Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

Droughtscape, Summer 2013, National Drought Mitigation Center

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

Contents

Director’s report

July 25 webinar: Drought management database, NIDIS update

Republican River Basin workshops July 31, August 1

Summer climate outlook, spring summary

Spring impacts: wildfire, water, agriculture and business

Data help managers assess Nebraska groundwater declines after drought of 2012

Tadesse helps Mexico with Veg-DRI concept

Visiting scholar explores remote sensing of drought in forests

U.S. Drought Monitor Forum photo recap, details online

Workshop helps New Mexico ranchers cope with drought

Alabama’s new drought plan

National Drought Forum report

Drought Impacts Community of Practice report

The Preservation Of Atmospheric Nitrate In Snow At Summit, Greenland, Dorothy L. Fibiger, Meredith G. Hastings, Jack E. Dibb, L Gregory Huey

Earth Sciences

There is great interest in using nitrate NO3 isotopic composition in ice cores to track the history of precursor nitrogen oxides (NOx = NO + NO2) in the atmosphere. Nitrate NO3 however can be lost from the snow by surface processes, such as photolysis back to NOx upon exposure to sunlight, making it difficult to interpret records of NO3 as a tracer of atmospheric NOx loading. In a campaign consisting of two field seasons (May–June) at Summit, Greenland, high temporal frequency surface snow samples were collected and analyzed for the oxygen isotopic composition of NO3. The strong, linear relationship observed …

Snow Spectral Albedo At Summit, Greenland: Measurements And Numerical Simulations Based On Physical And Chemical Properties Of The Snowpack, Carlo Carmagnola, Florent Domine, Marie Dumont, Patrick Wright, B Strellis, M Bergin, Jack E. Dibb, G Picard, Q Libois, L Arnaud, S Morin

Earth Sciences

The broadband albedo of surface snow is determined both by the near-surface profile of the physical and chemical properties of the snowpack and by the spectral and angular characteristics of the incident solar radiation. Simultaneous measurements of the physical and chemical properties of snow were carried out at Summit Camp, Greenland (72°36´ N, 38°25´ W, 3210 m a.s.l.) in May and June 2011, along with spectral albedo measurements. One of the main objectives of the field campaign was to test our ability to predict snow spectral albedo by comparing the measured albedo to the albedo calculated with a radiative transfer …

Distribution Of Parasitic Isopods On Caridean Shrimp In South Florida Seagrass Beds, Sarah A. Briggs

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Caridean shrimp are a prominent element of seagrass faunal communities and play an important role in the energy transfer between trophic levels. They are a food source for other organisms and play an integral role in the ecosystem by feeding on algae and assisting with the breakdown of organic matter. Carideans are also fundamental to the marine fishery industry in that they are a food source for potentially valuable juvenile commercial fish. Ectoparasitic isopods (Cymothoida: Bopyridae) that infest caridean shrimps decrease the energy level of the shrimp, resulting in slower reaction time, greater predation rate, slower growth rate, and/or reduced …

Aviation Weather And Decision Making: A Human Factors Perspective, Beth Blickensderfer, Jessica Cruit, Michael Vincent

Aviation Weather Training Research

• A History of Decision Making Research
• Pilot Decision Making
• Future Research Directions

Carter, Billy (Sc 1053), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1053. Paper, “The Hail Storm of 1998,” written by Billy Carter for an English class at Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Kentucky, describing the damage he saw in the aftermath of a severe storm that occurred on 16 April 1998.

Butler, Emily (Sc 1051), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1051. Paper, “Storm Story,” written by Emily Butler for an English class at Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Kentucky, describing her reaction to a severe storm that occurred while she was on campus 16 April 1998.

Deaton, Jennifer (Sc 1057), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1057. Paper, “A Day I’ll Never Forget,” written by Jennifer Deaton for an English class at Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Kentucky, describing a storm that occurred on 16 April 1998 and the damage she saw on campus.

Boyd, Nan (Sc 1049), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1049. Paper, “AW HAIL!!,” written by Nan Boyd for an English class at Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Kentucky, describing her reaction to a severe storm that occurred in Bowling Green on 16 April 1998.

Justice, Angela (Sc 1062), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1062. Paper written by Angela Justice for an English class at Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Kentucky, describing a severe storm that occurred 16 April 1998 while she was at home in the Nashville, Tennessee area.

Marana, Nick (Sc 1067), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1067. Paper, “What Not to Do During a Tornado,” written by Nick Marana for an English class at Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Kentucky, describing his reaction to a severe storm that occurred on 16 April 1998.

Sandidge, Janice (Sc 1074), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1074. Paper, “Spring Storm, ‘98,” written by Janice Sandidge for an English class at Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Kentucky, describing the reports of damage in Bowling Green and Edmonton, Metcalf County, resulting from the 16 April 1998 storm. She was visiting relatives in Missouri at the time.

