Atmospheric Sciences Commons^™

Deglacial Tropical Atlantic Subsurface Warming Links Ocean Circulation Variability To The West African Monsoon, Matthew W. Schmidt, Ping Chang, Andrew O. Parker, Link Ji, Feng He

OES Faculty Publications

Multiple lines of evidence show that cold stadials in the North Atlantic were accompanied by both reductions in Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and collapses of the West African Monsoon (WAM). Although records of terrestrial change identify abrupt WAM variability across the deglaciation, few studies show how ocean temperatures evolved across the deglaciation. To identify the mechanism linking AMOC to the WAM, we generated a new record of subsurface temperature variability over the last 21 kyr based on Mg/Ca ratios in a sub-thermocline dwelling planktonic foraminifera in an Eastern Equatorial Atlantic (EEA) sediment core from the Niger Delta. Our subsurface …

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 …

Keynote Address: Climate Change: From Global To New York Scale, Christopher D. Thorncroft

CHAR

This talk is concerned with the science and impacts of climate change from global to New York scales. It will provide an assessment of how the climate has changed over the past Century based on a purely observational perspective. The scientific basis for anthroprogenic climate change will be explained and discussed including a description of the “greenhouse effect” and why it is important for life on this planet. We will briefly discuss global and local consequences of a warmer climate and what we need to be prepared for going forward in the coming decades.

Solar Eclipse Induced Atmospheric Turbulence Effects On High Altitude Balloons, Fnu Anamika, Denise Buckner, Peter Henson, Jennifer Fowler, Nanette Valentour

2017 Academic High Altitude Conference

The North Dakota Atmospheric Education Student Initiated Research (ND-AESIR) team launched a balloon during the total solar eclipse in Rexburg, Idaho. After the umbra’s passage, the balloon experienced unexpectedly high levels of atmospheric turbulence. Video footage taken from the payload displays the conditions, and analysis of flight path data models created from the iridium GPS confirm that unusually violent turbulence occurred. These forces caused the key rings holding the bottom of the parachute to the payload train to rip open; the balloon and parachute flew away and the payloads free fell to the surface from an altitude of 68,301 feet. …

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 …

Use And Implementation Of The Automatic Packet Reporting System (Aprs) On High Altitude Payloads., Sam Fink, Robert Moody, Carson Keeter, Cassandra Runyon, Cyndi Hall

2017 Academic High Altitude Conference

Once a weather balloon enters the uncontrollable realm of nature upon release it is subject to a high degree of freedom and flight path options. Passive tracking methods become essential to physically follow the trajectory, the balloon, and its payload. The Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) provides an ideal platform for tracking high-altitude and low earth orbit instrumentation because at zenith there is no radio horizon. Demonstrated aboard the International Space Station, this simple system provides the maximum tracking range at very low power and cost with very high accuracy, by utilizing existing federally funded infrastructure. An amateur radio license …

Eclipse Ballooning Stem Outreach For Elementary, Middle, And High School Education, Peter Henson, Fnu Anamika, Denise Buckner, Marissa Saad, Caitlin Nolby

2017 Academic High Altitude Conference

To promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education through ballooning, the North Dakota Space Grant Consortium (NDSGC) organizes an annual Near-Space Balloon Competition (NSBC) for students in grades 6 - 12. Students across the state of North Dakota have the opportunity to launch experiments into a near- space environment. The students learn how to write proposals, design payloads, and analyze data. They learn through an active, inquiry-based style that will prepare them for real-world engineering and critical thinking jobs. In 2016, NSBC proposed Great American Eclipse as the theme for the competition, thus the students were focused on designing …

Impactful Practice: Lessons Learned Through Ballooning Outreach, Tracy Knowles, Leandro Braga, Alex Eberle, Tom Busby, John Paul Beard, Jessica Glasscock, Jacolby Gardner, Matt Smither

2017 Academic High Altitude Conference

The goal of Bluegrass Community and Technical College’s (BCTC) Eclipse Outreach Ambassador Project was to get students across the Bluegrass excited and educated about the 2017 total solar eclipse. Several years ago the BalloonSat Project was started to provide hands-on earth and atmospheric science experiences to BCTC students. In linking the two initiatives, we allowed BCTC BalloonSat team members to continue learning to design, build, test, fly and retrieve balloon-borne payloads while using a novel method by which to engage local elementary and middle school students in learning more about and anticipating the upcoming eclipse. Eclipse practice flights carried payloads …

Placing A High-Altitude Balloon In The Path Of Totality, Nicholas Jordan, Christopher Helmerich

2017 Academic High Altitude Conference

The UAH Space Hardware Club had conducted 70 flights prior to the Eclipse. In this time, we have gained valuable skills and experience which we have put into practice and passed on through the years. We put these skills into practice for the Eclipse. Our first challenge was finding where to launch. We started out by looking for suitable locations inside totality. We also examined a map of totality at 80,000 ft. We then ran predictions based on past weather during that time of year. By compiling multiple past predictions, we eliminated possible launch sites. We had multiple payloads, some …

Verification And Enhancement Of Viirs Day-Night Band (Dnb) Power Outagedetection Product, Angela Burke, Robert Griffin, Lori Schultz, Andrew Molthan

Von Braun Symposium Student Posters

No abstract provided.

