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1. Multi-instrumental analysis of the day-to-day variability of equatorial plasma bubbles

   https://doi.org/10.3389/fspas.2023.1167245  

   Aa, Ercha; Zhang, Shun-Rong; Coster, Anthea J.; Erickson, Philip J.; Rideout, William (March 2023, Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences)

   This paper presents a multi-instrument observational analysis of the equatorial plasma bubbles (EPBs) variation over the American sector during a geomagnetically quiet time period of 07–10 December 2019. The day-to-day variability of EPBs and their underlying drivers are investigated through coordinately utilizing the Global-scale Observations of Limb and Disk (GOLD) ultraviolet images, the Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) in-situ and remote sensing data, the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) total electron content (TEC) observations, as well as ionosonde measurements. The main results are as follows: 1) The postsunset EPBs’ intensity exhibited a large day-to-day variation in the same UT intervals, which was fairly noticeable in the evening of December 07, yet considerably suppressed on December 08 and 09, and then dramatically revived and enhanced on December 10. 2) The postsunset linear Rayleigh-Taylor instability growth rate exhibited a different variation pattern. It had a relatively modest peak value on December 07 and 08, yet a larger peak value on December 09 and 10. There was a 2-h time lag of the growth rate peak time in the evening of December 09 from other nights. This analysis did not show an exact one-to-one relationship between the peak growth rate and the observed EPBs intensity. 3) The EPBs’ day-to-day variation has a better agreement with that of traveling ionospheric disturbances and atmospheric gravity waves signatures, which exhibited relatively strong wavelike perturbations preceding/accompanying the observed EPBs on December 07 and 10 yet relatively weak fluctuations on December 08 and 09. These coordinate observations indicate that the initial wavelike seeding perturbations associated with AGWs, together with the catalyzing factor of the instability growth rate, collectively played important roles to modulate the day-to-day variation of EPBs. A strong seeding perturbation could effectively compensate for a moderate strength of Rayleigh-Taylor instability growth rate and therefore their combined effect could facilitate EPB development. Lacking proper seeding perturbations would make it a more inefficient process for the development of EPBs, especially with a delayed peak value of Rayleigh-Taylor instability growth rate. 

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2. Discharge time series for the primary inflow tributary entering Falling Creek Reservoir, Vinton, Virginia, USA 2013-2022

   https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/791192bef17f21e8c0641ea903440a16  

   Carey, Cayelan C.; Breef-Pilz, Adrienne (April 2023, Environmental Data Initiative)

   Discharge rates and water temperature of the primary inflow tributary into Falling Creek Reservoir (Vinton, Virginia, USA) were measured at a gauged weir on a 15-minute temporal resolution from May 2013 to December 2022. Falling Creek Reservoir is a drinking water supply reservoir owned and managed by the Western Virginia Water Authority (WVWA). The dataset consists of water temperatures and discharge rates calculated from a pressure transducer deployed by the WVWA in a rectangular weir (15 May 2013 - 06 June 2019) and in a v-notched weir (07 June 2019 - 31 December 2022) at the same site. From 07 June 2019 to 31 December 2022, water temperature and discharge data were also collected from a Virginia Tech-deployed (VT) pressure transducer installed in the same weir. 

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3. STEM Scholars’ Sense of Community During the COVID-19 Pandemic

   McGee, Jennifer; Tashakkori, Rahman (September 2021, Journal of college science teaching)

   The purpose of this study was to investigate sense of community (SOC) within a STEM learning community during the COVID-19 pandemic. The STEM learning community that was the setting for this study is funded by a National Science Foundation (NSF) S-STEM grant. A mixed methods design was used to investigate levels of SOC and changes in SOC from December 2019 to December 2020. Scholars completed the Sense of Community Index (SCI-2) (Chavis et al., 1986) during this time along with answering questions about their experience in the program. Data showed evidence of a slight increase in SOC, when compared to prepandemic SOC. Three themes emerged from the qualitative data to support this finding: community as access, community as sanctuary, and community as sacred. When data were coded for the presence of these themes across time, a slight decrease in the focus on community as access appeared from December 2019 to December 2020, but there were increases in the focus on sanctuary and sacredness of the community. Triangulation of the data provides evidence for this STEM learning community as an important support system for students during this time of unprecedented uncertainty in higher education. 

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4. Discharge time series for the primary inflow tributary entering Falling Creek Reservoir, Vinton, Virginia, USA 2013-2024

   https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/65da3369750dbc2933609406e17d4d51  

   Carey, Cayelan C; Breef-Pilz, Adrienne (January 2025, Environmental Data Initiative)

   Discharge rates and water temperature of the primary inflow tributary into Falling Creek Reservoir (Vinton, Virginia, USA), also known as Tunnel Branch, were measured at a gauged weir on a 15-minute temporal resolution from May 2013 to December 2024. Falling Creek Reservoir is a drinking water supply reservoir owned and managed by the Western Virginia Water Authority (WVWA). The dataset consists of water temperatures and discharge rates calculated from a pressure transducer deployed by the WVWA in a rectangular weir (15 May 2013 - 06 June 2019) and in a v-notched weir (07 June 2019 - 31 December 2024) at the same site. From 07 June 2019 to 31 December 2024, water temperature and discharge data were also collected from a Virginia Tech-deployed (VT) pressure transducer installed in the same weir. 

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5. An Extreme High Temperature Event in Coastal East Antarctica Associated With an Atmospheric River and Record Summer Downslope Winds

   https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL097108  

   Turner, John; Lu, Hua; King, John C.; Carpentier, Scott; Lazzara, Matthew; Phillips, Tony; Wille, Jonathan (February 2022, Geophysical Research Letters)

   Abstract High surface temperatures are important in Antarctica because of their role in ice melt and sea level rise. We investigate a high temperature event in December 1989 that gave record temperatures in coastal East Antarctica between 60° and 100°E. The high temperatures were associated with a pool of warm lower tropospheric air with December temperature anomalies of >14°C that developed in two stages over the Amery Ice Shelf. First, there was near‐record poleward warm advection within an atmospheric river. Second, synoptically driven downslope flow from the interior reached unprecedented December strength over a large area, leading to strong descent and further warming in the coastal region. The coastal easterly winds were unusually deep and strong, and the warm pool was advected westwards, giving a short period of high temperatures at coastal locations, including a surface temperature of 9.3°C at Mawson, the second highest in its 66‐year record. 

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