Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

Droughtscape, Winter 2011, Kelly Smith

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

Register for the U.S. Drought Monitor Forum

La Niña Brings Southeast, Southwest Drought

International Efforts

Drought Returns in 2010

Impacts Emerge “Before” Summer Drought in East

October-December Quarterly Impacts Summary

Climate Adaptation for Local Government

NDMC Elicits Missouri River Basin Recollections

Woudenberg Coordinates Educational Booklet

Changes In Water Levels And Storage In The High Plains Aquifer, Predevelopment To 2009, Virginia L. Mcguire

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

The High Plains aquifer underlies 111.8 million acres (175,000 square miles) in parts of eight States—Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. The area overlying the High Plains aquifer is one of the primary agricultural regions in the Nation. Water-level declines began in parts of the High Plains aquifer soon after the onset of substantial irrigation with groundwater from the aquifer (about 1950 and termed "predevelopment" in this fact sheet). By 1980, water levels in the High Plains aquifer in parts of Texas, Oklahoma, and southwestern Kansas had declined more than 100 feet (ft) (Luckey and …

Hydrostratigraphic Interpretation Of Test-Hole And Geophysical Data, Upper Loup River Basin, Nebraska, 2008-10, Christopher M. Hobza, Theodore H. Asch, Paul A. Bedrosian

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

Nebraska's Upper Loup Natural Resources District is currently (2011) participating in the Elkhorn-Loup Model to understand the effect of various groundwater-management scenarios on surface-water resources. During Phase 1 of the Elkhorn-Loup Model, a lack of subsurface geological information in the Upper Loup Natural Resources District, hereafter referred to as the upper Loup study area, was identified as a gap in current knowledge that needed to be addressed. To improve the understanding of the hydrogeology of the upper Loup study area, the United States Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Upper Loup Natural Resources District and the University of Nebraska Conservation …

Summer 2011, Nova Southeastern University

Currents

No abstract provided.

Ecological Design Of Marine Construction For Socio-Economic Benefits: Ecosystem Integration Of A Pipeline In Coral Reef Area, Sylvain Pioch, Philippe Saussola, Kirk Kilfoyle, Richard E. Spieler

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

It is critical to understand that an ecosystem integration of construction requires a close Engineering/Biology partnership to meet socio-economic benefits in management goals. Biologists are not typically trained or licensed for the requisite engineering involved in construction. Likewise, non-biologists designing habitat often can lead to egregious results. For example, unintentionally constructing the wrong habitat, i.e., refuge for predators in a nursery area, or habitat that facilitates the spread of non-desirable species can increase, rather than ameliorate, the impact of construction. In recent years, Pioch and co-workers (unpublished) developed an alternative to the “classic” engineering approach to marine construction. This new …

The Rise And Fall Of Lake Bonneville Between 45 And 10.5 Ka, L.V. Benson, S.P. Lund, J.P. Smoot, D.E. Rhode, R.J. Spencer, K.L. Verosub, L.A. Louderback, C.A. Johnson, R.O. Rye, R.M. Negrini

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

A sediment core taken from the western edge of the Bonneville Basin has provided high-resolution proxy records of relative lake-size change for the period 45.1-10.5 calendar ka (hereafter ka). Age control was provided by a paleomagnetic secular variation (PSV)-based age model for Blue Lake core BL04-4. Continuous records of δ¹⁸O and total inorganic carbon (TIC) generally match an earlier lake-level envelope based on outcrops and geomorphic features, but with differences in the timing of some hydrologic events/states. The Stansbury Oscillation was found to consist of two oscillations centered on 25 and 24 ka. Lake Bonneville appears to have …

Sampling Methods For Acropora Corals, Other Benthic Coral Reef Organisms, And Marine Debris In The Florida Keys: Field Protocol Manual For 2011-2012 Assessments, Steven Miller, Leanne M. Rutten, Mark Chiappone

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

The 2011-2012 sampling of Acropora corals, other coral reef benthic invertebrates, and marine debris in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) is being undertaken as a spatially intensive effort to provide updated population distribution and abundance information. The particular focus of surveys in the Florida Keys, as well as in the U.S. Caribbean (Puerto Rico and the U.S.V.I.), concerns the habitat distribution, colony density, size, condition, and population abundance of Acropora corals. Surveys in the Florida Keys also include assessments of urchins, mollusks, anemones, corallimorpharians, and marine debris. These additional assessments are relatively fast and easy to perform. Annual …

Essential Fish Habitat Project Status Report, Jodi L. Pirtle, Christopher D. Wilson, Chris Rooper, Thomas C. Weber

