Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Observing Soil Changes Under Common Cropping Practices In Kentucky, Samantha Peterson, Iin Handayani, Alyx Shultz Dr, Brian Parr

Posters-at-the-Capitol

Cropping production and tillage systems lead to loss of soil organic matter (SOM), lowering soil pH, and soil compaction in Kentucky. However, the magnitude of the changes varied among the soil properties. Therefore, the objective of this research was to evaluate the changes in SOM, soil pH, and soil compaction under different cropping systems like corn-soybean-tobacco rotation (Field #1), continuous corn field (Field #2), hemp field (Field #3), wheat field (Field #4), pasture with animal grazing (Field #5), and canola field (Field #6). The prominent soil textures in all fields are silt loam and silty clay loam. Disturbed soil samples …

The Neiumatic Shake Table: A New Tool, Elisabet M. Head, John Papiewski

Faculty Research and Creative Activities Symposium

No abstract provided.

The Fate Of Sulfur During Melting And Crystallization: Implications For Sulfur Transfer From Mantle To The Crust-Atmosphere System, Shuo Ding

Sustainability Seminar Series

Sulfur (S) is one of the most abundant volatiles; one that has a fundamental impact on various magmatic processes, from the mantle to the Earth’s surface. Ocean island basalts (OIB) are one of the critical probes for understanding the chemical, lithological and thermal variations in the Earth’s mantle. Therefore, S abundances of primary OIB that sample peridotite partial melts, as well as deeply recycled components, can provide a better understanding of the long-term S cycle on Earth. In this study, we developed a model to describe the behavior of sulfide and copper (Cu) during decompression melting of the mantle by …

Variations Of Soil Qualities In Urban And Rural Areas, Gabby Barnes, Iin Handayani, Steve Still

Posters-at-the-Capitol

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the variations of soil characteristics under different management practices in rural soils versus urban soils. In this study, soil samples from rural areas in Kentucky were collected from a woodland plot, a no-till plot, and a tilled plot. The soil samples from the rural were taken from two depths in order to better evaluate the effect of tillage on the soil. A shallow depth of 0-7cm and a deep depth of 7-15cm were used. Soil samples were also taken from urban plots in Memphis, TN. The sampled plots included were an animal …

Are The Oxygen Isotope Values Of The Late Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway Different From The Open Ocean?, Camille H. Dwyer, Corinne Myers, Viorel Atudorei

Shared Knowledge Conference

The Western Interior Seaway (WIS) was a North American epicontinental sea that was connected to the open ocean through the passage of the northern Boreal Sea and the southern Tethys Sea from the early Albian (~113 million years ago) to the early Paleogene (~65 million years ago). The WIS began to recced and lost its connection to the southern Tethys Sea in the late Campanian (~72 million years ago). In the early Paleogene, the WIS dried up completely. The oxygen isotopic composition (δ18O) of benthic bivalves was measured from the upper Campanian and lower Maastrichtian (75 million years ago to …

Assessing Water Policy Implications Of The Changing Agriculture In New Mexico, Trevor A. Birt

Shared Knowledge Conference

Agriculture is the dominant water sector in New Mexico, responsible for more than 80% of water withdrawals in 2015 (USGS 2018). Water policy needs to be extremely adaptive and informed to meet the needs of not only farmers, but cities, industry and riparian uses. Since 1840, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has conducted census surveys assessing all levels of agriculture. These data are physically published at the county, state, and national level on a 5-year cycle, detailing various material counts such as acreage, yields, and water usage, as well as socioeconomic estimates of farm costs, revenues, and hired workers. …

Natural Trace Element Salinization Of The Jemez River, New Mexico By Geothermal Springs And Major Tributaries, Jon K. Golla, Laura J. Crossey, Abdul-Mehdi S. Ali, Karl E. Karlstrom

