Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Level And Pattern Of Overstory Retention Shape The Abundance And Long-Term Dynamics Of Natural And Created Snags, Charles B. Halpern, Allison K. Rossman, Joan C. Hagar

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Standing dead trees, or snags, serve myriad functions in natural forests, but are often scarce in forests managed for timber production. Variable retention (VR), the retention of live and dead trees through harvest, has been adopted globally as a less intensive form of regeneration harvest. In this study, we explore how two key elements of VR systems — level (amount) and spatial pattern of live-tree retention — affect the carryover and post-harvest dynamics of natural and artificially created snags. We present nearly two decades of data from the DEMO Study, a regional-scale experiment in VR harvests of Douglas-fir-dominated forests in …

Climate Adaptation And Risk Preparedness In Florida’S East Coast Cities: Views Of Municipal Leaders, Sheila A. Young, Kenyon C. Lindeman, Samantha R. Fowler

Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Cities along Florida’s Atlantic coastline are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, posing significant challenges for city planners. How cities see themselves in terms of developing or implementing their climate change adaptation action plans depends, in part, on the extent to which they perceive climate-related events as risks, and their city size. Data were obtained from city leaders (i.e. mayors, city/town managers, or their designees) from 86 cities along Florida’s Atlantic Coast from January to May 2021 to quantitatively assess factors influencing city adaptation planning. Validity and reliability were obtained for the survey. Multiple regression analyses showed significant …

Airflow Dynamics In Wind Cave And Jewel Cave: How Do Barometric Caves Breathe?, Annika K. Gomell, Andreas Pflitsch

International Journal of Speleology

Recent research on air pressure propagation through barometric caves has revealed various speleoclimatological processes, which cause a more complex relationship between surface air pressure changes and resulting pressure gradients between cave and surface air than previously assumed. So far, however, studies on barometric cave airflow have only been based on surface air pressure measurements. Thus, this study investigates and compares airflow at the openings of Wind Cave and Jewel Cave – two major barometric cave systems in South Dakota, USA – as a response to surface air pressure changes and air pressure gradients. Based on high-resolution long-term air pressure measurements …

Hydrogen Isotope Behavior During Rhyolite Glass Hydration Under Hydrothermal Conditions, Michael R. Hudak, Ilya N. Bindeman, James M. Watkins, Jacob B. Lowenstern

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The diffusion of molecular water (H₂O_m) from the environment into volcanic glass can hydrate the glass up to several wt% at low temperature over long timescales. During this process, the water imprints its hydrogen isotope composition (δD_H2O) to the glass (δD_gl) offset by a glass-H₂O fractionation factor (ΔD_gl-H2O = δD_gl – δD_H2O) which is approximately -33‰ at Earth surface temperatures. Glasses hydrate much more rapidly at higher, sub-magmatic temperatures as they interact with H₂O during eruption, transport, and emplacement. To aid in the interpretation …

Getting Ahead Of Flash Drought: From Early Warning To Early Action, Jason A. Otkin, Molly Woloszyn, Hailan Wang, Mark D. Svoboda, Marina Skumanich, Roger Pulwarty, Joel Lisonbee, Andrew Hoell, Mike Hobbins, Tonya Haigh, Amanda E. Cravens

Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Flash droughts, characterized by their unusually rapid intensification, have garnered increasing attention within the weather, climate, agriculture, and ecological communities in recent years due to their large environmental and socioeconomic impacts. Because flash droughts intensify quickly, they require different early warning capabilities and management approaches than are typically used for slower-developing “conventional” droughts. In this essay, we describe an integrated research-and-applications agenda that emphasizes the need to reconceptualize our understanding of flash drought within existing drought early warning systems by focusing on opportunities to improve monitoring and prediction. We illustrate the need for engagement among physical scientists, social scientists, operational …

Spatial Variation In Hard Bottom Coral Communities Of The Coastal West Florida Shelf, Nicole Blank, Sandra D. Brooke, Brian K. Walker