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

: Groundfish that associate with rugged seafloor types are difficult to assess with bottom-trawl sampling gear. Simrad ME70 multibeam echosounder (MBES) data and video imagery were collected to characterize trawlable and untrawlable areas, and to ultimately improve efforts to determine habitat-specific groundfish biomass. The data were collected during two acoustic-trawl surveys of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) during 2011 and 2012 by NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) researchers. MBES data were collected continuously along the trackline, which included parallel transects (1-20 nmi spacing) and fine-scale survey locations in 2011. Video data were collected at camera stations using a drop …

Influence Of Karst Landscape On Planetary Boundary Layer Atmosphere: A Weather Research And Forecasting (Wrf) Model–Based Investigation, Ronnie Leeper, Rezaul Mamood, Arturo I. Quintanar

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

Karst hydrology provides a unique set of surface and subsurface hydrological components that affect soil moisture variability. Over karst topography, surface moisture moves rapidly below ground via sink holes, vertical shafts, and sinking streams, reducing surface runoff and moisture infiltration into the soil. In addition, subsurface cave blockage or rapid snowmelt over karst can lead to surface flooding. Moreover, regions dominated by karst may exhibit either drier or wetter soils when compared to nonkarst landscape. However, because of the lack of both observational soil moisture datasets to initialize simulations and regional land surface models (LSMs) that include explicit karst hydrological …

Assessment And Characterization Of Physical Habitat, Water Quality, And Biotic Assemblages Of The Tyronza River, Arkansas, N. J. Wentz, N. D. Henderson, A. D. Christian

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Few studies within the last few decades have addressed water quality and biotic assemblages within Arkansas’s large channel-altered deltaic rivers. The Tyronza River is located in northeast Arkansas and its watershed has a heavy agricultural presence that drastically affects habitat quality. Meanwhile, the Tyronza River hosts one of the more recent documented range extensions of the federally endangered fat pocketbook mussel [Potamilus capax (Green, 1832)]. The purpose of this study was to assess physical habitat, water quality, and biotic assemblages of the Tyronza River using the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality’s (ADEQ) regional biometrics. Water samples were collected at 9 …

Lakes As Buffers Of Stream Dissolved Organic Matter (Dom) Variability: Temporal Patterns Of Dom Characteristics In Mountain Stream-Lake Systems, K. J. Goodman, Michelle A. Baker, Wayne A. Wurtsbaugh

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Lakes within fluvial networks may affect dissolved organic matter (DOM) dynamics in streams by dampening spring DOM snowmelt flushing responses and/or by increasing summer DOM production. We assessed the temporal variability of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration and DOM characteristics (specific ultraviolet absorbance (SUVA254); DOC:dissolved organic nitrogen (DOC:DON)), as well as DOC export in seven paired lake inflows and outflows in the Sawtooth Mountain lake district, Idaho. We hypothesized that lakes would decrease stream DOM temporal variability and increase DOM export as a result of autotrophic production. We correlated DOM variability with landscape factors to evaluate potential drivers of DOM …

Variability In Red Snapper Otolith Microchemistry Among Gulf Of Mexico Regions, Michelle Zapp Sluis

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Red snapper, Lutjanus campechanus, has been an economically important reef fish in the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) for over 150 years and is currently overfished. Catch statistics and demographic differences have lead to the population being categorized into eastern and western substocks divided by the Mississippi River, but data is recombined to set a Gulf-wide annual catch limit. The two objectives of this study were to apply otolith nursery chemical signatures to estimate red snapper mixing dynamics in the western Gulf, and to determine if signatures based upon trace metals associated with oil and gas platforms could discriminate between region …

Human Sanitary Wastes And Waste Treatment In New York City, David J. Tonjes, Christine O'Connell, Omkar Aphale, R. Lawrence Swanson

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

Henry Hudson first sailed toNew Yorkharbor 400 years ago. Since then,New York Cityhas both affected and been affected by water quality in greaterNew YorkHarbor. In this paper, we focus on sewers, sewerage, and sewage treatment inManhattanand their effects on theHudson River. It is clear that feedbacks among drinking water quality and quantity, population, public perceptions, regulations, and estuarine water quality exist, although their strength and character have varied over time. Early land uses damaged local water supplies found on ManhattanIsland. New Yorkthen began to exploit the large fresh water resources available to its north, which helped the City to expand …

Evaluating Methods For Optimizing Classification Success From Otolith Tracers For Spotted Seatrout (Cynoscion Nebulosus) In The Chesapeake Bay, Stacy Kavita Beharry

OES Theses and Dissertations

Identifying the natal sources of fish is an important step in understanding its population dynamics. Adult recruits are often sourced from multiple nursery areas, with good quality locations contributing disproportionately more fish to the adult stock. Because population persistence is strongly influenced by nursery habitat, methods that correctly identify the source of recruits are necessary for effective management. Within the last decade, otolith chemistry signatures have been increasingly used as a natural marker to delineate fish from a mixture of nursery sources. Despite the widespread use of otolith trace element and stable isotope ratios as habitat markers, the statistical approaches …

