Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Eelgrass Distribution In The Great Bay Estuary For 2009 : Final Report, Frederick T. Short

PREP Reports & Publications

Eelgrass in the Great Bay Estuary in 2009 was once again present only in Great Bay itself and in Portsmouth Harbor. For the second year in a row, there was no eelgrass in Little Bay or in the Piscataqua River. In 2009, there was a continued loss of eelgrass biomass in Great Bay; there has been a 66.4% loss of biomass in Great Bay since 1996 and distribution is 30% less than in 1996. Although eelgrass distribution in Great Bay itself increased between 2008 and 2009, primarily due to continued expansion from natural seeding of bare areas, the Bay’s eelgrass …

Shoreline Evolution: Isle Of Wight, Virginia James River And Pagan River Shorelines, Donna A. Milligan, Kevin O'Brien, Christine Wilcox, C. Scott Hardaway Jr.

Reports

Shoreline evolution is the change in the shore zone through time. Along Chesapeake Bay’s estuarine shores, it is a process and response system. The processes at work include winds, waves, tides and currents which shape and modify coastlines by eroding, transporting and depositing sediments. The shore line is commonly plotted and measured to provide a rate of change, but it also is important to understand the geomorphic patterns of change. Shore analysis provides the basis to know how a particular coast has changed through time and how it might proceed in the future.

The purpose of this data report is …

Shoreline Evolution: James City County, Virginia James, York, And Chickahominy River Shorelines, Donna A. Milligan, Christine Wilcox, Kevin O'Brien, C. Scott Hardaway Jr.

Reports

Shoreline evolution is the change in the shore zone through time. Along the shores of Chesapeake Bay, it is a process and response system. The processes at work include winds, waves, tides and currents which shape and modify coastlines by eroding, transporting and depositing sediments. The shore line is commonly plotted and measured to provide a rate of change, but it is as important to understand the geomorphic patterns of change. Shore analysis provides the basis to know how a particular coast has changed through time and how it might proceed in the future. The purpose of this data report …

Recent Advances In The Climate Change Biology Literature: Describing The Whole Elephant, A. Townsend Peterson, Shaily Menon, Xingong Li

Shaily Menon

Climate change biology is seeing a wave of new contributions, which are reviewed herein. Contributions treat shifts in phenology and distribution, and both document past and forecast future effects. However, many of the current wave of contributions are observational and correlational, and few are experimental in nature, and too often a conceptual framework in which to contextualize the results is lacking. An additional gap is the lack of effective cross-linking among areas of research, for example, connection of sea-level rise and climate change implications for distributions of species, or evolutionary adaptation studies with distributional shift studies. Although numerous important contributions …

Construction Cost Models, Barry Dikeman

Economics and Finance

The following are a series of cost estimate models similar in format to a typical engineer’s estimate that were developed in support of our financial impact assessment report for LD 1725. The models us current material costs, labor costs, and equipment costs for the region to provide a comparative cost analysis of seven culvert replacement scenarios. The models provide information about what the cost impact of LD 1725 would be for typical culvert replacements in Maine. However, due to the inherent restrictions of the cost modeling framework we were not able to include the abundance of variables that would be …

Knowing Your Community: Fostering Biodiversity Awareness In Our Students’ Daily Existence, Tony Cummings Bs, Academic Director

Fostering Multicultural Competence and Global Justice: an SIT Symposium

There are strong arguments suggesting that developing students’ sensitivity to local biodiversity and conservation issues is as important as emphasizing an understanding of global conservation issues happening in faraway lands (Ehrenfeld, 2009). Many students arrive at a Study Abroad destination, with a good understanding of theory, but with little field experience at home. Environmental educators in Study Abroad are able to use the novelty and grandeur of our exotic destinations to systematically teach students the patterns and processes of ecological and human communities at our sites, while inspiring a sense of place in our students. By immersing students in the …

Effects Of 2000-2050 Global Climate Change On Ozone And Particulate Matter Air Quality In The United States Using Models-3/Cmaq System, Yun-Fat Lam

Doctoral Dissertations

The Models-3/Community Multi-scale Air Quality modeling system (CMAQ), coupled with Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) atmospheric General Circulation Model (GCM), fifth Generation Mesoscale Model system (MM5), and Goddard Earth Observing System-CHEMistry (GEOS-Chem), was used to simulate atmospheric concentration of ozone and particulate matter over the continental United States 12-km and 36-km (CONUS) domains at year 2000 and year 2050. In the study, GISS GCM model outputs interfaced with MM5 were utilized to supply the current and future meteorological conditions for CMAQ. The conventional CMAQ profile initial and boundary conditions were replaced by time-varied and layer-varied GEOS-Chem outputs. The future …

