Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

Beach Crawl Width As A Predictive Indicator Of Carapace Length In Loggerhead Sea Turtles (Caretta Caretta)., Dawn M. Miller

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Carapace lengths and widths of nesting loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) were measured at Pompano Beach and Fort Lauderdale, Florida to determine if plastron and/or track crawl widths were predictive of carapace size. Straight and curved carapace measurements were taken.

Plastron and track crawl width were measured at four points on each crawl: 1) emerging at the tide line; 2) mid-way to the nest; 3) mid-way returning to the surf; and 4) at the tide line returning to the surf. All four measurements were significantly different from each other (P < 0.005) along each crawl. Crawl width was the most variable factor in all comparisons.

Maximum straight carapace length correlated with emergent track …

Atmospheric Turbulence Conditions Leading To Focused And Folded Sonic Boom Wave Fronts, Andrew A. Piacsek

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

The propagation and subsequent distortion of sonic booms with rippled wave fronts are investigated theoretically using a nonlinear time-domain finite-difference scheme. This work seeks to validate the rippled wave front approach as a method for explaining the significant effects of turbulence on sonic booms [A. S. Pierce and D. J. Maglieri, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 51, 702–721 (1971)]. A very simple description of turbulence is employed in which velocity perturbations within a shallow layer of the atmosphere form strings of vortices characterized by their size and speed. Passage of a steady-state plane shock front through such a vortex layer …

In Situ Measurement Of Geoacoustic Properties: An Example From The Onr Mine Burial Program, Martha's Vineyard Coastal Observatory, Barbara J. Kraft, Larry A. Mayer, P. Simpkin, John A. Goff, Chris Jenkins

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

No abstract provided.

Land Use Change And Modification Of Near-Surface Thermal Records In The Northern Great Plains, Rezaul Mahmood, Ken Hubbard, Christy Carlson

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

The North American Great Plains have experienced a rapid overturning of natural grasslands to agricultural land use over the last century. Moreover, in some areas more than 80% of the land use has changed from dry land to irrigated agriculture during the second half of the twentieth century. It is speculated that these changes have modified near-surface atmospheric condition and our modeling study seems to support this. To identify changes in land surface- atmospheric modifications we have applied a soil moistureenergy balance model at three locations in Nebraska: Mead, York, and McCook. The model was applied for three land uses …

A Comparison Of Vertical Velocity Profiles From The Balloon Borne Sounding System And The 915/50 Mhz Radar Wind Profiler/Radio Acoustic Sounding System To Parcel Theory At The Arm Sgp Site, Joshua R. Ravenscraft

Masters Theses

In this study we characterized vertical wind velocity profiles in the troposphere using the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) equipment facility at the Southern Great Plains (SGP) site in Lamont OK established by the Department of Energy (DOE) and administered through Argonne National Laboratories (ANL). Using the Balloon Borne Radio Sonde (BBSS) system launched four times per day, we collected ambient temperature profiles and lapse rates from the period of June to September of

2001. Concurrently the Rass Radar Wind Profiler collected vertical wind speed data at 915 MHz continuously throughout this period. The BBSS data is visualized using a Skew-T …

Evidence For The Timing And Duration Of The Last Interglacial Period From High-Precision Uranium-Series Ages Of Corals On Tectonically Stable Coastlines, Daniel R. Muhs

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The last interglacial period has a timing and duration that can be estimated from U-series dating of emergent, coral-bearing deposits on tectonically stable coastlines. High-precision dating from Bermuda, the Bahamas, Hawaii, and Australia suggests that the last interglacial period had a sea level at least as high as present from ∼128,000 to 116,000 yr B.P. Sea level reached a near-present level more quickly after the close of the penultimate glacial period than at the close of the last glacial period and the duration of high sea level is longer than that implied by the deep-sea record.

