Contracts and Grants Administered
July 1, 2006 - June 30, 2007
Andrew Ballantine 1/3/2006-1/2/2007 $58,778
Oliver Chadwick 1/25/2007-1/26/2008 $59,895
US Geological Survey, 06CRSA0068 (BAP01)
US Geological Survey, 07CRSA0146 (BAP02)
Inventory of North American Dust Sources
This project will focus on the synthesis of data bearing on North American dust-source areas and will provide documentation of major dust storms that have occurred within the past decade. The data synthesis includes collaborations on interpretations of conditions that promote or suppress dust emission. The end result will be a database that can be searched by a range of key variables such as date of event, location, geographic region, likely source landform, etc. As an essential component of this work, each source type will be classified by landform (e.g., playa, loess deposit, outwash plain, etc.) to help identify the role of geomorphology and soils in dust emissions at the regional scale. The type of weather event generating the dust storm will also be identified to aid in the prediction of dust events based on their atmospheric drivers.
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Oliver Chadwick 9/15/2004-9/14/2007 $72,000
Nina Kilham
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NNG04GQ81H (MLN04)
Fellowship: Quantifying Connectivity Between Floodplain Overbank Sedimentation and Patterns of Inundation Hydrology, Implications for Contaminant Transport on Large Rivers
Spatially distributed datasets of sediment deposition on floodplains are limited, constraining numerical modeling of this process. I am using two remotely derived datasets to model floodplain deposition from three recent floods on the Feather River, Northern California. LiDAR topographic data provides the base for the floodplain flow and sediment transport model (TELEMAC), and maps of surface suspended sediment concentration (mg/L) derived from Landsat and SPOT reflectance data are being used as inputs to and for verification of the model. These two datasets are expected to improve the numerical model predictions by specifically accounting for the known influence of floodplain microtopography, and the spatially varying patterns of sediment in transport. Model results will also be compared to rates and patterns of floodplain deposition measured from a 210Pb analysis of cores collected at several locations on the floodplain. The fate of contaminants associated with fine sediment mirrors the patterns of sediment deposition, and thus methods such as these can be used to identify locations of contaminant deposition in sensitive riparian ecosystems.
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Chris Costello 9/1/2004-8/31/2008 $206,497
Stanford University, 13260830-30242-E (CCJP02)
Linking human and biophysical processes in coastal marine ecosystems of Baja California
The objective of this research is to understand the factors primarily responsible for the success or failure of small-scale fisheries off Baja California, Mexico. Two prototypical fisheries that will be examined are the lobster and abalone. The lobster fishery has seen record, seemingly sustainable catches in recent years, while abalone seem to be on a trajectory towards economic extinction. UCSB will focus on the modeling efforts for this research, including developing simulation-based bioeconomic models as well as econometric (statistical) empirical models.
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Chris Costello 9/1/2004-8/31/2009 $126,458
University of Washington, 892006 (CCJP01)
Developing Sustainable Fisheries by Coupling Natural and Human Components of Biocomplexity
The objective of this research is to better understand how heterogeneity in the life strategies of fish, coupled with heterogeneity in the strategies and dynamics of processors and fishermen, combine to affect the sustainability and long-run success of the Bristol Bay Alaska Salmon fisheries. Both analytical and simulation-based models of fishery management under uncertainty with heterogeneous actors will be developed, and will extend current work using dynamic stochastic programming to solve these kinds of problems. In addition, the team will run models of human (fisherman) behavior and the dynamics of fish processors. A key innovation of this research is the integration of uncertainty, optimal harvesting, and individual dynamics of the agents involved.
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Frank Davis 5/1/2004-3/31/2008 $146,976
Cal Conservation Development, MGC-04-02B (DFP37)
Dynamic Ecosystem Modeling for California
This project is one component of a PIER-funded effort to model biotic response to climate change in California. This work will complement and integrate with work being performed by other parts of the PIER-funded team, including the South African team responsible for the development of the model itself. The overall goal of the effort is the development of the BioMove model to a fully operational, fully tested and parameterized model for impact prediction in six target ecosystems in California. The work to be performed at UCSB will focus on data gathering and parameterization of the BioMove model and working closely with the South African team to iteratively test the model with the parameterization data.
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Frank Davis 11/1/2006-4/30/2008 $67,119
National Council for Science and the Environment, SB070067 (DFP41)
A distributed graduate seminar to analyze the priorities, obstacles and opportunities that exist for the implementation of U.S. State wildlife action plans
Each of the states and territories has completed State Wildlife Action Plans to become eligible for federal funding. Developed more or less independently by each state, collectively the plans articulate the nation’s conservation priorities based on each state’s views of social goals, biological status and trends, threats and opportunities. A recent review of the plans by the Defenders of Wildlife concluded that they were particularly successful in the assessment phase but were relatively weak in their strategic component and often failed to follow the guidance of the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. As the plans approach the implementation phase, there is a great need to identify common threads of a national conservation vision, identify potential implementation partnerships, and economic, policy, legal, and social challenges and opportunities to achieving the plans visions. Given the time and financial constraints imposed by WHPRP, it is beyond the capacity of a single entity to complete a synthesis of this magnitude. Therefore this effort will organize a multi-university distributed graduate seminar in which students from several disciplines will review plans and interview relevant parties. The seminars will be administered by the Donald Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at the University of California Santa Barbara based upon the model developed at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis for analyzing habitat conservation plans, recovery plans, and ecosystem-based management plans. Each participating university will be responsible for a synoptic analysis of all state plans from their geographic region and a detailed analysis of a sample of those plans. This work will be a one-year effort in three phases. First we will convene an advisory group of conservation professionals to help us refine the set of research questions. Second, the 6-8 participating universities will evaluate the plans. Third, we will synthesize the results and present our findings to conservation practitioners following a review by the advisory group. Our objective is not to deconstruct the plans; rather, we will identify intra- and inter-state scientific, economic, legal and cultural hurdles and opportunities to achieving the conservation visions that the plans embody and identify pathways towards effective implementation. We intend to deliver a final report with specific recommendations, a series of presentations to managers and practitioners, a national list of Species of Greatest Conservation Need, and a web site to publish the data, analyses, recommendations, and examples of best practices.
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Frank Davis 1/15/2006-6/30/2008 $138,970
National Science Foundation, 0527286 (DFF02)
DHB - Collaborative Research: Modeling the Spatial Dynamics and Environmental and Resource Impacts of U.S. Metropolitan Growth and Change
Between now and 2050, the population of the United States will likely grow by 120 million people according to the middle-series projections published by the U.S. Census Bureau. The Census Bureau periodically expends significant time and effort projecting how many Americans there will be in the future and what demographic and ethnic groups they may belong to – and for the most part, it does so with enviable transparency and accuracy. What the Census Bureau does not do, indeed cannot do, is figure out where and how these future Americans will live, work and play.
In many ways, the where and how side of the future may be more important than the how many side. To the extent that future spatial development patterns mirror those of the recent past, most of the increase in the U.S. population will occur at the edges of existing metropolitan areas, and at densities that are substantially below those of older cities and regions. This decentralized, suburban form of population and job growth will put ever greater pressure on existing infrastructure systems, on the natural ecology, on existing governance structures, and on existing urban communities – just as it has for the last 100 years. Should the spatial pattern of population growth instead favor existing metropolitan centers, the issues will be different, though no less pressing.
Understanding and projecting future development locations and forms has never been a major national priority in the U.S. It has generally been left to city, county, and now, in some instances, metropolitan governments to figure out where and how they are likely to grow. A few states have tried to address issues of spatial development, either as a matter of resource conservation or infrastructure planning, but such inquiries are usually occasional, are rarely enduring, and even more rarely, are informed by social science. Except for a very few cases (Fulton, Pendall, Nguyen, and Harrison 2001; Galster 2001), there have been no national studies of the spatial extent, patterns and impacts of population growth in America. Popular discussions to the contrary, the spatial drivers and dimensions of sprawl, neighborhood change, resource loss, and urban revitalization – and the degree to which such patterns and drivers are common across different regions and metropolitan areas – remain poorly understood. This project seeks to remedy this situation by: (i) Building a comprehensive national spatial database for measuring the extent, patterns, and environmental and resource impacts of metropolitan population growth in America; (ii) Using that database to statistically identifying key and common drivers of metropolitan growth across all continental U.S. regions and metropolitan areas; (iii) Building a series of GIS-based models for projecting and simulating alternative future patterns and densities of U.S. population growth; and, (iv) Exploring the impacts of at least three alternative development scenarios on the natural landscape and ecology, on urban energy and water use, and on vehicle miles of travel – a major correlate with urban air pollution.
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Frank Davis 8/1/2005-7/31/2007 $57,758
University of California, MCA-016796-01 (DFP40)
Adaptive management of Phytophthora ramorum in the Big Sur Ecoregion
This project will focus on the impacts of sudden oak death on ecosystem composition and dynamics by examining changes in forest cover and recruitment over the Big Sur area due to P. ramorum-associated tree mortality and other processes. This will be accomplished using the plot network established to meet other project objectives. Additionally, changes in forest composition due to cascading effects of P. ramorum establishment will also be documented and other researchers will be encouraged to utilize the plot/monitoring network to examine additional ecological hypotheses with a range of organisms.
To document landscape change, archival panchromatic aerial photographs held by UC Santa Cruz and UC Santa Barbara map libraries will be digitally scanned, geo-referenced to match USGS digital ortho-rectified photos, and integrated into a GIS for mapping and spatial analysis. Within the GIS, we will measure the area and spatial arrangement (e.g. density, patchiness, connectivity) of forest cover and different land uses as will be done for the recent aerial imagery. From these datasets, we will statistically examine the nature and degree to which historical forest cover and land use contrast current conditions.
Impacts caused by P. ramorum must be put into context with other historical and current agents that influence the dynamics of these forests. To do so we will expand plot sampling for plant community structure and composition into areas with and without P. ramorum in a hierarchical chronosequence design across topoclimatic gradients (local scale) and vegetation mosaics (landscape scale). The sampling will include mixed evergreen forests of the Los Padres National Forest from the southern limit in the Santa Ynez Mountains to the Carmel area. Stratified samples will be allocated based on fire history records, archival photography, and GIS information on geology, soils, land cover and topography (elevation, modeled radiation and water flow accumulation paths). Plot sampling will include cover of all vascular species and will follow USFS procedures for ecosystem analysis and classification. Community composition will be quantified and contrasted using multivariate ordination and classification methods. Community composition and dynamics will also be evaluated in terms of the landscape metrics described previously.
Changes in SOD-affected sites have the potential to affect subsequent disturbance dynamics in adjacent undisturbed areas as well. To explore these ideas, plant community and tree population dynamics in SOD-affected and SOD-free areas will be modeled using plot and photo data, markov transition models and stage-based leslie matrices. These quantitative models will help in conceptualizing the forest ecosystem for devising and comparing alternative adaptive management strategies.
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Frank Davis 12/15/2004-12/14/2007 $390,000
David Stoms
US Department of Agriculture, 2005-35401-15320 (DFP39)
Cost-effective Farmland Preservation: A Framework for Collaborative Planning in Rural Communities
Many rural communities facing the loss of their agricultural heritage use market interventions such as conservation easements. Simple scoring methods are often used to rank farms for conservation action. These methods generally do not consider all the benefits that farmland provides nor do they appropriately measure the expected benefit of conservation action to achieve social goals cost-effectively. They also tend to be rigid in applying scientific information so that it is difficult to address competing social values in a collaborative planning process. Our research team recently developed a conceptual framework to rectify these limitations (Machado et al. 2003). The specific objective of this mission-related proposal is to implement this framework by developing GIS-based methodology for all criteria for farmland conservation value and improving the multicriteria evaluation methods for combining criteria scores. The project addresses two USDA issues 1) Agricultural Opportunity and Rural Prosperity (threats to rural communities and opportunities to preserve their character) and 2) Natural Resources and Environmental Quality (maintaining ecosystem values provided by agricultural lands). With guidance from an advisory group, we will synthesize current understanding of the criteria important to society and develop GIS-based procedures for converting spatial data into criteria scores that represent that social value and how it varies over the landscape. The advisory group will ensure that the methodology balances best available science with practicality for implementation. The project will produce tutorials so that rural planners can apply the approach.
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Jeff Dozier 2/1/2004-7/31/2009 $2,512,322
James Frew
Jiancheng Shi
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NNG04GC52A (DJN09)
Multi-Resolution Snow Products for the Hydrologic Sciences
For three decades satellite remote sensing instruments operating at visible, near-infrared, and microwave wavelengths have measured snow properties. In all snow products, and in remote sensing in general, there is a tradeoff between spatial resolution and swath width (and thus frequency of observations). Because most hydrologic applications require regular, frequent measurements, the instruments that provide the bulk of the data used have been AVHRR and MODIS in the optical part of the spectrum, with spatial resolutions of 1.1km and 500m at nadir, and the passive microwave sensors, with spatial resolutions of tens of kilometers. Because snow-covered area usually varies at a spatial scale finer than that of the resolution of the remote sensing instrument (i.e., the ground instantaneous field-of-view), this subpixel heterogeneity introduces artifacts into the measurements. The sensors usually measure radiation reflected or emitted from a mixture of snow, rock, soil, and vegetation. We contend that the errors introduced by subpixel heterogeneity can be systematic, and therefore they are not always eliminated by integrating over many pixels. We propose to develop a new set of products—snowcovered area, albedo, and snow-water equivalence—that fuse optical (MODIS, AVHRR) and microwave data (SSM/R, SSM/I, AMSR-E, and AMSR) and that incorporate spatial heterogeneity into the analysis. Data product creation and distribution will be provided through a local infrastructure for Earth science product management: a technology suite we call the Earth System Science Server (ES-cubed), an environment for managing the creation, maintenance, updating, and dissemination of Earth science data products.
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Jeff Dozier 4/1/2006-3/31/2008 $93,977
National Science Foundation, EAR-0537327 (DJF01)
Sintering in Snow and the Possible Role of Soluble Impurities
We examined well-sintered, mid-winter snow from Mammoth Mountain, California using an environmental scanning electron microscope equipped with cold stage. Ring-like filaments were observed at all grain boundaries in a highly sublimated, sputter-coated sample two days after collection, through filaments were much harder to find in uncoated samples. Filaments appeared in uncoated specimens from the same snow sample five months later, through x-ray microanalysis failed to detect soluble impurities in the filaments, grain boundary grooves or on ice grain surfaces above background noise levels. After eight months in storage and under forced sublimation in high vacuum, the same sample produced not only grain boundary filaments but complex, web-like structures, nodules and films that, in extreme cases, formed castings of completely sublimated snow grains. Energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry reveals that the filaments and webs are composed of the same set of light elements typical of the soluble impurities in Sierra snow. The spectra also reveal significant spatial variability in element ratios. Impurities probably concentrate in a quasi-liquid layer at the air/ice interface and in the disordered grain boundary region where crystal lattices are disoriented. If concentrated at grain boundaries these light elements could act as dopants, reducing grain boundary energy, reducing melting temperatures and promoting the sintering process.
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Jeff Dozier 9/1/2006-8/31/2008 $20,000
University of California, Merced, EAR-0326064 UCSB (DJP09)
Observation design in the mountain west: Scaling measurements and modeling in the San Joaquin Valley and Sierra Nevada.
The primary tasks in this project involves the preparation of datasets, as follows:
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Tom Dunne 6/1/2006-5/31/2009 $1,400,000
Frank Davis
Hunter Lenihan
Bruce Kendall
CalFed Bay-Delta Program, U-05-SC-058 (TDW02/DFW05/LHW01/KBW01)
How Abiotic Processes, Biotic Processes, and Their Interactions Sustain Habitat Characteristics and Functions in River Channels and their Floodplains: An Investigation of the Response of a Gravel-Bed Reach of the Merced River to Restoration
Understanding how conservation and restoration interventions influence biological resources in California rivers is a key objective of state and federal resource agencies. The prevailing paradigm for river restoration within central California, and specifically within the California Bay-Delta Restoration Program, is that establishment of a naturalized, self-regulating, alluvial river channel, connected to its floodplain, will produce a cascade of benefits through the re-establishment of spawning and rearing conditions, initially for salmon, and coincidentally for the successful development of a number of other native aquatic, riparian, and floodplain organisms. Based upon decades of study by the community of aquatic ecologists and river restoration professionals in California, summarized in both the scientific literature and in various resource assessments and baseline survey reports [e.g. Stillwater Sciences, 2001, 2002; Trush et al., 2000], it has been proposed that a self-regulating alluvial river, supporting a diversity and abundance of native species including salmonids, has the following components:
• Unconstrained banks that allow the river channel to migrate laterally to create, maintain, and rejuvenate pools (rearing habitat), point bars (shallow margin rearing habitat), riffles (spawning habitat), and floodplains (riparian and terrestrial habitat).
• A gravel-bottomed river that is mobilized and redeposited frequently enough to destroy, create, and maintain sufficient spawning and rearing habitat.
• Temporal patterns of flow conditions, sediment loads, water quality, and water temperatures that favor the long-term survival of numerous native species whose life cycles are adjusted to these variations.
This conceptual framework constitutes the richest and most thoroughly elaborated paradigm available to river restoration professionals for re-establishing the linkages between what was formerly a dynamic physical environment and the biogeochemical and biological processes that yielded the biodiversity and productivity which are now diminished. However, it is essentially a qualitative model, conceptualized through comparative studies and informal observations in several rivers. We are not aware of any published quantitative study of the process linkages underlying this broad conceptual model. a fact that hinders its application to planning, design, and assessment of restoration projects. Now that some examples of the paradigm have been implemented, it is possible to use them to:
• refine and elaborate some of the original design concepts,
• answer questions about the desired biological responses by expanding studies of fish, invertebrates, and plants,
• quantify the strengths of the hypothesized linkages between abiotic and biotic processes as the river systems evolve after restoration,
• quantify how the reach-scale changes operate within the larger river systems in which they are nested.
