Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Umphlett Qci 2015, Natalie A. Umphlett

HPRCC Personnel Publications

Highlights for the Basin

Temperature and Precipitation Anomalies

Late Hard Freeze

Late Freezes Extended Growing Season

Warm Fall Delays Bird Migrations

Monitoring Water Resources Across the Basin

3-Month Precipitation and Temperature Outlooks

The Founding Of The Robert B. Daugherty Water For Food Institute At The University Of Nebraska

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Literature

University of Nebraska President J.B. Milliken drove to Omaha in to meet Robert Daugherty at his home. In the living room, the elder Daugherty was surrounded by Mogens Bay, his three sons and a covey of lawyers. Now 88 years old, the businessman had a reputation for being tough-minded and smart, a man who could intimidate, but also surprise with his ready sense of humor. In his long career, Daugherty had transformed agriculture and the rural landscape into the now familiar polka dot pattern, the signature of the center pivot irrigators Daugherty had popularized in the 1970s. He had started …

Mitigating The Risk Of Extreme Water Scarcity And Dependency: The Case Of Jordan, Joep F. Schyns, Arwa Hamaideh, Arjen Y. Hoekstra, Mesfin Mekonnen, Marlou Schyns

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Jordan faces great internal water scarcity and pollution, conflict over trans-boundary waters, and strong dependency on external water resources through trade. This paper analyzes these issues and subsequently reviews options to reduce the risk of extreme water scarcity and dependency. Based on estimates of water footprint, water availability, and virtual water trade, we find that groundwater consumption is nearly double the groundwater availability, water pollution aggravates blue water scarcity, and Jordan’s external virtual water import dependency is 86%. The review of response options yields 10 ingredients for a strategy for Jordan to mitigate the risks of extreme water scarcity and …

The Prairie Post Quarterly Newsletter Of The High Plains Regional Climate Center- October 2015, Martha Shulski, Natalie Umphlett, Bill Sorensen, Glen Roebke, Crystal J. Stiles

HPRCC Newsletter

Inside this issue:

Message from the director........................................1

Staff spotlight...........................1

New website design and products.....................................2

Training workshops................3

AWDN information.................4

Update on regional climate conditions and El Niño..........4

Research highlight..................5

Outreach/engagement.........5

Recent and upcoming travel and activities.............................6

Droughtscape- Fall 2015, Kelly Smith

Droughtscape, Quarterly Newsletter of NDMC, 2007-

CONTENTS

Director’s column.........................1

NDMC 20th anniversary .............. 2

Employment opportunity..............3

Third quarter 2015 climate summary ...................................... 4

Third quarter 2015 impacts summary ...................................... 6

Workshop in Ethiopia...................8

San Antonio multi-hazard tournament .................................. 9

Healthy soil is drought buffer ............. 10

U2U Award ................................ 11

Cost-benefit analysis for utilities managing drought......................12

NDMC helps with rural poll questions on climate..................13

Introducing our post-docs..........14

South Korean visitors ................ 14

Umphlett Qci Sept 2015, Natalie Umphlett

HPRCC Personnel Publications

Highlights for the Basin

Temperature and Precipitation Anomalie

Streamflow

Heavy Rains Continued

Positive and Negative Impacts to Agriculture

Persistent Smoke from Wildfires

3-Month Precipitation and Temperature Outlooks

Droughtscape- Summer 2015, Kelly Smith

Droughtscape, Quarterly Newsletter of NDMC, 2007-

CONTENTS

Director’s column.........................1

New Drought Risk Management Research Center ......................... 3

Second quarter 2015 climate summary ...................................... 4

Second quarter 2015 impacts summary ...................................... 6

Caribbean region an innovator in drought early warning..................8

Wind River Reservation tribes move toward drought planning ............... 10

Ranchers, U.S. Forest Service, University of Arizona co-develop drought plans.............................12

Summer blockbuster from CoCoRaHS: Assessing Drought in the U.S........................14

Western states drought coordinators meet......................14

The Prairie Post Quarterly Newsletter Of The High Plains Regional Climate Center- July 2015, Martha Shulski, Natalie Umphlett, Bill Sorensen, E. Hunt, Crystal J. Stiles

HPRCC Newsletter

Inside this issue:

Message from the director........................................1

Staff spotlight...........................1

Visit from Office of Science and Technology Policy...........2

Partnership spotlight.............2

AWDN information.................3

Update on regional climate conditions..................................3

Product highlight....................4

Research highlight..................4

Outreach/engagement.........5

Recent and upcoming travel and activities.............................6

Umphlett Qci June 2015, Natalie A. Umphlett

HPRCC Personnel Publications

Highlights for the Basin

Temperature and Precipitation Anomalies

Drought Conditions

Water Supplies Recovering

Heavy Rains Cause Flooding

Agriculture Impacts

3-Month Precipitation and Temperature Outlooks

The Prairie Post Quarterly Newsletter Of The High Plains Regional Climate Center- April 2015, Martha Shulski, Natalie A. Umphlett, Bill Sorensen, Crystal J. Stiles

