Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Evaluating And Predicting Agricultural Management Effects Under Tile Drainage Using Modified Apsim, Robert W. Malone, N. Huth, P. S. Carberry, Liwang Ma, Thomas C. Kaspar, Douglas L. Karlen, T. Meade, Ramesh S. Kanwar, Philip Heilman

Douglas L Karlen

An accurate and management sensitive simulation model for tile-drained Midwestern soils is needed to optimize the use of agricultural management practices (e.g., winter cover crops) to reduce nitrate leaching without adversely affecting corn yield. Our objectives were to enhance the Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) for tile drainage, test the modified model for several management scenarios, and then predict nitrate leaching with and without winter wheat cover crop. Twelve years of data (1990–2001) from northeast Iowa were used for model testing. Management scenarios included continuous corn and corn–soybean rotations with single or split N applications. For 38 of 44 observations, …

Corn-Soybean And Alternative Cropping Systems Effects On No 3 -N Leaching Losses In Subsurface Drainage Water, Rameshwar S. Kanwar, Richard M. Cruse, Mohammadreza Ghaffarzadeh, Allah Bakhsh, Douglas Karlen, Theodore B. Bailey

Douglas L Karlen

Alternative cropping systems can improve resource use efficiency, increase corn grain yield, and help in reducing negative impacts on the environment. A 6-yr (1993 to 1998) field study was conducted at the Iowa State University’s Northeastern Research Center near Nashua, Iowa, to evaluate the effects of non-traditional cropping systems [strip inter cropping (STR)-corn (Zea mays L.)/soybean (Glycine max L.)/oats (Avina sativa L.)]; alfalfa rotation (ROT)-3-yr (1993 to 1995) alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) followed by corn in 1996, soybean in 1997, and oats in 1998), and traditional cropping system (corn after soybean (CS) and soybean after corn (SC) on the flow …

Cropping System Effects On No3-N Loss With Subsurface Drainage Water, Allah Bakhsh, Rameshwar S. Kanwar, Theodore B. Bailey, Cynthia A. Cambardella, Douglas Karlen, Thomas S. Colvin

Douglas L Karlen

An appropriate combination of tillage and nitrogen management practices will be necessary to develop sustainable farming practices. A six–year (1993–1998) field study was conducted on subsurface–drained Clyde–Kenyon–Floyd soils to quantify the impact of two tillage systems (chisel plow vs. no tillage) and two N fertilizer management practices (preplant single application vs. late–spring soil test based application) on nitrate–nitrogen (NO3–N) leaching loss with subsurface drain discharge from corn (Zea mays L.) soybean (Glycine max L.) rotation plots. Preplant injected urea ammonium nitrate solution (UAN) fertilizer was applied at the rate of 110 kg ha–1 to chisel plow and no–till corn plots, …

Estimating The Water Quality Condition Of River And Lake Water In The Midwestern United States From Its Spectral Characteristics, Jing Tan

Open Access Dissertations

This study focuses on developing/calibrating remote sensing algorithms for water quality retrieval in Midwestern rivers and lakes. In the first part of this study, the spectral measurements collected using a hand-held spectrometer as well as water quality observations for the Wabash River and its tributary the Tippecanoe River in Indiana were used to develop empirical models for the retrieval of chlorophyll (chl) and total suspended solids (TSS). A method for removing sky and sun glint from field spectra for turbid inland waters was developed and tested. Empirical models were then developed using a subset of the field measurements with the …

Swat Model Simulation Of Bioenergy Crop Impacts On Water Quality In Cache River Watershed, Eeshan Kumar

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Energy security through increased biofuel production is one of the components of the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) 2007. As per EISA 2007 mandate, appropriate independent research institutes are required to assess concerns to natural biodiversity due to biofuel production and report it to the Congress through the Environment Protection Agency (EPA). Planners, researchers, and agencies concerned with environmental regulations, ideally, would like to have location-specific information about the impacts for developing appropriate management interventions. This study examines long-term impacts on water quality in response to targeted (i.e. marginal lands) production of biofuel crops by setting up two SWAT …

