Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Water Whiplash In Mediterranean Regions Of The World, Citlalli Madrigal, Rama Bedri, Thomas Piechota, Wenzhao Li, Glenn Tootle, Hesham El-Askary

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

The presence of weather and water whiplash in Mediterranean regions of the world is analyzed using historical streamflow records from 1926 to 2023, depending on the region. Streamflow from the United States (California), Italy, Australia, Chile, and South Africa is analyzed using publicly available databases. Water whiplash—or the rapid shift of wet and dry periods—are compared. Wet and dry periods are defined based on annual deviations from the historical record average, and whiplash occurs when there is an abrupt change that overcomes an accommodated deficit or surplus. Of all the stations, there are more dry years (56%) than wet years …

The Last Drought Frontier: Building A Drought Index For The State Of Alaska, Olivia Campbell

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Drought is characterized by periods of below average precipitation. There are five major types of drought recognized in the literature: meteorological, hydrological, agricultural, socioeconomic, and ecological. A relatively new concept in the drought literature is “snow drought.” A key part of the definition of drought is that it is not always accompanied by extreme heat. This means drought can occur even in cold climates, cold seasons, and higher latitudes and altitudes, like Alaska. Drought is a natural part of climate variability, but Alaska’s climate is changing faster than any other state in the United States. Alaska is no stranger to …

An Integrative Salt Marsh Conceptual Framework For Global Comparisons, Erik S. Yando, Scott F. Jones, W. Ryan James, Denise D. Colombano, Diana I. Montemayor, Stefanie Nolte, Jacqueline L. Raw, Shelby L. Ziegler, Luzhen Chen, Daniele Daffonchio, Marco Fusi, Kerrylee Rogers, Liudmila Sergienko

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Salt marshes occur globally across climatic and coastal settings, providing key linkages between terrestrial and marine ecosystems. However, salt marsh science lacks a unifying conceptual framework; consequently, historically well-studied locations have been used as normative benchmarks. To allow for more effective comparisons across the diversity of salt marshes, we developed an integrative salt marsh conceptual framework. We review ecosystem-relevant drivers from global to local spatial scales, integrate these multi-scale settings into a framework, and provide guidance on applying the framework using specific variables on 11 global examples. Overall, this framework allows for appropriate comparison of study sites by accounting for …

Coupling Dendrochronology And Remote Sensing Techniques To Assess The Biophysical Traits Of Juniperus Virginiana And Pinus Ponderosa Within Grassland Communities In The Semi-Arid Grasslands Of The Nebraska Sandhills, Reece Allen

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Woody species encroachment is occurring within the sandhills region in Nebraska, primarily driven by Juniperus virginiana and Pinus ponderosa, altering ecosystems and the services they provide. Effective, low cost, and cross-scale monitoring of woody species growth and performance is necessary for integrated grassland and forest management in the face of climate variability and change. In this study, we sought to establish a relationship between remote sensing-derived vegetation indices (VIs) and dendrochronological (raw and standardized tree ring width) measurements to assess the performance of encroaching woody J. virginiana and P. ponderosa located within the Nebraska National Forest in the sandhills. …

Prediction Of Cultivation Areas For The Commercial And An Early Flowering Wild Accession Of Salvia Hispanica L. In The United States, Mohammad Hassani, Thomas Piechota, Hagop S. Atamian

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Salvia hispanica L., commonly known as chia, is a plant-based alternative to seafood and is rich in heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acid, protein, fiber, and antioxidants. In the Northern Hemisphere, chia flowering is triggered by the fall equinox (12-h light and dark, early October) and the seeds mature after approximately three months. Chia is sensitive to frost and end of season moisture which limits its cultivation to small areas in regions with temperate climate. The U.S. chia import has increased considerably over the years; however, chia is not widely cultivated in the United States. This study used the historical U.S. temperature …

Black Carbon And Organic Carbon Dataset Over The Third Pole, Shichang Kang, Yulan Zhang, Pengfei Chen, Junming Guo, Qianggong Zhang, Zhiyuan Cong, Susan Kaspari, Lekhendra Tripathee, Tanguang Gao, Hewen Niu, Xinyue Zhong, Xintong Chen, Zhaofu Hu, Xiaofei Li, Yang Li, Bigyan Neupane, Fangping Yan, Dipesh Rupakheti, Chaman Gul, Wei Zhang, Guangming Wu, Ling Yang, Zhaoqing Wang, Chaoliu Li