HPRCC Newsletter

Inside this issue:

Message from the director........................................1

Staff spotlight...........................1

Stakeholder engagement activities......................................2

Partnership spotlight.............2

AWDN information.................3

Update on regional climate conditions..................................3

Product highlight....................4

Research highlight..................4

Outreach events......................5

Recent and upcoming travel and activities.............................6

Drougthscape- Spring 2015, Kelly Smith

Droughtscape, Quarterly Newsletter of NDMC, 2007-

CONTENTS

Director’s column.........................1

South Plains ranch workshops ........... 3

First quarter drought summary .............. 4

First quarter impacts summary .............. 6

Gary’s favorite pond, D1-4...........8

NDMC’s Haigh leads U2U pubs ..............10

SW MT watersheds convene.................12

Wind River monitors drought..................13

Morocco’s new drought index................14

NE Brazil drought monitoring.....16

EU’s drought initiative................16

U.S. Drought Monitor Forum ..... 16

How CO tourism coped in 2012........... 17

The Repurposing Of Abandoned Buildings In Gary, Indiana With Sustainable Design: The Revitalization Of A Distressed City, Tatiana Height

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Abandonment has been a major problem plaguing the city of Gary, Indiana. The city saw its peak in the 1960’s and has since been the site of pollution due to the steel mill, a general lack of investment, and seedy behavior in empty buildings. Based on information gathered, such as the Broken Windows Theory, citizen testimonials, expert interviews, government initiatives, and revitalization plans of other cities, restoring abandoned buildings will prove socially and economically beneficial to the city of Gary. This research provides suggestions for how to mitigate the abandoned building problems, suggestions for possible funding of the abandoned building …

The Effects Of Urbanization On Fear In Wildlife, Sarah Spier, Joseph J. Fontaine

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Through this study we sought out to determine if Fox Squirrels in Lincoln, Nebraska exhibited a change in response to aerial versus terrestrial predators in urban areas. We addressed the possible consequences that human disturbance has on daily stimuli, predator behaviors, and, in turn, prey behaviors. Specifically, the experiment exposed Fox Squirrels to the vocalizations and visual models of an aerial predator, terrestrial predator, and a control species. Squirrels did not show a significant change in behavior between predator types. However, fox squirrels displayed correct anti-predator behaviors by only responding to the predators and not the control. The time it …

Nebraska’S Natural Resources Districts: An Assessment Of A Large-Scale Locally Controlled Water Governance Framework, Ann Bleed, Christina Hoffman Babbitt

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

In 1972 the State of Nebraska created the Natural Resources Districts (NRDs) to consolidate a multitude of single-purpose local natural resource districts into a more comprehensive, holistic, and efficient natural resources governance system. While consolidation and efficiency was important, so was the concept of maintaining local control. Thus, Nebraska rejected the governance framework of a single top-down state agency, preferring to create NRDs that are each governed by a locally elected board. The locally elected governing boards of the NRDs were given broad authorities over many of the state’s natural resources, including groundwater. Such a governance structure was, and to …

Umphlett Qci March 2015, Natalie Umphlett

HPRCC Personnel Publications

Highlights for the Basin

Temperature and Precipitation Anomalies

Mountain Snowpack

Agriculture

Recreation and Tourism

Forestry

Drought Impacts Continue

3-Month Precipitation and Temperature Outlooks

U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook

Sustainability, Efficiency And Equitability Of Water Consumption And Pollution In Latin America And The Caribbean, Mesfin Mekonnen, Markus Pahlow, Maite M. Aldaya, Erika Zarate

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

This paper assesses the sustainability, efficiency and equity of water use in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) by means of a geographic Water Footprint Assessment (WFA). It aims to provide understanding of water use from both a production and consumption point of view. The study identifies priority basins and areas from the perspectives of blue water scarcity, water pollution and deforestation. Wheat, fodder crops and sugarcane are identified as priority products related to blue water scarcity. The domestic sector is the priority sector regarding water pollution from nitrogen. Soybean and pasture are priority products related to deforestation. We estimate …

The Prairie Post Quarterly Newsletter Of The High Plains Regional Climate Center- January 2015, Martha Shulski, Natalie Umphlett, Bill Sorensen, Crystal J. Stiles

HPRCC Newsletter

Inside this issue:

Message from the director........................................1

Stakeholder engagement activities......................................2

AWDN news...............................3

Marketing efforts.....................3

Climate services and information................................4

Product highlight....................5

Outreach events and research highlights.................5

Recent and upcoming travel and activities.............................6

Detection, Occurrence And Fate Of Emerging Contaminants In Agricultural Environments, Daniel D. Snow, David A. Cassada, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt, Xu Li, Matteo D'Alessio, Rachel Levine, Yun Zhang, J. Brett Sallach

