Thursday, September 30, 2010

Journal Articles

El Nino and La Nina
Article: "Impact of El NiƱo / Southern Oscillation on Low-flows in South Georgia, USA". Pierre G.F. Gerard- Marchant and David E. Stooksbury. Southeastern Geographer 2010 p. 218-243

Purpose and Results: This research takes a look at the influence of the El Nino/La Nina weather patterns influence on several streams in Georgia. Several streams in Georgia were evaluated at different times of the year and evaluate the effect of the weather patterns on the low-flows of the streams. Gerard- Marchant and Stooksbury found that the low-flows were lower in the months of the El Nino/ La Nina climate events and higher in the neutral months of the year such as November to April.

Red Tide
Article:"Implications of Harmful Microalgae and Heterotrophic Dinoflagellates in management of sustainableMarine Fisheries". JoAnn M. Burkholder.  Ecological Applications 1998 p. 37-62
 Purpose and Results: This article looks at the many types of  Dinoflagellates that cause harm to fish and lists the toxins they produce. Red tide can be a very big problem in a fishery due to the large amount of fish produced there and the intended use of those fish, feeding a population. Burkholder goes on to note that Dinoflagellates and Red tide can," Accumulating evidence indicates that these harmful species significantly affect marine fisheries at the population level, well beyond the obvious acute impacts of fish kills" (p. 54). This shows that Marine fisheries can be in great danger not only due to lost fish, but also a threat to its potential consumer.
Figure 1. Web map of Red Tide toxin in fish.  (Borrowed from Burkholder)

Burkholder goes on to state that there is a need for the Red Tide toxins to be identified and an economical means of testing and remediation need to be researched.




Monday, September 13, 2010

Hypsographic Curves: What are they and how are they useful?

A Hypsographic curve is a graphical representation of the depth of a body of water at certain intervals.Hypsographic curves are used to understand the depth and the curvature of a lake or a pond. The volume of the lake can also be garnered from the hypsographic curve by averaging the layers or slices of the curve.
Chart 1 is the plot of depth vs. area of a Lake
                                                                           Chart 1
Chart 2 is the depth vs. volume of the same lake
                                                                        Chart 2
Want to have fun making your own Hypsographic curves of your favorite lakes or ponds?! Then click HERE!!