Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Pooling For Horizontal Wells: Can They Teach An Old Dog New Tricks?, Bruce M. Kramer

Shale Plays in the Intermountain West: Legal and Policy Issues (November 12)

74 pages.

This paper was originally published as:

Bruce M. Kramer, “Pooling for Horizontal Wells: Can They Teach an Old Dog New Tricks?,” 55 Rocky Mt. Min. L. Inst. 8-1, § 8.05 (2009).

Slides: Drilling Waste, Blake Scott

Opportunities and Obstacles to Reducing the Environmental Footprint of Natural Gas Development in Uintah Basin (October 14)

Presenter: Blake Scott, Scott Environmental Services, Inc.

24 slides

Beneath The Salt Marsh Canopy: Loss Of Soil Strength With Increasing Nutrient Loads, R. Eugene Turner

Faculty Publications

Although the broadly observed increase in nutrient loading rates to coastal waters in the last 100 years may increase aboveground biomass, it also tends to increase soil metabolism and lower root and rhizome biomass—responses that can compromise soil strength. Fourteen different multiyear field combinations of nutrient amendments to salt marshes were made to determine the relationship between soil strength and various nitrogen, phosphorus, and nitrogen+phosphorus loadings. There was a proportional decline in soil strength that reached 35% in the 60- to 100-cm soil layer at the highest loadings and did not level off. These loading rates are equivalent to those …

Abundance And Ecological Significance Of The Clam Rangia Cuneata (Sowerby, 1831) In The Upper Barataria Estuary (Louisiana, Usa), Wai Hing Wong, Nancy N. Rabalais, R. Eugene Turner

Faculty Publications

We proposed that Rangia cuneata (Sowerby, 1831) is an important estuarine bivalve with ecological significance in three coastal lakes in Barataria Bay, Gulf of Mexico—Lake Cataouatche, Lake Salvador and Lac des Allemands. Our goals were to determine the abundance and distribution of Rangia in these lakes and to measure clearance times to elucidate its potential impacts on phytoplankton communities. The estimated average densities of R. cuneata in Lake Cataouatche, Lake Salvador, and Lac des Allemands were 63, 157, and 107 individuals m−2, respectively, which is 30% lower than that observed in nearby Lake Pontchartrain. The size of clams in Lake …

Understanding The Use Of Barrier Islands As Nesting Habitat For Louisiana Birds Of Concern, Cecilia Marie Leumas

LSU Master's Theses

Colonial nesting seabirds are threatened by habitat loss and degradation, human disturbance, predation, and climate change. Several species of conservation concern concentrate high percentages of their total U.S. populations in Louisiana breeding colonies. We studied seabirds, including Royal Terns, Sandwich Terns, and Black Skimmers, nesting on Isles Dernieres barrier islands along the Gulf coast of Louisiana. Two of the four islands in this chain host extensive seabird colonies and two do not. We used an experimental approach to test the hypothesis that large terns and skimmers are prevented from nesting on Trinity Island, the largest of the Isles Dernieres, by …

Speciation Of Heavy Metals In Disturbed And Undisturbed Sediments From Atchafalaya Bay, Houma Navigation Canal, And Southwest Pass, Louisiana, Amanda Jo Zimmerman

LSU Master's Theses

In coastal Louisiana it is common to use dredge spoil to build marshland that has been lost due to a variety of factors. Under various conditions such as deposition in a drained oxygenated environment, metals in the spoil can become more bioavailable posing a threat to the ecosystem. This study compares metal availability in natural and dredged sediments to determine what changes occur in nature. Forty four samples from three locations, Atchafalaya Delta, Houma Navigation Canal, and Southwest Pass, were analyzed for 13 common elements with known or potentially harmful health effects; Al, As, Ba, Be, Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, …

The Effects Of Salinity On Nitrogen Cycling In Wetland Soils And Sediments Of The Breton Sound Estuary, La, Brett Whitfield Marks

LSU Master's Theses

Wetlands in the coastal zone are slowly becoming more saline under rising sea level over the long-term. However, there are a number of events in the coastal environment which lead to quick and temporary changes in the salinity of coastal marshes. Seawater driven inland from storm surge can significantly increase salinity in oligohaline wetlands over the short-term (weeks). Recent large-scale efforts to restore coastal wetlands in Louisiana have utilized Mississippi River surface water diversions to re-introduce freshwater into coastal marshes, decreasing the salinity of coastal marshes. We examined the effect of salinity changes on two important nitrogen cycling processes, potential …

Habitat Use, Movements And Spring Migration Chronology And Corridors Of Female Gadwalls That Winter Along The Louisiana Gulf Coast, Jacob M. Gray

