Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

Analyzing Microbial Communities In Porites Astreoides, Sanaa Caldwell, Katie Parker, Daniel Barshis

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Coral reefs are vital marine ecosystems that support many different species and ecosystem services through protecting coastlines from storms and erosion, providing raw materials for medication, and facilitating diversity amongst marine species. Anthropogenic climate change is causing ocean temperatures to exceed the range of coral thermal tolerance resulting in more coral bleaching events globally. However, some corals have the capacity to withstand high temperatures through different thermal tolerance strategies. A balanced microbial community plays a critical role in coral health and recent studies have indicated that a balanced microbiome is associated with temperature-stress tolerant corals. Yet, there is a severe …

Summer Temperature Maxima Already Challenge Thermal Capacities Of Coral In The Southern Persian/Arabian Gulf, Rachel Alderdice, Gabriela Perna, Hannah Manns, Anna Fiesinger, Luigi Colin, Kathryn Stankiewicz, Kelly Gomez-Campo, Samantha Goyen, Line Bayse, Nitin Baliga, Jake Valenzuela, Iliana B. Baums, Daniel J. Barshis, John A. Burt, Christian R. Voolstra

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The future of coral reefs remains uncertain as intensifying ocean warming continues to drive coral decline and demise worldwide. Corals occurring in extreme environments such as the Persian/Arabian Gulf (PAG), the world’s warmest sea, represent a promising resource to study the genetic architecture of thermal tolerance. However, their thermal capacities remain unresolved. We applied short-term heat stress assays using the Coral Bleaching Automated Stress System (CBASS) to determine signatures of thermal tolerance from three common species (Porites harrisoni, Platygyra daedalea, and Cyphastrea microphthalma) across three sites (two in the extreme southern PAG and a more benign …

Selective Nutrient Incorporation May Underestimate Heterotrophy Of A Mixotrophic Reef-Building Coral, Connor R. Love, Marleen Stuhr, Michael D. Fox, Veronica Z. Radice, Maoz Fine, Kelton W. Mcmahon, David L. Valentine

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Mixotrophic reef-building corals acquire nutrition via photosynthate translocation from endosymbiotic microalgae and by heterotrophic prey/particle capture. Heterotrophy promotes resistance to, and recovery from, environmental stress, but quantifying coral heterotrophy remains difficult due to complex resource exchanges within the coral holobiont. We interrogated the response of multiple biomarkers to coral heterotrophy using fatty acid profiling and stable isotope analysis of Stylophora pistillata grown along a controlled feeding gradient from pure autotrophy to pure heterotrophy. We found that fatty acids and nitrogen were effectively incorporated into both coral host and symbiont tissues, while carbon, which is the primary target for conventional heterotrophy …

Swimming In Sh*T: Quantifying Lagoon Flushing Impacts On Fecal Indicator Bacteria In Surf Zones Of Three Beaches On The East End Of Long Island, Ny, Brody C. Eggert

Pomona Senior Theses

This thesis investigates how lagoon flushing influences fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) concentrations—specifically enterococcus bacteria—in the surf zones of East Hampton and Southampton, New York. Focusing on the coastal lagoons of Georgica Pond, Sagg Pond, and Mecox Bay, the study analyzes how episodic inlet openings and environmental conditions affect enterococcus levels at adjacent recreational beaches. Using over 700 observations from the Surfrider Foundation’s Blue Water Task Force (BWTF) database, I construct a series of statistical models ranging from ordinary least squares to mixed effects frameworks; this thesis shows my process in developing this model. My analysis reveals that open inlets between …

Predictive Maintenance In Naval Vessel Propulsion Systems For Enhanced Marine Operations Using A Bigmm-Hmm Framework With Divergence-Based Clustering, Farshid Javadnejad, Hyoshin John Park, Samuel Kovacic, Andres Sousa-Poza

