Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

Historical And Future Projections Of Supercell Precipitation Contributions To The Hydroclimate Of The United States, Aaron Zeeb

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Rotating storms, or supercells, are frequent producers of significant tornadoes, hail, and nontornadic winds and an underappreciated genitor of extreme precipitation rates and flash floods. Little research has examined the precipitation contributions from supercells to the overall hydroclimate of the CONUS and, provided that these storms and their precipitation rates may shift in the future due to climate change, it is important to understand their characteristics from both historical and future perspectives. This research seeks to understand supercell precipitation characteristics across the CONUS using high-resolution, convection-permitting, dynamical-downscaled simulations for three, 15-year epochs. Epochs include a historical end-of-20th-century period (1990–2005) and …

A Complex Record Of Last Interglacial Sea-Level History And Paleozoogeography, Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands National Park, California, Usa, Daniel R. Muhs, Lindsey T. Groves, Kathleen R. Simmons, R. Randall Schumann, Scott A. Minor

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Studies of marine terraces and their fossils can yield important information about sea level history, tectonic uplift rates, and paleozoogeography, but some aspects of terrace history, particularly with regard to their fossil record, are not clearly understood. Marine terraces are well preserved on Santa Rosa Island, California, and the island is situated near a major marine faunal boundary. Two prominent low-elevation terraces record the ~80 ka (marine isotope stage [MIS] 5a) and ~120 ka (MIS 5e) high-sea stands, based on U-series dating of fossil corals and aminostratigraphic correlation to dated localities elsewhere in California and Baja California. Low uplift rates …

Flood-Inundation Maps For An 8-Mile Reach Of Papillion Creek Near Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, 2022, Kellan R. Strauch, Christopher M. Hobza

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

Digital flood-inundation maps for an 8-mile reach of Papillion Creek near Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the U.S. Air Force, Offutt Air Force Base. The flood-inundation maps, which can be accessed through the USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Program website at https://www.usgs.gov/mission-areas/water-resources/science/flood-inundation-mapping-fim-program, depict estimates of the areal extent and depth of flooding corresponding to selected water levels (stages) at the USGS streamgages Papillion Creek at Fort Crook, Nebr. (station 06610795), and Papillion Creek at Harlan Lewis Road near La Platte, Nebr. (station 06610798). Near-real-time stages at these streamgages may …

Selected Anthropogenic Contaminants In Groundwater, Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District, Eastern Nebraska, 1992–2020, Brent M. Hall, Cory L. Kavan, Amanda Flynn, Mikaela L. Cherry

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

A study in cooperation with the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District was completed in 2019 to determine the concentration of contaminants of emerging concern (CEC) in groundwater in the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District, eastern Nebraska. Each well was sampled twice (in June and October or November) in 2019, totaling 34 samples. Samples were analyzed for 132 CECs, which include pharmaceutical, steroid hormone, and other organic chemicals. Seven of the 132 CEC analytes were detected in samples collected during this study. The most commonly detected CEC in this study was the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole. Other CECs detected in this study were …

An Integrated Hydrologic Model To Support The Central Platte Natural Resources District Groundwater Management Plan, Central Nebraska, Jonathan (Jp) Traylor, Moussa Guira, Steven M. Petersen

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

The groundwater and surface-water supply of the Central Platte Natural Resources District supports a large agricultural economy from the High Plains aquifer and Platte River, respectively. This study provided the Central Platte Natural Resources District with an advanced numerical modeling tool to assist with the update of their Groundwater Management Plan.

An integrated hydrologic model, called the Central Platte Integrated Hydrologic Model, was constructed using the MODFLOW-One-Water Hydrologic Model code with the Newton solver. This code integrates climate, landscape, surface water, and groundwater-flow processes in a fully coupled approach. Model framework included 163 rows; 327 columns; 2,640 feet cell sides; …

Droughtscape, Winter 2023, National Drought Mitigation Center

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

DroughtScape, Winter 2023

Historical And Potential Future Climate Of Extreme Daily Precipitation Over The Contiguous United States Using Convection-Permitting Simulations, Sylvia Stinnett

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The impacts of anthropogenic climate change will be felt most strongly through changes in hazards such as extreme precipitation. The potential for extreme precipitation changes—both increases and decreases—may have significant societal impacts (e.g., agriculture production, loss of life and property). However, limited research has quantified future projected changes in extreme precipitation due to computational limitations and considerable time expenditure for convection-permitting simulations of substantial duration.This project sought to analyze changes in extreme daily precipitation—defined as the 99th percentile daily accumulated value—due to climate change in the contiguous United States (CONUS) using a dynamically downscaled and convection-permitting regional climate modeling framework. …

The Green Revolution In California: The Real Costs And Benefits Of Changing Electricity Production, Joseph James Hoffman

