Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

Submarine Landslides On The Upper Southeast Australian Passive Continental Margin – Preliminary Findings, S L. Clarke, T Hubble, D Airey, Phyllis Yu, R Boyd, J Keene, N Exon, James V. Gardner

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

The southeast Australian passive continental margin is narrow, steep and sediment-deficient, and characterized by relatively low rates of modern sedimentation. Upper slope (<1200m) sediments comprise mixtures of calcareous and terrigenous sand and mud. Three of twelve sediment cores recovered from geologically-recent, submarine landslides located offshore New South Wales/Queensland (NSW/QLD) are interpreted to have sampled failure surfaces at depths of between 85 cm and 220 cm below the present-day seabed. Differences in sediment physical properties are recorded above and below the three slide-plane boundaries. Sediment taken directly above the inferred submarine landslide failure surfaces and presumed to be post-landslide, returned radiocarbon ages of 15.8 ka, 20.7 ka and 20.1 ka. The last two ages correspond to adjacent slide features, which are inferred to be consistent with their being triggered by a single event such as an earthquake. Slope stability models based on classical soil mechanics and measured sediment shearstrengths indicate that the upper slope sediments should be stable. However, multibeam sonar data reveal that many upper slope landslides occur across the margin and that submarine landsliding is a common process. We infer from these results that: a) an unidentified mechanism regularly acts to reduce the shear resistance of these sediments to the very low values required to enable slope failure, and/or b) the margin experiences seismic events that act to destabilise the slope sediments.

Evaluation Of Rockfish Abundance In Untrawlable Habitat: Combining Acoustic And Complementary Sampling Tools, Darin Jones, Christopher D. Wilson, Alex De Robertis, Chris Rooper, Thomas C. Weber, John L. Butler

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

—Rockfishes (Sebastes spp.) are an important component of North Pacific marine ecosystems and commercial fisheries. Because the rocky, high-relief substrate that rockfishes often inhabit is inaccessible to standard survey trawls, population abundance assessments for many rockfish species are difficult. As part of a large study to classify substrate and compare complementary sampling tools, we investigated the feasibility of using an acoustic survey in conjunction with a lowered stereo-video camera, a remotely operated vehicle, and a modified bottom trawl to estimate rockfish biomass in untrawlable habitat. The Snakehead Bank south of Kodiak Island, Alaska, was surveyed repeatedly over 4 days and …

Mapping Gas Seeps With The Deepwater Multibeam Echosounder On Okeanos Explorer, Thomas C. Weber, Larry A. Mayer, Jonathan Beaudoin, Kevin W. Jerram, Mashkoor A. Malik, Bill Shedd, Glen Rice

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

No abstract provided.

Detecting Ionospheric Tec Perturbations Caused By Natural Hazards Using A Global Network Of Gps Receivers: The Tohoku Case Study, A. Komjathy, D. A. Galvan, P. Stephens, M. D. Butala, V. Akopian, B. Wilson, O. Verkhoglyadova, A. J. Mannucci, M. Hickey

Physical Sciences - Daytona Beach

Recent advances in GPS data processing have demonstrated that ground-based GPS receivers are capable of detecting ionospheric TEC perturbations caused by surface-generated Rayleigh, acoustic and gravity waves. There have been a number of publications discussing TEC perturbations immediately following the M 9.0 Tohoku earthquake in Japan on March 11, 2011. Most investigators have focused on the ionospheric responses up to a few hours following the earthquake and tsunami. In our research, in addition to March 11, 2011 we investigate global ionospheric TEC perturbations a day before and after the event. We also compare indices of geomagnetic activity on all three …

Impact Of Hono On Global Atmospheric Chemistry Calculated With An Empirical Parameterization In The Emac Model, Yasin F. Elshorbany, B. Steil, C. Bruehl, J. Lelieveld

USF St. Petersburg Campus Faculty Publications

The photolysis of HONO is important for the atmospheric HOx (OH + HO2) radical budget and ozone formation, especially in polluted air. Nevertheless, owing to the incomplete knowledge of HONO sources, realistic HONO mechanisms have not yet been implemented in global models. We investigated measurement data sets from 15 field measurement campaigns conducted in different countries worldwide. It appears that the HONO/NOx ratio is a good proxy predictor for HONO mixing ratios under different atmospheric conditions. From the robust relationship between HONO and NOx, a representative mean HONO/NOx ratio of 0.02 has been derived. Using a global chemistry-climate model and …