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

This study introduces a BiGMM-HMM Integration Framework designed to improve predictive maintenance strategies for naval vessel propulsion systems, addressing the need for efficient and reliable operation in marine engineering applications. The framework effectively manages multimodal sensor data by leveraging a unique combination of Gaussian Mixture Models (GMMs) and Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) in a bidirectional architecture. It analyses the dynamic interactions between sensors and subsystems. Two preprocessing methods are evaluated: Method 1 focuses on subsystem interactions, employing divergence-based root cause analysis to identify key sensor variables by clustering of sensors and subsystems. In contrast, Method 2 processes the entire dataset …

Suntan (And Other Solar Tigonometric Functions), John Adam

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

Question 1: If I₀ is the solar irradiance (power per unit area, W/m²) reaching my head, express the intensity on the side of my face (I_s) in terms of θ. Assume for now that the irradiance is independent of path length through the atmosphere and that my face is normal to the direction θ = 90°.

Using the 1962 U.S. Standard Atmosphere,² Hottel (1976)³ expressed the solar irradiance using the formula

I = I₀(a₀ + a₁e^{−k sec θ}), where A is the elevation in kilometers and

a₀ = 0.4237 − 0.00821(6 − A)²; a₁ = 0.5055 …

A Question Of Transparency, John Adam

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

Question 1: Why is it easier to see through rain than fog?

Start thinking about this by imagining a fixed volume (V) of water being dispersed into, say, N identical droplets of diameter d. Surface area and volume considerations should lead to the answer in terms of V and d.

Question 2: (a) How "long" (in meters) might such a rain shower or fog bank be?

Hint: Suppose you are looking along a linear stack of S cubes with 1-m sides (through the rain or fog). Each cube contains N drops. If p is the visibility (i.e., the fraction of …

A Multispecies, Multisite Assessment Of Coral Thermal Tolerances In American Samoa, Using Acute Heat Stress Assays, Ponchanok Weeriyanun, Nicolas R. Evensen, Katherine E. Parker, Veronica Z. Radice, Daniel J. Barshis

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Reef-building corals are being impacted by increasing seawater temperatures, with marine heatwaves leading to mass bleaching events and extensive mortality. However, corals can display variation in thermal tolerance, both within and among species. In this study, we sampled four coral species (Acropora hyacinthus, Montipora grisea, Pocillopora verrucosa, and Porites lobata) from two sites on Tutuila, American Samoa, with contrasting environmental regimes but similar Maximum Monthly Means (MMM). Coral fragments were subjected to short-term acute heat stress experiments using the Coral Bleaching Automated Stress System (CBASS). PAM Fluorometry was used to measure the symbiont’s effective quantum yield (Fv/Fm) following heat stress …

Moderate Heating Renders 7.8-Million-Year-Old Sedimentary Organic Matter Bioavailable, Shuchai Gan, Verena B. Heuer, Frauke Schmidt, Lars Wormer, Faming Wang, Rishi R. Adhikari, Patrick Hatcher, Ann Pearson, Kai-Uwe Hinrichs

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Marine sediments are a large reservoir of recalcitrant organic matter and host microbes at subsurface depths exceeding 2.4 kilometers and temperatures up to 120°C, yet the mechanisms supplying bioavailable substrates remain unclear. Here, we investigated 7.8-million-year-old sediment from IODP Site C0012 off the Nankai Trough, Japan, through incubations at 20°, 35°, 55°, and 85°C to simulate burial temperatures. Using 3D fluorescence spectroscopy and ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry, we tracked changes in dissolved organic matter (DOM). At 35°C, humic-like DOM was released alongside metal ions, exhibiting low bioavailability. At 55°C, abiotic decomposition of humic compounds generated smaller, more bioavailable DOM, promoting fermentation. …

Co₂ Isotopologues From The Ace Satellite, D. English, P. Bernath, C. Boone

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Carbon dioxide isotopologues have been studied thoroughly in the troposphere. In the stratosphere, the minor oxygen CO₂ isotopologues have anomalous abundances due to their exchange reactions with isotopically fractionated ozone, differentiating them from tropospheric CO₂. Previously a model predicted that this anomalous isotopic abundance continues into the mesosphere but lacked verification from experimental observations. Here we use the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier Transform Spectrometer which records infrared transmittance spectra of the Earth's limb from low Earth orbit using solar occultation. These infrared spectra provide measurements of global CO₂ isotopologue volume mixing ratios (VMRs) from the upper troposphere to the lower …