Unmanned Aerial Systems For Monitoring Trace Tropospheric Gases, Travis J. Schuyler, Marcelo I. Guzman

Chemistry Faculty Publications

The emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) has changed the composition of the atmosphere during the Anthropocene. Accurately documenting the sources and magnitude of GHGs emission is an important undertaking for discriminating the contributions of different processes to radiative forcing. Currently there is no mobile platform that is able to quantify trace gases at altitudes(UASs) can be deployed on-site in minutes and can support the payloads necessary to quantify trace gases. Therefore, current efforts combine the use of UASs available on the civilian market with inexpensively designed analytical systems for monitoring atmospheric trace gases. In this context, this perspective introduces the …

Life In Hampton Roads: Sea Level Rise And Flooding, Public Affairs & News Bureau, Old Dominion University

News Items

No abstract provided.

A Near-Global Atmospheric Distribution Of N2o Isotopologues, Peter F. Bernath, Mahdi Yousefi, Eric Buzan, Chris D. Boone

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The distributions of the four most abundant isotopologues and isotopomers (N₂O, ¹⁵NNO, N¹⁵NO, and NN¹⁸O of nitrous oxide have been measured in the Earth's stratosphere by infrared remote sensing with the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (ACE) Fourier transform spectrometer. These satellite observations have provided a near-global picture of N₂O isotopic fractionation. The relative abundances of the heavier species increase with altitude and with latitude in the stratosphere as the air becomes older. The heavy isotopologues are enriched by 20-30% in the upper stratosphere and even more over the poles. These observations are …

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

The Clean Air Act And Its Impact On Ground Level Ozone Pollution Levels In Los Angeles, California, Rebecca G. Ford

Honors Theses

Ozone (O₃) occurs naturally as a protective, ultraviolet radiation-shielding “Ozone Layer” in the Stratosphere and as a photochemically produced pollutant in the Troposphere. The Clean Air Act (CAA) of 1970 regulates the emission and concentration of O₃ and five other atmospheric pollutants. Since the signing of the CAA, the ongoing question has been whether or not the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and regulatory policies have had an effect on decreasing O₃ concentration. The Los Angeles metropolitan area is a prime example of how O₃ can be a public health hazard, and taint a …

The Influence Of Recurrent Modes Of Climate Variability On The Occurrence Of Monthly Temperature Extremes Over South America, Paul C. Loikith, Judah Detzer, Carlos R. Mechoso, Huikyo Lee, Armineh Barkhordarian

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

The associations between extreme temperature months and four prominent modes of recurrent climate variability are examined over South America. Associations are computed as the percent of extreme temperature months concurrent with the upper and lower quartiles of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the Atlantic Niño, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), and the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) index distributions, stratified by season. The relationship is strongest for ENSO, with nearly every extreme temperature month concurrent with the upper or lower quartiles of its distribution in portions of northwestern South America during some seasons. The likelihood of extreme warm temperatures is enhanced …

Collaborative Research: Synergistic Merging Of Traditional Aeronomy With Targeted High-Frequency (Hf) Heating Diagnostics, Herbert C. Carlson

Funded Research Records

No abstract provided.

Ionospheric Gravity Waves Driven By Oceanic Gravity Waves In Resonance: A Modeling Study In Search Of Their Spectra, Michael P. Hickey, Yonghui Yu

Publications

Ionospheric observations associated with the 2011 Tohoku tsunami have revealed gravity waves having spectral characteristics that depend on their proximity to the epicenter. There is a preponderance of medium-scale waves in the vicinity of the epicenter, a significant bifurcation into short- and long-period waves over the Hawaiian archipelago, and a narrow and rich spectrum of waves over the West Coast and inland of the United States (U.S.). Guided by these previous observations, we consider wave sources as triads of nonlinearly interacting oceanic gravity waves, whose wave parameters satisfy resonant conditions. These waves are simulated using a 2-D nonlinear model describing …

