Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

On The Frontlines - The Fishermen Of Ibrahim Hyderi, Muhammad Haris Aslam Khan

MSJ Capstone Projects

Climate change has become a matter of recent debate for much of the world. According to a report published by a German watch, a non-governmental organization, in 2019, Pakistan among the five countries at severe risk of climate change disasters.

During the last two decades, Pakistan saw more than 141 extreme climatic catastrophes. Only in 2016, more than 566 people died due to these conditions.

A report published by Asian Development Bank in 2017 indicates Pakistan’s climate change profile. It states that more than 1,600 people have lost their lives in the super flood of 2010 alone. A loss of …

Beavers Alter Stream Macroinvertebrate Communities In Northeastern Utah, Susan E. Washko, Brett B. Roper, Trisha Brooke Atwood

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

1. Understanding changes in macroinvertebrate communities is important because they play a large role in stream ecosystem functioning, and they are an important food resource for fish. Beaver‐induced changes to stream morphology could alter macroinvertebrate communities, which in turn could affect food webs and ecosystem function. However, studies investigating the effects of North American beaver activities on macroinvertebrates are rare in the inter‐mountain west, an area with high potential for beaver‐assisted restoration.
2. The aim of this study was to quantify differences in the macroinvertebrate community between unaltered segments of streams and within beaver ponds in north‐eastern Utah, U.S.A. We assessed macroinvertebrate …

The Role Of Multi-Charged Responses: Construction And Application Of A Tandem Differential Mobility Analyzer (Tdma), Christopher Ray Oxford

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Atmospheric aerosols impact health outcomes, visibility, and the energy balance of the earth. The atmosphere contains a variety of compounds, and the volatility (phase change enthalpy and vapor pressure) of each compound determines its partitioning between the gas phase and the particle phase. The hygroscopicity (an aerosol’s affinity for water) of an atmospheric aerosol particle is determined by the many compounds present in the particle, and thus, the volatility impacts hygroscopicity. Changes in hygroscopicity alter the fraction of the aerosol deposited in the lungs and the fraction of the aerosol activated into cloud droplets. Thus, understanding the volatility and hygroscopicity …

Vintage Report 2019: North Willamette Valley, Gregory V. Jones

Linfield University Wine Studies Reports

This report describes the impacts of climate and phenology on vintage for the North Willamette Valley in Oregon in 2019. A relatively mild early winter in 2018 was followed by a cold and wet second half of winter in 2019 and then a wet, but warm, spring. The growing season saw a few mild frosts during late April, but started off warmer than average, moderating through mid-vintage with fewer than average heat spikes. Near-record precipitation amounts during late June and early July brought increased disease pressure to the region. The vintage will be remembered for the early rains in September …

Integrated Species–Phenon Trees: Visualizing Infraspecific Diversity Within Lineages, Abdullah Khan Zehady, Barry G. Fordham, James G. Ogg

Purdue University Libraries Open Access Publishing Fund

The unprecedented detail with which contemporary molecular phylogenetics are visualizing infraspecific relationships within living species and species complexes cannot as yet be reliably extended into deep time. Yet paleontological systematics has routinely dealt in (mainly) morphotaxa envisaged in various ways to have been components of past species lineages. Bridging these perspectives can only enrich both. We present a visualization tool that digitally depicts infraspecific diversity within species through deep time. Our integrated species–phenon tree merges ancestor–descendant trees for fossil morphotaxa (phena) into reconstructed phylogenies of lineages (species) by expanding the latter into “species boxes” and placing the phenon trees inside. …

A Climatology Of Snowpack In The Southern Rocky Mountains And Snow To Liquid Ratio Forecasting Techniques Using Model Generated Soundings From The Rapid Refresh Model, Carson Jones

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Mountainous snowpack represents up to 70% of the total water resources for areas in the western United States. Temperature and precipitation control the accumulation and ablation of the snowpack throughout the cold season, both of which are subject to a changing climate. This study will use a network of snow telemetry (SNOTEL) stations to investigate changes in the snowpack season, snow water equivalent (SWE), and temperature in the southern Rocky Mountain region. Additionally, this study will use model generated soundings from the Rapid Refresh (RAP) model to establish relationships between the depth and cloud proportion of ice crystal growth layers, …

