Research Data

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10217/172830

The Research Data collection contains the research data produced by scholars at CSU that has been made available in Mountain Scholar through 2022. This collection has a particular focus on the natural sciences, featuring the Shortgrass Steppe - Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER) collection and a number of datasets from the Natural Resource Ecology Lab (NREL) and the Department of Atmospheric Science. By using these files, users agree to the CSU Libraries' Research Data Terms of Use.

CSU now offers data publishing through an institutional membership in Dryad. For more information about how to publish your data to meet journal and funder requirements, please see our Dryad information page.

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Now showing 1 - 20 of 312

Open Access
Library Web Site Usage Statistics: Digital Collections, 2003-2017
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Vogl, Greg; Paschal, Dawn; Rettig, Patty; Hunter, Nancy; Lopez-Terrill, Vicky; Meyer, Linda; Wilde, Michelle; Lunde, Diane; Ball Wicklund, Amy
Open Access
Dataset associated with the Colorado Agriculture Bibliography NEH & USAIN Project
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Level, Allison V.; Standish, Sierra
As family farms disappear from the landscape, most Americans do not have contact with the agricultural roots of the country. More than ever, the historical literature that helps in telling the story of American farming needs protection. The Preserving the History of United States Agriculture and Rural Life Project, administered by Cornell University, calls for states to identify and list important agricultural literature for preservation purposes. This paper discusses the Colorado project and highlights the scope and identification of materials and the organization of a Web-searchable bibliographic database. Because Colorado began to participate after approximately half of the states had completed bibliographies, staff could access already-tested methodologies for scope descriptions, subject headings, and other "how-to" processes. By using the lessons learned by others, staff were able to expand the scope, capture extra records, and design a nuanced Web site as a portal to the bibliography.
Open Access
Dataset associated with "Near-Cloud Aerosol Retrieval Using Machine Learning Techniques, and Implied Direct Radiative Effects"
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Yang, C. Kevin; Chiu, Christine; Marshak, Alexander; Feingold, Graham; Várnai, Tamás; Wen, Guoyong; Yamaguchi, Takanobu; van Leeuwen, Peter Jan
There is a lack of satellite-based aerosol retrievals in the vicinity of low-topped clouds, mainly because reflectance from aerosols is overwhelmed by three-dimensional cloud radiative effects. To account for cloud radiative effects on reflectance observations, we develop a Convolutional Neural Network and retrieve aerosol optical depth (AOD) with 100–500 m horizontal resolution for all cloud-free regions regardless of their distances to clouds. The retrieval uncertainty is 0.01+5%AOD, and the mean bias is approximately –2%. In an application to satellite observations, aerosol hygroscopic growth due to humidification near clouds enhances AOD by 100% in regions within 1 km of cloud edges. The humidification effect leads to an overall 55% increase in the clear-sky aerosol direct radiative effect. Although this increase is based on a case study, it highlights the importance of aerosol retrievals in near-cloud regions, and the need to incorporate the humidification effect in radiative forcing estimates.
Open Access
MODIS Monthly Fog and Low Cloud Cover Rasters 2000-2022
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Werner, Zackary; Choi, Christopher Tsz Hin; Winter, Anna; Vorster, Anthony G.; Berger, Anika; O'Shea, Kristen; Evangelista, Paul; Woodward, Brian
The MODIS Monthly Fog and Low Cloud Cover Rasters 2000-2022 dataset contains fog and low cloud cover (FLCC) observations summarized into days per month along the California and Southern Oregon Coast from 2000-2022. This dataset accompanies the publication https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsase.2022.100832, which describes the methodology for creating this dataset. The dataset can also be viewed through a Google Earth Engine web application https://christopherchoi98.users.earthengine.app/view/modis-fog-detection-app.
Open Access
Channel delineation datasets associated with "River channel response to invasive plant treatment across the American Southwest"
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Wieting, Celeste; Friedman, Jonathan; Rathburn, Sara L.