Analysis Of Aerosols In The Asian Monsoon Anticyclone As Observed By The Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment, M. Lecours, R. Dodangodage, C. D. Boone, P. F. Bernath

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

During the Asian summer monsoon season, pollutants from the lower troposphere are transported through deep convection to the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. Surface pollutants such as CO are transported upward and trapped in the anticyclone during this unique atmospheric phenomenon. Associated with the anticyclone is a layer of enhanced aerosols located near the tropopause often referred to as the Asian tropopause aerosol layer (ATAL). The chemical and physical properties of aerosols in the ATAL are not yet fully understood as direct observations of the aerosols are limited. The Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (ACE) is a satellite mission that provides high-resolution …

Building Heat-Resilient Caribbean Reefs: Integrating Thermal Thresholds And Coral Colonies Selection In Restoration, Macarena Blanco Pimentel, Johanna Calle-Triviño, Daniel J. Barshis, Sancia E. T. Van Der Meij, Megan K. Morikawa

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Caribbean reefs face increasingly frequent and intense bleaching events, adding to the numerous other threats impacting these ecosystems. Addressing these challenges requires global action to reduce climate drivers, along with local efforts like reef restoration. Active restoration using thermotolerant coral colonies offers a potential strategy to alleviate these impacts; however, gaps remain in identifying context-specific temperature thresholds to guide colony selection and standardize thermotolerance assessment methods. This study addressed these gaps in two phases. First, by determining practical thresholds to differentiate species responses to heat stress; and second, by developing a framework to identify and prioritize resilient colonies for restoration. …

Future-Oriented Coastal Protection: The Utility Of Living Shorelines Under Changing Climatic Conditions, Gabriella R. Dipetto, Donna Marie Bilkovic, Taylor M. Sloey, Erik S. Yando, Erik L. Walters

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

An accumulation of novel nature-based shoreline management techniques have developed over the past two decades out of the continued need to protect waterfront land combined with an awareness of the relationship between healthy coastal ecosystems and human societies. Shoreline protection strategies such as living shorelines incorporate these nature-based approaches to simultaneously enhance ecosystem functioning while providing shoreline stabilization benefits. The continued role of these approaches into the future, however, will be challenged by a rapidly changing coastal environment. While living shorelines have received global attention and integration into climate policy and governance frameworks, the ability of shoreline systems to withstand …

The Pluralistic Natural Capital Values Of A Tropical City, Adrienne Grêt-Regamey, Justine Saunders, Peter Edwards, Daniel Richards, Jahson I. Alemu, Natasha Bhatia, Roman Carrasco, Zuzana Drillet, Tze Kwan Fung, Yan Feng Leon Gaw, Wanggi Jaung, Andrea Law, Rachel Ai Ting Leong, Aikeen Youu Ming Lim, Mahyar Masoudi, Yudhishthra Nathan, Rachel Rui Ying Oh, Wen Ting Ooi, Fairul Edros Ahmad Shaikh Shaikh, Xiao Ping Song, Claudia L.Y. Tan, Puay Yok Tan, Sergio Wicki, Lynn-Wei Wong, Yanyun Yan, Erik Yando, Alex Thiam Koon Yee, Jingyuan Zhang, Daniel A. Friess

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Nature in cities is essential for human well-being. Quantifying and valuing the goods and services provided by nature to city dwellers is missing in tropical contexts. Yet, as cities worldwide face similar challenges, understanding the services provided by tropical urban ecosystems becomes imperative for effective management. Here, we present the first Natural Capital Assessment of a tropical city, unveiling three critical insights. Firstly, we demonstrate the vital reliance of a developed tropical city on nature, particularly for climate change mitigation through regulating services. Secondly, we identify intact natural areas as Singapore’s most valuable assets, stressing the significance of the quality …