Fish Species Distribution In Seagrass Habitats Of Chesapeake Bay Are Structured By Abiotic And Biotic Factors, Jason J. Schaffler, Jacques Van Montfrans, Cynthia M. Jones, Robert J. Orth

OES Faculty Publications

Seagrass habitats have long been known to serve as nursery habitats for juvenile fish by providing refuges from predation and areas of high forage abundance. However, comparatively less is known about other factors structuring fish communities that make extensive use of seagrass as nursery habitat. We examined both physical and biological factors that may structure the juvenile seagrass-associated fish communities across a synoptic-scale multiyear study in lower Chesapeake Bay. Across 3years of sampling, we collected 21,153 fish from 31 species. Silver Perch Bairdiella chrysoura made up over 86% of all individuals collected. Nine additional species made up at least 1% …

Evaluating The Contribution Of Groundwater To Wetland Water Budgets Central Piedmont Virginia, Kerby Morgan Dobbs

OES Theses and Dissertations

In the Piedmont region of Virginia, development pressures are increasing the demand for mitigation wetlands but appropriate construction sites are relatively scarce due to local topography and geology. Many existing water budget models used for planned mitigation sites exhibit considerable error when estimating groundwater fluxes, particularly for historical years that lack hydraulic head data. This difficulty has led many planners to neglect or underestimate the contribution of groundwater to wetland water budgets, resulting in mitigation sites that fail to create the appropriate hydrology for the desired vegetation community. However, reliable estimations of groundwater input contributing to wetland water budgets can …

Assessing The Release Of Bioactive Trace Elements From Coal Fly Ash Into Natural Fresh Waters, Candace E. Wall

OES Theses and Dissertations

Each year a significant amount of coal fly ash enters the environment, where it can potentially cause adverse effects by releasing a range of bioactive trace elements. In this context, environmental studies have largely focused on the leaching of trace elements from the coal ash in landfills by rainwater and groundwater, while there has been relatively little study of the release of bioactive trace elements from coal fly ash deposited in natural fresh waters such as rivers and lakes. Furthermore, the batch leaching methods that have been used to study the interaction of rainwater and groundwater with coal ash in …

The Connection Between Local Sea Level Rise, Climate Change And Ocean Circulation, Tal Ezer, Larry P. Atkinson

CCPO Publications

In recent years, Norfolk has become a symbol for a city that is already battling the impact of sea level rise (SLR). Street flooding during high tides (Fig. 1, left) is much more common now than in the past, and storm surges (Fig. 1, right) are more severe and last longer. Therefore, as part of Old Dominion University’s Climate Change and Sea Level Rise Initiative (CCSLRI), CCPO scientists focus on studies that enhance our understanding of the causes of local SLR and improve our ability to predict future SLR. This information can help policy makers, insurers, city planners and other …

Business And Climate Change: Trends, Issues And Challenges, Badar Alam Iqbal, Munir Hassan, Bhawana Rawat, Shabib Arslan

Business Review

The present century i.e. 21st Century is the century of Business and Climate. These two issues are getting higher attention from both developed countries and developing economies. On the one hand, business has affecting environment and on the other hand environmental products are boosting business and therefore, there is close relationship between business and climate change . Looking into the growing grave concern from different sections over climate change, considerably due to industrial units, businesses had also started to take initiative in this regard. The paper, henceforth, concentrates on what had so far been done, and what more need to …

Interspecific Variation In Leaf-Level Biogenic Emissions Of The Bambuseae, Andrea Natalie Melnychenko

Dissertations and Theses

Plants emit a diverse range of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) into the atmosphere, of which isoprene is the most abundantly emitted. Isoprene significantly affects biological and atmospheric processes, but the range of isoprene and BVOCs present in bamboos has not been well characterized. In this thesis I explore the range of isoprene emission found in bamboos and relate it to plant morphological and physiological characteristics. In addition, I measure and relate the entire suite of BVOCs present in the bamboos to their fundamental isoprene emission rate.

Interspecific variation in isoprene emission documented in a comprehensive survey of bamboos. Two …

The Upgraded Rayleigh Lidar At Usu’S Atmospheric Lidar Observatory, Vincent B. Wickwar, Leda Sox, Joshua P. Herron

All Physics Faculty Presentations

No abstract provided.

Updating Maryland's Sea-Level Rise Projections, Donald F. Boesch, Larry P. Atkinson, William C. Boicourt, John D. Boon, Donald R. Cahoon, Robert A. Dalrymple, Tal Ezer, Benjamin P. Horton, Zoe P. Johnson, Robert E. Kopp, Ming Li, Richard H. Moss, Adam Parris, Christopher K. Sommerfield

CCPO Publications

With its 3,100 miles of tidal shoreline and low-lying rural and urban lands, "The Free State" is one of the most vulnerable to sea-level rise. Historically, Marylanders have long had to contend with rising water levels along its Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean and coastal bay shores. Shorelines eroded and low-relief lands and islands, some previously inhabited, were inundated. Prior to the 20th century, this was largely due to the slow sinking of the land since Earth’s crust is still adjusting to the melting of large masses of ice following the last glacial period. Over the 20th century, however, the …

Validation Of Airs/Amsu - A Water Vapor And Temperature Data With In Situ Aircraft Observations From The Surface To Ut/Ls From 87°N–67°S, Minghui Diao, Loayeh Jumbam, Justin Sheffield, Eric Wood, Mark Zondlo

