Engineering Commons^™

Food Waste Storage Gaseous Emissions Detection And Quantification Using Infrared Spectroscopy, Ryley A. Burton-Tauzer

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

A growing interest in sustainable waste management and the implementation of new policies have prompted a shift towards alternative resource recovery methods for organic waste, including food waste. To effectively assess alternative food waste treatment scenarios, it is important to evaluate the life cycle impacts associated with each scenario. The storage phase of food waste, encompassing its accumulation in kitchens, and storage in bins for collection and transportation, has been overlooked as a source of greenhouse gases in previous studies. This investigation aimed to identify the greenhouse gases emitted during the initial five-day period of low-oxygen storage. An open dynamic …

Optical And Physicochemical Properties Of Atmospherically Processed Brown Carbon Using Novel First-Principle Instrumentation, Benjamin Sumlin

McKelvey School of Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Atmospheric processing of brown carbon (BrC) – a class of spherical, internally-mixed, light-absorbing organic aerosol – emitted from smoldering biomass combustion is an understudied phenomenon with implications for climate science, air quality models, and satellite retrieval algorithms. BrC aerosols have received significant attention as a strong contributor to atmospheric light absorption in the shorter visible wavelengths and a driver of UV photochemistry. Their complex refractive indices (m=n+ik), size distributions, and carbon oxidation states dictate their optical properties, atmospheric residence times, and chemical interactions, respectively. There is currently a gap in our understanding of these fundamental particle properties and their evolution …

Atmospheric Measurements With Unmanned Aerial Systems (Uas), Marcelo I. Guzman

Chemistry Faculty Publications

This Special Issue provides the first literature collection focused on the development and implementation of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and their integration with sensors for atmospheric measurements on Earth. The research covered in the Special Issue combines chemical, physical, and meteorological measurements performed in field campaigns as well as conceptual and laboratory work. Useful examples for the development of platforms and autonomous systems for environmental studies are provided, which demonstrate how careful the operation of sensors aboard UAS must be to gather information for remote sensing in the atmosphere. The work serves as a key collection of articles to introduce …

The Year The West Was Burning: How The 2020 Wildfire Season Got So Extreme, Mojtaba Sadegh, Ata Akbari Asanjan, Mohammad Reza Alizadeh

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

More than 4 million acres of California went up in flames in 2020 – about 4% of the state’s land area and more than double its previous wildfire record. Five of the state’s six largest fires on record were burning this year.

In Colorado, the Pine Gulch fire broke the record for that state’s largest wildfire, only to be surpassed by two larger blazes, the Cameron Peak and East Troublesome fires.

Oregon saw one of the most destructive fire seasons in its recorded history, with more than 4,000 homes destroyed.

What caused the 2020 fire season to become so extreme?

1901 - Soil Survey Of The Lower Salinas Valley California, Macy H. Lapham And W. H. Heileman

Miscellaneous Monterey and San Luis Obispo County Documents and Reports

Prepared by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Soils, this report addresses the conditions found in the Lower Salinas Valley of Monterey County, California in 1901, including the development of agriculture, climate, geology, soil types, cultivation, irrigation. groundwater, and alkali found in the soil.

1901 - Soil Survey Of The Lower Salinas Valley California, Macy H. Lapham And W. H. Heileman

Miscellaneous Documents and Reports

Prepared by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Soils, this report addresses the conditions found in the Lower Salinas Valley of Monterey County, California in 1901, including the development of agriculture, climate, geology, soil types, cultivation, irrigation. groundwater, and alkali found in the soil.

Recent Trends In The Frequency And Duration Of Global Floods, Nasser Najibi, Naresh Devineni

Publications and Research

Frequency and duration of floods are analyzed using the global flood database of the Dartmouth Flood Observatory (DFO) to explore evidence of trends during 1985–2015 at global and latitudinal scales. Three classes of flood duration (i.e., short: 1–7, moderate: 8–20, and long: 21 days and above) are also considered for this analysis. The nonparametric Mann–Kendall trend analysis is used to evaluate three hypotheses addressing potential monotonic trends in the frequency of flood, moments of duration, and frequency of specific flood duration types. We also evaluated if trends could be related to large-scale atmospheric teleconnections using a generalized linear model framework. …

Quantifying Permafrost Extent, Condition, And Degradation Rates At Department Of Defense Installations In The Arctic, Christopher A.J. Edlund

