A high resolution stratospheric version of the NCAR Community Climate Model (CCM2) with an annual cycle was used to simulate the global transport and dispersion of the Pinatuboa aerosol cloud. A passive tracer was injected into the model stratosphere over the Philippines Islands on model day June15, and the transport...
The influence of irregular terrain on the evolution of the daytime
planetary boundary layer (PBL) and meso-β scale dry circulations is
studied using two three-dimensional hydrostatic σ-coordinate models
with different approaches for the PBL parameterizations; the 4-layer
model uses the mixed-layer (bulk-layer) approach, while the 7-layer
model adopts the eddy-diffusivity...
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...
Two studies were conducted involving rare earth elements. In the
first study, the use of rare earth diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid
(DTPA) complexes as stable actiable tracers, a method of stable-isotope
tracing with post-sampling neutron activation analysis, was explored.
The persistence of rare earth DTPA complexes in estuarine waters was
measured in...
The very stable boundary layer is a region of the atmosphere typified by large
vertical gradients of temperature and momentum. Analysis of very stable atmospheric
flows is complicated by the presence of nonlinear interactions among gravity waves, shear-driven
overturning circulations, two-dimensional vortical modes and intermittent turbulence
in various stages of...
The influence of boundary layer pumping on an externally-forced
synoptic-scale flow is examined. The results follow earlier theories of
stratified incompressible Boussinesq flow. These theories state that
the spin-down time scale and the penetration depth of the influence of
boundary layer pumping are inversely proportional to the stratification
and directly...
The numerical modeling of motions in the atmosphere's
planetary boundary layer (PBL) is a challenging task. In
general, the boundary layer interacts with both the overlying
atmosphere and the underlying land or water surface
in a complex manner. Random turbulence is also present in
the PBL which precludes exact prediction...
High resolution data of moisture, temperature and wind velocity
collected by aircraft during the 1975 Air Mass Transformation
Experiment (ANTEX '75) provide information for detailed investigations
of the phenomena occurring at the top of a cloud-topped mixed
layer.
Joint frequency diagrams of humidity and temperature reveal that
for parts of...
Two thermal convection problems of geophysical interest are
examined, theoretically. First, convection in the earth's mantle is
treated on the basis of a one-dimensional 'strip model'. This model
results from further simplification of the well known 'Rayleigh model'.
For homogeneous, Newtonian fluids, the strip model yields results
similar to those...
Mariner 9 and Viking spacecraft observations during the 1970's have provided
evidence for planetary-scale wave-like disturbances in the Mars atmosphere. It has
been suggested that possible sources of the wave activity are dynamical instabilities
(e.g., barotropic and/or baroclinic instabilities). An other candidate source is forced,
quasi-stationary planetary waves. In connection...
What affects the oceans affects terra firma. Ocean Solutions, Earth Solutions gathers the insights of more than 50 ocean and coastal science researchers exploring ocean components and their relationships, patterns, and trends over time and space. The book's 16 chapters feature geographic information system (GIS) best practices and include additional...
A two-scale approach for the turbulent mixing of momentum in an unstable stratified boundary layer is proposed in an attempt to eliminate existing inconsistencies between parameterized mixing of heat and momentum. The parameterization of the large eddy stress is suitable for simple boundary layer models where computational efficiency is important....
A shallow convection scheme is derived from several data sets
(BOMEX, GATE, AMTEX, BLX83) and developed for the OSU 1-D boundary
layer model. Results of the model structure and characteristics of
the saturation point (SP) profile are compared against the constant
cloud diffusivity scheme of Tiedtke (1983) and the ECMWF...
A baroclinic, convective mixed-layer was modeled, using
water, in a laboratory convection tank identical to that
used in the free convection study of Deardorff and Willis
(1985). Baroclinicity and mean-flow shearing were achieved
by tilting the tank by an angle of 1O⁰. The resulting
mechanical-production rate of turbulence kinetic energy...
The response of vertically averaged boundary layer flow to specified time-dependent pressure gradients is examined. The adjustment rate of the boundary layer flow to the pressure gradient field is found to be proportional to the strength of the coupling between the flow and boundary stresses. The angle between the steady...
