Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

A Holistic Approach To Hurricane Preparedness, Edwina A. Ward

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

Hurricanes are billion-dollar disasters, and current climate models suggest that their frequency and strength will only get worse because of global warming. Gulf Coast residents living in Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas worry about hurricane season annually and the goal of this dissertation was to measure their hurricane preparedness. This study surveyed 971 participants who have experienced hurricanes. Building on the theoretical foundations of quantitative survey research, the researcher conducted the study with the goal of answering the following questions: How do families in The Gulf Coast prepare for hurricanes, and how do local authorities prepare for the holistic …

Mis 5e Sea-Level History Along The Pacific Coast Of North America, Daniel R. Muhs

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The primary last interglacial, marine isotope substage (MIS) 5e records on the Pacific coast of North America, from Washington (USA) to Baja California Sur (Mexico), are found in the deposits of erosional marine terraces. Warmer coasts along the southern Golfo de California host both erosional marine terraces and constructional coral reef terraces. Because the northern part of the region is tectonically active, MIS 5e terrace elevations vary considerably, from a few meters above sea level to as much as 70m above sea level. The primary paleo-sea-level indicator is the shoreline angle, the junction of the wave-cut platform with the former …

The Pacific Drought Knowledge Exchange: A Co-Production Approach To Deliver Climate Resources To User Groups, Ryan J. Longman, Abby G. Frazier, Christian P. Giardina, Elliott W. Parsons, Sierra Mcdaniel

Geography

Drought is a growing threat to hydrological, ecological, agricultural, and socio-cultural systems of the tropics, especially tropical islands of the Pacific where severe droughts can compromise food and water security. Overcoming barriers to knowledge sharing between land managers and researchers is a critical cross-sector strategy for engaging and mitigating or adapting to drought. Here we describe the establishment and functioning of the Pacific Drought Knowledge Exchange (PDKE), which provides users with easier access to: (1) sector- and geography-specific climate information; (2) better and more comprehensive information; (3) improved technical assistance; and (4) a more collaborative information-transfer environment through participation in …

Climate Adaptation For Tropical Island Land Stewardship: Adapting A Workshop Planning Process To Hawai'i, Ryan J. Longman, Courtney L. Peterson, Madeline Baroli, Abby G. Frazier, Zachary Cook, Elliott W. Parsons, Maude Dinan, Katie L. Kamelamela, Caitriana Steele, Reanna Burnett, Chris Swanston, Christian P. Giardina

Geography

No abstract provided.

A Historical Analysis Of The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agencies (Fema) Response And Recovery To Gulf Coast Hurricane And Other Weather-Related Disasters, Lauren Marie Denning

Graduate Research Papers

The growing changes in our environment combined with the increased number of catastrophic climate and weather- related events are occurring more frequently and continuing to intensify in the United States and Worldwide. These events are resulting in mass destruction in our environment and infrastructure, significant loss in human lives, and costing billions of dollars in response and recovery. Although there is no way to prevent these events, governments and populations can take steps to adapt and prepare for these events. This will ultimately decrease the overall impacts that these events have on our environment and future generations to come.

This …

Phytoplankton Bloom Stages Estimated From Chlorophyll Pigment Proportions Suggest Delayed Summer Production In Low Sea Ice Years In The Northern Bering Sea, Clare B. Gaffey, Karen E. Frey, Lee W. Cooper, Jacqueline M. Grebmeier

Geography

Decreased sea ice cover in the northern Bering Sea has altered annual phytoplankton phenology owing to an expansion of open water duration and its impact on ocean stratification. Limitations of satellite remote sensing such as the inability to detect bloom activity throughout the water column, under ice, and in cloudy conditions dictate the need for shipboard based measurements to provide more information on bloom dynamics. In this study, we adapted remote sensing land cover classification techniques to provide a new means to determine bloom stage from shipboard samples. Specifically, we used multiyear satellite time series of chlorophyll a to determine …

Sidebar: Observations Of Declining Primary Productivity In The Western Bering Strait, Karen E. Frey, Jaclyn Clement Kinney, Larry V. Stock, Robert Osinski

Geography

No abstract provided.

