Sea surface temperature variations along the entire U.S. East Coast from 1875 to 2007 are characterized using a collection of historical observations from lighthouses and lightships combined with recent buoy and shore-based measurements. Long-term coastal temperature trends are warming in the Gulf of Maine [1.0° ± 0.3°C (100 yr)⁻¹] and...
The intraseasonal variability of turbulent surface heat fluxes over the Gulf Stream extension and subtropical mode water regions of the North Atlantic, and long-term trends in these fluxes, are explored using NCEP–NCAR reanalysis. Wintertime sensible and latent heat fluxes from these surface waters are characterized by episodic high flux events...
Borehole temperature profiles provide a record of ground surface temperature (GST)
change at the decadal to centennial time scale. GST histories reconstructed from boreholes
are particularly useful in climate reconstruction if changes in GST and surface air
temperature (SAT) are effectively coupled at decadal and longer time periods and it...
We examine the relation between δ¹⁸O in rainwater collected in southwestern Oregon
and climate variables including temperature, parcel trajectory, precipitation amount, and
specific humidity. Local surface air temperature at the time of sample collection explains a
large proportion of δ¹⁸O variability, suggesting that paleoclimatic archives that are related
to rainfall...
BaCuChF (Ch=S,Se,Te) surfaces and BaCuSeF interfaces with zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) were studied by photoelectron spectroscopy. BaCuChF compounds oxidize when exposed to ambient atmosphere. Se capping layers were studied as a means to produce representative surfaces for photoelectron spectroscopic measurements. Decapped BaCuSeF surfaces remain O-free and C-free when the Se layer...
Time‐dependent buoyant plumes form at the outflow of tidally dominated estuaries. When estuary discharge velocity exceeds plume internal wave speed c, a sharp front forms at the plume’s leading edge that expands from the time‐dependent source. Using observations of the Columbia River tidal plume from multiple tidal cycles we characterize...
Test taking is a humiliating experience for many students, with no perceived direct educational benefit. That need not be so. When circumstances allow, I use a two-pen method of collaborative testing. Students have told me that they leave the exam having figured out what they didn’t understand, filled in the...
Accurate methods are needed to measure changing soil water content from meter to kilometer scales. Laboratory results demonstrate the feasibility of the heat pulse method implemented with fiber optic temperature sensing to obtain accurate distributed measurements of soil water content. A fiber optic cable with an electrically conductive armoring was...
Through its role in the energy and water balances at the land surface, soil moisture is a key state variable in surface hydrology and land-atmosphere interactions. Point observations of soil moisture are easy to make using established methods such as time domain reflectometry and gravimetric sampling. However, monitoring large-scale variability...
A numerical study on the dynamic response of a generic rigid water-landing object (WLO) during water impact is presented in this paper. The effect of this impact is often prominent in the design phase of the re-entry project to determine the maximum force for material strength determination to ensure structural...
Ocean Wave Energy Converters (OWECs) operating on
the water surface are subject to storms and other extreme
events. In particular, high and steep waves, especially
breaking waves, are likely the most dangerous to OWECs. A
method for quantifying the breaking severity of waves is
presented and applied to wave data...
An experimental study of the dynamics of a generic rigid body during water impact and an equivalent-radius approximate analytical procedure is developed and calibrated in this study. The experimental tests in a wave basin covered a range of drop heights using a 1/6th-scale model of a practical water-landing object prototype...