Defenses for Spring 2014
Contribution of Biomass Burning to Carbonaceous Aerosols in Mexico City During May 2013
June 27, 2014
Zitely Tzompa
The Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA) is one of the largest megacities in the world with a population of over 20 million people. The city lies in an elevated semi-enclosed air basin where the air quality is strongly influenced by several factors including 1) meteorology, 2) geographical location that favors photochemical reactions, 3) abrupt topography where thermal inversions are common, 4)…
The Hydroclimate of the Upper Colorado River Basin and the Western United States
April 10, 2014
Becky Bolinger
Understanding water budget variability of the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB) is critical, as changes can have major impacts on the region's vulnerable water resources. Using in situ, reanalysis, and satellite-derived datasets, surface and atmospheric water budgets of the UCRB are analyzed. All datasets capture the seasonal cycle for each water budget component. Most products capture the…
Factors Affecting Lightning Behavior in Various Regions of the United States
March 06, 2014
Brody Fuchs
Lightning activity varies greatly on a global scale. Global maps of total flash density show a strong tendency for lightning to favor continental areas over the open ocean, even in regions with similar instability. Previous studies have attributed the difference to thermodynamic and aerosol differences over continental regions, but the exact cause is still elusive. While this is not a global…
The Relative Influence of Aerosols and the Environment on Organized Tropical and Midlatitude Deep Convection
February 14, 2014
Leah Grant
In this two-part study, the relative impacts of aerosols and the environment on organized deep convection, including tropical sea-breeze convection and midlatitude supercellular and multicellular deep convection, are investigated within idealized cloud-resolving modeling simulations using the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS). Part one explores aerosol-cloud-land surface interactions…
Wintertime Aerosol in Las Vegas, Nevada
January 17, 2014
Steve Brown
Numerous studies have found adverse health effects in subjects who live next to major roadways due to air pollution; in particular, there can be severe impacts on lung function and development in children living and/or attending school next to major roadways due to their exposure to air pollutants, including particulate matter (PM) or aerosol. The composition of aerosol at an elementary school…