Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Cooperative Conservation - Interagency Volunteer Program Quarterly Progress Report: Period Ending December 31, 2004, Margaret N. Rees

Get Outdoors Nevada

Collaboration with Interagency Team

During the third quarter, the interagency volunteer team and university representatives have held several meetings to continue progress on the Interagency Volunteer Program (IVP). At the beginning of October, candidates for the project manager position were interviewed by the university search committee, followed by interviews with the interagency team on October 6, 2004. After two finalists were identified, reference checks were made and the university and team recommended to the federal managers that Ms. Donna Grady be hired. Ms. Grady’s first day on the job was December 1, 2004. In the interim, Nancy Flagg, Public Lands …

Chemical Analyses In Support Of Yucca Mountain Studies, Jeanette Daniels, Klaus J. Stetzenbach, Drew Coleman, Amy J. Smiecinski, Raymond E. Keeler

Publications (YM)

The objective of this task “Chemical Analyses in Support of Yucca Mountain Studies” is to provide the Department of Energy (DOE) with data and reports from comprehensive chemical analyses of waters sampled from the wells of the Nye County Early Warning Drilling Program (NCEWDP), the Inyo County’s Drilling Program, and the Nye county Tracer Test. In addition, this task will be used to provide other laboratory support needs as they arise within the Yucca Mountain Project. This support is provided by the Harry Reid Center for Environmental Studies (HRC) at University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), which is part of …

South Florida Coastal Water Quality Monitoring Network Quarterly Report (C-15397), Joseph N. Boyer

SERC Research Reports

No abstract provided.

A Watershed-Based Classification System For Lakes In Agriculturally-Dominated Ecosystems: A Case Study Of Nebraska Reservoirs, Henry N. N. Bulley

Department of Geography: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In recent decades substantial progress has been made in improving the quality of surface waters in the United States (Hawkins et al., 2000; EPA, 2000; EPA, 2001); nevertheless, much work remains to be done in assessing the state of impairment of lake waters. Impairment implies that the existing water quality of a lake, as measured by selected criteria (e.g., nitrogen, phosphorus, chlorophyll-a, Secchi depth), exceeds a threshold value or standard that presumably reflects optimal attainable lake water quality conditions (or "reference" conditions) (Hughes, 1995; EPA, 2000; EPA, 2001). Such impaired waters are not suitable for designated uses such as drinking, …

Draft Woody Depression Wetland Hgm Model For The Coastal Plain Of Virginia, Kirk J. Havens, David O'Brien, David Stanhope, Kory Angstadt, Tamia Rudnicky, Daniel Schatt, Gene M. Silberhorn, Carl Hershner

Reports

No abstract provided.

Relationship Between Drinking Water Treatment Chemical Usage And Lake Whatcom Water Quality And Algal Data, Robin A. Matthews

Lake Whatcom Other Reports

This assessment is based on daily Bellingham City water treatment data provided by Peg Wendling and a composite data file containing monthly averages for City water treatment chemical data and Institute for Watershed Studies water quality and algal data collected at the Intake site. The monthly averages were calculated using all available depths and dates from September 1992 through May 2004. (Note that the 2004 data only include January through May.)

Cooperative Conservation - Interagency Volunteer Program Quarterly Progress Report: Period Ending September 30, 2004, Margaret N. Rees

Get Outdoors Nevada

Collaboration with Interagency Team

Although the task agreement formally commenced June 30, 2004, the agreement was not fully executed by both parties until July 29, 2004. In the first three months of this agreement, UNLV representatives have met with or communicated via email with the Interagency Volunteer Team on numerous occasions. At the first meeting on July 13, 2004, Government Technical Representative Bobbie Antonich and UNLV Public Lands Initiative Director Nancy Flagg met with the interagency team to discuss the overall goals for the Interagency Volunteer Program (IVP). The team was brought up-to-date on the status of the task agreement, …

South Florida Coastal Water Quality Monitoring Network Quarterly Report (C-15397), Joseph N. Boyer

SERC Research Reports

No abstract provided.