Invasive riparian plants were introduced to the American Southwest in the early 19th century and contributed to regional trends of decreasing river channel width and migration rate in the 20th century. More recently efforts to remove invasive riparian vegetation (IRV) have been widespread, especially since 1990. To what extent has IRV treatment reversed the earlier trend of channel narrowing and reduced dynamism? In this study, paired treated and untreated reaches at 15 sites along 13 rivers were compared before and after IRV treatment using repeat aerial imagery to assess long-term (~10 year) channel change due to treatment on a regional scale across the Southwest U.S. We found that IRV treatment significantly increased channel width and floodplain destruction. Treated reaches had higher floodplain destruction than untreated reaches at 14 of 15 sites, and IRV treatment increased the rate of floodplain destruction by a median factor of 1.9. The effect of treatment increased with the stream power of the largest flow over the study period. Resolving observations of channel change into separate measures of floodplain destruction and formation provided more information on underlying processes than simple measurements of channel width and centerline migration rate. Restoration practitioners who perform IRV treatment projects often focus on wildlife or vegetation response; however, geomorphic processes should be considered in restoration planning because they drive aquatic habitat and vegetation dynamics, and because of the potential for damage to downstream infrastructure. Depending on the restoration goal, management practices can be used to enhance or minimize the increase in channel dynamism caused by IRV removal.
Open Access
Dataset associated with "Unequal airborne exposure burden to toxic metals is associated with race, ethnicity, and segregation"
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Kodros, John K; Bell, Michelle L; Dominici, Francesca; L’Orange, Christian; Godri Pollitt, Krystal J; Weichenthal, Scott; Wu, Xiao; Volckens, John
Communities of color have been exposed to a disproportionate burden of air pollution across the United States for decades. Yet, the inequality in exposure to known toxic elements of air pollution is unclear. Here, we find that populations living in racially segregated communities are exposed to a form of fine particulate matter with over three times higher mass proportions of known toxic and carcinogenic metals. While concentrations of total fine particulate matter are two times higher in racially segregated communities, concentrations of metals from anthropogenic sources are nearly ten times higher. Populations living in racially segregated communities have been disproportionately exposed to these environmental stressors throughout the past decade. We find evidence, however, that these disproportionate exposures may be abated though targeted regulatory action. For example, recent regulations on marine fuel oil not only reduced vanadium concentrations in coastal cities, but also sharply lessened differences in vanadium exposure by segregation.
Open Access
Spatially interpolated PM2.5 concentrations for the US for 2021
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Ford, Bonne; O'Dell, Katelyn; Fischer, Emily V.; Pierce, Jeffrey R.
This dataset contains spatially interpolated daily PM2.5 concentrations observed by monitors in the Environmental Protection Agency's Air Quality System and non-smoke seasonal background PM2.5 estimates for 2021. It is a continuation of the previous datasets: https://doi.org/10.25675/10217/230602 and http://doi.org/10.25675/10217/233962.
Open Access
Dataset associated with "A First-Order Approximation of Floodplain Soil Organic Carbon Stocks in a River Network: the South Platte River, Colorado, USA"
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Wohl, Ellen; Knox, Richard
We use the hydrogeomorphic floodplain tool GFPLAIN to delineate the extent of 100-year floodplains in the South Platte River watershed of Colorado, USA. We distinguish elevation bands for the steppe, montane, subalpine, and alpine zones. We also differentiate bead (floodplain width/channel width > 5) and string (floodplain width/channel width < 5) reaches within the montane and subalpine zones. Drawing on prior, field-based measurements of organic carbon stock in downed, dead wood and soil in these floodplain types, we estimate total floodplain organic carbon storage, which includes organic carbon storage in lake and reservoir sediments in the watershed. Soil constitutes the greatest reservoir of floodplain carbon. The total estimated area of floodplain is 2916 km2, which is 4.3% of the total watershed area of the South Platte River. Our preferred estimate is 42.7 Tg C storage (likely range of 39.1-42.7 Tg). This equates to 11.1% of a previously estimated overall carbon stock (above and belowground biomass and soil organic carbon) in the entire watershed of 384 Tg C. Floodplains are thus disproportionately important, relative to their surface area, in storing organic carbon in this semiarid watershed. Field measurements of floodplain soil organic carbon storage from across the globe indicate that this finding is not unique to this watershed and this has implications for prioritizing floodplain management and restoration as a means of enhancing carbon sequestration.
