Atmospheric Sciences Commons^™

Tropical Cyclone Rapid Intensification In Environments Of Upper-Tropospheric Troughs : Environmental Influences And Convective Characteristics, Michael Fischer

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Intensity forecasts for tropical cyclones that undergo a period of rapid intensification are particularly susceptible to large errors. For those storms that interact with an upper-tropospheric trough, tropical cyclone intensity forecasts are complicated, as upper-tropospheric troughs can provide unique intensification mechanisms, but are often associated with unfavorable environmental conditions. Although tropical cyclones in environments with nearby upper-tropospheric troughs are associated with lesser intensification rates than tropical cyclones in environments devoid of upper-tropospheric troughs, some tropical cyclone--trough interactions are associated with a period of rapid intensification. This dissertation utilizes reanalysis output, satellite observations, and ensemble modeling simulations to understand whether rapid …

The Upper-Level Turbulence, Static Stability And Tropopause Structure Of Tropical Cyclones, Patrick Duran

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Upper-tropospheric thermodynamic processes can play an important role in tropical cyclone (TC) structure and evolution. Despite its importance, until recently few in-situ observations were available in the upper levels of TCs. Two recent field campaigns -- the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel (HS3) and the Office of Naval Research Tropical Cyclone Intensity (TCI) experiment -- provided a wealth of high-altitude observations within TCs. These observations revealed that the upper-level static stability and tropopause structure of TCs can change dramatically with both space and time.

Predictability Of African Easterly Waves In An Operational Ensemble Prediction System, Travis J. Elless

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

African easterly waves (AEWs) are the primary synoptic-scale weather feature found in sub-Saharan Africa during boreal summer. Many studies have used observations and idealized models to highlight processes associated with the movement and growth of AEWs, yet there have been few studies documenting the performance of operational ensemble prediction systems (EPSs) for these phenomena. Here, the predictability of AEWs in ECMWF EPS forecasts is assessed during two periods of enhanced AEW activity (July--September 2007--2009 and 2011--2013). Specifically, AEW predictability is analyzed through three main areas of focus: 1) verifying AEW position and intensity forecasts, and assessing their relation to convective …

Global Sea-Level Budget 1993-Present, Wcrp Global Sea Level Budget Group, Benjamin Hamlington

CCPO Publications

Global mean sea level is an integral of changes occurring in the climate system in response to unforced climate variability as well as natural and anthropogenic forcing factors. Its temporal evolution allows changes (e.g.,acceleration) to be detected in one or more components. Study of the sea-level budget provides constraints on missing or poorly known contributions, such as the unsurveyed deep ocean or the still uncertain land water component. In the context of the World Climate Research Programme Grand Challenge entitled "Regional Sea Level and Coastal Impacts", an international effort involving the sea-level community worldwide has been recently initiated with the …

Mls Measurements Of Stratospheric Hydrogen Cyanide During The 2015-2016 El Niño Event, Hugh C. Pumphrey, Norbert Glatthor, Peter F. Bernath, Christopher D. Boone, James W. Hannigan, Ivan Ortega, Nathaniel J. Livesey, William G. Read

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

It is known from ground-based measurements made during the 1982-1983 and 1997-1998 El Niño events that atmospheric hydrogen cyanide (HCN) tends to be higher during such years than at other times. The Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) on the Aura satellite has been measuring HCN mixing ratios since launch in 2004; the measurements are ongoing at the time of writing. The winter of 2015- 2016 saw the largest El Niño event since 1997-1998. We present MLS measurements of HCN in the lower stratosphere for the Aura mission to date, comparing the 2015- 2016 El Niño period to the rest of the …

Assessing The Effects Of Storm Depth On Tds Height Interpretation In Tornado Intensity Estimation, Andrew Lee

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

No abstract provided.

Record Setting: The Origins Of Extreme Hail On 19 March 2018 During Vortex-Se, Dean Meyer

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

No abstract provided.

Umphlett Qci Dec 2017, Natalie A. Umphlett

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

Highlights for the Basin

Temperature and Precipitation Anomalies

Drought

Drought Continues to Cause Impacts

Large Butterfly Migration Across the Plains

High Winds Down Corn Across Nebraska

3-Month Precipitation and Temperature Outlooks

Soil Moisture Conditions

The Extratropical Transition Of Tropical Cyclones. Part I: Cyclonic Evolution And Direct Impacts, Clark Evans, Kimberly M. Wood, Sim D. Aberson, Heather M. Archambault, Shawn M. Milrad, Lance F. Bosart, Et Al.

