Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

Sfa Weather Station-May 2014, Arthur Temple College Of Forestry And Agriculture, Stephen F. Austin State University

Weather Station Data

No abstract provided.

Interannual Variations And Trends In Global Land Surface Phenology Derived From Enhanced Vegetation Index During 1982–2010, Xiaoyang Zhang, Bin Tan, Yunyue Yu

GSCE Faculty Publications

Land surface phenology is widely retrieved from satellite observations at regional and global scales, and its long-term record has been demonstrated to be a valuable tool for reconstructing past climate variations, monitoring the dynamics of terrestrial ecosystems in response to climate impacts, and predicting biological responses to future climate scenarios. This study detected global land surface phenology from the advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data from 1982 to 2010. Based on daily enhanced vegetation index at a spatial resolution of 0.05 degrees, we simulated the seasonal vegetative trajectory for each individual pixel …

Intercomparison Of Field Measurements Of Nitrous Acid (Hono) During The Sharp Campaign, J R. Pinto, Jack E. Dibb, B H. Lee, B Rappengluck, E C. Wood, M Levy, R Y. Zhang, Barry Lefer, Xinrong Ren, J Stutz, C Tsai, L Ackermann, J Golovko, S C. Herndon, M Oakes, Q Y. Meng, J W. Munger, M Zahniser, J Zheng

Earth Sciences

Because of the importance of HONO as a radical reservoir, consistent and accurate measurements of its concentration are needed. As part of SHARP (Study of Houston Atmospheric Radical Precursors), time series of HONO were obtained by six different measurement techniques on the roof of the Moody Tower at the University of Houston. Techniques used were long path differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS), stripping coil-visible absorption photometry (SC-AP), long path absorption photometry (LOPAP® ), mist chamber/ion chromatography (MC-IC), quantum cascade-tunable infrared laser differential absorption spectroscopy (QC-TILDAS), and ion drift-chemical ionization mass spectrometry (ID-CIMS). Various combinations of techniques were in operation from …

Satellite-Derived Bathymetry Using Multiple Images: The Alaska North Slope Case Study, Shachak Pe'eri, Shep M. Smith Lt, Leland P. Snyder, Brian Madore

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

Currently, charting data in much of the U.S. Arctic North Slope is inadequate or nonexistent and most of its areas have not been updated since the early-1950s. Although the charting infrastructure is out of date, ship transportation (such as, fishing and transit between the towns) has increased. NOAA conducted a preliminary multibeam survey in 2013 that reached Point Barrow, AK. However, all the Arctic North Slope remained untouched. Previous studies have shown that satellite-derived bathymetry (SDB) is a useful reconnaissance tool in tropical and sub-tropical waters in clear water conditions, especially over sandy seafloor. However, it is very difficult to …

Impact Of Soil Moisture–Atmosphere Interactions On Surface Temperature Distribution, Alexis Berg, Benjamin R. Lintner, Kirsten L. Findell, Sergey Malyshev, Paul C. Loikith, Pierre Gentine

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Understanding how different physical processes can shape the probability distribution function (PDF) of surface temperature, in particular the tails of the distribution, is essential for the attribution and projection of future extreme temperature events. In this study, the contribution of soil moisture–atmosphere interactions to surface temperature PDFs is investigated. Soil moisture represents a key variable in the coupling of the land and atmosphere, since it controls the partitioning of available energy between sensible and latent heat flux at the surface. Consequently, soil moisture variability driven by the atmosphere may feed back onto the near-surface climate—in particular, temperature. In this study, …

“Southerly Mohawk Hudson Convergence”- An Exploratory Case Study Of Terrain-Induced Wind Convergence On The Formation Of Thunderstorms In New York’S Capital Region, Christine Elizabeth Bloecker

Atmospheric & Environmental Sciences

Southerly Mohawk-Hudson Convergence (SMHC) is a mesoscale phenomenon over New York’s Capital Region whereby a southwesterly wind flow over Eastern New York is channeled by the mountainous terrain westerly through the Mohawk River Valley and southerly through the Hudson River Valley. When these winds converge over the Capital Region, thunderstorms may suddenly erupt, disrupting air and ground traffic in the area. On rare occasions, these storms may be severe. This is the first comprehensive study to be conducted on this phenomenon. Climatology was compiled and showed that SMHC occurs on average at least twice a year. A case study was …

