Atmospheric Sciences Commons^™

An Advanced Mesospheric Temperature Mapper For High-Latitude Airglow Studies, Pierre-Dominique Pautet, Michael J. Taylor, William R. Pendleton Jr., Yucheng Zhao, Tao Yuan, R. Esplin, D. Mclain

Publications

Over the past 60 years, ground-based remote sensing measurements of the Earth’s mesospheric temperature have been performed using the nighttime hydroxyl (OH) emission, which originates at an altitude of ∼87  km∼87  km. Several types of instruments have been employed to date: spectrometers, Fabry–Perot or Michelson interferometers, scanning-radiometers, and more recently temperature mappers. Most of them measure the mesospheric temperature in a few sample directions and/or with a limited temporal resolution, restricting their research capabilities to the investigation of larger-scale perturbations such as inertial waves, tides, or planetary waves. The Advanced Mesospheric Temperature Mapper (AMTM) is a novel infrared digital imaging …

A Review Of Passive Sampling Systems For Ambient Air Mercury Measurements, Jiaoyan Huang, Seth N. Lyman, Jelena Stamenkovic Hartman, Mae Sexauer Gustin

USU Uintah Basin Faculty Publications

Atmospheric mercury (Hg) temporal and spatial patterns must be measured accurately in order to adequately understand the role of this pathway as it relates to Hg toxicity and exposure of humans and wildlife to Hg. It is also important to understand the distribution of the different chemical forms (elemental, oxidized, or particle bound) and specific compounds in air (e.g., HgCl2, HgBr2, HgO, Hg(NO3)2, and HgSO4). However, the current automated and passive sampling methods of measurement have limitations and artifacts impacting our ability to achieve this task. Both abiotic and biotic systems have been developed to measure the total gaseous Hg …

Investigating The Effect Of The ‘‘Land Between The Lakes’’ On Storm Patterns, Joshua D. Durkee, Ahmed M. Degu, Faisal Hossain, Rezaul Mahmood, Jesse Winchester, Themis Chronis

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

The artificially created region around the ‘‘Land between the Lakes’’ (LBL) in Kentucky represents unique land use and land cover (LULC) heterogeneities. Over a distance of 100 km, the LULC comprises artificially created open water bodies (i.e., two parallel large run-on-river dams separated by the LBL), mountainous terrain, forest cover, and extensive agricultural land. Such heterogeneities increase (decrease) moisture supply and sensible heat, resulting in a differential air mass boundary that helps to initiate (inhibit) convection. Hence, the LBL can potentially modify precipitation formation. Historical anecdotes reveal a tendency for storms to dissipate or reintensify near the LBL. The specific …

A Comparison Of The Mm5 And The Regional Atmospheric Modeling System Simulations For Land--Atmosphere Interactions Under Varying Soil Moisture, Astrid Suarez, Rezaul Mamood, Arturo I. Quintanar, Adriana Beltran-Prezekurat, Roger Pielke Sr.

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

A comparison between two mesoscale models, Colorado State University Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS) version 4.4 coupled with the Land-Ecosystem--Atmosphere Feedback Model (LEAF2) and Penn State/NCAR’s Mesoscale Model (MM5) coupled with NOAH Land Surface Model, was conducted in order to assess the sensitivity of forecasted planetary boundary layer (PBL) variables to anomalous initial volumetric soil moisture conditions. The experiments were conducted using three synoptic events: June 11, 17 and 22, 2006. For each event, one control run and six additional simulations were completed using RAMS and MM5. In each of the events, initial volumetric soil moisture was increased and decreased …

Regional Dust Storm Modeling For Health Services: The Case Of Valley Fever, William A. Sprigg, Slobodan Nickovic, John N. Galgiani, Goran Pejanovic, Slavo Petkovic, Mirjam Vujadinovic, Ana Vukovic, Milan Dacic, Scott Dibiase, Anup K. Prasad, Hesham El-Askary

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

On 5 July 2011, a massive dust storm struck Phoenix, Arizona (USA), raising concerns for increased cases of valley fever (coccidioidomycosis, or, cocci). A quasi-operational experimental airborne dust forecast system predicted the event and provides model output for continuing analysis in collaboration with public health and air quality communities. An objective of this collaboration was to see if a signal in cases of valley fever in the region could be detected and traced to the storm - an American haboob. To better understand the atmospheric life cycle of cocci spores, the DREAM dust model (also herein, NMME-DREAM) was modified to …

Global And Regional Impacts Of Hono On The Chemical Composition Of Clouds And Aerosols, Yasin F. Elshorbany, P. J. Crutzen, B. Steil, A. Pozzer, H. Tost, J. Lelieveld