Publications

Extratropical transition (ET) is the process by which a tropical cyclone, upon encountering a baroclinic environment and reduced sea surface temperature at higher latitudes, transforms into an extratropical cyclone. This process is influenced by, and influences, phenomena from the tropics to the midlatitudes and from the meso- to the planetary scales to extents that vary between individual events. Motivated in part by recent high-impact and/or extensively observed events such as North Atlantic Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and western North Pacific Typhoon Sinlaku in 2008, this review details advances in understanding and predicting ET since the publication of an earlier review …

Embroidered Meteorology, Bettina L. Matzkuhn

Artizein: Arts and Teaching Journal

Weathering is a series of embroidered works that explore the symbolic and cartographic language of meteorology. Through research, mentorship and the physical work, my understanding and anxiety around weather has grown. Making art is a learning process for me: the haptic is a means for understanding. From embroidered world maps to animation to painted laundry, I conflate the intricacy of textiles with the complicated nature of the atmosphere.

Informing Responders Using Gis And Gps, Deidre Mccarthy

CHAR

Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast in August 2005 and created the single largest disaster for cultural resources that the United States has witnessed since the inception of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) in 1966. Notably, the NHPA created the National Register of Historic Places, our nation’s catalog of important cultural resources. The NHPA also stipulates that any federal undertaking which may adversely affect National Register eligible resources be mitigated. For the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Katrina created the largest compliance project ever under Section 106 of the NHPA.

Although causing a great deal of damage, Katrina also …

Physoon - Radiation Detection In Various High Altitude Environments, Christopher Helmerich

2017 Academic High Altitude Conference

Physoon is a high altitude ballooning payload designed and built by members of the Space Hardware Club for the purpose of comparing cosmic and terrestrial radiation from a variety of environmental conditions, including clear days, night times, solar events (eclipses, solar flares, coronal mass ejections), and thunderstorms. Over three design iterations, Physoon has flown eleven times with various combinations of Geiger counters sensors: a low energy Alpha-Beta-Gamma detector, an unshielded high-energy Beta-Gamma detector, and a shielded high-energy Beta-Gamma detector. One of these iterations successfully recovered data from high altitude during totality of the Great American Solar Eclipse. Another iteration was …

Droughtscape, Fall 2017, National Drought Mitigation Center

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

Contents

Drought worsens in northern Great Plains

Drought takes toll on agriculture, livestock

Study examines ag advisors’ views on climate change

New drought definition could lead to better preparation

McCook takes big steps toward drought readiness

Group hopes to map drought planning process for Korea

South African researcher working to forecast drought

Cultivating drought preparedness in South Africa

Umphlett Qci Sept 2017, Natalie Umphlett

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

Highlights for the Basin

Temperature and Precipitation Anomalies

Drought

Wildfires Impact Montana and Beyond

Kansas City, MO Area Flooding

Numerous Impacts to Agriculture

3-Month Precipitation and Temperature Outlooks

U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook

Mobile Radar As An Undergraduate Education And Research Tool: The Erau C-Breese Field Experience With The Doppler On Wheels, Shawn M. Milrad, Christopher G. Herbster

Publications

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Convective-Boundary Research Engaging Educational Student Experiences (ERAU C-BREESE) was an 18-day National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded educational Doppler on Wheels (DOW) deployment through the Center for Severe Weather Research in May 2015. ERAU C-BREESE had three primary areas of focus: meteorological field observations and research, undergraduate experiential learning, and local community outreach. ERAU undergraduate meteorology students had the unique opportunity to forecast for, collect, and analyze field measurements of sea-breeze processes and convection. The scientific objectives of ERAU C-BREESE were to forecast, observe, and analyze central Florida sea-breeze processes and thunderstorms by combining a DOW with more traditional …

Mesonets: Mesoscale Weather And Climate Observations For The United States, Rezaul Mahmood, Ryan Boyles, Kevin Brinson, Christopher Fiebrich, Stuart Foster, Ken Hubbard, David Robinson, Jeff Andresen, Dan Leathers

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

Mesoscale in situ meteorological observations are essential for better understanding and forecasting the weather and climate and to aid in decision-making by a myriad of stakeholder communities. They include, for example, state environmental and emergency management agencies, the commercial sector, media, agriculture, and the general public. Over the last three decades, a number of mesoscale weather and climate observation networks have become operational. These networks are known as mesonets. Most are operated by universities and receive different levels of funding. It is important to communicate the current status and critical roles the mesonets play. Most mesonets collect standard meteorological data …

