Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

Sfa Weather Station-January 2008, Arthur Temple College Of Forestry And Agriculture, Stephen F Austin State University

Weather Station Data

No abstract provided.

From Debate To Design: Issues In Clean Energy And Climate Change Law And Policy, Leslie Parker, Jennifer Ronk, Rachel Maxwell, Bradford Gentry, Marijn Wilder, James Cameron

Yale School of the Environment Publications Series

A report on the work of the REIL Network 2007-2008

Sustainability In A Time Of Climate Change: Developing An Intensive Research Framework For The Platte River Basin And The High Plains Proceedings From The 2008 Climate Change Workshop, Monica Norby, Ashley Washburn

Office of Research and Economic Development: Publications

Proceedings from the 2008 Climate change Workshop, Nebraska Sandhills, May 19-22, 2008. Hosted by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and the U.S. Geological Survey

Visualization Of Groundwater Flow Within Touching-Vu And Matrix Porosity In An Eogenetic Karst Aquifer, Lee J. Florea, Kevin J. Cunningham, Stephen Altobelli

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Faculty Publications

In this study, we use an innovative, non-invasive technology, nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (NMRI), to visualize the direction and magnitude of groundwater flow in field samples of late Pleistocene limestone of the Biscayne aquifer. Specific goals of the first set of NMRI experiments are to map the advective velocity of water flowing at two rates of specific discharge (0.00025 and 0.00013 m/s) through a 10-cm-diameter cylindrical, epoxy-resin model. The model interior accurately reproduces a well-connected maze of ichnologically influenced, centimeter-scale, touching-vug macroporosity common within preferred flow zones in parts of the Biscayne aquifer. A second set of NMRI experiments investigates …

First Observations Of Turbulence Generated By Grass Fires, Craig Clements, Shiyuan Zhong, Xindi Bian, Warren Heilman, Daewon Byun

Faculty Publications, Meteorology and Climate Science

Wildland fires radically modify the atmospheric boundary layer by inducing strong fire-atmosphere interactions. These interactions lead to intense turbulence production in and around the fire front. Two field experiments were conducted in tall-grass fuels to quantify turbulence generation during the passage of wind-driven fire fronts. Observations showed that the measured turbulence generated by the fires was five times greater than the turbulence in the ambient environment. The production of the turbulence at the surface near the fire front was caused by increased variance of the ambient wind, while the buoyancy was strongest at higher levels within the fire plume. Immediately …

Metcrax 2006 - Meteorological Experiments In Arizona's Meteor Crater, C. David Whiteman, Sebastian Hoch, Maura Hahnenberger, Andreas Muschinski, Vincent Hohreiter, Mario Behn, Yonghum Cheon, Sharon Zhong, Wenqing Yao, David Fritts, Craig Clements, Thomas Horst, William Brown, Steven Oncley

Faculty Publications, Meteorology and Climate Science

The Meteor Crater Experiment (METCRAX 2006) was conducted in October 2006 at Arizona's Meteor Crater to investigate stable boundary layer evolution in a topographically uncomplicated basin surrounded by the nearly homogeneous plain of the Colorado Plateau. The two goals of the experiment were 1) to investigate the microscale and mesoscale structure and evolution of the stable boundary layer in the crater and its surroundings and 2) to determine whether atmospheric seiches or standing waves are produced inside the crater. This article provides an overview of the scientific goals of the experiment; summarizes the research measurements, the crater topography, and the …

Biogenic Porosity And Its Lattice Boltzmann Method Permeability In The Karst Biscayne Aquifer, Kevin Cunningham, Mike Sukop, Haibo Huang, Pedro Alvarez, Allen Curran, Michael Waker, Lee J. Florea, Robert Renken, Joann F. Dixon

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Focus Group On Karst Hydrology - Conceptual Models, Aquifer Characterization, And Numerical Modeling, Martin Sauter, Lee J. Florea, Others

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Drainage Benchmarking In The Northern Agricultural Region : Landholder Survey, Alison Beattie, Angela Stuart-Street

Resource management technical reports

No abstract provided.