The project utilizes a ~5 km long reach of the Merced River as an outdoor, natural-scale laboratory in which to observe, model, and test hypotheses about the linkages between geomorphic and hydrologic conditions and processes and the creation and maintenance of biological habitat.
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Tom Dunne 08/01/2005-10/31/2007 $49,643
John Melack
Ohio State University, 60003833 (TDP04)
Hydrologic Modeling of the Central Amazon Basin Using Remotely Sensed Data
This project includes selection and interferometric processing of archived JERS-1 data and a field campaign to measure floodplain water level changes. Selection of interferometric pairs will depend on interferometric temporal and physical baselines with a preference for the smallest physical baselines to help reduce any topographic phase signal and temporal baselines covering inundation and recessional periods. The field campaign will be conducted by a Brazilian colleague and will focus on key floodplain reaches, such as the Cabaliana region, and will include bi-weekly to monthly measurements of h/t at dozens of locations extending from the main channel to the backwater floodplain areas. Measurements will be recorded during four months of inundation and four months of recession. Together, these data sets will provide the temporal and spatial sequence of Qsv, for comparison to the spatially broader interferometric JERS-1 measurements of Qsv. The research involves: assembly in a GIS the layers for the vegetation classification map, SRTM DEM, flow paths, inundation area, TRMM precipitation maps, and GRACE measurements of gravity field changes.
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Michael Freeston 5/1/2006-3/31/2008 $149,891
INDECS, SB070043 (FMP01)
Assessment of Biometric Identification Techniques
As part of the world-wide effort to improve travel security, the next generation of identity documents – whether passports or identity cards – are required to be ‘biometrically enhanced’. Under the auspices of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), international standards for these documents have been defined. In particular, facial feature comparison and recognition has been selected as the primary and mandatory biometric, with contactless ‘smart card’ chips as the storage and communication medium for the biometric information.
This presents numerous technical challenges, despite the fact that there has been considerable commercial and academic research effort in this area for a number of years. Major progress was stimulated by a Department of Defense initiative (FERET) as early as 1993 and, during the past two years, a ‘Face Recognition Grand Challenge’ sponsored by several US federal agencies. However, despite these on-going efforts, and the claims of the commercial vendors, the performance of biometric recognition systems still leaves much to be desired. This is evidenced by the series of comparative performance tests conducted over the past ten years by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to evaluate progress in the field. In this project, UCSB will begin focusing on this challenge by analysis of the current state of the art in facial verification and identification technologies, followed by an assessment of the most promising approaches to advancing the state of the art. Of particular interest is the problem of obtaining an accurate identification match in a database with a size of the order of national populations i.e. up to 1 billion people.
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Michael Freeston 2/1/2003-1/31/2007 $939,853
Terence Smith
Keith Clarke
National Science Foundation, IIS-0229210 (FMF01)
Digital Libraries Supporting Innovative Approaches to Learning and Teaching in Geography
The two primary aims of this project are to develop: 1) a distributed enabling information infrastructure for the support of learning and teaching in Geography; and 2) innovative approaches to teaching and learning, based on this infrastructure. Specifically, this project focuses on: 1) showing how the undergraduate and postgraduate programs of study in Geography in the consortium universities (Universities of Southampton, Leeds, Pennsylvania State, and UCSB) can be enriched and developed through cross-national collaboration and on-line delivery; 2) demonstrating how major geospatial resources relevant for the study of the environment and landscape and for the study of human populations in cities and the countryside can be used in student programs of study; 3) showing how important skills in the analysis of spatial information through use of Geographical Information Science and Earth Observation software and functions can be taught on-line and made available in undergraduate programs; and 4) development of on-line learning and teaching resources for use on campus so that relevant Geographical courses can be delivered to students in other disciplines, overcoming timetabling problems.
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James Frew 3/1/2004-8/31/2008 $1,050,000
Stéphane Maritorena
David Siegel
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NNG04GE66G (FJN03/SMN02)
Creating, Updating, and Distributing Merged Ocean Color Products
The purpose of this project is to develop a product-centric framework for creating global, unified data products from heterogeneous ocean color missions and sensors such as SeaWiFS, MODIS-Terra and MODIS-Aqua. Building on experiences gained through participation in the SIMBIOS project, we will merge individual mission determinations of daily level-3 water-leaving radiance in a semi-analytical model and produce a suite of unified ocean color data products. This approach takes advantage of spectral information provided by each satellite sensor and simultaneously produces three distinct science products (chlorophyll and coefficients for colored detrital material absorption and particulate backscatter). This will also account for uncertainty in the input mission data as well as producing uncertainty indices for the merged data products. The data products generated by the merging procedure will be validated against in situ data and by comparisons with single mission products. Science applications of the merged products will also serve to validate these new merged products and to demonstrate their utility. All aspects of model development, data sets comparison and validation will be documented and available to NASA/GSFC for implementation and the production of merged products for the complete EOS/NPP era. UCSB will interact and work with the GSFC group on merged products comparisons and the identification and fixing of incompatibilities between merged products from different approaches. This work will leverage technology developed by the Earth System Science Workbench ESIP and Snow REASoN projects. Specifically, our local algorithm development and testing will use the namespace, storage, workflow, and lineage (forward and backward traceability between original, intermediate, and final products and processes) management components of the Snow REASoN Earth System Science Server (ES3). We will interact and work with the GSFC group towards the deployment of these technologies, where appropriate, in the GSFC product generation systems.
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James Frew 10/1/2004-9/30/2008 $672,651
Greg Janée
National Science Foundation, IIS-0431166 (FJF02)
Collaborative Research: II: Integrating Digital Libraries and Earth Science Data Systems
Although two different protocols for content-based access to Earth science data, OPeNDAP and OGIS’ web services suite, now exist, there is no comprehensive data discovery capability associated with either; this despite the fact that OPeNDAP, the more heavily used of the two, is in broad use in Earth science communities associated with seasonal-to-interannual variability, land cover studies, meteorology, oceanography and sun-earth connections. Nor, to the best of our knowledge, does an integrated data location and access capability exist outside of the Earth sciences for highly distributed, heavily populated systems of data products based on voluntary participation. To address this problem, we propose integrating the Alexandria Digital Library (ADL), the world’s leading digital library for geospatial and georeferenced information, with OPeNDAP. Together, these technologies will allow a distributed network of independent information providers to support a single uniform interface for information discovery, evaluation, verification, and retrieval. In addition to addressing a specific problem that exists within the Earth sciences, the proposed research will address the more general problem of interpreting the same query according to each of these modalities - digital libraries and content-based access to data - so that a user (human or programmatic) will not have to make any conceptual leaps between them.
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Catherine Gautier 9/1/2003 - 8/31/2006 $153,173
National Science Foundation, GEO-0331237 (GCF06)
Inquiry-centered Model for Learning with Understanding the Concept of Radiative Forcing in Climate
This project will develop an undergraduate-level tool and associated extensible instruction centered around quantitative inquiry about climate radiative forcing associated with enhanced greenhouse effect gases, cloud and land surface changes, ozone depletion and aerosol concentration increase. The proposed approach is to use the scientific inquiry process as the main vehicle to acquire understanding about Radiative Forcing, with learning for understanding as its overriding objective. An up-to-date, accurate radiative transfer model, the SBDART model (Ricchiazzi et al., 2000) will be the centerpiece of this inquiry-guided instruction. Originally developed for research purposed it has been recently adapted for undergraduate instruction and tested by the PI in her class-room. An interrogative approach, similar to that used by scientists and scholars in the production of new knowledge, will be applied by students working to acquire and understand new knowledge. A number of “big” questions will be developed as a starting point for the pedagogical activities through which students are expected to develop further explanation-seeking questions. Quantitative answers based on the application of the model and qualitative answers based on scientific information gathered from the web will be collaboratively constructed by students. An evaluation will be designed to assess the process of student’s questions transformation, quality and nature of information gathered and advancement of student competency and the level of understanding achieved through these activities.
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Catherine Gautier 6/1/2004-5/31/2008 $678,000
Joel Michaelsen
Zhengming Wan
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NNG04GL20G (GCN15)
Properties and Diurnal Radiative Forcing of Mineral Aerosols over Deserts Using combined AIRS and MODIS and Ground-based Observations
Mineral aerosol’s impact on climate is believed to be significant, however the magnitude of the radiative forcing of mineral aerosols (dust) is not currently well known. Ground-based observations are recent and limited in coverage, and past satellite observations have a limited detection power for dust over the deserts where they are produced. Simulation studies with AIRS combined with observations from MODIS suggest that data from these two instruments have sufficient information to provide reliable dust properties over deserts. We shall determine the properties and diurnal radiative forcing of dust over deserts and the infrared emissivity of those desert surfaces using new retrieval algorithms applied to infrared radiance data from AIRS and MODIS on AQUA. The high spectral resolution of AIRS offers the ability to simultaneously solve for the surface temperature and surface emissivity in the infrared when the dust concentration is low. With the surface emissivity mapped, radiance observations at these same wavelengths will be used in a simultaneous retrieval of the surface temperature, and dust optical thickness, effective radius, and effective temperature. We will also retrieve dust properties and vertical profiles using a dust transport model (MATCH) from which we will compute AIRS and MODIS radiances and derive the dust refractive index that minimizes the difference between observed and computed radiances. Using this derived refractive index, we will compute the dust single scattering albedo and extinction efficiency. The retrieved dust properties will be validated using ground-based AERONET sunphotometers and an infrared solar and sky spectrometer (FTIR). The FTIR will be used during an experiment near the Sahara in a solar occultation mode to record the infrared optical thickness of the dust and will measure the scattered sky radiance to determine the dust asymmetry parameter and single scattering albedo. Nocturnal measurements will provide the basis for computing the dust’s temperature, optical thickness and co-albedo. Based on these retrieved and validated dust parameters, we will compute the diurnal infrared and visible dust forcing over deserts.
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Catherine Gautier 9/15/1990-10/31/2006 $2,603,210
Paul Ricchiazzi
William O'Hirok
US Department of Energy, DE-FG02-90ER61062 (GCD01)
Understanding Radiative Processes in Realistic Cloud & Aerosol Distributions
This project studies cloudiness heterogeneity and its effects on the surface radiation budget at the top of the atmosphere and at the surface by means of modeling, verification, and analysis. The primary difficulty in quantifying cloud-radiation interactions within the atmosphere results from the extreme variability in both the cloud and radiation fields. This variability is not presently taken into account in existing general circulation models (GCM's) despite the fact that cloud heterogeneity has been shown to lead to large differences in atmospheric radiative heating computations. The work proposed here aims to improve the performance of GCM cloud-radiation computations.
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Patricia Holden 10/4/2006-10/3/2007 $49,583
ENVIRON International Corporation, SB070053 (HPP04)
Assessing microbial communities in permangante-treated aquifer materials.
The UCSB side of this collaboration is for microbiological analysis of porous media and outplanted retriculated vitrified carbon samples acquired from a chlorinated solvent-contaminated (mainly TCE) site prior to, and at multiple time points after, in situ permanganate treatment for chemical TCE oxidation. The overarching concerns are the extent to which permanganate oxidation of TCE changes indigenous microbial communities and the longevity of observed community shifts. The specific questions being addressed are: 1) What are the indigenous microorganisms?; 2) Are they effective dechlorinators?; 3) What changes in population diversity are observed immediately after dosing with permanganate?; and 4) How do the populations recover after treatment? Fully answering Question 1 would involve clone library development and clone sequencing which is extremely time consuming and thus costly. However, the results of such an effort could also enable answering Question 2. Questions 3 and 4 are more easily addressed via molecular fingerprinting methods, as described below. Thus, this focus on Questions 3 and 4, and suggest an alternative approach for addressing the concerns motivating Questions 1 and 2, i.e. whether dechlorinating populations are present before and after treatment.
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Patricia Holden 3/1/2005-2/28/2008 $400,000
Joshua Schimel
National Science Foundation, DEB-0444712 (HPF02)
Resource and Stress Interactions in Regulating Microbial Communities in a California Grassland Soil
Most soil microbiology studies examine only the top 10-20 cm of soil, and do not evaluate communities and their functioning through the whole profile. A whole soil perspective is important: 1) while surface soils are more active per gram, the massive deeper horizons contribute significantly to overall soil activity, and 2) there are strong gradients of resource availability and stress through the soil profile. Understanding how interactive effects of resource and stress on soil microbes is key to understanding all microbial life in soil. Our research to date has addressed microbial diversity and function through the profile by evaluating whether the hypothesis from macroecology that diversity should be “greatest at intermediate levels of resource availability and/or disturbance” applies in soil microbial ecology.
This project will evaluate how resource availability and stress regulate microbial communities, populations, and functional groups through the profile. We will experimentally manipulate resource and stress regimes and evaluate microbial responses. Specific populations to study will be either characteristic of particular environments in the soil (i.e. surface or deep) or particularly sensitive to environmental variation. Examples we have identified so far include Variovorax (a “vadose zone specialist”) several pseudomonads, an unusually high GC gram positive, and Streptomyces lividans. The project will use terminally labeled restriction fragment length polymorphisms (T-RFLPs) to evaluate community-level diversity and composition. A combination of quantitative polymerase chain reaction (QPCR) and probing using group-level primers and probes will be used to quantitatively analyze microbial communities at a range of taxonomic levels. Specific probes, based on sequences of keystone clones that are found to be most responsive to imposed stress and resource conditions, will be used to analyze individual populations and how they respond to the interactions of stress and varying resource availability. We will analyze microbial function and specific substrate use by tracing 13C flow from labeled compounds (monomers and polymers) into different forms, including individual CO2, microbial PLFAs and specific extracellular polysaccharides.
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Charles Jones 07/01/2006-09/30/2007 $35,000
Dar Roberts
Department of Agriculture, 06-JV-11272165-057 (CJP06)
Analysis of Santa Ana Climatology for Southern California
The specific research problem addressed by the study is the development of high resolution weather modeling tools for fire management applications. The work also includes a science delivery task to pipeline weather model outputs to fire managers to aid in fire management planning for incidents and prescribed fire operations.
The occurrence of Santa Ana wind events in Southern California significantly enhances the damage potential of wildfires under such conditions. Santa Ana winds register higher than average speeds and drier than normal humidities, either one of which creates favorable burning conditions. This research will develop greater spatial and temporal details of Santa Ana events than currently available climatologies for Southern California. It will also explore new methods to model Santa Anas for fire management applications through: 1) Investigation of spatial and temporal variability of Santa Ana events over southern California; 2) Development of downscaling methods to increase spatial resolution of existing models; 3) Comparing simulations as described with an improved version of RAMS developed in Brazil; and 4) Providing assistance to unit's other cooperators engaged in extracting MM5 forecasts for FARSITE.
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Charles Jones 8/1/2005-7/31/2008 $204,641
Leila Carvalho
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NA05OAR4311129 (CJB04)
An Investigation of Intraseasonal Oscillations in the Atmosphere and their Interannual Variation
One of the major goals of the CLIVAR Pacific program is to investigate intraseasonal-to-decadal climate variability in the coupled ocean-atmosphere system, especially processes that can lead to improvements in the simulations and predictions of ENSO and ENSO-like decadal variations. This proposal contributes to this effort by investigating the relationships between intraseasonal variations associated with the Madden-Julian oscillation (MJO), non-MJO variability and air-sea interaction processes that are relevant to the theory of stochastic forcing of ENSO. The research is based on a comprehensive observational analysis and focuses on the influence of intraseasonal oscillations on synoptic-to-intraseasonal anomalies in surface wind stress and heat fluxes, their coupled and uncoupled (stochastic) structures. The specific objectives of this research are to: 1) Characterize periods of MJO and non-MJO intraseasonal variations including their interannual variability; 2) Examine the associations between the variability of the MJO and synoptic and intraseasonal variations in surface wind stress and heat fluxes in the tropical Pacific; 3) Determine the relative importance of non-MJO intraseasonal variability on the modulation of surface wind stress and heat fluxes; and 4) Investigate the spatial and temporal characteristics of coupled and uncoupled (stochastic) components of surface wind stress and heat fluxes. Develop statistical parameterizations that can be used in coupled ocean-atmosphere models of ENSO. The project is divided in four objectives that will systematically address the relationships between intraseasonal atmospheric variations and air-sea interaction processes in the tropical Pacific. The observational analysis will use reanalysis fields from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) and European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts ERA-40 and will focus on the period 1979-present.
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Charles Jones 7/1/2002-6/30/2007 $223,734
Dar Roberts
US Department of Agriculture, 02-JV-11272169-045 (CJP05)
High-Resolution Real-Time Forecasts for Southern California: Applications to Wildfire Management
In southern California, climate, hydrology, soils, topography and vegetation community composition are closely linked. The climate in the region is typical of most Mediterranean regions, including moderate to high seasonal temperatures, winter precipitation and summer drought. The most abundant type of vegetation in the region is chaparral, which includes a suite of vegetation communities adapted to extended periods of little to no precipitation, high summer temperatures and, most importantly, frequent wildfires. Catastrophic wildfires attest to the destructive potential and high social cost of wildfire along the wildland/urban interface. This project focuses on building diagnostic and forecast tools to assess the potential of wildfires in California.