Sea Surface Temperatures And Vertical Wind Shear As Precursors To Tropical Cyclone Activity In The Caribbean And An Expanding Main Developing Region, Keneshia Hibbert

Dissertations and Theses

Sea surface temperatures and vertical wind shear are essential to tropical cyclone formation. TCs need warm SSTs and low shear for genesis. Increasing SSTs and VWS changes influence storm development. This work analyzes SST and VWS trends for the Caribbean, surrounding region, and the Atlantic hurricane main developing region from 1982 to 2020. Storm intensity increases significantly during this period. Annual and seasonal trends show regional SSTs in the MDR are warming annually (0.0219°C yr^-1) and per season (0.0280°C yr^-1). Simultaneously, VWS decreases during the late rainfall season at 0.0556m/s yr^-1 in the MDR and …

A Temporal Examination Of The Connections Between Convective Available Potential Energy And Convective System Development, Chad A. Small

Dissertations and Theses

In 1983, the World Climate Research Programme launched its first project: the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP). While the ISCCP has succeeded in many of its cataloging and analytical goals, one of its flagship products, the Convection Tracking (CT) Database does not contain certain environmental parameters that are essential in understanding how, and when, convection is initiated or intensified. The development of mesoscale convection – notably, convective systems (CS) – is also largely dependent on parameters like convective available potential energy (CAPE) which the ISCCP CT Database does not record. By tying information on CAPE to CS, discoveries in …

Data Fusion And Synergy Of Active And Passive Remote Sensing; An Application For Freeze Thaw Detections, Zahra Sharifnezhadazizi

Dissertations and Theses

There has been a recent evolvement in the field of remote sensing after increase of number satellites and sensors data which could be fused to produce new data and products. These efforts are mainly focused on using of simultaneous observations from different platforms with different spatial and temporal resolutions. The research dissertation aims to enhance the synergy use of active and passive microwave observations and examine the results in detection land freeze and thaw (FT) predictions. Freeze thaw cycles particularly in high-latitude regions have a crucial role in many applications such as agriculture, biogeochemical transitions, hydrology and ecosystem studies. The …

Understanding The Relationship Between Urban Areas And The Boundary Layer Using Remote Sensing Methods, Gabriel A. Rios

Dissertations and Theses

The atmospheric boundary layer is crucial to the exchange in energy between the Earth's surface and the atmosphere. Within this layer, the majority of human activities are carried out, which makes understanding the boundary layer especially important for many of our interests. A key component of this energy exchange is found at the surface, was surface properties are the interface through which momentum, heat, moisture, and other fluxes are transferred between media. Not only does the surface act as an interface, but as an actor that influences the exchange efficiency and rates. This concept is the crux of atmospheric boundary …

Drop In The Bucket?, John Adam

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Horizontal Air Mass: Solutions For Fermi Questions, November 2022, John Adam

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Drop In The Bucket?: Solutions For Fermi Questions, December 2022, John Adam

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Evaluating Holocene Precipitation Variability In The Baltic Region Using Oxygen Isotopes Of Lacustrine Carbonate From Estonia, Maxwell Gordon Boes

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

A high-resolution Holocene record of groundwater isotopic composition from eastern Europe enhances the current understanding of ocean atmosphere interactions and moisture transport dynamics. In the modern system, it has been established that the amount of regional winter precipitation is driven by the strength and direction of the sea level atmospheric pressure gradient over the Atlantic Ocean. This is defined by the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index, that shows a positive correlation with precipitation amount during the cold season. This study aims to discover the link between atmospheric dynamics and the ratio of warm season to cold season precipitation through the …

Comparison Of Topsoil Moisture In E3sm Model Simulations And In-Situ Observations Over Illinois, Jacinda Lee Mayer

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Soil moisture stimulates land-atmosphere interactions by modifying energy and water fluxes in the boundary layer and it plays an important role in climate change studies. The objective of this research is to quantify the spatial and temporal variations of the Illinois Climate Network’s (ICN) observed topsoil moisture, as well as evaluate how accurately the new climate model, E3SM, is simulating soil moisture compared to the observed data during 2003-2014. Observed topsoil moisture averaged over growing season during the 12-year period indicates a general dry-north and wet-south pattern in Illinois, and northeast and southwest become drier with the progression of the …

Exploring The Morphometrics Of The Diatom Fragilariopsis Kerguelensis As A Proxy For Paleo-Sea Surface Temperature In The Late Pleistocene-Holocene Southern Ocean, Joseph Anthony Ruggiero

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The Southern Ocean has played a large role in moderating global climate since its inception in the Oligocene. With the onset of anthropogenic global warming, it is now more necessary than ever that we understand the world’s climate during periods of rapidly fluctuating temperature in the past. Climatic forecasts are informed by paleoenvironmental conditions of the past during these turbulent periods, which we can examine using proxy data. This thesis assesses a potential proxy for Sea Surface Temperature (SST) through morphometric analysis of the Southern Ocean diatom Fragilariopsis kerguelensis in the Amundsen Sea, West Antarctica. This proxy is based off …