Comparisons Of Observed And Modeled Oh And Ho2 Concentrations During The Ambient Measurement Period Of The Ho(X)Comp Field Campaign, Y. Kanaya, A. Hofzumahaus, H. -P. Dorn, T. Brauers, H. Fuchs, F. Holland

USF St. Petersburg Campus Faculty Publications

A photochemical box model constrained by ancillary observations was used to simulate OH and HO2 concentrations for three days of ambient observations during the HO(x)Comp field campaign held in Julich, Germany in July 2005. Daytime OH levels observed by four instruments were fairly well reproduced to within 33% by a base model run (Regional Atmospheric Chemistry Mechanism with updated isoprene chemistry adapted from Master Chemical Mechanism ver. 3.1) with high R-2 values (0.72-0.97) over a range of isoprene (0.3-2 ppb) and NO (0.1-10 ppb) mixing ratios. Daytime HO2(*) levels, reconstructed from the base model results taking into account the sensitivity …

Where Is The Rain-On-Snow Zone In The West-Central Washington Cascades?: Monte Carlo Simulation Of Large Storms In The Northwest, Matthew John Brunengo

Dissertations and Theses

Rain-on-snow (ROS) occurs when warm, wet air moves into latitudes and/or elevations having vulnerable snowpacks, where it can alter water inputs to infiltration, runoff and erosion. The Pacific Northwest is particularly susceptible: winter storms off the Pacific cause locally heavy rain plus snowmelt almost annually, and disastrous flooding and landsliding intermittently. In maritime mountainous terrain, the effects seem more likely and hydrologically important where warm rains and seasonal snowpacks are liable to coincide, in middle elevations. Several questions arise: (1) In the PNW, does ROS affect the long-term frequency and magnitude of water delivery to the ground, versus total precipitation …

Diatom Evidence For The Onset Of Pliocene Cooling From And-1b, Mcmurdo Sound, Antarctica, Christina R. Riesselman, Robert B. Dunbar

ANDRILL Research and Publications

The late Pliocene, ~3.3–3.0 Ma, is the most recent interval of sustained global warmth in the geologic past. This window is the focus of climate reconstruction efforts by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Pliocene Research, Interpretation, and Synoptic Mapping (PRISM) Data/Model Cooperative, and may provide a useful climate analog for the coming century. Reconstructions of past surface ocean conditions proximal to the Antarctic continent are essential to understanding the sensitivity of the cryosphere to this key interval in Earth’s climate evolution. An exceptional marine sediment core collected from the southwestern Ross Sea (78° S), Antarctica, during ANDRILL’s McMurdo Ice Shelf Project …

A Diatom Record Of Late Pliocene Cooling From The Ross Sea Continental Shelf, And-1b, Antarctica, Charlotte Sjunneskog, Diane Winter

ANDRILL Research and Publications

A late Pliocene – early Pleistocene, 2.9–2.0Ma, diatom record from the Antarctic Geological Drilling Program (ANDRILL) MIS drillcore AND-1B is presented. This core, recovered from beneath the Ross Ice Shelf south of Ross Island, comprises multiple diatomaceous-sediment units deposited during interglacial periods with open water over the core site. These represent interglacial phases of orbitally paced climate cycles and are punctuated by glacial advances. Extant diatom assemblages have limited presence in the late Pliocene record, which makes environmental interpretation less straight forward. We employ modern ecological data in combination with late Pliocene to present variation in diatom assemblages across the …

Fragilariopsis Tigris Sp. Nov., A New Late Pliocene Antarctic Continental Shelf Diatom With Biostratigraphic Promise, Christina R. Riesselman

ANDRILL Research and Publications

Anew species within the genus Fragilariopsis, F. tigris, is described and illustrated using light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. This species is restricted to a single 8-meter-thick diatom unit within the 585-meter-long section of alternating diatomites and diamictites recovered in the upper portion of the ANtarctic geological DRILLing (ANDRILL) McMurdo Ice Shelf Project (MIS) AND-1B marine sediment core. This new taxon from a diverse, well-preserved diatom assemblage is inferred to be the youngest member of the well-documented, biostratigraphically useful F. praeinterfrigidaria – F. interfrigidaria – F. weaveri lineage and may represent a near-shore corollary to the open-ocean species …