Shared Knowledge Conference

The Jemez River (JR), a tributary of the Rio Grande, is in north-central New Mexico within the Jemez Mountains, which houses the active, high-temperature (≤ 300 oC), liquid-dominated Valles Caldera geothermal system (VC). This work focuses on the northern portion of the JR, spanning a reach from the East Fork JR to the town of San Ysidro. Previous decadal work during low-flow or baseflow conditions (~10-20 cfs) has identified and characterized significant major-solute contributions from two outflow expressions of the VC, Soda Dam Springs and Jemez Hot Springs, and two major tributaries, Rio San Antonio and Rio Guadalupe. There is …

Longitudinal Study Of Water Quality In Jennings Creek, Bowling Green, Kentucky: Urbanization Impacts On Karst Groundwater, Lea Mitchell, Jason S. Polk, Rachel Kaiser, Ethan Givan, Kegan Mcclanahan

Posters-at-the-Capitol

Karst groundwater systems, which occur in areas where caves, sinkholes, and underground rivers dominate the landscape, are vulnerable to pollution from surface contaminants. In urban areas, like Bowling Green, Kentucky, which is home to extensive caves and groundwater supplies, the immediate transport of heavy metals, organic waste, chemicals, and other pollutants from surface activities into groundwater poses a serious threat. This research project was done to examine the water quality of urban karst sites in Bowling Green, Kentucky at Jennings Creek, which is a local river primarily fed from springs; the water quality of Jennings Creek was never tested before …

The Undeniable Attraction Of Lunar Swirls, Cierra Waller, Dhananjay Ravat

Posters-at-the-Capitol

Lunar swirls are complex patterns on the Moon with distinct brightness signatures and magnetic characteristics. Current research has suggested that the formation of lunar swirls relies on local magnetic fields to shield impinging solar wind, based on a shift in electromagnetic wavelength peaks related to solar radiation and space weathering. Our research combined recent models and methods to characterize these anomalies at the surface of the Moon, exploring the effects of field strength and position. We have produced a high resolution map of a famous swirl named Reiner Gamma using magnetic dipole modeling. These maps and models are considered when …

Groundwater Contamination At Coal Ash Deposit Sites In Kentucky, Brandon Rose

Scholars Week

No abstract provided.

Kentucky Flood And Flash Flood Comparison Of 1996 And 2017 Using Gis, Harrison Kelly

Scholars Week

No abstract provided.

Managing Risk In Grazing Operations, Christopher D. Teutsch, Kenneth H. Burdine

Kentucky Grazing Conference

Risk is an inherent part of agricultural production systems. Crane and coworkers (2013) identified five primary areas of risk in grazing operations: 1) MARKETING risk, 2) PRODUCTION risk, 3) LEGAL risk, 4) HUMAN risk, and FINANCIAL risk. These types of risk are described in the accompanying publication entitled “Controlling Risk in Grazing-Based Production Systems” by J. Parsons. This article will discuss the risk associated with “production” in grazing systems, focusing specifically on managing drought in grass based production operations.

Keys To Optimizing Profitability In Cow-Calf Production -- Rooster's Beef, 3 Generations Of Farming & Beef, William Slaton, Becky Slaton

Kentucky Grazing Conference

Rooster's Beef ultimately began with our family farm -Rocky Bluff Farm - now owned by William and Becky Slaton. It is the cattle producer for our beef sold. The farm is named after two Natural Rock Formations on our property. We have several acres of pasture and including some wooded acres. With rotational grazing and intense management, we are able to have 65 cows in a spring calving group, 15 cows in a fall calving group, 3 bulls, 13 replacement heifers, unweaned calves and 12 calves on finisher feed. We also rent ground to raise and put up our own …

Grass Finished Beef: Melding Production And Marketing [2], Todd Clark

Kentucky Grazing Conference

No abstract provided.

Grass Finished Beef: Melding Production And Marketing [1], Michael Palmer, Stacie Palmer

Kentucky Grazing Conference

Palmer Farms Beef is a family farm near Murray KY, owned by Michael and Stacie Palmer. We produce, and retail around 40 beef per year.

Turning Grass Into Cash With Small Ruminants, Kenneth Andries

Kentucky Grazing Conference

As agriculture continues to change, it is important to consider sustainability before starting or expanding any enterprise. One critical factor in any animal agriculture enterprise is controlling feeding costs. Most research indicates feeding is the largest expenses in any livestock enterprise. However, nutrition is critical to overall productivity and the income of the enterprise. Because of this, producers need to find ways to improve nutrient availability while minimizing costs to optimize production and profitability for their livestock enterprise.