Theses and Dissertations

The DoD is planning over $500M in military construction on Eielson Air Force Base (AFB) within the next three years. This construction program will expand the footprint of facilities and change parts of the storm water management scheme, which may have second order effects on the underlying permafrost layer. These changes in permafrost will drive engineering decision making at local and regional levels, and help shape the overall strategy for military readiness in the Arctic. Little site-specific knowledge exists on the human caused effects to permafrost at this location. In 2016, the permafrost degradation rates at Eielson AFB were modeled …

Geospatial Drivers Of The Groundwater Δ18o Isoscape In A Temperate Maritime Climate (Republic Of Ireland), S. Regan, R. Goodhue, O. Naughton, Paul Hynds

Articles

In recent years, the concept of “isoscapes” has been used to describe spatiotemporal stable isotope distributions within natural environments including groundwater systems at multiple scales. This study presents an updated groundwater δ18O isoscape for the Republic of Ireland and describes the climatic and geological drivers influencing 18O composition. In all, 142 geographically and geologically representative groundwater installations were sampled and analysed, in addition to 35 samples from six nested boreholes. Geospatially, Irish groundwater exhibits high δ18O values in southern and western coastal regions, becoming progressively depleted inland before reaching lowest measured values along the eastern coast, equating to a national …

Changing Trends In Wave Heights In The U.S. Mid-Atlantic Region, Hillary Lane

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The pace and effects of climate change are an area of constant focus for coastal engineers as evolving patterns in the atmosphere worldwide affect the oceans and coasts on a regional and global scale. Surface waves respond to changing wind patterns both locally and from propagating swell, and the difficulty in predicting future wind patterns is well-established. Expectations that climate change will result in more frequent and intense coastal storms and consequently greater wave heights in the North Atlantic are still unrealized, and recent forecasts from a variety of atmosphere-ocean coupled global climate models instead predict decreasing wave heights through …

Nres/Metr/Bsen 479/879: Hydroclimatology—A Peer Review Of Teaching Project Benchmark Portfolio, Francisco Munoz-Arriola

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

Rising temperatures and extreme hydrometeorological and climate events are evidences of a changing climate. An increasing population together with their demands for food, energy and water make changes in climate evidence the need to train a new generation of multidisciplinary professionals with a clear understanding of the effects of a changing climate in their activities. Historically, climate sciences were used for scientific and weather operational contexts and engineers applied stationary assumptions for multi-term planning. My goal is to identify elements built from classroom experiences about (a) the suitability of a hydroclimatology course for engineers and scientists; (b) the multidisciplinary skills; …

The Effect Of Urbanization On The Embodied Energy Of Drinking Water In Tampa, Florida, Mark Vincent Eli Santana

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Increasing urbanization has serious implications for resource and energy use. One of these resources is drinking water. The increased amount of impervious surfaces associated with urban development is responsible for increased runoff during rain events, which may have a negative impact on the quality of nearby bodies of water, including drinking water sources. The growing populations associated with urbanization require a higher water demand. In addition, urban drinking water systems use energy to collect, treat, and distribute a safe reliable effluent to users. Therefore, this study focuses on the degree to which urbanization influences the embodied energy of drinking water …

Climate Change And Hydrological Risks Related To Railway Infrastructure In Northern Regions, Barry A. Palynchuk Phd

Barry A. Palynchuk PhD

In this paper, the authors discuss the possible consequences of global warming on northern hydrology and their impacts on railway drainage infrastructure. How can we change actual design approaches, methods and standards to adapt, to reduce vulnerability and to improve resilience to climate change? Under current climate conditions, snow, ice and permafrost play a dominant role in the water balance in cold regions. Three areas can be distinguished: regions of continuous permafrost, regions of discontinuous permafrost and permafrost-free regions. To predict the potential climate change impacts on each region, the spatial analog and the climate variability analog approaches can be …

A Spatial Agent-Based Model To Explore Scenarios Of Adaptation To Climate Change In An Alpine Tourism Destination, Stefano Balbi, Pascal Perez, Carlo Giupponi

Professor Pascal Perez

A vast body of literature suggests that the European Alpine region may be one of the most sensitive to climate change impacts. Adaptation to climate change of Alpine socioecosystems is increasingly becoming an issue of interest for the scientific community while the people of the Alps are often unaware of or simply ignore the problem. ClimAlpTour is a European research project of the Alpine Space Programme, bringing together institutions and scholars from all countries of the Alpine arch, in view of dealing with the expected decrease in snow and ice cover, which may lead to a rethinking of tourism development …

