements collected from the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers at hourly to monthly intervals between 2013 to 2018, along with ambient river and meteorological data downloaded from public-access databases. Results indicate substantially higher dissolved organic carbon concentrations (DOC, 611 ±181 µmol L^-1) but lower concentrations of dissolved inorganic carbon …

Climatology, Variability, And Return Periods Of Tropical Cyclone Strikes In The Northeastern And Central Pacific Basins, Nicholas S. Grondin

LSU Master's Theses

Tropical cyclones (TCs) are among the most destructive meteorological phenomena and impact the lives of people who reside along the coast. The American Pacific Coastline borders the second most active TC development region in the world, the northeastern Pacific (NE Pac) basin. This region, along with the Central Pacific (C Pac)-bordering Hawaii is home to a growing population and cities engaged in a variety of economic activities, most prominently agriculture, fishing, and tourism. This study analyzes fifty-two (1966-2017) years of NE Pac and C Pac TCs through applying track data from the National Hurricane Center’s HURDAT2 and a TC size …

Surface Gravity Waves In The Gulf Of Mexico And Their Role In Ocean-Atmosphere Coupling, Ehsan Abolfazli

LSU Master's Theses

This study provides an overview of the surface gravity wave dynamics in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) using numerical simulations. The focus is on the effects of ocean currents on waves, and the geographic distribution of a set of wave statistics and parameters related to the role of waves on both sides of the ocean-atmosphere interface. Simulations are performed using the Simulating WAves Nearshore (SWAN) model with and without coupling with the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) model within the Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Wave Sediment Transport (COAWST) framework. In the GoM, currents alter the climatological significant wave heights (H …

Vulnerability Of Industrial Facilities In The Lower Mississippi River Industrial Corridor To Relative Sea Level Rise And Tropical Cyclone Storm Surge, Joseph Blake Harris

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Relative sea level rise (RSLR) and tropical cyclone-induced storm surge are major threats to the Lower Mississippi River Industrial Corridor (LMRIC) which has approximately 120 industrial complexes located within the corridor. Spatial interpolation methods were applied to the 2004 National Oceanic and Atmospheric published Technical Report #50 subsidence dataset and cross-validation techniques were used to determine the accuracy of each method. Digital elevation models (DEMs) were created for the years 2025, 2050, and 2075, based on these predictive surface of subsidence rates. Future DEMs were utilized to model RSLR and determine the extent of storm surge on the LMRIC by …

Data For Paper "Microbial Generation Of Elemental Mercury From Dissolved Methylmercury In Seawater", Cheng-Shiuan Lee, Nicholas S. Fisher

SoMAS Research Data

Elemental mercury (Hg⁰) formation from other mercury species in seawater results from photoreduction and microbial activity, leading to possible evasion from seawater to overlying air. Microbial conversion of monomethylmercury (MeHg) to Hg⁰ in seawater remains unquantified. A rapid radioassay method was developed using gamma-emitting ²⁰³Hg as a tracer to evaluate Hg⁰ production from Hg(II) and MeHg in the low pM range. Bacterioplankton assemblages in Atlantic surface seawater and Long Island Sound water were found to rapidly produce Hg0, with production rate constants being directly related to bacterial biomass and independent of dissolved Hg(II) and MeHg …

International Law Instruments To Address The Plastic Soup, Luisa Cortat Simonetti Goncalves, Michael Gerbert Faure

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

The problem of plastic pollution in the oceans has been increasingly evident after 1997, when the great concentrations of plastics in the oceans were initially publicized. Still, there is a substantial lack of scientific data and research about the sources of plastic pollution, destinations and consequences to nature and human life. The only certainty is that the amount of plastic that ends up in the ocean is alarming and likely will not decrease anytime soon because of its durability and large range of use. Estimates show that, each year, at least 8 million tons of plastics leak into the ocean …

Regeneration Of Trace Metals During Phytoplankton Decay: An Experimental Study, Adrienne P. Hollister

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Trace metals act as important nutrients, and sometimes toxins, to phytoplankton and other marine microorganisms. When phytoplankton decay, the elements in their cells are released back into the water column through regeneration (also referred to as remineralization), one of the processes responsible for governing concentrations of dissolved trace metals and macronutrients in depth profiles. In order to experimentally study regeneration, controlled experimental incubations of mixed phytoplankton assemblages from the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) and monocultures of the diatom Pseudo-nitzschia dolorosa and the dinoflagellate Karenia brevis were placed in the dark and monitored as they decayed with naturally present bacteria. Over …

Flood-Inundation Maps Of The Meramec River From Eureka To Arnold, Missouri, 2018, Benjamin J. Dietsch, Kellan R. Strauch