Geophysical data collected in 1975 and 1976 reveal major
crustal and tectonic elements of the continental margin of southern
Baja California. Gravity, magnetic, seismic reflection and bathymetric data show seaward extension of the islands enclosing Magdalena
and Almejas Bays. A seismic reflection profile, oriented
approximately normal to the trend of...
Seismic refraction, reflection and gravity data obtained
across the Peru continental margin and Nazca Plate
at 9° S. permit a detailed determination of crustal structure.
Complex structures normal to the profile require the
development of a ray trace technique to analyze first and
later arrivals for eleven overlapping refraction lines....
Planetary or Rossby waves are the predominant way in which the ocean adjusts on long (year to decade) timescales. The motion of long planetary waves is westward, at speeds ≥1 cm s⁻¹ . Until recently, very few experimental investigations of such waves were possible because of scarce data. The advent...
Mariner 9 and Viking spacecraft observations provided evidence for planetary-scale, wavelike disturbances in the Mars winter atmosphere. Possible sources of the wave activity are dynamical instabilities, for example, barotropic and / or baroclinic instabilities. Other candidate sources are forced. quasi-stationary planetary waves—waves that arise predominantly via zonally asymmetric surface properties....
Published July 2000. A more recent revision exists. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog
Basaltic volcanism provides a window into the Earth’s mantle. Seeing through this window requires seeing through the processes of magma genesis and evolution that distort the view. Radiogenic isotope ratios, and to a lesser extent incompatible elements and stable isotope ratios, allow us to see through these distortions and infer...
Simple models of transpiration, e.g., the Penman-Monteith equation, treat atmospheric conditions as driving variables. In fact, transpiration modifies temperature and humidity throughout the convective boundary layer, creating feedbacks that stabilize the water use of vegetation. This thesis concentrates on the new empirical relationships proposed by Monteith (1995), for developing simple...
This thesis describes the development of a rare earth element (REE) proxy for paleoceanographic studies of climate change. This work was done in three stages with the goal: (1) To develop a cleaning method that overcomes the problems of REE readsorption; (2) To measure pore water REEs for evaluation of...
As GIS becomes more prominent in academic classrooms at all levels of education, the subject of geography and its related disciplines can be approached with a geospatial technology perspective, using new tools and lesson plans. The implementation of Google Earth in classrooms is just one example of this. Research was...
Many Earth science disciplines are currently experiencing the emergence of new ways of data
publication and the establishment of an information technology infrastructure for data archiving and
exchange. Building on efforts to standardize data and metadata publication in geochemistry [Staudigel et
al., 2002], here we discuss options for data publication,...
A mechanism by which long planetary waves in the ocean may propagate significantly faster than the classical long baroclinic Rossby waves is investigated. The mechanism depends on the poleward thickening of intermediate density layers and the concomitant thinning of near-surface and deep layers. These features of the mass distribution are...
The purpose of this paper is to understand how long planetary waves evolve when propagating in a subtropical gyre. The steady flow of a wind-driven vertically sheared model subtropical gyre is perturbed by Ekman pumping that is localized within a region of finite lateral extent and oscillates periodically at about...
This study evaluates the Earth Resources Technology Satellite-
One (ERTS-1) multispectral scanner (MSS) as a means of predicting
lacustrine trophic state and the magnitude of selected trophic state
indicators.
Numerical classificatory methods are employed to ascertain the
trophic character of 100 lakes in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan,
and New York using...
Seamounts are windows into the deep Earth that are helping to
elucidate various deep Earth processes. For example, thermal and mechanical
properties of oceanic lithosphere can be determined from the flexing of oceanic
crust caused by the growth of seamounts on top of it. Seamount trails also are
excellent recorders...
The Curiosity rover has analyzed various detrital sedimentary rocks at Gale Crater, among which fluvial and lacustrine rocks are predominant. Conglomerates correspond both to the coarsest sediments analyzed and the least modified by chemical alteration, enabling us to link their chemistry to that of source rocks on the Gale Crater...
