Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

The Coral Reef Fishes Of Broward County Florida, Species And Abundance: A Work In Progress, B. D. Ettinger, David S. Gilliam, L. K. B. Jordan, Robin L. Sherman, Richard E. Spieler

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, Lectures

The inshore environment of Broward County, FL consists of three coral reef/hard bottom reef tracts, separated by sand substrate, running parallel to the coast in sequentially deeper water. At quarter nautical mile intervals, for a five mile coastline section, fishes were censused at western, eastern and crest sites of each of the three reef tracts. On SCUBA and using the Bohnsack/Bannerot point-count method, we recorded: fish abundance, species richness, size, and general habitat of an imaginary cylinder 15 m in diameter. The position of each site was recorded by DGPS after census. One hundred and eighty-one sites were censused during …

A Near-Surface Microstructure Sensor System Used During Toga Coare. Part Ii: Turbulence Measurements, Alexander Soloviev, Roger Lukas, Peter Hacker, H. Schoeberlein, M. Baker, A. Arjannikov

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

New techniques developed for near-surface turbulence measurements during the Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere (TOGA) Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Response Experiment (COARE) employ a difference in spatial scales of turbulence and surface waves. According to this approach, high relative speed of the measurements provides separation of the turbulence and surface wave signals. During the TOGA COARE field studies, highresolution probes of pressure, temperature, conductivity, fluctuation velocity, and acceleration were mounted on the bow of the vessel at a 1.7-m depth in an undisturbed region ahead of the moving vessel. The localization in narrow frequency bands of the vibrations of the bow sensors allows …

Reactive Nitrogen Budget During The Nasa Sonex Mission, R. Talbot, Jack E. Dibb, Eric Scheuer, Y Kondo, M Koike, H B. Singh, L Salas, F Fukui, J O. Ballenthin, R F. Meads, T M. Miller, D E. Hunton, A A. Viggiano, D R. Blake, N J. Blake, Elliot Atlas, F Flocke, D J. Jacob, L Jaegle

Earth Sciences

The SASS Ozone and Nitrogen Oxides Experiment (SONEX) over the North Atlantic during October/November 1997 offered an excellent opportunity to examine the budget of reactive nitrogen in the upper troposphere (8–12 km altitude). The median measured total reactive nitrogen (NO_y) mixing ratio was 425 parts per trillion by volume (pptv). A data set merged to the HNO₃ measurement time resolution was used to calculate NO_y (NO_y sum) by summing the reactive nitrogen species (a combination of measured plus modeled results) and comparing it to measured NO_y (NO_y meas.). Comparisons were done for tropospheric …

North Fork Of The New River Benthic Macroinvertebrate Recruitment Study: Final Report, Charles G. Messing

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

Over the last several years, the Broward County Department of Natural Resource Protection has identified a series of major environmental problems in the North Fork of the New River, including illegal wastewater sludge discharge and heavy metal contamination of sediments (DNRP 1993 1994). A qualitative survey suggests that benthic macroinvertebrates have been negatively affected (DNRP 1997). Restoration projects have included removal in the summer of 1997 of a remnant sludge blanket from an area of the channel east of Interstate 95 and north of Broward Boulevard. However, the effectiveness of such dredging in terms of habitat restoration has not previously …

Isotope Ratio Studies Of Marine Mammals In Prince William Sound, Donald M. Schell, Amy Hirons

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

No abstract provided.

Fall 1999, Nsu Oceanographic Center

Currents

No abstract provided.

