Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

The Impact Of Sea-Level Rise In Numerically Modeled Landfalling Hurricanes: Katrina And The Gulf Coast., Serenity Nadirah Mercuri

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With climate change, landfalling hurricanes become an increasing threat to coastal regions. However, the interactions between the coastal landscape and landfalling hurricanes are often overlooked when addressing sea-level rise outside of inundation and independent of sea surface temperature. This study analyzed the potential impacts regarding structure and intensity as a result of sea-level rise in the Gulf of Mexico using the WRF-ARW numerical model coupled with a 1D ocean model. Analysis showed that 10 m windspeed from landfall forward was higher in modified coastlines, and minimum sea-level pressure post-landfall was consistently lower for modified runs where storms maintain a higher …

Climate-Driven Stock Shifts And Expansions In The U.S. Northeast Shelf: Identifying Challenges, Opportunities, And Barriers Through Fishermen And Manager Perspectives, Sophie A. Swetz

All Theses And Dissertations

Climate-driven warming in the U.S. Northeast Shelf (NES) has led to changes in the spatial distributions of many marine resources. Shifts and expansions of commercially important fish stocks pose major challenges to fishermen and fisheries managers in this region. American lobster (Homarus americanus) in the Gulf of Maine (GOM) is one of these impacted stocks and is projected to continue its shift towards more northern and offshore areas. Continued ocean warming could potentially reduce the GOM lobster stock by up to 60% over the next several decades. Given Maine’s reliance on its lobster fishery—which contributes over 80% of …

The Effect Of Pesticides And Ultraviolet Radiation On Coastal Invertebrates And The Need For More Research On Multiple Stressors And Predator-Prey Interactions, Chase Robinson

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Coastal Sediment Response To The Diel Oxygen Cycle, Kara Gadeken

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

Shallow coastal sediments are sites of intense respiration and organic matter breakdown. Macroinfauna bioturbate and bioirrigate sediments which supplies microbes with oxygen and newly deposited organic material from surface sediments, facilitating microbial remineralization of organic matter. These processes depend heavily on the concentration of dissolved oxygen in overlying water. Shallow water oxygen patterns often follow a diel cycle as dissolved oxygen decreases at night due to respiration and then increases during the day with photosynthesis, creating recurring suboxic conditions that are potentially stressful to organisms. Sediment oxygen flux is known to depend on ambient dissolved oxygen concentration, but behavioral responses …

2022 May - Tennessee Monthly Climate Report, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Monthly Reports

No abstract provided.

Near-Inertial Wave Energetics Modulated By Background Flows In A Global Model Simulation, Keshav J. Raja, Maarten J. Buijsman, Jay F. Shriver, Brian K. Arbic, Oladeji Siyanbola

Faculty Publications

We study the generation, propagation, and dissipation of wind-generated near-inertial waves (NIWs) in a global 1/25° Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) simulation with realistic atmospheric forcing and background circulation during 30 days in May–June 2019. The time-mean near-inertial wind power input and depth-integrated energy balance terms are computed for the total fields and the fields decomposed into vertical modes to differentiate between the radiative and (locally) dissipative components of NIW energy. Only 30.3% of the near-inertial wind input projects onto the first five modes, whereas the sum of the NIW energy in the first five modes adds up to 58% …

Exploring The Effects Of Varied Land Use On Elemental Concentrations Within Streams, Logan Jennings

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

It is well documented that human activity influences the chemistry of surrounding waters. As such, it is possible that there is a link between land use within a watershed and the chemical composition of the stream. The objectives of this study are to determine if varied land use does affect the concentrations of macronutrients and trace elements present in the streams of Northwest Arkansas, and if so, to determine what extent urban and agricultural development are responsible for these changes. Water samples were collected across 19 streams in the Northwest Arkansas region between January and March of 2022. Water samples …

Testing The Efficacy Of Uvc Leds For Biofouling Control, Margaret Jeannette Giggie

Theses and Dissertations

The use of ultraviolet-C (UVC) light as a biofouling preventative has been successfully demonstrated using mercury-based lamps. However, these lamps have several limitations (such as fragility and use of mercury), and the use of UVC LEDs (light-emitting diodes) has been suggested as an alternative. Several experiments were conducted to assess the efficacy of LED strips (29 W, 270 nm, emittance angle of 130º) for biofouling control, as well as to compare them to a classic lamp (25 W, 254 nm, emits UVC light at 360º). Experiment #1 assessed the biofouling abundance and community composition on test panels exposed to either …