Seismic refraction measurements along two unreversed lines
indicate that the earth's crust is 26 km thick in southeastern Alaska
and 30 km thick along the Inside Passage of British Columbia. The
crust in southeastern Alaska, north of Dixon Entrance, consists of
a layer 9 km thick with a seismic velocity...
“The Columbia River Watershed is one of the most
beautiful places on God’s Earth. Its mountains and
valleys, forests and meadows, rivers and deserts speak of
the presence of their Creator. Its farms and fisheries,
communities and cities, businesses and industries reveal
the varied ways in which people of the...
We consider long planetary waves of annual period linearized about a steady, wind-driven subtropical (ST) gyre circulation. The circulation divides the gyre into an eastern zone (EZ) where only the surface layer is in steady motion and a western zone (WZ) where both the surface and the middle layer are...
The steady Reynolds stress and turbulent energy equations for steady, horizontally homogeneous mean flow are used to relate the Reynolds stress u′w′ to the mean wind shear and heat fluxes in the planetary boundary layer.
The resulting Reynolds stress demonstrates a 3/2 power dependence on the stress Richardson number and...
This study examined the culture of Earth First!, an environmental
activist movement. The study was limited to two groups of Earth
First! in the Northwest, Corvallis and Eugene. The goal was to
discover what it is to be a communicatively competent member of Earth
First! The method used to address...
Our oceans surround us, and we depend upon them for food, transportation, and recreation. They affect us daily as they shape our climate and rattle our world with unexpected events. Current headlines indicate that they are in flux and perhaps in trouble. Coral reefs are dying due to rising ocean...
Satellite observations and idealized numerical studies reveal intensification of long-period (on the order of one cycle per year) waves in the western part of ocean basins. The authors explore the idea that the intensification is associated with the spatial growth of purely time periodic, but baroclinically unstable, motions. The framework...
Steady, longitudinally invariant, barotropic, boundary layer flow is numerically studied at low latitudes where advective accelerations may he large and the Coriolis parameter is small. Flow is generated by specifying the pressure gradient field independent of the flow.
It is found that as the flow approaches the equator, advective terms...
The large population of 2r>100m near earth objects (NEOs) presents a certain hazard to life on earth. It has been proposed that a nuclear device may be used to alter the course of such objects, thereby averting a catastrophic collision with the earth. The asteroid interdiction problem includes a number...
This study of the fortnightly Mf tide comprises three main topics: (1) a new determination of the fortnightly component of polar motion and length of day (LOD) from a multidecade time-series of observed space-geodetic data; (2) the use of the polar motion determination as one constraint in the development of...
During the early fall of 1998, I made contact with Therese Graf Tanalski
when I was searching for family members of deceased Hall of Fame
members. Therese grew up in Corvallis, attended OSU, and married a 1944
CE graduate, Theodore T. Tanalski.
During my conversations and correspondence with Mrs. Tanalski...
The southern San Andreas fault (SSAF) is the fault segment with the highest 30-year probability of causing a moderate to large magnitude earthquake in California, yet key structural characteristics of the fault remain unconstrained, particularly in the Coachella Valley where the fault splits into the Banning (BF) and Mission Creek...
The Cascadia subduction zone has been characterized as a typical Chilean-type
subduction zone based on qualitative comparisons of plate age and convergence rate, with
simple forearc structure. However, the discovery of unusual structural styles of
deformation, variations in the morphology of the forearc, and its absence of seismic activity
suggest...
American Literature, previous to the Civil War, is
of necessity confined closely to the writers and writings
of New England and New York. At present however a gradual widening of the literary field may be clearly discernible. The South and West now contribute their share,
and no one can truly...
The goals of this dissertation are centered on understanding changes in Earth surface and climate systems through the use of geologic proxies as records of past changes in these systems. Specifically, this dissertation (1) establishes a new chronology for retreat of the Ross Sea sector of the West Antarctic Ice...
