Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

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 …

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 …

Characterization Of Heterogeneities And Domains In Aquatic And Sedimentary Organic Matter By 1 H Spin Diffusion: Potential For Elucidating The Formation Mechanisms, Jingdong Mao, Xiaoyan Cao

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Although the information on domains and heterogeneities of natural organic matter (NOM) can provide insights into its formation mechanisms, the appropriate solid-state NMR technique for measuring them is still lacking. The traditional technique requires mobility differences in NOM whereas NOM components are primarily rigid. We introduced a new ¹H spin diffusion technique, ¹H-¹³C two-dimensional heteronuclear correlation (2D HETCOR) NMR with ¹H spin diffusion, for characterization of domains and heterogeneities in aquatic and sedimentary organic matter. It was achieved by collecting a series of 2D HETCOR spectra with a variable mixing time, t_m', and …

Engineering Our Climate: A Critical Review Of The Geoengineering Response To Climate Change, Gary Huff

The Journal of Undergraduate Research

Various responses to greenhouse gas induced climate change have been proposed within the literature. While the most desirable response is to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, technological and financial obstacles make it difficult to realize the reductions necessary to solve the climate change problem. Several geoengineering schemes have been proposed that would compensate for increased greenhouse gas concentrations by reducing the solar energy absorbed by Earth. The most notable of these shortwave climate engineering schemes involves injection of sulfur aerosols into the stratosphere in order to disperse incoming radiation. This paper examines the geoengineering responses to climate change and demonstrates …

The Carbon Footprint Associated With Water Management Policy Options In The Las Vegas Valley, Nevada, Eleeja Shrestha, Sajjad Ahmad, Walter Johnson, Jacimaria R. Batista

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

A system dynamics model was developed to estimate the carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions associated with conveyance of water from the water source to the distribution laterals of the Las Vegas Valley. In addition, the impact of several water management policies, including water conservation, reuse, and population growth rate change was evaluated. The results show that, at present, nearly 0.53 million metric tons of CO₂ emissions per year are released due to energy use for water conveyance in distribution laterals of the Valley from Lake Mead, located 32.2 km (20 miles) southeast of the Las Vegas at an …

2011-2012 Unlv Mcnair Journal, Cyndy Anang, Sajar Camara, Pamela Cornejo, Carla Antonieta Farcello, Ilse Anahi Garcia, Natiera Magnuson, William L. Mccurdy, Lorena Munoz, Maxym V. Myroshnychenko, Ricardo Rios, Theodore Waldeck, Barbara Wallen, Ana Zuniga, Brenda M. Aguilar, Tiffany Alexandra Alvarez, Daniel N. Erosa, Paige C. Espinosa, Carla Antonieta Farcello, Julienne Jochel Paraiso, Nathaniel Derek Phillipps, Carmen Vallin, Jacent N. Wamala, Ernesto Zamora-Ramos

McNair Journal

Journal articles based on research conducted by undergraduate students in the McNair Scholars Program

Table of Contents

Biography of Dr. Ronald E. McNair

Statements:

Dr. Neal J. Smatresk, UNLV President

Dr. Juanita P. Fain, Vice President of Student Affairs

Dr. William W. Sullivan, Associate Vice President for Retention and Outreach

Mr. Keith Rogers, Deputy Executive Director of the Center for Academic Enrichment and Outreach

McNair Scholars Institute Staff

Clean Energy Water Disinfection For Small, Remote Rural Communities, Ryan M. Lee

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

Access to drinking water is essential to all life, yet in many developing and remote communities, it is often contaminated with disease causing pathogens. This project was created in response to the annual WERC Environmental Design Competition. This year’s specific challenge was to develop human powered, stand-alone, effective, easily implemented, and economical water disinfection systems. Many technologies were evaluated; however, bleach and ultraviolet (UV) light treatments were determined to be most applicable to remote and impoverished communities. The Razorback Microcide WERC Crew designed and demonstrated two systems independently featuring bleach and UV disinfection technology. Both systems include a high capacity, …

Direct And Indirect Effects Of An Invasive Planktonic Predator On Pelagic Food Webs, Angela L. Strecker, Beatrix E. Beisner, Shelley E. Arnott, Andrew M. Paterson, Jennifer G. Winter, Ora E. Johannsson, Norman D. Yan

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

The relative importance of top-down invader effects relative to environmental drivers was determined by sampling crustacean zooplankton, rotifer, and phytoplankton communities in a set of invaded and noninvaded reference lakes. The non-native invertebrate predator Bythotrephes had significant effects on zooplankton community size structure, rotifers, and phytoplankton taxonomic composition, but no significant effects on crustacean zooplankton taxonomic and functional group composition. Part of the variation in phytoplankton communities was explained by the presence of the invader. Because Bythotrephes is generally known to be a carnivore and to not consume phytoplankton, this effect is likely mediated by the zooplankton community’s response to …

Spring 2011, Nsu Oceanographic Center

Currents

No abstract provided.