Grazing Dairies: Challenges And Opportunities, Howard Straub Iii

Kentucky Grazing Conference

No abstract provided.

Considerations For Making A Profit With Stocker Cattle, Jeff Lehmkuhler

Kentucky Grazing Conference

The southeast is home to more than 7.3 million beef cows (USDA 2018). At an estimated 80% weaning rate and 20% heifer retention, the southeast region would be expected to produce more than 4.6 million feeder calves that would go to market in 2018. The cow-calf industry in the region provides an opportunity for the stocker and backgrounding operations to co-exist. Much of the land in the region is best suited for forage and pasture production, which at the current moment, provides a low cost feed for adding pounds to light weight feeder cattle. Yet, the stocker and backgrounding segments …

Measuring Profitability In Grazing Operations, Kenneth H. Burdine

Kentucky Grazing Conference

When producers make investments in extending their grazing season, they do so in order to obtain an economic benefit. These benefits usually include a reduction in the number of days that stored feed (typically hay) is fed, an increase in carry capacity or stocking rate, or an increase in production level (rates of gain, weaning weights, etc). While all of these are potential benefits of improved grazing systems, a reduction in winter feeding days is often the simplest way to start. When the grazing season is extended, winter feeding days are reduced, and this cost savings can be weighed against …

Foreword And Conference Information [2018], S. Ray Smith, Christopher D. Teutsch

Kentucky Grazing Conference

No abstract provided.

Theory On Thermodynamic Constraints To Biogeochemical And Metabolic Diversity, Jordan Okie, Everett Shock

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Remote Sensing Of Soil Moisture Using S-Band Signals Of Opportunity: Model Development And Experimental Validation, Marvin Jesse, Benjamin Nold, James L. Garrison

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Root zone soil moisture (RZSM) is a vital aspect in meteorology, hydrology, and agriculture. There are currently some methods in passive and active remote sensing at L-band, but these methods are limited to a sensing depth of approximately 10 cm. Observing RZSM (water in the top meter of soil) will require lower frequencies, thus presenting significant difficulties for a spaceborne instrument, because of the required antenna size, the presence of radio-frequency interference (RFI), and competition for spectrum allocations (in the case of active radar). Bistatic radar using Signal of Opportunity (SoOp) (e.g. digital satellite transmitters) provides an opportunity for remote …

Remote Sensing Using I-Band And S-Band Signals Of Opportunity, Kadir Efecik, Benjamin R. Nold, James L. Garrison

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Measurement of soil moisture, especially the root zone soil moisture, is important in agriculture, meteorology, and hydrology. Root zone soil moisture is concerned with the first meter down the soil. Active and passive remote sensing methods used today utilizing L-band(1-2GHz) are physically limited to a sensing depth of about 5 cm or less. To remotely sense the soil moisture in the deeper parts of the soil, the frequency should be lowered. Lower frequencies cannot be used in active spaceborne instruments because of their need for larger antennas, radio frequency interference (RFI), and frequency spectrum allocations. Ground-based passive remote sensing using …

Estimating Watershed Residence Times In Artificially-Drained Landscapes And Relation To Nutrient Concentrations, Emma Beck, Lisa Welp, Alexandra L. Meyer

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Nutrient runoff from agricultural lands feeds harmful algae blooms that create a variety of problems in freshwater ecosystems. In order to reduce the effects of this nutrient runoff, Best Management Practices (BMPs) are being put in place in agricultural lands. Most of these BMPs focus on slowing down the flow of water through the watershed to give nutrient concentrations time to deplete before the water flows to the stream or river. However, the effectiveness of these BMPs are highly unknown and the process of monitoring nutrient runoff is often complex and costly. The data in this study consists of 7 …

Optimizing Uav Surveys For Coastal Morphodynamics: Estimation Of Spatial Uncertainty As A Function Of Flight Acquisition And Post-Processing Factors, Mark Lundine

Celebration of Learning

Recent developments in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and photogrammetry software enable the rapid collection of aerial photography and video over study areas of varying sizes, thereby providing ease of use and accessibility for studies of coastal geomorphology. However, there remains uncertainty over UAV survey techniques, with disagreement on specific flight patterns, flight altitudes, photograph amounts, ground control point (GCP) amounts, GCP spacing schemes, drone models, and which SfM software to use, amongst other study-specific parameters.

