Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Simulating Detection-Censored Movement Records For Home Range Analysis Planning, Lyndsie S. Wszola, Victoria L. Simonsen, Lucía Corral, Christopher J. Chizinski, Joseph J. Fontaine

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Home range estimation is an important analytical method in applied spatial ecology, yet best practices for addressing the effects of spatial variation in detection probability on home range estimates remain elusive. We introduce the R package “DiagnoseHR,” simulation tools for assessing how variation in detection probability arising from landscape, animal behavior, and methodological processes affects home range inference. We demonstrate the utility of simulation methods for home range analysis planning by comparing bias arising from three home range estimation methods under multiple detection scenarios. We simulated correlated random walks in three landscapes that varied in detection probability and constructed home …

Preface: Earth Observation For Integrated Water And Basin Management: Challenges For Adaptation To A Changing Environment, María J. Polo, Maria P. González-Dugo, Christopher M.U. Neale

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Integrated river basin management involves a sound knowledge of water and land interactions, and impacts from and feedbacks to human activity. Remote sensing has been an efficient and increasingly promising means of gathering direct information of the Earth surface, as well as information on water and energy fluxes. The recent generation of high-resolution sensors offers a huge potential for monitoring, assessing, and modelling our changing environment in a context of uncertainty about how future climate conditions will affect the current water resource and basin management framework. Moreover, large amounts of data are now available posing a challenging opportunity to the …

Riverbank Filtration Impacts On Post Disinfection Water Quality In Small Systems—A Case Study From Auburn And Nebraska City, Nebraska, Matteo D'Alessio, Bruce Dvorak, Chittaranjan Ray

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Small water systems can experience a fluctuating quality of water in the distribution system after disinfection. As chlorine is the most common disinfectant for small systems, the occurrence of disinfection byproducts (DBPs) represents a common problem for these systems. Riverbank filtration (RBF) can be a valuable solution for small communities located on riverbanks. The objectives of this study were to evaluate (i) the improvements in water quality at two selected RBF systems, and (ii) the potential lower concentrations of DBPs, in particular, trihalomethanes (THMs), in small systems that use RBF. Two small communities in Nebraska, Auburn and Nebraska City, using …

Flow Analysis Through Collectorwell Laterals: A Case Study From Sonoma County Water Agency, California, Matteo D'Alessio, John Lucio, Ernest Williams, Donald Seymour, Jay Jasperse, Chittaranjan Ray

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

The Sonoma County Water Agency (SWCA) uses six radial collector wells along the Russian River west of Santa Rosa, to provide water for several municipalities and water districts in north-western California. Three collector wells (1, 2, and 6) are located in the Wohler area, and three collector wells (3, 4, and 5) are located in the Mirabel area. The objective of this paper is to highlight the performance of the three collector wells located in the Mirabel area since their construction. The 2015 investigation showed a lower performance of Collectors 3 and 4 compared to their original performances after construction …

Assessing The Feasibility Of Soil Infiltration Trenches For Highway Runoff Control On The Island Of Oahu, Hawaii, Martina Sobotkova, Jaromir Dusek, Ghasem Alavi, Laxman Sharma, Chittaranjan Ray

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

The coastal waters of Hawaii are extremely important for recreation as well as for the health of the marine environment. Non-point source pollution from storm runoff poses a great threat to surface water quality in Hawaii. The State of Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) includes infiltration trenches as a best management practice (BMP) option to reduce pollution caused by stormwater runoff. HDOT guidelines state that the implementation of BMPs is needed to reduce sediment and pollutant loads to streams and the ocean. In this study, the suitability of soils adjacent to highways on Oahu for the siting of infiltration trenches …

Simulating The Impacts Of Irrigation Levels On Soybean Production In Texas High Plains To Manage Diminishing Groundwater Levels, Vaishali Sharda, Prasanna H. Gowda, Gary Marek, Isaya Kisekka, Chittaranjan Ray, Pradip Adhikari

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

There is an increasing need to strategize and plan irrigation systems under varied climatic conditions to support efficient irrigation practices while maintaining and improving the sustainability of groundwater systems. This study was undertaken to simulate the growth and production of soybean [Glycine max (L.)] under different irrigation scenarios. The objectives of this study were to calibrate and validate the CROPGRO-Soybean model under Texas High Plains’ (THP) climatic conditions and to apply the calibrated model to simulate the impacts of different irrigation levels and triggers on soybean production. The methodology involved combining short-term experimental data with long-term historical weather data (1951–2012), …