Sampling Of Malodorous Compounds In Air Using Stir Bar Sorbtive Extraction, John H. Loughrin, Nanh Lovanh, Arturo I. Quintanar, Rezaul Mahmood

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

Twisters, (poly)‐dimethylsiloxane‐coated magnetic stir bars, were used to measure compounds typical of swine manure malodor in air. In initial experiments, a time to achieve equilibrium was determined by preloading the stir bars with ten compounds with a range of volatilities and polarities and then monitoring their loss. The rate of loss was dependent on compound volatility, and the time for equilibrium to be attained varied widely, from 22 min for phenol to 210 min for skatole. To test whether the Twisters would respond linearly over a range of concentrations, the stir bars were placed in vented jars with solutions of …

Evaluation Of Modis Ndvi And Ndwi For Vegetation Drought Monitoring Using Oklahoma Mesonet Soil Moisture Data, Yingxin Gu, Eric Hunt, Brian Wardlow, Jeffrey B. Basara, Jesslyn F. Brown, James P. Verdin

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

The evaluation of the relationship between satellitederived vegetation indices (normalized difference vegetation index and normalized difference water index) and soil moisture improves our understanding of how these indices respond to soil moisture fluctuations. Soil moisture deficits are ultimately tied to drought stress on plants. The diverse terrain and climate of Oklahoma, the extensive soil moisture network of the Oklahoma Mesonet, and satellitederived indices from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) provided an opportunity to study correlations between soil moisture and vegetation indices over the 2002–2006 growing seasons. Results showed that the correlation between both indices and the fractional water index …

The Vegetation Drought Response Index (Vegdri): A New Integrated Approach For Monitoring Drought Stress In Vegetation, Jesslyn F. Brown, Brian D. Wardlow, Tsegaye Tadesse, Michael Hayes, Bradley C. Reed

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

The development of new tools that provide timely, detailed-spatial-resolution drought information is essential for improving drought preparedness and response. This paper presents a new method for monitoring drought-induced vegetation stress called the Vegetation Drought Response Index (VegDRI). VegDRI integrates traditional climate-based drought indicators and satellite-derived vegetation index metrics with other biophysical information to produce a 1 km map of drought conditions that can be produced in near-real time. The initial VegDRI map results for a 2002 case study conducted across seven states in the north-central United States illustrates the utility of VegDRI for improved large-area drought monitoring.

Lead Concentration Of Soils In Sorby Hills Area Of Proposed M2 Irrigation Area, East Kimberley, Edward (Ted) Arnold Griffin, Noel R. Schoknecht, Ross Brennan, Jane Speijers, Dave Allen, Mike Freeman

Resource management technical reports

No abstract provided.

Patterns In Southeast Florida Coral Reef Community Composition, M. P. Sathe, David S. Gilliam, Richard E. Dodge, L. E. Fisher

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, Lectures

The Southeast (SE) Florida coral reef system is the northern extension of the Florida reef tract. This high latitude system lies offshore a heavily populated and urbanized coast and therefore is affected by numerous environmental and anthropogenic stressors. Using annual monitoring data collected in 2004, the southeast lorida reef community was analyzed to investigate patterns in community composition in various habitat types. Data was collected by SCUBA divers who conducted a 30m2 belt transect survey at 24 sample sites offshore Broward County (SE), Florida. Sites ranged in depth range from six to 18 meters. The 24 sites occurred on five …

Long-Term Monitoring Of A High-Latitude Coral Reef System Off Southeast Florida, Usa: A Partnership Between Academia And Resource Management, David S. Gilliam, Kenneth Banks, Michael Callahan, Chantal Collier, Richard E. Dodge, Louis E. Fisher, Jennifer Wheaton

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, Lectures

Significant coral reef community development exists along the eastern shelf of the United States from the Dry Tortugas through the Florida Keys (Monroe County) and Southeast (SE) Florida (Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, and Martin Counties). State and county resource managers have partnered with academia to monitor the health of the SE Florida reef system. Since 2000, more than 20 sites have been monitored annually offshore Broward County. Quantitative data includes stony coral species cover, colony size, density, and condition (bleaching, disease, etc.) and gorgonian and sponge density. The SE Florida Coral Reef Evaluation and Monitoring Project (SECREMP) was established in …

Water Quality, Leona K. Hawks, Terry A. Tindall, Howard M. Deer, Bob Lowe, Kevin C. Kesler, Mardell Parrish, Charles Jeffs, Kitt Farrell

University Extension - OCW

This series of videos discusses water usage and the safety of drinking water. The material comes from two University Extension broadcasts.

Runoff Using A Combined Geographic Information System And Curve Number Approach, Keshia M. Koehn

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

Stormwater runoff can transport nutrients, sediments, chemicals, and pathogens to surface water bodies. Managing runoff is crucial to preserving water quality in rapidly developing urban watersheds like Northwest Arkansas. A watershed containing much of the University of Arkansas campus was identified as the target area for this study because stormwater from this location drains into the West Fork of the White River, designated as an impaired water body due to siltation. The project objective was to develop a methodology to test existing stormwater drainage infrastructure, identify potential areas of improvement, and estimate potentially contaminated runoff by combining two widely used …

Introgression And Dispersal Among Spotted Owl (Strix Occidentalis) Subspecies, W. Chris Funk, Eric D. Forsman, Thomas D. Mullins, Susan M. Haig