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Arturo Keller 4/1/2006-6/30/2007 $30,000
Cal EPA Office of the Secretary, 05-127-130-0 (KAP11)
Scoping TMDL Projects for the Central Coast Water Board
The Central Coast Water Board is required to develop and implement Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for waterbodies that fail to attain water quality standards. Deciding which among the many potential TMDLs and related projects to pursue is a complex process that weighs a multitude of factors and considerations. The Central Coast Water Board Watershed Assessment Unit is tasked with this process annually this research seeks to make the process more systematic and objective, while also flexible and adaptable to account for the unforeseen.
For this project, we will develop “project definitions” for impaired waterbodies in Santa Barbara Coastal watersheds as prescribed in the recently adopted Process for Addressing Impaired Waters in California (http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/tmdl/docs/drftimpairedwatersguidance.pdf). The goal of the Project Definition is to outline a strategy for addressing one or more impaired waters. The strategy identifies the key activities that will be performed in subsequent stages of analysis. The project definition is based on a preliminary review of available information describing the nature of the impairment. This abbreviated review is used to develop an initial hypothesis of the causative factors and a strategy for the analysis and ultimate management approach. The project definition not only supports understanding of the impairment; it also provides an essential precursor to the design of the project plan, which will establish the project scope, additional data gathering needs, analysis approaches, and stakeholder involvement techniques.
Through this research program, we will assist Water Board staff with development and implementation of a process to identify and prioritize projects to be initiated in fiscal year, 2006/2007. Ideally, the process developed would be applicable in subsequent years as well. Once the process is developed, it will used to assess the remaining projects that have not yet been initiated on the 2002 Impaired Waters List, beginning with all Santa Barbara Coast listings.
The specific objectives for this project include: preparing project descriptions for prospective Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) projects for Santa Barbara coastal watersheds, and developing and applying a systematic assessment of the remaining projects that have not yet been initiated on the 2002 Impaired Waters List to identify Fiscal Year 2006/2007 Workplan tasks (and beyond) for Water Board Staff.
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Arturo Keller 10/1/2005-9/30/2006 $42,565
Department of Interior, 1435-01-05-CT-39074 (KAP05)
Optimization of Oleophilic Skimmer Recovery Surface
The primary objective of this research is to perform a full-scale test of novel oleophilic recovery surfaces tailored for oil spill recovery, and to determine the relation between selection of the recovery material and recovery efficiency. We will fabricate prototype interchangeable oleophilic skimmer surfaces of candidate polymeric materials, as determined through previous related research (MMS Solicitation #1435-01-04-RP-33212; UCSB #20041406), and test these surfaces on different oils at the field scale in the Ohmsett facility test tank. The study of adhesion of oil to various polymeric materials will increase our understanding of the interactions between oil and the material of the recovery unit. This effort will lead to development guidelines that will allow equipment designers and users to select the most efficient oil spill recovery material. Use of polymeric materials with high affinity for oil will increase oil spill recovery rates, resulting in faster oil spill cleanup and greater environmental protection.
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Arturo Keller 8/8/2006-8/7/2007 $102,921
Department of Interior, 1435-01-06-CT-39846 (KAM01)
Oil recovery with novel skimmer surfaces under cold climate conditions
Increasing oil exploration, production and transport in Arctic waters will increase the risk of an oil spill occurring in cold and ice-infested waters. The mechanical oil spill recovery equipment currently used in warmer waters was not designed to collect much more viscous oils, or oil-ice mixtures. Spill responders were not designed to collect very viscous oils and oil-ice mixtures. The presence of ice crystals in oil emulsions affects the adhesion processes between an oil slick and the surface of an oleophilic skimmer and prevents oil from being efficiently recovered. Novel drum skimmer surface geometry and materials, tailored to the conditions present under cold climates, are expected to significantly increase the rate of oil recovery, reducing cost and risk.
The objective of this project is to perform a comprehensive analysis of the adhesion between oil or ice-in-oil mixtures and various surface patterns and materials, under cold climate conditions. This knowledge will help develop and/or improve existing mechanical response equipment that can be more efficiently used under these conditions. The novel recovery surfaces that have recently proven to increase the recovery efficiency of a drum skimmer up to 2 times in warm waters should be successfully used in the cold climate conditions, with some optimization of the geometry and materials, and lead to a significant increase in oil recovery efficiency.
In the first phase of the project, laboratory bench-scale tests of different surface materials and patterns will be conducted to determine contact angle and amount of oil adhered at sub-freezing conditions, with and without ice. The equipment for these tests is available and was successfully used to develop optimized drum skimmer recovery surfaces for warmer temperatures (10-30 oC). These tests were validated with field-scale tests at Ohmsett for this higher temperature range.
Based on the results of the proposed laboratory tests at subfreezing conditions, we will select the materials and surface patterns with the highest oil recovery potential under cold climate conditions and perform field scale oil spill recovery test at the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory with three different oils. This will provide us with valuable information about the correlation between the laboratory tests and full scale experiments, as well as demonstrate the potential of the proposed skimmer modifications under conditions similar to response operations.
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Arturo Keller 5/8/2006-6/30/2007 $29,462
Electric Power Research Institute, EP-P21512/C10527 (KAP10)
Energy and Water Sustainability Conference
The research program on Energy and Water Sustainability is a partnership between the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara (Bren School) and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). These institutions have been involved in research on various aspects of the energy-water nexus for several years. The main objectives of the Research Program on Energy and Water Sustainability are:
1) Focused research on the energy and water intensity use of major industrial, commercial, agricultural and residential activities in California. Clearly, the nexus is bi-directional: Energy requires water and water requires energy. Improvements in water or energy efficiency should positively influence the other.
2) Study constraints and opportunities that may affect anticipated California energy supply
3) Analyze internal and external factors that might increase California energy requirements, affecting water demand.
4) Evaluate the implications of global change on California’s energy and water supply and demand.
5) Evaluate the implications of increases in energy demand, including ramifications on water supply & quality on habitat and recreational uses of water.
6) Develop and test technologies and water management approaches that result in a decrease in the water intensity of electrical energy generation.
As part of the program, an initial conference will be held to initiate a western regional forum on the issue of energy and water linkages and sustainability and the role that the Center can play in clarifying and addressing this issue. Special attention will be placed on interdependencies among individual western States. Participants will be drawn from all major stakeholder groups throughout the western U.S. The Conference will address the following key questions:
• Are there opportunities in terms of energy and/or water use efficiency that need to be explored and implemented jointly?
• What are California’s electricity-related vulnerabilities with respect to potential limitations in water supply? How can these vulnerabilities be reduced?
• What are California’s water-related vulnerabilities with respect to potential limitations in electricity supply? How can these vulnerabilities be reduced?
• How should western regional electricity and water infrastructures be organized and managed to address increasing electricity/water demands?
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Arturo Keller 4/1/2006-7/31/2008 $79,024
Friends of the Santa Clara River, SB060112 (KAP08)
Water Quality Improvement in the Santa Clara River (Nutrient and Pesticide Contamination): Treatment of Agricultural Runoff
This program will involve design of the monitoring and quality assurance plans for the treatment systems, including decisions on instrumentation, method of collection of samples, analysis, frequency and location. UCSB will provide:
1. Project monitoring – working with Friends of the Santa Clara River to train a group of volunteers to collect the samples according to the monitoring plan, and following the quality assurance plan.
2. Modeling of system – development of a simple model of the effectiveness of the different treatment systems, based on the physical and biogeochemical characteristics of the systems as well as the driving functions (e.g. climate, vegetation type, pesticide type, etc.).
3. Reporting – participation in the preparation quarterly and final project reports that Friends of the Santa Clara River will provide to the State Water Resources Control Board, providing scientific and technical advice, as well as the data generated from the monitoring program, and the results of the modeling effort.
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Arturo Keller 3/1/2007-2/28/2009 $100,000
Friends of the Santa Clara River, SB070098 (KAP15)
Water Quality Assessment of Wetland Restoration in HRNA
This project will focus on specific phases of water quality assessment and wetland restoration, as follows:
1) Development of the Project Assessment Evaluation Plan (PAEP), the Monitoring Plan (MP) and the Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) for the treatment systems, including decisions on instrumentation, method of collection of samples, analysis, frequency and location.
2. Project monitoring – working with Friends of the Santa Clara River to train a group of volunteers to collect the samples according to the monitoring plan, and follow the quality assurance plan.
3. Modeling of system – development of a simple model of the effectiveness of wetland, based on the physical and biogeochemical characteristics of the systems as well as the driving functions (e.g. climate, vegetation type, pesticide type, etc.).
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Arturo Keller 4/1/2006-6/30/2007 $81,626
Prince William Sound Center, 06-10-13 (KAP13)
Oil Recovery with Novel Skimmer Surfaces under Cold Climate Conditions
Increasing oil exploration, production and transport in Arctic waters will increase the risk of an oil spill occurring in cold and ice-infested waters. The mechanical oil spill recovery equipment currently used in warmer waters was not designed to collect much more viscous oils, or oil-ice mixtures. The presence of ice crystals in oil emulsions affects the adhesion processes between an oil slick and the surface of an oleophilic skimmer and prevents oil from being efficiently recovered. Novel drum skimmer surface geometry and materials, tailored to the conditions present under cold climates, are expected to significantly increase the rate of oil recovery, reducing cost and risk.
The objective of this project is to perform a comprehensive analysis of the adhesion between oil or ice-in-oil mixtures and various surface patterns and materials, under cold climate conditions. This knowledge will help develop and/or improve existing mechanical response equipment that can be more efficiently used under these conditions. The novel recovery surfaces that have recently proven to increase the recovery efficiency of a drum skimmer up to 2 times in warm waters should be successfully used in the cold climate conditions, with some optimization of the geometry and materials, and lead to a significant increase in oil recovery efficiency.
In the first phase of the project, laboratory bench-scale tests of different surface materials and patterns will be conducted, to determine contact angle and amount of oil adhered at sub-freezing conditions, with and without ice. The equipment for these tests is available, and was successfully used to develop optimized drum skimmer recovery surfaces for warmer temperatures (10-30 oC). These tests were validated with field-scale tests at Ohmsett for this higher temperature range.
Based on the results of the proposed laboratory tests at subfreezing conditions, we will select the materials and surface patterns with the highest oil recovery potential under cold climate conditions, and perform field scale oil spill recovery test at the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory with three different oils. This will provide us with valuable information about the correlation between the laboratory tests and full scale experiments, as well as demonstrate the potential of the proposed skimmer modifications under conditions similar to response operations.
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Arturo Keller 7/1/2005-9/30/2007 $50,000
University of California, SB060031 (KAP04)
Uncertainty analysis for complex watershed models: Determining science-based Margin of Safety for Pesticide TMDLs
The progress of the Federal TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load) program, a watershed scale water quality management policy, has been hindered by the lack of systematic approaches. California’s response to the TMDL program has also been slow, and the results may not be reliable due to the uncertainty associated with the quantitative allocation of pollutant loads and its impact on water quality. Although complex watershed models are potentially powerful tools for allocating these loads among different pollutant sources in TMDL development, it is unclear how to determine the uncertainty associated with model output. In general, there is no scientific basis for a Margin of Safety (MOS) within the allocation of pollutant loads. In this study, a framework for analyzing the uncertainty of watershed models will be developed, modeling pesticides in two southern California watersheds as examples. A systematic approach of MOS determination will then be developed, integrating the results of the uncertainty analysis with specific management concerns. Pesticides are chosen since they present potentially high ecological and health risks and are significant non-point sources at the watershed scale. This study is expected to significantly improve the applicability of complex watershed models to toxics management under uncertainty. The results will help to inform decision-makers and stakeholders involved in the TMDL program, by providing a better assessment of the uncertainty and a MOS which considers both model and management uncertainties.
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Arturo Keller 7/1/2006-10/31/2007 $14,975
University of California, SB070005 (KAP12)
Implementing a Sustainable Watershed Strategy in San Cristobal de las Casas
The city of San Cristóbal de las Casas, in the central highlands of Chiapas, Mexico is the cultural and economic center for a predominantly rural population of descendents of the Mayan culture. The city has experienced major population expansion, caused in part by the sociopolitical upheaval of the last two decades. In addition to population growth pressures, the future water supply to San Cristóbal is being compromised by changing land use and an insufficient understanding of sustainable water resource management. An analysis of the situation in San Cristóbal led to a number of specific recommendations. This new project seeks to go from the recommendations in paper to implementation in the field. This phase will evaluate the performance of the recommendations in the context of the biogeophysical and socioeconomic conditions in San Cristóbal. We propose to implement several best management practices as pilot projects for improving water quality and quantity, and protecting supply. These practices will be evaluated under a water monitoring program developed for the San Cristobal watershed, which will track both chemical and microbiological parameters. A third goal will be to create and implement an educational campaign to increase awareness of the link between water and health, and the benefits of protecting water resources. These measures will be designed to enhance the sustainable utilization of water resources while improving access to safe water for local communities. This project will also serve as a model to extend to other communities. Main project partners include faculty and graduate students at UCSB, researchers at ECOSUR, and community groups in San Cristobal.
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Arturo Keller 11/1/2006-10/31/2007 $26,000
University of California, SB070094 (KAP14)
Fate and transport of nanoparticles: Sorption and role as carriers of chemicals of concern
Nanoparticles have the potential for traveling far in the atmosphere, in aquatic systems, and in soils. Previous work has shown that under certain circumstances nanoparticles can move faster through porous media than dissolved solutes; early breakthrough has been attributed to the ‘size and path exclusion’ effects (e.g., Keller and Sirivithayapakorn, 2004; Auset and Keller, 2004). These nanoparticles may come from three major sources: (1) engineered nanomaterials; (2) unintended anthropogenic generation (e.g. via industrial or combustion processes); and (3) natural nanoparticles. Engineered nanomaterials are likely to be surface-activated, to promote specific processes (e.g. catalysis, adsorption, reflection, etc.), and may be manufactured from trace elements that are usually only present at very low concentrations. Unintended nanoparticles are likely to be carriers for large organic molecules (e.g. PAHs) which are toxic at certain threshold dosage. Natural nanoparticles consist mostly of very fine clays, which are usually high in both Total Organic Carbon (TOC) and Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC), thus are great carriers for either organic molecules (e.g. pesticides, PAHs, PCBs) or metal ions. There are many questions regarding the interaction of nanoparticles with environmental interfaces, their role as carriers of trace elements, organic molecules and/or metals, and the ability of the nanoparticles to actually deliver these elements or molecules at the interfaces (Lead and Wilkinson, 2006). Understanding the fate and transport of nanoparticles in the environment is a key component of exposure assessment, which is an integral component of a risk assessment. Understanding the risks can lead to better management.
To understand the interactions between the nanoparticles and the interfaces, and the role of nanoparticles as carriers and delivery mechanisms for other molecules (whether toxic or not), studies at various scales need to be conducted (Sen and Khilar, 2006). This project will focus on batch and column studies, to understand these processes from an equilibrium (batch) and kinetic (column) perspective (McCarthy and McKay, 2004; de Jonge, et al., 2004; Deshiikan et al., 1998). We expect that the results of this study will significantly improve our understanding of the sorption of the nanoparticles in soils and their effect on the HOCs sorption/desorption onto natural solids. The findings of this research will add to the current knowledge the fate and transport of the nanoparticles.
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Bruce Kendall 9/15/2006-8/31/2009 $201,944
National Science Foundation, 0615024 (KBF01)
Collaborative Research: Demographic heterogeneity within populations and its consequences
This project will address some major questions in demography. We propose two broad categories of theoretical research. One will extend recent work on the consequences of among-individual demographic heterogeneity for demographic stochasticity and extinction risk. Some of this recent work has shown that treating populations as though they are monomorphic can have severe consequences; research proposed here aims to generalize this analysis and examine how genetic and environmental variation each affect extinction risk. The second area of theoretical research will be developing general models for the growth of heterogeneous populations (with a special focus on heterogeneity in individual growth), and analyzing them to understand issues like the nature of the biases generated by incorrectly modeling heterogeneous populations as homogeneous. In other words, we will ask what the circumstances are that make it necessary to account for heterogeneity, and will ask how one does this statistically. To ask how much demographic heterogeneity there is in natural populations of plants, we will review the literature and query as many researchers as possible about using parts of their data that can shed light on this question. The work in developing a database and reviewing our knowledge of heterogeneity is intended to derive as broad a picture as possible of what we know about demographic heterogeneity.
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Hunter Lenihan 7/1/2005-8/31/2007 $333,540
Chris Costello
University of California, SB060020 (LHP01)
Community-based collaborative fishery research: Assessing fishery impacts of CA marine reserves
Marine reserves provide a promising alternative to conventional, single-species fishery management that bares a history of biological and economic failure. While reserves ensure ecosystem benefits, such as biodiversity and habitat conservation, ecological theories of how reserves enhance fishery production are supported by relatively little empirical data. Consequently, there is strong resistance to reserves within the fishing community. The research addressed here proposes an adaptive learning process based on scientific inquiry that will lead to more informed policy decisions regarding reserves as fishery management tools. Specifically, we propose to (1) examine whether spill-over of the CA spiny lobster (Panulirus interruptus) influences yield (catch-per-unit-effort) and economic performance of individual fishermen; (2) initiate a monitoring program that exploits reserves to generate lobster population data for advancing both conventional and reserve-based stock assessments; (3) map the habitat, biological, and fishery economic properties of an ecosystem containing reserves to create the template for ecosystem-based management; and (4) use the information gained from steps 1-3 to develop dynamical decision-theoretic models that will guide adaptive fishery management and promote learning in management.