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Hard bottom coral and sponge communities differ along portions of the West Florida Shelf (WFS) in species occurrence, diversity, and/or size. However, the composition and spatial distribution of these communities are not well understood. Community transitions have been proposed in the central portion of the WFS around Tampa Bay, Cedar Key, and as far south as Charlotte Harbor, but supporting data are sparse. Fifteen sites in three regions of Florida were surveyed for species distribution, density, and demographics. Distinct communities were found between St Teresa, Hudson, and Tarpon Springs. Coral and sponge densities were highest off Tarpon Springs followed by …

How Elevation Affects Epiphyte Distribution: An Analysis In Epiphyte Distribution Changes At Different Elevations And Tree Strata In Santa Lucia Cloud Forest Reserve, Ecuador, Nicole L. Melnick

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Cloud forests are unique ecosystems due to their tropical nature, high elevations, and extremely high presence of epiphytes that serve many important roles for the ecosystem’s biotic and abiotic components. As epiphytes can make up anywhere from one-quarter (Foster 2001) to a half (Gómez González et al. 2017) of all local plant species in cloud forests, it is essential to understand how their habitat distributions change with elevation and whether climate change will have a significant effect on that. This study used observational survey methods to record the amount of monocots (separately counted bromeliads and orchids), dicots, ferns, and percent …

Las Interacciones Entre La Migración Y El Sistema Alimentario Globalizado En Oaxaca, México, Abby Dryden

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

En este artículo tiene como guía tres preguntas: 1. ¿Cómo interactúa el sistema alimentario globalizado con la migración interna en Oaxaca y entre Oaxaca y los Estados Unidos? 2. ¿Qué impacto el proceso de globalización tiene para el sistema alimentario y para las comunidades en Oaxaca? 3. ¿Cómo los temas de seguridad de comida y soberanía de alimentos están impactando Oaxaca? Esta investigación tiene lugar en Oaxaca, México porque estuve viviendo allí por tres meses y es un buen lugar para esta investigación en el contexto de la diversidad allí. Si bien es cierto que existe mucha información sobre el …

Arctic Ocean And Subarctic Seas Dynamics In A Changing Climate, Sarah B. Hall

Theses and Dissertations

Salinity is the primary determinant of the Arctic Ocean’s vertical density stratification in the upper ocean, which has major implications on the ocean’s physical dynamics alongside a period of rapidly declining sea ice. In recent decades, the Arctic’s freshwater content (FWC) has increased as a result of the accumulation of freshwater source inputs. Additional freshwater exported to the North Atlantic may hinder overturning processes that are vital to the regulation of global climate. This dissertation employs in situ measurements, satellite observations, and ocean model simulations to better understand salinity and freshwater changes in the Arctic Ocean during this changing climate. …

On The Spatial Variability Of The Mesoscale Sea Surface Height Wavenumber Spectra In The Atlantic Ocean, Xiaobiao Xu, Eric P. Chassignet, Alan J. Wallcraft, Brian K. Arbic, Maarten C. Buijsman, Miguel Solano

Faculty Publications

The wavenumber spectral slope of sea surface height (SSH) computed within the mesoscale range (70–250 km) from satellite altimetry exhibits a large spatial variability which, until now, has not been reproduced in numerical ocean models. This study documents the impacts of including internal tides, high-resolution bathymetry, and high-frequency atmospheric variability on the SSH wavenumber spectra in the Atlantic Ocean, using a series of 1/50° North and equatorial Atlantic simulations with a realistic representation of barotropic/baroclinic tides and mesoscale-to-submesoscale variability. The results show that the inclusion of internal tides does increase high frequency SSH variability (with clear peaks near 120 and …

Evaluating The Impact Of Submarine Groundwater Discharge On Nutrients And Trace Elements In Coastal Systems: The Examples Of The Tuckean Swamp (Australia) And The Mississippi Sound (Usa), Amy Moody

Dissertations

Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) is the advective flow of both fresh terrestrial groundwater and recirculating seawater through aquifer sediments, which is released into the coastal ocean. In this dissertation, I evaluated the impact of SGD on the distributions and input of trace metals and nutrients. In the Tuckean Swamp, an estuary in Australia dominated by coastal acid sulfate soils, I determined the impact of groundwater on Ba and U during the flood season, when the local aquifer is flushed out after a rapid increase in water table elevation. For Ba and U, groundwater contributed up to 18 and 66 % …

Environment And Sustainability: October 2022, Environment And Sustainability, Office Of The President

Environment and Sustainability

• Launch of the ‘Sustainability Leaders’ series

• University’s first decarbonization plan developed and approved

• AKUH wins environmental excellence award

• Our climate work gets featured on radio

• And much more..

