Wind speed analysis of hurricane Sandy

Producción CientíficaThe database of the HWind project sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for hurricanes between 1994 and 2013 is analysed. This is the first objective of the current research. Among these hurricanes, Hurricane Sandy was selected for a detailed study due to the number of files available and its social relevance, with this being the second objective of this study. Robust wind speed statistics showed a sharp increase in wind speed, around 6 m s-1 at the initial stage as Category 1, and a linear progression of its interquartile range, which increased at a rate of 0.54 m s-1 per day. Wind speed distributions were initially right-skewed. However, they evolved to nearly symmetrical or even left-skewed distributions. Robust kurtosis was similar to that of the Gaussian distribution. Due to the noticeable fraction of wind speed intermediate values, the Laplace distribution was used, its scale parameter increasing slightly during the hurricane’s lifecycle. The key features of the current study were the surface and recirculation factor calculation. The surface area with a category equal to, or higher than, a tropical storm was calculated and assumed to be circular. Its radius increased linearly up to 600 km. Finally, parcel trajectories were spirals in the lower atmosphere but loops in the mid-troposphere due to wind translation and rotation. The recirculation factor varied, reaching values close to 0.9 and revealing atmospheric stratification

A soil genesis investigation into possible long-range transport of foreign sediments in the Stann Creek District of Belize

Throughout the world, long range transport (LRT) of aeolian dust plays a major role in the total global dust budget. Research suggests that LRT dust from the deserts of North Africa play a role in soil genesis in the Americas. The focus of this study is a preliminary investigation for evidence of North African dust or volcanic ash influence on the soils in the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary in Stann Creek District, Belize. A series of 7 soil profiles were analyzed from a catena transect to determine if there is evidence of foreign materials by using X-ray diffraction and Scanning Electron Microscope analyses in order to identify mineralogy and micro-abrasions that would indicate parent material origin from a possible influence of LRT dust. This yielded the finding that there is little convincing evidence for LRT dust deposition in the soils examined

Nitrogen dynamics and retention in the river network of a tropical forest, Luquillo Mountains, Puerto Rico

This dissertation identifies gaps in the scientific understanding of nutrient cycling, particularly nitrogen (N) cycling, in streams and riparian zones of tropical montane forests, and addresses several of those gaps with original field-based research using study watersheds in the Luquillo Mountains of Puerto Rico as the model system. The Luquillo Mountains have features typical of mature montane tropical forests, such as high background N concentrations in streams and groundwater relative to streams in other biomes. As a USDA Forest Service Experimental Forest, the Luquillo Mountains are accessible to researchers and have abundant monitoring and experimental datasets from which to build hypotheses and experimental approaches. Chapter 1 is a review of the state of the literature on biological response to nutrients, particularly N, in streams of the Luquillo Mountains. This chapter also includes a gap analysis of research questions that are of greatest importance to the environmental regulatory and management community, that have not yet been addressed. Chapter 2 looks in-depth at ammonium (NH4+) cycling in headwater streams. Headwater streams in tropical forests are typically light- and organic matter-limited in their demand for nutrients. Ammonium can serve as both a nutrient and an energy source, leading to a hypothesized high demand that can be compared across streams using ambient uptake velocity (vf). This study experimentally enriched headwater streams with transient NH4+ pulses to determine NH4+ demand and mechanisms for uptake. Ambient vf ranged from 0 to 2.9 mm min-1, lower than other tropical streams and streams in other biomes in the literature. Though demand was relatively low, areal uptake rate in the streambed was high due to high background NH4+ concentrations. When compared with streams in other geological regions of the Luquillo Mountains, the streams in this study stand out for their sandy substrate and their low phosphorus concentrations, suggesting that NH4+ removal pathways may be limited by nutrients or habitat for NH4+-oxidizing microorganisms. Chapter 3 focuses on N cycling in riparian zones. Riparian zones are widely understood as nitrogen N cycling hotspots, but significant gaps remain in our understanding of the complex biogeochemistry of NH4+ transformations in riparian groundwater. Tropical forest watersheds in particular have distinctive N biogeochemistry that is still poorly understood. This study was the first to examine in-situ NH4+ cycling in a riparian aquifer, using push-pull tests PPTs to experimentally enrich groundwater with NH4+ and trace NH4+ removal from solution, and the first to apply the Damkohler number to riparian NH4+ dynamics to measure the balance between residence time and reaction rate. The rate constant k for NH4+ retention during the five PPTs ranged from 0.13 to 0.68 hr-1; the residence time ranged from 27 to 512 days; and the Damköhler number ranged from 72 to 11620, indicating that nearly complete removal of added NH4+ would occur over transport from the PPT well to the stream. Low dissolved oxygen availability and lack of net nitrate production indicate that nitrification was not the dominant pathway of NH4+ removal. Iron was abundant in surface riparian soils in the form of HCl-extractable Fe(III), and declined to near zero at the depth of the PPTs accompanied by abundant HCl-extractable Fe(II), suggesting that Fe(II) production and NH4+ oxidation could be coupled. Sorption-desporption reactions and the associated equilibrium potentially explain why high background NH4+ concentrations persisted before and after the PPTs, though we expect that NH4+ pulse experiments like those conducted here saturate abiotic storage within soil and provide a determination of biotic NH4+ removal