Steve And The Picket Fence: Evidence Of Feedback-Unstable Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Interaction, Evgeny Mishin, Anatoly Streltsov

Publications

This paper aims to extend the understanding of Strong Thermal Emission VelocityEnhancement (STEVE) and the Picket Fence related to strong subauroral ion drifts (SAID). Wenumerically demonstrated that precipitating energetic electrons are critical for the structuring of the PicketFence. It is created by feedback-unstable magnetosphere-ionosphere interactions driven by the SAIDelectric field when the Hall conductance created by energetic (≥1 keV) electrons exceeds the Pedersenconductance. We show that thermal excitation of the red-line emission in STEVE is inhibited by inelasticcollisions with molecular nitrogen. Suprathermal (≤500 eV) electrons coming from the turbulentplasmasphere appear to be the major source. We also show that the …

A Risk Analysis Of Microplastic Consumption In Filter Feeders, Sheri Rahman

HCNSO Student Capstones

Microplastics (plastic particles < 5 mm) pose a serious threat to marine organisms, as researchers have documented such particles in the gut contents of numerous species. In particular, filter feeders are at risk of consuming microplastics because they may accidentally consume the particulates when feeding or they may prey on species that have already consumed them. The goals of this research were to evaluate the risks that different filter feeders face in regards to microplastic consumption through the analysis of the calculated Microplastic Consumption Rates for numerous species of filter feeders. Factors that could potentially affect this risk were also considered, including ocean basin, environment type, salinity, life stage, IUCN status, and filtration technique. Initial analysis showed that body size greatly impacted a species’ risk of microplastic consumption and further tests were completed to evaluate overall microplastic contamination for each species. Microplastic consumption and microplastic contamination values were evaluated and analyzed to determine which filter feeding species were most at risk of experiencing ecological effects from microplastic pollution. From a resource management perspective, this research highlights the filter feeding species most at risk, contributing to the development of more effective plastic waste management policies.

Life In Hampton Roads Survey No. 4: Neighborhood Flooding And Insurance, News @ Odu

News Items

No abstract provided.

Spatial And Temporal Trends Of Southeastern Florida's Octocoral Comunity, Alexandra Hiley

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

In the Caribbean, local and global stressors have driven significant declines in scleractinian coral cover up to 80% in only three decades. Following these declines, phase shifts in benthic community composition have been reported. Shifts towards macroalgal dominance has been the most widely observed case, however, shifts towards octocoral and sponge dominance have also been reported. In Florida, USA, the Florida Reef Tract is an extensive barrier reef system that contains diverse assemblages of corals, sponges, fish, and other taxa. The Southeast Florida Reef Tract (SEFRT) within the Southeast Florida Coral Reef Conservation Area is the northern portion of this …

Arctic Thaw: Environmental Exploitation For Economic Profit, Stephen F. Moulton

HCNSO Student Capstones

“Arctic Thaw: Environmental Exploitation for Economic Profit,” is a comprehensive, interdisciplinary assessment of Arctic climate change (CC) impacts. Arctic CC alters the regions’ temperature, annual ice cover, and sea levels. This alteration influences the global economy through enriched international trade and fossil hydrocarbon extraction developments. This capstone examines the Arctic’s response to CC through economic statistical analysis, tracking relative sea-level (RSL) trends, as well as performing hydrographic and modeling reviews. The Northern Rim Countries (NRCs) economic analysis assesses potential CC and GSLR impacts by applying statistical techniques to calculate its effect on each country’s gross domestic product (GDP). The tidal …

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

Linfield University Wine Studies Reports

This report provides a summary of the weather and climate forecast for December 2019. It includes forecast information specific to the Pacific Northwest and the western United States, as well as forecast information for other portions of the United States and abroad.

Determination Of Global Mean Eddy Diffusive Transport In The Mesosphere And Lower Thermosphere From Atomic Oxygen And Carbon Dioxide Climatologies, G. R. Swenson, C. C. J. H. Salinas, F. Vargas, Y. Zhu, M. Kaufmann, M. Jones Jr., A. Liu, Et Al.