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

Tennessee Climate Office Monthly Report

No abstract provided.

Dynamics Of Atmospheric Gravity Wave Breaking In The Mesopause Region, Fan Yang

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

GWs significantly impact the Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere (MLT), and as a consequence of GW breaking, atmospheric turbulence plays an essential role in the mixing and transport of momentum, mass, and chemical materials in MLT. The main focus of this research for the fulfillment of the proposed Ph.D. dissertation is to improve the understanding of the dynamic process of wave breaking and their effects in the mesopause region above Andes Lidar Observatory (30.2◦ S, 70.7◦ W). A few scientific topics related to GW break- ing are addressed. What are the probabilities of the atmosphere becoming convectively or dynamically unstable in …

Strength Of Climate Goals And Results In Regions: A Comparative Study Of The Basque Country And Scotland And Their Respective Nations, Oviya Kumaran

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research paper looks to find if regions have stronger climate initiatives to reduce more greenhouse gas emissions than their nation states and if so why does this occur. To investigate this, I will use the Basque Country of Spain and Scotland in the United Kingdom (U.K), and study their greenhouse gas emission and renewable energy targets, and their greenhouse gas emission data and renewable energy use. I will then compare the data from the regions to their respective countries and find if they are achieving more or less on these climate initiatives. A majority of this study is based …

The Politics Of Water: The Jordanian Water Crisis And The Future Of Refugee Migration In The Middle East, Ruhama Bekele

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The rise of water-related conflicts around the world has challenged the norms of international relations as environmental developments have transboundary effects that threaten the security of sovereign states and have the potential to destabilize regions. Furthermore, water-related conflicts are more dangerous in countries like Jordan that suffer from extreme water scarcity and have high populations of refugees as a consequence of political instability in the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region. The following research investigates the role of water in relation to geopolitical factors such as refugee migration, Israel’s diversion of the Jordan River, and the construction of Syrian dams on …

Caviar Of The Pacific: Palolo Fishing Today And Its Association With Coral Reef Health, Emma Letti Lee

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Palolo is a traditional delicacy of Samoa. It is the reproductive part of a marine worm that is released twice a year, October and November in Samoa, making palolo season a culturally significant time. Coral reefs, the palolo worm’s habitat, is under a plethora of environmental threats, which is an extremely prevalent concern for Pacific Islanders. Hundreds of palolo harvesters walking on corals twice a year adds extra pressure on coral reefs. Despite these vulnerabilities, prices of palolo are soaring year by year, while there is little to no research about the palolo worm and documentation of current harvesting practices …

Investigating Primary Succession Following The Retreat Of The Breiðamerkurjökull Glacier, Iceland, Ella Roelofs

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The accelerating rates of glacier retreat around the world as a result of climate change make the study of primary succession in expanding forefields increasingly important. While this is a well studied topic in many parts of the world, little data exists specific to Iceland. This study investigated vegetation development along a chronosequence of eight time periods in the Breiðamerkurjökull outwash plain. Data was collected on percent vegetation cover, dominant species, the number of unique plant groups, and percent cover of five substrate types at 10 plots (0.55 x 0.55 m quadrats) per time period. Important findings include the fact …

A Destabilized World: The Effects Of Climate Change On Armed Conflict And International Humanitarian Law, Chase Doctor