Age Of Ground Water At City Of Lincoln's Municipal Well Field Near Ashland, Nebraska, Gregory V. Steele

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

The Platte River alluvial aquifer, which underlies the Plaue River Valley, is an important source of water for public supply in central and eastern Nebraska. Knowing the age of ground water can help scientists and water managers better understand the dynamics of the groundwater system. In turn, this knowledge will help in calibrating groundwater-flow models and aid in developing a conceptual understanding of how long it takes for recharge water to reach certain areas of the aquifer. Although previous studies (Davis, 1992; Steele and Verstraeten, 1999; Verstraeten et al., 1999) reported the interaction of surface water and ground water at …

Ocean: An Integrated Curriculum Unit, Institute For The Development Of Gifted Education, Ricks Center For Gifted Children, University Of Denver

Ricks Curriculum Units Series

An integrated curriculum is an instructional approach that connects the disciplines to an underlying theme or topic. Immersing students in an integrated-thematic unit provides the backdrop for experiences to occur across the disciplines. Shaping coursework around integrated themes is especially appropriate for gifted students, however using an integrated-thematic curriculum is appropriate for all learners as it develops students' abilities to make connections, to solve problems by looking at multiple perspectives, and to integrate information from different fields of experience. An integrated-thematic curriculum permits students to be active participants in their own learning as they design their own explorations and take …

Response Of Anchovy (Engaulis Ringens) Off Northern Chile To The 1997-1999 El Niño-La Niña Sequence, José L. Blanco, Patricio Barria, Jorge Castillo, Larry P. Atkinson

CCPO Publications

No abstract provided.

Nitrate Anomaly In The Upper Nutricline In The Northern South China Sea - Evidence For Nitrogen Fixation, George T. F. Wong, Shi-Wei Chung, Fuh-Kwo Shiah, Chung-Chi Chen, Liang-Saw Wen, Kon-Kee Liu

OES Faculty Publications

[1] Up to 2 μM of nitrate anomaly, N*, were found in the upper nutricline at the South East Asia Time-series Study (SEATS) site in the northern South China Sea (SCS). These concentrations were among the higher values reported in the Pacific and indicate the significant contribution of the remineralization of nitrogen-rich organic matter formed by nitrogen fixation to the nutrient dynamics of the area. The concentrations were systematically higher, by up to 2.5 μM, in the Fall through the early Spring, during the northeast monsoon, than in the Summer, suggesting that the impact of nitrogen fixation was higher during …

Variation In The Position Of The Upwelling Front On The Oregon Shelf, Jay A. Austin, John A. Barth

CCPO Publications

As part of an experiment to study wind-driven coastal circulation, 17 hydrographic surveys of the middle to inner shelf region off the coast of Newport, OR (44.65°N, from roughly the 90 m isobath to the 10 m isobath) were performed during Summer 1999 with a small, towed, undulating vehicle. The cross-shelf survey data were combined with data from several other surveys at the same latitude to study the relationship between upwelling intensity and wind stress field. A measure of upwelling intensity based on the position of the permanent pycnocline is developed. This measure is designed so as to be insensitive …

Hydrographic Conditions Off Northern Chile During The 1996-1998 La Niña And El Niño Events, Jose Luis Blanco, Mary-Elena Carr, Andrew C. Thomas, P. Ted Strub

CCPO Publications

The evolution of oceanographic conditions in the upwelling region off northern Chile (18°-24°S) between 1996 and 1998 (including the 1997-1998 El Niño) is presented using hydrographic measurements acquired on quarterly cruises of the Chilean Fisheries Institute, with sea surface temperature (SST), sea level, and wind speeds from Arica (18.5°S), Iquique (20.5°S), and Antofagasta (23.5°S) and a time series of vertical temperature profiles off Iquique. Spatial patterns of sea surface temperature and salinity from May 1996 to March 1997 followed a normal seasonal progression, though conditions were anomalously cool and fresh. Starting in March 1997, positive anomalies in sea level and …

Wintertime Shoreward Near-Surface Currents South Of Cape Hatteras, Dana K. Savidge

CCPO Publications

[1] Cross-isobath flow on continental shelves is of interest for a variety of reasons. Near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, the transport of larval organisms, pollutants, and oceanic carbon budget constituents to and from the adjacent Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds may depend critically on cross-isobath currents. Shoreward currents in the near-surface waters south of Cape Hatteras are documented herein, on the basis of continuous 2-year time series, encompassing all or part of three consecutive winters. Energetic shoreward currents exist similar to30% of the time from midfall through late spring. These currents are evident over the 20 and 35 m isobaths along …