The Effects Of Changes In Water Content On Uranium(Vi) Leaching In Sediment Mixtures Containing Gravel, Andrew Weber Moore

Masters Theses

This study is aimed at understanding the physical and chemical effects that changes in water content have on uranium leaching in sediment containing gravel. It was hypothesized that leaching will be more efficient under unsaturated conditions because flow will be restricted to the smallest pores and will have the most contact with the uranium contaminated sediment. Under saturated conditions, a large portion of the flow will bypass the < 2 mm material, and in turn not come into contact with uranium contaminated material. Batch adsorption and desorption experiments were performed on < 2 mm ERDF sediment to determine the linearity and reversibility of sorption processes and to aid in the interpretation of the leaching experiments. Results of the desorption experiments on aged, contaminated sediments show that the mass percent of sorbed U(VI) released to solution decreased as the sorbed concentration of U(VI) decreased. The opposite trend was observed on freshly contaminated sediments. This indicated that aging increased U(VI) affinity for the solid phase and was attributed to either the crystallization of calcite, which incorporated a portion of the sorbed U(VI) as it crystallized, or the presence of voids in basaltic lithic fragments accessed by diffusion. Column leaching experiments were performed at two water contents on artificially contaminated sediment collected from the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Hanford Site, Washington state. The sediment contained 81.3% gravel (> 2 mm) by mass. Non-reactive tracers were well fit with the convection-dispersion equation (CDE) at both high and low water contents indicating physical equilibrium. The column experimental data were fitted to an …

Summary Tables: Prince William County, Virginia Shoreline Inventory Report, Marcia Berman, Harry Berquist, Sharon Killeen, Carl Hershner, Karinna Nunez, Karen Reay, Tamia Rudnicky

Reports

The Shoreline Inventory Summary Tables quantify observed conditions based on river systems, such as the combined length of linear features (e.g. shoreline miles surveyed, miles of bulkhead and revetment), the total number of point features (e.g. docks, boathouses, boat ramps) & total acres of polygon features (tidal marshes).

Prince William County, Virginia Shoreline Inventory Report Methods And Guidelines, Marcia Berman, Harry Berquist, Sharon Killeen, Carl Hershner, Karinna Nunez, Karen Reay, Tamia Rudnicky

Reports

The data inventory developed for the Shoreline Inventory is based on a three‑tiered shoreline assessment approach. In most cases this assessment characterizes conditions that can be observed from a small boat navigating along the shoreline. The three tiered shoreline assessment approach divides the shorezone into three regions: 1) the immediate riparian zone, evaluated for land use; 2) the bank, evaluated for height, stability, cover and natural protection; and 3) the shoreline, describing the presence of shoreline structures for shore protection and recreational purposes. Hand-held GPS units are used to log features observed in the field.

Three GIS coverages are developed …

Cockatoo Sands Soil Survey : Assessment Of The Potential Irrigation Areas, Kununurra Area, East Kimberley, Henry Smolinski, Kus Kuswardiyanto, Justin Laycock

Resource management technical reports

No abstract provided.

Algal Biomass Accrual In Relation To Nutrient Availability Along A Longitudinal Gradient In The Upper Green River, Kentucky, Mary Douglas Penick

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Nutrient limitation in aquatic ecosystems results from a deficiency in nitrogen or phosphorus levels relative to cellular growth needs. Nutrient limitation of freshwater systems is a function of biotic and abiotic factors. Biotic factors include vascular and nonvascular plant community composition. Abiotic factors include underlying bedrock and land-use activities (e.g. agriculture, septic systems). Nutrient availability directly affects growth, productivity, and community structure of primary producers. The purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) to assess the relationship between ambient algal biomass. and in-stream nutrient levels along the longitudinal course of a river through a transition from weak to well-developed underlying …

Campaspe And Murray Shires Infrastructure Gap Analysis Report, Nadine E. White, Jeremy Buultjens, Rose Wright, Meredith Lawrence

Nadine E White

No abstract provided.