NIOSH Emergency Preparedness and Response Program: Evidence Package for 2007-2017

This document contains materials to demonstrate the relevance and impact of the Emergency Preparedness and Response Program\u2019s work in the areas of Emergency Responder Health Monitoring and Surveillance (ERHMS), anthrax preparedness and response capabilities, and other emergency preparedness activities and responses

Preferential dust sources: a geomorphological classification designed for use in global dust-cycle models

We present a simple theoretical land-surface classification that can be used to determine the location and temporal behaviour of preferential sources of terrestrial dust emissions. The classification also provides information about the likely nature of the sediments, their erodibility and the likelihood that they will generate emissions under given conditions. The scheme is based on the dual notions of geomorphic type and connectivity between geomorphic units. We demonstrate that the scheme can be used to map potential modern-day dust sources in the Chihuahuan Desert, the Lake Eyre Basin and the Taklamakan. Through comparison with observed dust emissions, we show that the scheme provides a reasonable prediction of areas of emission in the Chihuahuan Desert and in the Lake Eyre Basin. The classification is also applied to point source data from the Sahara to enable comparison of the relative importance of different land surfaces for dust emissions. We indicate how the scheme could be used to provide an improved characterisation of preferential dust sources in global dust-cycle models

New York City Panel on Climate Change 2015 ReportChapter 5: Public Health Impacts and Resiliency

Recent experience from Hurricane Sandy and high temperature episodes has clearly demonstrated that the health of New Yorkers can be compromised by extreme coastal storms and heat events. Health impacts that can result from exposure to extreme weather events include direct loss of life, increases in respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, and compromised mental health. Other related health stressors—such as air pollution, pollen, and vector-borne, water-borne, and food-borne diseases— can also be influenced by weather and climate. Although New York City is one of the best prepared and most climate-resilient cities in the world, there remain significant potential vulnerabilities related to climate variability and change. As part of the NPCC2 process, a team of local climate and health specialists was mobilized to assess current vulnerabilities and to identify strategies that could enhance the resilience of New York City to adverse health impacts from climate events. The goal was to highlight some of the important climate-related health challenges that New York City is currently facing or may face in the future due to climate variability and change, based on emerging scientific understanding

Application of the Analogue Method to Modeling Heat Waves: A Case Study With Power Transformers

Large power transformers (LPTs) are critical yet increasingly vulnerable components of the power grid. More frequent and intense heat waves or high temperatures can degrade their operational lifetime and thereby increase the premature failure risk. Without adequate preparedness, a widespread situation would ultimately lead to prolonged grid disruption and incur excessive economic costs. In this study, we investigate the impact of climate warming and corresponding shifts in heat waves on a selected LPT located in the Northeast corridor of the United States. We apply an analogue method, which detects the occurrence of heat waves based on the salient, associated large-scale atmospheric conditions (“composites”), to assess the risk of future change in heat wave occurrence. Compared with the more conventional approach that relies on climate model-simulated daily maximum temperature, the analogue method produces model medians of late twentieth-century heat wave frequency that are more consistent with observation and have stronger inter-model consensus. Under the future climate warming scenarios, multi-model medians of both model daily maximum temperature and the analogue method indicate strong decadal increases in heat wave frequency by the end of the 21st century, but the analogue method improves model consensus considerably. We perform a preliminary assessment on the decrease of transformer lifetime with temperature increase. Future work will focus on using more advanced algorithms to quantify the impact of more frequent heat waves on the transformer’s expected lifetime and associated additional costs. The improved inter-model consensus of the analogue method is viewed as a promising step toward providing actionable information for a more stable, reliable, and environmentally responsible national grid.This work was funded by MIT Lincoln Lab (DE-FOA-0000768)