Faculty Publications, Meteorology and Climate Science

[1] Validation of the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS)/Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU-A) data set with in situ observations provides useful information on its application to climate and weather studies. However, different space/time averaging windows have been used in past studies, and questions remain on the variation of errors in space, such as between land/ocean and the Northern/Southern Hemispheres. In this study, in situ aircraft measurements of water vapor and temperature are compared with the AIRS/AMSU-A retrievals (Version 5 Level 2) from 87°N to 67°S and from the surface to the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UT/LS). By using a smaller …

Rayleigh Lidar Temperature Studies In The Upper Mesosphere And Lower Thermosphere, Leda Sox, Vincent B. Wickwar, Joshua P. Herron, Matthew T. Emerick

Posters

Rayleigh lidar technology opened the middle atmosphere (from 30–90 km) to ground-based observations. The upgraded system at the Atmospheric Lidar Observatory (ALO) on the campus of Utah State University (41.74, 111.81) has shown that these ground-based observations can be extended to 109 km, with the goal of reaching 120 km. The resultant study of short and long-term temperature trends, using Rayleigh lidar, contributes immensely to the overall understanding of the properties and dominant physical processes in the middle atmosphere and Mesosphere-Lower Thermosphere (MLT) region. Temperature variations on short time scales, from minutes to days, give insight into the effects of …

Observations Of Mesospheric Temperature Variability Over The Andes, Jonathan Pugmire, Michael J. Taylor, Yucheng Zhao, P. D. Paudet, James M. Russell

Graduate Student Posters

Observations of mesospheric OH(6,2) rotational temperatures by the Utah State University Mesospheric Temperature Mapper (MTM) located at the Andes Lidar Observatory, Cerro Pachon, Chile (30.3°S, 70.7°S) reveal a large range of nightly variations induced by atmospheric gravity waves and tides, as well as strong seasonal oscillations. This study investigates MTM temperature variability over the past 3.5 years comprising over 800 nights of high-quality data and compares the results with ground-based spectrometric measurements from nearby El Leoncito Observatory, Argentina, Maui-MALT, Hawaii MTM measurements (2001-2005) and coincident mesospheric temperature measurement by SABER on the NASA TIMED satellite.

Using Online Data Sets To Teach K-12 Students And Teachers About Climate Change, Larry Rudd

American Association for the Advancement of Science Pacific Conference

• Description of project

• Data-based Activities

• Inservice Teacher Use and Feedback

• Preservice Teacher Use and Feedback

• Future Work

• Conclusions

• Discussion

Reaching Nevada's Teachers Through Nsf Epscor Climate Change Science Institutes, Aubrey Mae Bonde, Larry Rudd, Paul Buck, Juan Mcalister

American Association for the Advancement of Science Pacific Conference

Education Component Goals

• Increase the number and quality of STEM educators and STEM professionals in the region and country
• Develop institutional partnerships that support exemplary practices and policies in STEM education
• Implement inquiry activities focusing on facets of climate change science and promote interest in STEM career pathways and higher education

Climate Change Connected Curriculum, Southern Nevada Science Teachers Association

American Association for the Advancement of Science Pacific Conference

Climate change is a complex global issue that spans many disciplines. The curriculum spans several subject areas and cuts across national standards.

Our team will focus on creating lesson plans to cover a span of two weeks; i.e. one unit on Climate Change .

The SAME concepts will be taught in the SAME week to the SAME 9th and 12th grade students; with a focus on those concepts in specific subject areas.

Improving Multiple Surface Range Estimation Of A 3-Dimensional Flash Ladar In The Presence Of Atmospheric Turbulence, Brian J. Neff

Theses and Dissertations

Laser Radar sensors can be designed to provide two-dimensional and three-dimensional (3-D) images of a scene from a single laser pulse. Currently, there are various data recording and presentation techniques being developed for 3-D sensors. While the technology is still being proven, many applications are being explored and suggested. As technological advancements are coupled with enhanced signal processing algorithms, it is possible that this technology will present exciting new military capabilities for sensor users. The goal of this work is to develop an algorithm to enhance the utility of 3-D Laser Radar sensors through accurate ranging to multiple surfaces per …

Slides: What Does Climate Change Mean For Cold Water Fisheries, Stan Bradshaw

Water, Climate and Uncertainty: Implications for Western Water Law, Policy, and Management (Summer Conference, June 11-13)

1 page "Abstract" and 8 slides

Slides: Is There A Dust Bowl In Our Future?: Projections For The Eastern Rockies And Central Great Plains, Dennis Ojima

Water, Climate and Uncertainty: Implications for Western Water Law, Policy, and Management (Summer Conference, June 11-13)

Presenter: Dennis Ojima, Senior Research Scientist, Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University (NREL/CSU)

30 slides

Slides: Future Water Availability In The West: Will There Be Enough?, Michael Dettinger

Water, Climate and Uncertainty: Implications for Western Water Law, Policy, and Management (Summer Conference, June 11-13)

Presenter: Michael Dettinger, USGS, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA

30 slides

"with contributions from Julio Betancourt, Dan Cayan, & others"