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Sally MacIntyre 9/1/2004-8/31/2008 $147,996
National Science Foundation, DEB-0414659 (MSF04)
Collaborative Research: Aquatic Plant Beds as Biogeochemical Hot Spots in a Large River Ecosystem
Aquatic plant beds can act as biogeochemical hot spots in aquatic ecosystems and, through hydrologic exchange, influence both the average chemistry of the entire ecosystem and spatial and temporal variation within it. Dissolved oxygen (DO) levels in these plant beds can regulate the degree and even direction of important biogeochemical reactions (e.g. dentrification, methanogensis) and, thus, the entire ecosystem may also be influenced indirectly by DO within beds. Previous work by the PI’s suggests that species-specific plant morphometry may be a critical factor determining DO levels. In plant beds dominated by the completely submerged aquatic plant Vallisneria americana, DO is on average higher than DO in the main river channel and hypoxia never occurs. In contrast, in beds dominated by Trapa natans, an introduced species with floating as well as submerged leaves, DO is on average lower than open water values; in some beds hypoxia is frequent, and complete anoxia may even occur. Considerable variation exists, however, in the dynamics and average concentration of DO between beds of a given species and spatially and temporally within some large beds. The objectives of this work are: 1) To understand the variation in DO between and within beds which vary in species composition, size, shape and hydrologic exchange. 2) To measure other biogeochemical transformations in beds including change in N forms and net retention and net trace gas formation and to relate these reactions to bed characteristics including oxygen dynamics. 3) To estimate the hydrologic exchanges within beds and between beds and surrounding open channels. 4) To use these exchanges along with estimates of gas exchange to develop an ecosystem model that predicts spatial-temporal variation within beds and in the main channel of the river. These objectives will be met via a combination of field measurements including use of continuously recording instruments, modeling which combines biogeochemistry and hydrodynamics, and a field manipulation of a Trapa bed in the Hudson to reveal mechanisms that control DO and hydrologic exchange.
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Stéphane Maritorena 11/15/2005-1/31/2007 $32,400
David Siegel
ACRI-ST, ST/079-496/ACR/SC/05 (SDP06)
Global Ocean Colour for Carbon Cycle Research.
The Ocean Color group at ICESS is a pioneer in Ocean Colour spectral data merging (Maritorena & Siegel, 2005) and has considerable knowledge in various ocean color data merging techniques. The UCSB component of this research includes recommending merging techniques to be tested based on their ability to deal with random noise or bias in the input data; their applicability for near-real time processing; their suitability for generating uncertainty estimates for the output products; and the inherent characteristics of each technique. The ICESS group is also involved in the comparison with other merged data sets such as the ones it develops and distribute as part of a NASA ReaSON-CAN project.
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Stéphane Maritorena 5/19/2004-5/18/2008 $516,051
David Siegel
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NNG04HZ34C (SMN03)
Chlorophyll a Algorithms for MODIS
The accurate determination of ocean chlorophyll a concentration is one of the central goals of the MODIS instrument on the Terra and Aqua platforms. Currently, two empirical (band-ratio; MODIS ATBD-18 and OC3M, SeaWiFS-analog, O’Reilly et al. 2000) and one theoretical (semi-analytical; MODIS ATBD-19) bio-optical algorithms are used to determine chlorophyll a from MODIS data. Both redundancies and inconsistencies exist in the three MODIS chl a products mostly because of the algorithms design and differences in the data sets used to develop them. The data sets and procedures used to develop bio-optical algorithms have improved dramatically since the designation of the original MODIS instrument team and the approaches first laid out more than 10 years ago. We propose to refine and maintain the derived product quality for the empirical (MODIS ATBD-18) and theoretical (MODIS ATBD-19) bio-optical algorithms used to produce chlorophyll a concentrations from MODIS water-leaving radiance determinations. Our approach to make these refinements will be done along several fronts. First, we use the extensive data set of chlorophyll a concentration, remote sensing reflectance, component absorption and backscattering spectra collected as part of SIMBIOS and other programs to affect end-to-end adjustments to the empirical and semi-analytical algorithms. Second, we will modify the existing semi-analytical algorithm so its design matches that of the UCSB model (Maritorena et al. 2002). An added benefit of the UCSB model is that its design enables it to be used in coupled atmosphere-ocean retrieval models (Chomko et al. 2003) which the present model cannot. These approaches are the future of ocean color remote sensing science and the bio-optical models used need to keep pace with this. The UCSB model is also suited to perform ocean color data merging (Maritorena et al., 2003) and can generate merged products from the Terra and Aqua sensors right away. Present and refined algorithms will be evaluated and compared using a variety of analyses. Third, we will assess the need for multiple chl a algorithms and evaluate ways to have a unified MODIS chl a product. All data, analyses, metrics and ATBDs will be public and documented on the World Wide Web to improve the transparency of this process for the end user.
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Stéphane Maritorena 5/1/2004-4/30/2007 $212,261
Paul Ricchiazzi
David Siegel
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NA04NES4400008 (SMB01)
A Solution to the Ocean Color Remote sensing Problem in Complex Coastal Environments: A Case Study for the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary
Current methods to correct for the contribution of the atmosphere to the radiance signal measured by ocean color remote sensors are not adapted for coastal waters. The characteristics of coastal aerosols are highly variable and complex, and absorbing aerosols are frequent in these areas. Similarly, the optical properties of coastal waters are also highly complicated. Atmospheric correction methods generally use the radiance signal in the near-infrared (NIR) to estimate the aerosol contribution in other bands. This results in an overcorrection at short wavebands when the aerosol is strongly absorbing. In recent years, improvement has been gained from methods dealing with specific types of absorbing aerosols or from coupled atmosphere-ocean inversions but these approaches still have severe limitations when applied to coastal zones. Here, we propose to use our existing database of bio-optical and atmospheric field observations to assess the variability of the aerosol in the Santa Barbara Channel (SBC) area and to develop component models and coupled atmosphere-ocean inversion schemes. Measurements from two different sunphotometers along with radiative transfer modeling will provide information on the aerosol optical thickness, absorption, size distribution, scattering phase function and single scattering albedo for the SBC area. In parallel, the semi-analytical ocean color algorithm developed by our group will be optimized for the SBC waters using the large database of in situ bio-optical measurements collected since 1996 by the Plumes and Blooms program. The optimized ocean color model and results from the analysis of atmospheric data will be used in the implementation and validation of methods for simultaneously quantifying aerosol and ocean optical properties for the SBC using MODIS and SeaWiFS data. We will test several coupled atmosphere-ocean inversions using top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiances from a combination of sensors or by processing the atmospheric and marine components at different scales.
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John Melack 1/15/2003-4/30/2007 $791,358
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NCC5-691 (MJN10)
Linking Vegetative Cover and Inundation in Amazon Wetlands with Regional Analyses of Carbon Dynamics
This project will build on our two decades of experience studying the ecology and biogeochemistry of Amazon wetlands in the field and with microwave and optical remote sensing to address important aspects of the regional carbon dynamics of the Amazon basin. Our research team combines senior investigators from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA) and the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE) with Brazilian graduate students. Specifically, this project will: 1) extend and validate calculations of seasonal variations in inundation and vegetative cover to wetlands throughout the Amazon basin using multi-temporal microwave and optical remote sensing; 2) apply new remote sensing techniques to the estimation of aquatic macrophyte biomass and net productivity; 3) make measurements of dissolved methane and carbon dioxide concentrations within the Negro basin and in selected habitats of the central Amazon; and 4) improve our understanding of the relationship between inundation and fish yields of Amazon floodplains and apply the understanding to regional assessments of floodplain fisheries.
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John Melack 4/1/2006-3/31/2008 $208,211
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NNG06GF71G (MJN11)
Linking remote sensing of variations in inundation and aquatic vegetation with regional analyses of carbon dynamics in Amazon wetlands
In our prior LBA-ECO studies, we have developed active and passive microwave and optical remote sensing approaches to provide validated analyses of inundation and aquatic vegetation for the central Amazon and for subregions of other parts of the basin. Our results include a synthesis of data on the inputs and processing of carbon within the central Amazon floodplain, calculations of evasion of methane and carbon dioxide from rivers and wetlands and investigations of the relationships between aquatic habitats and fish and fisheries.
As the final phase of our LBA-ECO investigation, we propose to complete our multi-temporal, multi-scale analyses of inundation and aquatic vegetation dynamics based on our accumulated multi-year set of Radarsat, Envisat and MODIS data complemented by JERS-1 and Landsat data. This work will connect directly to measurements and modeling of carbon dynamics of wetland systems throughout the Amazon with particular emphasis on the floodplains of the central basin, the interfluvial wetlands of the Negro basin and reservoirs. Field studies of methane and carbon dioxide emissions and aquatic macrophyte phenology and biomass, completed in 2005 by our research team and other groups with whom we collaborate, will be combined with our remote sensing results to calculate regional fluxes.
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John Melack 9/26/2005-12/31/2007 $29,602
National Park Service, J8CO7050020 (MJP06)
Development of a Stream Monitoring Program for Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands National Park
Past grazing and road management practices that occurred during the ranching era on Santa Rosa Island resulted in degradation of water quality on Santa Rosa Island. Water quality has steadily improved since removal of cattle from the island and this project will focus on the development of a water quality monitoring program based on sampling and analyses of selected sites over the course of a year.
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John Melack 6/1/2007-5/31/2008 $9,000
Craig Nelson
National Science Foundation, 0709975 (MJF03)
Dissertation Research: Linking successional dynamics of bacterioplankton communities to biogeochemical processes at the landscape scale
The fundamental ecology and identity of prokaryotic microorganisms in the natural environment is an area of scientific inquiry hampered until recently by methodological constraints, such that determining the factors regulating microbial community assembly and linking these patterns with both ecological theory and biogeochemical processes has emerged as a central goal in environmental biology. The conceptual basis of the research proposed here is to develop insight into the relationship between bacterial diversity and biogeochemical processes by exploring the mechanistic basis of ecological succession in a natural bacterioplankton community. This study will build on the doctoral candidate’s previous dissertation work demonstrating how predictable bacterioplankton succession in high-elevation lakes is linked to landscape-scale snowmelt-driven changes in the composition and source of dissolved organic matter. Here we aim to illustrate how specific taxa within the pelagic bacterial community respond to changes in the rate and character of inputs of catchment-derived dissolved organic matter and bacteria in order to understand the landscape drivers of bacterioplankton succession. First the exact taxonomic identity of predefined successional communities will be defined via nucleic acid cloning, permitting modeling of the rates and vectors of change of specific taxa in relation to observed temporal shifts in specific organic compounds. Factorial experimental manipulation of organic matter sources and bacterioplankton community types within in situ mesocosm growth cultures will determine how changes in taxonomic composition are coupled to the metabolism of specific dissolved organic compounds. Finally, using quantitative-PCR, the role of inflowing catchment-derived bacterial taxa in the successional progression will be examined under various hydrological regimes, providing insight into the rates of assembly of microbial communities. Together the results of these studies will be analyzed to determine how taxonomic composition in bacterial communities is linked to the metabolism of specific dissolved organic compounds, and how ecological theories of community assembly, succession, and ecosystem metabolism may be applied to explaining microbial diversity in time and space.
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John Melack 9/1/2001-8/31/2006 $795,190
Joshua Schimel
National Science Foundation, DEB-0089839 (MJF01)
Microbial and Hydrological Controls of Nitrogen Losses from Alpine and Chaparral Ecosystems During Seasonal Transitions
This project will examine biogeochemical and hydrological mechanisms that control N-limitation in alpine and chaparral ecosystems of the Sierra Nevada, California. These ecosystems exhibit large, episodic losses of nitrate and their future integrity is threatened by climate change and nearby human activities. We hypothesize that the key factor controlling continued N-limitation in these ecosystems is the effect of transitions between growing and non-growing seasons on microbial populations and biogeochemical processes in soils during non-growing seasons. Seasonal transitions in Mediterranean climates, like those of California, are characterized by abrupt shifts from dry to wet conditions, warm to cold temperatures and from low to high runoff periods. These transitions induce changes in soil moisture, temperature and redox which mediate uncontrolled flushing of nitrate. Over the long-term, nitrate losses during season transitions may be the primary mechanism by which N-limitation is maintained in alpine and chaparral ecosystems. We will take a watershed approach to studying N dynamics in alpine and chaparral ecosystems. Utilizing a combination of innovative techniques, including plotscale studies, isotopic and chemical tracers and ecosystem modeling we will: 1) trace the sources of N in surface waters draining alpine and chaparral ecosystems of the Sierra Nevada during growing, non-growing and transition seasons; 2) locate “hotspots” of nitrogen-cycling, such as meadows or riparian zones near lakes and streams or litter accumulations under nitrogen-fixing chaparral shrubs; 3) determine how and when hydrologic flushing changes the physico-chemical characteristics of hotspots and how and when nitrogen dynamics are affected by these changes; 4) quantify annual N losses from DON leakage, transition-season nitrate loss and denitrification; and 5) Integrate process and catchment studies through a model of nitrogen cycling in chaparral and alpine ecosystems that accounts for these transition-season dynamics in hydrology and biogeochemistry. We will use this model to explore how altered climate and increased N deposition might affect N losses from these ecosystems. Results from these investigations will help explain a major question in terrestrial ecology: Why are plant communities N-limited despite the widespread occurrence of N-fixing symbioses? Additionally, our work will provide a process-level understanding of the connections between hydrology and biogeochemistry during seasonal transitions which is needed to predict how California’s montane ecosystems will respond to anticipated global change.
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John Melack 3/15/2007-2/29/2008 $65,291
National Science Foundation, DEB-0614207 (MJF02)
Responses of high elevation, aquatic ecosystems to interannual climate variability and trends in nutreint inputs (LTREB Program).
Aquatic ecosystems integrate environmental conditions and can provide indications of how montane regions are responding to warming climate, changing snow regime and altered atmospheric composition. Twenty-three years of research at the Emerald Lake watershed (Sequoia National Park) has shown that runoff patterns and the timing of snowmelt alter nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) biogeochemistry with concomitant changes in lake trophic conditions. Recent evidence indicates that Sierran lakes are undergoing eutrophication while shifting from P to N limitation; altered rates of atmospheric deposition of N and P and changes in P biogeochemistry of soils and lake sediments are likely causes. Observing and understanding the causes and consequences of these multi-year trends and variations in ecological conditions, requires appropriately designed long-term measurements complemented by experiments and modeling. The project investigators propose to continue long-term study of the Emerald Lake watershed and nearby catchments in order to test conceptual hypotheses regarding drivers of environmental change in high-elevation aquatic ecosystems. The primary foci of the proposed study are: i) continued assessment of the response of lake phytoplankton to changing inputs of N and P and ii) continued study of the coupling between climate variability and N and P biogeochemistry. To further examine the effects of ongoing eutrophication, the proposed study also seeks to answer the following questions:
a) At what rate is phosphorus being atmospherically deposited in the Sierra Nevada from anthropogenic and natural sources like fire?
b) How do modern input rates of P to Emerald Lake and similar sites differ from those over the last two hundred years?
c) How is P in the soils mobilized and transformed and how are these processes modified by variation in climate and hydrology?
d) How much P is released from lacustrine sediments and how do the rates of release change as a function of variations in stratification, pH, dissolved oxygen and dissolved metals?
These questions will be answered through the continuation of ongoing watershed measurements; additional study of P pools, transformation and fluxes in soils and sediments; enhanced measurements of atmospheric deposition; and paleolimnological study of lake sediments. Climate conditions have a strong influence on potential P source areas, on the incidence of fires, on transport and deposition, and on ecological impacts. Hence, as a consequence of the considerable interannual variability in California’s Mediterranean climate, it is essential to conduct these studies for at least five to ten years.
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Norm Nelson 7/15/2002-7/14/2006 $345,607
David Siegel
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NAG5-12400 (NNN03)
Beyond Chlorophyll: Using Ocean Color to Study Organic Matter Cycling in the Ocean
This research focuses on the dynamics of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) and its implications for carbon cycling, photochemistry, and air-sea exchange of trace gases. CDOM is an important factor controlling underwater light and ocean color, acts as an intermediate in many photochemical reactions (including production of carbon monoxide and carbonyl sulfide and photolysis of DMS), and plays an important role in determining UV exposure to the biological community in the euphotic zone. We have developed methodology for the quantification of CDOM in the open ocean using ocean color, in addition to quantification of chlorophyll a (the customary target of ocean color remote sensing), which we propose to apply to research questions in the present proposal. In the open ocean CDOM abundance and distribution in the upper water column is regulated by photochemical bleaching, mixing, and local production by the microbial community. We propose to conduct a regional-scale study of the processes regulating CDOM concentration, using multi-sensor remote sensing and mixed-layer modeling approaches to examine the rates of bleaching, mixing, and production of CDOM. The results will be used to generate estimates of the exposure and biological dose of UV radiation in the euphotic zone, photochemical reaction rates and air-sea fluxes of photochemical products, and the impact of dynamic CDOM concentrations on the estimation of chlorophyll a and primary production in the open sea. At the outset of the study we will focus on the central Sargasso Sea region, where we have available relevant background data sets and ongoing field studies.
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Norm Nelson 1/26/2001-11/30/2010 $729,130
David Siegel
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NAS5-00200 (NNN02)
The Bermuda BioOptics Project (BBOP) Years 9 - 11
This project continues the field and laboratory activities conducted as part of the Bermuda Bio-Optics Project (BBOP). For the past eight years, BBOP has conducted profile observations of apparent and inherent optical properties (AOP and IOP) in collaboration with the U.S. JGOFS Bermuda Atlantic Time series Study (BATS), at a deep-ocean site 65 miles SE of the Bermuda islands. The close association between BBOP and BATS has led to new discoveries regarding the relationships between optical properties and physical, biological, and chemical processes in relation to the carbon cycle. The four areas of focus are: 1) continuation of the profile observations of apparent and inherent optical parameters on BATS cruises (including in situ spectroradiometric observations and measurements of CDOM and particulate absorption spectra from bottle samples), 2) the acquisition of near real-time distribution of remotely sensed reflectance spectra and chlorophyll a concentrations, 3) in situ data processing, database maintenance and distribution, and 4) instrument calibration and maintenance of the UCSB ocean optics calibration facility.