Publications

Quantifying the eddy diffusion coefficient profile in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) is critical to the constituent density distributions in the upper mesosphere and thermosphere. Previous work by Swenson et al. (2018, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jastp.2018.05.014) estimated the global mean eddy diffusion (kzz) values in the upper mesosphere using atomic oxygen (O), derived from Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) hydroxyl (OH). In this study, vertical eddy diffusive transport velocities of O were determined from continuity of mass in the mesopause region (80–97 km), primarily via the HOx chemistry. Global average constituent climatology from previously deduced SABER ozone (O3) …

Temporally Consistent Urban-Rural Delineations For Global Urban Heat Island Monitoring, Tc Chakraborty

Yale Day of Data

Urbanization leads to local-scale modification of climate, particularly the urban heat island (UHI) effect - the high temperature in cities compared to their surroundings. The UHI effect is generally quantified by measuring the temperature differential between the city and its surrounding rural reference. Choices of both the city and the rural reference are prone to assumptions, which may affect, among other things, temporal variability in UHI intensity. To reduce these uncertainties, I create a global dataset of urban-rural delineations that can be used to better constrain the temporal trends in UHI intensity throughout the globe using the European Space Agency's …

Barrier Layer Impact On Rapid Intensification Of Hurricanes (2000-2018) In The Atlantic Ocean, J. Gaston Hayworth

HCNSO Student Capstones

Hurricane prediction is an evolving challenge that has seen much improvement over the years. While hurricane models have improved in predicting the path of storms, forecasts of hurricane intensity are unreliable due to the complexity of environmental data, lack of understanding of how relative humidity, vertical wind shear, hurricane structure and other possible factors affect intensity. Rapid Intensification (RI), which is a wind speed increase of +30 kts over a 24-hr period, can contribute to major destruction and loss of life to coastal communities affected by hurricanes, and is especially difficult to predict. Given the continued development of coastal regions …

A Numerical Investigation On The Variation Of Sodium Ion And Observed Thermospheric Sodium Layer At Cerro Pachón, Chile During Equinox, Xuguang Cai, Tao Yuan, J. Vincent Eccles, N. M. Pedatella, Xiaoqi Xi, Chao Ban, Alan Z. Liu

Publications

The extension of the neutral sodium (Na) layer into the thermosphere (up to 170 km) has recently been observed at low and high latitudes using a Na lidar. However, the geophysical mechanisms and implications of its formation are currently unknown. In this study, we conduct an advanced two‐dimensional numerical simulation of the Na and Na+ variations in the E and F regions at low latitudes. The numerical simulations are used to investigate the contributions of the electromagnetic force, neutral wind, diffusion, and gravity. The simulations lead to three major findings. First, Na+ in the subtropical region of the geomagnetic equator …

Sargassum Infauna Community Structure In The Florida Straits And Gulf Stream, Dayna S. Hunn

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Community structure of Sargassum-associated organisms was examined from 11 sampling locations in the Florida Straits and Gulf Stream from May—September 2018 using a combination of modified shrimp trawls and dip nets. A total of 5413 organisms were collected from Sargassumhabitat representing 14 species from 10 families. A core group of organisms (Platynereis dumerilii, Litiopa melanostoma, Portunus sayi, Portunus spinimanus, Leander tenuicornis, and Latreutes fucorum) were found throughout the entirety of the geographic range surveyed. This core community was not found to vary significantly with increasing distance to shore (P=0.217) and latitude …

Vertical, Thermal, And Geographic Habitats Of Whale Sharks (Rhincodon Typus) Tagged Along Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia, Rachel Steinberg

Theses

Though whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) are the largest fish in the ocean there is little known about the species’ life history. Juvenile males are often observed at a number of locations world-wide but adult females, adult males, and neonates are rarely seen. Consequently, important issues like where whale sharks mate and give birth are unknown. Similarly, what geographic and vertical habitats whale sharks use to forage in are similarly poorly known. Seventeen juvenile whale sharks (10 female, 7 male) were outfitted with satellite tags off Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia between 2003 and 2009, and subsequently monitored for 1920 …

Multilayer Observations And Modeling Of Thunderstorm-Generated Gravity Waves Over The Midwestern United States, C. J. Heale, J. B. Snively, A. N. Bhatt, L. Hoffmann, C. C. Stephan