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The effects of climate change are becoming more pronounced, and they will have an increasingly destabilizing effect on societies around the globe. This research paper utilizes primary source material (e.g. interviews with field experts) and secondary source material to analyze the relationship between climate change and armed conflict, and the response of international humanitarian law. The consequences of climate change, like changing weather patterns, will increase global migration and strain the resources of host communities. This phenomenon, in addition to other climate-induced factors, may increase the likelihood of armed conflict breaking out. The case studies of the Darfur conflict in …

Regenerative Agriculture Framework For Island Ecosystems Using São Miguel As A Case Study, Mya Hunter

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Context: Regenerative agriculture is a farming approach that uses soil health as the entry point to contribute to multiple objectives, such as improved nutrient cycling and climate regulation. Farmers can apply different practices to reach these objectives. The objectives and practices, however, are not equally relevant or applicable for farming systems on island ecosystems and the local context.

Objectives: The main objective of this paper, therefore, is to find out how solutions towards regenerative agriculture can be identified and evaluated as such that they result in meaningful advice for farmers on island ecosystems in order to mitigate the …

Aman Iman: Resilient Customs, Community Water Management, And Dry Futures In Anounizme, Morocco, Haley Kirtland

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project explores how Anounizme, a village in southeastern Morocco, interacts with water. I was particularly curious about how traditional community management systems operate in the context of drought. I argue that the customary management system exhibits resiliency like it has in the face of Arabization, colonization, exploitative industry, and land privatization. It is capable of adapting to drought because it is more than a management system; it is a part of culture engrained as custom. Customs have porous boundaries, allowing a space for old aspects of culture to interact with both emerging aspects of culture and external pressures. I …

Treatments Of Cyanobacteria On Mariculture Sponges In Jambiani, Tanzania, Sally Thornton-White

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Since 2009, Marine Cultures, an NGO, has explored sponge farming in Jambiani to develop secure and sustainable livelihoods for the community. While sponge farming provides economic opportunity for an industry that functions within ecological boundaries, it faces unique issues that threaten its success. As climate change increases global water temperatures, cyanobacteria are causing increased death rates among mariculture sponges. Mitigating these negative effects with sustainable and reliable solutions can help Marine Cultures grow their positive impact. Alternative methods for mitigating cyanobacteria growth were tested during three study phases. Phase 1 tested how sponge health and algae growth responds to being …

El Parque De La Papa Y El Centro Internacional De La Papa: Un Caso De Estudio De Una Colaboración Única Para La Conservación De Diversidad Biocultural, Molly Orr

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

El Parque de la Papa, un territorio biocultural indígena en Cusco, Perú, es un sitio de conservación in situ de variedades de papas nativas apoyado por la ONG Asociación ANDES. En 2004, entró en un convenio con el Centro Internacional de la Papa (CIP) para la repatriación, restauración y seguimiento de las papas bajo el cual 410 variedades de papa fueron devueltas al Parque. El convenio ha formado la base para una relación continua entre CIP y el Parque; han desarrollado capacitaciones, investigaciones participativas e intercambios de conocimientos científicos y tradicionales. La colaboración entre CIP y el Parque es un …

Monuments As A Lens To Understand Climate Change: A Survey Of Altered Indian Architecture, Mckenzie Davis

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

My project is asking in what ways climate change is impacting monuments in the developing world using case studies in India? The project will be a survey of sites occupying different positions in environment, religion, and history in order to assess the multitude of threats on cultural heritage created and/or exacerbated by climate change. The Taj Mahal (17th century) will be assessed in order to discuss the impacts of air pollution associated with an urban environ ment and drought along the Yamuna river, using a widely known icon of India to serve as a visualization of slow violence taking place …

Laguncularia Racemosa Top-Layer Sediment Microorganism Makeup In Relation To Differing Levels Of Perceived Anthropogenic Impact In Bocas Del Drago, Bocas Del Toro, Panama, Gabrielle Glendening

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As mangrove forests are destroyed by human factors across the earth, many crucial ecological processes that take place in these systems of trees are obstructed. One of the most important roles played by mangroves is their ability to sequester carbon in the sediment, as this storage of carbon helps diminish atmospheric warming. Many sediment microorganisms help in this process of carbon sequestration and play various other vital roles in mangrove ecosystems. Microorganisms in marine sediments can be used to assess the health of the surrounding environment. Past research has found significant differences in sediment microorganism composition, abundance, and diversity in …