Drone-Based Medication Delivery For Rural, Flood-Prone Coastal Cities, Yin-Hsuen Chen, Amro M. El-Adle, Kevin J. O'Brien, Taylor Wentworth, Heather G. Richter

Center for Geospatial Science, Education & Analytics Faculty Publications

Access to healthcare remains a critical challenge for rural populations, particularly in flood-prone coastal communities where transportation barriers limit access to essential medical services. This study evaluates the effectiveness of drone-based medication delivery in improving healthcare accessibility for vulnerable populations on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Compared to traditional personal vehicle travel, drone delivery reduced trip times from up to 50 minutes to under 10 minutes for more than 80% of the population, including elderly patients. Using publicly available datasets, we developed two transportation vulnerability indices that incorporate age, travel time, and flood risk to prioritize patients for drone-based pharmaceutical delivery. These …

Twenty Years Of Global Stratospheric Fluorine Inventories From Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier Transform Spectrometer (Ace-Fts) Measurements, N. Raymond, P. Bernath, C. Boone, M. Chipperfield

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

We present fluorine inventories calculated for twenty years (2004–2023) and five latitude bands (82°–60°N, 60°–30°N, 30°N–30°S, 30°–60°S, and 60°–82°S) at altitudes from the surface up to 55 km. The inventories were calculated using the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier transform spectrometer (ACE‐FTS) version 5.2 retrievals of the volume mixing ratios (VMRs) of 15 fluorine‐containing species. Of these 15 species, 3 are product gases: HF, COF₂, COCIF, and 12 are source gases: SF₆, PFC-14 (CF₄), CFC-11 (CCl₃F), CFC-12 (CCl₂F₂), CFC-113 (CCIF₂CCl₂F), HCFC-22 (CHF₂CL), HCFC-141b(C₂H₃Cl₂F), HCFC-142b ( …

Engagement In Practice: Partnering With Communities To Address Nuisance Flooding Challenges, Carol L. Considine, Mujde Erten-Unal, Dalya Ismael, Luka Alandra Hamal-Serenity, Farzaneh Soflaei

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

Many communities are already experiencing the impacts of climate change that disrupt their daily lives. In Coastal Virginia, these impacts take the form of nuisance and stormwater flooding caused by sea level rise and changes in precipitation. Coastal Virginia has one of the highest relative sea level rise rates on the Atlantic Coast and the regional planning district commission recommends that Atlas 14 rainfall intensity, duration, and frequency curves be increased by 20% to account for changes in rainfall. The Coastal Community Design Collaborative (CCDC), a partnership between Hampton University Architecture and Old Dominion University Engineering & Technology, has had …

Big Cells, Big Impact: Unravelling Seasonal Patterns Of Net Primary Production In Narragansett Bay, Dominique Jae Lockwood

Open Access Master's Theses

Net primary production is a measurement of available energy, or the amount of biomass that phytoplankton produce during photosynthesis that fuels marine food webs and drives carbon cycling. Despite its ecological importance, net primary production is relatively understudied in comparison to chlorophyll-a, which is often used as a proxy for biomass rather than productivity. In this study, we measured size-fractionated net primary production and chlorophyll-a concentrations in Narragansett Bay over a 14-month period from January 2022 to February 2023. Weekly surface water samples were collected and filtered to distinguish between small (> 10 μm) and large ( …

Investigating Ventilation In The Amundsen Sea, Antarctica Using An Eddy-Permitting Regional Ocean Model, Lauren Kowalski

Open Access Master's Theses

The Amundsen Sea is not a known site of bottom water formation, yet the presence of Winter Water reveals the role of deep winter mixing. In this study, we investigate how the production of Winter Water within the Amundsen Sea leads to ventilation by introducing a surface tracer into a regional configuration of MITgcm with ECCO-constrained forcing conditions for the years from 1998 to 2023. Modeled mixed layer depths routinely reached depths of 300 m or deeper in coastal polynyas and along sea ice divergence zones, driven by changes in salinity from sea ice formation and wind stress. The annual …