Transition Pathways To Sustainable Agricultural Water Management: A Review Of Integrated Modeling Approaches, Erin M.K. Haacker, Vaishali Sharda, Amanda M. Cano, R. Aaron Hrozencik, Agustin Nunez, Zachary Zambreski, Soheil Nozari, Garvey Engulu B, Smith, Lacey Moore, Sumit Sharma, Prasanna Gowda, Chittaranjan Ray, Meagan Schipanski, Reagan Waskom

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Agricultural water management (AWM) is an interdisciplinary concern, cutting across traditional domains such as agronomy, climatology, geology, economics, and sociology. Each of these disciplines has developed numerous process-based and empirical models for AWM. However, models that simulate all major hydrologic, water quality, and crop growth processes in agricultural systems are still lacking. As computers become more powerful, more researchers are choosing to integrate existing models to account for these major processes rather than building new cross-disciplinary models. Model integration carries the hope that, as in a real system, the sum of the model will be greater than the parts. However, …

Energy Demand And Water Footprint Study Of An Agricultural Machinery Industry, Mantoam E,J., Mesfin Mekonnen, T.L. Romanelli

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

The intensification of agricultural production systems demands power, supplied by agricultural machinery, besides more agricultural inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides and seeds. Agricultural mechanization provides increase in the global production of food, fiber and bioenergy; and it brought economic benefits to producers, but causing larger energy consumption. Energy embodiment in agricultural machinery has been done in earlier studies, but data usually are from car industry. This study aimed to determine the energy demand and water footprint in a plant that assembles five types of agricultural machinery from a multinational manufacturer located in Piracicaba municipality in Sao Paulo state, Brazil. That …

Umphlett Qci Dec 2018, Natalie A. Umphlett

HPRCC Personnel Publications

Highlights for the Basin

Temperature and Precipitation Anomalies

Mountain Snowpack

Water Resources and Drought

Agriculture

Temperature

Precipitation

Environmental Fate And Microbial Effects Of Monensin, Lincomycin, And Sulfamethazine Residues In Soil, Matteo D'Alessio, Lisa M. Durso, Daniel N. Miller, Brian Woodbury, Chittaranjan Ray, Daniel D. Snow

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

The impact of commonly-used livestock antibiotics on soil nitrogen transformations under varying redox conditions is largely unknown. Soil column incubations were conducted using three livestock antibiotics (monensin, lincomycin and sulfamethazine) to better understand the fate of the antibiotics, their effect on nitrogen transformation, and their impact on soil microbial communities under aerobic, anoxic, and denitrifying conditions. While monensin was not recovered in the effluent, lincomycin and sulfamethazine concentrations decreased slightly during transport through the columns. Sorption, and to a limited extent degradation, are likely to be the primary processes leading to antibiotic attenuation during leaching. Antibiotics also affected microbial respiration …

Energy And Water Assessment And Plausibility Of Reuse Of Spent Caustic Solution In A Midwest Fluid Milk Processing Plant, Carly Rain Adams

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The Food Energy and Water Nexus (FEW Nexus) is the inseparable connection linking these resources. The concept of the FEW Nexus within the food industry addresses the connection of water and energy as key members of food production. The steady increase in population and the increase in food demand are directly related, therefore, the need for water and energy. Immediately taking on this critical challenge will lead to tangible impacts on the water and energy crisis facing the food system. To reduce the distance between process productivity and resource efficiency it must first be determined, within food processing, where water …

Ncer Assistance Agreement Annual Progress Report For Grant #83582401 - Assessment Of Stormwater Harvesting Via Manage Aquifer Recharge (Mar) To Develop New Water Supplies In The Arid West: The Salt Lake Valley Example, Ryan Dupont, Joan E. Mclean, Richard C. Peralta, Sarah E. Null, Douglas B. Jackson-Smith

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

The goals of the original proposed project remain the same, that is, to test the hypothesis that Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) for stormwater harvesting is a technically feasible, socially and environmentally acceptable, economically viable, and legally feasible option for developing new water supplies for arid Western urban ecosystems experiencing increasing population, and climate change pressures on existing water resources. The project is being carried out via three distinct but integrated components that include: 1) Monitoring of existing distributed MAR harvesting schemes involving a growing number of demonstration Green Infrastructure (GI) test sites; 2) Integrated stormwater/vadose zone/groundwater/ ecosystem services modeling; and …

Relating Cyanobacteria And Physicochemical Water-Quality Properties In Willow Creek Lake, Nebraska, 2012–14, David L. Rus, Brent M. Hall, Steven A. Thomas