Droughtscape, Winter 2012, National Drought Mitigation Center

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

Drought Planning for Kansas Ranchers Jan. 21

South Hoping La Niña Dryness Stays Away

2011 Brought Record-Breaking Extent of D4

Reported Impacts Ease as Growing Season Ends

Disaster Planning in Nanjing at Hohai U

Ag, Fire and Water Supply Topped 2011 Impacts

Hurricane Disturbance And Recovery Of Energy Balance, Co2 Fluxes And Canopy Structure In A Mangrove Forest Of The Florida Everglades, Jordan G. Barr, Vic Engel, Thomas J. Smith, José D. Fuentes

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Eddy covariance (EC) estimates of carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes and energy balance are examined to investigate the functional responses of a mature mangrove forest to a disturbance generated by Hurricane Wilma on October 24, 2005 in the Florida Everglades. At the EC site, high winds from the hurricane caused nearly 100% defoliation in the upper canopy and widespread tree mortality. Soil temperatures down to −50 cm increased, and air temperature lapse rates within the forest canopy switched from statically stable to statically unstable conditions following the disturbance. Unstable conditions allowed more efficient transport of water vapor and CO₂ from …

Characterization Of Temporal And Spatial Variation In Subwatersheds Of The Strawberry River, Ar, Prior To Implementation Of Agricultural Best Management Practices, T. R. Brueggen-Boman, J. L. Bouldin

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Benthic macroinvertebrate (BMI) assessments indicate alterations in physical and/or chemical factors making them valuable tools when attempting to assess agricultural best management practices (BMPs). The purpose of this study was to obtain pre-BMP land cover and macroinvertebrate community data in order to characterize temporal and spatial variation in three catchments: Little Strawberry (LS), Greasy Creek (GC), and Sandy Creek (SC) of the Strawberry River Watershed, located in north central Arkansas, in order to establish baseline conditions. BMIs were collected for the three subwatersheds in 1995, 1999, 2002, 2003 and 2009. Taxa richness, Hilsenhoff Biotic Index (HBI) and Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and …

Technical Note: A Trace Gas Climatology Derived From The Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier Transform Spectrometer (Ace-Fts) Data Set, A. Jones, K. A. Walker, J. J. Jin, J. R. Taylor, C. D. Boone, P. F. Bernath, S. Brohede, G. L. Manney, S. Mcleod, R. Hughes, W. H. Daffer

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment-Fourier Transform Spectrometer (ACE-FTS) aboard the Canadian satellite SCISAT (launched in August 2003) was designed to investigate the composition of the upper troposphere, stratosphere, and mesosphere. ACE-FTS utilizes solar occultation to measure temperature and pressure as well as vertical profiles of over thirty chemical species including O₃, H₂O, CH₄, N₂O, CO, NO, NO₂, N₂O₅, HNO₃, HCl, ClONO₂, CCl₃F, CCl₂F₂, and HF. Global coverage for each species is obtained approximately over a three month …

Assessing Satellite-Based Rainfall Estimates In Semiarid Watersheds Using The Usda-Ars Walnut Gulch Gauge Network And Trmm Pr, Eyal Amitai, Carl L. Unkrich, David C. Goodrich, Emad Habib, Bryson Thill

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

The rain gauge network associated with the Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed (WGEW) in southeastern Arizona provides a unique opportunity for direct comparisons of in situ measurements and satellite-based instantaneous rain rate estimates like those from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) precipitation radar (PR). The WGEW network is the densest rain gauge network in the PR coverage area for watersheds greater than 10 km(2). It consists of 88 weighing rain gauges within a 149-km(2) area. On average, approximately 10 gauges can be found in each PR field of view (similar to 5-km diameter). All gauges are very well synchronized with …

Photoproduction Of Ammonium In The Southeastern Beaufort Sea And Its Biogeochemical Implications, H. Xie, S. Belanger, G. Song, Ronald Benner, A. Taalba, M. Blais, J. É. Tremblay, M. Babin

Faculty Publications

Photochemistry of dissolved organic matter (DOM) plays an important role in marine biogeochemical cycles, including the regeneration of inorganic nutrients. DOM photochemistry affects nitrogen cycling by converting bio-refractory dissolved organic nitrogen to labile inorganic nitrogen, mainly ammonium (NH₄⁺).During the August 2009 Mackenzie Light and Carbon (MALINA) Program, the absorbed photon-based efficiency spectra of NH₄⁺ photoproduction (i.e. photoammonification) were determined using water samples from the SE Beaufort Sea, including the Mackenzie River estuary, shelf, and Canada Basin. The photoammonification efficiency decreased with increasing wavelength across the ultraviolet and visible regimes and was higher in offshore waters …

Greenhouse Gas Fluxes In Southeastern U.S. Coastal Plain Wetlands Under Contrasting Land Uses, Jennifer L. Morse, Marcelo Ardón, Emily S. Bernhardt