Simkat: A Virtual Laboratory To Explore The Impact Of Climate Change Scenarios On The Western Australian Wheat-Belt, A Dray, S Asseng, Pascal Perez, S Charles, B Bates

Professor Pascal Perez

The northernmost part of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef (MBR) runs along the eastern Yucatan peninsula (Mexico). Over two decades, sprawling coastal tourism development and over-exploitation of marine resources have considerably reduced fringing reef's ecological functions. SimReef is an interactive model designed to better understand the interactions between regional and local drivers strongly influencing the health of coral reefs. SimReef's development follows a collective design approach and an inductive process whereby dynamics are represented by data-driven relationships. Experts and stakeholders participate to the designing phase in order to help calibrating the model and to support a consensual validation of the results.

Slides: Session 3: Decision-Making And The Energy Poor, Andrew Yager

2012 Energy Justice Conference and Technology Exposition (September 17-18)

Presenter: Andrew Yager, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Division for Sustainable Development

33 slides

Slides: Natural Gas: Game Changer Or Runner Left On Base? Working To Get It Right In Co!, Gary Graham

Drawing the Blueprint for a Sustainable Natural Gas Future (January 18)

Presenter: Dr. Gary Graham, Director, Lands Program, Western Resource Advocates

21 slides

Slides: Who Should Be At The Table, And What Should They Be Talking About?, Robert W. Adler

Navigating the Future of the Colorado River (Martz Summer Conference, June 8-10)

Presenter: Robert W. Adler, James I. Farr Chair in Law, University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law

9 slides

Improving Ensemble Streamflow Prediction Using Interdecadal/Interannual Climate Variability, Kenneth W. Lamb

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The National Weather Service’s (NWS) river forecast centers provide long-term water resource forecasts for the main river basins in the U.S. The NWS creates seasonal streamflow forecasts using an ensemble prediction model called the Extended Streamflow Prediction (ESP) software. ESP creates runoff volume forecasts by taking the current observed soil moisture and snowpack conditions in the basin and applying them to historical temperature and precipitation scenarios. The ESP treats every historic input year as a likely scenario of future basin conditions. Therefore improving the knowledge about how long-term climate cycles impact streamflow can extend the forecast lead time and improve …

Slides: Intermountain Oil And Gas Bmp Project, Kathryn Mutz

Opportunities and Obstacles to Reducing the Environmental Footprint of Natural Gas Development in Uintah Basin (October 14)

Presenter: Kathryn Mutz, Natural Resources Law Center, University of Colorado at Boulder

21 slides

A Spatial Agent-Based Model To Explore Scenarios Of Adaptation To Climate Change In An Alpine Tourism Destination, Stefano Balbi, Pascal Perez, Carlo Giupponi

SMART Infrastructure Facility - Papers

A vast body of literature suggests that the European Alpine region may be one of the most sensitive to climate change impacts. Adaptation to climate change of Alpine socioecosystems is increasingly becoming an issue of interest for the scientific community while the people of the Alps are often unaware of or simply ignore the problem. ClimAlpTour is a European research project of the Alpine Space Programme, bringing together institutions and scholars from all countries of the Alpine arch, in view of dealing with the expected decrease in snow and ice cover, which may lead to a rethinking of tourism development …

New Policies Create A New Politics: Issues Of Institutional Design In Climate Change Policy, Henry Ergas

SMART Infrastructure Facility - Papers

Institutional design focuses on the task of providing accountability and effective monitoring of decision-making by bodies vested with the coercive powers of the state in a context where information is inherently limited, costly to acquire and asymmetrically distributed. This paper focuses on issues of institutional design in the context of climate change policy. It examines proposals advanced in the June 2008 Draft and Final Reports of the Garnaut Climate Change Review (‘Garnaut Reports’), and in the Government’s July 2008 Green Paper and December 2008 White Paper on the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (‘Green and White Papers’) with respect to how …

Slides: Market-Based Stream Flow Restoration And Mitigation, Amanda Cronin

Western Water Law, Policy and Management: Ripples, Currents, and New Channels for Inquiry (Martz Summer Conference, June 3-5)

