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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

1998 - 2030 Land Use And Water Needs Conditions Dec 2018

1998 - 2030 Land Use And Water Needs Conditions

Miscellaneous Monterey and San Luis Obispo County Documents and Reports

Documentation of the methodology and data used to estimate the land use, M&I water needs, and pumped agricultural water under the 2030 conditions. One of the primary goals of the Salinas River Basin Management Plan (BMP) is to meet the agricultural, and municipal and industrial water needs of the Valley under the existing conditions (1995 level of development) as well as, under the future conditions (2030 level of development), while stopping the seawater intrusion and balancing the hydrologic conditions in the basin. In order to meet the 2030 water needs, a reasonable estimate of land use and water use conditions …


Predicting Combined Effects Of Land Use And Climate Change On River And Stream Salinity, John Olson Dec 2018

Predicting Combined Effects Of Land Use And Climate Change On River And Stream Salinity, John Olson

John Olson

Agricultural, industrial and urban development have all contributed to increased salinity in streams and rivers, but the likely effects of future development and climate change are unknown. I developed two empirical models
to estimate how these combined effects might affect salinity by the end of this century (measured as electrical conductivity, EC). The first model predicts natural background from static (e.g. geology and soils) and dynamic
(i.e. climate and vegetation) environmental factors and explained 78% of the variation in EC. I then compared the estimated background EC with current measurements at 2001 sites chosen probabilistically from all conterminous USA streams. …


Evaluation Of Agricultural Land Cover Representations On Regional Climate Model Simulations In The Brazilian Cerrado, Stephanie A. Spera, Jonathan M. Winter, Jonathan W. Chipman May 2018

Evaluation Of Agricultural Land Cover Representations On Regional Climate Model Simulations In The Brazilian Cerrado, Stephanie A. Spera, Jonathan M. Winter, Jonathan W. Chipman

Geography and the Environment Faculty Publications

Examining interactions between large-scale land cover and land use change and regional climate in areas undergoing dynamic land transformations, like the Brazilian Cerrado, is crucial for understanding tradeoffs between human needs and ecosystem services. Yet regional climate models often do not include accurate land cover data of these complex landscapes. We use National Center for Atmospheric Research’s Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model coupled to the Noah-Multiparameterization (Noah-MP) land surface model to run 10-year climate simulations across Brazil to assess (1) whether an accurate, regionally validated land cover data set with two, new agricultural land cover classifications improves model simulation …


Nitrogen Inventory In The Nooksack-Fraser Transboundary Watershed, Jiajia Lin, Jana Compton, Jill Baron, Chris Clark, Donna Schwede, Shabtai Bittman, David Hooper, Barb Carey, Peter Homann, Hanna Winter, Peter Kiffney, Nichole Embertson, Heather Mackay, Robert Black, Gary Bahr Apr 2018

Nitrogen Inventory In The Nooksack-Fraser Transboundary Watershed, Jiajia Lin, Jana Compton, Jill Baron, Chris Clark, Donna Schwede, Shabtai Bittman, David Hooper, Barb Carey, Peter Homann, Hanna Winter, Peter Kiffney, Nichole Embertson, Heather Mackay, Robert Black, Gary Bahr

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

The Nooksack-Fraser transboundary area (2639 km2) is home to communities with a strong base in farming, fisheries and outdoor recreation. Water quality issues impact parts of this area, where sewage effluent and animal waste are potential sources of both fecal coliform bacteria (FCB) and nitrogen (N) in the environment. Excessive nitrogen loading can lead to eutrophication in coastal areas, and nitrate contamination of groundwater. The Nooksack-Fraser Transboundary Nitrogen (NFT-N) project was developed to determine the sources and fates of N in the watershed using data on energy use, transportation, fertilization, wastewater treatment plants, livestock operations, wildlife and more. This project …


Agricultural Intensification In The Midwest: Impacts On Regional Surface Humidity, Andrew Hill Jan 2018

Agricultural Intensification In The Midwest: Impacts On Regional Surface Humidity, Andrew Hill

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

An overwhelming majority of anthropogenic climate change studies have placed emphasis on biogeochemical agents, chiefly carbon dioxide emissions, which operate on a global scale. Fewer studies focus on biophysical factors such as land use/ land cover which operate on a regional or local scale. The impact from biophysical factors will continue to be reinforced with a growing human population and expanding resource demands. Of these factors, agricultural land use represents one of the largest, most extensive, and vital land use allocations.

The U.S. Midwest, dominated by rain-fed corn and soybean agriculture, is a key agricultural region which is lacking in …