Can Remote Sensing Technologies Capture the Extreme Precipitation Event and Its Cascading Hydrological Response? A Case Study of Hurricane Harvey Using EF5 Modeling Framework

A new generation of precipitation measurement products has emerged, and their performances have gained much attention from the scientific community, such as the Multi-Radar Multi-Sensor system (MRMS) from the National Severe Storm Laboratory (NSSL) and the Global Precipitation Measurement Mission (GPM) from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). This study statistically evaluated the MRMS and GPM products and investigated their cascading hydrological response in August of 2017, when Hurricane Harvey brought historical and record-breaking precipitation to the Gulf Coast (>1500 mm), causing 107 fatalities along with about USD 125 billion worth of damage. Rain-gauge observations from Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) and stream-gauge measurements by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) were used as ground truths to evaluate MRMS, GPM and National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) gauge-only data by using statistical metrics and hydrological simulations using the Ensemble Framework for Flash Flooding Forecast (EF5) model. The results indicate that remote sensing technologies can accurately detect and estimate the unprecedented precipitation event with their near-real-time products, and all precipitation products produced good hydrological simulations, where the Nash–Sutcliff model efficiency coefficients (NSCE) were close to 0.9 for both the MRMS and GPM products. With the timeliness and seamless coverage of MRMS and GPM, the study also demonstrated the capability and efficiency of the EF5 framework for flash flood modeling over the United States and potentially additional international domains.This study is partially funded by University of Oklahoma and also based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1545874. Open Access fees paid for in whole or in part by the University of Oklahoma Libraries.Ye

Use of 1D Unsteady HEC-RAS in a Coupled System for Compound Flood Modeling: North Carolina Case Study

The research presented herein develops and compares an ADCIRC and ADCIRC/HEC-RAS (1D) paired model for the purpose of compound flood modeling within the Tar River and Pamlico Sound basins of North Carolina. Both the ADCIRC and 1D HEC-RAS models are capable of simulating river systems but differ in their underlying numerical formulations. A case-study comparison of each model’s ability to simulate flooding accurately and quickly in a riverine/estuarine system is investigated herein; results may serve as a valuable reference to forecasters and model developers. Individual models of the Tar River and Pamlico Sound area in North Carolina were used, and pairings of these models were devised to determine the benefits and drawbacks of using ADCIRC alone, or ADCIRC + 1D HEC-RAS, to simulate the response of the Tar River and Pamlico Sound during three test events: Hurricane Irene, Hurricane Floyd, and an unnamed April 2003 event. With increased emphasis on predicting total water levels, the results of this study can provide information for the possible development of similarly paired models for coastal river systems across the US and improve the body of knowledge about each model’s relative performance in riverine and estuarine areas.Ye

Revealing the Appetite of the Marine Aquarium Fish Trade: The Volume and Biodiversity of Fish Imported into the United States

The aquarium trade and other wildlife consumers are at a crossroads forced by threats from global climate change and other anthropogenic stressors that have weakened coastal ecosystems. While the wildlife trade may put additional stress on coral reefs, it brings income into impoverished parts of the world and may stimulate interest in marine conservation. To better understand the influence of the trade, we must first be able to quantify coral reef fauna moving through it. Herein, we discuss the lack of a data system for monitoring the wildlife aquarium trade and analyze problems that arise when trying to monitor the trade using a system not specifically designed for this purpose. To do this, we examined an entire year of import records of marine tropical fish entering the United States in detail, and discuss the relationship between trade volume, biodiversity and introduction of non-native marine fishes. Our analyses showed that biodiversity levels are higher than previous estimates. Additionally, more than half of government importation forms have numerical or other reporting discrepancies resulting in the overestimation of trade volumes by 27%. While some commonly imported species have been introduced into the coastal waters of the USA (as expected), we also found that some uncommon species in the trade have also been introduced. This is the first study of aquarium trade imports to compare commercial invoices to government forms and provides a means to, routinely and in real time, examine the biodiversity of the trade in coral reef wildlife species

Immunity to Bovine Herpesvirus 1: II. Adaptive Immunity and Vaccinology

Bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV-1) infection is widespread and causes a variety of diseases. Although similar in many respects to the human immune response to human herpesvirus 1, the differences in the bovine virus proteins, immune system components and strategies, physiology, and lifestyle mean the bovine immune response to BHV-1 is unique. The innate immune system initially responds to infection, and primes a balanced adaptive immune response. Cell-mediated immunity, including cytotoxic T lymphocyte killing of infected cells, is critical to recovery from infection. Humoral immunity, including neutralizing antibody and antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity, is important to prevention or control of (re-)infection. BHV-1 immune evasion strategies include suppression of major histocompatibility complex presentation of viral antigen, helper T-cell killing, and latency. Immune suppression caused by the virus potentiates secondary infections and contributes to the costly bovine respiratory disease complex. Vaccination against BHV-1 is widely practiced. The many vaccines reported include replicating and non-replicating, conventional and genetically engineered, as well as marker and non-marker preparations. Current development focuses on delivery of major BHV-1 glycoproteins to elicit a balanced, protective immune response, while excluding serologic markers and virulence or other undesirable factors. In North America, vaccines are used to prevent or reduce clinical signs, whereas in some European Union countries marker vaccines have been employed in the eradication of BHV-1 disease

Has Selection for Improved Agronomic Traits Made Reed Canarygrass Invasive?