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

A total of 43 papers published in 2014 were reviewed ranging from detailed descriptions of analytical methods, to fate and occurrence studies, to measuring and predicting biological effects for a wide variety of emerging contaminants likely to occur in agricultural environments. New methods and studies on veterinary pharmaceuticals, natural and synthetics steroids, and antibiotic resistance genes in agricultural environments continue to expand our knowledge base on the occurrence and potential impacts of these compounds. This review is divided into the following sections: Introduction, Analytical Methods, Occurrence and Fate, Antibiotic Resistance Genes, and Risk Assessment.

Development Of A Long-Term (1884-2006) Serially Complete Dataset Of U.S. Temperatures And Precipitation For Climate Services, Jinshing You, Kenneth G. Hubbard, Martha Shulski, Mark D. Svoboda, Michael J. Hayes

HPRCC Personnel Publications

Serially complete climate datasets with no missing data are necessary for a diverse group of users working in many economic sectors. In this article we describe the procedures used to create a Serially Complete Data set (SCD) for the U.S. We include the selection criterion applied to potential SCD stations, the various procedural steps and the details applied to each step. A few observations that were not previously digitized were obtained from observers official paper reports. The methods used to estimate missing data are the Spatial Regression Test and the Inverse Distance Weighting technique. Using the criterion for selecting stations …

Nephrotoxic Contaminants In Drinking Water And Urine, And Chronic Kidney Disease In Rural Sri Lanka, Tewodros Rango, Marc Jeuland, Herath Manthrithilake, Peter G. Mccornick

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Chronic kidney disease of unknown (“u”) cause (CKDu) is a growing public health concern in Sri Lanka. Prior research has hypothesized a link with drinking water quality, but rigorous studies are lacking. This study assesses the relationship between nephrotoxic elements (namely arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and uranium (U)) in drinking water, and urine samples collected from individuals with and/or without CKDu in endemic areas, and from individuals without CKDu in nonendemic areas. All water samples—from a variety of source types (i.e., shallow and deep wells, springs, piped, and surface water)—contained extremely low concentrations of nephrotoxic elements, and all …

Demonstration Of A Daily High-Resolution (375-M) Alexi Evapotranspiration Product For The Nena Region, Christopher Hain, Martha C. Anderson, Mitch Schull, Christopher M.U. Neale

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

While the current constellation of geostationary sensors provides near-global coverage (60N to 60S) – it requires merging data from 7 satellites [resolving time differences; view angles; atmospheric correction]. Polar orbiting sensors such as MODIS and VIIRS provide daily global coverage of LST at higher resolutions than GEO sensors but at only two times per day.

Assessment Of Village Chicken Production Systems In Kambata Tambaro And Wolaita Zones, Snnpr, Ethiopia, Aman Getiso, Fitsum Tessema, Mesfin Mekonnen, Addisu Jimma, Bereket Zeleke

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

The study was conducted in four woredas (Damot Gale,Of a, Angacha and Hadero Tunto) the first two of them found in Wolaita zone and two of them in Kambata Tambaro Zone of SNNPR, Ethiopia respectively. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in the study areas to assess village chicken production systems, productive and reproductive performance of village chicken and identifying constraints to village chicken production. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select 240 farming households and administer a pre-tested and structured questionnaire. The results showed that the mean age of interviewed farmers was 37.8±9.3 years; average family size & chicken …

Yield Gap Analysis Of Field Crops: Methods And Case Studies, V. O. Sadras, Kenneth Cassman, Patricio Grassini, W. G.M. Bastiaanssen, A. G. Laborte, A. E. Milne, G. Sileshi, P. Steduto

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

The challenges of global agriculture have been analysed exhaustively and the need has been established for sustainable improvement in agricultural production aimed at food security in a context of increasing pressure on natural resources. Whereas the importance of R&D investment in agriculture is increasingly recognised, better allocation of limited funding is essential to improve food production. In this context, the common and often large gap between actual and attainable yield is a critical target. Realistic solutions are required to close yield gaps in both small and large scale cropping systems worldwide; to make progress in this direction, we need (1) …

Drougthscape- Winter 2015, Kelly Smith

Droughtscape, Quarterly Newsletter of NDMC, 2007-

CONTENTS

Director’s report...........................1

Central U.S. 2012 report..............3

Oct.-Dec. drought summary ........ 4

2014 drought summary................6

Caribbean capacity building ........ 8

Drought impacts in 2014..............9

California timeline 2014.............12

UC Davis ranching workshop .... 14

NASA SMAP data......................16

Global drought info system........17

Community Capitals .................. 18

Evaluation and assessment.......19

Indicator-impact research .........20

NDMC on YouTube....................21

Evaluating A Satellite-Based Seasonal Evapotranspiration Product And Identifying Its Relationship With Other Satellite-Derived Products And Crop Yield: A Case Study For Ethiopia, Tsegaye Tadesse, Gabriel B. Senay, Getachew Berhan, Teshome Regassa, Shimelis Beyene