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

Document abstract

Libraries of digital flood-inundation maps that spanned a combined 37.2-mile reach of the Meramec River that extended upstream from Eureka, Missouri, to downstream near the confluence of the Meramec and Mississippi Rivers were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, Missouri Department of Transportation, Missouri American Water, Federal Emergency Management Agency Region 7, and the cities of Pacific, Eureka, Wildwood, and Arnold. The flood-inundation maps, which can be accessed through the USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Science website at https://water.usgs.gov/osw/flood_inundation/, depict estimates of …

Measurement Of Solar Spectral Irradiance And Surface Ozone At Carrollton, Georgia, Usa, During The Great American Eclipse On 21 August 2017, Kirthi Tennakone, L Ajith Desilva, Charles A. Zander*, Shea Rose, Austin B. Kerlin

Georgia Journal of Science

Measurements conducted at the University of West Georgia, Carrollton, Georgia, during the time of the solar eclipse of 21^st August 2017 demonstrated that the integrated spectral irradiance in defined wavelength ranges in the ultraviolet and visible calculated as a fraction of the total irradiance reached a minimum at maximum obscuration of the Sun, whereas in an infrared range it was maximum. The method of analysis adopted supports the view that the changes in spectral irradiance during highly obscured partial phases is a consequence of limb darkening. In a surface ozone measurement, a minimum in ozone concentration occurred 30 +_ …

Efficacy Of The Localized Aviation Mos Program In Ceiling Flight Category Forecasts, Douglas D. Boyd, Thomas A. Guinn

Publications

(1) Background: Flying in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) carries an elevated risk of fatal outcome for general aviation (GA) pilots. For the typical GA flight, aerodrome-specific forecasts (Terminal Aerodrome Forecast (TAF), Localized Aviation Model Output Statistics Program (LAMP)) assist the airman in pre-determining whether a flight can be safely undertaken. While LAMP forecasts are more prevalent at GA-frequented aerodromes, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recommends that this tool be used as supplementary to the TAF only. Herein, the predictive accuracy of LAMP for ceiling flight categories of visual flight rules (VFR) and instrument flight rules (IFR) was determined. (2) Methods: …

Earth Observation And Climate Services For Food Security And Agricultural Decision Making In South And Southeast Asia, Faisal M. Qamer, Tsegaue Tadesse, Mir Matin, Walter L. Ellenburg, Benjamin Zaitchik

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Deliberations on new developments in the use of Earth observation for agriculture and food security in South and Southeast Asia gathered 120 participants to discuss i) agricultural and hydrological drought monitoring and early warning systems, ii) crop mapping and yield estimation, and iii) risk financing and agrometeorological advisory services.

Iron Mediated Organic Preservation In A River Influenced Continental Margin, Neha Ajit Ghaisas

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Continental margins such as the Mississippi river influenced Louisiana shelf (MIS), are important land-ocean interfaces where excessive water column productivity and rapid burial results in large amounts of organic carbon (OC) being sequestered in the sediments. The preservation of OC in sediments is controlled by a number of processes among which mineral-OC interactions are considered to be more important. Specifically, the interactions between sediment iron (Fe) species and OC have been shown to promote carbon preservation. However, the exact nature of preservation mechanism is not well understood and is based on limited global data, which specifically lacks estimates from large …

Cave Dripwater Isotopic Signals Related To The Altitudinal Gradient Of Mount-Lebanon: Implication For Speleothem Studies, Carole Nehme, Sophie Verheyden, Fadi H. Nader, Jocelyne Adjizian-Gerard, Dominique Genty, Kevin De Bont, Benedicte Minster, Ghada Salem, David Verstraten, Philippe Clayes

International Journal of Speleology

An important step in paleoclimate reconstructions based on vadose cave carbonate deposits or speleothems is to evaluate the sensitivity of the cave environment and speleothems to regional climate. Accordingly, we studied four caves, located at different altitudes along the western flank of Mount-Lebanon (Eastern Mediterranean). The objectives of this study are to identify the present-day variability in temperature, pCO₂, and water isotopic composition and to assess the possible influence of the altitudinal gradient on cave drip waters and cave streams. We present here an overview of the spatial variability of rainwater based on local and regional data, and …

The World Of Robots Ocg 120g, Joanna Burkhardt

Library Impact Statements

No abstract provided.