Open Access
Carlsbad Caverns National Park Air Quality Study 2019
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Sullivan, Amy P.; Naimie, Lillian E.; Benedict, K. B.; Prenni, Anthony J.; Sive, B. C.; Fischer, Emily V.; Pollack, Ilana; Collett, Jeffrey; Schichtel, Bret A.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park in southeastern New Mexico is adjacent to the Permian Basin, one of the most productive oil and gas regions in the country. The 2019 Carlsbad Caverns Air Quality Study (CarCavAQS) was designed to examine the influence of regional sources, including urban emissions, oil and gas development, wildfires, and soil dust on air quality in the park. Field measurements of aerosols, trace gases, and deposition were conducted from 25 July through 5 September 2019.
Open Access
Data Associated with "Logjam Characteristics as Drivers of Transient Storage in Headwater Streams"
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Marshall, Anna; Zhang, Xiaolang; Sawyer, Audrey Hucks; Wohl, Ellen; Singha, Kamini
Logjams in a stream create backwater conditions and locally force water to flow through the streambed, creating zones of transient storage within the surface and subsurface of a stream. We investigate the relative importance of logjam distribution density, logjam permeability, and discharge on transient storage in a simplified experimental channel. We use physical flume experiments in which we inject a salt tracer, monitor fluid conductivity breakthrough curves in surface water, and use breakthrough-curve skew to characterize transient storage. We then develop numerical models in HydroGeoSphere to reveal flow paths through the subsurface (or hyporheic zone) that contribute to some of the longest transient-storage timescales. In both the flume and numerical model, we observe an increase in backwater and hyporheic exchange at logjams. Observed complexities in transient storage behavior may depend largely on surface water flow in the backwater zone. As expected, multiple successive logjams provide more pervasive hyporheic exchange by distributing the head drop at each jam, leading to distributed but shallow flow paths. Decreasing the permeability of a logjam or increasing the discharge both facilitate more surface water storage and elevate the surface water level upstream of a logjam, thus increasing hyporheic exchange. Multiple logjams with low permeability result in the greatest magnitude of transient storage, suggesting that this configuration maximizes solute retention in backwater zones, while hyporheic exchange rates also increase. Understanding how logjam characteristics affect solute transport through both the channel and hyporheic zone has important management implications for rivers in forested, or historically forested, environments.
Open Access
Library Web Site Usage Statistics: Digital Repository, 2008-2018
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Vogl, Greg; Zhou, Yongli; Draper, D.; Shelstad, M.; Sedlins, M.