Geological Sciences Faculty Scholarship

The Tibetan Plateau and its surroundings, also known as the Third Pole, play an important role in the global and regional climate and hydrological cycle. Carbonaceous aerosols (CAs), including black carbon (BC) and organic carbon (OC), can directly or indirectly absorb and scatter solar radiation and change the energy balance on the Earth. CAs, along with the other atmospheric pollutants (e.g., mercury), can be frequently transported over long distances into the inland Tibetan Plateau. During the last decades, a coordinated monitoring network and research program named “Atmospheric Pollution and Cryospheric Changes” (APCC) has been gradually set up and continuously operated …

California Drought Outlooks Based On Climate Change Models’ Effects On Water Availability, Lauren Lynam, Thomas Piechota

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Future streamflow in California is evaluated based on eight climate projections models and the effects on water availability. The unimpaired projected streamflow for eleven California rivers, collected from Cal-Adapt, are compared with unimpaired historical flows (1950–2015) using eight climate model projections (2020–2099) identified as representative as possible future scenarios; Warm Dry RCP 4.5, Average RCP 4.5, Cool Wet RCP 4.5, Other RCP 4.5, Warm Dry RCP 8.5, Average RCP 8.5, Cool Wet RCP 8.5, and Other RCP 8.5. Projected drought deficits (or magnitudes), durations, and intensities are statistically tested against historical values to determine significance of differences between past streamflow …

Atmospheric Measurements With Unmanned Aerial Systems (Uas), Marcelo I. Guzman

Chemistry Faculty Publications

This Special Issue provides the first literature collection focused on the development and implementation of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and their integration with sensors for atmospheric measurements on Earth. The research covered in the Special Issue combines chemical, physical, and meteorological measurements performed in field campaigns as well as conceptual and laboratory work. Useful examples for the development of platforms and autonomous systems for environmental studies are provided, which demonstrate how careful the operation of sensors aboard UAS must be to gather information for remote sensing in the atmosphere. The work serves as a key collection of articles to introduce …

Modeling Holocene Peatland Carbon Accumulation In North America, Qianlai Zhuang, Sirui Wang, Bailu Zhao, Filipe Aires, Catherine Prigent, Zicheng Yu, Jason K. Keller, Scott Bridgham

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Peatlands are a large carbon reservoir. Yet the quantification of their carbon stock still has a large uncertainty due to lacking observational data and well‐tested peatland biogeochemistry models. Here, a process‐based peatland model was calibrated using long‐term peat carbon accumulation data at multiple sites in North America. The model was then applied to quantify the peat carbon accumulation rates and stocks within North America over the last 12,000 years. We estimated that 85–174 Pg carbon was accumulated in North American peatlands over the study period including 0.37–0.76 Pg carbon in subtropical peatlands. During the period from 10,000 to 8,000 years …

Comprehensive And Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventories For Nebraska And The Midwest As Baselines For Climate Change Mitigation, Eric R. Holley

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Climate change is the paramount challenge of today for a sustainable future. Mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is necessary to reduce the associated risks and impacts on society. Using the EPA’s SIT and literature review, comprehensive GHG-emissions inventories were developed for the state of Nebraska over 25 years (1990-2015) and agricultural GHG emissions inventories were developed for the Midwest U.S for one year (2016). Nebraska’s net emissions increased from 56.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MMtCO₂e) in 1990 to 87.4 MMtCO₂e in 2016. Agriculture was found to be the sector with the most …

Climate And Surging Of Donjek Glacier, Yukon, Canada, Ellyn M. Enderlin

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Links between climate and glacier surges are poorly understood but are required to enable prediction of surges and mitigation of associated hazards. Here, we investigate the role of snow accumulation, rain, and temperature on surge periodicity, area changes, and timing of surge initiation since the 1930s at Donjek Glacier, Yukon, Canada. Snow accumulation measured in three ice cores collected at Eclipse Icefield indicates that a cumulative accumulation of 15.5 ± 1.46 or 16.6 ± 2.0 m w.e. occurred in the ten to twelve years between each of its last eight surges, depending on ice motion spatiotemporal offset corrections. Although we …