Climate Justice Movement Building: Values And Cultures Of Creation In Santa Barbara, California, Corrie Grosse

Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

This article analyzes how young people in the climate justice movement cultivate a prefigurative culture centered on justice as a response to the threat of climate change. Employing grounded theory and drawing on data from in-depth interviews with 29 youth activists and participant observation in Santa Barbara County, California, the birthplace of both the environmental movement and offshore oil drilling, I argue that four key values—relationships, accessibility, intersectionality, and community—enable movement building, a stated goal of the climate justice movement. These values emerge from interviewees’ words and practices. Drawing on John Foran’s (2014) notion of political cultures of creation, I …

Evaluating Seasonal Nutrient Fluxes In Emerging And Eroding Wetlands Of The Louisiana Delta Plain, Kiran Upreti

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Deltaic wetlands can ameliorate high NO₃^- loads via denitrification, a dominant NO₃^- reduction pathway in inland and coastal habitats. Dissimilatory Nitrate Reduction to Ammonia (DNRA), in contrast to denitrification, conserves N within the system and has been found to be favored over denitrification with increase in salinity and temperature. There are no studies in the Louisiana Deltaic plain with simultaneous estimation of denitrification and DNRA. Increased P availability has been shown to increase denitrification so it is essential to understand P biogeochemistry when studying N cycle. Here, we evaluated net denitrification using N₂:Ar and …

Numerical Investigations Of Atmospheric Rivers And The Rain Shadow Over The Santa Clara Valley, Dalton Behringer, Sen Chiao

Faculty Publications, Meteorology and Climate Science

This study investigated precipitation distribution patterns in association with atmospheric rivers (ARs). The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model was employed to simulate two strong atmospheric river events. The precipitation forecasts were highly sensitive to cloud microphysics parameterization schemes. Thus, radar observed and simulated ZH and ZDR were evaluated to provide information about the drop-size distribution (DSD). Four microphysics schemes (WSM-5, WSM-6, Thompson, and WDM-6) with nested simulations (3 km, 1 km, and 1/3 km) were conducted. One of the events mostly contained bright-band (BB) rainfall and lasted less than 24 h, while the other contained both BB and non-bright-band …

Weather And Climate Summary And Forecast: March 2019 Report, Gregory V. Jones

Linfield University Wine Studies Reports

This report provides a summary of the weather and climate forecast for March 2019. 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.

A Bulk-Mass-Modeling-Based Method For Retrieving Particulate Matter Pollution Using Caliop Observations, Travis D. Toth, Jianglong Zhang, Jeffrey S. Reid, Mark A. Vaughan

Atmospheric Sciences Faculty Publications

In this proof-of-concept paper, we apply a bulk-mass-modeling method using observations from the NASA Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) instrument for retrieving particulate matter (PM) concentration over the contiguous United States (CONUS) over a 2-year period (2008–2009). Different from previous approaches that rely on empirical relationships between aerosol optical depth (AOD) and PM2.5 (PM with particle diameters less than 2.5 µm), for the first time, we derive PM2.5 concentrations, during both daytime and nighttime, from near-surface CALIOP aerosol extinction retrievals using bulk mass extinction coefficients and model-based hygroscopicity. Preliminary results from this 2-year study conducted over the CONUS show …

Umphlett Qci March 2019, Natalie Umphlett

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

Highlights for the Basin

Temperature Anomalies

Plains Snowpack

Agriculture

Energy

Transportation

Temperature

Precipitation

Seasonal Origins Of Soil Water Used By Trees, Scott T. Allen, James W. Kirchner, Sabine Braun, Rolf T. W. Siegwolf, Gregory R. Goldsmith

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Rain recharges soil water storages and either percolates downward into aquifers and streams or is returned to the atmosphere through evapotranspiration. Although it is commonly assumed that summer rainfall recharges plant-available water during the growing season, the seasonal origins of water used by plants have not been systematically explored. We characterize the seasonal origins of waters in soils and trees by comparing their midsummer isotopic signatures (δ2H) to seasonal isotopic cycles in precipitation, using a new seasonal origin index. Across 182 Swiss forest sites, xylem water isotopic signatures show that summer rain was not the predominant water source …

Changes In Snow Phenology From 1979 To 2016 Over The Tianshan Mountains, Central Asia, Tao Yang, Qian Li, Sajjad Ahmad, Hongfei Zhou, Lanhai Li

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Snowmelt from the Tianshan Mountains (TS) is a major contributor to the water resources of the Central Asian region. Thus, changes in snow phenology over the TS have significant implications for regional water supplies and ecosystem services. However, the characteristics of changes in snow phenology and their influences on the climate are poorly understood throughout the entire TS due to the lack of in situ observations, limitations of optical remote sensing due to clouds, and decentralized political landscapes. Using passive microwave remote sensing snow data from 1979 to 2016 across the TS, this study investigates the spatiotemporal variations of snow …

2019 March - Tennessee Monthly Climate Report, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Monthly Reports

No abstract provided.