Exploring, Exploiting And Evolving Diversity Of Aquatic Ecosystem Models: A Community Perspective, Annette B.G. Janssen, George B. Arhonditsis, Arthur Beusen, Karsten Bolding, Louise Bruce, Jorn Bruggeman, Raoul-Marie Couture, Andrea S. Downing, J. Alex Elliott, Marieke A. Frassl, Gideon Gal, Daan J. Gerla, Matthew R. Hipsey, Fenjuan Hu, Stephen C. Ives, Jan H. Janse, Erik Jeppesen, Klaus D. Jöhnk, David Kneis, Xiangzhen Kong, Jan J. Kuiper, Moritz K. Lehmann, Carsten Lemmen, Deniz Özkundakci, Thomas Petzoldt, Karsten Rinke, Barbara J. Robson, René Sachse, Sebastiaan A. Schep, Martin Schmid, Huub Scholten, Sven Teurlincx, Dennis Trolle, Tineke A. Troost, Anne A. Van Dam, Luuk P.A. Van Gerven, Mariska Weijerman, Scott A. Wells, Wolf M. Mooij

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Here, we present a community perspective on how to explore, exploit and evolve the diversity in aquatic ecosystem models. These models play an important role in understanding the functioning of aquatic ecosystems, filling in observation gaps and developing effective strategies for water quality management. In this spirit, numerous models have been developed since the 1970s. We set off to explore model diversity by making an inventory among 42 aquatic ecosystem modellers, by categorizing the resulting set of models and by analysing them for diversity. We then focus on how to exploit model diversity by comparing and combining different aspects of …

Impacts Of Land Cover And Climate Change On Water Resources In Suasco River Watershed, Ammara Talib

Masters Theses

Hydrological balance and biogeochemical processes in watershed are significantly influenced by changes in land use land cover (LULC) and climate change. Those changes can influence interception, evapotranspiration (ET), infiltration, soil moisture, water balance and biogeochemical cycling of carbon, nitrogen and other elements at regional to global scales. The impacts of these hydrological disturbances are generally reflected in form of increasing runoff rate and volume, more intense and frequent floods, decreasing groundwater recharge and base flow, elevated levels of sediments and increase in concentration of nutrients in both streams and shallow groundwater. Water quality of Sudbury, Assabet and Concord (SuAsCo) watershed …

Mcicsl Newsletter - November 2015, Shannon R. Trimboli Education Coordinator

MCICSL Newsletter

This issue includes the following:

Partners Recognized for Water Quality Research at Mammoth Cave National Park and Increasing Diversity in the Geosciences

Texas A&M – Galveston Students Participate in Citizen Science at Mammoth Cave National Park

Northern Kentucky University and the Mammoth Cave International Center for Science and Learning to Host Partners in the Parks Program at Mammoth Cave National Park

as well as education and research highlights, and MCICSL symposium information

Patterns Of Anthropogenic Nutrient Contaminants In The Otter Creek Watershed, Madison County, Kentucky, Elijah D. Wolfe, Walter S. Borowski, Jacob L. Robin

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

We measured nutrient concentrations within the Otter Creek watershed (Madison County, Kentucky) to: (1) discover levels of anthropogenic contaminants affecting the water quality; (2) compare these measurements to a national data set; and (3) identify nutrient sources. The watershed mainly drains rural land characterized by cattle grazing, but also drains the town of Richmond. We sampled throughout the watershed to gain a representative perspective of nutrient levels and specifically targeted localities of suspected anthropogenic nutrient sources. Water samples were passed through a 0.45 mm filter, placed in pre-acidified vials, and measured one to two days after collection. Nutrients – ammonium, …

Modeling Napl Dissolution From Pendular Rings In Idealized Porous Media, Junqi Huang, John A. Christ, Mark N. Goltz, Avery H. Demond