Evaluation Of Nile Tilapia Pond Management Strategies In Egypt, Bartholomew W. Green, Zenab El Nagdy, Hussein Hebicha

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Five pond management strategies for Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus L.) production were evaluated in 0.1-ha earthen ponds in Egypt during a 145-day production cycle. Pond management strategies developed by the Pond Dynamics/Aquaculture Collaborative Research Support Program (PD/A CRSP) were compared to a traditional and to a modified Egyptian pond management strategy. Young-of-year Nile (mixed-sex or sex-reversed) tilapia were stocked into ponds at 20,000 fish ha^-1. Sex-reversed tilapia were stocked into chemical fertilization, organic fertilization plus formulated feed, and feed only treatment ponds, while mixed-sex tilapia were stocked into organic fertilization plus formulated feed, and chemical plus organic …

Estimating The Mean Ocean-Bay Exchange Rate Of The Chesapeake Bay, Jay A. Austin

CCPO Publications

A model of the salt balance in the Chesapeake Bay is discussed, which takes into account only time-dependent riverine input and mean ocean-bay exchange. Estimates of (spatial) mean bay salinity are made using two different data sources: a 16 year record of surveys taken by the Environmental Protection Agency's Chesapeake Bay Program, and a 10 year record of hydrographic sections taken in the lower bay by the Center for Coastal Physical Oceanography at Old Dominion University. Using United States Geological Survey river flow data to force the model, both data sets are consistent with this simple model and both imply …

The Northeast Pacific Globec Program: Coastal Gulf Of Alaska, Thomas J. Weingartner, Kenneth Coyle, Bruce Finney, Russell Hopcroft, Terry Whitledge, Richard Brodeur, Michael Dagg, Edward Farley, Dale Haidvogel, Thomas Royer

CCPO Publications

(First Paragraph) The Gulf of Alaska (GOA) continental shelf encompasses approximately 370,000 km², or about 13% of the U.S. continental shell and supports a rich and diverse marine ecosystem including some of the largest commercial fisheries in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone. Of particular economic importance is the salmon fishery, which was worth on the order of $170 million (landed value) in 2000 accrued from a catch of over 100 million fish. However, there is considerable variability on both interannual and longer time scales in harvest and recruitment success to this and other GOA fisheries. Of recent interest …

Feeding Habits Of Blacktip Sharks, Carcharhinus Limbatus, And Atlantic Sharpnose Sharks, Rhizoprionodon Terraenovae, In Louisiana Coastal Waters, Kevin Patrick Barry

LSU Master's Theses

Little is known regarding the feeding behavior of many shark species. Even less is known about shark feeding habits in Louisiana coastal waters. The stomach contents of gillnet-captured blacktip sharks (n=356), Carcharhinus limbatus, and Atlantic sharpnose sharks (n=55), Rhizoprionodon terraenovae, were examined in this study. Roughly half of the blacktip stomachs (52%) and sharpnose stomachs (45%) contained prey items. The primary prey item in terms of percent number, occurrence, and weight for blacktips and sharpnose was the gulf menhaden, Brevoortia patronus. Both blacktips and sharpnose appear to mainly be piscivores; however, no members of Sciaenidae, the most common family of …

The Effects Of Fall Coldfront Passages On The Nekton Community In A Tidal Creek In Port Fourchon, La, As Monitored By Hydroacoustics, David J. Harmon

LSU Master's Theses

Split-beam hydroacoustic sampling with two, 420 KHz, 2x6 degree elliptical transducers was evaluated as a tool to quantify nekton movements in a Louisiana estuary. I measured the effects of atmospheric cold front passages on nekton in a tidal creek in Port Fourchon, LA during the fall of 2000. Six “fronts” were sampled between October 6 and December 18, 2000. Nekton density ranged from 0 to 24.4 fish/m³ with an overall mean of 2.44 fish/m³. Net samples were taken to supplement the acoustic data with species composition data. Species composition changed from October to December. A higher number …

