Date of Award

8-2010

Document Type

Masters Capstone Project

Degree Name

M.S. in Geographic Information Science

Organizational Unit

College of Natural Science and Mathematics, Geography and the Environment

First Advisor

Heather Hicks

Keywords

Atmospheric environments, Tornado development, El Niño, Southern oscillation, Atlantic multidecadal oscillation, Pacific decadal oscillation

Abstract

Meteorologists are continually working toward a greater understanding of which atmospheric environments are most conducive for tornado development. This Capstone project analyzed tornado occurrences across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana during the period 1950 through 2009 to determine if any correlation exists between the location and frequency of tornado activity and the phases of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation, the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. While it was determined that no phase of any of the oscillations studied was significantly more dominant over the other(s) concerning frequency, this project does identify some spatial shifts in tornado activity depending on the phase. By establishing basic tornado climatology, this project also provides the basis for continued research in a number of related topics

Copyright Date

8-1-2010

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved.

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Nicholas M. Fillo

Provenance

Received from author

File Format

application/pdf

Language

English (eng)

Extent

61 pgs

File Size

3.2 MB



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