Use Of Sarima Models To Assess Data-Poor Fisheries: A Case Study With A Sciaenid Fishery Off Portugal, Nuno Prista, Norou Diawara, Maria J. Costa, Cynthia M. Jones

OES Faculty Publications

Research on assessment and monitoring methods has primarily focused on fisheries with long multivariate data sets. Less research exists on methods applicable to data-poor fisheries with univariate data sets with a small sample size. In this study, we examine the capabilities of seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA) models to fit, forecast, and monitor the landings of such data-poor fisheries. We use a European fishery on meagre (Sciaenidae: Argyrosomus regius), where only a short time series of landings was available to model (n=60 months), as our case-study. We show that despite the limited sample size, a SARIMA model could …

Anaerobic Oxidation Of Methane And The Stoichiometry Of Remineralization Processes In Continental Margin Sediments, David J. Burdige, Tomoko Kamada

OES Faculty Publications

In many coastal and continental margin sediments, pore-water property-property plots yield values of r_c:s, the stoichiometric ratio of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) produced to sulfate reduced, that are lower than the commonly assumed value of 2. Remineralization of organic matter more reduced than CH₂O can cause such observations, as can DIC loss due to authigenic carbonate precipitation. However, through studies of Santa Monica Basin sediments, we have observed that these observations could also be related to the occurrence of anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) in sediments. Specifically, using a reactive transport sediment model, we have shown …

Cascading Migrations And Implications For Vertical Fluxes In Pelagic Ecosystems, Stephen M. Bollens, Gretchen Rollwagen-Bollens, Joel A. Quenette, Alexander B. Bochdansky

OES Faculty Publications

Diel vertical migration is widespread across diverse taxa in the world's lakes and seas, yet its biogeochemical consequences are still poorly understood. The biologically mediated vertical flux of material in the ocean (also known as the "biological pump") is a matter of major interest and concern, as it is thought to play an important role in regulating ocean carbon storage, and by extension, the global carbon cycle. Recent studies spanning multiple trophic levels from fish to dinoflagellates have led us to a concept of coupled vertical migrations that we refer to as "cascading migrations". That is, migrations that …

Modern Dirty Sea Ice Characteristics And Sources: The Role Of Anchor Ice, Dennis A. Darby, Wesley B. Myers, Martin Jakobsson, Ignatius Rigor

OES Faculty Publications

Extensive dirty ice patches with up to 7 kg m^-2 sediment concentrations in layers of up to 10 cm thickness were encountered in 2005 and 2007 in numerous areas across the central Arctic. The Fe grain fingerprint determination of sources for these sampled dirty ice floes indicated both Russian and Canadian sources, with the latter dominating. The presence of benthic shells and sea weeds along with thick layers (2-10 cm) of sediment covering 5-10 m² indicates an anchor ice entrainment origin as opposed to suspension freezing for some of these floes. The anchor ice origin might explain the …

Draft Genome Sequence Of Strain Himb100, A Cultured Representative Of The Sar116 Clade Of Marine Alphaproteobacteria, Jana Grote, Cansu Bayindirli, Kristin Bergauer, Paula C. De Moraes, Huan Chen, Lindsay D'Ambrosio, Bethany Edwards, Beatriz Fernandez-Gomez, Mariam Hamisi, Dan Nguyen, Yoshimi M. Rii, Emily Saeck, Charles Schutte, Brittany Widner

OES Faculty Publications

Strain HIMB100 is a planktonic marine bacterium in the class Alphaproteobacteria. This strain is of interest because it is one of the first known isolates from a globally ubiquitous clade of marine bacteria known as SAR116 within the family Rhodospirillaceae. Here we describe preliminary features of the organism, together with the draft genome sequence and annotation. This is the second genome sequence of a member of the SAR116 clade. The 2,458,945 bp genome contains 2,334 protein-coding and 42 RNA gene

Florida Straits Deglacial Temperature And Salinity Change: Implications For Tropical Hydrologic Cycle Variability During The Younger Dryas, Matthew W. Schmidt, Jean Lynch-Stieglitz

OES Faculty Publications

The prevailing paradigm of abrupt climate change holds that rapid shifts associated with the most extreme climate swings of the last glacial cycle were forced by changes in the strength and northward extension of Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), resulting in an abrupt reorganization of atmospheric circulation patterns with global teleconnections. To determine the timing of tropical Atlantic atmospheric circulation changes over the past 21 ka BP, we reconstruct high resolution sea surface temperature and δ¹⁸O_SW (a proxy for surface salinity) records based on Mg/Ca ratios and oxygen isotope measurements in the planktonic foraminifera Globigerinoides ruber from …