Droughtscape, Summer 2017, National Drought Mitigation Center

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

Contents

Drought policy write shops conclude in Caribbean

Drought encroaches on Northern Plains in second quarter

Impact tool racks up submissions in second quarter

Maps on new website highlight drought effects on ag industry

Centers release new flash drought tool: QuickDRI

NDMC contributes to EU report on disaster risk management

Groups earn Climate Adaptation award for work with tribes

NDMC, ICPAC director talk collaboration on drought in Greater Horn of Africa

Up next in MENA: Drought vulnerability assessments

Mipas Imk/Iaa Carbon Tetrachloride (Ccl4) Retrieval And First Comparison With Other Instruments, Ellen Eckert, Thomas Von Clarmann, Alexandra Laeng, Gabriele P. Stiller, Bernd Funke, Norbert Glatthor, Udo Grabowski, Sylvia Kellmann, Michael Kiefer, Andrea Linden, Peter F. Bernath

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

MIPAS thermal limb emission measurements were used to derive vertically resolved profiles of carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄). Level-1b data versions MIPAS/5.02 to MIPAS/5.06 were converted into volume mixing ratio profiles using the level-2 processor developed at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research (IMK) and Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC), Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia (IAA). Consideration of peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) as an interfering species, which is jointly retrieved, and CO₂ line mixing is crucial for reliable retrievals. Parts of the CO₂ Q-branch region that overlap with the CCl₄ signature were …

Umphlett Qci June 2017, Natalie Umphlett

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

Highlights for the Basin

Temperature and Precipitation Anomalies

Snowpack and Streamflow

Historic Flooding in Missouri

Spring Conditions Impact Agriculture

3-Month Precipitation and Temperature Outlooks

U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook

Droughtscape, Spring 2017, National Drought Mitigation Center

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

Contents

Drought center helps islands reduce drought vulnerability

2017 sees above-average precipitation, warmer temps

California pulls out of drought

After tech transfer, training Tunisia launches first drought map

Drought center releases 2016 annual report

Book chapter focuses on drought and health

U2U wraps up, brings useful tools to farmers

Survey finds drought info leads to better decisions

Latitudinal Position And Trends Of The Intertropical Convergence Zone (Itcz) And Its Relationship With Upwelling In The Southern Caribbean Sea And Global Climate Indices, Kaitlyn E. Colna

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) is a feature that results from the ocean-atmosphere interactions in the tropics around the world. The ITCZ is characterized by surface wind convergence, tall storm clouds, and it forms a belt of high time-averaged precipitation around the globe. The ITCZ undergoes seasonal migrations between 5°S and 15°N roughly following the subsolar point on Earth with the seasons, with a mean annual position located slightly above the Equator, between 2° and 5°N.

This study tested the hypothesis that there was a northward shift in the median position of the ITCZ in the first decade of the …

P16. Ralmo Rotational Raman Temperature Retrieval: First Steps Towards The Application Of Optimal Estimation Method (Oem), Shayamila N. Mahagammulla Gamage, Robert Sica, Alexander Haefele

Western Research Forum

Background:

Temperature is an important atmospheric parameter that plays an extensive role in the fields of atmospheric dynamics, climatology, meteorology, and chemistry. Light detection and ranging (lidar), is a remote sensing technology that can be used for atmospheric temperature profiling. A lidar transmits short laser pulses into the atmosphere and the light scattered by the particles in the atmosphere is collected and measured using a telescope. The atmospheric temperatures can be retrieved by analysing the Pure Rotational Raman (PRR) scatter measurements from the nitrogen and oxygen molecules in the atmosphere.

Methods:

In this study use the Optimal Estimation Method (OEM) …

Umphlett Qci March 2017, Natalie Umphlett

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

Highlights for the Basin

Temperature and Precipitation Anomalies

Mountain Snowpack

Christmas Day Storm

Heavy Fuels Increase Fire Risk

Early Warmth Causes Concerns

3-Month Precipitation and Temperature Outlooks

NOAA Spring Flood Outlook

Assessment Of An Atmospheric Transport Model For Annual Inverse Estimates Of California Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Justin Bagley, Seongeun Jeong, Xinguang Cui, Sally Newman, Jingsong Zhang, Chad Priest, Mixtli Campos-Pineda, Arlyn Andrews, Laura Bianco, Matthew Lloyd, Neil Lareau, Craig Clements, Marc Fischer

Faculty Publications, Meteorology and Climate Science

Atmospheric inverse estimates of gas emissions depend on transport model predictions, hence driving a need to assess uncertainties in the transport model. In this study we assess the uncertainty in WRF-STILT (Weather Research and Forecasting and Stochastic Time-Inverted Lagrangian Transport) model predictions using a combination of meteorological and carbon monoxide (CO) measurements. WRF configurations were selected to minimize meteorological biases using meteorological measurements of winds and boundary layer depths from surface stations and radar wind profiler sites across California. We compare model predictions with CO measurements from four tower sites in California from June 2013 through May 2014 to assess …