Navigating Online Perceptions Of Offshore Wind On Social Media: Facebook Discussions On Recent Whale Strandings, Giselle Hausmann

Open Access Master's Theses

The Biden-Harris administration implemented a goal to achieve 30 GW of offshore wind energy by 2030 (US Department of Interior, 2021). The rapid increase in offshore wind activity on the East Coast, combined with NOAA’s declared unusual mortality event in 2016/2017, has sparked a discussion about offshore wind being a potential cause of whale deaths. This paper aims to analyze the discourse on offshore wind and whales through a content analysis of Facebook comments. Facebook pages from Massachusetts (The New England Aquarium), Rhode Island (Rhode Island DEM), New York (The Atlantic Marine Conservation Society), New Jersey (Marine Mammal Stranding Center), …

Investigating The Effectiveness Of Best Management Practices In Reducing Fecal Bacteria In Narrow River, Rhode Island, Katherine Thompson

Open Access Master's Theses

Fecal bacterial contamination shapes how communities manage and use estuarine waters, with consequences for ecosystem health and public access. In Rhode Island's Narrow River, elevated concentrations of fecal coliforms and enterococci have restricted shellfishing for decades despite ongoing management efforts. From 2004 to 2018, local organizations implemented Best Management Practices (BMPs) to address water quality challenges, yet their effectiveness remains incompletely understood. This study analyzes three decades of monitoring data using linear regression, generalized additive models, and Before After Control Impact methods to evaluate BMP effectiveness and identify key drivers of contamination. Linear regression revealed spatially variable trends, with bacterial …

Semi-Empirical Prediction Of Wave Runup During Nor’Easters In New England, Pranav Sai

Open Access Master's Theses

Wave runup amplifies the impact of storm events on coastal beaches, accelerating erosion and threatening infrastructure. Accurate quantification of extreme runup during storms is critical for improving coastal hazard predictions and informing resilience strategies. Field measurements of wave and water levels enable empirically derived formulas to calculate runup, parameterizing setup, incident swash, and infragravity swash separately. This study predicts extreme runup across Napatree Point, a sandy barrier at Rhode Island’s westernmost point, known for its dissipative beach morphology and exposure to intense storm activity. Using the ADCIRC+SWAN hydrodynamic and wave models, mean sea level and surface wave parameters were simulated …

Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (Ace) V.5.3 Winds: Validation And Model Comparisons, Matthew Wyatt, Peter F. Bernath, Chris Boone, Leo Lavy, Ryan Johnson

Physics Faculty Publications

The Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier Transform Spectrometer (ACE-FTS) uses limb geometry to measure transmittance spectra of Earth's atmosphere by solar occultation. Line-of-sight wind speeds can be derived via Doppler shifts of molecular lines in infrared spectra. The wind look direction angles relative to geodetic north are derived from geometry. We validate the new ACE version 5.3 (v.5.3) line-of-sight winds with MIGHTI and meteor radar vector wind observations and find a -15 m s^-¹ (+15 m s^-¹) sunrise (sunset) shift above 80 km. We also compare line-of-sight winds from ACE-FTS v.5.2 and v.5.3 with vector winds from …

A Question Of Transparency: Solutions For Fermi Questions, March 2025, John Adam

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

Question 1: Why is it easier to see through rain than fog?

Start thinking about this by imagining a fixed volume (V) of water being dispersed into, say, N identical droplets of diameter d. Surface area and volume considerations should lead to the answer in terms of V and d.

Solution to Question 1: N = VI(πd³/6) = 6V/πd³ ≈ 2V/d³.