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Norm Nelson 6/15/2004-6/14/2008 $692,901
David Siegel
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NNG04GM15G (NNN04)
Ocean optical properties, MODIS ocean products, and atmospheric dust: The Bermuda Bio-Optics Project
This project continues the time series of calibrated, high quality, in situ measurements of spectroradiometric quantities, chlorophyll a, and inherent optical properties (including CDOM, phytoplankton, and particulate detritus absorption spectra) collected at the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study site in the northwestern Sargasso Sea (http://www.icess.ucsb.edu/bbop/bbop.html). This time series now extends back 10 years for in situ radiometric and chlorophyll data, and 8 ½ years for the absorption data. Our experience with SeaWiFS products has suggested a linkage between sporadic, interannually variable trans-Atlantic dust transport and the accuracy of ocean color chlorophyll retrievals. We would like to continue this analysis using MODIS ocean and atmospheric products, and extend the analysis to CDOM, including both MODIS products and the UCSB Ocean Color model (Garver-Siegel-Maritorena). We will take advantage of our in situ time series, enhanced with sun photometer data from the AERONET station in Bermuda and collected by Microtops in the field, to quantify the relationships between spectral atmospheric transparency and the retrieved products. Our scientific collaborators working on atmospheric dust transport will help us to assess the nature of the transported dust as well as its large scale distribution. Colocating the time-series with the existing BATS program will allow us simultaneous access to ocean physical and biological data that will help us place the measurements in oceanographic context. Understanding the atmospheric factors impacting the accuracy of ocean color algorithms will help us to confidently retrieve the impact (if any) of dust input to the subtropical North Atlantic gyre on the phytoplankton biomass and productivity, as well as improve the quality of the retrieved products. All in situ collected data will be made available to interested researchers as it has in the past, via our web site (listed above) and the SeaBASS system or its successors.
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Norm Nelson 4/1/2007-3/31/2009 $297,529
Craig Carlson
David Siegel
National Science Foundation, OCE-0648541 (NNF03)
Chromophoric DOM - A photoactive tracer of biogeochemical process
Chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM), the colored fraction of the dissolved organic matter (DOM) pool, plays an important role in and affects our interpretation of the biogeochemistry of the open sea. Light absorption by CDOM drives photochemical reactions and its light absorption often obscures our ability to diagnose biogeochemical processes from satellite ocean color imagery. CDOM is an optical property; hence, its concentration can be quantified synoptically over large spatial scales using satellite sensors or in situ from a host of autonomous platforms. Although land-ocean exchanges are well known sources of ocean CDOM, recent observations have shown that open ocean CDOM is created through in situ biogeochemical processes.
Despite the importance of CDOM to ocean biogeochemistry, little is known about the chemical nature of CDOM in the open ocean in relation to its global distribution. In this continuation work, we will take the next step towards the first systematic global survey of CDOM in the world ocean and to use these observations in conjunction with data from the CLIVAR-Repeat Hydrography program to characterize CDOM and DOM in the open ocean. Specifically, we will:
· Continue our global surveying of CDOM and DOM quality indices on CLIVAR- Repeat Hydrography cruises in the Pacific, Southern and Indian Oceans
· Assess the connections among global CDOM stocks and its diagenetic state as measured using amino acid content and spectrofluorometric analysis (using newly collected and archived samples from the previous period of performance),
· Develop and test our predictive understanding of the open ocean CDOM cycle through data analyses and numerical modeling.
It is through our continued coupled investigation of CDOM stocks, chemical and spectral characterization, and analysis and modeling that we hope to synthesize a new understanding of its sources, sinks and distributions within the global oceans. CDOM characterization will also give us a new dimension with which to assess the changes in chemical nature and lability of DOM as it cycles through the global ocean.
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William O'Hirok 2/15/2004-2/14/2008 $249,849
Catherine Gautier
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NNG04GE25G (OWN01)
The Impact of Spatial Scale on the Remote Sensing and Radiative Forcing of Clouds on the Climate
This project builds upon our expertise in 3-D radiative transfer and our participation in the Intercomparison of 3D Radiation Codes (I3RC). The I3RC successfully demonstrated a general community agreement on ‘exact’ theoretical solutions to 3-D radiative transfer. The next step is to ascertain how well theory matches reality and in what context 3-D computations are important. We will examine such issues using a state-of-the art 3-D Monte Carlo radiative transfer model that we partially developed through our involvement with the NASA Surface Radiation Budget (SRB) program. Cloud fields will be derived from radar imagery representative of a variety of climatic regimes. Three-dimensional computations will be conducted systematically at various resolutions over many cloud realizations to evaluate the importance of scale on radiative fluxes in the shortwave and longwave spectral regions. Our research involves: (i) determining at what spatial resolution and for what type of cloud fields 3-D effects are important for simulating the radiative environment in cloud resolving models; (ii) how the resolution of satellite sensors impacts the retrieval of remotely sensed cloud properties and the conversion of TOA radiance to irradiance; (iii) and to validate radiative transfer models using 3-D computations and surface observations and to assess the role clouds have on the direct radiative forcing of absorbing aerosols.
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J. Carter Ohlmann 9/23/2004-3/22/2008 $259,685
Department of Interior, 1435-01-04-CA-36650 (OCP04)
Relationship between Inner-Shelf Surface Currents and Large-Scale Characteristic Flow patterns in the Santa Barbara Channel
Predicting the path, or trajectory, of spilled oil in the ocean is of primary importance to the United States Mineral Management Service’s (MMS) goal of predicting the fate of the spilled oil. Accurate knowledge of the ocean surface current field is necessary for predicting the path of spilled oil. The MMS has thus been actively funding ocean circulation studies in the Santa Barbara Channel since at least the historical 1969 oil spill to understand how wind and pressure driven currents combine with transient mesoscale eddies and other motions to comprise the local circulation patterns. Although the number of oil/gas leases in the Santa Barbara channel is presently being reduced, an understanding of current patterns is still necessary for spill risk assessment, for monitoring natural seepage, and for determining how nutrients, larvae, and contaminants move to marine habitat around obsolete structures as part of the MMS Rigs-to-Reefs program (http://www.gomr.mms.gov/homepg/regulate/environ/rigs-to-reefs/information.html). During the last 10 years, the MMS has sponsored the Santa Barbara Channel – Santa Maria Basin Coastal Circulation Study (SBC-SMB CCS), a large observational program aimed at improving the understanding and predictability of large-scale circulation patterns within the study region. The ARGOS-CODE drifters used in the SBC-SMB study give position data with 1 km spatial accuracy every few hours and are not appropriate for resolving inner-shelf flow patterns. Thus, circulation patterns defined for the SBC hold only for basin-scale currents, and may not be indicative of flows over the inner-shelf. Dever et al. (1998) ultimately report that drifters over the inner-shelf “exhibited behavior quite different from drifters found in the open channel.” This leads to the questions: 1) What are the characteristic patterns of circulation over the inner-shelf? 2) How do the inner-shelf patterns relate to the basin-scale patterns reported by Winant et al. (2003)? 3) What are the dominant forcing mechanisms? This research seeks answers to these questions.
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J. Carter Ohlmann 3/1/2004-2/28/2008 $459,874
Libe Washburn
National Science Foundation, OCE-0352187 (OCF02)
Collaborative Research: Stochastic Transport Models for the Coastal Ocean
This research seeks to determine optimal stochastic particle transport (i.e. Lagrangian) models for use in the coastal ocean. Circulation observations for the coastal ocean exist primarily in the form of time-averaged Eulerian fields. Many applied problems in coastal oceanography are concerned with how things are transported and where they go. Accurate Lagrangian stochastic transport models for the near-shore region are a necessary link between the copious Eulerian coastal circulation data from high frequency (HF) radar systems, and transport information required by coastal resource managers tasked with identifying the fate of pollutants, larvae, and objects lost-at-sea. Specific research objectives are to: 1. Observe surface flow fields in two coastal regions using HF radar and high-resolution drifters; 2. Develop accurate Lagrangian transport models to predict trajectories from the HF radar fields; 3. Model trajectories and quantify their skill through comparisons with in-situ drifter tracks; and 4. Compute redistribution kernel functions (RKFs), or connectivity matrices, and demonstrate their utility as simple probabilistic near-shore transport models. Existing trajectory models will be modified for consideration of flow patterns characteristic to the coastal ocean. A model with a large-scale mean component (U), a periodic component representing tidal and (near-) inertial motions (Up), and a Lagrangian stochastic component (model; LSM) for subgrid-scale motions (u) will be developed. The LSM will initially be based on high resolution drifter data. An LSM parameterization based on large-scale velocity information (e.g. integral time scales, eddy variance.) and coastal geomorphology will then be developed. This enables the trajectory models to be applied in all coastal regions with sufficient large-scale flow information. Model skill over a wide range of dynamic parameters (e.g. velocity, vorticity, eddy energy) will be quantified in the Santa Barbara (CA) and Miami (FL) coastal regions through comparisons with in-situ drifter tracks. RKFs, giving the probability that a particle released at some location x0 at time t0 will reach location x1 at t1, will be computed with modeled trajectories and evaluated as tools for predicting transport, or connectivity in the coastal ocean. An improved understanding of coastal circulation will result from subsequent identification of how and why RKFs vary spatially and temporally.
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J. Carter Ohlmann 7/1/2006-2/29/2008 $177,788
Office of Naval Research, ONR N00014-06-01-0794 (OCO03)
Acquisition of GPS-Located, Reusable Drifters for Naval Research.
This support allows for the purchase of a 50 unit, high resolution, surface drifter system that will provide the Navy with instrumentation for observing regional ocean circulation patterns on scales which are poorly sampled, poorly understood, and not adequately resolved in ocean models. Drifters will use GPS to determine their position to within a few meters accuracy every 10 minutes. The position data will be transmitted to a web based host computer in near realtime over the Iridium satellite communications network allowing global use of the system. The spatial accuracy and near realtime data availability make the drifters recoverable, allowing multiple uses in Navy research and operations. The scales are smaller than those explicitly resolved in regional numerical circulation models, but larger than isotropic turbulence, and are thus particularly interesting. The drifters will initially be used to map highly energetic coastal currents in Indonesian Straits as part of the ONR-DRI entitled Characterization and Modeling of Archipelago Strait Dynamics. Understanding how energetic through-flows interact with local bathymetry and give rise to complex mesoscale and sub-mesoscale patterns is necessary for improving region ocean circulation models. Observing local transport pathways in near realtime with an autonomous system is key for successful naval operations. The drifter system will subsequently be available for similar applications in other regions of Navy interest.
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J. Carter Ohlmann 4/26/2006-9/30/2007 $36,000
Office of Naval Research, N00014-06-1-0722 (OCO02)
Submeso-scale Dynamics of the Lombok Trait
Sea straits are generally small but significant bodies of water which facilitate water-mass exchange between ocean basins, and provide vital transport routes for maritime shipping operations. Ocean circulation within straits is typically characterized by highly energetic throughflows that interact with local bathymetry and give rise to complex meso- and submeso-scale patterns. Existing circulation studies in major straits focus on the overall transport between connected basins and address variations in transport on seasonal to inter-annual timescales. The submeso-scale flow within ocean straits is scarcely sampled, poorly understood, and not adequately resolved in ocean models.
This project will observe the surface circulation in the Lombok Strait on spatial scales ranging from 10’s of meters to a few km, and time scales ranging from 10’s of minutes to a day, with GPS-located, reusable drifters. The overall objective of the research is an observational understanding of meso- and submeso-scale transient features that occur in the Lombok Strait circulation. This will ultimately facilitate development of an accurate regional modeling system for use in Navy (and related) operations. Surface circulation observations will indicate the important processes and scales that must be resolved in models, provide a means for model validation, and furnish data for assimilation.
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J. Carter Ohlmann 1/1/2007-12/31/2008 $38,595
San Francisco State University, C7-94344 (OCP07)
Delivery and Quality Assurance of Short-Term Trajectory Forecasts from HF Radar Observations.
This collaborative project will develop, assess, and document the use of real-time ocean surface current maps from high frequency (HF) radar installations. Specifically, we will evaluate the use of these data in support of oil spill response activities. An extensive test of these capabilities was conducted in connection with the NOAA Safe Seas 2006 oil spill exercise offshore San Francisco in August, 2006. We intend to conduct a systematic post-exercise evaluation and to document lessons learned. We also intend to quantitatively assess the performance of the short-term (24-hour) surface current prediction methodology that was developed for the Safe Seas 2006 exercise by comparing observed and predicted currents under a wide range of environmental conditions. To aid that assessment, we will conduct a multi-day, multi-deployment field experiment using an array of GPS-tracked surface drifters. Finally, we intend to document our results in the form of a package of recommendations and procedures for the integration of HF radar-derived products into real-time spill response protocols.
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J. Carter Ohlmann 2/1/2005-9/30/2007 $98,188
University of California, 04-078.02SB (OCP06)
SCCOOS: The Southern California Coastal Current Observing System, State Conservancy Grant Proposal
Drifters will provide surface current observations in the nearshore transition zone which is not sampled with HF radar. Fifteen drifters will be deployed in a grid extending 2 km offshore and 10 km alongshore. Five deployments will be carried out during a single month in year 2 at the San Pedro “nearshore” study site. A deployment involves initial seeding, and continual reseeding, of the study grid for a period of 3 days. The reseeding will occur through monitoring drifter position in near-realtime, and retrieving and redeploying as drifters they leave the study grid. Drifter trajectories and surface current maps will be generated every three hours during deployment times and provided to SCCOOS data management. These data will be integrated with HF radar data to provide near-realtime monitoring, and will be used for model validation.
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J. Carter Ohlmann 6/1/2004-12/31/2007 $77,898
University of California, NA17RJ1231/O (OCP05)
SCCOOS: Shelf to Shoreline Observatory Development
This drifter study involves a single drifter experiment requiring preparation of the drifters, deployment of the drifters from a small boat, near real-time monitoring of the drifter fleet for a period of a few days (dependent on the flow field), and subsequent retrieval of the drifters. Six drifter releases per year are to be performed. The drifters will provide position data that will be processed to remove erroneous position information, to compute instantaneous velocities, and to compute spatially and temporally averaged velocity fields. The processed data will be made available to others (collaborators, scientists, agency representatives, etc.) via the World Wide Web. The drifter data will be analyzed to provide validation of long-range H.F. radar velocities and for a simple statistical view of the flow field. This includes quantification of measurement discrepancies and sub-grid-scale motions aliased in the H.F. radar data. Additionally, differences between trajectories determined from Eulerian H.F. radar fields and measured with drifters will be quantified to assess the role of the long range H.F. radar data in monitoring movement of pollutants, larvae, and objects lost-at-sea through the coastal ocean.
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J. Carter Ohlmann 9/1/2003-8/31/2007 $123,545
University of Washington, 759405 (OCP03)
Revised Mixed Layer Restratification
This project focuses the restratification of mixed layers as active mixing decays. In collaboration with the University of Washington, it focuses on collecting, processing, and analyzing data collected during the mixed layer restratification cruises.
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J. Carter Ohlmann 7/1/2007-6/30/2009 $32,554
Patricia Holden
Libe Washburn
Heal the Ocean (RASF HPP05/OCP08)
Monitoring the Montecito Outflow Plume
An oceanographic study will be conducted (Washburn and Ohlmann, UCSB) to quantify the horizontal advection and diffusion of surface waters in the vicinity of the Montecito wastewater outflow. Microbiological measurements of water samples collected within the plume will allow for characterizing bacterial indicators, indicator DNA, bacterial communities, and bacterial pathogens indicative of contamination (Holden, UCSB). While drifters provide a direct measure of transport pathways taken by surface water parcels, microbiological measurements provide direct measures of microbial contaminant concentrations, as well as indigenous microbes, associated with the plume. Microbial communities associated with wastewater effluent discharged from the Montecito outfall are likely to be complex and distinct from the indigenous ocean microbial ecology, with subgroups and populations changing at varying rates due to multiple loss mechanisms occurring along the plume trajectory. While dispersion and eddy diffusion values (i.e. mixing rates) are accurately obtained from drifter data by considering the relative motion of drifter pairs, the application of these values to dynamic analytes, such as organisms, cannot be used to directly and completely predict the movement of organisms within the plume. Rather, a coupled fate and transport model of microbes within the plume trajectory will be developed based on measured concentrations of microbial constituents in space and time, advection and dispersion characteristics of the water, and nominated loss coefficients for individual groups of microbes. Loss coefficients will be estimated within the plume model by performing sensitivity analyses and discovering appropriately conservative bounds for estimated values. Overall, measurements of water properties, including microbiological contaminants, and subsurface current velocities will characterize the ambient ocean conditions, as well as the effects of effluent discharge on water quality around the outfall.
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Jiancheng Shi 4/3/2007-3/31/2008 data only
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
Estimate Snow Properties Using ALOS Measurements. (JAXA data only)
This research effort concentrates on algorithm development for monitoring snow properties by using ALOS image data and on the spatially-distributed, physical-based modeling of snow cover on a mountain watershed. For remote sensing components, we will use ALOS measurements from a diverse array of sensors – from visible to microwave – in a synergistic way to interpret snow properties to monitor and model snow processes. For hydrological components, we will develop methods and strategies to drive and update physically based snow models from the variables obtained from ALOS sensor systems: snow extent, temperature, grain size, wetness and spectral albedo.