USF St. Petersburg Campus Faculty Publications

Recently, realistic simulation of nitrous acid (HONO) based on the HONO / NOx ratio of 0.02 was found to have a significant impact on the global budgets of HOx (OH + HO2) and gas phase oxidation products in polluted regions, especially in winter when other photolytic sources are of minor importance. It has been reported that chemistry-transport models underestimate sulphate concentrations, mostly during winter. Here we show that simulating realistic HONO levels can significantly enhance aerosol sulphate (S(VI)) due to the increased formation of H2SO4. Even though in-cloud aqueous phase oxidation of dissolved SO2 (S(IV)) is the main source of …

Decomposition Of Atmospheric Aerosol Phase Function By Particle Size And Morphology Via Single Particle Scattering Measurements, Kevin B. Aptowicz, Jacqueline Sugar, Sean D. Martin, Richard K. Chang, Elena Fernandez, Yong-Le Pan, Ronald G. Pinnick

Physics & Engineering Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Winter Wind Chill Climatology For The High Plains Region, Holly B. Lussenden, Natalie A. Umphlett, Martha D. Shulski, Daniel Ebert

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

During the winter months in the High Plains region of the United States, wind chill temperatures can reach dangerous levels for humans and animals. Knowing the frequency in which extreme wind chill temperatures occur could help forecasters know when to issue wind chill advisories and also the general public understand just how rare, or common, certain wind chill temperatures are. A climatology spanning a 37-year period was created using data from 57 stations in and around the plains portion of the High Plains region from the Integrated Surface Hourly Database at National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). These climatologies were completed …

Climate Masters Of Nebraska: An Innovative Action-Based Approach For Climate Change Education, Tapan Pathak, Tonya Bernadt, Natalie A. Umphlett

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

Climate Masters of Nebraska is an innovative educational program that strategically trains community volunteers about climate change science and corresponding ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in an interactive and action-based teaching environment. As a result of the program, 91% of participants indicated that they made informed changes in their lives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Approximately 500 hours of volunteer work was reported by participants as an outreach for greenhouse gas emission reduction. The program can be easily replicated to other locales with an effective planning and with small leadership team.

Droughtscape, Winter 2014, Kelly Smith

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

Contents

Director’s report

Outlook & quarterly review . 2

Drought in 2013 review.

Quarterly impacts review . 5

Impacts in 2013 review.

Belmont Forum research0

USDM change maps 11

Central Asia drought planning

Kansas RC&D planning

Publication compares plans

Drought for planners webinar

Soil moisture networks

Kansas farm and ranch planning

$500 to develop leadership

Kids seek solutions

Plains symposium April 1-4

The Great 2012 Arctic Ocean Summer Cyclone Enhanced Biological Productivity On The Shelves, Jinlun Zhang, Carin Ashjian, Robert Campbell, Victoria Hill, Yvette H. Spitz, Michael Steele

OES Faculty Publications

A coupled biophysical model is used to examine the impact of the great Arctic cyclone of early August 2012 on the marine planktonic ecosystem in the Pacific sector of the Arctic Ocean (PSA). Model results indicate that the cyclone influences the marine planktonic ecosystem by enhancing productivity on the shelves of the Chukchi, East Siberian, and Laptev seas during the storm. Although the cyclone's passage in the PSA lasted only a few days, the simulated biological effects on the shelves last 1 month or longer. At some locations on the shelves, primary productivity (PP) increases by up to 90% and …

Distinguishing Molecular Characteristics Of Aerosol Water Soluble Organic Matter From The 2011 Trans-North Atlantic Us Geotraces Cruise, A. S. Wozniak, A. S. Willoughby, S. C. Gurganus, Patrick G. Hatcher

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The molecular characteristics of aerosol organic matter (OM) determines to a large extent its impacts on the atmospheric radiative budget and ecosystem function in terrestrial and aquatic environments, yet the OM molecular details of aerosols from different sources are not well established. Aerosol particulate samples with North American-influenced, North African-influenced, and marine (minimal recent continental influence) air mass back trajectories were collected as part of the 2011 trans-North Atlantic US GEOTRACES cruise and analyzed for their water soluble OM (WSOM) molecular characteristics using electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. Principal component analysis (PCA) separated the samples into …

Global View Of The Role Of The Itcz/Monsoon Trough In Tropical Cyclogenesis, Steven Fuhrman

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

ABSTRACT

Northeast Cool-Season Cyclones Associated With Significant Upper-Level Easterly Wind Anomalies, Adrian Mitchell