Survey Of Resource Managers Completed On Monitoring And Management Actions For Rare Plants In Arizona And Nevada, Scott R. Abella

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications

In a collaborative project with Northern Arizona University and more than 35 resource managers in Arizona and Nevada, we completed a survey of monitoring and management activities that are ongoing in these states for conserving populations of rare plants. We sent questionnaires consisting of 16 questions to as many resource managers as possible in these states and had follow-up conversations with several managers willing to share their perspective on ongoing conservation actions. The findings may be interesting for managers to see what issues and management strategies other managers in the same or different regions are grappling with. Results will be …

Droughtscape- Summer 2010, Kelly Smith

Droughtscape, Quarterly Newsletter of NDMC, 2007-

Upcoming Workshops

Mild Drought Season Likely to Persist

Drought Impacts Intensify in Upper Midwest

Visiting Scientists

North Carolina Takes Drought Monitor Seriously

International Work- Murcia, Spain, June

River Sediment Sampling Methods- Causeway Building And Removal, Dillon Dittmer

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Abstract The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) suspect that causeways have a negative impact on river ecology both when installed and when removed. The Nebraska Department of Roads routinely uses causeways as a tool in the construction and repair of bridges. Although research has not been conducted on the impact of causeway building and removal data has been collected about the impact of dams, causeways, etc. on estuaries. This data is considered subjective and authors often cite sampling methods as a source of error. Currently there are no widely used handheld sampling methods that …

Water Erosion Hazard Assessment Of The Lort And Young Rivers Catchment, Karen Holmes, John Andrew Simons, B Marillier, N Callow, Paul Galloway

Resource management technical reports

No abstract provided.

Nevada Interagency Volunteer Program: Helping Hands Across Public Lands – Phase Ii: Annual Progress Report, Period Covering July 1, 2009 - June 30, 2010, Margaret N. Rees

Get Outdoors Nevada

• From July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010 the Volgistics database has increased the number of records from 6,226 to a total of 6,536 records at the end of this period.
• Website activity this year averaged 109,216 hits per month, with an average of 10,443 pages viewed per month.
• The team attended 14 community outreach events resulting in 2,588 direct contacts and 300 new mailing list records.
• The Interagency Volunteer Program (IVP) completed a total of 67 volunteer events contributing a total of 15,195 volunteer hours.
• A total of 131 volunteers completed orientations and trainings with the IVP.
• A total …

Nevada Interagency Volunteer Program: Helping Hands Across Public Lands – Phase Ii: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Covering April 1, 2010 – June 30, 2010, Margaret N. Rees

Get Outdoors Nevada

• The number of records in the volunteer database increased by 6% over the last quarter. The database now contains 7,250 records.
• A new tracking method was implemented to provide a more comprehensive analysis of website activity. Results show an average of 1397 visits per month, and with an average of 3,400 pages viewed per month.
• Spring volunteer training has been completed.
• Initial planning for Fall events has begun.
• Preparations and initial planning for the 2,010 volunteer recognition banquet began.
• The Interagency Volunteer Standard Operations Manual has been updated and revised.
• Get Outdoors Nevada supported 17 volunteer events in a variety …

Lake Mead National Recreation Area Monitoring And Evaluation Of Sensitive Wildlife: Quartlerly Progress Report, Period Ending June 30, 2010, Margaret N. Rees

Wildlife Monitoring

Project 1. Relict Leopard Frog Monitoring, Management, and Research

• All milestones and deliverables are on schedule
• Translocation program completed for this year
• Completed spring-season nocturnal monitoring surveys
• Completed spring-season mark-recapture efforts at Blue Point Spring
• Hosted RLFCT meeting

Project 2. Bald Eagle Winter Monitoring and Evaluation

• This project has been completed and all associated deliverables have been met

Project 3. Peregrine Falcon Monitoring and Evaluation

• This project has been completed and all final report deliverables have been met
• Although not specified in the scope of work for this project, call-broadcast surveys were conducted this quarter to provide a limited assessment …

Limnological Assistance For Lake Mead National Recreation Area: Quarterly Report, Period Ending June 30, 2010, Margaret N. Rees

Limnological Studies

Project 1

• Technical assistance with the implementation of the Interagency Monitoring Action Plan (I-MAP) for Quagga Mussels is ongoing. During this quarter, analysis was completed for 14 adult/juvenile samples from the fall 2009 – spring 2010 sampling.
• Sampling for the first of two small-scale research projects funded by this task agreement (Abundance and settlement at different depths of Lake Mead) was initiated on June 16, 2010.

Project 2

• Topics and proposed analyses have been drafted for annual report development as prescribed by the Plan.
• A plan for developing and organizing NPS limnology-related web pages has been documented and content has …

Integrating Ecology And Information Technology: Conserving Natural Resources, Melissa M. Grigione, Dan Farkas

Cornerstone 3 Reports : Interdisciplinary Informatics

The goal of this project is to develop an interdisciplinary collaboration in technology, spatial analysis and the conservation of natural, environmental, and ecological resources. The proposed collaboration involved independent research projects so that students can participate in both field‐based and laboratory activities. The Thinkfinity project has initiated continued work and expansion of our goals to include a multi‐college collaboration and possibilities for outside funding (NSF).

