Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

The Women Of Helamb: Life After The 2015 Earthquake, Emma Squier

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Disasters exacerbate inequalities that are already present in the society, put particular groups of individuals at risk, specifically women. The vulnerabilities of women shape the way they experience disasters as well as their ability to recover from them. Although it has now been over a year since the earthquake that occurred in Nepal on April 25, 2015, the recovery has been slow, and the destruction that it has caused is still greatly visible. For this project, women in the Helambu region of Nepla were interviewed to learn about how their lives were affected by the earthquake and the challenges that …

Crop Modeling For Assessing And Mitigating The Impacts Of Extreme Climatic Events On The Us Agriculture System, Zhenong Jin

Open Access Dissertations

The US agriculture system is the world’s largest producer of maize and soybean, and typically supplies more than one-third of their global trading. Nearly 90% of the US maize and soybean production is rainfed, thus is susceptible to climate change stressors such as heat waves and droughts. Process-based crop and cropping system models are important tools for climate change impact assessments and risk management. As data- science is becoming a new frontier for agriculture growth, the incoming decade calls for operational platforms that use hyper-local growth monitoring, high-resolution real-time weather and satellite data assimilation and cropping system modeling to help …

Climate Change And Hazardous Convective Weather In The United States: Insights From High-Resolution Dynamical Downscaling, Kimberly A. Hoogewind

Open Access Dissertations

Global climate model (GCM) projections increasingly suggest that large-scale environmental conditions favorable for hazardous convective weather (HCW) may increase in frequency in the future due to anthropogenic climate change. However, this storm environment-based approach is undoubtedly limited by the assumption that convective-scale phenomena will be realized within these environments. The spatial resolution of GCMs remains much too coarse to adequately represent the scales at which severe convective storms occur, including processes that may lead to storm initiation. With the advancement of computing resources, however, it has now become feasible to explicitly represent deep convective storms within a high-resolution regional climate …

Droughtscape, Spring 2016, National Drought Mitigation Center

DroughtScape: Quarterly Newsletter of the National Drought Mitigation Center (2007–2023)

Contents

Director’s report

First quarter drought summary

First quarter drought impacts

Drought Risk Management Research Center

Kenyan official visits

DrIVER eyes forecasting

Drought scenario exercise

Student projects

Drought tournament

Response and recovery guide

Drought Portal

Network of drought observers

Caribbean “writeshops”

Communications staff grows

Seagrass Community Change At Three High Risk Ports In The Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area From 2005 To 2014, Celeste Venolia

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Seagrass meadows are extremely valuable and dynamic ecosystems currently facing pressure from anthropogenic disturbances. Seagrass ecosystems are declining globally because of direct and indirect threats that shift environmental conditions controlling seagrass distribution. Seagrass species responses to disturbances vary based on a number of factors including life history strategy. The goal of this study was to map and analyze patterns of dominant seagrass species change at Cairns and Gladstone from 2005-2014 and Townsville from 2007-2014. This compilation data set was symbolized according to the life history strategy of the species. The major disturbances during this time period were physical damage from …

Polarimetric Radar Signatures Of Supercell Thunderstorms In Tropical Cyclones, Emily Paltz, Matthew Van Den Broeke

UCARE: Research Products

Background It is necessary for operational meteorologists to forecast quickly and accurately when storms have the potential of producing severe weather such as tornadoes or hail. Presently, radar represents the most effective way to monitor storms in real time. The National Weather Service recently upgraded the national radar network to polarimetric capability. Much time and resources have been devoted to understanding the development of Great Plains supercells such that polarimetric radar schematics have been developed for them. Little, however, has been done for tropical cyclone supercells. In this study we wish to determine typical polarimetric radar structure for supercells in …

Forecast Verification Of The Current Icing Potential (Cip) To Predict Lightning Hazards At U.S. Spaceports, Robert Edward Haley

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Government spaceports employ extensive lightning detection networks that may not be available at commercial spaceports. Therefore, the Federal Aviation Administration identified the need for diagnosing the threat of triggered lightning without in-situ measurements. Anecdotal observations of the Aviation Weather Center’s Current Icing Potential (CIP) diagnostic model indicated a potentially high correlation between lightning activity and icing potential. A forecast verification study and supporting representative case studies were conducted to quantify the CIP’s ability to diagnose existing lightning hazards. The study showed that high positive statistical correlations between the CIP and lightning activity do exist, but so do negative correlations. During …