2003 Pollutant Loads Kings River Near Berryville, Arkansas, Marc A. Nelson, L. Wade Cash

Technical Reports

An automatic sampler and a USGS gauging station were established in 1998 and water quality sampling was begun in 1999 on the Kings River near Berryville, Arkansas. Continuous stage and discharge measurements and frequent water quality sampling have been used to determine pollutant concentrations and loads in the river. This report presents the results from the sampling and analysis for January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2003.

Internal Phosphorus Loading In Spring Lake: Year 2, Dr. Alan Steinman, Dr. Rick Rediske, Mrs. Lori Nemeth

Scientific Technical Reports

Experimental and desktop studies were conducted during 2004 to better understand the factors affecting internal phosphorus (P) loading in Spring Lake, Michigan. A prior study in 2003 resulted in estimates that between 55 and 65% of the total phosphorus entering the water column of Spring Lake, on an annual basis, originated via internal loading from the sediments. The results from the current study indicated the following:

Phosphorus release rates were no different at alum concentrations of ≥ 15 mg alum/L compared to 24 mg/L. However, the higher alum concentration is likely to provide greater spatial coverage over the sediments in …

An Audit Of The Uptake Of Agricultural Nutrient Management Practices In The Peel-Harvey Catchment, Kelly Lavell, Robert Summers, David Weaver, Martin Clarke, John Grant, Simon Neville

Conference papers and presentations

Recent funding through the Coastal Catchments Initiative aims to significantly reduce the discharge of nutrients to the waterways of the eutrophic Peel-Harvey catchment. A range of projects within this initiative have been developed, which include activities designed to develop, test and implement point and non-point source best management practices (BMP) for the control of nutrient export, and to audit the current levels of adoption of these practices. Landholders who manage approximately 30% of the catchment area have been interviewed under major BMP themes of fertiliser management, soil amendment, perennial pastures, riparian and water management, revegetation, irrigation management and effluent management. …

Benthic Community Monitoring For The Little Venice Sewage Collection And Treatment Project In Marathon, Florida, Joseph N. Boyer, Danielle Mir-Gonzalez, Ronald Jones

SERC Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Vegetation Characteristics Associated With Small Mammal Populations In The Las Vegas Wash, Christine Therese Herndon

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Percent litter, average litter depth, percent bare ground, vegetation density, vegetation canopy, and distance to an ecotone boundary were measured and compared to small mammal capture locations in the Las Vegas Wash. Neotoma lepida appear to be greatly dependent upon the foliage litter of T. ramosissima. Alternatively, ecotone boundaries appear to be the most important factor affecting Dipodomys merriami distributions. Peromyscus eremicus distributions may be predicted based on vegetation density and increased canopy during shorter, winter torpor periods. Chaetodipus penicillatus were consistently associated with dense, seed-bearing vegetation, although C. penicillatus is extremely opportunistic and vegetation density should not limit their …

City Of Norfolk Dune Inventory, C. Scott Hardaway Jr., Donna A. Milligan, Lyle M. Varnell, George R. Thomas, Walter L. Priest, Linda M. Meneghini, Thomas A. Barnard, Christine Wilcox

Reports

City of Norfolk, Virginia is located on the southern shore of Chesapeake Bay (Figure 1). Thirteen dune sites were identified along it’s Chesapeake Bay shore from Little Creek Inlet to Willoughby Spit (Figure 2). It is the intent of this publication to provide the user with information on the status of dunes in City of Norfolk. This information comes from research performed in 1999 and 2000 which was presented in a report entitled “Chesapeake Bay Dune Systems: Evolution and Status (Hardaway et al., 2001). Although somewhat dated, the information provides a short historical perspective of the state of each site …

Northampton County Dune Inventory, C. Scott Hardaway Jr., Donna A. Milligan, Lyle M. Varnell, George R. Thomas, Walter L. Priest, Linda M. Meneghini, Thomas A. Barnard, Christine Wilcox

Reports

Northampton County is located on the Eastern Shore of Virginia (Figure 1). Only dune sites on Chesapeake Bay were analyzed. A total of 30 dune sites were identified along Northampton’s shoreline (Figure 2). It is the intent of this publication to provide the user with information on the status of dunes in Northampton County. This information comes from research performed in 1999 and 2000 which was presented in a report entitled “Chesapeake Bay Dune Systems: Evolution and Status (Hardaway et al., 2001). Although somewhat dated, the information provides a short historical perspective of the state of each site at the …