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Jiancheng Shi 6/1/2004-11/20/2006 $109,500
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 1262093 (JSP02)
HYDROS Project Risk Mitigation Task Plan
This project involves participation with other HYDROS team members in developing and evaluating retrieval algorithms for HYDROS soil moisture data products. UCSB is providing research, analysis, and computer simulations of the HYDROS backscatter response to geophysical scenes typically of those to be observed by HUDROS. The backscatter and brightness temperature simulations will include effects of soil and vegetation, and noise and calibration error characteristics typical of those expected of HYDROS. Additionally, HYDROS soil moisture algorithm development and assessment studies using SMEX02 and SMEX03 field experiment data will be completed. Data acquired during previous field experiments (JPL Passive and Active L- and S-band (PALS) and the JPL Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (AirSAR)) will be used to supplement the simulations (above) in verifying and validating the performance of the HYDROS soil moisture algorithms.
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Jiancheng Shi 8/1/2005-7/31/2006 $95,000
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NNG05GN44G (JSN05)
Estimation of Snow Water Equivalence with the Combined Active-Passive Microwave Instruments
Seasonal snow cover is one of the most important components in NASA’s goal of predicting global water- and energy-cycle consequences of Earth-system variability and change. However, significant deficiencies exist for retrieval of snow cover properties of a global scale through current remote sensing-based techniques. Currently existing satellite systems do not offer methods to estimate snow water equivalence (density ´ depth) or snow wetness over the range of Earth’s environments.
As part of the pre-mission and feasibility studies, NASA’s Cold Land Processes Working Group has identified a combined active/passive microwave sensor configuration as a viable configuration for a potential satellite mission designed specifically to measure snow properties (SWE and wetness). This system incorporates a dual-frequency (possible range C- to Ku-bands) and dual-polarization (VV and VH) Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) system to provide backscatter measurements at 100 meter spatial resolution, together with a dual-frequency (Ku- and Ka-band) and dual-polarization (V and H) radiometer system that would provide brightness temperature at 4-7 km spatial resolution. Both instruments utilize the same incidence angle with a possible range of 20° to 35°. The proposal is being prepared for NASA’s ESSP program). In addition, a letter intent, lead by Prof. Helmut Rott with a joint team by the scientists from U.S and Europe has been submitted to ESA under Earth Observation Envelope Program. The proposed instrument is a dual-frequency (X-band 9.25 GHz and Ku-band 17 GHz) and dual polarization (VV and VH) SAR system. However, there is no corresponding quantitative retrieval algorithm that have been developed and validated robustly over a variety of snowpack and landscape conditions. The robust quantitative retrieval algorithms is a critical component for any snow satellite mission development to be successful.
This objective of this investigation is to develop the quantitative retrieval algorithms for monitoring spatial and temporal distributions of snow water equivalence of the seasonal snow cover on land to support the snow satellite mission development. The key components of this investigation are:
(1) database simulation for the algorithm development under the study sensor configurations;
(2) development of a combined (active/passive) physically-based algorithm to estimate snow water equivalence using dual-polarization Ku-band radar and dual-frequency radiometer measurements.
In addition, we will carry out analyses of X-band sensitivity on SWE estimation to support the proposal that will be submitted to ESA.
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Jiancheng Shi 6/15/2006-6/14/2008 $304,456
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NNX06AC90G (JSN06)
Snow Retrieval Algorithm Development for a Satellite-Based Snow Processes Mission
Seasonal snow cover is one of the most important components in NASA’s goal of predicting global water- and energy-cycle consequences of Earth-system variability and change. However, the prospects are much more deficient: currently existing satellite systems do not offer methods to estimate snow water equivalence (density depth) or snow wetness over the range of Earth’s environments.
The proposed study will identify the suitable microwave sensor parameters and develop the corresponding quantitative retrieval algorithms for monitoring spatial and temporal distributions of snow water equivalence and snow wetness of the seasonal snow cover on land. The components of this investigation are:
(1) completion of the database simulation for the algorithm development under the sensor configurations identified by NASA Cold Land Processes Working Group;
(2) development of a physically-based algorithm to estimate snow water equivalence from dual-frequency and dual-polarization radar measurements;
(3) development of a physically-based algorithm to estimate snow wetness with dual-frequency radar measurements;
(4) development of a combined (active/passive) physically-based algorithm to estimate snow water equivalence using dual-polarization Ku-band radar and dual-frequency radiometer measurements.
We will use a state-of-the-art, physically-based microwave model to generate a simulated backscatter and emissivity database that covers a variety of the most possible snow and underlying ground properties for different sensor parameters (frequency and polarization). These data will be used to evaluate and characterize of the frequency and polarization dependences of each scattering and emission component. Quantitative retrieval algorithms under the various sensor configurations will be developed by either iterative, physical, or statistical techniques. We will validate our algorithms using CLPX’02, CLPX’03, and future CLPX experiments as well as other available ground scatterometer and radiometer measurements. We will engage the CLPX data set to examine the robustness of these retrieval techniques of a variety of topographic and land cover conditions
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David Siegel 4/1/2003-12/31/2007 $388,758
Norm Nelson
Craig Carlson
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NAG5-13277 (SDN19)
NASA Portion of "Chromophoric DOM: An Ignored Photoactive Tracer of Geochemical Processes"
Chromophoric dissolved organic material (CDOM), the colored fraction of the dissolved organic material (DOM) pool, is a highly dynamic property found throughout the open ocean. CDOM is an optical property; hence, its concentration can be quantified synoptically over large spatial scales using satellite-borne sensors or in situ from a host of autonomous platforms. Recent work demonstrates that net CDOM production is related to heterotrophic bacterial cycling processes while its losses are due to photobleaching. Vertical distributions of CDOM and in particular its surface signature are therefore regulated by how vertical mixing processes redistribute the basic processes of CDOM cycling. This suggests that CDOM may be an excellent tracer of upper ocean exchanges. We propose to apply a process-level description of CDOM cycling to test its utility as a geochemical tracer. To make this assessment and to test our hypotheses, we propose to: 1) Elucidate CDOM distributions over a range of oceanic regimes on several meridional sections of the CO2/CLIVAR Repeat Hydrography survey; 2) Quantify and parameterize CDOM production & destruction processes with the goal of mathematically constraining the cycling of CDOM; 3) Evaluate the utility of CDOM as an upper ocean age tracer by comparing with coincident tracer distributions from the Repeat Hydrography survey; and 4) Develop a 1-D model of CDOM dynamics for use across a wide range of oceanic regimes with the goal of diagnosing mixed layer - thermocline exchanges. If our scientific hypotheses prove correct, this research will lead to the remote estimation of water mass exchanges between the mixed layer and underlying waters from satellite orbit. A predictive understanding of these exchanges is critical for understanding the oceanic fate of anthropogenic compounds discharged to the atmosphere.
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David Siegel 1/1/2007-12/31/2007 $140,000
Craig Carlson
Norm Nelson
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NAG5-13277 (SDN24)
Augmentation of NASA NAG5-13277: Chromophoric DOM: An ignored photoactive tracer of geochemical process.
This augmentation will continue the work we have been doing concerned with global CDOM distribution and dynamics. Specifically, it allows for participation in the CLIVAR Repeat Hydrography Indian Ocean expedition in early 2007 (WOCE lines I8S and I9N). These will be the first systematic basin-scale measurements of CDOM in the Indian Ocean on this project and the first since JGOFS. Our results will contribute to our growing understanding of CDOM cycling and transport in the global ocean and will extend our existing work in this area. We will send personnel on each leg of the expedition, and will conduct the following measurements, at a rate of once daily, near noon to come close to Terra/SeaWiFS/Aqua passes (ca. 35 stations per leg):
1) In water light fluxes using Satlantic MicroProII free fall profiler and SMSR surface reference (top 200 m)
2) CDOM distribution surface to bottom (UltraPath liquid waveguide spectrophotometer, analysis at sea).
3) Chlorophyll a distribution in upper 250m (fluorometric method, at sea)
4) Surface samples for HPLC analysis of phytoplankton pigments
5) Surface samples for particulate and detrital absorption (filter pad method)
6) Samples for DOM quality characterization (upper 1000m)
7) Microbial abundance (surface-bottom) and productivity (upper 250 m)
Collected AOP, IOP, and pigment data (along with ancillary measurements and metadata) will be contributed to SeaBASS after the completion of the cruise.
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David Siegel 1/26/2001-11/30/2010 $618,198
Stephane Maritorena
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NAS5-00201 (SDN16)
Plumes and Blooms: Observations, Analysis & Modeling for SIMBIOS
This project continues the coordinated time series program of field observations, ocean color analysis and modeling and satellite image analysis aimed at understanding the spatial and temporal structure of sediment plumes and phytoplankton blooms in the Santa Barbara Channel. A primary goal of the Plumes and Blooms (PnB) project is to develop, validate and apply to imagery state-of-the-art ocean color algorithms for quantifying concentrations of suspended sediments, phytoplankton pigments and dissolved organic materials for this Case II environment. The research includes the collection of a complete biogeooptical data set. Included in this data set are redundant measures of apparent optical properties (remote sensing reflectance and diffuse attenuation spectra), as well as in situ profiles of spectral absorption, beam attenuation and backscattering coefficients. We will use the PnB data set to objectively tune semi-analytical models of ocean color for this site and apply them using available satellite imagery (SeaWiFS and MODIS). These data will also be used to test the applicability of global algorithms for this Case II environment.
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David Siegel 9/1/2003-8/31/2006 $72,000
Tihomir Kostadinov
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NGT5-30528 (SDN20)
Fellowship: Global Regionalization of a Semi-analytical Ocean Color Algorithm for Case II Environments
In the recent decades significant technical advances have allowed for the emergence of a whole new field of oceanography – satellite ocean color remote sensing and retrieval of biological data from optical properties of the water. Ocean color imagery can provide valuable information about the optical state of ocean waters, provided robust retrieval algorithms are used. Sophisticated non-linear semi-analytical inverse bio-optical models that provide the capability to retrieve several uncorrelated optical properties simultaneously have been developed and tuned globally, (e.g. Maritorena et. al. 2002). Ocean color models are only as good as the data used to derive them. In coastal waters, the variations in magnitude and spectral shape of the optical properties are generally more complex than in open ocean waters. Consequently, the development of algorithms for local or regional applications requires specific data sets since the quality of coastal ocean color model retrievals will ultimately depend on their local validity. This research will use existing extensive optical data sets from the Santa Barbara Channel and other areas to locally tune a semi-analytical bio-optical algorithm. It will explore differences in model parameters tuned for a variety of local sites and develop means to link these sites parametrically. The goal of this research will be to derive a unified Case II algorithm. Further, application of locally tuned algorithm to satellite imagery will be applied in order to assess the variability of the model retrievals (such as chlorophyll, colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) absorption spectra, and particulate backscatter spectra) in the Santa Barbara Channel. Understanding of the variability and forcing of ocean color remote sensing retrievals is an important step in answering the fundamental question of how the Earth system is changing and what the consequences of such change are for life. The research has broad significance, as a robust Case II ocean color model can supply unprecedented predictive power for modeling coastal ecosystems and addressing important biological, ecological, oceanographic and environmental issues in areas where much of the human population and economic and recreational activity is concentrated.
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David Siegel 6/1/2004-5/31/2008 $611,024
Paul Ricchiazzi
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NNG04GL53G (SDN21)
Rigorous Application of MODIS Ocean Color Imagery to a Case II Ocean: Case Study of Plumes and Blooms in the Santa Barbara Channel
This undertaking will continue our coordinated program of field observations, ocean color modeling, and satellite data analysis in the Case II waters of the Santa Barbara Channel (SBC). The goals of the Plumes and Blooms (PnB) project are to develop and validate state-of-the-art ocean color algorithms for quantifying concentrations of suspended sediments, phytoplankton pigments and dissolved organic materials and to apply these approaches to develop an understanding of the spatial and temporal dynamics of sediment plumes and phytoplankton blooms in the SBC and their implications. We propose to continue our twice-monthly transect observations across the Santa Barbara Channel and to use these data to develop and implement novel, coupled ocean color and atmospheric correction algorithms for demanding, Case-II, coastal environments. At each of the seven PnB stations, a complete verification bio-geo-optical data set is collected including water-leaving radiance from profiling spectroradiometry as well as in situ profiles of spectral absorption, beam attenuation and backscattering coefficients. Water samples are analyzed to determine particulate and dissolved organic carbon concentrations, component absorption spectra, chlorophyll a, phytoplankton pigment, inorganic nutrient and biogenic and lithogenic silica concentrations. We show that the techniques used for removing the atmospheric path radiance in ocean color imagery are often inadequate for the SBC (and this has been found for many other coastal sites). We believe that this is a major short-coming for ocean color remote sensing. Hence, we will initiate observations of relevant aerosol optical properties along with the PnB field program. These include observations of aerosol optical thickness from sun photometry and estimates of aerosol single scatter albedo using a multi-filter rotating shadowband radiometer. We will use the expanded PnB data set to 1) assess the role of atmospheric aerosol variability has on present correction procedures, 2) provide regionally tuned, semi-analytical models of ocean color, 3) link these ocean color models to novel optimization methods for accounting for the atmosphere and 4) apply these techniques to available ocean color imagery to assess variability in ocean optical properties and carbon cycle parameters and their implications. We believe that improvements are essential in the methods used to separate ocean and atmospheric signals in the coastal ocean. As always, all data and model codes will be available to all interested investigators (www.icess.ucsb.edu/PnB).
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David Siegel 9/1/2006-8/31/2007 $24,000
Kyle Cavanaugh
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NNX06AF79H (SDN22)
Remote sensing of kelp habitats in the Santa Barbara Channel using SPOT imagery
Forests of giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera), found along the shallow rocky areas of the Santa Barbara Channel, are some of the most productive marine ecosystems in the world. The structure of kelp lends itself to aerial mapping; however, very few recent studies have used satellite mapping to calculate kelp coverage and none have done this with high spatial and temporal resolution. Through a partnership with Terra Image USA, UC Santa Barbara has the unique opportunity to access multiple dates of imagery of the Santa Barbara Channel from May of 2004 to the present. Using this imagery, we can create maps of kelp canopy coverage on a monthly basis and use them to understand the forcing of the kelp ecosystem by oceanographic and biotic processes on various spatial and temporal scales. We will parameterize predictive statistical and demographic models of kelp dynamics to predict changes in regional populations resulting from environmental forcing such as long term climate change. This work builds on existing projects at UCSB including the Santa Barbara Coastal LTER and the NASA supported Plumes and Blooms ocean color study.
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David Siegel 9/1/2006-8/31/2007 $24,000
Chantal Swan
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NNX06AF90H (SDN23)
Cycling of colored dissolved organic matter in the open ocean: Application of photolysis measurements to global satellite observations
The proposed work is an integration of laboratory process studies with global remote-sensing data concerning open-ocean colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM). UVR photolysis of CDOM drives the global ocean surface distribution of CDOM seen from satellite. Light absorption by CDOM dominates UVR flux in the upper ocean, moderating photobiological processes and photochemistry of trace gases. Characteristics of CDOM relating to light exposure are observed in the ocean interior, and a quantitative understanding of photolysis will advance the potential utility of CDOM as a remotely-sensed ocean tracer. I propose experimental determinations of apparent quantum yield of CDOM photolysis on open-ocean samples and immediate application of these measurements to global CDOM data derived from NASA ocean color. Through this method, rates of photolytic loss, net production by bioremineralization, and seasonal entrainment of CDOM will be quantified such that an annual mixed layer budget for open-ocean CDOM is established.
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David Siegel 5/1/2007-4/30/2008 $173,030
Steven Gaines
Phaedon Kyriakidis
Stéphane Maritorena
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NNX07AF08G (SDN25)
Remote Assessment of Giant Kelp Dynamics - The Engineer of California's Nearshore Ecosystems
Forests of giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera), found on shallow subtidal reefs along much of coastal California, are some of the most productive ecosystems in the world. Kelp forests have great economic value and are harvested for use in products ranging from pharmaceuticals and cosmetics to food products and aquaculture feed. Perhaps more importantly, giant kelp is an “ecosystem engineer” providing both food and habitat to a diverse array of biologically and commercially important species of algae, invertebrates, fish, and marine mammals while exporting large quantities of organic matter to adjacent littoral and continental shelf ecosystems. Economic analyses show California kelp forests create at least $250 million in revenue each year.
This research will develop a predictive understanding of giant kelp forests in the nearshore waters of California using a combination of remote sensing, numerical modeling and the analysis of available field data. We will take advantage of high resolution, multi-spectral SPOT imagery to map kelp cover dynamics on spatial scales of >10 m and monthly time scales. We will develop new measures of kelp productivity and kelp canopy condition that can be assayed using available remote sensing imagery as well as to guide future mission planning. We will examine the role of disturbance and other environmental factors such as surface wave stress (using regional wave models), coastal currents (using HF radar remote sensing), sediment plumes (using MODIS & SeaWiFS ocean color imagery) and nutrient availability (using field and remote sensing proxies) on our high resolution observations of kelp canopy cover. Our goal is to use these data to develop a predictive understanding of kelp forest metapopulation dynamics (e.g., persistence, colonization, disturbance, etc.) that can be applied to the California coast. This work has a multitude of real-world applications including the ecological assessment of marine resources in the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary as well as the state-mandated implementation of marine reserves along the California coast.
This work will be conducted in collaboration with the NOAA Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary (http://www.cinms.nos.noaa.gov/), the Santa Barbara Coastal Long Term Ecological Research project (http://sbc.lternet.edu/; NSF support), and the Coastal Data Information Project (http://cdip.ucsd.edu/; USGS & State of California support).