Presenter: Amanda Cronin, Washington Water Trust, Seattle, WA

23 slides

Slides: Climate Change And The Death Of Stationarity: A New Era For Western Water?, Stephen T. Gray

Western Water Law, Policy and Management: Ripples, Currents, and New Channels for Inquiry (Martz Summer Conference, June 3-5)

Presenter: Steven T. Gray, Wyoming State Climatologist, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY

48 slides

Dynamics Of A Salinity-Prone Agricultural Catchment Driven By Markets, Farmers' Attitudes And Climate Change, S Asseng, A Dray, Pascal Perez, X Su, J P. Muller

SMART Infrastructure Facility - Papers

An agent-based simulation model has been developed with CORMAS combining simplified bio-physical processes of land cover, dry-land salinity changes, rainfall, farm profitability and farmer decisions on land uses in a dry-land agricultural catchment (no irrigation). Simulated farmers formulate individual decisions dealing with land use changes based on the combined performance of their past land cover productivity and market returns. The willingness to adapt to market drivers and the ability to maximize returns varies across farmers. In addition, farmers in the model can demonstrate various attitudes towards salinity mitigation as a consequence of experiencing and perceiving salinity on their farm, in …

Crop Updates 1999 - Cereals, Len W. Broadbridge, Doug Abrecht, D. Bakker, Greg Hamilton, Cliff Spann, Doug Rowe, Peter Fisher, Jennifer Bignell, Matthew Braimbridge, Bill Bowden, Ross Brennan, Reg Lunt, Senthold Asseng, Cherie Rowles, Simon Bedbrook, Chris Gazey, Mike Bolland, Garren Knell, Lyn Abbott, Zed Rengel, Wayne Pluske, Erin Cahill, Bill Crabtree, Matthew Evans, Tim Nielsen, Jat Bhathal, Rob Loughman, D. Rasmussen, Roger Jones, Sean Kelly, Ian Riley, Sharyn Tayor, Vivien Vanstone, Dominie Wright, Debbie Thackray, Simon Mckirdy, George Yan, Robin Wilson, Iain Barclay, Robin Mclean, Dean Diepeveen, Bill Lambe, Wal Anderson, Brenda Shackley, Mechelle Owen, Peter Burgess, Ben Curtis, Mohammed A. Hamza, Jamie Henderson, Frank Boetel, Alfredo Impiglia, Frances Hoyle, Darshan Sharma, Pierre Fievez, Blakely Paynter, Glen Mcdonald, Kevin Young, Andrew Blake, Keith Devenish, Perry Dolling, Roy Latta, Lisa-Jane Blacklow, Chris Matthews, Angelo Loi, Brad Nutt, Rochelle Mcrobb, David Webb, Andrew Mcrobb, Clinton Revell, James Ridsdill-Smith, Celia Pavri, David Tennant, Darryl Mclements, Ross Thompson, Mike Ewing, Tim Woodburn, Paul Yeoh, James Fisher, Art Diggle, Mark Whitten, Andrew Rate, Paul Carlile, Ed Blanchard, Bevan Buirchell, Lorraine Osborne, Tress Walmsley, Terry Piper, Cameron Weeks, Michael Dodd, Amanda Falconer, Caroline Peek, Glenn Adam, Camray Gethin, Richard Guinness, Daniel Fels, Andrew Rintoul, Mal Lamond, Roger Tapp, Craig White

Crop Updates

This article covers sixty papers

FOREWORD

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

PLENARY PAPERS

1. Western Australia’s climate: trends and opportunities, Len W. Broadbridge, Director, Bureau of Meterorology

2. Managing seasonal variations in agriculture, Dr Doug Abrecht, Director, Dryland Research Institute, Merredin

CROP ESTABLISHMENT

3. Soil management to prevent waterlogging on duplex soils in the Great Southern, D. Bakker, Greg Hamilton, Cliff Spann and Doug Rowe, Agriculture Western Australia

4. The influence of no-till and press wheels on crop production for heavy soils, Peter Fisher, Jennifer Bignell, Matthew Braimbridge, Greg Hamilton, Agriculture

Western Australia

NUTRITION

5. Fertiliser nitrogen, applied late, needs …

Conceptualization Of Hydrologic Systems [Outline], Kenneth E. Kolm

Uncovering the Hidden Resource: Groundwater Law, Hydrology, and Policy in the 1990s (Summer Conference, June 15-17)

4 pages.