Open Access
Dataset associated with "An Improved Rescaling Algorithm for Estimating Groundwater Depletion Rates using the GRACE Satellite"
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Ukasha, Muhammad; Ramirez, Jorge; Niemann, Jeffrey
The Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiments (GRACE) satellite mission has been instrumental in estimating large-scale groundwater storage changes across the globe. GRACE observations include significant errors, so pre-processing is normally required before the data are used. In particular, the regional observations of terrestrial water storage anomalies (TWSA) are usually filtered to reduce the effects of measurement errors and then rescaled to reduce the unintended impacts of the filtering. The rescaling is typically selected to maximize the Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) between the rescaled filtered TWSA and original TWSA from large-scale hydrologic models that represent an incomplete water budget. The objectives of this study are (1) to evaluate the use of NSE in the current GRACE rescaling methodology, (2) develop an improved methodology that incorporates a complete regional water budget, and (3) examine the impacts of the rescaling methodology on regional assessments of groundwater depletion. To evaluate the use of NSE as a performance metric, we implement an analytical solution to improve the relative variability between the filtered and original TWSA series. Improved relative variability produces more reliable estimates when comparing the results to TWSA estimates from global positioning systems (GPS) for the Sacramento and San Joaquin River basins (containing Central Valley) in California. Rescaling with the complete regional water budget based on observed hydrological fluxes results in a larger scale factor (3.18) than the scale factor from the large-scale hydrologic model outputs (1.97), and the new TWSA results are more consistent with those from GPS. The larger scale factor also suggests that regional groundwater depletion is more severe than previously estimated.
Open Access
Dataset associated with "Analysis of Kenya's Atmospheric Moisture Sources and Sinks"
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Keys, Patrick W.
Achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are contingent on understanding the potential interactions among human and natural systems. In Kenya, the goal of conserving and expanding forest cover to achieve SDG 15 ‘Life on land’ may be related to other SDGs because it plays a role in regulating some aspects of Kenyan precipitation. We present a 40-year analysis of the sources of precipitation in Kenya, and the fate of the evaporation that arises from within Kenya. Using MERRA2 climate reanalysis and the Water Accounting Model 2-layers, we examine the annual and seasonal changes in moisture sources and sinks. We find that most of Kenya’s precipitation originates as oceanic evaporation, but that 10% of its precipitation originates as evaporation within Kenya. This internal recycling is concentrated in the mountainous and forested Kenyan highlands, with some locations recycling more than 15% of evaporation, to Kenyan precipitation. We also find that 75% of Kenyan evaporation falls as precipitation elsewhere over land, including 10% in Kenya, 25% in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and around 5% falling in Tanzania and Uganda. Further, we find a positive relationship between increasing rates of moisture recycling and fractional forest cover within Kenya. By beginning to understand both the seasonal and biophysical interactions taking place, we may begin to understand the types of leverage points that exist for integrated atmospheric water cycle management. These findings have broader implications for disentangling environmental management and conservation and have relevance for large-scale discussions about sustainable development.
Open Access
Data associated with "Assessing Rain Drop Breakup Parameterizations using Disdrometer Observations"
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Saleeby, Stephen; Dolan, Brenda; Bukowski, Jennie
An intercomparison of rain drop mean diameter frequency distribution (RDFD) is performed for numerical simulations of precipitating cloud systems using an array of models and microphysics schemes. This includes results from the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS) double-moment microphysics, the Hebrew University Cloud Model bin microphysics (HUCM) interfaced to the RAMS parent model, and the Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF) with the Thompson, Morrison, Double Moment 6-Class (WDM6), and National Severe Storm Laboratory (NSSL) double-moment schemes. Simulations are examined with respect to the rain drop size distribution (DSD) volume-number mean diameter (Dm) and intercept parameter (Nw). When compared to a suite of disdrometer observations, the RDFD resulting from each microphysics scheme exhibits varying degrees of mean drop size constraints and peaks in the frequency distribution of Dm. A more detailed investigation of the peaked RDFD from the RAMS simulations suggests that the parameterization of rain drop collisional breakup can impose strong limitations on the evolution of simulated drop growth. As such, a summary and comparison of the drop breakup parameterizations among the forementioned microphysics schemes is presented. While some drop breakup parameterizations are adjusted toward the observations by modifying the threshold diameter for the onset of breakup, this study explores the use of a modified maximum breakup efficiency. This method permits the parameterization to retain its threshold breakup diameter, while limiting the strength of drop breakup and permitting a broader range of drop sizes. As a result, the simulated mean drop sizes are in better agreement with observations.
