Applied Geography Directed Research
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10877/17202
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Browsing Applied Geography Directed Research by Author "Butler, David R."
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Item Baseline Climatology of Sounding-Measured Variates Associated with Atlantic and Gulf Coast Tropical Cyclone Tornado Clusters(2017-05) Hervey, James Nicholas; Dixon, Richard W.; Butler, David R.Radiosonde sounding-measured variates are analyzed for 55 cases of tornado outbreaks associated with tropical cyclones from 1995-2010. We define a tropical cyclone tornado outbreak as six or more tornadoes occurring in a six-hour period. All the tornadoes are associated with a landfalling or post-landfall translating tropical cyclone. Previous studies have examined the role of the atmospheric environment in an individual tropical cyclone or individual tornado. An earlier study of these tropical cyclone tornado clusters produced a baseline climatology of stability and wind shear parameters. The goal of this study is to provide a climatology of sounding-measured variates for each tropical cyclone tornado outbreak. Sounding variates provide information on characteristics of the atmospheric column such as height of standard pressure surfaces, temperature, moisture, and winds. Descriptive statistics for the sounding-measured parameters are presented to document the central tendency and variability of atmospheric conditions associated with these outbreaks. A hierarchical cluster analysis produced three clusters with significant difference in the North/South wind parameter for cluster 3. A principal components analysis revealed that the north/south wind contributed significantly to the occurrence of tornado outbreaks with dew point contributing the least.Item Beach Erosion Impacts on Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle Nesting Along the South Texas Coast(2019-05) Wood, Amanda; Dixon, Richard; Butler, David R.Beach erosion is a potential threat to Kemp’s ridley sea turtle nesting populations because of a loss in nesting habitat that is critical to the survival of this endangered species. The Texas coast is experiencing beach erosion due to storms, tidal surges, overwash, and sea level rise induced by climate change. This project focuses on South Padre Island from the cut at Port Mansfield, TX to the Texas- Mexico border, south of Boca Chica. Kemp’s ridley nest GPS data from 2013-2017 is mapped with shoreline change rates to identify where areas of high risk of erosion occur and if these turtles are nesting in these areas. Using GIS, spatial analysis, and statistics, results show that Kemp’s ridley sea turtles are nesting in areas of high risk and very high risk. It is suggested that an interdisciplinary approach and continued monitoring of this species’ nesting is necessary for improving conservation efforts.Item The Relationship between Regional Climate and Post-fire Debris Flows in Glacier National Park(2018-05) Larcom, Steven; Butler, David R.; Currit, Nathan A.Debris flows often occur on burned hillslopes in mountainous areas, which can damage infrastructure and pose hazards to people and wildlife. Glacier National Park, Montana, has a well-documented history of wildfires across its 400,000 hectares, making it especially vulnerable to these mass wasting events. This project focused on two fires in particular: the Trapper Creek fire from 2003, and the Red Eagle fire from 2006. The goal was to compare and contrast debris flows from a burn scar on the east side of the park with those from a burn scar on the west side of the park in order to understand the relationship between these events and the prevailing climate systems on opposite sides of the Continental Divide. Post-fire debris flows were digitized from aerial imagery (2-3 years post-fire) using ArcGIS, and parameters such as frequency and runout length were measured. At-risk infrastructure was identified based on the location of past flows and current roads and trails. Burned areas in western Glacier contained a higher frequency of debris flows due to higher annual precipitation. Conversely, burned areas in eastern Glacier produced debris flows with longer runout lengths due to the nature of the precipitation and greater sediment availability. By holding all other variables constant, this study has identified a relationship between climate and post-fire debris flows.Item The West African Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak of 2014: Mapping the Journey of Confirmed Cases through Sierra Leone(2018-05) Haddad, Stacey; Butler, David R.; Dixon, Richard W.No abstract prepared.