Mapping A Continental Shelf And Slope In The 1990s: A Tale Of Three Multibeams, James V. Gardner, J.E. Hughes Clarke, Larry A. Mayer, Art Kleiner, Mark Paton

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

Increasing societal pressures on the U.S. continental shelves adjacent to dense population centers have brought to light the lack of accurate base maps in these areas. Existing bathymetric maps and random sidescan sonar surveys are either not accurate enough or do not provide the coverage necessary to make policy decisions. Until the mid 1990s, it was not financially prudent nor technically efficient to map the shallow shelves. However, the availability of high-resolution multibeam mapping systems now allow efficient and accurate mapping of the continental margins. In 1996 the U.S. Geological Survey began a large-scale seafloor mapping campaign on the continental …

Data Handling Methods And Target Detection Results For Multibeam And Sidescan Data Collected As Part Of The Search For Swissair Flight 111, John E. Hughes Clarke, Larry A. Mayer, John Shaw, R Parrott, Mike Lamplugh, Jim Bradford

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

The crash of SwissAir Flight 111, off Nova Scotia in September 1998, triggered one of the largest seabed search surveys in Canadian history. The primary search tools used were sidescan sonars (both conventional and focussed types) and multibeam sonars. The processed search data needed to be distributed on a daily basis to other elements of the fleet for precise location of divers and other optical seabed search instruments (including laser linescan and ROV video). As a result of the glacial history of the region, many natural targets, similar in gross nature to aircraft debris were present. These included widespread linear …

Final Technical Report For The Enhancement Of Autonomous Marine Vehicle Testing In The South Florida Testing Facility Range, South Florida Ocean Measurement Center (Sfomc) Partners

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

The purpose of this grant was to carry out the six scientific experiments on the South Florida Testing Facility (SFTF) Range. In addition to the enhancements to the range, work was performed on all six with some being successfully completed while research continues on the long term tasks.

Illinois River 1998 Nutrient And Suspended Sediment Loads At Arkansas Highway 59 Bridge, Marc A. Nelson, Thomas S. Soerens

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

Automatic water samplers and a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) gauging station were established in 1995 on the main stem of the Illinois River at the Arkansas Highway 59 Bridge. Since that time, continuous stage and discharge measurements and water quality sampling have been used to determine pollutant concentrations and loads in the Arkansas portion of the Illinois River. This report represents the results from the measurement and sampling for January 1, 1998 to December 31, 1998.

Moolapheonoides Utmas, New Species, From Coral Reefs In The Madang Lagoon, Papua New Guinea (Amphipoda, Cyproideidae), James Darwin Thomas

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Moolapheonoides utmas, new species, is described from coral reefs at Madang, Papua New Guinea. M. utmas differs from other species in the genus by the large tooth-cusp projecting posteroventrally on article 2 of pereopod 7 and the lower dorsal crest of the urosome. It shares an unusual dorsolateral bulbous projection of pereonite segments 3 and 4 with other cyproideid species Hoplopohoenoides obessa Shoemaker from Florida, and Naraphoenoides mullaya Barnard from Australia. Identification keys for the genus Moolaphoenoides are presented and relationships to other genera in the family are discussed.

Maximum Temperature Trends In The Himalaya And Its Vicinity: An Analysis Based On Temperature Records From Nepal For The Period 1971–94, Arun B. Shrestha, Cameron P. Wake, Paul A. Mayewski, Jack E. Dibb

Earth Sciences

Analyses of maximum temperature data from 49 stations in Nepal for the period 1971–94 reveal warming trends after 1977 ranging from 0.068 to 0.128C yr21 in most of the Middle Mountain and Himalayan regions, while the Siwalik and Terai (southern plains) regions show warming trends less than 0.038C yr21. The subset of records (14 stations) extending back to the early 1960s suggests that the recent warming trends were preceded by similar widespread cooling trends. Distributions of seasonal and annual temperature trends show high rates of warming in the high-elevation regions of the country (Middle Mountains and Himalaya), while low warming …

A Drought Watch System For Southeast Spain, Ramon Garrido Abenza

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

One of the main climatological characteristics of the region of Murcia (11,300 km2), located almost entirely in the Segura Basin (in southeast Spain), is the great temporal and spatial irregularity of its precipitation. Average annual precipitation values range between 200 and 500 mm, and coefficients of variation (CV) are high, with some values about 50%. It is a semiarid region (including a small arid area), and agriculture plays a major role in its economy. Because of this, drought is one characteristic of the region’s climate that has far-reaching consequences, from unemployment to social conflicts.