Soil Composition

Activities

Soil, dirt, sediment, what’s the difference? Depending upon whom you ask, you might get a radically different answer. Some sources state that the only difference between them has to do with their location: soil is the unconsolidated material on the ground, dirt is that same matter on your hands or clothes, and sediment is the same material on the bottom of a river or lake. Others define the differences based upon the size and shape of the material grains. For the purposes of this activity, we are going to define things the following ways. Soil is a complex, unconsolidated mixture …

Stable Isotopes In Atmospheric Water Vapour From Mauna Loa, Hawaii, 2016-2017, Joseph Galewsky

Earth and Planetary Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

The isotopic composition of atmospheric water vapor (1H216O, H218O, and 1H2H16O) was continuously measured at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Mauna Loa Observatory (MLO) from April 8, 2016 through March 13, 2017 using Off-Axis Integrated Cavity Output Spectroscopy (OA-ICOS). The dataset has been carefully corrected for humidity-dependent biases and calibrated against the international VSMOW-SLAP scale to provide a precise, continuous, nearly yearlong dataset from a dynamic subtropical setting. The measurements are provided with 15-minute and 6-hourly resolution.

Remote Sensing And Modeling Of Atmospheric Dust And Studying Its Impact On Environment, Weather, And Climate, Hesham El-Askary, Seon K. Park, Slobodan Nickovic, Mian Chin

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

An overview of the 2015 volume of Advances in Meteorology, which was co-edited by Chapman faculty member Dr. Hesham El-Askary.

Laboratory Evaluation Of Black Carbon Deposition Onto Snow And Transport Via Snowmelt, Larry D. Hermanson, Joshua P. Schwarz

STAR Program Research Presentations

Black carbon (BC) is an aerosol material produced by incomplete combustion of fossil fuels and biomass. BC has been shown to be the second most important anthropogenic climate warming agent after carbon dioxide due to its ability to absorb solar radiation, influence cloud behavior, and accelerate snow melt. BC in otherwise clean snow can significantly reduce its reflectivity. In order to learn about the significance of BC contamination in snow, we explored the deposition of BC onto snow and the transport of BC in snow during snowmelt. A Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2), was used to measure the concentration and …

Climate Change In Southern New Hampshire: Past, Present And Future, Cameron P. Wake, Elizabeth A. Burakowski, Peter Wilkinson, Katharine Hayhoe, Anne Stoner, C. Keeley, Julie Labranche

The Sustainability Institute Publications

EARTH’S CLIMATE CHANGES. It always has and always will. However, an extensive and growing body of scientific evidence indicates that human activities—including the burning of fossil fuel (coal, oil, and natural gas) for energy, clearing of forested lands for agriculture, and raising livestock—are now the primary force driving change in the Earth’s climate system. This report describes how the climate of southern New Hampshire has changed over the past century and how the future climate of the region will be affected by a warmer planet due to human activities.

Predicted Avian Responses To Bioenergy Development Scenarios In An Intensive Agricultural Landscape, Daniel R. Uden, Craig R. Allen, Rob B. Mitchell, Tim D. Mccoy, Qingfeng Guan

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Conversion of native prairie to agriculture has increased food and bioenergy production but decreased wildlife habitat. However, enrollment of highly erodible cropland in conservation programs has compensated for some grassland loss. In the future, climate change and production of second-generation perennial biofuel crops could further transform agricultural landscapes and increase or decrease grassland area. Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) is an alternative biofuel feedstock that may be economically and environmentally superior to maize (Zea mays) grain for ethanol production on marginally productive lands. Switchgrass could benefit farmers economically and increase grassland area, but there is uncertainty as to how conversions between rowcrops, …

Slides: Introduction To Large-Scale Planning And The Intermountain Bmp Project, Kathryn Mutz

Best Management Practices (BMPs): What? How? And Why? (May 26)

Presenter: Kathryn Mutz, Natural Resources Law Center, University of Colorado School of Law