The Importance Of Zooplankton In The Diets Of Blue Runner (Caranx Crysos) Near Offshore Petroleum Platforms In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Sean Francis Keenan

LSU Master's Theses

Blue runner (Caranx crysos), common around offshore petroleum platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, were found to forage extensively on meso- and macro-zooplankton during the summer months. Larval decapods and stomatopods, hyperiid amphipods, pteropods, and larval and juvenile fishes were common components of their diet. Feeding periodicity results suggest that blue runner around platforms were capable of feeding throughout the night at the same intensity as the day. Size selectivity indicated that larger prey, such as fish were consumed during the night and smaller decapod crustaceans were consumed during the day. Blue runner collected from open waters away from platforms …

Sedimentation Rates And Metal Retention In An Urban Louisiana Swamp, Renee Lynn Sanders

LSU Master's Theses

Naturally vegetated areas converted to urban uses increases impervious surfaces in a watershed with corresponding increases in nutrient, sediment, and metal loadings to downstream ecosystems. Wetlands mitigate detrimental impacts by transforming or retaining pollutants. Current and historic sedimentation and metal retention rates were measured in an urban, depressional wetland in Baton Rouge, Louisiana to evaluate landscape position and watershed development on these processes. Sedimentation disks, feldspar marker horizons, and Cs137 analyses were used in three distinct landscape positions. Inflow channels had the highest elevation and water velocity while the interior was located in the lowest elevations with the longest hydroperiod. …

Algal Blooms Reduce The Uptake Of Toxic Methylmercury In Freshwater Food Webs, Paul C. Pickhardt, Carol L. Folt, Celia Y. Chen, Bjoern Klaue, Joel D. Blum

Dartmouth Scholarship

Mercury accumulation in fish is a global public health concern, because fish are the primary source of toxic methylmercury to humans. Fish from all lakes do not pose the same level of risk to consumers. One of the most intriguing patterns is that potentially dangerous mercury concentrations can be found in fish from clear, oligotrophic lakes whereas fish from greener, eutrophic lakes often carry less mercury. In this study, we experimentally tested the hypothesis that increasing algal biomass reduces mercury accumulation at higher trophic levels through the dilution of mercury in consumed algal cells. Under bloom dilution, as algal biomass …

Denitrification Potential Of Sediment From A Future Mississippi River Diversion Site In Louisiana, Roy Ryuta Iwai

LSU Master's Theses

Denitrification potential was determined in surface sediment from Lake Cataouatche, the receiving basin for a future Mississippi River diversion located in the northern portion of the Barataria Basin estuary. Nitrate removal and denitrification was measured in the laboratory using static sediment microcosms flooded with lake water. Dissolved potassium nitrate (KNO₃) was added to the microcosms to achieve: 1) an initial nitrate concentration similar to the mean Mississippi River concentration (~1.4 mg NO₃-N l^-1), and, 2) a high initial nitrate concentration to elicit a denitrification potential (~50 mg NO₃-N l^-1). Denitrification …

Sediment Transport In Wind-Exposed Shallow, Vegetated Aquatic Systems, Allen Michael Teeter

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Ecosystems with submersed vegetation are relatively shallow, physically stable and of moderate hydrodynamic energy. Submersed vegetation affect hydrodynamic friction for currents and waves resulting in increased overall frictional loss. Seagrasses shelter the sediment bed and reduce wind-wave resuspension. Bed sheltering factors were estimated from previous flume data on Laguna Madre seagrass species. Data from Laguna Madre indicate that total suspended material levels for bare areas are about an order of magnitude higher than some areas with submersed vegetation. Waves in Laguna Madre at depths less than 2 m were found to be smaller than those expected for the same non-dimensional …

Tidal Dynamics In The Bab El Mandab Strait, Ewa Jarosz

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The Bab el Mandab Strait is where the transition occurs between two noticeably different tidal regimes: the Gulf of Aden, where tidal fluctuations are mixed and have a range in excess of 2 m, and the Red Sea, where the tides are principally semidiurnal and their range is less than 1 m. Within the Strait, observations collected between May of 1995 and July of 1997 indicate that tidal currents are a mixed type and dominant constituents are the K₁ and M₂. The vertical structure of the tidal currents is complicated, differs between semidiurnal and diurnal constituents, and …