The Marine Cyanate Cycle, Brittany Widner

OES Theses and Dissertations

Cyanate (OCN-) is a reduced nitrogen compound with the potential to serve as a nitrogen and carbon source for marine microbes. Evidence from genomes and culture studies indicated that several marine cyanobacterial groups, including representatives of the globally important genera Synechococcus and Prochlorococcus, might be capable of cyanate assimilation. However, prior to this study, the distribution, bioavailability, and production pathways of cyanate were unknown in natural systems due to the absence of a sensitive cyanate assay; and the ability of organisms to assimilate cyanate on relevant timescales was unknown because we lacked a suitable tracer for measuring uptake. I developed …

Avifaunal Community Composition In A Tropical Forest Corridor: A Case Study From The Atherton Tableland, North Queensland, Don Jones

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Bird communities in tropical forest ecosystems are highly threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation. Replanted corridors connecting isolated forest remnants are a popular method of ameliorating certain negative impacts of habitat fragmentation. Such linkages can theoretically facilitate greater dispersal, increase gene flow, and reduce the risk of local extinctions in forest birds. However, relatively few studies have examined the utilization of reforested corridors by birds, and little hard data exists to support claims that this type of resource and time intensive project is the best use of often scarce funding for conservation. This study examined the avifaunal community present in …

L’Insecte Sage In The Age Of Global Climate Crisis: A Biocultural And Ontological Study Of Vulnerability And Resilience In The Manakara Beekeeping Network, Tamar Law

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The effects of climate change are felt unevenly throughout the globe. Impoverished populations with high levels of subsistence agriculture are particularly vulnerable due to their direct dependence on the land. However, these populations are also the possible agents of change and solutions, as their traditional ecological knowledge has evolved in relation to their context. The honeybee is directly implicated in climate change vulnerability due to its role in pollination services, by ensuring food security. In the past decade, honeybees have risen to international fame and scrutiny due to a global vanishing of bees, attributed in part to climate change and …

Removal Of Six Estrogenic Endocrine-Disrupting Compounds (Edcs) From Municipal Wastewater Using Aluminum Electrocoagulation, Monica M. Cook, Erin M. Symonds, Bert Gerber, Armando Hoare, Edward S. Van Vleet, Mya Breitbart

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Conventional wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) processes are primarily designed to reduce the amount of organic matter, pathogens, and nutrients from the incoming influent. However, these processes are not as effective in reducing the concentrations of micropollutants, including endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs), which notoriously evade traditional wastewater treatment technologies and are found even in tertiary-treated effluent. For WWTPs practicing deep-well injection or surface-water discharge, EDCs in the treated effluent are discharged into groundwater or the aquatic environment where humans and wildlife may potentially suffer the effects of chemical exposure. In the current laboratory-scale study, we tested a bench-top electrocoagulation (EC) unit utilizing …

Bacterial Indicators Of Fecal Pollution: Exploring Relationships Between Fecal Coliform And Enterococcus Groups In Central And South Florida Surface Waters, Shelby G. Craig

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Ambient and recreational surface waters worldwide experience fecal pollution due to a variety of anthropogenic sources. Fecal waste has been proven, for over a century, to harbor pathogenic microorganisms which subsequently cause a variety of disease and illness in human hosts. The benefits of utilizing fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) as a simple, inexpensive means to detect fitful human pathogens within a variety of water matrices are vast. However, no universal agreement exists in regard to which indicator is best suited for detection of fecal contamination and pathogens in environmental waters, and no single standard for bacterial indicators has been federally …

Ensemble Forecasts: Probabilistic Seasonal Forecasts Based On A Model Ensemble, Hannah Aizenman, Michael D. Grossberg, Nir Y. Krakauer, Irina Gladkova