Characterization Of Site-Specific Vegetation Activity In Alaskan Wet And Dry Tundra As Related To Climate And Soil State, Michael Gregory Brown, Kyle C. Mcdonald, Reiner Zimmermann, Nicholas Steiner, Stephanie Devries, Laura Bourgeau-Chavez

Advanced Science Research Center

We present discrete (2-h resolution) multi-year (2008–2017) in situ measurements of seasonal vegetation growth and soil biophysical properties from two sites on Alaska's North Slope, USA, representing dry and wet sedge tundra. We examine measurements of vertical active soil layer temperature and soil moisture profiles (freeze/thaw status), woody shrub vegetation physiological activity, and meteorological site data to assess interrelationships within (and between) these two study sites. Vegetation phenophases (cold de-hardening start, physiological function start, stem growth start, stem growth end, physiological function end, cold hardening completion) were found to have greater interannual day of year (DOY) occurrence variability at the …

Comparing Molecular Methods To Estimate Fish Stomach Contents And Gastric Evacuation Rates: Implications For Measuring The Impacts Of Predation On Central Valley Chinook Salmon, Cory M. Dick

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Juvenile Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) migrating through the Sacramento – San Joaquin Delta (the Delta) in central California have higher mortality rates than salmonids migrating through other west coast estuaries. Some hypotheses for high mortality rates include entrainment into water export facilities, physical alterations of the river system, and predation. Of these factors, predation is considered the least understood but may have the largest impact. Predation from large populations of non-native piscivorous fishes in the Delta is believed to effect abundances of Central Valley Chinook salmon, however sufficient data supporting this hypothesis is scarce. In this study, I …

Frayed Connections: How Long-Term Nitrogen Additions Disrupt Plant-Soil Interactions And The Carbon Cycle Of A Temperate Forest, Brooke A. Eastman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Forests are expected to mitigate some of the negative effects of climate change by sequestering anthropogenic carbon (C) from the atmosphere, but the degree to which they drawn down C will depend on the availability of key nutrients, such as nitrogen (N). There is a fair amount of uncertainty in the future of the forest C sink, mostly owing to the fate of soil organic matter (SOM) and soil heterotrophic respiration to future conditions. In N limited systems, plants allocate a significant amount of their photosynthate belowground for the acquisition of nutrients, but under conditions of chronic N deposition, plants …

Dynamic Modeling Of Inland Flooding And Storm Surge On Coastal Cities Under Climate Change Scenarios: Transportation Infrastructure Impacts In Norfolk, Virginia Usa As A Case Study, Yawen Shen, Navid Tahvildari, Mohamed M. Morsy, Chris Huxley, T. Donna Chen, Jonathan Lee Goodall

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Low-lying coastal cities across the world are vulnerable to the combined impact of rainfall and storm tide. However, existing approaches lack the ability to model the combined effect of these flood mechanisms, especially under climate change and sea level rise (SLR). Thus, to increase flood resilience of coastal cities, modeling techniques to improve the understanding and prediction of the combined effect of these flood hazards are critical. To address this need, this study presents a modeling system for assessing the combined flood impact on coastal cities under selected future climate scenarios that leverages ocean modeling with land surface modeling capable …

Editorial: Coastal Flooding: Modeling, Monitoring, And Protection Systems, Valentina Prigiobbe, Clint Dawson, Yao Hu, Hatim O. Sharif, Navid Tahvildari

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Coastal flooding has received significant attention in recent years due to future sea-level rise (SLR) projections and intensification of precipitation, which will exacerbate frequent flooding, coastal erosion, and eventually create permanently inundated low-elevation land. Coastal governments will be forced to implement measures to manage risk on the population and infrastructure and build protection systems to mitigate or adapt to the negative impacts of flooding. Research in this area is required to establish holistic frameworks for timely and accurate flooding forecast and design of protection systems.

A Trait‐Based Framework For Assessing The Vulnerability Of Marine Species To Human Impacts, Nathalie Butt, Benjamin S. Halpern, Casey S. O'Hara, A. Louise Allcock, Beth Polidoro, Samantha Sherman, Maria Byrne, Charles Birkeland, Ross G. Dwyer, Melanie Frazier, Bradley K. Woodworth, Claudia P. Arango, Michael J. Kingsford, Vinay Udyawer, Pat Hutchings, Elliot Scanes, Emily Jane Mcclaren, Sara M. Maxwell, Guillermo Diaz-Pulido, Emma Dugan, Blake Alexander Simmons, Amelia S. Wenger, Christi Linardich, Carissa J. Klein