It is important to define drought …

Announcements: August 1999

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

Contents:

Disaster Management Workshops

National Workshop on Dynamic Crop Simulation Modeling

International Conference on Integrated Drought Management

15th Annual Conference on Contaminated Soils

2000 National Disaster Medical System Conference

Drought Follows The Deluge In Vermont, Lesley-Ann Dupigny-Giroux

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

The incidence of both drought and flooding on the Vermont landscape within the same calendar year is not an uncommon occurrence. The year 1998 was no exception, in that the ice storm of January and statewide flooding of June/July finally gave way to drought conditions as the year drew to a close. These dry conditions continued into late June/early July 1999, when a series of convective and frontal systems brought steady rainfall amounts that were helpful in reducing the surface moisture deficits. Hydrologic deficits, however, still existed in mid-July.

With the exception of the most severe events, which can span …

Low Temperature And Cold Drought Risks In Crop Production In Temperate Kashmir, Badrul Hasan, Ashok Kumar, A. A. Khan

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

Temperature plays a vital role in life processes and crop production. Physical and chemical processes within plants are temperature dependent; these processes in turn control biological reactions in crop plants. Temperature also plays a significant role in some aspects of crop physiological cycles: the diffusion rate of gases and liquids changes with temperature; the solubility of substances is temperature dependent; rapid progress occurs as a result of temperature increases; and the equilibrium and stability of various systems and compounds (including enzymes) is a function of temperature.

Air temperature at the screen level is one of the most important variables affecting …

From The Director: May-August 1999, Donald A. Wilhite

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

With increased understanding of El Niño and La Niña events and growing awareness of the wide range of potential impacts, as well as the increased reliability of seasonal climate forecasts for some regions of the world, there is growing interest in the use of climate information to help reduce risk for some weather-sensitive industries, especially agriculture. The National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) is currently involved in a project sponsored by the UNDP Office to Combat Desertification and Drought (UNSO) and the World Meteorological Organization, with additional support from NOAA and USAID. The next phase of this project will be a …

Summer 1999, Nsu Oceanographic Center

Currents

No abstract provided.

Enso’S Impact On The Occurrence Of Autumnal Drought In Iran, M. J. Nazemosadat

Drought Network News (1994–2001)

Recent extreme rainfall events and the frequent occurrence of worldwide droughts and their associated natural disasters (i.e., devastating bushfires in Australia, Indonesia, and Italy during 1997; the current severe drought in Iran) have increased the scientific community’s interest in the broad characteristics of rainfall variation and the potential for rainfall prediction.

On the basis of the Koppen climate classification (Ahrens, 1998), the Islamic Republic of Iran (Figure 1) is categorized as generally having arid (BW) and semiarid (BS) climates. This signifies that the annual precipitation is less than the potential annual loss of water through evapotranspiration. The occurrence of rainfall …

Chemical Characteristics Of Air From Differing Source Regions During The Pacific Exploratory Mission-Tropics A (Pem-Tropics A), Ashley S. Board, H Fuelberg, G L. Gregory, B J. Heikes, Martin G. Schultz, D R. Blake, Jack E. Dibb, S T. Sandholm, R. Talbot

Earth Sciences

Ten-day backward trajectories are used to determine the origins of air parcels arriving at airborne DC-8 chemical measurement sites during NASA's Pacific Exploratory Mission-Tropics A (PEM-T) that was conducted during August-October 1996. Those sites at which the air had a common geographical origin and transport history are grouped together, and statistical measures of chemical characteristics are computed. Temporal changes in potential temperature are used to determine whether trajectories experience a significant convective influence during the 10-day period. Those trajectories that do not experience a significant convective influence are divided into four geographical categories depending on their origins and paths. Air …