Publications

We present multilayer observations and numerical simulations of gravity waves (GWs) generated by a series of Mesoscale Convective Systems over the midwestern United States. Strong semiconcentric GWs were observed and modeled, which couple from their tropospheric sources to the thermosphere, displaying strong nonlinearity indicated by instability, breaking, and formation of turbulent vortices. GWs in the stratosphere display a large range of horizontal scales from 34–400 km; however, the smaller wavelength waves break rapidly in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere. Larger-scale (≥150 km) waves dominate in the thermosphere and display northwestward propagation at 200–300 km altitude, opposing the mean winds. Despite …

Characterization Of Bacterial Communities In Biscayne Bay Through Genomic Analysis, Eric Fortman

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Biscayne Bay is a shallow oligotrophic estuary in Southeast Florida. Channelization of rivers, and dredging of canals has greatly altered the historical flow of fresh water into the bay. This, coupled with the rise of a sprawling urban & suburban development, has greatly increased the nutrient load in the bay. This study examined the bacterial community at 14 stations throughout Biscayne Bay —6 stations were located at the mouths of canals; 1 upstream-canal station; 6 stations in the center of the bay; and one ocean influenced station, located near the entrance to the bay. One liter, surface water samples were …

Importance Of Refractory Ligands And Their Photodegradation For Iron Oceanic Inventories And Cycling, Christel Hassler, Damien Cabanes, Sonia Blanco-Ameijeiras, Sylvia G. Sander, Ronald Benner

Faculty Publications

Iron is an essential micronutrient that limits primary production in up to 40% of the surface ocean and influences carbon dioxide uptake and climate change. Dissolved iron is mostly associated with loosely characterised organic molecules, called ligands, which define key aspects of the iron cycle such as its residence time, distribution and bioavailability to plankton. Models based on in situ ligand distributions and the behaviour of purified compounds include long-lived ligands in the deep ocean, bioreactive ligands in the surface ocean and photochemical processes as important components of the iron cycle. Herein, we further characterise biologically refractory ligands in dissolved …

Increased Fluvial Runoff Terminated Inorganic Aragonite Precipitation On The Northwest Shelf Of Australia During The Early Holocene, Maximilian Hallenberger, Lars Reuning, Stephen J. Gallagher, Stefan Back, Takeshige Ishiwa, Beth A. Christensen, Kara Bogus

School of Earth & Environment Departmental Research

Inorganic precipitation of aragonite is a common process within tropical carbonate environments. Across the Northwest Shelf of Australia (NWS) such precipitates were abundant in the late Pleistocene, whereas present-day sedimentation is dominated by calcitic bioclasts. This study presents sedimentological and geochemical analyses of core data retrieved from the upper 13 meters of IODP Site U1461 that provide a high-resolution sedimentary record of the last ~15 thousand years. Sediments that formed from 15 to 10.1 ka BP are aragonitic and characterised by small needles (<5 >µm) and ooids. XRF elemental proxy data indicate that these sediments developed under arid conditions in …

Umphlett Qci Dec 2019, Natalie A. Umphlett

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

Highlights for the Basin

Temperature and Precipitation Anomalies

Soil Moisture Conditions

Agriculture

Energy

Infrastructure

Temperature

Precipitation

Cytotoxicity And Mutagenicity Of Disinfection Byproduct Mixtures Formulated Using Free Chlorine And Monochloramine, Yonas Ghebremedhin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Bioassays have been used extensively to assess various toxicity endpoints of drinking water disinfection byproducts (DBPs), but an emphasis on single compounds prevails. In this research, DBP mixtures were assessed using a cytotoxicity test with Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells and an Ames fluctuation test with Salmonella typhimurium TA-98 and TA-100 with and without S9 rat liver homogenate. Seven whole mixture DBP concentrates were formulated using reconstituted natural organic matter (NOM) extracts from the Upper Mississippi River using scaled disinfectant dosing protocols with free chlorine and monochloramine in the presence and absence of added bromide. DBPs were identified by gas …

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

Tennessee Climate Office Monthly Reports

No abstract provided.

Vegetation Classification And Mapping, Missouri National Recreational River, Tom Baldvins, Matt Ley, David Jones, Joe Stevens, Hannah Pilkington

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

The vegetation inventory project at Missouri National Recreational River (MNRR) classified and mapped vegetation within the park administrative boundary and estimated thematic map accuracy quantitatively. The project was conducted over a four year period from the summer of 2015 to the winter of 2019.