Faculty Publications

The dissolution rate of nonaqueous phase liquid (NAPL) often governs the remediation time frame at subsurface hazardous waste sites. Most formulations for estimating this rate are empirical and assume that the NAPL is the nonwetting fluid. However, field evidence suggests that some waste sites might be organic wet. Thus, formulations that assume the NAPL is nonwetting may be inappropriate for estimating the rates of NAPL dissolution. An exact solution to the Young‐Laplace equation, assuming NAPL resides as pendular rings around the contact points of porous media idealized as spherical particles in a hexagonal close packing arrangement, is presented in this …

Water Quality In The Río Pastaza Watershed A Comparative Study Of Ríos Topo, Zuñag, And Pastaza And The Impact Of The Topo Hydroelectric Project Using Macroinvertebrates As Bioindicators, Jesse Vega-Perkins

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Ríos Zuñag, Pastaza, and Topo flow through one of the rainiest and water-rich places in Ecuador. Río Zuñag is a relatively small, pristine montane river and Río Pastaza is a relatively large, contaminated river that receives the untreated wastewater of many communities. Río Topo’s unique watershed and gradient allow it to be home to many plants that have adapted to its unique environment, including the hyperendemic liverwort Myriocolea irrorata. However, in recent years, all of the water of Río Topo has been sold by the state of Ecuador to be developed for hydroelectric projects (HEP). The first of these …

Quantitative Biomonitoring Of Water Quality For Pops Using Freshwater Mussels, Ken G. Drouillard

21st International Conference on Environmental Indicators (ICEI 2015)

No abstract provided.

The Phosphorus Paradox: Productive Agricultural And Water Quality, Andrew N. Sharpley

21st International Conference on Environmental Indicators (ICEI 2015)

No abstract provided.

Lake Whatcom Water Quality - Presentation To Bellingham City Council, Robin A. Matthews

Lake Whatcom Other Reports

This presentation to the Bellingham City Council on the water quality of Lake Whatcom addresses the objectives of the Institute for Watershed Studies monitoring process and the impact of water quality problems caused by storm water runoff.

Metal Mobilization In Groundwater, Bauxite, Ar, Steven Alexander Hamlin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Wilcox Aquifer of Bauxite, AR contains bauxite ore deposits that may contribute heavy metals to groundwater. Twenty-four wells were sampled for aluminum, iron, manganese, zinc, lead, barium, nitrate, sulfate, sodium, alkalinity, calcium, magnesium, chloride, pH, total organic carbon, and total dissolved solids. A Wilcoxon Rank-Sum compared the similarity of the three geographic areas covered in the study. All parameters for wells in Bauxite and Sardis failed to reject the null hypothesis, signifying that wells all occupy the Saline Formation. 2/3rds of the parameters from BFI261 and the Bauxite region did not agree, suggesting the two areas do not occupy …

A Spatial And Temporal Analysis Of Land Use And Water Quality In Southern Miami Dade County, Mario Londono

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis research employs a multi-pronged analysis approach to contribute to the existing knowledge regarding land use and water quality in southern Miami Dade County. Nutrient concentrations for TP, NOx-N, and NH3-N were evaluated for water quality monitoring stations across seven canals for two time periods: 1990-2003 and 2009-2014. Overall, the sites did not surpass the mandated TP threshold but a number of sites exceeded the NOx-N and NH3-N criteria set by multiple government agencies. Statistical tests demonstrated that the sites had differing distributions, not sharing similar median concentrations. Land use classifications were derived for the area interest for the …

Slides: Water Planning In California: Past, Present, Future, Ellen Hanak

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Ellen Hanak, Senior Fellow and Director, PPIC Water Policy Center, Public Policy Institute of California

13 slides

Slides: Perspectives On Water Management In Arizona, Kathy Jacobs

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Kathy Jacobs, Director, Center for Climate Adaptation Science and Solutions (CCASS), Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, University of Arizona