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Population genetics plays an increasingly important role in the conservation and management of declining species, particularly for defining taxonomic units. Subspecies are recognized by several conservation organizations and countries and receive legal protection under the US Endangered Species Act (ESA). Two subspecies of spotted owls, northern (Strix occidentalis caurina) and Mexican (S. o. lucida) spotted owls, are ESA-listed as threatened, but the California (S. o. occidentalis) spotted owl is not listed. Thus, determining the boundaries of these subspecies is critical for effective enforcement of the ESA. We tested the validity of previously recognized spotted …

Development And Evaluation Of Geochemical Methods For The Sourcing Of Archaeological Maize, L.V. Benson, H. E. Taylor, K.A. Peterson, B.D. Shattuck, C.A. Ramotnik, J.R. Stein

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Strontium (Sr)-isotope values on bone from deer mice pairs from 12 field sites in the Chaco Canyon area, New Mexico, were compared with isotope values of synthetic soil waters from the same fields. The data indicate that mice obtain Sr from near-surface sources and that soil samples collected at depths ranging from 25 to 95 cm contain Sr that is more accessible to the deep roots of maize; thus, synthetic soil solutions provide better data for the sourcing of archaeological maize. However, the Sr-isotope composition of mice may be more valuable in sourcing archaeological remains of animals such as rabbit, …

Tools And Technology Article: Estimation And Correction Of Visibility Bias In Aerial Surveys Of Wintering Ducks, Aaron T. Pearse, Patrick D. Gerard, Stephen J. Dinsmore, Richard M. Kaminski, Kenneth J. Reinecke

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Incomplete detection of all individuals leading to negative bias in abundance estimates is a pervasive source of error in aerial surveys of wildlife, and correcting that bias is a critical step in improving surveys. We conducted experiments using duck decoys as surrogates for live ducks to estimate bias associated with surveys of wintering ducks in Mississippi, USA. We found detection of decoy groups was related to wedand cover type (open vs. forested), group size (1-100 decoys), and interaction of these variables. Observers who detected decoy groups reported counts that averaged 78% of the decoys actually present, and this counting bias …

Tools And Technology Article: Evaluation Of An Aerial Survey To Estimate Abundance Of Wintering Ducks In Mississippi, Aaron T. Pearse, Stephen J. Dinsmore, Richard M. Kaminski, Kenneth J. Reinecke

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Researchers have successfully designed aerial surveys that provided precise estimates of wintering populations of ducks over large physiographic regions, yet few conservation agencies have adopted these probability-based sampling designs for their surveys. We designed and evaluated an aerial survey to estimate abundance of wintering mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), dabbling ducks (tribe Anatini) other than mallards, diving ducks (tribes Aythini, Mergini, and Oxyurini), and total ducks in western Mississippi, USA. We used design-based sampling of fixed width transects to estimate population indices (/), and we used model-based methods to correct population indices for visibility bias and estimate population abundance (N) for 14 …

Relations Between And Among Contaminant Concentrations And Biomarkers In Black Bass (Micropterus Spp.) And Common Carp (Cyprinus Carpio) From Large U.S. Rivers, 1995–2004, Jo Ellen Hinck, Christopher J. Schmitt, Mark R. Ellersieck, Donald E. Tillitt

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Environmental contaminant and biomarker monitoring data from major U.S. river basins were summarized for black bass (Micropterus spp.) and common carp (Cyprinus carpio) sampled over a nine year period. Cumulative frequency distributions revealed taxon differences for many organochlorine residue concentrations, elemental contaminant concentrations, and biomarkers, but few gender differences were evident for chemical concentrations. Concentrations of dacthal, pentachloroanisole, p,p'-DDE, endosulfan sulfate, barium, cadmium, copper, manganese, lead, selenium, vanadium, and zinc were greater in carp than bass, but concentrations of mercury and magnesium were greater in bass. Gender differences were evident in bass for mercury and in carp …

Impact Of Drought On Prehistoric Western Native Americans, Larry Benson

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Some droughts that occurred during the so-called Medieval Climate Anomaly (approximately AD 800-1300) appear to have been catalysts for major changes in settlement patterns of two western Native American groups - the Lovelock culture in Nevada’s Great Basin and the Anasazi people of the Four Corners area. Both groups’ subsistence bases were impacted by diminished water supplies associated with prolonged drought, leading to the dispersal of these Native Americans from their former territories.