The project follows guidance provided by the National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Mapping Inventory (VMI) Program. The overall process includes initial planning and scoping, imagery procurement, field data collection, data analysis, imagery interpretation and classification, and accuracy assessment. The initial planning and scoping meetings to support study plan development took place in December, 2009, …

Growth Phase Proteomics Of The Heterotrophic Marine Bacterium Ruegeria Pomeroyi, Dasha Krayushkina, Emma Timmins-Schiffman, Jessica Faux, Damon H. May, Michael Riffle, H. Rodger Harvey, Brook L. Nunn

OES Faculty Publications

The heterotrophic marine bacterium, Ruegeria pomeroyi, was experimentally cultured under environmentally realistic carbon conditions and with a tracer-level addition of ¹³C-labeled leucine to track bacterial protein biosynthesis through growth phases. A combination of methods allowed observation of real-time bacterial protein production to understand metabolic priorities through the different growth phases. Over 2000 proteins were identified in each experimental culture from exponential and stationary growth phases. Within two hours of the ¹³C-labeled leucine addition, R. pomeroyi significantly assimilated the newly encountered substrate into new proteins. This dataset provides a fundamental baseline for understanding growth phase differences in molecular …

Temporal And Spatial Scales Of Correlation In Marine Phytoplankton Communities, A. M. Kuhn, S. Dutkiewicz, O. Jahn, Sophie Clayton, T. A. Rynearson, M. R. Mazloff, A. D. Barton

OES Faculty Publications

Ocean circulation shapes marine phytoplankton communities by setting environmental conditions and dispersing organisms. In addition, processes acting on the water column (e.g., heat fluxes and mixing) affect the community structure by modulating environmental variables that determine in situ growth and loss rates. Understanding the scales over which phytoplankton communities vary in time and space is key to elucidate the relative contributions of local processes and ocean circulation on phytoplankton distributions. Using a global ocean ecosystem model, we quantify temporal and spatial correlation scales for phytoplankton phenotypes with diverse functional traits and cell sizes. Through this analysis, we address these questions: …

Dynamic Accretion Beneath A Slow-Spreading Ridge Segment: Iodp Hole 1473a And The Atlantis Bank Oceanic Core Complex, Henry J.B. Dick, Christopher J. Macleod, Peter Blum, Natsue Abe, Donna K. Blackman, Julie A. Bowles, M.J. Cheadle, K. Cho, Jakub Ciazela, Jeremy Deans, Virginia P. Edgcomb, C. Ferrando, Lyderic France, B. Ghosh, Benoit Ildefonse, Barbara John, Mark A. Kendrick, J. Koepke, James A.M. Leong, C. Liu, Q. Ma, T. Morishita, A. Morris, J.H. Natland, T. Nozaka, O. Pluemper, A. Sanflippo, J.B. Sylvan, Maurice A. Tivey, R. Tribuzio, G. Viegas

Faculty Publications

809 deep IODP Hole U1473A at Atlantis Bank, SWIR, is 2.2 km from 1,508‐m Hole 735B and 1.4 from 158‐m Hole 1105A. With mapping, it provides the first 3‐D view of the upper levels of a 660‐km² lower crustal batholith. It is laterally and vertically zoned, representing a complex interplay of cyclic intrusion, and ongoing deformation, with kilometer‐scale upward and lateral migration of interstial melt. Transform wall dives over the gabbro‐peridotite contact found only evolved gabbro intruded directly into the mantle near the transform. There was no high‐level melt lens, rather the gabbros crystallized at depth, and then emplaced …

A Case Study Of Stratospheric Ozone Transport To The Northern San Francisco Bay Area And Sacramento Valley During Cabots 2016, Jodie Clark, Sen Chiao

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

The California Baseline Ozone Transport Study (CABOTS) was a major air quality study that collected ozone measurements aloft between mid-May and mid-August of 2016. Aircraft measurements, ground-based lidar measurements, and balloon-borne ozonesondes collected precise upper-air ozone measurements across the central and Southern California valley. Utilizing daily ozonesonde data from Bodega Bay, California, and Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, version 2 (MERRA-2), reanalysis data for 25 July to 14 August 2016, three stratospheric intrusion events are identified over Northern California influencing air masses above Bodega Bay and Sacramento simultaneously. Calculated percent daily changes in afternoon ozonesonde observations indicate increasing …