Commercial fishing is a culturally and economically significant industry on the Oregon coast. The importance of this industry to human communities is often neglected in fisheries research, with economic and ecological data being favored by managers and decision makers. Recent observations in many coastal communities have indicated aging of fishermen...
Maps from the report, "Modeling sea level rise impacts to Oregon’s tidal wetlands : Maps and prioritization tools to help plan for habitat conservation into the future."
Maps from the report, "Modeling sea level rise impacts to Oregon’s tidal wetlands : Maps and prioritization tools to help plan for habitat conservation into the future."
Over 70% of the Antarctic krill population exists along the Antarctic Peninsula, a region undergoing rapid climate change. Recent studies have shown a clear correlation between krill recruitment each spring and the timing and coverage of sea ice the winter before, with less sea ice and a shorter duration being...
Maps from the report, "Modeling sea level rise impacts to Oregon’s tidal wetlands : Maps and prioritization tools to help plan for habitat conservation into the future."
Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) is a powerful resource for coastal and wetland managers and its use is increasing. Vegetation density and other land cover characteristics influence the accuracy of LIDAR-derived ground surface digital elevation models; however, the degree to which wetland land cover biases LIDAR estimates of the ground...
It is not unusual to see stranded or washed-up marine animals and birds along any
coastline. Various networks nationwide exist to report marine mammals and sea birds,
yet, we have been unable to find a network in Oregon or nationally to report other
stranded marine animals, namely fish, cephalopods, and...
Extreme water levels generating flooding in estuarine and coastal environments are often driven by compound events, where many individual processes such as waves, storm surge, streamflow, and tides coincide. Despite this, extreme water levels are typically modeled in isolated open-coast or estuarine environments, potentially mischaracterizing the true risk of flooding...
This presentation summarizes the MidCoast Watersheds Council's project on the impacts of SLR on tidal wetlands in Oregon. Please see the project report for details (linked in Related Items below).
This document partially addresses the Wetlands component of San Juan County’s Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO). Drawing from a foundation in best available science, it describes important functions performed by the County's wetlands, effects of various activities on those functions, and strategies for protecting wetland functions from impacting activities, with an...
There are many different organizations and agencies which share responsibility for educating the public about responsible use of aquatic and marine resources. However, organizations specifically focused on particular dimensions of water use, such as Oregon State Marine Board (OSMB), often face challenges when attempting to recruit teachers to implement educational...
Academics and practitioners agree that in water governance, the quality of a decision making process should influence the quality of the outcome and the degree to which it is accepted by interested parties. However, finding a feasible way to evaluate and then improve the quality of a decision making process...
Warm, high pressure systems are measured from a weather station on a high elevation peak in the Oregon Coast range during the winter months. Temperature observations on Mary’s Peak show abnormally warm air in relation to the surrounding areas. The goal of this study was to characterize the frequency and...
Semi-volatile trace metals like Li, Cu, Mo, Sn, In, and Pb have the potential to track mobility of a volatile phase in volcanic systems. In this dissertation four studies are presented that either directly investigate or are motivated by observations of trace metal behavior in volcanic systems. A common tool...
The nearshore waters off the Oregon coast (< 73 meters) are a region of high productivity and economic value, with a variety of habitats that include rock outcrops. Temperate reef habitats are important to many commercially important fishes inhabiting the Pacific coast, including canary rockfish (Sebastes pinniger) and yelloweye rockfish...
The vertical propagation of Coastal Trapped Waves (CTWs) due to subsurface ridges is explored with the help of linear numerical and analytical models. Results show that submerged ridges projecting from the shoreline can scatter a horizontally propagating single baroclinic mode Kelvin wave into both upward and downward propagating Kelvin wave...
The introduction of non-native species often results in fundamental changes in the structure and function of disturbed environments. In the Pacific Northwest (PNW), the introduced seagrass Zostera japonica is rapidly expanding in distribution, impacting stakeholders and public use of the intertidal. Z. japonica’s expansion has prompted a number of different...
Most authigenic carbonates previously recovered from the Cascadia slope have Sr-⁸⁷/Sr-⁸⁶ signatures that reflect shallow precipitation in equilibrium with coeval seawater. There is also evidence for carbonate formation supported by fluids that have been modified by reactions with the incoming Juan de Fuca plate (Sr-⁸⁷/⁸⁶(Sr) = 0.7071; Teichert et al.,...