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Whether through sea level rise or wetland restoration, agricultural soils in coastal areas will be inundated at increasing rates, renewing connections to sensitive surface waters and raising critical questions about environmental trade-offs. Wetland restoration is often implemented in agricultural catchments to improve water quality through nutrient removal. Yet flooding of soils can also increase production of the greenhouse gases nitrous oxide and methane, representing a potential environmental trade-off. Our study aimed to quantify and compare greenhouse gas emissions from unmanaged and restored forested wetlands, as well as actively managed agricultural fields within the North Carolina coastal plain, USA. In sampling …

Fall 2012, Nsu Oceanographic Center

Currents

No abstract provided.

Using A Low-Cost Spectrometer To Analyze The Optical Depth Of Atmospheric Aerosols, Michael Yurovchak

Summer Community of Scholars Posters (RCEU and HCR Combined Programs)

No abstract provided.

A Wrf Simulation Of The Asymmetric Rapid Intensification And Trough Interaction Of Tropical Storm Gabrielle (2001), Diana Elizabeth Thomas-Abernethy

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Despite 13 ms-1 ambient wind shear, Tropical Storm (TS) Gabrielle underwent 22 hPa pressure falls within 3 hours prior to 0900 UTC 14 September. The rapid intensification of Gabrielle was atypical due to an upper-level trough approaching from the northwest. Additionally, a convective cell developed in the downshear left quadrant of the center, moved cyclonically and inward to the 17 km radius. During this time, The Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) had one of its most intense 85 GHz scattering measurements ever (Molinari and Vollaro, 2010).

Assessing Delta Oxygen-18 In The Coral Genus Isopora For Reconstructing Indo-Pacific Regional And Seasonal Climate, Gavin Lemley

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Paleoclimate reconstructions often utilize coral reefs with very long time spans such as the genus Porites and Diploastrea, because of their potential to provide centuries of continuous climate records via geochemical signatures. Smaller corals, such as the genus Isopora, have been essentially unexplored as climate archives because their small skeletons (<1 m) and short lifespans (years to decades) do not provide such continuous geochemical records. There has not been a practical application for such corals until recently. In early 2010, the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Leg 325 (IODP-325) cored drowned fossil reefs off the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) with the objectives of reconstructing sea level and surface ocean conditions since the Last Glacial Maximum. Out of 213 massive fossil corals that were recovered, most were massive Isoporan colonies. A 30-specimen subset of these fossils range in age from ~32,000 to ~11,500 years before present with even temporal spacing, based on preliminary U/Th dating of core catcher samples. This age distribution is excellent for meeting IODP-325 objectives, but the suitability of Isopora for paleoclimate analyses remains unknown.

An Analysis Of The Formation And Evolution Of The 1989 Western North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, Brian Andrew Crandall

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This thesis conducts an observational study of a large cyclonic gyre that developed in the Western North Pacific (WNP) in late July 1989. For a period of six days, azimuthally-averaged winds at 850 hPa remained cyclonic out from the center of circulation to the 2000 km radius, with azimuthally-averaged tangential wind speeds at or greater than 10 m s-1. The gyre exhibited an asymmetric convection pattern, with the center, north and west flanks devoid of large convective areas, but the southern and eastern flanks maintained large-scale convective regions, extending as much as 4000 km in longitude.

An Application Of Camx Process Analysis Tools : Exploring Process Contributions To Extreme Ozone, Nitrogen Oxides And Sulfur Dioxide, David-Anthony Murray

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The University at Albany Air Quality Forecasting Modeling System (AQFMS) is a state-of-the-art model that generates reliable daily and "day-ahead" air quality forecasts for the Northeastern United States. The three major categories of processes which dictate regional air quality are production from emission sources, horizontal and vertical transport driven by the prevailing meteorology, and chemical transformations. The Advanced Research WRF (ARW) produces meteorological fields. The Sparse Matrix Operator for Kernel Emissions (SMOKE) processes available emission inventories for air quality modeling. The Comprehensive Air Quality Model with extension (CAMx) handles both chemical processes and the integration of ARW-WRF and SMOKE in …

Analysis Of Intraseasonal Convective Variability Modes Over West Africa During The Monsoon Season, Jeffrey Ceratto