Open Access
Dataset associated with “Aufeis as a Major Forcing Mechanism for Channel Avulsion and Implications of Warming Climate”
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Wohl, Ellen; Scamardo, Julianne
Prompted by field observation of an aufeis-induced channel avulsion along the Hula Hula River in June 2021, we use measurements of channel migration zone width along 15 rivers flowing north across the Arctic coastal plain in Alaska, USA. We differentiated sites with aufeis that covered > 1 km2 in early summer during the period 2017-2021 from sites without such aufeis formation. All but 4 of the 28 sites with aufeis have widths greater than the 95% confidence interval and 20 sites fall outside of the 95% prediction interval for channel width based on drainage area. Pairwise comparison indicates that the population of aufeis sites have significantly wider channel migration zones (p < 0.0001) than non-aufeis sites after accounting for drainage area. Seasonal aufeis facilitates lateral channel migration and associated heterogeneity. Loss of aufeis under warming climate may reduce habitat diversity in these river corridors.
Open Access
Nitrous oxide emissions from 2008 to 2012 for agricultural lands in the conterminous United States
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Ogle, S. M.; Del Grosso, S. J.; Nevison, C.
Nitrous oxide (N2O) is an important greenhouse gas (GHG) that also contributes to depletion of ozone in the stratosphere. Agricultural soils account for about 60% of anthropogenic N2O emissions. Most national GHG reporting to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change assumes nitrogen (N) additions drive emissions during the growing season, but soil freezing and thawing during spring is also an important driver in cold climates. We show that both atmospheric inversions and newly implemented bottom-up modeling approaches exhibit large N2O pulses in the northcentral region of the United States during early spring and this increases annual N2O emissions from croplands and grasslands reported in the national GHG inventory by 11%. Considering this, emission accounting in cold climate regions is very likely under-estimated in most national reporting frameworks. Current commitments related to the Paris Agreement and COP 26 emphasize reductions of carbon compounds. Assuming these targets are met, the importance of accurately accounting and mitigating N2O increases once CO2 and CH4 are phased out. Hence, the N2O emission under-estimate introduces additional risks into meeting long term climate goals.
Open Access
GREMLIN CONUS2 Dataset
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Hilburn, Kyle
The objective of this research is to develop techniques for assimilating GOES-R series observations in precipitating scenes for the purpose of improving short-term convective-scale forecasts of high-impact weather hazards. Whereas one approach is radiance assimilation, the information content of GOES-R radiances from its Advanced Baseline Imager saturates in precipitating scenes, and radiance assimilation does not make use of lightning observations from the GOES Lightning Mapper. Here, a convolutional neural network (CNN) is developed to transform GOES-R radiances and lightning into synthetic radar reflectivity fields to make use of existing radar assimilation techniques. We find that the ability of CNNs to utilize spatial context is essential for this application and offers breakthrough improvement in skill compared to traditional pixel-by-pixel based approaches. To understand the improved performance, we use a novel analysis method that combines several techniques, each providing different insights into the network’s reasoning. Channel-withholding experiments and spatial information–withholding experiments are used to show that the CNN achieves skill at high reflectivity values from the information content in radiance gradients and the presence of lightning. The attribution method, layerwise relevance propagation, demonstrates that the CNN uses radiance and lightning information synergistically, where lightning helps the CNN focus on which neighboring locations are most important. Synthetic inputs are used to quantify the sensitivity to radiance gradients, showing that sharper gradients produce a stronger response in predicted reflectivity. Lightning observations are found to be uniquely valuable for their ability to pinpoint locations of strong radar echoes.
