Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Identification Of Loop Current Ring Separation Events In The Gulf Of Mexico, Helga Huntley

College of Science & Mathematics Departmental Research

No abstract provided.

Tracing Climate-Driven Changes In Arctic Ocean Chemistry Using Radioactive Isotopes, Lauren Kipp

School of Earth & Environment Departmental Research

No abstract provided.

A Biological Condition Gradient For Coral Reefs In The Us Caribbean Territories: Part I. Coral Narrative Rules, Deborah L. Santavy, Susan K. Jackson, Benjamin Jessup, Jeroen Gerritsen, Caroline Rogers, William S. Fisher, Ernesto Weil, Alina Szmant, David , Cuevas-Miranda, Brian K. Walker, Christopher Jeffrey, Patricia Bradley, David Ballantine, Loretta Roberson, Hector Ruiz-Torres, Brandi Todd, Tyler Smith, Randy Clark, Ernesto Diaz, Jorge Bauzá-Ortega, Christina Horstmann, Sandy Raimondo

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

As coral reef condition and sustainability continue to decline worldwide, losses of critical habitat and their ecosystem services have generated an urgency to understand and communicate reef response to management actions, environmental contamination, and natural disasters. Increasingly, coral reef protection and restoration programs emphasize the need for robust assessment tools for protecting high-quality waters and establishing conservation goals. Of equal importance is the need to communicate assessment results to stakeholders, beneficiaries, and the public so that environmental consequences of decisions are understood. The Biological Condition (BCG) model provides a structure to evaluate the condition of a coral reef in increments …

Informing Management Of Henrys Lake, Idaho, Using An Integrated Catch-At-Age Model, Joshua L. Mccormick, Jennifer Vincent, Brett High, Darcy K. Mccarrick, Michael C. Quist

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Henrys Lake, Idaho, supports a popular fishery for Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri and Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout × Rainbow Trout O. mykiss hybrids. A majority of the adult population of fish in Henrys Lake are of hatchery origin that were stocked as fingerlings. The fishery is closed to angling during the late winter and spring months, but fisheries managers are considering opening the fishery year-round with catch-and-release- only regulations or with a two-fish bag limit during the extended season. However, there is concern that the proposed management actions may negatively affect the current fishery. Therefore, we developed an integrated …

Comparative Toxicity Of Hydrocarbons For Evaluation Of Lysmata Boggessi As An Experimental Proxy For Deep-Water Column Micronekton, Dorothy-Ellen A. Renegar, Nicholas Turner, Gopal Bera, Eileen G. Whitemiller, Bernhard Riegl, Jose Sericano, Anthony H. Knap

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The potential impacts of sub-surface hydrocarbon plumes to deep-water column micronekton are an important consideration in a more complete understanding of ecosystem effects resulting from deep-sea oil spills. However, evaluating toxicity in these organisms presents multiple challenges, and the use of a shallow-water proxy species allows comparison and validation of experimental results. This study thus examined the suitability of the peppermint shrimp, Lysmata boggessi, as an experimental proxy for ecologically important deep-sea zooplankton/micronekton in hydrocarbon toxicity assays. This crustacean species occurs in shallow coastal marine environments throughout the western Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, is similar in …

Climate Change Could Make Allergy Season Longer, Odu Expert Says, Amber Kennedy

News Items

No abstract provided.

Odu’S Peter Bernath Participates In Study That Reveals Damage To Ozone Layer From Extreme Wildfires, Tiffany Whitfield

News Items

No abstract provided.

S6e6: How Do Changing Conditions In The Arctic Affect Maine?, Ron Lisnet, Karl Kreutz, Kristin Schild

The Maine Question

Changes in the Arctic affect Maine, despite them being separated by more than 1,000 miles. Several scientists from the University of Maine study these shifting conditions of the climate and environment in the region and their impacts. In 2018, the UMaine Arctic Initiative was formed to build on their work and enhance collaboration in the campus community and with outside stakeholders.

In this episode of “The Maine Question” podcast, scientists Karl Kreutz and Kristin Schild from UMaine Arctic and the UMaine Climate Change Institute discuss their research, and elaborate on the region and its shifting conditions influence the state.