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Intraseasonal variability of rainfall within the West African Monsoon has been shown to be an important factor in the weather of this region. Multiple factors have been found to contribute to variability at this timescale. Mounier, et al (2008) use EOF analysis to uncover and describe a quasi-stationary dipole of precipitation between the West African Monsoon system and the West Atlantic/Caribbean Sea. This mode, termed the Quasi Biweekly Zonal Dipole mode, operates on timescales of roughly 13 days. The stationary nature of this dipole is focused upon in their work, while the role of Kelvin waves in the mode are …

Remote Sensing Of Cloud Properties Using Oxygen A-Band Spectral Measurements, Siwei Li

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Clouds play an important role in the climate system through their radiative effects and their vital link in the hydrological cycle. Detailed knowledge of the three dimensional (3-D) distribution of cloud macrophysical and microphysical properties is crucial to properly characterize radiative forcing by clouds and to quantify the response of the climate. In this study, a multi-layer cloud detection algorithm is developed by utilizing photon path length distributions retrieved from oxygen A-band spectral measurements. Case studies from measurements at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Southern Great Plains (SGP) site demonstrate that this photon path length method can detect multi-layer clouds …

The Association Of Summer Temperatures With Hospital Admissions For Renal Diseases In New York State : A Case-Crossover Study, Barbara A. Fletcher

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This study assessed the association between high temperatures and increased odds of hospitalization for renal diseases which, to date, has been examined in only a small number of studies. A case-crossover design was used to study 147,885 hospital admissions with renal diagnoses during July and August, 1991-2004 in New York State. Regional temperature, humidity and barometric pressure data from automated monitors were used as exposure indicators. Using time-stratified referent selection and conditional logistic regression analysis, an overall 9% increase in odds of hospitalization for acute renal failure per 5°F (2.78°C) was found for mean temperature at a one day lag …

Convectively-Coupled Kelvin Waves Over The Tropical Atlantic And African Regions And Their Influence On Atlantic Tropical Cyclogenesis, Michael John Ventrice

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

High-amplitude convectively coupled atmospheric Kelvin waves (CCKWs) are explored over the tropical Atlantic during the boreal summer. Atlantic tropical cyclogenesis is found to be more frequent during the passage of the convectively active phase of the CCKW, and most frequent two days after its passage. CCKWs impact convection within the mean latitude of the inter-tropical convergence zone over the northern tropical Atlantic. In addition to convection, CCKWs also impact the large scale environment that favors Atlantic tropical cyclogenesis (i.e., deep vertical wind shear, moisture, and low-level relative vorticity).

Assessing The Reproducibility Of Coral Oxygen And Carbon Isotope Time Series From Fiji And Tonga And Their Application To The Reconstruction Of South Pacific Convergence Zone Movements Since The Mid-1800s, Emilie Pauline Dassie

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

A major feature affecting the hydrology of the southern hemisphere is the South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ); a band of high rainfall extending southeastward from the Western Pacific Warm Pool (WPWP). It is a key source of atmospheric water vapor and latent heating. While it is clear that the SPCZ plays a fundamental role in Earth's climate, little is known about the patterns and mechanisms responsible for interannual to century-scale changes in its position and how it may respond to global climate change.

Multiscale Analyses Of Inland Tropical Cylcone--Midlatitude Jet Interactions : Camille (1969) And Danny (1997), Matthew S. Potter

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

TC Camille (1969) and TC Danny (1997) both interacted with the equatorward entrance region of an upper-tropospheric jet as they traversed the Appalachian Mountains; however, their societal impacts differed. During the 12-h period starting 0000 UTC 20 August 1969, 690 mm of rain fell over Massies Mill, Virginia, as TC Camille traversed the central Appalachian Mountains. On 24 July 1997, TC Danny underwent inland reintensification while moving across the Carolinas. TC Danny's minimum central mean sea level pressure decreased from 1012 hPa to 1000 hPa and its maximum sustained wind speed increased from 20 kt to 40 kt during the …

Large-Scale Influences On The Pre-Genesis Of Tropical Cyclone Karl (2010), Kyle S. Griffin

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The genesis of Tropical Cyclone (TC) Karl (2010) in September 2010 provided a unique opportunity to examine the continuing problem of understanding tropical cyclogenesis. The precursor disturbance to Karl originated from a cluster of showers east of the Windward Islands and was well sampled by ongoing field campaigns, particularly the PRE-Depression Investigation of Cloud-systems in the Tropics (PREDICT), as the targeted disturbance progressed westward. While traditional genesis theories focusing on moisture and mass fields (e.g. top-down showerhead method) can explain the initial spin-up of the disturbance several days prior to its official genesis, additional perspectives are examined in concert with …