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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Assessing The Impacts Of Surface Water Removal For Use In Natural Gas Extraction On A Watershed Level, Carrie Ann Davis Dec 2012

Assessing The Impacts Of Surface Water Removal For Use In Natural Gas Extraction On A Watershed Level, Carrie Ann Davis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this study, the Soil and Water Assessment Test (SWAT) was used as a tool to predict whether diffuse water removal from the Cadron Creek watershed for use with natural gas development would have an impact on downstream flow within the watershed. Cadron Creek watershed expands across four counties within Arkansas and is located in the Fayetteville Shale Gas region. This region is experiencing significant growth in natural gas development. Successful development of shale gas depends on the identification of what water supplies are available for production without interfering with community and environmental needs. The SWAT model used to evaluate …


A Watershed Scale Evaluation Of Selected Second Generation Biofeedstocks On Water Quality, Gurdeep Singh Dec 2012

A Watershed Scale Evaluation Of Selected Second Generation Biofeedstocks On Water Quality, Gurdeep Singh

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study compares a novel simulation approach to the conventional Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) modeler's approach for targeting biofuel crop production on marginal lands. In conventional SWAT modeling approach, non-spatial definition of hydrological response units (HRUs) results in the simulation of biofuel crops on both marginal and non-marginal land. This study provides an alternative approach in which a marginal-land raster was integrated into the land use and land cover (LULC) raster in such a way that the land uses were divided into marginal and non-marginal components. This modified LULC was used for model setup which resulted in marginal …


Livestock Production And Wildlife-Based Tourism: Articulating Land-Use And Policy Conflicts In The Okavango Delta Ramsar Site In Botswana, Nelson Kgamanyane Sello Aug 2012

Livestock Production And Wildlife-Based Tourism: Articulating Land-Use And Policy Conflicts In The Okavango Delta Ramsar Site In Botswana, Nelson Kgamanyane Sello

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The management of common pool resources and policy conflicts between livestock and wildlife, two land-use types that take place in the same geo-spatial area has been a subject of debate among scholars for decades. This conflict in policies has engendered in communities which are beneficiaries attitudes that are either negative towards wildlife or favorable depending on the benefits they derive from them. This research therefore set out to understand the conflicts in the management of the Okavango Delta Ramsar Site (ODRS) where the OD is situated. The study used the grounded theory to collect and analyze the data in the …


Role Of Vegetation And Environmental Characteristics On Slope Stability In Northwest Arkansas, Michael Maguigan May 2012

Role Of Vegetation And Environmental Characteristics On Slope Stability In Northwest Arkansas, Michael Maguigan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Slope failure continues to pose risks to society because knowledge of environmental factors and their interactions are unclear and possibly misunderstood. This misunderstanding leads to generalizations about slope failure susceptibility mapping, despite knowing that slope failures are likely the result of an extensively complex set of interactions among a number of environmental, edaphic, and geomorphic characteristics. Therefore a series of experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of slope, soil texture, vegetation cover, bedrock permeability, and compaction,. A wooden flume with a slope face 1 m wide by 1.5 m long with a 10 cm toe was constructed to contain …


Integrating Human Variables In Cross-Boundary Monitoring Of Aberdare Preserves In Kenya, Peter K. Njuguna May 2012

Integrating Human Variables In Cross-Boundary Monitoring Of Aberdare Preserves In Kenya, Peter K. Njuguna

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research critically examines extant data systems and their linkage of scientific research to policy and public education in east African highland forest conservation preserves. The research indicates that the current state of data and monitoring systems in the region imposes substantial limitations on the ability to manage these preserves. Major outcomes of those constraints manifest in unprecedented cross-boundary pressure such as encroachment and conversion of forest to agriculture, increased human-wildlife conflicts, and constrained relations among primary stakeholders. Current monitoring is biodiversity focused within preserves and fails to capture human dimensions in adjoining areas across preserve boundaries. This study proposes …


Nutrient Dynamics In Stormwater Runoff From Green Roofs With Varying Substrate, John Michael Fohner May 2012

Nutrient Dynamics In Stormwater Runoff From Green Roofs With Varying Substrate, John Michael Fohner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

One major concern with urban development is the increasing amount of stormwater runoff from large expanses of impervious surfaces. These impervious surfaces reduce the ability of stormwater to infiltrate into the soil and eventually groundwater, which leads to greater amounts of surface runoff. Green technology serves as a viable solution to many of the environmental problems presented by modern development. Fifteen mock, extensive green roofs were built in the fall of 2008 at the Watershed Research and Education Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The goals of this project were to (1) measure the amount of stormwater runoff from varying treatments and …