The Survival of Small Businesses in Northeastern Florida After a Natural Disaster

Many small business owners lack strategies needed to prevent permanent business closure in the wake of extreme natural disaster situations. After a natural disaster, small businesses suffer financial losses in millions of dollars related to damage and destruction that disrupt their lives, families, and communities. This multiple case study explored strategies that 5 small business owners in northeastern Florida used to avoid permanent business closure in the aftermath of a natural disaster. The theory of planned behavior and vested interest theory were the conceptual frameworks used in this multiple case study. In-depth interviews with purposively selected small business owners were supplemented with a review of documentation from archival records. Yin\u27s 5-step analysis guided the coding process of participants\u27 responses, and member checking was used to validate the transcribed data. The major themes of the study revealed the owners\u27 strategies relating to flood barriers, maintaining adequate insurance coverage, damage and destruction aftermath, and experience with natural disasters. This study\u27s implications for social change include contributing to social stability and continuing economic growth by benefitting small business owners without a natural disaster plan or a plan that needs updating, new small business owners, and community organizations. This study may benefit small businesses by providing lessons learned on how to survive natural disasters

Atmospheric Research 2014 Technical Highlights

Atmospheric research in the Earth Sciences Division (610) consists of research and technology development programs dedicated to advancing knowledge and understanding of the atmosphere and its interaction with the climate of Earth. The Division's goals are to improve understanding of the dynamics and physical properties of precipitation, clouds, and aerosols; atmospheric chemistry, including the role of natural and anthropogenic trace species on the ozone balance in the stratosphere and the troposphere; and radiative properties of Earth's atmosphere and the influence of solar variability on the Earth's climate. Major research activities are carried out in the Mesoscale Atmospheric Processes Laboratory, the Climate and Radiation Laboratory, the Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Laboratory, and the Wallops Field Support Office. The overall scope of the research covers an end-to-end process, starting with the identification of scientific problems, leading to observation requirements for remote-sensing platforms, technology and retrieval algorithm development; followed by flight projects and satellite missions; and eventually, resulting in data processing, analyses of measurements, and dissemination from flight projects and missions. Instrument scientists conceive, design, develop, and implement ultraviolet, infrared, optical, radar, laser, and lidar technology to remotely sense the atmosphere. Members of the various Laboratories conduct field measurements for satellite sensor calibration and data validation, and carry out numerous modeling activities. These modeling activities include climate model simulations, modeling the chemistry and transport of trace species on regional-to-global scales, cloud resolving models, and developing the next-generation Earth system models. Satellite missions, field campaigns, peer-reviewed publications, and successful proposals are essential at every stage of the research process to meeting our goals and maintaining leadership of the Earth Sciences Division in atmospheric science research. Figure 1.1 shows the 20-year record of peer-reviewed publications and proposals among the various Laboratories. This data shows that the scientific work being conducted in the Laboratories is competitive with the work being done elsewhere in universities and other government agencies. The office of Deputy Director for Atmospheric Research will strive to maintain this record by rigorously monitoring and promoting quality while emphasizing coordination and integration among atmospheric disciplines. Also, an appropriate balance will be maintained between the scientists' responsibility for large collaborative projects and missions and their need to carry out active science research as a principal investigator. This balance allows members of the Laboratories to improve their scientific credentials, and develop leadership potentials. Interdisciplinary research is carried out in collaboration with other laboratories and research groups within the Earth Sciences Division, across the Sciences and Exploration Directorate, and with partners in universities and other government agencies. Members of the Laboratories interact with the general public to support a wide range of interests in the atmospheric sciences. Among other activities, the Laboratories raise the public's awareness of atmospheric science by presenting public lectures and demonstrations, by making scientific data available to wide audiences, by teaching, and by mentoring students and teachers. The Atmosphere Laboratories make substantial efforts to attract and recruit new scientists to the various areas of atmospheric research. We strongly encourage the establishment of partnerships with Federal and state agencies that have operational responsibilities to promote the societal application of our science products. This report describes our role in NASA's mission, provides highlights of our research scope and activities, and summarizes our scientists' major accomplishments during calendar year 2014. The composition of the organization is shown in Figure 1.2 for each code. This report is published in a printed version with an electronic version on our atmospheres Web site, http://atmospheres.gsfc.nasa.gov/