Open Access
Dataset associated with "Aerosol Emissions from Wind Instruments: Effects of Performer Age, Sex, Sound Pressure Level, and Bell Covers"
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Volckens, John; Good, Kristen M.; Goble, Dan; Good, Nicholas; Keller, Joshua P.; Keisling, Amy; L'Orange, Christian; Morton, Emily; Phillips, Rebecca; Tanner, Ky
Aerosol emissions from wind instruments are a suspected route of transmission for airborne infectious diseases, such as SARS-CoV-2. We evaluated aerosol number emissions (from 0.25 – 35.15 m) from 81 volunteer performers of both sexes and varied age (12 to 63 years) while playing wind instruments (bassoon, clarinet, flute, French horn, oboe, piccolo, saxophone, trombone, trumpet, and tuba) or singing. Measured emissions spanned more than two orders of magnitude, ranging in rate from 8 to 1,400 particless-1, with brass instruments, on average, producing 191% (95% CI: 81-367%) more aerosol than woodwinds. Being male was associated with a 70% increase in emissions (vs. female; 95% CI: 9-166%). Each 1 dBA increase in sound pressure level was associated with a 28% increase (95% CI: 10-40%) in emissions from brass instruments; sound pressure level was not associated with woodwind emissions. Age was not a significant predictor of emissions. The use of bell covers reduced aerosol emissions from three brass instruments tested (trombone, tuba, and trumpet), with average reductions ranging from 53 to 73%, but not for the two woodwind instruments tested (oboe and clarinet). Results from this work can facilitate infectious disease risk management for the performing arts.
Open Access
Measurements of volatile organic compounds at two locations in the Northern Colorado Front Range during Spring 2022
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Fischer, Emily V.
This dataset was collected by Colorado State University (CSU) graduate students during the spring 2022 semester as part of a course in the Department of Atmospheric Science (ATS-716: Air Quality Characterization). Measurements of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were collected at two locations in Northern Colorado using low-cost sensors called SENSIT SPODs. The SENSIT SPOD sensor package combines wind field and air pollutant concentration measurements to detect emission plumes and locate the source of those emissions. The sensor measures non-speciated, uncalibrated concentrations of a subset of VOCs. The sensor also measures temperature, relative humidity, pressure, and wind direction and speed. The SPODs were used to trigger the collection of whole air samples during periods with higher concentrations of VOCs. Air samples from the triggered canisters were analyzed at CSU using Gas Chromatography (GC) to provide a measure of approximately 50 VOCs. An integrated canister was used to measure the average concentration of approximately 50 VOCs over a one-week period. After collection, sample air in the canisters was analyzed at CSU using Gas Chromatography (GC).
Open Access
Dataset associated with "A nonmonotonic precipitation response to changes in soil moisture in the presence of vegetation"
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Drager, Aryeh Jacob; Grant, Leah D.; van den Heever, Susan C.
In many parts of the world, humans rely on afternoon rainfall for their water supply. However, it is not fully understood how land surface properties influence afternoon precipitation. In fact, disagreement remains regarding the relative prevalence of “wet-soil advantage” regimes, in which wet soils receive more precipitation than do dry soils, and “dry-soil advantage” regimes, in which the opposite occurs. Recent studies have proposed that the permanent wilting point (PWP) soil moisture threshold influences the location and organization of convective clouds. Motivated by this work, we investigate how changes in soil moisture relative to the PWP affect the timing and amount of surface rainfall, as well as how this response depends on the presence or absence of vegetation. This investigation is carried out by conducting several series of high-resolution, idealized numerical experiments using a fully coupled, interactive soil-vegetation-atmosphere modeling system. From these experiments, a new soil moisture-precipitation relationship emerges: in the presence of vegetation, simulations with moderately dry soils, whose initial liquid water content slightly exceeds the PWP, generate significantly less surface precipitation than do those with the driest or wettest soils. This result suggests that simulated “wet-soil advantage” and “dry-soil advantage” regimes may not necessarily be mutually exclusive, insofar as extremely wet and extremely dry soils can both exhibit an “advantage” over moderately dry soils. This non-monotonic soil moisture-precipitation relationship is found to result from the PWP’s modulation of transpiration of water vapor by plants. In the absence of vegetation, a wet-soil advantage occurs instead in these idealized simulations.

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