The cross-sectional area A of each drop is πd²/4 ≈ 3d²/4, so the total area blocked off (assuming no overlapping drops—so this is an upper bound) is NA ≈ 1.5V/d, so the area blocked off is inversely proportional to …

Characterizing The Earth's Magnetosheath With In Situ Measurements, Hector A. Salinas

Physics Dissertations - Archive

Earth’s magnetosheath is a region of shocked plasma that mediates energy and momentum transfer from the solar wind to the magnetosphere. The dynamics and thus the plasma structures of this region are highly dependent on upstream solar wind conditions. As such, the region is often characterized as a turbulent environment, with the most intense periods of turbulence occurring often under quasi-parallel bow shock conditions. This magnetosheath turbulence displays as variable and large-scale fluctuations with in-situ measurements. Given that turbulence is a characteristic feature of the magnetosheath, this dissertation asks two questions: (1) How are plasma structures inside the sheath affected …

Light Absorbing Aerosol Interactions With Warm Clouds, Shreya Joshi

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Atmospheric particles such as biomass-burning aerosols, including black carbon - are critical in altering the Earth's energy balance through interactions with light and clouds. Biomass-burning aerosols also contain organic carbon, a diverse mix of organic compounds. As these aerosols age, they evolve by interacting with other atmospheric species, including cloud water, leading to changes in particle morphology and the development of coatings that impact their lifetime and ability to interact with clouds and light.

Some biomass-burning aerosols serve as cloud condensation nuclei. When cloud water droplets form, the properties of the nucleating particles can change. Many clouds evaporate before precipitating, …

Great Lakes And Its Regional Climate In The Future, Miraj Bhakta Kayastha

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The overarching objective of this dissertation is to enhance our predictive understanding of the Great Lakes regional climate by utilizing advanced modeling techniques and provide comprehensive insights into the future of the Great Lakes. This dissertation focuses on four areas pertinent to the future of the Great Lakes hydroclimate and extreme events, beginning with the derivation of robust water level projections for the Great Lakes in Chapter 2. Using a regional climate modeling system with a two-way coupled three-dimensional (3D) hydrodynamic lake and ice model for the Great lakes, we analyze long-term future changes in the over-lake precipitation, lake evaporation, …

Cloud Condensation Nuclei Activity Of Fresh And Aged Phenolic Acid Aerosol Particles, Emily A. Nortmann

Honors Undergraduate Theses

In recent years, the incidence of wildfires has considerably increased, with fire seasons starting earlier and ending later than usual due to changes in snowpack, precipitation, and temperature, which are attributed in part to climate change. Wildfires are responsible for the emission of a variety of gases and organic aerosol particles in the atmosphere with profound impacts on air quality, visibility, and human health. The aerosol particles produced by wildfires can contribute to climate change by scattering or absorbing solar radiation, affecting the radiative balance of the planet through cooling or warming effects, or by acting as cloud condensation nuclei …

Impacts Of Multiple Coastal Stressors Across Life-History Stages In The Eastern Oyster, Amaelia Zyck

Open Access Dissertations

Urbanized estuaries are characterized as a complex of biotic and abiotic stressors, which currently challenge marine life and are expected to intensify and become increasingly unpredictable under the ongoing impacts of climate change. The persistence of coastal species that inhabit these stressful environments will ultimately depend on their ability to adapt. Many of these species have complex life cycles, featuring distinct morphological and physiological developmental stages that can exhibit unique responses to environmental pressures. However, since all stages share the same genome, selective pressures acting on one stage can have cascading effects throughout the life cycle. The larval stage, being …

Cover Crops Can Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions From No-Till Maize In Southern Brazil: Insights From A Long-Term Field Experiment, Guilherme Rosa Da Silva, Adam J. Liska, Cimélio Bayer

Adam Liska Papers

Brazil is one of the countries that has the most agricultural area under no-till (NT) management. This research study aims to evaluate life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from maize (M) grain production in agroecosystems that used different cover crops under NT management in southern Brazil. The data for this study were from a long-term 41-year field experiment in southern Brazil. The long-term experiment evaluated the effects of fallow (F) and cover crops (oat (O), vetch (V), cowpea (B), pigeon pea (P), and lablab (L)) on nitrous oxide and methane emissions and soil carbon (C) sequestration in maize agroecosystems. Five cropping …