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Satellite-derived evapotranspiration anomalies and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) products from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data are currently used for African agricultural drought monitoring and food security status assessment. In this study, a process to evaluate satellite-derived evapotranspiration (ETa) products with a geospatial statistical exploratory technique that uses NDVI, satellite-derived rainfall estimate (RFE), and crop yield data has been developed. The main goal of this study was to evaluate the ETa using the NDVI and RFE, and identify a relationship between the ETa and Ethiopia’s cereal crop (i.e., teff, sorghum, corn/maize, barley, and wheat) yields during the main rainy …

Sustainability And Economic Analysis Of Propylene Carbonate And Polypropylene Carbonate Production Processes Using Co2 And Propylene Oxide, Yaşar Demirel

Yaşar Demirel Publications

Currently, the industrially important polycarbonates are synthesized from bisphenol A and diphenyl carbonate, which are highly toxic and hence other feasible alternatives are preferable. Following the considerable advances on the catalyst for the synthesis of carbonates from CO₂ and propylene oxide (PO), industrial scale processes for the productions of propylene carbonate (PC) and polypropylene carbonate (PPC) have been designed and simulated with sustainability and economic analyses. The CO₂ is supplied by a nearby bioethanol plant, while the PO from a petrochemical process. The first part of the study is for the production of 200 million lb/year cyclic PC …

The Gravity Environment Of Zhouqu Debris Flow Of August 2010 And Its Implication For Future Recurrence, Diandong Ren, Lance M. Leslie, Xinyi Shen, Yang Hong, Qingyun Duan, Rezaul Mahmood, Yun Li, Gang Huang, Weidong Guo, Mervyn J. Lynch

HPRCC Personnel Publications

This study investigates the geological background of the August 7-8, 2010 Zhouqu debris flows in the northwestern Chinese province of Gansu, and possible future occurrence of such hazards in the peri-Tibetan Plateau (TP) regions. Debris flows are a more predictable type of landslide because of its strong correlation with extreme precipitation. However, two factors affecting the frequency and magnitude of debris flows: very fine scale precipitation and degree of fracture of bedrock, both defy direct observations. Annual mean Net Primary production (NPP) is used as a surrogate for regional precipitation with patchiness filtered out, and gravity satellite measured regional mass …

A Historical Perspective On Nebraska’S Variable And Changing Climate, Martha Shulski, William Baule, Crystal J. Stiles, Natalie A. Umphlett

HPRCC Personnel Publications

Nebraska is situated at the intersection of the northern and southern Great Plains, exhibiting a dramatic longitudinal gradient for precipitation and humidity, and benefiting from groundwater resources. The continental climate is highly variable temporally both for temperature and precipitation. Our assessment of long-term meteorological observations shows that over the last century the annual average temperature in Nebraska has warmed approximately 0.6°C, which is similar to the increase in the global average temperature over the same time period. Furthermore, we found minimum temperatures have warmed more than maximum temperatures, and winter and spring show the strongest warming. We found no significant …

Cover Crops And Ecosystem Services: Insights From Studies In Temperate Soils, Humberto Blanco-Canqui, Tim M. Shaver, John L. Lindquist, Charles A. Shapiro, Roger Wesley Elmore, Charles A. Francis, Gary W. Hergert

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Cover crops (CCs) can provide multiple soil, agricultural production, and environmental benefits. However, a better understanding of such potential ecosystem services is needed. We summarized the current state of knowledge of CC effects on soil C stocks, soil erosion, physical properties, soil water, nutrients, microbial properties, weed control, crop yields, expanded uses, and economics and highlighted research needs. Our review indicates that CCs are multifunctional. Cover crops increase soil organic C stocks (0.1–1 Mg ha^–1 yr^–1) with the magnitude depending on biomass amount, years in CCs, and initial soil C level. Runoff loss can decrease by up …

Five-Year Growth Report: From Inception To Global Influence 2010 - 2015, Robert B. Daugherty Water For Food Institute

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Literature

While we are proud of our accomplishments in building an institutional framework, we are even more proud of our institute’s initial work to build an impact-driven program. This work is indeed the central focus of this report. Through the leadership of our new directors for research and policy, we have begun to build a vigorous research and policy development program that includes engagement with both local and global stakeholders. We have also developed a strong set of collaborations with national and international partners, striving to achieve a balance between work in Nebraska and globally, including in India, Brazil, China and …