Air, Land, And Water Variables Associated With The First Appearance And Current Spatial Distribution Of Toxic Prymnesium Parvum Blooms In Reservoirs Of The Southern Great Plains, Usa, Shisbeth Tábora-Sarmiento, Reynaldo Patiño, Carlos Portillo-Quintero, Cade Coldren

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

This study examined the association of air, land, and water variables with the first historical occurrence and current distribution of toxic Prymnesium parvum blooms in reservoirs of the Brazos River and Colorado River, Texas (USA). One impacted and one reference reservoir were selected per basin. Land cover and use variables were estimated for the whole watershed (WW) and a 0.5-km zone on either side of streams (near field, NF). Variables were expressed in annual values. Principal component and trend analyses were used to determine (1) differences in environmental conditions before and after the 2001 onset of toxic blooms in impacted …

Exploring Indicator Displacement Assays For Phosphate Detection In Seawater, Francis Radics

Chemistry & Biochemistry Student Scholarship

Francis Radics ’22
Major: Biochemistry
Faculty Mentor: Dr. John Breen, Chemistry and Biochemistry

Indicator displacement assays are based on the optical signal modulation of a noncovalently bound indicator upon dissociation by an analyte species. Our work has focused on exploring the lower detection limits for luminescent displacement assays for inorganic phosphate in seawater using complex ions containing two di(2-picolyl)amine ligands (also called DPA or bis(2-pyridylmethyl)amine), each coordinating a zinc cation. Following the work of B.D. Smith and coworkers, we have prepared three ligands by covalently attaching two DPA moieties, 2,6-bis(chloromethyl) benzene, and 2,6-bis(chloromethyl)-4-methylphenol, and 1,2-phenylenedimethylamine, for assays with 6,7-dihydroxy-4-methanesulfonic acid …

An Investigation Of Water Obstructions And Related Weather Conditions For Nebraska Roadways, Logan Bundy

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Roadway resilience across the 10,000 miles of road and 3,500 bridges in Nebraska is critical to the economic success of production and logistics. In a state where historical flooding scenarios, such as the one in March 2019 that caused $150 million in damage, could potentially be increasing, it has become essential to understand the spatial and temporal distribution of high-frequency water obstruction areas on roadways. Using Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) historical water obstruction data from June 2016 through August 2021, statistical and spatial analyses were conducted to quantify the relationship between water obstructions and their associated meteorological conditions, and …

Evaluating Alternative Ebullition Models For Predicting Peatland Methane Emission And Its Pathways Via Data–Model Fusion, Shuang Ma, Lifen Jiang, Rachel M. Wilson, Jeff P. Chanton, Scott Bridgham, Shuli Niu, Colleen M. Iversen, Avni Malhotra, Jiang Jiang, Xingjie Lu, Yuanyuan Huang, Jason Keller, Xiaofeng Xu, Daniel M. Ricciuto, Paul J. Hanson, Yiqi Luo

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Understanding the dynamics of peatland methane (CH4) emissions and quantifying sources of uncertainty in estimating peatland CH4 emissions are critical for mitigating climate change. The relative contributions of CH4 emission pathways through ebullition, plant-mediated transport, and diffusion, together with their different transport rates and vulnerability to oxidation, determine the quantity of CH4 to be oxidized before leaving the soil. Notwithstanding their importance, the relative contributions of the emission pathways are highly uncertain. In particular, the ebullition process is more uncertain and can lead to large uncertainties in modeled CH4 emissions. To improve model simulations of CH4 emission and its pathways, …

Climate Change Hope Scale: Factor Analysis In An Adult Sample, Gemma Ortega, Steven J. Glover, Jesse Tabaczynksi, Orei Z. Odents

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Willpower - how much individuals believe that set goals can be met. Waypower - the extent to which individuals can think of strategies for accomplishing those goals.

The Climate Change Hope Scale (CCHS; Li & Monroe, 2017) was designed to measure three aspects of hope: 1. Personal sphere willpower and waypower (WP) 2. Collective sphere willpower and waypower (CW) 3. Lack of willpower and waypower (LW).

A three-factor model fits the CCHS among adolescents. The purpose of our study was to determine if the three-factor model fits the CCHS in adults.