18 slides

Farmer Perceptions Of Sustainable Agriculture Practices And Drought Risk Reduction In Nebraska, Usa, Cody L. Knutson, Tonya Haigh, Michael J. Hayes, Melissa Widhalm, J. Nothwehr, M. Kleinschmidt, L. Graf

Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Social factors, such as farming methods, have an impact on farm vulnerability to drought, but have received little research or policy attention. Some researchers and advocates have argued that sustainable agriculture systems are less vulnerable to climate risk than conventional systems because sustainable agriculture requires producers to have skills promoting adaptability. In this paper, we investigate producers’ perceptions on the use of sustainable agriculture in reducing drought risk, and what they believe would help them better adapt to drought. We surveyed and interviewed farmer members of two sustainable agriculture organizations in Nebraska, USA, during a multi-year drought period from 1999 …

Effects Of Lightning And Other Meteorological Factors On Fire Activity In The North American Boreal Forest: Implications For Fire Weather Forecasting, David Peterson, Jun Wang, Charles Ichoku, Lorraine Remer

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

The effects of lightning and other meteorological factors on wildfire activity in the North American boreal forest are statistically analyzed during the fire seasons of 2000–2006 through an integration of the following data sets: the MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) level 2 fire products, the 3-hourly 32-km gridded meteorological data from North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR), and the lightning data collected by the Canadian Lightning Detection Network (CLDN) and the Alaska Lightning Detection Network (ALDN). Positive anomalies of the 500 hPa geopotential height field, convective available potential energy (CAPE), number of cloud-to-ground lightning strikes, and the number of consecutive dry …

An Inventory And Condition Survey Of The Western Australian Part Of The Nullarbor Region, P A. Waddell, A K. Gardner, P Hennig

Technical Bulletins

The inventory and condition survey of the Western Australian part of the Nullarbor region, undertaken by the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) between 2005 and 2007, describes and maps the natural resources of the region. This survey report provides a baseline record of the existence and condition of the area's natural resources, to assist with the planning and implementation of land management practices. The report identified and described the condition of soils, landforms, vegetation, habitat, ecosystems, and declared plants and animals. It also assessed the impact of pastoralism and made land management recommendations. The Nullarbor region has …

Slides: Intermountain Oil And Gas Bmp Project, Kathryn Mutz

Best Practices for Community and Environmental Protection (October 14)

Presenter: Kathryn Mutz, Natural Resources Law Center

19 slides

Impacts Of Meteorological Factors On Modis-Observed Fire Activity In The North American Boreal Forest: The Role Of Lightning, David A. Peterson

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The meteorological impact on wildfire activity in the North American boreal forest during the fire seasons of 2000 – 2006 is statistically analyzed through an integration of the following data sets: the MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) level 2 fire products, the 3-hourly 32-km gridded meteorological data from North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR), the instantaneous lightning data collected by the Canadian Lightning Detection Network (CLDN), and the Alaska Lightning Detection Network (ALDN). Positive anomalies of the 500 hpa geopotential height field, convective available potential energy (CAPE), number of cloud-to-ground lightning strikes, and the number of consecutive dry days are found …

A Century Of Climate Change For Fairbanks, Alaska, Gerd Wendler, Martha Shulski

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Climatological observations are available for Fairbanks, Interior Alaska, for up to 100 years. This is a unique data set for Alaska, insofar as it is of relatively high quality and without major breaks. Applying the best linear fit, we conclude that the mean annual temperature rose from -3.6°C to -2.2°C over the century, an increase of 1.4°C (compared to 0.8°C worldwide). This comparison clearly demonstrates the well-known amplification or temperature change for the polar regions. The observed temperature increase is neither uniform over the time period nor uniform throughout the course of a year. The winter, spring, and summer seasons …

Wilson Inlet Catchment Appraisal 2007, Ron Master

Resource management technical reports

No abstract provided.