At collisional mountain ranges the tectonic history of crustal shortening and
subsequent post-collisional erosion is preserved in the form of the presently observed
gravity anomalies. In this study, models of erosion and isostatic rebound at various stages
of collision illustrate the evolution of crustal structure, topography, and resulting gravity
anomalies....
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...
Surface and subsurface data from the Sulaiman thrust belt show that nearly all
the 10 km thick sequence of dominantly platform (>7 km) and molasse strata is detached
at the deformation front. These strata thicken tectonically to a minimum of 20 km in the
hinterland of the Sulaiman fold belt...
Urban areas currently cover a small fraction of Oregon’s landscape but will expand to accommodate an increasingly large proportion of the state’s growing population and economic activity. Residential developments on rural lands now cover more than twice the area occupied by Oregon’s urban developments and are growing rapidly. Oregon urban...
Observations of Earth’s magnetic field extending back to 3.45 billion years ago indicate that generation by a core dynamo must be sustained over most of Earth’s history. However, recent estimates of thermal and electrical conductivity of liquid iron at core conditions from mineral physics experiments indicate that adiabatic heat flux...
Earth’s mantle extends to nearly 3000 km depth, comprises >80 % of Earth’s total volume, and has the largest influence on the primordial and radiogenic heat budget. Despite its importance, the structure and composition of the mantle is still debated. There are three primary models for Earth’s mantle structure that...
A carefully calibrated primitive-equation model from 41°N to 48°N is used to study the poleward undercurrent off the US west coast. Chapter 2 describes poleward flow over the slope from Eulerian and Lagrangian perspectives. The model is robust, in the sense of several characteristics being qualitatively consistent with observational and...
A wave-by-wave forecasting system is desired for optimization of wave energy conversion devices and for improving safety of vessel-based marine operations. This study outlines the first validation attempts of a recently developed forecasting system called Wavecast. The forecasting approach uses X-Band marine radar images for data assimilation, then reconstructs and...
During four cruises in July and September of 2008 and 2009, the shipboard X-band radar was tuned to detect the modulated bands of surface roughness caused by converging and diverging currents associated with high-frequency nonlinear internal wave (NLIW) packets. The data collected was used to quantify the propagation direction (ϴp),...
Plant-pollinator mutualisms are one of the most prevalent and economically important mutualisms in nature. Like many other ecological systems, plant-pollinator communities are threatened by anthropogenic activity, both directly (e.g., habitat conversion and fragmentation) and indirectly (e.g., climate change). While we are aware of many of the activities that adversely impact...
In twentieth century America, women continue the age-old struggle for recognition
as whole, intelligent individuals, not just an "other," less hearty, less deserving
or less capable being than man. Sarah Grimke spoke of the inequalities over 150 years
ago during the abolitionist movement when she compiled her major arguments into...
Variability in the terrigenous (land-derived) fraction of marine sediments,
including pollen and rock fragments, reflects the effects of regional climate change on
continentally derived runoff, ice extent, vegetation and ocean circulation. The transport of
this continental material to the seafloor must be understood in order to interpret the
terrigenous sediment...
The constant increase in marine traffic requires a strategy to manage safety. The automatic identification system (AIS) was developed as a navigation safety device for ships in the 1990s. AIS is intended, primarily, to allow ships to view marine traffic in their area and to be seen by that traffic....
This report, required by state law under HB3543, provides a comprehensive assessment of the state of science of climate change as it pertains to Oregon, covering the physical, biological, and social dimensions. The first chapter summarizes the current state of knowledge of physical changes in climate and hydrology, focusing on...
Uncertainties in general circulation model (GCM) representations of marine boundary layer (MBL) shallow cloud cover contribute substantially to the spread in model predictions of future climate. Further uncertainties in GCM output arise from an incomplete understanding of cloud-aerosol interactions. For example, the Fifth Assessment Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on...
The physical interpretation of simultaneous multiangle observations represents a relatively new approach to remote
sensing of terrestrial geophysical and biophysical parameters. Multiangle measurements enable retrieval of physical scene
characteristics, such as aerosol type, cloud morphology and height, and land cover (e.g., vegetation canopy type), providing
improved albedo accuracies as well...