The Effects Of Downsloping On Storm Precipitation Distributions In The Capital District Of New York State, Kyle James Pallozzi

Atmospheric & Environmental Sciences

Downsloping is a process which has an impact on many precipitation events in the Capital District of New York State. This study examines the effect of 850 hPa and 925 hPa mean vector wind direction, as well as the individual 850 hPa and 925 hPa wind directions observed through soundings, during precipitation events on precipitation distributions in the Capital District of New York State. Results from this study suggests that 850 hPa and 925 hPa mean vector wind as well as the 850 hPa and 925 hPa wind favor downsloping off of the Greens and Taconics, and therefore lower precipitation …

Mjo Influence In Continental United States Temperatures, Ernesto W. Findlay

Atmospheric & Environmental Sciences

Heat and cold episodes in the continental United States (U.S.) affect millions of people each year. Severe episodes can cause crop damage, power failure, heat stress and hypothermia. The predictability of these extreme events decreases significantly after one week. It is, therefore, essential for scientists to discover new ways to forecast these events weeks in advance, which will provide society ample of prior warning to prepare. The Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) is one of the largest drivers of weather in the tropics (Madden and Julian 1971, 1994). Previous studies have found relationships between the MJO and midlatitude modes of climatic variability, …

Adapting To A Changing Climate: Local Drivers For Policy Response, Andrew J. Bilich

Honors Scholar Theses

Responding to the present and looming effects of global climate change presents a challenging task for policymakers at all levels of governance. The outcomes of climate change do present serious adaptation problems for global policy makers, but the implications of climate change are more immediately experienced by local communities and policy makers. Historical policymaking models suggest that economic well-being is an influential driver in local policy adoption. This particular analysis explores the relationship between economic variables and the development of climate adaptation policies by Connecticut municipalities. To test the degree of interaction present, adaptation policy data in the form of …

Exploration Of Biophysical Interactions Associated With Mesoscale Variability In The Central Gulf Of Mexico, Katharine Celeste Woodard

Master's Theses

Bio-physical coupling in the Gulf of Mexico (GMx) is explored in this research using an integrated satellite sensor approach. Physical features are identified using Sea Level Anomaly (SLa) produced by Archiving, Validation, and Interpretation of Satellite Oceanographic data (AVISO). Biological characteristics of the GMx have been recognized as ocean color identified by the satellites SeaWiFS and MODISA. A climatology data set and a chlorophyll anomaly (CLa) was made using the 14-year mean determined from the ocean color files. The hypotheses are that there will be an inverse relationship between SLa and CLa, that mesoscale SLa features will significantly modulate local …

Water-Use Restriction Information: Information Sharing Between Public Water Systems And State Government Offices, Christopher Carparelli

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

In many states there is an absence of communication between the state and local levels about many aspects of water resource management. This research examines the interaction between the state and local levels regarding water-use restrictions for public water systems (PWSs). This information is useful for state-level drought planning and mitigation through the assessment of drought impacts on public water supplies. Officials from five state-level entities that collect and disseminate local water-use restriction information were interviewed over the phone for this research. Each official was asked eleven questions about how and why their state collects and disseminates PWS water-use restriction …

Variable Bounds Analysis Of A Climate Model Using Software Verification Techniques, Peter Revesz, Robert Woodward

School of Computing: Conference and Workshop Papers

Software verification techniques often use some approximation method that identifies the limits of the possible range of values that variables in a computer program can take during execution. Current climate models are complex computer programs that are typically iterated time-step by time-step to predict the next value of the climate-related variables. Because these iterative methods are necessarily computed only for a fixed number of iterations, they are unable to answer many long-range questions that may be posed regarding climate change, for example, whether there are natural fluctuations or whether a tipping point is reached after which there is no return …

Spatiotemporal Analysis Of The January Northern Hemisphere Circumpolar Vortex Over The Contiguous United States, Thomas J. Ballinger, Michael J. Allen, Robert V. Rohli

Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications

January 2014 will be remembered for the sensationalized media usage of the term "polar vortex" which coincided with several polar air outbreaks. A United States polar vortex (USPV) perspective is presented to better understand the January spatial and temporal variability of this regional component of the Northern Hemisphere circumpolar vortex. Use of the monthly mean 5460 m isohypse to represent the location of the USPV extent and area revealed that the spatial features of the January 2014 USPV were not extreme relative to certain 1948–2013 Januaries. Furthermore, the Arctic Oscillation (AO), Pacific-North American (PNA) Pattern, and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) …