Constraints On The Age And Dilution Of Pacific Exploratory Mission-Tropics Biomass Burning Plumes From The Natural Radionuclide Tracer 210pb, Jack E. Dibb, R. Talbot, David Meeker, Eric Scheuer, N J. Blake, D R. Blake, G L. Gregory, G W. Sachse

Earth Sciences

During the NASA Global Troposphere Experiment Pacific Exploratory Mission-Tropics (PEM-Tropics) airborne sampling campaign we found unexpectedly high concentrations of aerosol-associated ²¹⁰Pb throughout the free troposphere over the South Pacific. Because of the remoteness of the study region, we expected specific activities to be generally less than 35 μBq m⁻³ but found an average in the free troposphere of 107 μBq m⁻³. This average was elevated by a large number of very active (up to 405 μBq m⁻³) samples that were associated with biomass burning plumes encountered on nearly every PEM-Tropics flight in the southern …

Ozone And Aerosol Distributions And Air Mass Characteristics Over The South Pacific During The Burning Season, Marta Fenn, Edward V. Browell, Carolyn Butler, William B. Grant, Susan A. Kooi, Marian B. Clayton, G L. Gregory, Reginald E. Newell, Yong Zhu, Jack E. Dibb, H Fuelberg, Bruce E. Anderson, A R. Bandy, D R. Blake, J D. Bradshaw, B J. Heikes, G W. Sachse, S T. Sandholm, H B. Singh, R. Talbot, D C. Thornton

Earth Sciences

In situ and laser remote measurements of gases and aerosols were made with airborne instrumentation to establish a baseline chemical signature of the atmosphere above the South Pacific Ocean during the NASA Global Tropospheric Experiment (GTE)/Pacific Exploratory Mission-Tropics A (PEM-Tropics A) conducted in August-October 1996. This paper discusses general characteristics of the air masses encountered during this experiment using an airborne lidar system for measurements of the large-scale variations in ozone (O₃) and aerosol distributions across the troposphere, calculated potential vorticity (PV) from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF), and in situ measurements for comprehensive air …

Fisheries Research Report No. 111 - Sea Temperature Variability Off Western Australia 1990 To 1994, Alan Pearce, Mark Rossbach, Marion Tait, Rhys Brown

Fisheries Research Reports

Analysis of temperature data from coastal waters between Shark Bay and Cape Mentelle has shown the main features of temporal and spatial variability in temperature along the Western Australian coastline. Three distinct periods of variability emerge: the annual cycle (peak temperatures generally in January-February and troughs in July-August), a few-day (weatherrelated) cycle, and the diurnal pattern.

Summer temperatures range from 24° C (South Passage) to 19° C (Cape Mentelle), and winter temperatures from 21° C (South Passage) to 16° C (Marmion). Mean annual temperature ranges (winter minimum to summer maximum) are between 3° C (South Passage) and 7° C (Alkimos), …

The Impact Of Accelerating Land-Use Change On The N-Cycle Of Tropical Aquatic Ecosystems: Current Conditions And Projected Changes, J. A. Downing, M. Mcclain, R. Twilley, J. M. Melack, J. Elser, Nancy N. Rabalais, W. M. Lewis Jr., R. Eugene Turner, J. Corredor, D. Soto, A. Yanez Arancibia, J. A. Kopaska, R. W. Howarth

Faculty Publications

Published data and analyses from temperate and tropical aquatic systems are used to summarize knowledge about the potential impact of land-use alteration on the nitrogen biogeochemistry of tropical aquatic ecosystems, identify important patterns and recommend key needs for research. The tropical N-cycle is traced from pre-disturbance conditions through the phases of disturbance, highlighting major differences between tropical and temperate systems that might influence development strategies in the tropics. Analyses suggest that tropical freshwaters are more frequently N-limited than temperate zones, while tropical marine systems may show more frequent P limitation. These analyses indicate that disturbances to pristine tropical lands will …

Bulletin 4369 - Ord River Irrigation Area - Kununurra Western Australia, Agriculture Western Australia

Bulletins 4000 -

The Ord River Irrigation Area (ORIA) in the Kimberley Province of Western Australia is the product of a bold and imaginative plan to develop part of the nation's tropical north for intensive agriculture by harnessing the waters of the Ord River. The principal features of the scheme are:

* A major storage reservoir formed by a dam constructed where the Ord River enters the Carr-Boyd Ranges, 160 kilometres south-east of Wyndham.