Sedimentation Processes In A Dredge Pit And Surrounding Environment In Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Adam M. Gartelman

LSU Master's Theses

Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority has been using dredged sand from onshore and offshore sites for barrier island restoration and beach nourishment projects. Caminada dredge pit (CDP) located on eastern Ship Shoal in inner Louisiana shelf underwent two increments in 2014 and 2016, with material used to restore Caminada Headland and nearby areas. Multiple pits in East Terrebonne borrow areas (ET) right next to CDP were then used for East Timbalier Island and other barrier islands near Terrebonne Bay. ET1, north of CDP, was dredged in 2020, and ET2, west of CDP, was dredged in 2020 and 2021 used …

Comparing Polarimetric Signatures Of Proximate Tornadic And Non-Tornadic Supercells In Similar Environments, Devon Healey

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

While much research has shown that characteristics of the environment surrounding supercells can potentially indicate their likelihood to become tornadic, it is not uncommon for tornadic and non-tornadic supercells to coexist in seemingly similar environments. In these situations, it is difficult operationally to separate tornadic from non-tornadic supercells using environmental observations alone. Given that tornadic and non-tornadic supercells have been found to coexist in similar environments, something must be occurring beneath the observational and/or model gridscale that is supporting tornadogenesis in some supercells while inhibiting it in others. This study examines dual-polarimetric radar signatures of proximate tornadic and non-tornadic supercells …

Spatial And Temporal Distribution And Habitat Selection Of Native Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout And Nonnative Utah Chub, Darcy K. Mccarrick, Jeffrey C. Dillon, Brett High, Michael C. Quist

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Henrys Lake, Idaho, is a renowned trophy trout fishery that faces an uncertain future following the establishment of Utah Chub (UTC) Gila atraria. Utah Chub were first documented in the lake in 1993 and have become abundant over the past two decades. Little is known about the ecology of UTC, but they typically have negative effects on salmonids in systems where they have been introduced. We sought to fill knowledge gaps in UTC ecology and provide insight on potential interactions with Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout (YCT) Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri. Ninety-four YCT and 95 UTC were radio-tagged in spring 2019 …

Population Genomic Dynamics Of Mesopelagic Lanternfishes Diaphus Dumerilii, Lepidophanes Guentheri, And Ceratoscopelus Warmingii (Family: Myctophidae) In The Gulf Of Mexico, Andrea Bernard, Kimberly A. Finnegan, Tracey Sutton, Ron Eytan, Max Weber, Mahmood Shivji

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Assessing the impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (DWHOS) on deep-sea fish assemblages of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) has been hindered by an absence of baseline (pre-spill) data concerning the population genetic dynamics of these fishes. The lanternfishes (Myctophidae) are a speciose, yet understudied, taxonomic group, that comprise a significant portion of the global deep-sea biomass, making them integral members of meso- and bathy-pelagic food webs. Herein, we used a genomic approach (double digest restriction site associated DNA sequencing) to investigate the temporal genetic dynamics of three species of lanternfishes within the northern GOM in the region of …

Change Of Air Quality Knowledge, Perceptions, Attitudes, And Practices During And Post-Wildfires In The United States, Alessandro Del Ponte, Lina Ang, Lianjun Li, Noah Lim, Wilson Tam Wai San, Wei Jie Seow

Political Science Faculty Articles and Research

Amid worsening climate change, the recurrent wildfires have substantially worsened air quality in the Western United States (U.S.). Understanding the knowledge, attitudes, perception, and practices (KAPP) over time in response to natural disasters such as wildfires is crucial for public health interventions and disaster preparedness. This is the first study to investigate the change in air quality KAPP over time in response to natural disasters. Previous studies have only assessed KAPP at a fixed time point. Using a two-wave panel survey (during and post-wildfires), we assessed the association between KAPP and respiratory health indicators as well as the changes over …

Odu Researchers Will Put Buoys In The Mediterranean Sea To Help Schools Teach Climate Change, Mindy Ayala-Diaz

News Items

No abstract provided.

Baseline Health And Nutritional Parameters Of Wild Sand Tigers Carcharias Taurus Sampled In Delaware Bay, Lisa A. Hoopes, Tonya M. Clauss, Bradley M. Wetherbee, Dewayne A. Fox

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Species-specific hematological reference values are essential for diagnosis and treatment of disease and maintaining overall health of animals. This information is lacking for many species of elasmobranchs maintained in zoos and aquaria, thus reducing the effectiveness of care for these animals. Descriptive statistics and reference intervals were calculated for hematocrit and complete blood cell counts, biochemistry and protein electrophoresis parameters, trace minerals, vitamins, heavy metals, reproductive hormones, and fatty acids in the blood of 153 wild Sand Tigers Carcharias taurus of both sexes and a range of sizes caught in Delaware Bay (Delaware, USA). Mean hematocrit, total white blood cell …