Inter-And Intra-Population Variability Across The Transcriptome Of Lake Baikal’S Endemic Copepod With Ramifications For Adapting To Climate Change, Larry L. Bowman Jr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The future of Lake Baikal’s biodiversity is uncertain in response to climate change. Unlike its diverse benthos, Lake Baikal’s zooplankton is species poor, with up to 96% of its biomass being composed of a single Calanoid copepod species, Epischura baikalensis. This study characterizes the genetic differentiation and differential gene expression of E. baikalensis. Using partial-transcriptome sequences obtained by 454 Rosche and Illumina sequencing technologies, the genetic differentiation at inferred single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) sites and differential gene expression in populations sampled from various parts of the lake were analyzed. The functional genomics of genes showed significant differential …

Hail Formation In Florida, Matthew Stanley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Hail poses a substantial threat to life and property in the state of Florida. These losses could be minimized through better understanding of the relationships between atmospheric variables that impact hail formation in Florida. Improving hail forecasting in Florida requires analyzing a number of meteorological parameters and synoptic data related to hail formation.

NOAA archive data was retrieved to create a database that was used to categorize text files of hail days. The text files were entered into the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Earth System Research Laboratory website to create National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric …

Spatial And Temporal Extent Of A Subsurface Hydrocarbon Intrusion Following The Deepwater Horizon Blowout, Kathleen Watson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) released an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil between April 20, 2010 and July 15, 2010. An estimated 36% of the oil formed a neutrally buoyant intrusion, containing both dissolved compounds and oil microdroplets, between 1000 and 1300 m depth. This study used geographic information systems software, and data from water samples that were collected as part of the National Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA), to determine that an area of at least 1,600 km² was exposed to DWH oil. Toxic BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and …

Modern To Late Pleistocene Stable Isotope Climatology Of Alaska, Alison Sloat

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Understanding modern controls on climate is necessary to interpret past climatic conditions. This project investigated the modern controls on δ18O and δD values in Alaskan surface waters to interpret the controls on Late Pleistocene climate variability. ArcGIS was used to develop an isoscape of modern δ18O and δD values of over 400 surface water samples collected across Alaska and the Yukon. It was found that winter temperature and precipitation have the greatest controls on δ18O and δD values in Alaska, resulting in high δ18O values along the coast of the Gulf of Alaska and low values inland toward Central Alaska. …

Climate Forcings On Groundwater Variations In Utah And The Great Basin, Kirsti A. Hakala

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Groundwater levels over northern Utah have undergone a declining trend since the 1960’s. This trend has made apparent the need to understand the relationship between climate and groundwater resources. Such necessary information is already in dire need in places such as California. At the close of 2013, California had experienced its driest year in recorded history, with severe drought continuing for the foreseeable future. Utah is the second driest state in the U.S., and therefore has been paying close attention to California’s current water crises. Water resource projections may prove to be one of the most vital pieces of information …

Bay Of Bengal: Coupling Of Pre-Monsoon Tropical Cyclones With The Monsoon Onset In Myanmar, Boniface Opoku Fosu

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Myanmar remained largely closed to the world through political instability for several years, when it continued to suffer terribly at the hands of nature that remained largely unknown. Of note is the period between 2008 and 2013, during which the country suffered at least eight major natural calamities that killed more than 141,000 people and affected 3.2 million. The worst of these was Cyclone Nargis in May 2008 that killed more than 130,000. With an estimated $4 billion in damages, Nargis remains the deadliest and most destructive named cyclone ever to have occurred in the North Indian Ocean. Recent studies …

Probability Distributions And Threshold Selection For Monte Carlo–Type Tropical Cyclone Wind Speed Forecasts, Steven M. Lazarus, Michael E. Splitt, Sarah Collins, Denis N. Botambekov, William P. Roeder

Aeronautics Faculty Publications

Probabilistic wind speed forecasts for tropical cyclones from Monte Carlo–type simulations are assessed within a theoretical framework for a simple unbiased Gaussian system that is based on feature size and location error that mimic tropical cyclone wind fields. Aspects of the wind speed probability data distribution, including maximumexpected probability and forecast skill, are assessed. Wind speed probability distributions are shown to be well approximated by a bounded power-law distribution when the feature size is smaller than the location error and tends toward a U-shaped distribution as the location error becomes small. Forecast skill (i.e., true and Heidke skill scores) is …