LSU Master's Theses

The Louisiana Gulf Coast is an important wintering area for North American gadwall (Anas strepera). Conservation of winter habitat is a top priority of the Gulf Coast Joint Venture. Quantitative estimates of habitat use by wintering gadwall would help improve energetic demand models and subsequent estimates of habitat requirements. I used satellite telemetry (PTTs) to estimate winter habitat and refuge uses, spring migration chronology and corridors, as well as inter- and intra-regional winter movements of females. I used a split-plot MANOVA to evaluate the effects of individual females, female age, winter, hunt periods within winter, time of day, and all …

Palynological Analysis Of Tiger And Trinity Shoals, Louisiana Continental Shelf, Russell Ryan Crouch

LSU Master's Theses

Forty sediment samples taken from twenty-six vibracores collected from Holocene shoals (Tiger and Trinity) were processed for palynomorphs and analyzed to characterize the terrestrial and marine paleo-environments of southern Louisiana at the time of deposition of each shoal. Abundant and diverse pollen assemblages were recovered while marine microplankton were sparse (< 2% relative abundance). Pollen species were grouped by plants of similar environmental significances including arboreal, non-arboreal, aquatic, and shrub categories. Palynological signals were compared in detail between each core, as well as along strike and dip transects, to help determine whether or not these shoals were deposited coevally or in distinct depositional cycles. Evidence shows that Tiger and Trinity Shoals carry remarkably similar palynological profiles, indicating that sediments of these shoals areS from the same source, and that deposition extended over an interval of time such that climate change was not sufficient enough to alter the vegetation response (hence palynological signal). Pollen profiles show source sediments are predominantly from the lower Mississippi River drainage basin and exhibit species similar to those present in modern Louisiana coastal marshes and swamps (i.e., Taxodium distichum, Cyperaceae, Graminae, Chenopodiaceae, and Asteraceae), and coastal to upland hardwood forests of the Mississippi River alluvial valley (i.e., Pinus, Quercus, Carya, and Liquidambar styraciflua).

Multi-Scale Habitat Associations Of Shorebirds During Spring Migration In Southwestern Louisiana Rice Fields, Rachel K. Villani

LSU Master's Theses

Rice is the most common wetland crop in the world, and important for waterbirds and shorebirds worldwide, including the United States. In Louisiana, shorebirds use rice fields during spring migration, and are an important for foraging and refueling during migration. However, competing land uses and restoration projects may reduce the availability of rice fields, and impact the landscape that shorebirds use during migration. To determine how shorebirds use the landscape, I evaluated local and landscape factors affecting shorebird use of rice fields during spring migration in southwestern Louisiana. Using five habitat suitability zones (HSZs) based on rice density and canopy …

Spatial Analyses Of Pedosphere Carbon Stock And Sequestration Potential In Louisiana's Watersheds, Biao Zhong

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation research aimed to quantify current soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks across Louisiana’s landscape, examine the spatial relationships between SOC and terrain factors at the watershed and river basin scales, and predict SOC changes in surface soils during future climate change. Using Louisiana as an example, a spatially-explicit modeling framework was developed that is conducive to watershed-scale prediction of soil carbon stock and change. SOC densities at the watershed scale were estimated using the USDA NRCS Soil Geographic Database (STATSGO). Louisiana watersheds and National Land Cover Database (NLCD) were used to aggregate total soil carbon and estimate average soil …

Introgression, Health, And Condition Of Florida, Northern, And Fx Hybrid Largemouth Bass In Louisiana Water Bodies, Melissa Ann Fries

LSU Master's Theses

Since 1982, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) has stocked Florida-strain largemouth bass (FLMB; Micropterus salmoides floridanus) to incorporate Florida alleles into native populations (NLMB; M. s. salmoides) and enhance recreational fishing opportunities. I collected habitat data and largemouth bass samples from 12 LDWF stocked reservoirs and disconnected oxbow lakes to examine the relationships between reservoir characteristics, genetic identity, relative weight (Wr), liver somatic index (LSI), parasite loads, and back-calculated length-at-age. I examined the relationships between water body and genetic identity with Wr, LSI, and back-calculated length-at-age by ANOVA. Parasite loads were analyzed with ordinal regression. Principle component …

Rare Earth Elements As An Investigative Tool Into The Source, Age, And Ecology Of Late Miocene To Late Pleistocene Fossils From The Tunica Hills, Louisiana, Lindsey Theresa Yann

LSU Master's Theses

Rare earth elements were investigated for their potential to determine provenance and depositional environments of vertebrate fossils found as float in creeks of the Tunica Hills region of Louisiana. Elemental analyses are used to test the hypotheses that fossils span multiple time periods, from late Miocene to late Pleistocene, and that elemental profiles can distinguish terrestrial depositional settings from possible estuarine deposits. In addition, the animals present were then used to test the hypothesis that Tunica Hills had late Pleistocene environmental conditions much like the modern Great Lakes region. This study is important because it provides new insight on the …