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Marine species and ecosystems are widely affected by anthropogenic stressors, ranging from pollution and fishing to climate change. Comprehensive assessments of how species and ecosystems are impacted by anthropogenic stressors are critical for guiding conservation and management investments. Previous global risk or vulnerability assessments have focused on marine habitats, or on limited taxa or specific regions. However, information about the susceptibility of marine species across a range of taxa to different stressors everywhere is required to predict how marine biodiversity will respond to human pressures. We present a novel framework that uses life-history traits to assess species’ vulnerability to a …

Evaluating Long-Range Transportation Plans For Mainstreaming Of Climate Adaptation Among Virginia Mpos, Sebastian L. Shetty

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the strides made towards addressing climate change through greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction strategies, it has become increasingly apparent that attempting to mitigate the crisis in such a manner alone is insufficient. This thesis joins a growing body of research on how our societies must adapt to a changing climate, contributing more evidence on common barriers to adaptation and how they might be overcome. Through an attempt to evaluate the progress made towards mainstreaming, or integrating, climate change concerns into five Virginia MPOs’ long-range transportation plans (LRTPs), this study provides support for prior hypotheses around the potential for MPOs …

Seagrass Species Data Occurrence Recorded In Indonesia's Water, Susi Rahmawati, Udhi Hernawan, Kathryn M. Mcmahon

Research Datasets

This is the dataset of seagrass species occurrence compiled for the research project, titled “Prioritizing areas in Indonesia to conserve and enhance seagrass ecosystem functions under a changing climate”, funded by the 2021/2022 ANU Indonesia Project Research Grants.

Changes In Lake Drainage In The Western Canadian Arctic, Dilshan Kariyawasam, Philip Marsh Dr

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Nearly half of all Pan-Arctic lakes are situated in the Canadian Arctic, with many of these lakes being of thermokarst origin. Thermokarst lakes are sensitive to changes in the surrounding environment, making them useful indicators to examine the condition of hydrological systems in response to rapid climate warming, a trend which has been well observed in the Canadian Western Arctic. In this study, we use aerial photography to quantify lake area and count changes for lakes in the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk region, between 1950 and 2004. A combination of aerial photography and Landsat imagery were used in identifying drained thermokarst lake basins …

Air Quality: Assessment Of Pollutant Levels And Chemistry In Kitchener, On Using Multisensor Pods, Wisam Mohammed

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Air quality is a growing concern amongst governmental bodies worldwide. A large number of scientific studies accumulated over the past 25 years suggest that poor ambient air quality is attributed to adverse health effects, especially in vulnerable communities that exhibit pre-existing conditions. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported around 600 000 deaths globally in children under the age of 5 as a result of acute lower respiratory infections caused by poor air quality. With the current statistics on air quality impacts, it is clear that more needs to be done. This MSc work aims to put into perspective the …

Lake Huron Shoreline Analysis, Shubham Satish Nandanwar

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Lake Huron is a popular tourist destination and is home to several businesses and residents. Since the shoreline is dynamic and is subject to change over the years due to several factors such as a change in water level, soil type, human encroachment, etc., these locations tend to encounter floods due to increased water levels and wind speed. This causes erosion and loss to the properties along the shoreline.

This study is based on two areas of interest named Pinery Provincial Park and Sauble Beach which are located on the shoreline of Lake Huron where Pinery Provincial Park is a …

Effect Of Trigonometric Transformations On The Machine Learning Prediction And Quality Control Of Air Temperature, Andrea Fenoglio, Torrey J. Wagner, Paul Auclair, Brent T. Langhals

Faculty Publications

Conducting effective quality control of weather observations in real time is vital to the 14th Weather Squadron’s mission of providing authoritative climate data. This study explored automated quality control of weather observations by applying multiple machine learning techniques to 43,487 surface weather observations from 5 years of data at a single location. Temperature predictors were evaluated using recursive feature elimination on linear regression and XGBoost algorithms, as well as using a neural network hyperparameter sweep. Modeling was repeated after calculating trigonometric transforms of temporal variables to give the models insight into the diurnal heating cycle of the Earth. All models …

Emissions, Shawn Urbanski, Susan O'Neill, Amara L. Holder, Sarah Green, Rick L. Graw

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

This chapter assesses the current state of the science regarding the composition, intensity, and drivers of wildland fire emissions in the USA and Canada. Globally and in the USA wildland fires are a major source of gases and aerosols which have significant air quality impacts and climate interactions. Wildland fire smoke can trigger severe pollution episodes with substantial effects on public health. Fire emissions can degrade air quality at considerable distances downwind, hampering efforts by air regulators to meet air standards. Fires are a major global source of aerosols which affect the climate system by absorbing and scattering radiation and …