Publications and Research

Ensembles of general circulation model (GCM) integrations yield predictions for meteorological conditions in future months. Such predictions have implicit uncertainty resulting from model structure, parameter uncertainty, and fundamental randomness in the physical system. In this work, we build probabilistic models for long-term forecasts that include the GCM ensemble values as inputs but incorporate statistical correction of GCM biases and different treatments of uncertainty. Specifically, we present, and evaluate against observations, several versions of a probabilistic forecast for gridded air temperature 1 month ahead based on ensemble members of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Climate Forecast System Version 2 …

The Wais Divide Deep Ice Core Wd2014 Chronology – Part 2: Annual-Layer Counting (0–31 Ka Bp), Michael Sigl, Tyler J. Fudge, Mai Winstrup, Jihong Cole-Dai, David Ferris

Dartmouth Scholarship

We present the WD2014 chronology for the upper part (0–2850 m; 31.2 ka BP) of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) Divide (WD) ice core. The chronology is based on counting of annual layers observed in the chemical, dust and electrical conductivity records. These layers are caused by seasonal changes in the source, transport, and deposition of aerosols. The measurements were interpreted manually and with the aid of two automated methods. We validated the chronology by comparing to two high-accuracy, absolutely dated chronologies. For the Holocene, the cosmogenic isotope records of Be from WAIS Divide and C for IntCal13 demonstrated …

Novel Techniques In Chemical Ecology To Examine Life Histories In Fishes, Orian Tzadik

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Diet and movements in fishes are often logistically challenging to study. Trace element and stable isotope analyses have advanced these fields considerably, but are still constrained by methodological impediments, such as the tendency towards lethal sampling. Studying endangered fishes is particularly challenging as representative samples are difficult to obtain. However, the information gained from such studies is often critical to the recovery of endangered fishes as knowledge of life history attributes has the potential to greatly influence the success of management strategies.

I tested the viability of using fin rays in fishes as a non-lethal approach to study diet and …

Acropora Habitat Evaluation And Restoration Site Selection Using A Species Distribution Modeling Approach, Katherine Wirt Ames

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While populations of nearly all stony coral species along the Florida reef tract have exhibited decline, the most notable decline has occurred in the once-dominant acroporid species (Acropora cervicornis, A. palmata). Both species were listed in 2006 as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. This listing, combined with their continued decline, has resulted in large-scale restoration efforts throughout Florida and the Western Caribbean. Currently, there is little to no information regarding spatial prioritization of sites for these restoration efforts. The primary objective of this dissertation was to utilize species distribution modeling, informed by existing data from the …

Coral Genotype Influence On Growth And Stress Resistance In Acropora Cervicornis: Investigating Potential Energy Tradeoffs, Peter T. Grasso

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Over the last few decades coral reefs have faced unprecedented declines in health due to natural and anthropogenic sources. Until recently few studies have examined genotypic variation of growth and thermal stress resistance in Acropora cervicornis. This study aims to assess the potential for energy trade-offs between growth and thermal stress resistance by following 120 coral fragments from 12 genotypes of Acropora cervicornis over the course of 15 months to determine average growth rates for each genotype. Following the completion of the growth observation a bleaching event occurred in the lower Florida Keys providing the opportunity for examining thermal …

An Endemic Commensal Leucothoid Discovered In The Tunicate Cnemidocarpa Bicornuta, From New Zealand (Crustacea, Amphipoda), Kaitlyn M. Brucker

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Precise descriptions and comprehensive taxonomies of species and their ecology are essential in monitoring changes in marine biodiversity at multiple spatial scales. A currently undescribed species of commensal amphipod in the genus Leucothoe is reported from New Zealand, collected from the endemic tunicate Cnemidocarpa bicornuta. This species differs from others in the genus in having a one-articulate first maxilla palp and an apically produced tuberculate lobe on the inner margin of the outer plate of the maxilliped. Previous taxonomic surveys in New Zealand waters did not document this species, indicating that it may be a recent arrival. This research …

Effects Of Meteorological Conditions On Sulfur Dioxide Air Pollution In The North China Plain During Winter Of 2006–2015, Chase C. Calkins

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

The last decade has seen frequent occurrences of severe air pollution episodes of high concentration in SO₂ during winters in the North China Plain (NCP). Using satellite data from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), chemistry transport model (GEOS-Chem) simulations, and National Center for Environmental Predication (NCEP) meteorological reanalyzes, this study examines meteorological and synoptic conditions associated with these air pollution episodes during winters of 2006-2015. OMI-based data suggest a large decrease (~30% in area average) of emission since 2010. Statistical analyzes show that meteorological conditions associated with the top 10% of OMI-based high days are found in average to …