Environmental Science, Its Importance And Integration, Sultan Alam

Professional Development Centre, Gilgit

No abstract provided.

The Influence Of Vegetation And Landscape Position On Soil Temperature Change In A Sagebrush-Steppe Eastern Sierra Environment: Implications On Soil Taxonomy, Nathan Michael Lurie

Earth and Soil Sciences

Soil temperature is a parameter that has been studied for a considerable time and from many different perspectives. However, relatively few studies have been conducted for taxonomic purposes and fewer still have focused on how changes in soil temperature related to global climate change may affect soil taxonomy. Soil temperature regimes are used to subdivide soils with similar properties that exist in dissimilar climate zones requiring different management practices depending on intended use. Seven sites with variable surficial features were used for this study within a cohesive sagebrush-steppe Eastern Sierra glacial moraine landform. Soil temperature was measured once a month …

Measurement And Interpolation Of Sea Surface Temperature And Salinity In The Tropical Pacific: A 9,000 Nautical Mile Research Odyssey, Amber Brooks

Earth and Soil Sciences

The purpose of this project was to compare spline and inverse distance weighting interpolation tools on data collected in the tropical Pacific Ocean by ship and data from a global network of CTD floats, known as Argo floats (fig.1), to provide evidence that technological advancement and integration is aiding our understanding of the ocean-atmosphere system of planet Earth. Thirty-one sea surface temperature and salinity samples were manually taken across a 9,000 nautical mile trek of the Pacific Ocean for the months of April, May and June 2008. Argo ASCII globally gridded monthly averaged sea surface temperature and salinity data, from …

Stable Isotopic And Geochemical Variability Within Shallow Groundwater Beneath A Hardwood Hammock And Surface Water In An Adjoining Slough (Everglades National Park, Fl), Lee J. Florea, Dorien K. Mcgee, Jonathan G. Wynn

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Faculty Publications

Data from a ten-month monitoring study during 2007 in south Florida provide insight into the variation of δ18O, δD, and δ13C of DOC in surface water and shallow groundwater of the Everglades ecosystem. Bi-monthly samples were taken from surface water and time-averaged precipitation at Taylor Slough, and shallow groundwater from a well and a small cave within Palma Vista Hammock, an exposure of the Upper Pleistocene Miami Limestone.

δ18O and δD values in shallow groundwater from the well and cave remain near the mean of -2.4 ‰ and -12 ‰, respectively (VSMOW scale). 18O and D are enriched in surface …

Recent Advances In The Climate Change Biology Literature: Describing The Whole Elephant, A. Townsend Peterson, Shaily Menon, Xingong Li

Peer Reviewed Publications

Climate change biology is seeing a wave of new contributions, which are reviewed herein. Contributions treat shifts in phenology and distribution, and both document past and forecast future effects. However, many of the current wave of contributions are observational and correlational, and few are experimental in nature, and too often a conceptual framework in which to contextualize the results is lacking. An additional gap is the lack of effective cross-linking among areas of research, for example, connection of sea-level rise and climate change implications for distributions of species, or evolutionary adaptation studies with distributional shift studies. Although numerous important contributions …

Remediation Of Soil Hydrophobicity On A Coastal Usga Sand-Based Golf Green, Troy David Thompson

Master's Theses

Managing soil hydrophobicity caused by localized dry spots (LDS) on sand based golf greens has become one of the greatest challenges for golf course superintendents and managers, especially as water restrictions intensify. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of thirteen soil surfactants in eliminating LDS and in maximizing root zone soil moisture on a sand based USGA golf green located on the California Central Coast. Potential water repellency of air dried cores (measured utilizing the water droplet penetration time (WDPT) method), phytotoxicity, and climate were analyzed during two experimental trials. Phytotoxicity data was collected for Trial …

A Sea Change For Aquatic Sustainability : Meeting The Challenge Of Fish Resources Management And Aquatic Sustainability In The 21st Century, Department Of Fisheries

Fisheries occasional publications

No abstract provided.

A Comparison Of Lidar Generated Channel Features With Ground-Surveyed Channel Features In The Little Creek Watershed, Ryan M. Hilburn

Master's Theses

Detecting change in stream channel features over time is important in understanding channel morphology and the effects of both natural and anthropogenic influences. Channel features historically, and now currently, are being measured using a variety of ground survey techniques. These surveys require substantial time commitments and funding to complete. Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) is an airborne laser mapping technology that holds promise to provide an alternative to ground-based survey methods. For this study, ground surveys were used to verify the accuracy of data collected using airborne LiDAR. Fifty nine cross-sectional profiles were surveyed in the Little Creek watershed at …