Comparison Of Recent Survey Techniques For Estimating Benthic Cover On Caribbean Mesophotic Reefs, Joseph R. Pawlik, Roy A. Armstrong, Stephanie Farrington, John Reed, Sara Rivero-Calle, Hanumant Singh, Brian K. Walker, Jason White

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Highly divergent estimates of benthic cover of sponges have been reported for Caribbean mesophotic reefs (90-100 m) based on quadrat point-intercept data collection using 2 methods: visual surveys conducted in situ by technical divers, and analyses of photographs taken by unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs). The second method has been criticized for potential errors from image distortion caused by variable camera angle relative to the substratum, but without a broader comparison of both methods. We find that studies that have used the UUV-based method are advantageous for a number of reasons, most importantly: (1) access to the full mesophotic zone, (2) …

Global Gnss-Ro Electron Density In The Lower Ionosphere, Dong L. Wu, Daniel J. Emmons Ii, Nimalan Swarnalingam

Faculty Publications

Lack of instrument sensitivity to low electron density (N_e) concentration makes it difficult to measure sharp N_e vertical gradients (four orders of magnitude over 30 km) in the D/E-region. A robust algorithm is developed to retrieve global D/E-region N_e from the high-rate GNSS radio occultation (RO) data, to improve spatiotemporal coverage using recent SmallSat/CubeSat constellations. The new algorithm removes F-region contributions in the RO excess phase profile by fitting a linear function to the data below the D-region. The new GNSS-RO observations reveal many interesting features in the diurnal, seasonal, solar-cycle, and magnetic-field-dependent variations in the …

A Physically Constrained Wavelet-Aided Statistical Model (Pcwasm) For Multidecadal Groundwater Dynamics Predictions And Climate Change Evaluation, Fatih Gordu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Long-term groundwater management relies on forecasts of decadal or longer groundwater levels driven by nested scales of variability in climate. Discerning the impacts of anthropogenic stressors on groundwater is also critical for establishing predevelopment benchmark groundwater conditions and developing climate change adaptation strategies to reduce risks and increase resiliency. This research demonstrates the development and successful applications of a new methodology to predict and assess multidecadal groundwater dynamics for understanding long-term effects of climate change and groundwater withdrawals.

A Physically Constrained Wavelet-Aided Statistical Model (PCWASM) is first introduced to analyze and predict monthly aquifer levels on multidecadal time scales. The …

Analysis Of The Magnetic Signature Of Surface Waves Measured In A Laboratory Experiment, John Kluge, Alex Soloviev, Cayla W. Dean, Geoffrey K. Morrison, Brian K. Haus

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

A magnetic signature is created by secondary magnetic field fluctuations caused by the phenomenon of seawater moving in Earth’s magnetic field. A laboratory experiment was conducted at the SUrge STructure Atmosphere INteraction (SUSTAIN) facility to measure the magnetic signature of surface waves using a differential method: a pair of magnetometers, separated horizontally by one-half wavelength, were placed at several locations on the outer tank walls. This technique significantly reduced the extraneous magnetic distortions that were detected simultaneously by both sensors and additionally doubled the magnetic signal of surface waves. Accelerometer measurements and local gradients were used to identify magnetic noise …

A General Pattern Of Trade-Offs Between Ecosystem Resistance And Resilience To Tropical Cyclones, Christopher J. Patrick, John S. Kominoski, (...), Enie Hensel, Marc J. S. Hense, Bradley A. Strickland, (..), A. K. Hardison, Sean Kinard, Et Al

VIMS Articles

Tropical cyclones drive coastal ecosystem dynamics, and their frequency, intensity, and spatial distribution are pre-dicted to shift with climate change. Patterns of resistance and resilience were synthesized for 4138 ecosystem time series from n = 26 storms occurring between 1985 and 2018 in the Northern Hemisphere to predict how coastal ecosystems will respond to future disturbance regimes. Data were grouped by ecosystems (fresh water, salt water, terrestrial, and wetland) and response categories (biogeochemistry, hydrography, mobile biota, sedentary fauna, and vascular plants). We observed a repeated pattern of trade-offs between resistance and resilience across analyses. These patterns are likely the outcomes …

Empirically Derived Thermal Thresholds Of Four Coral Species Along The Red Sea Using A Portable And Standardized Experimental Approach, Nicolas R. Evensen, Christian R. Voolstra, Maoz Fine, Gabriela Perna, Carol Buitrago-López, Anny Cárdenas, Guilhem Banc-Prandi, Katherine Rowe, Daniel J. Barshis