CGU Theses & Dissertations

In recent years democratic societies have added concern for the environment to the perennial problems of inequality, economic growth, and law and order. What is often called the Green Revolution has focused on the effect of industrial growth on the health of the individuals living in that society and on the effects on climate. In the United States, the State that was the first to see this problem and the first to make changes to deal with it, was California, where geographical factors ensured that the effects of industrial change on the air were much more severe than anywhere else …

Great South Bay, Long Island, New York Summer Phytoplankton Identification & Monitoring Program, Cercom, Molloy University, John Tanacredi Ph.D., Kyle F. Maurelli

CERCOM Reports

Phytoplankton Collection Methodologies: 80 micron Plankton Tow Net with sample bottle attachment

Phytoplankton Protocol: 1.Gather Samples 2.Make one slide per sample 3.View slides using microscope connected with computer 4. Record findings using “ Row # “ and “ Column letter “ 5. Record using “ Tallies “ per species found within sample 6. Capture anything interesting “ Take Picture “ 7.Duplicate pictures taken 8.Make sure measurement of species found is taken 9. Email Jennifer Maucher at [email protected] , include pictures, questions and names of the species you “guess” you found.

Long Island Horseshoe Crab Network Annual Inventory Report, Cercom, Molloy University, John Tanacredi Ph.D., Kyle F. Maurelli

CERCOM Reports

CERCOM conducts monitoring of 111 beach locations spanning from Brooklyn to Montauk during the optimal breeding season of Limulus polyphemus. These surveys span approximately 15 weeks, commencing in May and concluding in August. Each beach location is meticulously marked with GPS coordinates to ensure consistent annual revisitation. Participation in these surveys necessitates attendance at an HSC Survey training orientation, led by Mr. Key Maurelli, CERCOM's research assistant.

A Methodology For Statistical Mean Wave Climate Regime Characterisation In Oceanic Islands: The Case Of The Southern Coast Of Tenerife, Emilio Megías, Manuel García-Román

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Oceanic islands of volcanic origin tend to have peculiar characteristics, such as: exposure to many wave directions; grouping in archipelagos; steep coastal slopes; and small coastal shelves. All these features require certain considerations in wave climate studies. These types of studies, when wave spectra are not available and have to be performed with parametric data, can be unreliable without an adequate systematic treatment. In this work we propose a methodology consisting of pre-classification according to the peak period and subsequent separation into different sectors according to the geographical fetch. The island of Tenerife is the case study, and in particular …

The Coral Bleaching Automated Stress System (Cbass): A Low Cost, Portable System For Standardized Empirical Assessments Of Coral Thermal Limits, Nicolas R. Evensen, Katherine E. Parker, Thomas A. Oliver, Stephen R. Palumbi, Cheryl A. Logan, James S. Ryan, Courtney N. Klepac, Gabriela Perna, Mark E. Warner, Christian R. Voolstra, Daniel J. Barshis

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Ocean warming is increasingly affecting marine ecosystems across the globe. Reef-building corals are particularly affected by warming, with mass bleaching events increasing in frequency and leading to widespread coral mortality. Yet, some corals can resist or recover from bleaching better than others. Such variability in thermal resilience could be critical to reef persistence; however, the scientific community lacks standardized diagnostic approaches to rapidly and comparatively assess coral thermal vulnerability prior to bleaching events. We present the Coral Bleaching Automated Stress System (CBASS) as a low-cost, open-source, field-portable experimental system for rapid empirical assessment of coral thermal thresholds using standardized temperature …

Futures On Dry Ground: Anthropology And Coastal Planning, Theodore Hilton, Sheehan Moore

Publications and Research

Around the world, governments, industry, and other actors are creating plans to save coasts from environmental crisis. Louisiana is one prominent example: levees and other measures protect oil and gas infrastructure from inundation as the wetlands buffer rapidly erodes—in large part due to that same industry. The state’s primary answer to land loss is a $50 billion Coastal Master Plan. To illuminate such responses in Louisiana and globally, this article reviews emerging literature and frames an anthropology of coastal planning around three themes: (1) novel orientations toward time and space, (2) the reproduction of power and capital in the name …

Co-Designing A Multi-Criteria Approach To Ranking Hazards To And From Australia’S Emerging Offshore Blue Economy, Mischa P. Turschwell, Christopher J. Brown, Myriam Lacharité, Jess Melbourne-Thomas, Keith R. Hayes, Rodrigo H. Bustamante, Jeffrey M. Dambacher, Karen Evans, Pedro Fidelman, Darla H. Macdonald, Ingrid Van Putten, Graham Wood, Nagi Abdussamie, Mathilda Bates, Damien Blackwell, Steven D'Alessandro, Ian Dutton, Jessica A. Ericson, Christopher L. J. Frid, Carmel Mcdougall, Mary-Anne Lea, David Rissik, Rowan Trebilco, Elizabeth A. Fulton