Characteristics Of Mesospheric Gravity Waves Over Antarctica Observed By Angwin (Antarctic Gravity Wave Instrument Network) Imagers Using 3-D Spectral Analyses, Takashi S. Matsuda, Takuji Nakamura, Mitsumu K. Ejiri, Masaki Tsutsumi, Yoshihiro Tomikawa, Michael J. Taylor, Yucheng Zhao, Pierre-Dominique Pautet, Damian J. Murphy, Tracy Moffat-Griffin

Publications

We have obtained horizontal phase velocity distributions of the gravity waves around 90 km from four Antarctic airglow imagers, which belong to an international airglow imager/instrument network known as ANGWIN (Antarctic Gravity Wave Instrument Network). Results from the airglow imagers at Syowa (69°S, 40°E), Halley (76°S, 27°W), Davis (69°S, 78°E), and McMurdo (78°S, 167°E) were compared, using a new statistical analysis method based on 3-D Fourier transform (Matsuda et al., 2014) for the observation period between 7 April and 21 May 2013. Significant day-to-day and site-to-site differences were found. The averaged phase velocity spectrum during the observation period showed preferential …

Major Hurricane Impact: Is Hampton Roads Ready?, Jon Cawley

News Items

No abstract provided.

Odu Researcher: Hampton Roads A Poster-Child For Sea Level Rise Threat, Public Affairs & News Bureau, Old Dominion University

News Items

No abstract provided.

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

Thermal Radiation Anomalies Associated With Major Earthquakes, Dimitar Ouzounov, Sergey Pulinets, Menas Kafatos, Patrick Taylor

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Recent developments of remote sensing methods for Earth satellite data analysis contribute to our understanding of earthquake related thermal anomalies. It was realized that the thermal heat fluxes over areas of earthquake preparation is a result of air ionization by radon (and other gases) and consequent water vapor condensation on newly formed ions. Latent heat (LH) is released as a result of this process and leads to the formation of local thermal radiation anomalies (TRA) known as OLR (outgoing Longwave radiation, Ouzounov et al, 2007). We compare the LH energy, obtained by integrating surface latent heat flux (SLHF) over the …

Oblique Longwave Infrared Atmospheric Compensation, Daniel S. O'Keefe

Theses and Dissertations

This research introduces two novel oblique longwave infrared atmospheric compensation techniques for hyperspectral imagery, Oblique In-Scene Atmospheric Compensation (OISAC) and Radiance Detrending (RD). Current atmospheric compensation algorithms have been developed for nadir-viewing geometries which assume that every pixel in the scene is affected by the atmosphere in nearly the same manner. However, this assumption is violated in oblique imaging conditions where the transmission and path radiance vary continuously as a function of object-sensor range, negatively impacting current algorithms in their ability to compensate for the atmosphere. The techniques presented here leverage the changing viewing conditions to improve rather than hinder …

Machine Learning Algorithms For Automated Satellite Snow And Sea Ice Detection, George Bonev

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The continuous mapping of snow and ice cover, particularly in the arctic and poles, are critical to understanding the earth and atmospheric science. Much of the world's sea ice and snow covers the most inhospitable places, making measurements from satellite-based remote sensors essential. Despite the wealth of data from these instruments many challenges remain. For instance, remote sensing instruments reside on-board different satellites and observe the earth at different portions of the electromagnetic spectrum with different spatial footprints. Integrating and fusing this information to make estimates of the surface is a subject of active research.

In response to these challenges, …

Ice Nucleation Parameterization And Relative Humidity Distribution In Idealized Squall-Line Simulations, Minghui Diao, George Bryan, Hugh Morrison, Jorgen Jensen

Faculty Publications, Meteorology and Climate Science

Output from idealized simulations of a squall line are compared with in situ aircraft-based observations from the Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry campaign. Relative humidity distributions around convection are compared between 1-Hz aircraft observations (≈250-m horizontal scale) and simulations using a double-moment bulk microphysics scheme at three horizontal grid spacings: Δx = 0.25, 1, and 4 km. The comparisons focus on the horizontal extent of ice supersaturated regions (ISSRs), the maximum and average relative humidity with respect to ice (RHi) in ISSRs, and the ice microphysical properties during cirrus cloud evolution, with simulations at 0.25 and 1 km providing better …

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 …

Machine Learning Approach To Retrieving Physical Variables From Remotely Sensed Data, Fazlul Shahriar

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Scientists from all over the world make use of remotely sensed data from hundreds of satellites to better understand the Earth. However, physical measurements from an instrument is sometimes missing either because the instrument hasn't been launched yet or the design of the instrument omitted a particular spectral band. Measurements received from the instrument may also be corrupt due to malfunction in the detectors on the instrument. Fortunately, there are machine learning techniques to estimate the missing or corrupt data. Using these techniques we can make use of the available data to its full potential.

We present work on four …