An Inventory And Condition Survey Of The Lower Murchison River Area, Western Australia, P Hennig

Technical Bulletins

The inventory and condition survey of the lower Murchison River area, undertaken by the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) between 2002 and 2003, describes and maps the natural resources of the region’s pastoral leasehold land. This survey report provides a baseline record of the existence and condition of the natural area’s resources, to assist with the planning and implementation of land management practices. The report identified and described the condition of soils, landforms, vegetation, habitat, ecosystems, and declared plants and animals. It also assessed the impact of pastoralism and made land management recommendations. This survey report presents …

Soil Survey Of The Bettink Dairy Farm, Riverway Road, Northcliffe, Peter J. Tille, Tilwin Westrup

Resource management technical reports

This soil survey of the Bettink dairy farm in Northcliffe, Western Australia aimed to: provide detailed soil descriptions to add to information associated with the environment in which the dairy industry in Western Australia is located; collect soil samples at predetermined standard depths from documented farm locations for nutrient analysis; map soils with similar characteristics based on description and analysis.

Boyup Brook - Upper Warren Area : Catchment Appraisal 2007/ Prepared By The South West Arm Region Appraisal Team., Henry Brockman

Resource management technical reports

The aim of this Resource Management Technical Report is to assess the current extent of salinity and other natural resource degradation issues in the Boyup Brook - Upper Warren area and provide landholders with the best current management options to address natural resource management issues and enhance sustainable agricultural production.

Crop Updates 2005 - Farming Systems, David Stephens, Nicola Telcik, Ross Kingwell, Wayne Pluske, Bill Bowden, Mike Collins, Frances Hoyle, D. V. Murphy, N. Milton, M. Osman, L. K. Abbott, W. R. Cookson, S. Darmawanto, Bill Crabtree, Geoff Anderson, Darren Kidson, Ross Brennan, Nick Drew, Craig Scanlan, Lisa Sherriff, Bob French, Reg Lunt, Jeff Russell, Angie Roe, Ian Maling, Matthew Adams, George Yan, Mohammad Hamza, Glen Riethmuller, Wal Anderson, Angela Loi, Phil Nichols, Clinton Revell, David Ferris, Phil Ward, Andrea Hills, Sally-Anne Penny, David Hall, Michael Robertson, Don Gaydon, Tress Walmsley, Caroline Peek, Megan Abrahams, Paul Raper, Richard O'Donnell, Trevor Lacey, Meredith Fairbanks, David Tennant, Cameron Weeks, Richard Quinlan, Alexandra Edward, Chris Carter, Doug Hamilton, Peter Tozer, Renaye Horne, Tracey Gianatti, Paul Carmody, Ian Foster, Michele John, Ross George, Imma Farré, Ian Kininmonth, Dennis Van Gool, Neil Coles, Bill Porter, Louise Barton, Richard Harper, Peter Ritson, Tony Beck, Chris Mitchell, Michael Hill, Fiona Barker-Reid, Will Gates, Ken Wilson, Rob Baigent, Ian Galbally, Mick Meyer, Ian Weeks, Traci Griffin, D. Rodriguez, M. Probust, M. Meyers, D. Chen, A. Bennett, W. Strong, R. Nussey, I Galbally, M. Howden

Crop Updates

This session covers forty four papers from different authors:

PLENARY

1. 2005 Outlook, David Stephens and Nicola Telcik, Department of Agriculture

FERTILITY AND NUTRITION

2. The effect of higher nitrogen fertiliser prices on rotation and fertiliser strategies in cropping systems, Ross Kingwell, Department of Agriculture and University of Western Australia

3. Stubble management: The short and long term implications for crop nutrition and soil fertility, Wayne Pluske, Nutrient Management Systems and Bill Bowden, Department of Agriculture

4. Stubble management: The pros and cons of different methods, Bill Bowden, Department of Agriculture, Western Australia and Mike Collins, …

An Inventory Of Rangelands In Part Of The Broome Shire, Western Australia, W E. Cotching

Technical Bulletins

The inventory of rangelands in part of the Broome Shire in Western Australia was undertaken by DAFWA between 1989 and 1990. It describes and maps the natural resources of the region’s pastoral leasehold land. This survey report provides a baseline record of the existence and condition of the natural area’s resources, to assist with the planning and implementation of land management practices. The report identified and described the condition of soils, landforms, vegetation, habitat, ecosystems, and declared plants and animals. It also assessed the impact of pastoralism and made land management recommendations. The survey of part of the Broome Shire …