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David Siegel 9/15/2006-8/31/2010 $199,410
National Science Foundation, 0628389 (SDF09)
Collaborative Research: Carbon Flux through the twilight zone - new tools to measure change
The UCSB group proposes to conduct a combination of remote sensing, numerical modeling and data analysis tasks to assess the role of time/space variability of export around the trap deployments on the monthly inferences of C export. During the time series operations, the UCSB group will help in at-field sampling by forecasting where the deployed TZEX and NBST traps will go and where they collected sinking particles (as done in VERTIGO). This requires some at-sea work measuring and analyzing currents from the R/V Ocean Explorer’s ADCP system and combining them with satellite altimetry maps of surface currents. We will also assess the sampling scales of the NBST and tethered traps deployed here and will analyze available merged ocean color imagery to assess the time/space variability of Chl and NPP surrounding each trap deployment enabling us to assess the importance of episodic blooms. (e.g., Siegel et al 2006).
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David Siegel 7/1/2003-6/30/2008 $265,732
National Science Foundation, OCE-0241011 (SDF06)
Collaborative Research: Impacts of Eddies and Mixing on Plankton Community Structure and Biogeochemical Cycling in the Sargasso Sea
Impacts of Eddies and Mixing on Plankton Community Structure and Biogeochemical Cycling in the Sargasso Sea The currents, fronts and eddies that comprise the oceanic mesoscale, sometimes referred to as the “internal weather of the sea,” are highly energetic and ubiquitous features of ocean circulation. Dynamical consequences of these phenomena include perturbation of the chemical and biological environment that can dramatically impact biogeochemical cycling in the ocean. The processes that regulate this response are extraordinarily complex, challenging us to understand how the physical, biological and chemical processes are functionally related. Recent evidence suggests that mesoscale eddies are an important nutrient transport mechanism in the oligotrophic waters of the main subtropical gyres. Numerical simulations and satellite based statistical estimates indicate that the magnitude of the eddy-driven nutrient flux could be sufficient to balance geochemical estimates of new production, which far exceed that which can be sustained by traditional mechanisms of nutrient supply. Relatively few direct observations of this process are available, owing to the spatial and temporal intermittency of the events which drive it. Available data demonstrate that isopycnal displacements associated with certain types of eddies can transport nutrients into the euphotic zone, resulting in the accumulation of chlorophyll in the overlying waters. However, the nature of the biological response and its impact on coupled biogeochemical cycles and export has yet to be elucidated. Furthermore, the relationship between eddy-induced upwelling and diapycnal mixing in and below the mixed layer remains obscure; the strength of this interaction determines the degree to which the eddy-driven effects are irreversible and thereby effect a net biogeochemical flux. Our team of investigators proposes to collect a set of measurements that will document phytoplankton physiological response, changes in community structure, export and the biogeochemical ramifications of eddy induced upwelling and mixing in the Sargasso Sea. Target features will be identified prior to field deployment via remote sensing. High resolution surveys will be undertaken with an undulating towed instrument that includes a Video Plankton Recorder and a Fast Repetition Rate Fluorometer. This suite of instruments will facilitate simultaneous assessment of photosynthetic parameters and the species assemblage of phytoplankton and zooplankton. These measurements will be accompanied by discrete water sampling of biogeochemical properties in sets of stations along cross sections of the chosen features. Export will be measured at selected locations within the mesoscale structure. Rates of mixing between the surface mixed layer (order 10m) and waters at the base of the euphotic zone (order 100m) will be inferred from the Helium flux gauge and measured directly with an SF6 tracer release. Taken together, these observations will be sufficient to test the hypothesis that eddy-induced upwelling increases photosynthetic rates, changes community structure and increases export from the euphotic zone, thereby playing an important role in biogeochemical cycling of the subtropical oceans. In essence, what is suggested herein is a mechanism by which a highly nonlinear biological response regulates the impact of a physical disturbance on biogeochemical cycling. We plan to incorporate what we learn about the nature of this regulation into basin-scale eddy-resolving models of the North Atlantic in order to investigate the impacts of this coupled physical/biological/chemical dynamic on large-scale biogeochemical distributions. We hypothesize that geophysical turbulence causes a net acceleration of elemental cycling that plays a fundamental role in maintaining the mean biogeochemical state of the ocean. The proposed research is to be carried out in a collaborative effort amongst ten principal investigators from five institutions: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the Bermuda Biological Station for Research, Rutgers University, University of California, Santa Barbara, and the University of Miami. The work consists of two years of field observations followed by a final year of synthesis.
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David Siegel 5/1/2003-4/30/2007 $534,680
Norm Nelson
Craig Carlson
National Science Foundation, OCE-0241614 (SDF05)
Chromophoric DOM: An Ignored Photoactive Tracer of Geochemical Processes
Chromophoric dissolved organic material (CDOM), the colored fraction of the dissolved organic material (DOM) pool, is a highly dynamic property found throughout the open ocean. CDOM is an optical property; hence, its concentration can be quantified synoptically over large spatial scales using satellite-borne sensors or in situ from a host of autonomous platforms. Recent work demonstrates that net CDOM production is related to heterotrophic bacterial cycling processes while its losses are due to photobleaching. Vertical distributions of CDOM and in particular its surface signature are therefore regulated by how vertical mixing processes redistribute the basic processes of CDOM cycling. This suggests that CDOM may be an excellent tracer of upper ocean exchanges. We propose to apply a process-level description of CDOM cycling to test its utility as a geochemical tracer. To make this assessment and to test our hypotheses, we propose to: 1) Elucidate CDOM distributions over a range of oceanic regimes on several meridional sections of the CO2/CLIVAR Repeat Hydrography survey; 2) Quantify and parameterize CDOM production & destruction processes with the goal of mathematically constraining the cycling of CDOM; 3) Evaluate the utility of CDOM as an upper ocean age tracer by comparing with coincident tracer distributions from the Repeat Hydrography survey; and 4) Develop a 1-D model of CDOM dynamics for use across a wide range of oceanic regimes with the goal of diagnosing mixed layer - thermocline exchanges. If our scientific hypotheses prove correct, this research will lead to the remote estimation of water mass exchanges between the mixed layer and underlying waters from satellite orbit. A predictive understanding of these exchanges is critical for understanding the oceanic fate of anthropogenic compounds discharged to the atmosphere.
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David Siegel 9/1/2003-8/31/2008 $1,745,951
Bruce Kendall
Chris Costello
Steven Gaines
Robert Warner
National Science Foundation, OCE-0308440 (SDF07)
BE/CNH: Disparate Scales of Process and Nearshore Fishery Management
Public confidence in our abilities to manage nearshore fisheries is at an all time low. Along the U.S. West Coast, nearly all waters deeper than 20 fathoms (~36 m) are closed to all bottom fishing to protect several species of rockfish from local extinction. Similar, though actually unrelated, management actions have created no-take marine reserves around the northern Channel Islands as a means of protecting biodiversity and fish abundances. The phrase "the oceans are in crisis" once used only by is now being used with increasing regularity by fishery managers and fishers themselves. The decline of fisheries and ecological diversity of nearshore waters is driving the "crisis-mode" nature by which nearshore fish resources are presently being managed. Clearly, it is time to examine the complexity of nearshore communities and the fisheries that depend upon them. Nearshore fisheries couple natural (ecological) and human (fishery management) processes resulting in an emergent dynamic system, rich in complexity. The goal of this proposal is to develop a process-level description of nearshore fisheries and their management patterned after California coastal environments. Specifically, we propose to examine the emergent complexity that arises due to interactions among chaotic coastal circulations, fished organism life cycles, the productivity and suitability of nearshore habitats, the intensity and nature of fish harvesting, the economics governing fisheries, fishers and fishery regulations and the bureaucratic system which implements regulations. Our aim is to assess the balance points among costs, profits, uncertainties, stock viability and ecological values of nearshore fished environments. Central to developing a predictive understanding of the interactions between flow, fish and fishing (F3) is the notion of time/space scales. The physics, biology, and socio-economic processes governing this coupled natural/human system operate on inherently different spatial and temporal scales. Without considering the mismatch in scales explicitly, mismanagement of fisheries is likely to continue unabated. Fortunately, the components of a solution to this problem are at hand. Recent advances in modeling coastal ocean circulations, marine life cycle dynamics, the values of information to fishery management, and the consequences of management choices in the face of uncertainty have independently created the pieces necessary to assemble a synthetic approach to nearshore fisheries management. Moreover, large-scale programs monitoring the dynamics of coastal ecosystems are finally providing the empirical data necessary to parameterize and test these models. The individual investigators in this project are leaders in these component efforts. Collectively, they will link these components into new computational and conceptual models that examine optimal management choices in the face of unavoidable physical and biological uncertainty. Although this project uses the Southern California Bight as a focal ecosystem, the issues addressed and conceptual frameworks that arise will have broader, global impacts. Declines in fish stocks and yields are not restricted to any nation or biogeographical region. Indeed, the core problems from mismatches in spatial and temporal scales are characteristic of nearly all marine fisheries. In addition, although fisheries management commonly stops at political borders, ocean flows and fish do not. The ecological scales of coastal ecosystems are inherently international in scope. The international partnerships between this proposed effort and ongoing ecological programs in Mexico, Chile, New Zealand and Australia will expand the regional focus of this effort to global dimensions. Finally, this project links efforts by physical, natural and social scientists in a system where understanding all three components and, more importantly, their interactions are critical to success. The interdisciplinarity of the effort is not just buzzword. Approaches that do not link across these disciplines are doomed to fail. Hence, this project has rich educational opportunities across a range of ages. Since most have at one time been a part of a fishery, either as a harvester or a consumer, the key issues should be appreciated at their core by nearly everyone. This program integrates several opportunities for interdisciplinary education from K-12, through undergraduate, graduate and adult programs.
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David Siegel 8/1/2003-7/31/2007 $99,998
National Science Foundation, OCE-0327318 (SDF08)
VERtical Transport in the Global Ocean
In this study, researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, University of California - Santa Cruz, University of California - Santa Barbara, University of Tasmania, and NIWA-Australia are working collaboratively to answer a difficult question in marine biogeochemistry: What controls the efficiency of particle transport between the surface and deep ocean? More specifically, what is the fate of sinking particles leaving the upper ocean and what factors influence remineralization length scales for different sinking particle classes? Knowing the efficiency of particle transport is important for an accurate assessment of the ocean carbon sink. Globally, the magnitude and efficiency of the biological pump will in part modulate levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide. The research team will test two basic hypotheses about remineralization control, namely: (1) particle source characteristics are the dominant control on the efficiency of particle transport; and/or that (2) mid-water processing, either by zooplankton or bacteria, controls transport efficiency. To do so, they will conduct process studies at sea focused on particle flux and composition changes in the upper 500-1000m of the ocean. The basic approach is to examine changes in particle composition and flux with depth within a given source region using a combination of approaches, many of which are new to the field. These include neutrally buoyant sediment traps, particle pumps, settling columns and respiration chambers, along with the development of new biological and geochemical tools for an integrated biogeochemical assessment of the biological pump. Two sites will be studied extensively on three-week process study cruises: the Hawaii Ocean Time series site (HOT) and a new moored time-series site in the subarctic NW Pacific (Japanese site K2; 47oN 160oE). There are strong contrasts between these sites in rates of production, export, particle composition and expected remineralization length scales.
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David Siegel 1/1/2000-12/31/2006 $627,922
Natalie Mahowald
National Science Foundation, OCE-9981398 (SDF04/MNF01)
Collaborative Research: Oceanic N2 Fixation and Global Climate
Oceanic nitrogen fixation has recently been identified as a significant part of the oceanic nitrogen (N) cycle and may directly influence the rate of sequestration of atmospheric CO2 in the oceans by providing a new source of N to the upper water column. The prokaryotic micro-organisms that convert N2 gas to reactive N are a unique subcomponent of planktonic ecosystems and exhibit a variety of complex dynamics including the formation of microbial consortia and symbioses and, at times, massive blooms. Accumulating evidence indicates that iron availability may be a key controlling factor for these planktonic marine diazotrophs. The primary pathway of iron delivery to the upper oceans is through dust deposition. This project will study each of the components of this system and then model the hypothesized feedback processes. Because of the interaction of the various parts of this system, keyed around the unique behavior and biogeochemistry of the prokaryotic microorganisms that can fix N2, this feedback loop should exhibit complex behaviors on a variety of time-scales. In this proposed research, we will conduct a targeted series of experiments and field observations to understand and parameterize each of the pieces of this global process including the direct control of marine N2 fixation by dust deposition. This understanding will then feed a modeling process that examines the complex dynamics of this system on time-scales of years to millennia. The modeling process will be evaluated by comparison with data on the time-dependent behavior of ocean biogeochemistry as available from ocean time-series studies and sediment cores.
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David Siegel 3/15/2006-3/14/2008 $110,059
Princeton University, 00001198 (SDP05)
Application of Novel Satellite Carbon Biomass to Develop Ecosysem Models Capable of Predicting Climate Change
The prime responsibility of the UCSB group will be to produce and distribute a suite of novel satellite determinations of carbon biomass and growth rates in collaboration with researchers from Princeton University and Oregon State University. Input data for this will be SeaWiFS and MODIS Terra and Aqua missions. We will produce merged global data fields of carbon biomass, carbon to chlorophyll ratio, carbon-based primary production and phytoplankton loss rates and distribute these data sets via the world wide web. This work builds on that of a ReaSON grant to Jim Frew, Stephane Maritorena and David Siegel of UCSB. We will work with researchers from Princeton University and Oregon State University in validating these data sets and will assist in develop predictive models of carbon cycling for predicting future changes in the ocean's carbon cycle.
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David Siegel 9/15/2003-9/14/2006 $207,957
US Department of Energy, DE-FG02-03ER63697 (SDD01)
Improved Estimation of Sediment Trap Sampling Characteristics during VERTIGO
The gravitational sinking of particulate organic carbon from its source in the euphotic zone to the ocean interior where sinking carbon fluxes are sequestered is not purely a vertical process. Physical oceanographic processes advect these sinking particles making the sampling of “vertical” sinking fluxes problematic both operationally and conceptually. Here, we will assess the role that physical oceanographic processes play in determining upper ocean sinking fluxes and how they affect the sampling characteristics of freely drifting, surface tethered and deep moored sediment traps. This work will augment the recently NSF-funded VERTIGO experiment which is aimed at assessing the efficiency which exported particulate carbon is sequestered in the ocean interior. VERTIGO will make many useful observations (such as assessments of sinking particle fluxes and the characteristics of sinking particles). However, budgetary constraints (as directed by NSF) made it impossible to include a significant physical oceanographic research program and still support the detailed assessments of sinking particles and their fluxes. Understanding the interactions of physical processes with upper ocean sinking fluxes and their sampling requires a variety of detailed physical oceanographic measurements and analyses to be made. These include the 3-D, time-evolving velocity field, indices of the spatial and temporal variability of export production and the characteristics and dynamics of sinking particles. Several of these measurements will be made by VERTIGO. This project includes making unique measurements and analyses that are not presently supported by NSF. We will augment the VERTIGO sampling and analysis program by 1. Making Lagrangian observations of near-surface velocities about the trap deployments using satellite-tracked surface drifters, 2. Estimate surface water convergences and divergences using the drifter data and evaluate their role on sampled trap fluxes, 3. Use surface drifter and other available data to determine the spatial/temporal distribution of horizontal velocity (and its uncertainty) at the VERTIGO sites, 4. Model the probable trajectories for sinking and neutrally buoyant water parcels using the drifter data set for validation of these techniques, 5. Characterize the sampling of sinking particles by neutrally buoyant and surface tethered sediment trap arrays, and 6. Compare these determinations of sediment trap collection characteristics of spatial/temporal indices of export production available from satellite data sets. Analyses of the role of physical processes are required for the proper interpretation of sinking particle fluxes and their application for the assessment of long-term carbon sequestration. The physical oceanographic observations will enable us to assess the importance of trap sampling characteristics and their impact on sampled vertical fluxes. This will help assess the quality of sediment trap fluxes (long a difficult and contentious issue) and enable novel hypotheses linking physical oceanographic processes and sinking particle fluxes to be tested.
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David A. Siegel 7/1/2007-6/30/2008 $30,000
Timothy Chaffey
University of California - Marine Council – CEQI SB070130
Understanding Patterns of Connectivity Around Headlands and Implications for MPA Design
The Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) created a structure to develop a statewide network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) that emphasizes an ecosystem-based management approach. An optimal network of MPAs must account for the spatial distribution of reproductive adults and the connectivity among populations (Botsford et al. 2001). Predicting connectivity amidst chaotic coastal circulations along the California coast necessitates the understanding of the predictable and persistent elements of the flow generated by the irregularities of the California coastline. In particular, headlands will likely generate predictable physical features including filaments and recirculation zones that entrain dispersing larvae creating consistent settlement patterns. The Regional Ocean Modeling System, which can simulate 3-D wind driven circulations, will be used over an idealized domain to investigate a headland’s role in coastal circulation and larval dispersal. From many model realizations with variable headland geometric parameters, a mechanistic description of the flow patterns and larval dispersal around headlands will be developed and compared to fish and invertebrate recruitment patterns from the California coast. The theoretical framework developed will provide fishery managers an efficient tool to understand connectivity relationships over a dynamic coastline.