The Lightning-Tgf Relationship On Microsecond Ttimescales, Steven A. Cummer, Gaopeng Lu, Michael S. Briggs, Valerie Connaughton, Shaolin Xiong, Gerald Jerry Fishman, Joseph R. Dwyer

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

We analyze the count rates of two terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs) detected by the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) with the broadband magnetic fields (1 to 300 kHz) produced by the simultaneous lightning processes. The microsecond-scale absolute time accuracy for these data, combined with independent geolocations of the source lightning, enable this analysis with higher accuracy than previously possible. In both events, fast discharge-like processes occur within several tens of microseconds of the gamma-ray generation, although not with a consistent relationship. The magnetic field data also show a slower signal component produced by a source current that in both events …

High-Speed X-Ray Images Of Triggered Lightning Dart Leaders, Joseph R. Dwyer, M. M. Schaal, Hamid K. Rassoul, Martin A. Uman, Douglas M. Jordan, Dustin Hill

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

We present the first high-time resolution two-dimensional images of X-ray emissions from lightning. The images were recorded at a rate of 10 million per second using a new pinhole-type camera, located 44 m from rocket-and-wire- triggered lightning. We report observations of two dart leaders, one in each of two lightning flashes triggered during the summer of 2010 in north-central Florida. In both events, as the dart leader approached the ground, the X-ray source was also seen to descend along the previous lightning channel. For the second event, the X-ray source exhibited a downward speed of 4.5 × 10 7 m/s, …

Comparison Of Wetland Assessment Methods, Kerstin Green

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

After many decades of being considered useless and often destroyed wetlands have become valued for the many functions they provide. To make informed wetland management decisions biologists have to develop practical, rapid, and inexpensive ways to assess biological conditions and functions. Ideally these assessment methods have to measure more than one attribute of the wetland to represent the overall condition of the biological community. For this project I conducted field assessments at mitigation sites in Pembroke Pines, Florida, to see how the newest method used in the State of Florida, the Uniform Mitigation Assessment Method (UMAM), compared to the older …

Tropical-Extratropical Interactions And Arctic-Extratropical Interactions Conducive To Intraseasonal Variability Of The North Pacific Jet Stream, Jason Michael Cordeira

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The autumnal spin up of the Northern Hemisphere (NH) general circulation is characterized by intraseasonal variability in the structure of the North Pacific jet stream (NPJ). The variability in the structure of the NPJ is often associated with large-scale flow reconfigurations over the North Pacific and North America and changes in the NH zonal available potential energy (AZ). This dissertation investigates variability in the structure of the NPJ and the NH AZ in conjunction with tropical-extratropical interactions (TEIs) and arctic-extratropical interactions (AEIs). The former are investigated in association with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, the Madden-Julian Oscillation, and western North Pacific …

Review Of The Simulation Of The Precis Regional Climate Model Over Tropical South America Using Gcm And Reanalysis Lateral Boundary Conditions, Dana Mcglone

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

High-resolution regional climate models (RCM) run over a limited domain are increasingly used to simulate seasonal to interannual climate variability over South America and to assess the spatiotemporal impact of future climate change under a variety of emission scenarios. Global climate models (GCM) are often too coarse to resolve local circulations and the topography of the Andes, leading to problems with simulation of temperature and precipitation patterns throughout the domain. A RCM model can also better represent the climate at a regional scale; however, they are subject to errors introduced by the driving global models. For this study, the Hadley …

Significance Of Hno3 Acid Photolysis On Surfaces In Tropospheric Chemistry, Honglian Gao

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The reactive nitrogen trace gases (NO_y) including nitrogen oxides (NO_x) and their secondary products are known to cause ground-level ozone pollution, photochemical smog, acid deposition, and overall air quality degradation. NO_x was believed to be permanently removed from the atmospheric by HNO₃ formation and deposition. However, our laboratory experimental results show that HNO₃ can be remobilized back to photochemically labile HONO and NO_x (re-NOx-ification). We have verified and quantified HONO and NO_x production from the photolysis of HNO₃ on various surfaces, including Pyrex, leaves of plants, and other environmentally relevant …