Methods For Passive Remote Turbulence Characterization In The Planetary Boundary Layer, Lee R. Burchett

Theses and Dissertations

Several methods are presented which allow for the index of refraction structure function constant, C²_n , for visible light or IR systems to be determined remotely and passively using a combination of Numerical Weather Prediction, radar, and/or cell phone signals. These methods build on and extend existing techniques and theory, and are shown to be more accurate throughout the year than standard methods. Comparisons are made to 880nm scintillometer measurements of C²_n in a temperate suburban and a rural high-desert environment.

The Reliability And Skill Of Air Force Weather’S Ensemble Prediction Suites, Derek A. Burns

Theses and Dissertations

The Ensemble Prediction Suites (EPS) used at the 557th Weather Wing (557 WW) provide probability based forecasts for thousands of worldwide locations. Point Ensemble Probability (PEP) bulletins are tailored specifically to the United States military and its criteria for operationally significant weather. This study assesses the performance of PEPs from each EPS at 17 Continental United States (CONUS) locations. Results from April to October of 2015 show that each EPS is underforecasting ceilings and visibility for most forecast hours at several locations. The underforecasting of ceilings is most severe at Vandenberg AFB, an area prone to frequent marine layer fog …

Forecasting Sea Breeze Enhanced Thunderstorms At Eglin Air Force Base: A Comparison Between Empirical Methods And The High Resolution Rapid Refresh Model, Matthew P. King

Theses and Dissertations

Summer thunderstorms pose the greatest forecast challenge for the United States Air Force's 96th Weather Flight (96WF) which provides weather support for Eglin Air Force Base (AFB). Located on Florida's panhandle, Eglin AFB encompasses the Department of Defense's largest range complex which covers 134,000 sq mi (347,000 sq km) of water and 724 sq mi (1875 sq km) of land. Due to the base's coastal location and unique coastline geometry, sea breeze is a dominant forecast consideration for thunderstorms. The 96 WF currently utilizes an empirical method, called WINNDEX, developed by former staff meteorologist Roger Winn to aid in thunderstorm …

Flood-Inundation Maps For A 12.5-Mile Reach Of Big Papillion Creek At Omaha, Nebraska, Kellan R. Strauch, Benjamin J. Dietsch, Kayla J. Anderson

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

Digital flood-inundation maps for a 12.5-mile reach of the Big Papillion Creek from 0.6 mile upstream from the State Street Bridge to the 72nd Street Bridge in Omaha, Nebraska, were created by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District. The flood-inundation maps, which can be accessed through the USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Science Web site at http://water.usgs.gov/osw/flood_inundation/, depict estimates of the areal extent and depth of flooding corresponding to selected water levels (stages) at the USGS streamgage on the Big Papillion Creek at Fort Street at Omaha, Nebraska (station 06610732). Near-real-time …

West Florida Shelf Connectivity: An Exploratory Study, Amanda Sue Reinert

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This Thesis explores the connectiveness of the West Florida Shelf’s various areas of economic and ecological importance by considering five case studies of varying dynamic forcing influences and time. The advection of water about the shelf moves nutrients and has a direct impact on the shelf’s ecology and the determination of whether or not the shelf will be oligotrophic at any given time or location. The case studies are analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively after quasi-isopycnal particle trajectory calculations are completed for each. The findings support a combination of local and deep-ocean forcing being ideal for the maximum advection and …

Characterization Of Bacterial Diversity In Cold-Water Anthothelidae Corals, Stephanie Nichole Lawler

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cold-water corals, similar to tropical corals, contain a diverse and complex microbial landscape. Comprised of vital microscopic organisms (i.e. bacteria, viruses, archaea), the coral microbiome is a driving factor in the proliferation and survival of the coral host. Bacteria provide essential biological functions within coral holobionts, facilitating increased nutrient utilization and production of antimicrobial compounds. To date, few cold-water octocoral species have been analyzed to explore the diversity and abundance of their microbial associates. For this study, 23 samples of the family Anthothelidae were collected from Norfolk (n = 12) and Baltimore Canyons (n = 11) from the western Atlantic …