An approach to climate change feedback analysis is described in which tropospheric relative humidity replaces specific humidity as the state variable that, along with the temperature structure, surface albedos, and clouds, controls the magnitude of the response of global mean surface temperature to a radiative forcing. Despite being simply a...
1. Globally, river systems have been extensively modified through alterations in riverscapes and flow regimes, reducing their capacity to absorb geophysical and environmental changes.
2. In western North America and elsewhere, alterations in natural flow regimes and swimways through dams, levees, and floodplain development, work in concert with fire regime,...
Geomagnetically Induced Currents (GICs) are quasi-DC signals that are induced in the ground during geomagnetic disturbances (GMDs) and pose a large threat to power grid infrastructure. The power industry currently attempts to mitigate GIC effects by utilizing 1-D ground electrical conductivity based electric field predictions, though conductivity can vary in...
Management goals for restoring populations of the federally-threatened northern spotted owl currently include experimental lethal removals of barred owls from demographic study areas within the overlapping ranges of the two species to examine northern spotted owl population response. As lethal removals of a bird species are time- and cost-intensive, predictive...
Crystal-rich (40-50 vol.%) intermediate lava has been the primary eruptive product of several recent hazardous eruptions: Mt. Pinatubo, Philippines (1991), Soufriere Hills, Montserrat (1995-present), and Unzen, Japan (1990-1995). Despite this association with such devastating eruptions, the formation, timing, and evacuation of such magma is not well understood: do such eruptions...
This document provides definitions and a general overview of streams and lakes of San Juan County (SJC) and then describes impacts to these water bodies and strategies for determining widths of buffers that protect their functions. It similarly provides definitions and a general overview of SJC upland (terrestrial) habitats, describes...
Cascadia’s 1700 earthquake generated a tsunami and widespread subsidence along Pacific Northwest coastline. The tsunami deposited sandy sediments in many Oregon coastal estuaries, such as Alsea Bay. Although the recurrence of subduction-generated megathrust earthquakes and tsunami events in this region are recorded in the stratigraphy, knowledge of the full inland...
In Oregon, commercial fishing is estimated to contribute $544 million in income and 10,000 jobs per year to coastal communities. However not all fisheries are reaching their allocated quotas for catch. In 2017, 187.6 million pounds of non-whiting groundfish trawl quota worth $67 million was not attained, nearly three times...
The rare earth elements (REEs) have been established as powerful tracers for a range of physiochemical processes occurring in the natural environment. They also hold significant economic importance as many technological advancements are reliant upon the REEs for their unique magnetic, luminescent, and electrochemical characteristics. In sedimentary settings, understanding the...
Education programs at zoos and aquariums provide opportunities for visitors to learn and garner information on animal natural history and, hopefully, conservation messaging. Fee-based programs (programs with an additional fee on top of admission prices), which are commonly employed by zoos and aquariums to foster learning opportunities for visitors, are...
Although calderas and the caldera cycle are well studied, the relationship between caldera-forming eruptions and post-caldera volcanism is poorly understood. The chemical characteristics of the erupted products suggest that two end member compositions are involved during resurgence: (1) remnant magma of similar composition to the magma of the climactic eruption;...
Effective forest governance is central to the efficient, sustainable, and equitable use of forest resources, yet challenges in assessing forest governance impede efforts to improve it. Contemporary forest governance involves decisions by multiple stakeholders across multiple sectors of economy and society, from local to global scales – making forest governance...
This dissertation works towards determining the mechanisms driving the Mo isotopic composition of soils, and how these signals may be used to refine the use of Mo as a proxy of biogeochemical processes. The first step towards quantifying Mo fractionation in soils is to determine the mechanisms controlling Mo accumulation,...
The Pastos Grandes Caldera Complex (PGCC) in southwest Bolivia has produced two large-volume (≥800 km³ DRE) dacite ignimbrites from a nested caldera source over a period of 5.5 Myr. In addition to the large-volume ignimbrites, a small-volume ignimbrite shield and post-climactic lavas define this composite system. Based on detailed field...
Maps from the report, "Modeling sea level rise impacts to Oregon’s tidal wetlands : Maps and prioritization tools to help plan for habitat conservation into the future."