Sororities play an important role in the process by which sorority women become gendered by influencing members' ideas about what it means to be a woman. Women and men become gendered through regular social interaction with other women and men, and sororities have a particularly strong impact on their members...
The ability of nanoparticles (NPs) to induce oxidative stress on organisms has been linked to NP cytotoxicity and genotoxicity for a variety of organisms. One proposed mechanism of this increased oxidative stress is the ability of NPs to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS). Due to the dynamic nature and small...
The Earth’s surface is experiencing unprecedented change. Humanity’s growing population, expanding land-use footprint, and increasing global emissions of atmospheric greenhouse gases affect a vast number of species on Earth and the functioning of virtually all ecosystems. Given the vital interactions and feedbacks between the Earth’s land surface and climate, measurements...
The 4.59-4.18 Ma Caspana ignimbrite, found within the Altiplano-Puna Volcanic Complex (APVC), is the result of an ~8km3 eruption that took place during the Neogene Ignimbrite Flare-up in the N. Chilean Andes. While most of the eruptions during this flare up are large, monogenetic eruptions, the Caspana that is characterized...
Sedimentary records from the North Atlantic, instrumental in the development of modern paleo-geomagnetic concepts, show a highly variable field even during times of constant polarity. Yet, our understanding of how the magnetization is acquired in the sediments is poorly understood. Primary magnetizations preserved in deep-sea sediments are known to be...
Nitrous oxide is an important greenhouse gas that has both natural and anthropogenic sources in the modern atmosphere (Ciais et al., 2013). This project expanded the knowledge of the history of atmospheric N2O in the geologic past by measuring N2O concentrations in air trapped in very old polar ice. A...
Modern science was produced by a Christian society,
and although science has had an effect on Christianity, it
could not itself remain unaffected. In the second half of
the nineteenth century, the subject of evolution was as
much a religious as a scientific issue. The battle line
was drawn and...
Large igneous provinces (LIPs) and intraplate seamounts reflect of anomalous mantle melting and illuminate interior processes of the Earth. These features are in all ocean basins and show the mantle’s evolution over time, then can provide information on plate tectonic processes, such as plate motion over time, spreading ridge formation,...
Stratigraphy and chronology are essential to sedimentological study of Earth system histories. And, stratigraphy and chronology are often challenging and interesting problems themselves. The Quaternary (2.588 Ma - present) experienced paleoenvironmental and paleo-geomagnetic variability well outside the range of the recent instrumental record, providing the opportunity to place recent observations...
The City of Newport (City) plans to develop a tsunami evacuation site to serve the
South Beach area. The proposed site consists of an undeveloped hill located
adjacent to Highway 101, southwest of the Yaquina Bay Bridge (Figure 1A,
Appendix A). The site will be designated Safe Haven Hill. This...
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Science Center located ±2,500 feet to the northeast,
and a series of borings (up to ±141.5 feet deep) for
Burial Lake sediments from the Noatak Basin in the northwest Brooks Range of Arctic Alaska (68.43°N, 159.17°W, 21.5 m water depth) provide the oldest continuous lacustrine record of paleo-environmental change and paleomagnetic secular variation (PSV) in eastern Beringia. A precise radiocarbon chronology, determined through accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) allows us...
The Global Overturning Circulation (GOC) is a major component of the global climate system. Understanding its behavior is pertinent to our prediction of climate change in the future. The lack of long-term observations of GOC in the modern instrumental era necessitates studies of GOC using paleoceanographic records. Of great interest...
The Caribbean Plateau is an oceanic large igneous province (CLIP). A widely accepted model for LIP petrogenesis proposes that these large bodies of igneous rock are formed by decompression melting associated with upwelling mantle plume heads during the initiation of hotspot activity. According to this classical model, petrogenesis occurs over...
Climate model simulations and paleoclimate proxies are two tools that enable an understanding of the climate history of the Earth. When utilized together, they form a powerful paradigm for understanding past changes. Proxies are the only physical link to the past conditions on Earth, and models “fill in the gaps”...