Plant breeders have played an essential role in improving agricultural crops, and their efforts will be critical to meet the increasing demand for cellulosic bioenergy feedstocks. However, a major concern is the potential development of novel invasive species that result from breeders' efforts to improve agronomic traits in a crop. We use reed canarygrass as a case study to evaluate the potential of plant breeding to give rise to invasive species. Reed canarygrass has been improved by breeders for use as a forage crop, but it is unclear whether breeding efforts have given rise to more vigorous populations of the species. We evaluated cultivars, European wild, and North American invader populations in upland and wetland environments to identify differences in vigor between the groups of populations. While cultivars were among the most vigorous populations in an agricultural environment (upland soils with nitrogen addition), there were no differences in above- or below-ground production between any populations in wetland environments. These results suggest that breeding has only marginally increased vigor in upland environments and that these gains are not maintained in wetland environments. Breeding focuses on selection for improvements of a specific target population of environments, and stability across a wide range of environments has proved elusive for even the most intensively bred crops. We conclude that breeding efforts are not responsible for wetland invasion by reed canarygrass and offer guidelines that will help reduce the possibility of breeding programs releasing cultivars that will become invasive

Integrated motor drives: state of the art and future trends

With increased need for high power density, high efficiency and high temperature capabilities in Aerospace and Automotive applications, Integrated Motor Drives (IMD) offers a potential solution. However, close physical integration of the converter and the machine may also lead to an increase in components temperature. This requires careful mechanical, structural and thermal analysis; and design of the IMD system. This paper reviews existing IMD technologies and their thermal effects on the IMD system. The effects of the power electronics (PE) position on the IMD system and its respective thermal management concepts are also investigated. The challenges faced in designing and manufacturing of an IMD along with the mechanical and structural impacts of close physical integration is also discussed and potential solutions are provided. Potential converter topologies for an IMD like the Matrix converter, 2-level Bridge, 3-level NPC and Multiphase full bridge converters are also reviewed. Wide band gap devices like SiC and GaN and their packaging in power modules for IMDs are also discussed. Power modules components and packaging technologies are also presented

Application of the Forward Sensitivity Method to a GWCE-Based Shallow Water Model

The Forward Sensitivity Method (FSM) is applied to a GWCE-based shallow water model to analyze the sensitivity to the numerical parameter, G, that determines the balance between the wave and primitive forms of the continuity equation. Results show that the sensitivity to G calculated in the sensitivity evolution portion of the FSM is consistent with the actual sensitivity to G computed from multiple simulations using finite differences. The data assimilation step in the FSM is shown to be effective in selecting G that minimizes an objective function, in this case model errors based on sensitivities. Additionally, the FSM sensitivity results show 2 Δ x oscillations in the elevation and velocity fields develop when G is increased too high, suggesting the FSM may be an effective tool for determining the upper limit of G for real-world applications

Development and Validation of Accumulation Term (Distributed and/or Point Source) in a Finite Element Hydrodynamic Model

During tropical storms, precipitation and associated rainfall-runoff can lead to significant flooding, in both the upland and coastal areas. Flooding in coastal areas is compounded by the storm surge. Several hurricanes in recent history have exhibited the destructive force of compound flooding due to precipitation, rainfall-runoff, storm surge and waves. In previous work, various coupled modeling systems have been developed to model total water levels (defined as tides, waves, surge, and rainfall-runoff) for tropical storms. The existing coupled system utilizes a hydrologic model in the upland areas of the domain to capture the precipitation and rainfall-runoff associated with the storms; however, in the coastal areas the precipitation and rainfall-runoff is not captured. Herein a source/sink term is incorporated within the hydrodynamic model itself to capture precipitation and rainfall-runoff over the already inundated coastal areas. The new algorithm is verified for several idealized test cases, and then it is applied to Hurricane Irene. Validation indicates that the new methodology is comparable to the existing river flux forcing under most conditions and allows for the addition of streamflows due to overland runoff, as well as the actual precipitation itself

The Predictability of Near-Coastal Currents Using a Baroclinic Unstructured Grid Model

A limited domain, coastal ocean forecast system consisting of an unstructured grid model, a meteorological model, a regional ocean model, and a global tidal database is designed to be globally relocatable. For such a system to be viable, the predictability of coastal currents must be well understood with error sources clearly identified. To this end, the coastal forecast system is applied at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay in response to a Navy exercise. Two-day forecasts are produced for a 10-day period from 4 to 14 June 2010 and compared to real-time observations. Interplay between the temporal frequency of the regional model boundary forcing and the application of external tides to the coastal model impacts the tidal characteristics of the coastal current, even contributing a small phase error. Frequencies of at least 3 h are needed to resolve the tidal signal within the regional model; otherwise, externally applied tides from a database are needed to capture the tidal variability. Spatial resolution of the regional model (3 vs 1 km) does not impact skill of the current prediction. Tidal response of the system indicates excellent representation of the dominant M2 tide for water level and currents. Diurnal tides, especially K1, are amplified unrealistically with the application of coarse 27-km winds. Higher-resolution winds reduce current forecast error with the exception of wind originating from the SSW, SSE, and E. These winds run shore parallel and are subject to strong interaction with the shoreline that is poorly represented even by the 3-km wind fields. The vertical distribution of currents is also well predicted by the coastal model. Spatial and temporal resolution of the wind forcing including areas close to the shoreline is the most critical component for accurate current forecasts. Additionally, it is demonstrated that wind resolution plays a large role in establishing realistic thermal and density structures in upwelling prone regions