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Michael Singer 8/15/2005-7/31/2008 $103,265
Tom Dunne
National Science Foundation, BCS-0521663 (SMDF01)
Collaborative Research: Tracking Hydraulic Mining Sediments from the Sierra Piedmont into Flood Bypasses of the Sacramento Valley, California
Hydraulic mining in the Sierra Nevada of California displaced great volumes of sediment as a byproduct of gold extraction from placer gravels. The spatial distribution of hydraulic mining sediment reworking and deposition in flood bypasses over the last century are relevant to the fate of contaminants, flood conveyance, and the land-use in the lower Sacramento Valley of California, which is undergoing a massive program of restoration and development, and to basic research on valley floor sediment budgets and floodplain sedimentation. This research employs a suite of new techniques and data to investigate the temporal and spatial links between Central Valley floodplain sedimentation and erosion of hydraulic mining sediment in the Sierra piedmont over the last century. Recent field evidence of episodic piedmont erosion and bypass deposition calls for a new investigation of the hydraulic mining sediment delivery problem in the lower Sacramento valley over the last century. The research will track the movement of fine sediments derived from hydraulic mining tailings in the lower Sacramento Valley. The research team will link spatial and temporal patterns and processes of deposition in Sutter and Yolo Bypasses (leveed floodplains of the Central Valley) with erosion of piedmont tailings of the lower Bear, Yuba, and Feather Rivers downstream of the last major dam on each. It will track historical erosion of hydraulic mining sediments in the piedmont through a combination of photogrammetry, channel change analysis, and field surveys. The team will document history and provenance of mining sediment deposits in the Central Valley by granulometry, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, magnetism, and geochronology. In addition, records from a network of streamflow gauging stations will be perused for corroborative analysis of temporal correlation between piedmont erosion and Central Valley sedimentation. The project will produce quantitative, field-based estimates of volumetric sediment storage and erosion along piedmont channels and the timing of its evacuation. It will document geochemical, grain size, and magnetic properties of mining and non-mining sediment and develop appropriate mixing models for discerning the relative influence of each source downstream through the fluvial system. It will identify the spatial extent and volume of discrete sediment deposits in the bypass system, and document sedimentation rates and histories along various transects spanning Sutter and Yolo Bypasses. The research will develop quantitative links between piedmont erosion and bypass deposition that are based on historical hydrology and refined conceptual models of bypass sedimentation processes. It will provide the basis for predictive modeling of the impact of future floods on sediment movement through the Central Valley.
The project will provide a quantitative basis for future management decisions and direction in the Sacramento Valley and a set of methodologies that can be applied to other large, managed river basins. Data and interpretations from this study will be of great practical use to river and environmental management in the lower Sacramento Valley and the Delta, where our results are of utmost importance to flood conveyance, maintenance of islands, and potential toxicity of sediment. This research will create educational opportunities for a new generation of geomorphologists, including those from historically underrepresented groups. The output from this research will be made available as a project website via the World Wide Web and provide direct K-12 scientific outreach through the NASA space consortium, an educator resource center.
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Michael Singer 7/1/2005-6/30/2007 $22,081.50
Tom Dunne
NATO, 981640 (SMDP01)
Sedimentation/Contaminant History in Floodplains-Lower Danube River, Romania
The Danube River flows through ten countries in Central Europe, accumulating sediments and associated contaminants in the floodplains of its lower course before reaching its delta in Romania. There is great uncertainty about how much sediment has been deposited on Lower Danube floodplains in recent times and about the concentrations of contaminants in these deposits. Romania has signed various international environmental security agreements, which commit it to protect and restore floodplains and improve environmental conditions along the Lower Danube River, as well as to provide flood protection for important sites. To meet these objectives and fulfill the terms of these international agreements, Romania needs an inventory of the Lower Danube’s floodplain deposits.
We propose collaboration between scientists from the United States and Romania to investigate the sedimentation and contaminant history in the floodplains of the Lower Danube River in Romania over the last century by coring floodplain sediments at select sites, dating the cores to determine sedimentation history, and analyzing their contaminant inventories. This research will result in improved understanding of the processes of floodplain sedimentation and contamination history in a river reach that has already been identified as at-risk and that is slated for a major rehabilitation campaign. It will also build on geomorphological understanding of floodplain construction on large rivers. It is intended as a pilot study for a larger-scale, detailed investigation of the floodplains of the Lower Danube River toward the goal of meeting Romania’s obligations to environmental security. It will also lead to sharing with Romanian scientists an analytical tool developed recently by the US research team, and used for investigating the sequestration of metal (mainly mercury)-contaminated sediments over the past century in floodplains of several rivers of the Bolivian Amazon and the Sacramento River in California.
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Michael Singer 10/25/2006-2/28/2007 $8,771
NATO, ESP.EAP.SFP.982604 (SMDP02)
Sedmentation/Contaminant History in Floodplains-Lower Danube River, Romania
This project will continue collaboration between scientists from the United States and Romania to investigate the flooding, sedimentation, and contaminant history in the floodplains of the Lower Danube River in Romania over the last century by coring floodplain sediments at select sites, dating the cores to determine sedimentation history, and chemically analyzing their contaminant inventories. This research, which began with funding from a NATO Collaborative Linkage Grant, will: 1) document the links between climate change, floods, and sediment and contaminant mobilization from uplands and delivery to lowlands; 2) quantify sediment and contaminant distribution in lower Danube floodplains and assess risk to local communities; 3) describe history of floodplain sedimentation and contaminant delivery to lower Danube floodplains; 4) identify likely sources of sediment and contamination that threaten environmental security; and 5) map suitable (clean) and unsuitable (contaminated) floodplain and wetland areas for proposed Lower Danube Green Corridor in order to meet international treaty obligations.
This large-scale investigation of the floodplains of the Lower Danube River will address sedimentation and contamination problems at the downstream end of one of Europe’s largest river basins. As such, it is an assessment of Romania’s environmental security with respect to upstream and neighbouring countries. Ongoing mining, industrial, and land conversion activities in upstream nations may have large implications for navigation, wetland health, floodplain habitat, fisheries, and human health in the Lower Danube, all of which could affect Romania’s economy. For example, there is evidence that the Lower Danube is filling in with sediment causing shoaling and the creation of new islands, which is affecting navigation. The decrease in flood conveyance capacity proved catastrophic to Danube floodplain communities affected by the floods of 2006, which were the largest of the historical record. In fact, there is evidence that large floods are becoming more frequent worldwide in response to global climate change. Likewise, widespread contamination of Lower Danube floodplains from upstream mining activities could endanger fish populations that feed on floodplain nutrients. Such fish contamination would biomagnify in Romanians whose diet consists of Danube fish. In summary, the uncertainties about the intersection between the Danube’s flood history, sediment delivery, and contaminant distribution in the basin are a threat to Romania’s environmental security, particularly within the context of global climate change.
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Ray Smith 10/15/2002-6/30/2007 $192,000
College of William and Mary, 518605/1247 (SRP03)
Long-Term Ecological Research on the Antarctic Marine Ecosystem: Climate Migration, Ecosystem Response and Teleconnections in an Ice-Dominated
Environment
Previous research within the Palmer LTER research project was focused on four areas: bio-optics, sea ice and climate, cross-component integration, and ecological synthesis. This continuation will focus on completion of several manuscripts along a few outstanding problems. First, is to make use of our already obtained inherent optical property (iop) data to test hypotheses concerning the unique bio-optical characteristics of Southern Ocean (SO) waters. Second, our SeaWiFS algorithm for the SO (which is empirical) can be placed on a more analytical bases. Third, collaborating with co-PIs to complete a spatial/temporal analysis of key physical and biological parameters influencing the marine ecology of the western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) region. Fourth, working to better understand how climate warming along the WAP is influencing, and may influence in the future, the marine ecosystem.
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Ray Smith 8/1/2003-12/31/2006 $42,500
Ford Foundation, SB030094 (SRP04)
Seasonal to Annual Variability within the Western Antarctic Peninsula Marine Ecosystem
The Antarctic marine habitat undergoes possibly the most extreme seasonal cycles observed anywhere on the globe. The spring and summer seasons are characterized by increased solar radiation and sea ice ablation. The fall and winter seasons are characterized by decreased solar radiation and sea ice formation. Physical and biological processes in Antarctic marine ecosystems are poorly understood, in part, because of the lack of seasonal and interannual resolved time series studies. The Palmer Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Program was established in 1990 to study the Antarctic marine ecosystem in the area west of the Antarctic Peninsula, especially habitat variability and response to global climate change. Identifying and correlating key processes regulating carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations are necessary perquisites for understanding carbon (mass) flow through the marine food web. The relative significance of each process in controlling CO2 has yet to be determined but will be a major focus of this proposal. The goal of the proposed research is to understand the spatial and temporal CO2 distributions in relation to sea-ice indices, primary production, phytoplankton biomass and nutrient uptake. A multivariate statistical analysis and a seasonal to interannual biogeochemical model will be used correlate spatial and temporal variations and simulate seasonal to interannual changes.
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Christopher Still 9/15/2004-9/14/2008 $350,267
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NNG04GR45G (SCN01)
C4 Photosynthesis and the Carbon Cycle: An Integrated Plan of Research and Education
The research goal of this project is to improve our understanding of C4 photosynthesis in the global carbon cycle. C4 plants are functionally different from C3 plants in several important respects, including stomatal conductance, responses to light, temperature, nitrogen, and CO2, as well as carbon and oxygen isotope fractionation during photosynthesis. As a result, global change affects C3 and C4 plants differentially, with important differences for such essential human needs as food and fiber production and fuel gathering. In addition, a refined prediction of C4 carbon fluxes in space and time is essential to accurate partitioning of land and ocean carbon sinks through inversion of atmospheric d13C-CO2 and CO2 data because of the similar isotopic imprint that C4 and oceanic carbon exchanges leave on the atmosphere. Finally, C4-dominated ecosystems are heavily impacted by climate variation and land use change, they are located in regions of high population density, and C4 crops are critical for the nutritional support of several hundred million people.
The primary research focus of my NIP project is the biogeography and biogeochemistry of C4 vegetation at regional to global scales. For this research, my group and I are combining MODIS datasets on vegetation composition (the vegetation continuous fields (VCF)) with climate data and crop data to predict the fraction of vegetation that uses the C4 photosynthetic pathway and the remaining fraction that uses the more common C3 photosynthetic pathway. We are finalizing the %C3 and %C4 maps for South America and Africa, as these continents contains many C4 grasslands and savannas, and there is already a great deal of biogeochemical research ongoing there (e.g., associated with the NASA LBA and SAFARI projects). The next steps will be to create similar maps for North America (for the north American Carbon Project), Asia, and Australia (there is almost no C4 vegetation cover in Europe). One of my postdocs is working on surface validation of these distributions and C4 evolution and biogeography in the Hawaiian Islands. I also have a student working to generate fire and lightning flash frequency maps for C4-dominated biomes. These will improve our ecological and biogeochemical understanding of frequent fires in these biomes. Finally, we have also generated new global maps of the C3 and C4 crop percentages, as C4 crops are crucial for the nutrition of several hundred million people worldwide.
Related to these projects, I have initiated collaborations with wildlife biologists to predict the carbon isotope composition of vegetation for constraining animal migration and movement in Africa. Although our work is preliminary, these isotope maps have the potential to significantly improve our efforts to understand animal migration and sources of insect pests and pathogens in Africa and elsewhere. Animal tissues represent baseline food web values and these can be linked with reasonable confidence to our plant carbon isotope maps using known isotopic discrimination factors between plants and animal tissues. No previous studies have attempted to establish animal origins based on large-scale carbon isotope patterns expected in plants, since such depictions were not available until very recently. Future work will extend this approach to other continents and animals whose migration and movement are poorly known. North America shows a great deal of promise for constraining animal migration, as its spatial carbon-13 gradients are quite large. Finally, other NASA EOS products show great potential in improving the mapping of isoscapes, and will be vigorously pursued in the near future.
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Christopher Still 1/1/2004-9/30/2007 $105,173
University of California, 2005-1522 (SCP02)
Linking the C18 Budget to Global Change Processes
This project will focus on the continued development and testing of the ecosystem isotope model against data such as that collected by the Biosphere-Atmosphere Stable Isotope Network (http://gcte-focus1.org/basin.html). We plan to continue our efforts to assess how changes in cloud cover and diffuse: direct ratios influence ecosystem-atmosphere CO18O fluxes in the DOE ARM Southern Great Plains region. Other plans include improvements in leafwater modeling of delta O18 by incorporating MODIS water content fields, as well as new approaches to include non-steady state effects in leafwater mdeling. If data past 1997 can be obtained from NOAA, a more thorough analysis of delta O18 in CO2 variability will be conducted and compared with observed and modeled variability in carbon fluxes and delta O18 in the H2O cycle.
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Claudia Tyler 12/31/2099-00/00/00 $140,000
Frank Davis
Santa Barbara County, 06-00881 (TCP02)
Santa Barbara County Oak Restoration Project
The Santa Barbara County Oak Restoration Program (SBCORP) was funded as alternative mitigation for the loss of more than 2000 oaks during installation of the All American Pipeline. As described in the original request for proposals, this program was intended to promote the regeneration of oak habitats within Santa Barbara County through fencing and cattle grazing management.
Initiated in 1995 by investigators at the University of California at Santa Barbara, the Oak Restoration Program was designed with the multiple objectives of research and restoration. This Program represents a long-term commitment by the principal investigators, the University of California at Santa Barbara, and the UC’s Natural Reserve System to: 1) restore several hundred acres of oak savanna and woodlands on Sedgwick Reserve, a 5896-acre ranch at the base of Figueroa Mountain; 2) conduct large-scale grazing and related experiments that will give practical guidance to resource managers and land owners in Santa Barbara County who are concerned with management and restoration of local oak woodlands; 3) disseminate findings in the form of presentations, onsite demonstration projects, and literature that is directed towards locals landowners and resource managers. A Final Report, dated August 2005, summarized the program’s main accomplishments, research findings, and work completed within the initial 10-year contract period. Investigators presented these findings on April 5, 2006 to the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission, which approved renewal of the contract with UCSB for an additional 7-year period.
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Zhengming Wan 9/1/2006-8/31/2007 $27,672
Crystalaser, Inc., SB070028 (WZP01)
Measurement of land Surface Reflectance with Laser
This project seeks to increase the ability to measure land-surface emissivity by completing the following tasks:
1. Research and development of single longitudinal mode lasers, including infrared laser, red laser, blue laser, and green laser by use of diffraction grating technology. This work will increase the coherent length and thereby increase the ability to benefit research efforts.
2. Using the technology of non-contact surface temperature measurement, validate measurement of surface temperatures of baking plate for laser head and TEC and establish a standard method of thermal cycling of laser cavity. This will allow for the study of the stability of the laser in relationship with the thermal cycling temperature, in order to improve the stability and the reliability of the laser.
3. Based on the detecting and recording technologies for radiations, develop a method to study the stability of the lasers by use of detectors and data loggers.
4. Complete visibility study of land surface reflectance/emissivity with the newly developed single mode lasers.
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Zhengming Wan 7/15/2004-6/30/2007 $785,829
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NNG04HZ15C (WZN05)
Refinements of the MODIS Land-Surface Temperature Products
The objective of this project is to combine the use of Terra and Aqua MODIS data in the PGE code for the daily MODIS LST product (PGE16) through interim files to increase the chance of pairs of clear-sky daytime and nighttime MODIS observations in favorable temporal and viewing angle conditions. This will focus on three areas: 1) Consider the terrain slop and aspect in the day/night LST algorithm in order to ensure the close co-registration of the pair of daytime and nighttime MODIS observations; 2) Remove cloud-contaminated LSTs in the level-3 MODIS LST products with constraints on the temporal variations in clear-sky LSTs; and 3) Conduct field campaigns in a variety of test sites in order to validate the accuracy and consistency of the MODIS LST products for the long-term need of global change studies.
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Libe Washburn 6/1/2005-11/30/2006 $68,499
University of California, 2005-3199 (WLP14)
HF Radar National Network Data Management Develpoment
The goals of this program are to provide users of high frequency (HF) radar-derived current measurements with reliable, point-by-point error estimates for use in real-time and statistical products related to surface transports and in three-dimensional, data assimilating circulation models. To date, these errors have been quantified only in a broad, generalized sense based, typically, on comparisons with point measurements from in situ current meters or drifting buoys. Radar-to-radar comparisons along over water baselines have also contributed to the understanding of the average uncertainties in radar-derived surface current measurements. This program will act to both review those existing studies and to better quantify errors in HF radar-derived measurements due to natural ocean current horizontal and vertical spatial variability, to strong point targets, such as ships, to environmental and instrument-produced noise sources, and to the geometric dilution of precision that occurs when observations from multiple radar sites are combined to produce a best-fit vector current maps. To the extent possible, this program will also identify and characterize the role played by antenna pattern distortions in creating pointing and averaging errors as a function of the algorithms used to estimate radial ocean currents from Doppler backscatter spectra, although it is recognized that much of that characterization may need to become part of a followon program.
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Libe Washburn 9/1/2006-8/31/2007 $40,000
University of California, 2006-3821 (WLP15)
HF Radar national network data management development
The National High Frequency Surface Current Mapping Radar Network is being developed as a backbone system within Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS). Of the core variables recognized in the IOOS Development Plan,two , ocean surface currents and ocean surface waves, can be measured by high frequency radar systems (HFR’s). As an operational component of IOOS, the existing (approximately 90 as of August 2007) HFR’s will need to adhere to data processing and operations standards. These standards include quality assurance (QA) methods, quality control (QC) of data and best practices in operation and maintenance (O&M) of radar sites.
As part of the IOOS
effort, this project is developing a knowledge base on the uncertainty and
reliability of the current velocity measurements made by coastal high frequency
radar systems manufactured by Codar Ocean Sensors Ltd (COS). This project is
examining various hardware and software diagnostic parameters to assess the
functioning and reliability of HF radar measurement for measuring surface
currents. This information is critical for developing operational coastal ocean
observing systems. More details on the project and related efforts can be found
athttp://www.icess.ucsb.edu/iog/realtime/index.php