25 slides

Slides: Colorado's Water Plan, Lauren Ris

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Lauren Ris, Assistant Director for Water, Colorado Department of Natural Resources

23 slides

The Effects Of Environmental Factors On Bromeliad Invertebrate Biodiversity, Maya E. Navarro

DePaul Discoveries

Bromeliaceae is a family of Neotropical plants that retain water between leaves of a rosette arrangement. Each water-retaining tank is referred to as a phytotelma. This particular system is important to consider in the understanding of biodiversity because it creates an ecosystem of its own, providing a habitat for many invertebrates and larvae. In this study, the relationship between environmental factors such as water quality and the biodiversity of invertebrates in epiphytic bromeliads was examined in two different settings. Sample sizes of ten bromeliads were taken from the primary and secondary forests of the Las Cruces Biological Station in Coto …

Environmental Social Activism In The San Diego-Tijuana Transborder Region, Christina M. Hirt

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper examines the obstacles and opportunities social activists face when attempting to fight environmental injustices in the San Diego-Tijuana transborder region. The study undertakes a case study of the Environmental Health Coalition (EHC) - the leading environmental justice organization in the region, which operates on both sides of the US-Mexico Border. The analyses conclude that despite a strong rhetoric of binationalism employed throughout border activists’ campaigns, the strategies that are utilized on the ground have been vastly local and short-term in focus. While activist organizations like the EHC demonstrate a keen awareness of the binational implications of environmental injustices …

Phytoplankton Ecology: Algal Assemblages In Correlation With Water Quality In High Elevation Lakes, North Cascades, Wa, Anna Nakae

Scholars Week

High- elevation lakes are unique ecosystems that are exposed to extreme environmental conditions and, as a result, are relatively simple systems in which changes can be detected. Phytoplankton communities within these systems are of interest because can be greatly influenced by the chemical components of the surrounding environment. This relationship allows phytoplankton assemblages to act as bioindicators that can give a greater insight into the water characteristics of lakes and vice versa. For this research, seven lakes were studied: Terminal, Upper Bagley, Lower Bagley, Heather Meadows Pond, Sunrise , Picture and Highwood. All seven are located in the headwaters watershed …

Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Diversity Within An Urbanized Gradient, Brian E. Lovejoy Jr., Jacob Torres

Urban Watershed Project

No abstract provided.

Sources Of Nutrient And Escherichia Coli Contamination Within The Otter Creek Watershed, Madison County, Kentucky, Nathaniel C. Crockett, Walter S. Borowski

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

The Otter Creek watershed exhibits dissolved nutrient (ammonium, NH₄; nitrate, NO₃; phosphate, PO₄) and Escherichia coli contamination that compromises its water quality. The watershed covers a substantial portion of Madison County and consists of Lake Reba, Dreaming Creek, and east and west forks, all of which enter the trunk of Otter Creek before flowing into the Kentucky River. Suspected contaminate sources include leaky sewage system pipes, runoff from pasture land, and septic system leachate. We collected 330 water samples on three occasions during summer 2014 to determine the extent and sources of contamination. Nutrients …

New Insights For The Future Of Lake Champlain: Practical Approaches And Useful Tools For Grappling With Uncertainty And Weighing Trade-Offs In Watershed Management., Philip Halteman

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The effective management of non-point source nutrient pollution continues to prove elusive. Though the scientific literature is unequivocal that all anthropogenic land uses contribute to non-point source (NPS) pollution, variable levels of contribution over time and across location and complex relationships between cost and effect make finding technologically effective management solutions difficult. In addition, these solutions are implemented in a world of scarce resources, diverse and often competing concerns and values, and intense public scrutiny. Clearly, making the best possible decision about how to manage NPS pollution under these conditions is not simple. My overarching goal was to develop and …

Quality Of Water From Tile Drains In Fields Treated With Poultry Litter In Mclean County, Kentucky, E. Glynn Beck, Lisa Y. Blue, David A. Atwood