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Global warming is causing an unprecedented loss of species and habitats worldwide. This is particularly apparent for tropical coral reefs, with an increasing number of reefs experiencing mass bleaching and mortality on an annual basis. As such, there is a growing need for a standardized experimental approach to rapidly assess the thermal limits of corals and predict the survival of coral species across reefs and regions. Using a portable experimental system, the Coral Bleaching Automated Stress System (CBASS), we conducted standardized 18 h acute thermal stress assays to quantitively determine the upper thermal limits of four coral species across the …

A Non-Iteration Solution For Solving The Backward-In-Time Two-Dimensional Burgers’ Equation With A Large Reynolds Number, Yen-Shen Chang, Yung-Wei Chen, Chein-Shan Liu, Jiang-Ren Chang

Journal of Marine Science and Technology

This article proposes a noniteration solution based on the Lie-group shooting method (LGSM) to solve the backward-in-time two-dimensional Burgers’ equation with a large Reynolds number. The backward problem is famous for seriously ill-posed cases because the solution is generally unstable and highly dependent on the input data. Small perturbations in the input data, such as random errors inherent to the measurements in the analysis, can cause large oscillations in the solution. To handle a large Reynolds number under long time spans, it is very difficult to integrate towards the time direction. To avoid time integration and numerical iteration, the noniteration …

Polyketides And Terpenes In Marine Microalgae: Ecological Roles And Mechanisms Of Biosynthesis, Yunxuan Xie, Mohammad Elsheikh

Journal of Marine Science and Technology

Marine microalgae comprise a large number of polyketides and terpenes identified to date with highly diverse molecular scaffolds and the biological activities (Kalaitzis et al., 2010). These compounds play significant roles in marine food web and nutraceutical supplementation in marine animals. Compounds of this class are often synthesized by gene clusters with dedicated domains responsible for carbon chain extension and modification. The unique molecular structure of these compounds encourages people to investigate their biosynthetic mechanisms in-depth. In this review, we summarize relevant articles to unravel the shared mechanisms of these compounds to further understand the variety of domain organizations and …

Unbaited Light-Emitting Diode Traps Performance For Catching Orange Mud Crabs, Muhamad Naimullah, Kuo-Wei Lan, Mhd Ikhwanuddin, Adnan Amin-Safwan, Wei-Yu Lee

Journal of Marine Science and Technology

Mud crabs (Scylla spp.) are a vital fishery resource and targeted for a valuable source of income for coastal communities throughout the Indo-Pacific region. Baited traps are a considerable expense in crustacean fishing. Hence, the present study was performed to investigate the catchability of Scylla olivacea in response to light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in captivity and field conditions. We used a new experimental setup in the captivity condition that revealed most S. olivacea were attracted to green, blue, and white LED lights and no attractive effect by red LED lights similar to the controls. Field studies have shown that the catch …

Catch And Effort Standardization For Taiwanese Swordtip Squid Uroteuthis Edulis Fisheries In The Southern East China Sea, Ke-Yang Chang, Yu-Jie Hsu, Tzu-Yun Ching, Cheng-Hsin Liao, Chih-Shin Chen

Journal of Marine Science and Technology

The swordtip squid Uroteuthis edulis is a neritic squid species that is widely distributed within the coastal waters of subtropical and tropical Indo-western Pacific regions. This squid is a commercially important species throughout its distribution range and plays a critical role in marine ecosystems. Stock assessments of the squid in the East China Sea (ECS) are scarce, although it is crucial information for the sustainability of the squid and relevant fisheries. The squid was harvested by various fisheries in the southern ECS, which could restrict methods for catch-effort standardization. In this study, catch-effort data of Taiwanese swordtip squid fisheries in …

Uniform Torsion Analysis Of Composite Shafts Using Point Collocation Method Based On Pascal Polynomials, Chih-Wen Chang, Jyh-Hong Wu, Ying-Ru Lin, Yu-Feng Lin, Nan-Nong Huang