South Florida Coastal Water Quality Monitoring Network Quarterly Report (C-15397), Joseph N. Boyer

SERC Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Karst Of Western Cuba: Observations, Geomorphology, And Diagenesis, Larry D. Seale, Limaris R. Soto, Lee J. Florea, Beth Fratesi

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Faculty Publications

In Cuba, we observed many karst features in a variety of hydrogeologic settings. These hy-drogeologic settings occur in close proximity only because of the complex tectonic history of the is-land. We observed caves within rocks ranging from Pleistocene to Jurassic, and representing a range of diagenetic ages from eogenetic to teloge-netic. Our observations are from the western one-third of the island of Cuba; however, we believe they are representative of hydrogeologic settings found throughout the island.

Karst Of Western Cuba: Observations, Geomorphology, And Diagenesis, Larry D. Seale, Limaris R. Soto, Lee J. Florea, Beth Fratesi

Lee J Florea, PhD, P.G.

In Cuba, we observed many karst features in a variety of hydrogeologic settings. These hy-drogeologic settings occur in close proximity only because of the complex tectonic history of the is-land. We observed caves within rocks ranging from Pleistocene to Jurassic, and representing a range of diagenetic ages from eogenetic to teloge-netic. Our observations are from the western one-third of the island of Cuba; however, we believe they are representative of hydrogeologic settings found throughout the island.

Lancaster County Dune Inventory, C. Scott Hardaway Jr., Donna A. Milligan, Lyle M. Varnell, George R. Thomas, Walter L. Priest, Linda M. Meneghini, Thomas A. Barnard, Christine Wilcox

Reports

Lancaster County, Virginia is located at the confluence of the Rappahannock River and Chesapeake Bay (Figure 1). Most of the dunes are located along the Rappahannock River with the remainder along Chesapeake Bay. There are a total of 45 dune sites identified along the Lancaster County shoreline (Figure 2). It is the intent of this publication to provide the user with information on the status of dunes in Lancaster County. This information comes from research performed in 1999 and 2000 which was presented in a report entitled “Chesapeake Bay Dune Systems: Evolution and Status (Hardaway et al., 2001). Although somewhat …

Sediment Nutrient Accumulation And Nutrient Availability In Two Tidal Freshwater Marshes Along The Mattaponi River, Virginia, Usa, Jennifer L. Morse, J. Patrick Megonigal, Mark R. Walbridge

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Sediment deposition is the main mechanism of nutrient delivery to tidal freshwater marshes (TFMs). We quantified sediment nutrient accumulation in TFMs upstream and downstream of a proposed water withdrawal project on the Mattaponi River, Virginia. Our goal was to assess nutrient availability by comparing relative rates of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) accumulated in sediments with the C, N, and P stoichiometries of surface soils and above ground plant tissues. Surface soil nutrient contents (0.60–0.92% N and 0.09–0.13% P) were low but within reported ranges for TFMs in the eastern US. In both marshes, soil nutrient pools and …

An Initial Study Of Town Brook, West Yarmouth, Ma

Watershed Access Lab Projects

Students from the Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School began a study this year of Town Brook in West Yarmouth, MA. This year’s activity was the start of what is intended to be a multi-year study of the brook and its associated ponds. The focus of the study was to examine the physical and biological characteristics of the brook as a means of helping to determine the fitness of the brook for the re-introduction of herring to the system.

Town Brook lies within a town conservation area and is supplied water from Little Sandy Pond. The pond is a kettle pond with …

Effects Of Runoff From Downtown Middleboro On The Nemasket River

Watershed Access Lab Projects

The Nemasket River Watershed has an area of approximately 7.5 square miles. Historically this river has been used for commerce and transportation, fishing and recreation and, more recently, as a sink for wastewater effluent and urban runoff.

Our investigation was to determine what effects, if any, the runoff from “urban” Middleboro was having on the water quality just downstream from the town center and it’s aquatic life.