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

A subset of Northeast U.S. cool-season cyclones is associated with upper-level easterly flow and, occasionally, well-defined easterly jet streaks. These events occur approximately once per year and may be associated with retrograding surface cyclones and precipitation caused by northerly warm-air advection, leading to forecast challenges. The deepest extratropical cyclone that affected the Northeast U.S. during the 2009-2010 cool-season was associated with an upper-level easterly jet streak, and produced a record snowfall total of 85 cm in Burlington, Vermont. Orographic precipitation enhancement in this case resulted from an interaction of the low-level flow with the complex topography of northern Vermont. This …

Associations Between The Madden-Julian Oscillation, Equatorial Rossby Waves, And Extratropical Northern Hemisphere Predictability, Lawrence Gloeckler

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The Madden-Julian oscillation (MJO), the leading mode of tropical convective and circulation variability on intraseasonal time scales, has become increasingly leveraged to improve empirical prediction of the global atmospheric circulation. Significant progress has been made in recent years to advance subseasonal (10-30-day) prediction of atmospheric circulation anomalies, and much of this progress can be attributed to the inclusion of information about the phase and amplitude of the MJO in various forecast processes. Despite this progress, however, forecasts based only on the state of the MJO omit information about other important tropical convective and circulation anomalies, and coherent MJO signals are …

Seasonal Variations Of Wind Farm Impacts On Land Surface Temperature And Vegetation Over Northern Illinois, Lauren Slawsky

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Operating wind turbines enhance near surface turbulence and alter the exchanges of surface energy, water, and momentum, thus affecting local micrometeorology. Climatic impacts of three wind farms in northern Illinois are assessed using land surface temperature (LST) from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data onboard the Terra and Aqua satellites for the period 2003-2013. Changes in LST between two periods (before and after construction of the wind turbines) and between wind farm pixels (WFPs) and nearby non wind farm pixels (NNWFPs) are quantified. An increase in LST is observed at nighttime over each wind farm, with the pattern of …

A Climatology Of Central American Gyres, Philippe Pierre Papin

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Central American gyres (CAGs) are large, low-level, cyclonic circulations that are observed over Central America during the tropical cyclone (TC) season. CAGs often occur in conjunction with TCs, and can result in torrential rainfall over portions of Central America, the Caribbean Islands, and eastern United States. The lack of prior research on CAGs, their apparent links to TC activity, and their association with high- impact weather motivates this study.

Upper-Tropospheric Precursors Associated With Subtropical Cyclone Formation In The North Atlantic Basin, Alicia Marie Bentley

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Oceanic cyclones exhibiting properties of both tropical and extratropical systems have been categorized as subtropical cyclones (STCs) since the early 1950s. The opportunity to investigate the roles of baroclinic and diabatic processes during the evolution of STCs from a potential vorticity (PV) perspective motivates this study. This study investigates the roles of baroclinic and diabatic processes during the evolution of STCs by calculating three PV metrics from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction Climate Forecast System Reanalysis 0.5° gridded dataset. The three PV metrics quantify the relative contributions of lower-tropospheric baroclinic processes, midtropospheric diabatic heating, and upper-tropospheric dynamical processes during …

An Analysis Of Arctic Climate, The Intense Arctic Cyclone Of Early August 2012, And Middle To High Latitude Snowcover, Adam H. Turchioe

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

On 03 August 2012, a cyclone formed over Central Siberia and progressed northeastwards. By 0000 UTC 05 August, the cyclone reached the Arctic Ocean with a mean sea-level pressure (MSLP) of 984 hPa. Once over the Arctic Ocean, the cyclone rapidly intensified and reached a minimum pressure of 966 hPa on 06 August near 83°N and 170°W. The cyclone slowly weakened, and on 0000 UTC 10 August once again had a minimum MSLP of 984 hPa. The motivation for this presentation is driven by the likelihood that this cyclone is one of the most intense storm systems to ever impact …

On The Mjo And Anticyclonic Wavebreaking, Kyle Macritchie

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The Madden Julian oscillation (MJO) is the primary mode of intraseasonal variability in the tropics. The MJO often couples with convection as it moves over the Indian Ocean and decouples as it leaves the west Pacific Ocean. The association between convection coupled to the MJO and the midlatitude flow pattern has been the primary focus of numerous studies. In particular, it has been shown that there is a statistical relationship between the position and strength of the MJO and anticyclonic wavebreaking (AWB). This study expands on this statistical relationship by examining, in detail, the two-way relationship between the MJO and …