Journal of Marine Science and Technology

Torsion bars are important elements in the marine structure applications. The usage of the composite torsion bars has increased recently because it takes advantage of the different material property of each constituent. The current research focuses mainly on the uniform warping analysis of composite torsion shafts by using the point collocation method (PCM). The PCM is based on Pascal's triangle polynomial expansion and coupled with subdomain technique that is indispensable for the analysis of composite bars. In addition to satisfying the field equation (Laplace equation for warping function) and traction-free boundary condition for each component, the continuity conditions in both …

Local Reinforcement Design And Safety Factor Evaluation Of Elliptical Hatch Of Pressure Hull, Guang-Min Luo, Jun-Wei Chen

Journal of Marine Science and Technology

A pressure hull is the primary pressure-resistant structure of a submarine. To safeguard the compressive strength of such a hull, local structural reinforcement is required for various hatches on the hull. Hatches are commonly reinforced through increasing the thickness of the hull regions around them; alternatively, hatch nozzle walls are connected with stiffened frames to maintain the continuity of reinforced structures. This study focused on a pressure hull with an elliptical hatch. A PD-5500 cylindrical pressure hull was used to design a cylindrical pressure hull structure, and a model of hatch nozzle reinforcement was designed using the Boiler and Pressure …

Effects Of Dietary Lipid, L-Carnitine And L-Lysine Supplementation On The Growth Performance And Body Composition Of Epinephelus Lanceolatus Larvae, Jen-Hong Chu, Yu-Cong Hong, Angela Chien, Shyn-Shin Sheen

Journal of Marine Science and Technology

The effects of different combinations of dietary lipid, L-carnitine and L-lysine on the growth performance and fatty acid profiles of larval grouper Epinephalus lanceolatus were evaluated. Eight treatment diets were formulated based on a 2x2x2 factorial design, namely 5 and 14% dietary oil mixture (3:1 fish oil/soybean oil), 0 and 0.5% L-carnitine and 0 and 2.83% L-lysine. Each diet was randomly assigned to triplicate groups of ten 0.08g E. lanceolatus larvae for 42 days. The grouper larvae fed with diets containing 14% lipid had significantly higher weight gain percentages than those fed with diets containing 5% lipid. The weight gain …

Assessing Changes In Actual Air Quality And Public Perceptions Of Air Quality In Kathmandu Valley Nepal Pre And Post Covid-19 Lockdown, Robin Margherita Rives

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Air pollution is a global concern. Cities around the world fail to meet air quality standards set by the World Health Organization Air Quality Guidelines, which has a significant impact on public health. As the capital city and largest metropolitan region of Nepal, Kathmandu is a hotspot for urban pollution in South Asia. Nepal faces emissions from both internal and external sources. External sources include emissions from Nepal’s neighboring countries of India and China and emissions resulting from tourism. Internal sources of pollution in the country include brick and cement factories, consumption of energy from traditional sources such as biomass, …

Human Impact On Planetary Temperature And Glacial Volume: Extending A Toy Climate Model To A New Millennium, Samantha Secor, Jennifer Switkes

CODEE Journal

Starting with a toy climate model from the literature, we employ a system of two nonlinear differential equations to model the reciprocal effects of the average temperature and the percentage of glacial volume on Earth. In the literature, this model is used to demonstrate the potential for a stable periodic orbit over a long time span in the form of an attracting limit cycle. In the roughly twenty five years since this model appeared in the literature, the effects of global warming and human-impacted climate change have become much more well known and apparent. We demonstrate modification of initial conditions …

Quantitative Assessment Of The Trophic Ecology Of The Oceanic Ctenophore, Bolinopsis Infundibulum, In Monterey Bay, California, Victoria C. Scriven

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Bolinopsis infundibulum is a wide-ranging, ubiquitous ctenophore whose fragile nature makes the collection of specimens and quantification of key predator-prey activities in controlled laboratory experiments, challenging. Thus, in situ methods often represent the best means for data collection. However, while present in surface waters, these animals can also be abundant at depths well beyond those attainable by divers. As a result, very little empirical data exist over the depth range of their natural habitats which limits our ability to assess key predator-prey interactions needed to assess their ecological role in midwater food webs. Working in Monterey Bay, California, remotely operated …