Our hypothesis was that the downstream location would be impacted from the increased runoff from the urban setting. The increase in pollution would be due to the increase in imperviousness of the urban …

A Water Quality Study Of The Braintree Farm River

Watershed Access Lab Projects

This water quality study was conducted on the Farm River in Braintree, Massachusetts. The Farm River is classified as a Class B, Warm Water Fisheries River. The river drains an area of 7.9 square miles and is part of the Fore River Watershed (a sub watershed of the Boston Basin), which includes parts of eight surrounding cities and towns. It is a 2.7 mile segment that originates from an outlet of the Great Pond in the Blue Hills of Braintree. At the Braintree Golf Course, it joins with the Cochato River to form the headwaters of the Monatiquot.

During the …

Marina Bay: A Glimpse At The Neponset River Watershed

Watershed Access Lab Projects

This presentation was prepared as an overview of a six-month study conducted by the eighth-grade Girls’ Environmental Group at Atlantic Middle School in North Quincy. Due to lack of additional staff and large numbers of students, this smaller group of 15 girls was formed as an after school group which also sometimes met on Saturdays for the purpose of sampling. The girls decided that their goal for the group was to learn how to monitor a specific environmental site, and to learn more about their own neighborhood. This included acquiring an understanding of history of the area, both in terms …

Ten Mile River Study

Watershed Access Lab Projects

In the past year, North Attleboro High School’s environmental science class has been conducting an intense study of the Ten Mile River. The focus of our study is to find out detailed information regarding the biological, physical, and chemical state of the river.

The Ten Mile River is the main river within North Attleboro. It runs down to Narragansett Bay and flows through many other local towns. The watersheds are located in North Attleboro and Plainville. The river begins at Cargill Pond in Plainville and flows 61 miles through North Attleboro, Attleboro, Plainville, and Seekonk before going into Rhode Island. …

Third Herring Brook Watershed

Watershed Access Lab Projects

Six freshman students from Norwell High School examined the Third Herring Brook Watershed during the spring of 2004. The students were split into three groups, each group taking a different topic. One set studied Nitrate and Phosphorus levels, another studied temperature, pH and physical characteristics of the watershed, while the third performed Fecal coliform tests. All levels were determined to be acceptable, although there is evidence that the contamination levels between site 1 (upstream) and site 2 (downstream) increase, possibly due to the stream passing by athletic fields, high school sewage treatment and a commercial use property.

Samples were sent …

How Does Land Use Affect The Chemistry Of The Water Of Fall Brook

Watershed Access Lab Projects

The purpose of this study was to find out how land use affects the water quality of Fall Brook. Fall Brook runs from Tispaquin Pond to the Nemasket River, and we tested two sites for NO₃ –N, Nitrate, and PO₄-P, Reactive Phosphorous. Fall Brook begins at Gibbs Road, and samples of the water were taken from Wareham Street, and Old Bridge Street. Residential areas, a farm, and an active cranberry bog are some of the surroundings at the Wareham Street site. The site at Old Bridge Street runs through agricultural areas and an Ocean Spray Plant.

Our …

Eel River Examination

Watershed Access Lab Projects

The purpose of our study was to observe the changes in the Eel River over the course of a school year. These changes were to include the river’s profile, depth, flow, phosphorus and nitrogen compound loads, temperature, pH, and levels of oxygen. This examination was conducted by an after school group comprised of a dozen 7th and 8th grade students of Judy Bradley and Sharon Jeffery from Plymouth South Middle School.

Eel River has been the site of human habitation and use since ancient times. Native Americans used the area as a seasonal village. Artifacts and human remains have been …

A Closer Look: Second Herring Brook

Watershed Access Lab Projects

No abstract provided.

Chemical Analyses For Alcove 8/Niche 3 Tracer Studies, Jeanette Daniels, Klaus J. Stetzenbach, Drew Coleman, Don Baepler, Amy J. Smiecinski

Publications (YM)

The objective of this task “Analytical Support For Tracer Studies in Alcove 8 / Niche 3” is to provide chemical analyses for the tracer studies at Alcove 8 / Niche 3 in the Exploratory Studies Facilities (ESF). This analytical support includes developing procedures for measuring tracer concentrations and then performing the tracer (and other background constituent) analyses for the water samples generated from each Alcove 8 / Niche 3 tracer test. These tracer tests are part of the Flow and Seepage Testing in Alcove 8/Niche 3 (TWP-NBS-HS-000004 REV 00). The overall goal of this study is to quantify large scale …