Estimating Methane Emissions From Biological And Fossil-Fuel Sources In The San Francisco Bay Area, Seongeun Jeong, Xinguang Cui, Donald Blake, Ben Miller, Stephen Montzka, Arlyn Andrews, Abhinav Guha, Philip Martien, Ray Bambha, Brian Lafranchi, Hope Michelsen, Craig Clements, Pierre Glaize, Marc Fischer

Faculty Publications, Meteorology and Climate Science

We present the first sector-specific analysis of methane (CH4) emissions from the San Francisco Bay Area (SFBA) using CH4 and volatile organic compound (VOC) measurements from six sites during September – December 2015. We apply a hierarchical Bayesian inversion to separate the biological from fossil-fuel (natural gas and petroleum) sources using the measurements of CH4 and selected VOCs, a source-specific 1 km CH4 emission model, and an atmospheric transport model. We estimate that SFBA CH4 emissions are 166–289 Gg CH4/yr (at 95% confidence), 1.3–2.3 times higher than a recent inventory with much of the underestimation from landfill. Including the VOCs, …

Data From: Observing System Simulation Experiments For An Array Of Autonomous Biogeochemical Profiling Floats In The Southern Ocean, Igor Kamenkovich, Angelique Haza, Alison R. Gray, Carolina O. Dufour, Zulema Garraffo

Supplementary Data and Tools

Data in this collection is from Observation System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs) that were carried in support of the SOCCOM program. Synthetic profiles were extracted from model-simulated dissolved oxygen and inorganic carbon. Full maps were then reconstructed from these sparse datasets, using objective mapping. For description of the model and reconstruction method please see Kamenkovich, I., A. Haza, A. Gray, C. Dufour, and Z. Garraffo: "Observing System Simulation Experiments for an array of autonomous biogeochemical profiling floats in the Southern Ocean", Journal of Geophysical Research, DOI: 10.1002/2017JC012819

High Plains Regional Climate Center (Poster)

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

The HPRCC provides the public with several ways to access climate data and information. Whether via direct contact, website access, or through a subscription to one of HPRCC’s online services, users can acquire a variety of climate data products, such as: • Near Real-Time and Historical Climate Data • National and Regional Climate Data Maps • Agricultural Climate Products • Monthly, Quarterly, and Annual Regional Climate Summaries

A Model-Based Assessment Of Potential Impacts Of Man-Made Reservoirs On Precipitation, Jesse Winchester, Rezaul Mahmood, William Rodgers, Faisal Hossain, Eric Rappin, Joshua D. Durkee, Themis Chronis

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

Land-use land-cover change (LULCC) plays an important role in weather and climate systems. Human modifications of land cover include building reservoirs and thus creating artificial lakes for multipurpose use. In this research, the authors have completed a Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model–based assessment of impacts of two large parallel lakes on precipitation. This area is located in the western part of the states of Kentucky and Tennessee and known as the Land between the Lakes (LBL). To determine the impacts, this study has replaced the lakes with grass, deciduous forests, and bare soil and conducted model simulations for three …

The Effect Of The Dry Line And Convective Initiation On Drought Evolution Over Oklahoma During The 2011 Drought, Paul X. Flanagan, Jeffrey B. Basara, Bradley G. Illston, Jason A. Otkin

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

Observations from the Oklahoma Mesonet and high resolution Weather Research and Forecasting model simulations were used to evaluate the effect that the dry line and large-scale atmospheric patterns had on drought evolution during 2011. Mesonet observations showed that a “dry” and “wet” pattern developed across Oklahoma due to anomalous atmospheric patterns. The location of the dry line varied due to this “dry” and “wet” pattern, with the average dry line location around 1.5∘ longitude further to the east than climatology.Model simulations were used to further quantify the impact of variable surface conditions on dry line evolution and convective initiation (CI) …

Droughtscape, Winter 2017, National Drought Mitigation Center

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

Contents

NDMC partners with Sioux tribes to build climate resiliency

Drought intensifies in some regions of U.S. in fall

Fire danger and sequoia deaths in third quarter

2016: Year in review

MENA region forums elicit

feedback from stakeholders

Tech pass-off in Tunisia

Midwest DEWS meetings build collaboration, relationships

Workshop links drought, socioeconomic impacts/p>

Drought center helps ranchers prepare for drought

Drought tourney in Nebraska goes low tech