A controlled field test (of 1.2 hectares) was performed to determine SfM’s sensitivity to the following flight parameters: altitude (60 m, 80 m, 120 m), …

Spatial And Temporal Analysis Of Island Morphology In Lower Pool 18 Of The Mississippi River, Marissa C. Iverson

Celebration of Learning

The Upper Mississippi River System has a significant trend in island loss due to river engineering structures. However, Lower Pool 18 is observed as a counterexample to the island loss pattern with its island development near Lock and Dam 18 during the past 80 years. This research is modeled after a study done in Lower Pool 6 of the Upper Mississippi River where an island development was found to contradict the island loss prevalence. The Lower Pool 18 research’s goal is to map, describe, and explain spatial patterns of islands growth, persistence and loss. Historical maps and aerial photographs of …

Use Of Floodscape Mapping To Assess Changes In Inundation Frequency Of The Upper Mississippi River, Jeffrey L. Swanson

Celebration of Learning

As an alternative to probability-based maps, DeJager (and others) reconceptualized floodplain mapping using the notion of “floodscapes” (DeJager et al., 2015). A floodscape map is developed using daily stage data and high-resolution topography to create maps that depict the average number of days of inundation (per year or growing season). Floodscape maps reveal intricate and continuous patterns of high-frequency flows that are critically important to floodplain ecological functioning. DeJager found significant correlations between floodscape inundation and riparian vegetation patterns but single floodscape maps only provide snapshots in time. This current research develops and utilizes multiple floodscape maps to quantify changes …

A Quantitative Analysis Of The Effects Of Urbanization, Mesophication And Prescribed Burns On Oak Woodlands In The Chicago Metropolitan Area, Chad Populorum

Celebration of Learning

Urban expansion has had devastating impacts on forest ecosystems, especially within the past century. Human attempts to dominate nature have diminished natural disturbance regimes, which have maintained the biodiversity and historic composition of these ecosystems. Fires have been a prominent force in maintaining the structure of oak, hickory and other heliophytic (sun loving and fire-adapted) forest systems. Human induced fire suppression has led to mesophication across North America. Mesophication is the transition from drier conditions with open canopies to wetter conditions with closed canopies. These new conditions decrease the survival rates of these important species and begin to favor mesophytic …

Assessment Of Observed Increases In Extreme Warm Exceedances In Locations With Short Warm Side Tails, Jacob S. Hunter, Paul C. Loikith, J. David Neelin

Student Research Symposium

Regions of shorter-than-Gaussian temperature distribution tails have been shown to occur in spatially coherent patterns in the current climate using reanalysis. Under such conditions, future changes in extremes due to global warming may manifest in more complex ways than if the underlying distribution were closer to Gaussian. For instance, under a uniform warm shift, the simplest prototype for future warming, a location with a short warm side tail would experience a greater increase in exceedances than if the distribution were Gaussian. This carries meaningful societal and environmental implications including but not limited to negative impacts on human and ecosystem health, …

Estimating Sand Loss: Using Eolian Sand Ramps As A Proxy For Estimating Past Erosion Within The Lincoln City Dune Sheet; Lincoln City, Oregon, Kara E. P. Kingen, John Bershaw, Curt D. Peterson

Student Research Symposium

Eolian sand ramps are features that are sculpted from beach sand blowing up against sea cliffs or bluffs. In some coastal areas, sand ramp deposits only appear as the erosional remnants of pre-existing ramps that have been truncated at eroded shorelines, separating them from their previous sediment supply. Although sand ramp features have been observed in other areas on the western coast of the United States , they had not been studied or documented within the Lincoln City Dune Sheet (LINC) prior to this study – which documents the existence of truncated eolian sand ramps in LINC and uses them …