Distribution Of The Euryhaline Squid Lolliguncula Brevis In Chesapeake Bay: Effects Of Selected Abiotic Factors, I. K. Bartol, R. Mann, M. Vecchione

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The majority of cephalopods are thought to have limitations arising from physiology and locomotion that exclude them from shallow, highly variable, euryhaline environments. The brief squid Lolliguncula brevis may be a notable exception because it tolerates low salinities, withstands a wide range of environmental conditions, and swims readily in shallow water. Little is known about the distribution of L. brevis in Chesapeake Bay, a diverse and highly variable estuary. Therefore, a survey of L. brevis was conducted in the Virginia portion of Chesapeake Bay from 1993 to 1997 using a 9.1 m otter trawl, and the effects of selected factors …

Intra-Annual Variation In The Stable Oxygen And Carbon And Trace Element Composition Of Sclerosponges, P. K. Swart, S. Thorrold, B. Rosenheim, A. Eisenhauer, C. G. A. Harriason, M. Grammer, C. Latkoczy

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

This paper presents data to support the presence of (1) intra-annual signals in the chemical composition (δ¹⁸O and Sr/Ca) of the skeletons ofsclerosponges from the Bahamas and (2) variable rates of skeletal accretion. These conclusions are based on data obtained by using a microsampling method for the stable oxygen and carbon isotopes in which material was extracted at a resolution of one sample every 34 μm and a laser microprobe which obtained trace element data every 20 μm (Sr, Mg, and Pb). An age model was established using a combination of changes in the concentration of Pb, the …

A Method For The Perceptual Optimization Of Complex Visualizations, Donald H. House, Colin Ware

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

A common problem in visualization applications is the display of one surface overlying another. Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult to do this clearly and effectively. Stereoscopic viewing can help, but in order for us to be able to see both surfaces simultaneously, they must be textured, and the top surface must be made partially transparent. There is also abundant evidence that all textures are not equal in helping to reveal surface shape, but there are no general guidelines describing the best set of textures to be used in this way. What makes the problem difficult to perceptually optimize is that …

Multibeam Volume Acoustic Backscatter Imagery And Reverberation Measurements In The Northeastern Gulf Of Mexico, Timoth C. Gallaudet, Christian De Moustier

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

Multibeam volume acoustic backscatterimagery and reverberation measurements are derived from data collected in 200-m-deep waters in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico, with the Toroidal Volume Search Sonar (TVSS), a 68-kHz cylindrical sonar operated by the U.S. Navy’s Coastal System Station. The TVSS’s 360-degree vertical imaging plane allows simultaneous identification of multiple volume scattering sources and their discrimination from backscatter at the sea surface or the seafloor. This imaging capability is used to construct a three-dimensional representation of a pelagic fish school near the bottom. Scattering layers imaged in the mixed layer and upper thermocline are attributed to assemblages of epipelagic …

Quantitative Ground-Truthing Of Habitat Characteristics Using Video Mosaic Images, Randy G. Cutter Jr., Yuri Rzhanov, Larry A. Mayer

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

No abstract provided.

Microbial Ecology Of Ballast Water During A Transoceanic Voyage And The Effects Of Open-Ocean Exchange, Lisa A. Drake, Gregory M. Ruiz, Bella S. Galil, Timothy L. Mullady, Daniela O. Friedmann, Fred C. Dobbs

OES Faculty Publications

The only procedure used frequently to reduce the risk of invasion by ballast-mediated biota is open-ocean exchange of ballast water, a procedure in which vessels release coastal water and replace it with oceanic water. Limited information exists concerning the effects of transport upon the aquatic microbial community throughout transit and following open-ocean exchange, A transoceanic voyage aboard a commercial bulk carrier afforded us the opportunity to sample the microbial community in exchanged and unexchanged ballast-water holds during the journey from Hadera, Israel to Baltimore, USA. Five days following the exchange process, all microbial metrics tested (i.e. bacteria concentration, virus-like particle …