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

A multi-sectoral assessment of risks can support the management and investment decisions necessary for emerging blue economy industries to succeed. Traditional risk assessment methods will be challenged when applied to the complex socio-ecological systems that characterise offshore environments, and when data available to support management are lacking. Therefore, there is a need for assessments that account for multiple sectors. Here we describe the development of an efficient method for an integrated hazard analysis that is a precursor to full risk assessments. Our approach combines diverse disciplinary expertise, expert elicitation and multi-criteria analysis to rank hazards, so it encompasses all types …

Evaluating Gizzard Shad Dorosoma Cepedianum And Threadfin Shad D. Petenense Populations In Two Kentucky Reservoirs Recently Invaded With Silver Carp Hypophthalmichthys Molitrix, Nathan Klein

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Gizzard Shad Dorosoma cepedianum and Threadfin Shad D. petenense are ecologically important fish species found in many reservoirs throughout the southeastern United States, such as Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. One current challenge that Gizzard Shad and Threadfin Shad may face in these two reservoirs is competition with the invasive Silver Carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix. However, quantifying the effects of this competition may be difficult because of limited baseline population data for Gizzard Shad and Threadfin Shad in these two reservoirs. Gizzard Shad and Threadfin Shad were collected by boat electrofishing and surface trawling in cove and main channel locations …

Silver Carp Hypophthalmichthys Molitrix Movements In The Lower Cumberland River And Lower Tennessee River, Miranda Belanger

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

The introduction of exotic fishes in freshwater environments has caused significant ecological and economic changes. Silver Carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix are an invasive species in the United States but are native to large rivers in eastern Asia. This species is expanding its range throughout the Mississippi River basin, beginning with the Cumberland River and Tennessee River drainages. Although Silver Carp movement patterns have been studied in other portions of the Cumberland River and Tennessee River, the lowermost portion of both rivers below Lake Barkley Dam and Kentucky Lake Dam is a unique environment in which the movement of Silver Carp has …

Remote Sensing Of Georgia Tidal Marsh Habitats Using Aerial Photography And Planetscope Satellite Imagery, Harrison M. Currin

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Globally, tidal marshes cover about 90,800 km. Within the state of Georgia tidal marshes are primarily located behind the barrier islands and total 1,619 km². The combination of high salinity environments and daily inundation, and being dependent on river output, make these dynamic systems. Tidal marshes provide numerous ecosystem services such as carbon and nitrogen sequestration, flood control, coastal protection, and numerous biogeochemical processes. Due to their unique position, tidal marshes are under threat from sea level rise, drought, coastal development, and large-scale disturbance events. Tidal freshwater marshes are especially susceptible to these threats due to their geographic …

Cirrus Microphysical Properties And The Controlling Factors Using A Machine Learning Approach, Derek D. Ngo

Master's Theses

Cirrus clouds are located at high altitudes and are composed of ice crystals. The unique location of cirrus clouds and their large variability in-cloud microphysical properties allow them to have either warming or cooling effects on Earth’s surface and affect the Earth’s energy budget on a global scale. The examination of cirrus radiative effects is further complicated by multiple factors affecting their formation and evolution, including the effects of thermodynamic, dynamic, aerosol, and chemical tracer variables. In this work, we developed a composite aircraft-based in-situ observation dataset based on seven National Science Foundation (NSF) and five NASA flight campaigns that …

Trends In Cyanotoxin Production Potential In China Lake: An Edna Analysis Of Microcystis And Dolichospermum And The Environmental Drivers Of Cyanotoxin Production, Gennifer M. Rubin

Honors Theses

Episodes of cyano-harmful algal blooms (cyano-HABs) are hypothesized to be exacerbated by the effects of climate change. However, the dynamics of the interactions between elements of climate change and toxigenic cyanobacteria proliferation are not well defined. China Lake is the drinking water source for 7 municipalities in the Kennebec County and is one of many lakes in central Maine that has been subjected to high levels of cyano-HABs and microcystin toxin contamination in recent years. Monitoring the toxicity of these blooms in relation to various aspects of climate change may lead to identification of the major drivers of microcystin production …

Biophysical Interactions Control The Progression Of Harmful Algal Blooms In Chesapeake Bay: A Novel Lagrangian Particle Tracking Model With Mixotrophic Growth And Vertical Migration, Jilian Xiong, Jian Shen, Qubin Qin, Michelle C. Tomlinson, Yinglong J. Zhang, Xun Cai, Fei Yi, Linlin Cui, Margaret R. Mulholland

OES Faculty Publications

Climate change and nutrient pollution contribute to the expanding global footprint of harmful algal blooms. To better predict their spatial distributions and disentangle biophysical controls, a novel Lagrangian particle tracking and biological (LPT-Bio) model was developed with a high-resolution numerical model and remote sensing. The LPT-Bio model integrates the advantages of Lagrangian and Eulerian approaches by explicitly simulating algal bloom dynamics, algal biomass change, and diel vertical migrations along predicted trajectories. The model successfully captured the intensity and extent of the 2020 Margalefidinium polykrikoides bloom in the lower Chesapeake Bay and resolved fine-scale structures of bloom patchiness, demonstrating a reliable …