Tree-ring-based Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) reconstructions by Cook et al. (2004) indicate that over 50% of the western U.S. experienced drought conditions during the middle-12th and …

Grenetic Evidence Of Intercontinental Movement Of Avian Influenza In A Migratory Bird: The Northern Pintail (Anas Acuta), Anson V. Koehler, John M. Pearce, Paul L. Flint, J. Christian Franson, Hon S. Ip

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The role of migratory birds in the movement of the highly pathogenic (HP) avian influenza H5N1 remains a subject of debate. Testing hypotheses regarding intercontinental movement of low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) viruses will help evaluate the potential that wild birds could carry Asian-origin strains of HP avian influenza to North America during migration. Previous North American assessments of LPAI genetic variation have found few Asian reassortment events. Here, we present results from whole-genome analyses of LPAI isolates collected in Alaska from the northern pintail (Anas acuta), a species that migrates between North America and Asia. Phylogenetic analyses …

Droughtscape, Winter 2008, Kelly Smith

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

Now Up & On-Line:

Winter 2008 Outlook and Oct.-Dec. ’07 Summary

NDMC Experts Serve as Resource for Media

Drought Hits Ag and Urban Interests in 2007

Climatological Summary of Drought in 2007

NDMC Welcomes Data Miner Bo Zhang

New Grant Awards

The Need For Integration Of Drought Monitoring Tools For Proactive Food Security Management In Sub-Saharan Africa, Tsegaye Tadesse, Menghestab Haile, Gabriel Senay, Brian D. Wardlow, Cody L. Knutson

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Reducing the impact of drought and famine remains a challenge in sub-Saharan Africa despite ongoing drought relief assistance in recent decades. This is because drought and famine are primarily addressed through a crisis management approach when a disaster occurs, rather than stressing preparedness and risk management. Moreover, drought planning and food security efforts have been hampered by a lack of integrated drought monitoring tools, inadequate early warning systems (EWS), and insufficient information flow within and between levels of government in many sub-Saharan countries. The integration of existing drought monitoring tools for sub-Saharan Africa is essential for improving food security systems …

Winter 2008, Nsu Oceanographic Center

Currents

No abstract provided.

Additional Records Of Deep-Sea Fishes From Off Greater New England, Karsten E. Hartel, Christopher P. Kenaley, John K. Galbraith, Tracey Sutton

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Recent review of deep-sea fishes captured deeper than 200m off greater New England, from the Scotian Shelf at 44°N to the southern New England Shelf at about 38°N, documented 591 species. Subsequent trawling activity and reviews of deep-sea taxa occurring in the area have revealed that an additional 40 species in habit the deep sea off New England. Thirty-two of these new records were captured in the course of 44 bottom trawls and 94 mid-water trawls over or in the proximity of Bear Seamount (39°55'N, 67°30'W). Five of the 40 species have been described as new to science, at least …

Diverse Bacterial Pks Sequences Derived From Okadaic Acid-Producing Dinoflagellates, Roberto Perez, Li Liu, Jose V. Lopez, Tianying An, Kathleen S. Rein

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Okadaic acid (OA) and the related dinophysistoxins are isolated from dinoflagellates of the genus Prorocentrum and Dinophysis. Bacteria of the Roseobacter group have been associated with okadaic acid producing dinoflagellates and have been previously implicated in OA production. Analysis of 16S rRNA libraries reveals that Roseobacter are the most abundant bacteria associated with OA producing dinoflagellates of the genus Prorocentrum and are not found in association with non-toxic dinoflagellates. While some polyketide synthase (PKS) genes form a highly supported Prorocentrum clade, most appear to be bacterial, but unrelated to Roseobacter or Alpha-Proteobacterial PKSs or those derived from other Alveolates …

The State Of Coral Reef Ecosystems Of Southeast Florida, Chantal Collier, Rob Ruzicka, Ken Banks, Luiz Barbieri, Jeff Beal, David Bingham, James Bohnsack, Sandra Brooke, Nancy Craig, Richard E. Dodge, Lou Fisher, Nick Gadbois, David S. Gilliam, Lisa Gregg, Todd Kellison, Vladimir Kosmynin, Brian Lapointe, Erin Mcdevitt, Janet Phipps, Nikki Poulos, John Proni, Patrick Quinn, Bernhard Riegl, Richard E. Spieler, Joanna Walczak, Brian K. Walker, Denise Warrick

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

The northern extension of the Florida reef tract and a complex of limestone ridges run parallel to the subtropical Atlantic coastline of southeast Florida. Spanning 170 km from the northern border of Biscayne National Park (BNP) in Miami-Dade County to the St. Lucie Inlet in Martin County, the reefs and hardbottom areas in this region support a rich and diverse biological community (Figure 5.1). Nearshore reef habitats in southeast Florida include hardbottom areas, patch reefs and worm reefs (Phragmatopoma spp.) exhibiting abundant octocoral, macroalgae, stony coral and sponge assemblages. Offshore, coral reef associated biotic assemblages occur on linear Holocene Acropora …