This study examines dissolved rhenium (Re) as a function of water runoff using river samples from two contrasting watersheds, the Eel and Umpqua Rivers in the Pacific Northwest, USA. These watersheds share many key characteristics in terms of size, discharge, climate, and vegetation, but they have a 10-fold difference in...
Many trace elements (e.g., Zn, Cd, Mo) are essential phytoplankton micronutrients, making them crucial to the marine ecosystem and ultimately the carbon cycle. Because of this association trace metals are also utilized in paleoceanographic studies (e.g., Mo, Cd). However, not much is known about what controls the cycling of these...
The results presented in this dissertation address a number of questions regarding late Pleistocene and Holocene ice-sheet and climate interactions, spanning disciplines involving paleoclimatology and atmospheric science. These studies use various techniques in geochemistry, climate modeling, and ice-sheet modeling to address ice- sheet response to climate and the attendant interactions...
The production of carbon and export to deep ocean sediments is linked to carbon partitioning between the ocean and atmosphere and is a key driver of climate change over the glacial-interglacial transition. Yet conflicting reconstructions create barriers to understanding changes to the carbon system over this important climate transition. Production...
Magnetotellurics is used in two geologic settings on scales ranging from 1000-km tectonic structures to local features hundreds of meters wide. These areas are the Midcontinent Rift System (MRS) and its related mantle plume in the northern Midwestern United States and Newberry Volcano in central Oregon.
The MRS study uses...
The low-level baroclinic eddy activity seen in the NASA Ames Mars General Circulation Model (MGCM) for simulations under three annual dust cycles are characterized. Simulations were conducted with both radiatively active and radiatively inert clouds (RAC and non-RAC, respectively) for 11 continuous annual cycles for each dust case. Model results...
The South Pole ice core (SPC14), drilled in the field seasons of 2014/2015 and 2015/2016, is an intermediate length, 1,751-m ice core which preserves a 54,000-year record of past climate and atmospheric composition. The SPC14 ice core adds to the spatial grid of ice cores in Antarctica extending into the...
The discovery on Mars of recurring slope lineae (RSL), thought to represent seasonal brines, has sparked interest in analogous environments on Earth. We report on new studies of Don Juan Pond (DJP), which exists at the upper limit of ephemeral water in the McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDV) of Antarctica, and...
The south central Chilean margin is one of the most seismically active subduction zones on Earth, generating some of the largest earthquakes on the planet, including the largest ever recorded in 1960 near Valdivia, Chile (Mw 9.5). Using the 15 km streamer and 6600 in3 tuned seismic airgun array aboard...
Methane is a product of biogeochemical processes which respond to changes in climate. The history of atmospheric methane is recorded by ice cores providing insight into past changes in these biogeochemical processes. This dissertation is comprised of three studies which focus on centennial- and millenial-scale variability of methane from ice...
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...
The albedo of Arctic sea ice depends greatly on the formation of melt ponds. These ponds form in depressions on the ice as surface snow melts during the summer months, and their location is determined mainly by the initial snow topography. Using a high resolution sea ice model forced with...
Twenty years ago, the creation of a new scientific program, the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO), funded by the Packard Foundation, provided the opportunity to integrate—from the outset—research, monitoring, and outreach to the public, policymakers, and managers. PISCO’s outreach efforts were initially focused primarily on sharing scientific...
Understanding how the latitudinal distribution of methane sources changed between stadial and interstadial climate states during the last glacial period can provide important clues about how terrestrial hydroclimate and ecosystems evolved between these different states. The punctuation of the millennial-scale structure by Heinrich events is also of interest in this...
This thesis describes the results of a linear stability analysis conducted on a simulated wind-forced ocean front. The ocean surface boundary layer regulates exchanges between the ocean and atmosphere, and the presence of turbulence in the surface layer can greatly impact climate and ocean life. Past research has shown that...
The southwest monsoon, which may be idealized as the northward movement of the intertropical convergence zone in the Indian Ocean associated with differential heating of land and ocean, brings a seasonal reversal of currents and winds in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. Atmospheric convection from monsoon activity...