Sponge Distribution And The Presence Of Photosymbionts In Moorea, French Polynesia, Christopher J. Freeman, Cole Easson

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Photosymbionts play an important role in the ecology and evolution of diverse host species within the marine environment. Although sponge-photosymbiont interactions have been well described from geographically disparate sites worldwide, our understanding of these interactions from shallow water systems within French Polynesia is limited. We surveyed diverse habitats around the north coast of Moorea, French Polynesia and screened sponges for the presence of photosymbionts. Overall sponge abundance and diversity were low, with <1% cover and only eight putative species identified by 28S barcoding from surveys at 21 sites. Of these eight species, seven were found predominately in shaded or semi-cryptic habitats under overhangs or within caverns. Lendenfeldia chondrodeswas the only species that supported a high abundance of photosymbionts and was also the only species found in exposed, illuminated habitats. Interestingly, L. chondrodes was …

Distribution, Abundance And Movement Of Fish Among Seagrass And Mangrove Habitats In Biscayne Bay, Patrick C. Goebel

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Inshore tropical and subtropical estuaries harbor a relatively high abundance and diversity of organisms. Specifically within estuaries, mangrove and seagrass habitats provide shelter and food for a plethora of organisms, through some or all their life histories. Given the biological connection between offshore coral reefs and coastal estuaries, there is a critical need to understand the underlying processes that determine distribution and abundance patterns within mangrove-seagrass habitats. The predatory fish assemblage within the mangrove and seagrass beds of Biscayne Bay, Florida (USA), was examined over 24-hr. time periods along a distance and habitat gradient from the mangrove edge and nearshore …

Soft Robotic Grippers For Biological Sampling On Deep Reefs, Kevin C. Galloway, Kaitlyn P. Becker, Brennan Phillips, Jordan Kirby, Stephen Licht, Dan Tchernov, Robert J. Wood, David F. Gruber

Publications and Research

This article presents the development of an underwater gripper that utilizes soft robotics technology to delicately manipulate and sample fragile species on the deep reef. Existing solutions for deep sea robotic manipulation have historically been driven by the oil industry, resulting in destructive interactions with undersea life. Soft material robotics relies on compliant materials that are inherently impedance matched to natural environments and to soft or fragile organisms. We demonstrate design principles for soft robot end effectors, bench-top characterization of their grasping performance, and conclude by describing in situ testing at mesophotic depths. The result is the first use of …

Variability In Terrigenous Sediment Supply Offshore Of The Río De La Plata (Uruguay) Recording The Continental Climatic History Over The Past 1200 Years, Laura Perez, Felipe García-Rodríguez, Till J.J. Hanebuth

Marine Science

The continental shelf adjacent to the Río de la Plata (RdlP) exhibits extremely complex hydrographic and ecological characteristics which are of great socioeconomic importance. Since the long-term environmental variations related to the atmospheric (wind fields), hydrologic (freshwater plume), and oceanographic (currents and fronts) regimes are little known, the aim of this study is to reconstruct the changes in the terrigenous input into the inner continental shelf during the late Holocene period (associated with the RdlP sediment discharge) and to unravel the climatic forcing mechanisms behind them. To achieve this, we retrieved a 10 m long sediment core from the RdlP …

Sustainable Whale-Watching For The Philippines: A Bioeconomic Model Of The Spinner Dolphin (Stenella Longirostris), Allison Jenny Santos

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Whale-watching provides economic opportunities worldwide and particularly proliferates in developing countries, such as the Philippines. The sustainability of whale-watching is increasingly debated as these activities also negatively impact cetaceans through changes in behavior, communication, habitat use, morbidity, mortality, and life-history parameters. This study evaluated the total annual cost, revenue, and profit of whale-watching operators in Bais, Philippines, and predicted the changes in the population for spinner dolphin Stenella longirostris with varying levels of whale-watching effort. Total revenue was 3,805,077 PHP ($92,478 USD) while total cost was 5,649,094 PHP ($137,294 USD) with a discount rate of ten percent. The total annual …