Oxygen Ion Escape At Venus Associated With Three-Dimensional Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability, Tong Dang, Xuanye Ma, Jiuhou Le, Binzheng Zhang, Tielong Zhang, Zhonghua Yao, John Lyon, Sudong Xiao, Maodong Yan, Oliver Brambles, Kareem Sorathia

Publications

How oxygens escape from Venus has long been a fundamental but controversial topic in the planetary research. Among various key mechanisms, the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI) has been suggested to play an important role in the oxygen ion escape from Venus. Limited by either scarce in-situ observations or simplified theoretical estimations, the mystery of oxygen ion escape process associated with KHI is still unsettled. Here we present the first three-dimensional configuration of KHI at Venus with a global multifluid magnetohydrodynamics model, showing a significantly fine structure and evolution of the KHI. KHI mainly occurred at the low latitude boundary layer if …

Virtual Training Prepared For The Former Afghanistan Ministry Of Energy And Water—Streamgaging, Fluvial Sediment Sampling, Bathymetry, And Streamflow And Sediment Modeling, Joel T. Groten, Joshua F. Valder, Brenda K. Densmore, Logan W. Neal, Justin Krahulik, Thomas J. Mack

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) created a virtual training series for the Afghanistan Ministry of Energy and Water (MEW), now known as the National Water Affairs Regulation Authority (NWARA), to provide critical hydrological training as an alternative to an in-person training. The USGS was scheduled to provide in-person surface-water training for NWARA during 2020; however, travel was halted because of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID–19) pandemic. The virtual training consisted of prerecorded and live presentations that were scheduled during 4 weeks in August 2021. However, the training was halted after the second week due to the collapse of the …

Connecticut Embayment Characteristics 2022, Jamie M.P. Vaudrey, James E. O'Donnell

Department of Marine Sciences

Data on Connecticut embayment characteristics. This Excel file is the centerpiece for capturing embayment characteristics as presented in RESPEC (2022), developed specifically for this project. Some parameters such as watershed size, embayment size, and tidal range were pulled from other sources described in Appendix A of RESPEC (2022), but much of the data and indicators in the Excel file were developed for this project. Each parameter included in the spreadsheet is fully defined in Appendix A of RESPEC (2022). All data available in the spreadsheet are provided by embayment in Appendix C of RESPEC (2022), including the results of bathymetric …

Anthropocene Fiction: Empathy, Kinship, And The Troubled Waters At The End Of The World, Megan Mandell Stowe

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Anthropocene literature features characters and environments grappling with the devastation of climate change. Donna Haraway’s term Chthulucene narrows this category further by exposing the tentacular connections between overpopulation, dependence on material goods, species loss, and other facets of global warming—such as water as a resource. Three novels of the Chthulucene exhibit these connections, centering on the importance of water to both ecologies and personal identity. As seen in the novels, place attachment brings ecology and identity together by forging a stewardship between person and location, often resulting in efforts to defend and preserve a place. In Octavia Butler’s Parable of …

Spatial And Temporal Patterns Of Fire On Saipan, Cnmi, Ilan E. Bubb, Zachary B. Williams

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Sediment core studies from Saipan suggest that fires did not play a prominent role in the disturbance regime of the Mariana Islands and have increased in frequency since human settlement around 4,000 years ago. On Saipan fires are understood to interrupt the pattern of succession leading to the degradation of native limestone forests, the proliferation of grasslands and the eventual creation of badlands. Little baseline data regarding the spatial and temporal patterns of fire on Saipan exist to create effective Fire Management Plans. This project uses Landsat 8 images from April 2013 to July 2020 and the Normalized Burn Ratio …

Peak Chlorophyll A Concentrations In The Lower Mississippi River From 1997 To 2018, R. Eugene Turner, Charles S. Milan, Erick M. Swenson, James M. Lee

Faculty Publications

Large and turbid rivers have varying temperatures, light conditions, nutrient availability, and nutrient ratios that may affect phytoplankton communities and occur within a changing world of point and nonpoint source nutrient loadings. We investigated how these physical and chemical factors affect Chlorophyll a (Chl a) concentrations in the Mississippi River, the largest river in North America, by sampling 878 times from February 1997 to December 2018 near its terminus at Baton Rouge, Louisiana. We hypothesized that nutrient concentrations and ratios were significant factors limiting phytoplankton biomass accumulations in this turbid river. The Chl a concentrations were in the "poor" water …