Vertical transports of plankton, momentum, heat, and turbulence are modeled. A novel integration of high resolution turbulence and biophysical modeling is used to show the influence of a Kelvin-Helmholtz instability on the vertical migration of simple gyrotactic organisms. A viscous limit on mixing driven by shear turbulence is proposed. Large...
This Guidebook follows a holistic approach to adaptation planning called community-driven climate resilience planning. Community-driven climate resilience planning is “the process by which residents of vulnerable and impacted communities define for themselves the complex climate challenges they face, and the climate solutions most relevant to their unique assets and threats.”...
The Transboundary Freshwater Dispute Database (TFDD) is a multifaceted global database that began in 1996 and includes a collection of international freshwater treaties, a database of water conflict-cooperation events, and a spatial database. Delineations of transboundary international river basin boundaries are the focus of the spatial database of which population,...
Industrial emissions of SO₂ and NOₓ, resulting in the formation and deposition of sulfuric and nitric acids, affect the health of both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Since the mid-late 20th century, legislation to control acid rain precursors in both Europe and the US has led to significant declines in both...
Small rivers, such as those that line the Oregon coast, have been shown to deliver significant concentrations of suspended sediments and nutrients to estuaries and the coastal ocean during wet seasons during which winds are predominantly downwelling-favorable. The fate of the buoyant source water and of any suspended or dissolved...
This study uses semi-structured interviews and an online survey to explore the structure, challenges and outcomes of a five-year National Science Foundation-funded water scarcity modelling project in the Willamette River Basin of Oregon, USA. The research team chose to facilitate broader impacts by engaging stakeholders from the study’s inception (e.g....
As societies we face many environmental issues that need to be addressed through sound management. Whether in the terrestrial or marine environment, effective management techniques from natural resource management (NRM) agencies must be used continually to address these issues. Law enforcement has been used as one approach and an extension...
Oxidized hydrous intermediate composition magmas are responsible for porphyry copper (Cu ±Mo ±Au) deposits and epithermal Au ore deposits formed globally in the shallow crust (Sillitoe, 2010; Seedorff et al., 2005). Recently, zircon geochemistry has been used to characterize both productive and barren intrusions associated with porphyry Cu-Au ore deposits....
We sought to improve net ecosystem exchange (NEE) estimates for a tall, dense, mature Douglas-Fir forest in the Oregon Coast range characterized by weak flows, systematic wind directional shear, and limited turbulent mixing throughout the diurnal period. We used eddy covariance (EC) observations at two levels and concurrent biological measurements...
Western Saudi Arabia hosts a number of young volcanic fields, known as “Harrats”. Harrats cover a significant proportion of western Saudi Arabia and are associated with significant volcanic hazards. However, the ultimate cause of volcanic activity remains unclear. Younger volcanism (<12 Ma) is clearly represented by the north-south-trending region known...
The Altiplano-Puna Volcanic Complex in the Central Andes is one of the youngest large silicic volcanic fields (LSVFs) in the world, erupting over 13,000 km³ of material during multiple supereruptions from 11 to 1 Ma. Understanding the timescales over which magma is stored in the crust prior to eruption is...
Maps from the report, "Modeling sea level rise impacts to Oregon’s tidal wetlands : Maps and prioritization tools to help plan for habitat conservation into the future."
In situ observations of tidally driven turbulence were obtained in a small channel that transects the crest of the Mendocino Ridge, a site of mixed (diurnal and semidiurnal) tides. Diurnal tides are subinertial at this latitude, and once per day a trapped tide leads to large flows through the channel...
Analogous to ocean surface waves, waves in the ocean interior also experience steepening, breaking, and dissipation as they approach the coastline. Much less is known about this internal beach. In this work, extensive moored Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler and temperature/salinity data together with optical remote sensing are combined to describe...
Maps from the report, "Modeling sea level rise impacts to Oregon’s tidal wetlands : Maps and prioritization tools to help plan for habitat conservation into the future."
Maps from the report, "Modeling sea level rise impacts to Oregon’s tidal wetlands : Maps and prioritization tools to help plan for habitat conservation into the future."
Maps from the report, "Modeling sea level rise impacts to Oregon’s tidal wetlands : Maps and prioritization tools to help plan for habitat conservation into the future."