Sources And Cycling Of Neodymium And Rare Earth Elements In The Arctic Amerasian Basin And Bering Sea, Brian D. Duggan

Theses and Dissertations

The isotopic composition of dissolved neodymium (¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd, expressed as εNd) behaves quasi-conservatively in the ocean and has been used as a palaeoceanographic tracer of ocean circulation. The εNd value of water masses is acquired—and often altered—during interaction with sediments along the margins; however, the processes involved in seawater εNd acquisition remains poorly characterized and quantified. Here we report the results of 349 Nd isotope and 354 rare earth element (REE) concentration measurements from 27 water column profiles across the Bering shelf and through the Arctic Amerasian Basin collected during U.S. Arctic GEOTRACES cruise HLY1502 (GEOTRACES section …

Tropical Cyclone And Ocean-Atmosphere Interactions In The Gulf Of Mexico, Emily Nichole Eley

Theses and Dissertations

The Gulf of Mexico (GoM) is historically a favorable region for the formation, maintenance and intensification of tropical cyclones that frequently evolve into powerful hurricanes. These natural disasters threaten the basin’s innate habitat and wildlife diversity, and the expansive coastal economies and communities. The dominant ocean circulation feature in the GoM is the Loop Current System (LCS) which includes the Loop Current (LC) and its associated mesoscale eddy field. The LC originates at the Yucatán Channel, loops anticyclonically into the basin, and ends at the Florida Straits; further it produces both anticyclonic and cyclonic eddies. The existence of the LCS …

Drivers Of Pb, Sb And As Release From Spent Gunshot In Wetlands: Enhancement By Organic Matter And Native Microorganisms, Anna Potysz, Łukasz J. Binkowski, Jakub Kierczak, Barnett A. Rattner

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

In many countries the use of lead-based ammunition is prevalent, and results in exposure and poisoning of waterfowl and other species of birds. In waterfowl hunting areas large quantities of spent shot may be deposited in wetland and terrestrial habitats. These pellets can undergo transformations, which are influenced by various abiotic and biotic factors. In addition to lead (Pb), other elements like antimony (Sb) and arsenic (As) can be leached from Pb shot into the environment. In vitro simulations that included organic matter and microorganisms were utilized to examine elemental leaching from gunshot. We found that leaching efficiency was the …

Limits To Coseismic Landslides Triggered By Cascadia Subduction Zone Earthquakes, Alex R.R. Grant, William T. Struble, Sean R. Lahusen

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Landslides are a significant hazard and dominant feature throughout the landscape of the Pacific Northwest. However, the hazard and risk posed by coseismic landslides triggered by great Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) earthquakes is highly uncertain due to a lack of local and global data. Despite a wealth of other geologic evidence for past earthquakes on the Cascadia Subduction Zone, no landslides have been definitively linked to such earthquakes, even in areas otherwise highly susceptible to failure. While shallow landslides may not leave a lasting topographical signature in the landscape, there are thousands of deep-seated landslides in Cascadia, and these deposits …

Neural Net Detection Of Seismic Features Related To Gas Hydrates And Free Gas Accumulations On The Northern U.S. Atlantic Margin, Urmi Majumdar, Nathaniel C. Miller, Carolyn D. Ruppel

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Bottom-simulating reflections (BSRs) that sometimes mark the base of the gas hydrate stability zone in marine sediments are often identified based on the reverse polarity reflections that cut across stratigraphic layering in seismic amplitude data. On the northern U.S. Atlantic margin (USAM) between Cape Hatteras and Hudson Canyon, legacy seismic data have revealed pronounced BSRs south of the deepwater extension of Hudson Canyon and more subtle ones from offshore Delaware south to Cape Hatteras, where the reflections sometimes follow stratigraphic layering. Using high-resolution seismic data acquired during the 2018 Mid-Atlantic Resource Imaging Experiment and a supervised neural net, we identify …