Information Circular--KGS

Poultry litter (a mixture of feed, manure, and bedding material) is commonly used as a soil amendment to row-crop fields in western Kentucky. Because of feed additives, litter typically has elevated concentrations of contaminants, including metals and anions. These metals and anions can accumulate in the soil and therefore could be transported to surface water through drainage tiles. In order to assess water quality in tile drains, a pilot study was conducted in 2008 in McLean County, Kentucky, in which 10 tile drains and six drainage ditches were sampled for total metals and anions. Seven of the tile-drained fields were …

The Importance Of Lake-Specific Characteristics For Water Quality Across The Continental United States, Emily K. Read, Vijay P. Patil, Samantha K. Oliver, Amy L. Hetherington, Jennifer A. Brentrup, Jacob A. Zwart, Kirsten M. Winters, Jessica R. Corman, Emily R. Nodine, R. Iestyn Woolway, Hilary A. Dugan, Aline Jaimes, Arianto B. Santoso, Grace S. Hong, Luke A. Winslow, Paul C. Hanson, Kathleen C. Weathers

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Lake water quality is affected by local and regional drivers, including lake physical characteristics, hydrology, landscape position, land cover, land use, geology, and climate. Here, we demonstrate the utility of hypothesis testing within the landscape limnology framework using a random forest algorithm on a national-scale, spatially explicit data set, the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s 2007 National Lakes Assessment. For 1026 lakes, we tested the relative importance of water quality drivers across spatial scales, the importance of hydrologic connectivity in mediating water quality drivers, and how the importance of both spatial scale and connectivity differ across response variables for five …

Evaluation Of The Performance Of A Rural Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant In Nacogdoches, East Texas (Usa) (Abstract), Kefa Karimu Onchoke, Michael Janusa, Salomey Asantewaa Sasu

Faculty Publications

The performance of a rural wastewater treatment facility, Nacogdoches Wastewater Treatment Plant

(NWWTP), in East Texas, USA, was assessed from January 2013 through June 2014. The elemental concentrations (Na, Mg, Ca, Ni, Pb, Mn, Cr, Mo, and Cu, Al, As, B, Ba, Ag, Cd, Fe, Hg, K, Se, Zn, Co, P, and S) were measured using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry. The anion concentrations (Br−, NO3- , NO2- , PO34-,F−, Cl−, and SO24−) were measured by ion chromatography. In general, the NWWTP was found efficient in removal to ≥ 96% for metals. The removal efficiency for anions was in …

Linking Water Quality And Beach Morphodynamics In A Heavily Impacted Tidal Creek In Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Brittany Lynne Hoffnagle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The morphological changes of small tidal creeks, driven by coastal processes, can pose risks to infrastructure and engineered coastlines and often rely on dredging to maintain them. These changes along the beachface can negatively affect the health of associated estuaries where open exchange between the ocean and creek basins is vital. This study used Real Time Kinematic-Differential Global Positioning System equipment to survey a small tidal creek in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina that often experiences migration to the south and requires dredging to maintain an open exchange between the ocean and the estuary. In order to understand the relationships between …

Master's Project: Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Best Management Practices On Rural Backroads Of Vermont: A Retrospective Assessment And Cost Analysis, Joanne S. Garton

Rubenstein School Masters Project Publications

Repeated erosion of over 7,000 miles of unpaved roads in Vermont is degrading water quality and draining limited town budgets. Best Management Practices (BMPs), including stone-lined ditches, turn outs, check dams, revetments, culverts and vegetative controls, are recommended by the Vermont Department of Transportation as low cost means of reducing the sediment and phosphorous run-off from backroads. However, their effectiveness, longevity and cost benefit are unknown. To address this gap, I assessed 100 BMPs at 43 erosion control projects constructed between 2005 and 2012 with funding from the Vermont Better Backroads program. BMP condition was compared to environmental factors that …