* A diversion dam, 50 kilometres further downstream, to raise the river level and divert water to be released from the major storage reservoir onto the irrigable lands.

* …

Observations And Interpretation Of Gravity Wave Induced Fluctuations In The O I (557.7 Nm) Airglow, G. Schubert, R. L. Walterscheid, Michael P. Hickey Ph.D., C. A. Tepley

Publications

Observations of fluctuations in the intensity and temperature of the O I (557.7 nm) airglow taken at Arecibo in 1989 are reported and interpreted on the assumption that they are caused by gravity waves propagating through the emission layer. The data give the magnitude of Krassovsky's ratio as 3.5 ± 2.2, at periods between about 5 and 10 hours. Comparison with theory shows that the gravity waves responsible for the measured airglow variations must have long wavelengths of several thousand kilometers. The observed phases of Krassovsky's ratio are in good agreement with theoretically predicted values at the long wavelengths and …

Nitrate Reductase Activity, Nitrate Uptake And Iodine Speciation In The Marine Environment, Chin-Chang Hung

OES Theses and Dissertations

The present method for the determination of new production (NP) by measuring the uptake of added ¹⁵NO₃^– suffers from a number of limitations. In an attempt to improve this situation, this research examined the possibility of estimating ¹⁵NO₃– uptake by measuring the activity of nitrate reductase (NRA). In addition, because it has long been suspected that the biological reduction of IO₃^– to I^– may be mediated by nitrate reductase (NR), this research investigated the ability of NR to catalyze the reduction of iodate to iodide.

An improved method for the determination …

Molecular Techniques Reveal Wide Phyletic Diversity Of Heterotrophic Microbes Associated With Discodermia Spp. (Porifera: Demospongiae), Jose V. Lopez, Peter J. Mccarthy, Kathleen E. Janda, Robin Willoughby, Shirley A. Pomponi

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Sponges are well known to harbor large numbers of heterotrophic microbes within their mesohyl. Studies to determine the diversity of these associated microbes have been attempted for only a few shallow water species. We cultured various microorganisms from several species of Discodermia collected from deep water using the 'Johnson-Sea-Link' manned submersibles, and characterised them by standard microbiological identification methods. Characterisation of a small proportion (ca. 10%) of the total and potential eubacterial isolate collection with molecular systematics techniques revealed a wide diversity of microbes. Phylogenetic analyses of 32 small subunit (SSU) 16S-like rRNA gene sequences from different micorbes indicated high …

Concentrations And Snow-Atmosphere Fluxes Of Reactive Nitrogen At Summit, Greenland, J W. Munger, D J. Jacob, S M. Fan, A S. Colman, Jack E. Dibb

Earth Sciences

Concentrations and fluxes of NO_y (total reactive nitrogen), ozone concentrations and fluxes of sensible heat, water vapor, and momentum were measured from May 1 to July 20, 1995 at Summit, Greenland. Median NO_y concentrations declined from 947 ppt in May to 444 ppt by July. NO_y fluxes were observed into and out of the snow, but the magnitudes were usually below 1 μmol m⁻² h⁻¹ because of the low HNO₃ concentration and weak turbulence over the snow surface. Some of the highest observed fluxes may be due to temporary storage by equilibrium sorption of …

A Process Model Of Risk Communication: The Case Of Global Climate Change, Fiona Clark, Keith R. Stamm, Paula Reynolds Eblacas

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

The authors describe a survey of public media use as it relates to different stages of awareness and concern regarding risk issues.