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

Document abstract

Cyanobacteria (also referred to as blue-green algae) are naturally present members of phytoplankton assemblages that may detract from beneficial uses of water because some strains produce cyanotoxins that pose health hazards to people and animals. Cyanobacteria populations observed in Willow Creek Lake during 2012 through 2014 were compared to external nutrient loading from the Willow Creek drainage basin and several other physicochemical properties within the lake, including internal nutrient loading. This report is part of a cooperative study between the United States Geological Survey, the Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District, the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality, the Nebraska …

Can The Desiccation Of Great Salt Lake Be Stopped?, Wayne A. Wurtsbaugh, Craig Miller, Sarah E. Null, R. Justin Derose, Peter Wilcock

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Great Salt Lake is a terminal lake, with its watershed in the Wasatch and Uinta Mountains of Utah, Wyoming and Idaho. Like all terminal lakes, the water inflows are balanced only by evaporative loss from its surface—when inflows decrease the lake shrinks until evaporation matches that inflow.

Evaluation Of The Weak Constraint Data Assimilation Approach For Estimating Turbulent Heat Fluxes At Six Sites, Xinlei He, Tongren Xu, Sayed M. Bateni, C.M.U. Neale, Thomas Auligne, Shaomin Liu, Kaicun Wang, Kebiao Mao, Yunjun Yao

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

A number of studies have estimated turbulent heat fluxes by assimilating sequences of land surface temperature (LST) observations into the strong constraint-variational data assimilation (SC-VDA) approaches. The SC-VDA approaches do not account for the structural model errors and uncertainties in the micrometeorological variables. In contrast to the SC-VDA approaches, the WC-VDA approach (the so-called weak constraint-VDA) accounts for the effects of structural and model errors by adding a model error term. In this study, the WC-VDA approach is tested at six study sites with different climatic and vegetative conditions. Its performance is also compared with that of SC-VDA at the …

Lithologic Constraints On The Hydrological Parameters Of Regional Aquifers In The Ibb Province, West-Central Region Of Yemen (Middle East), Malek Shami, Zarine Ali, Wedad Abdurabu, Nazrul I. Khandaker, Stanley Schleifer

Publications and Research

The lithology of the Ibb Province Yemen (Middle East) consists of Precambrian gneissic bedrocks with post-tectonic intrusions of granite and granodiorite. The overall topography is dominated by extensive volcanic extrusions that randomly surround Ibb Province with minimal Mesozoic sedimentary outcrops. According to the Yemen Geological Survey and Mineral Resource Board (YGSMRB), the origin and age of such extrusive bodies that manifest on the surface as dikes, lava flows, and small (currently passive) cinder-cone volcanoes are of Cenozoic age associated with the rifting episode of the Arabian Peninsula and subsequent opening of the Red Sea. The overall aerial extension of the …

Water Flow Net Characterization By Using A Tank Model: Preliminary Outcome, Jasmin Budhan, Nazrul I. Khandaker, Stanley Schleifer

Publications and Research

A model study was conducted to observe and characterize the flow of water through sandy soil. One of the most relevant tools used for characterizing groundwater flow is the flow net. Assuming that water is incompressible and there is zero volume change in the soil mass, it is known that the total rate of inflow is to equal the total rate of outflow. Thus, following the principle of flow continuity, we use the Laplace equation of continuity, to observe the concept of the flow net. Computing the flow through a miniature channel, we observed the total head difference from the …

Groundwater Recharge Response To Reduced Irrigation Pumping In Western Nebraska, Justin Philip Gibson

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

Given current and continued investment in irrigation scheduling technologies, a need exists to better estimate the longevity and magnitude of water savings at watershed level to avoid the paradox of irrigation efficiency. This paradox occurs within a watershed as not all irrigation inefficiencies lead to the system losing water. For example, irrigation pumping rates in excess of crop water demand may lead to enhanced groundwater recharge or surface runoff that migrates to a stream. Thus, increases in efficiency may not lead to similar magnitudes of water savings. I hypothesize that water savings longevities are short given previous work demonstrating rapid …

Hydrological Hazard Assessment For Irrigated Agriculture In The Irwin Focus Area, Russell J. Speed, Adele L. Killen

Resource management technical reports

The Midlands groundwater and land assessment project aimed to identify 2000–3000 hectare precincts suitable to develop intensive irrigated horticulture. The primary focus area was at Irwin, where the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation investigated groundwater resources and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development undertook a multi-faceted site assessment. This report describes the hydrological hazards assessment for the Irwin focus area.

The Irwin focus area is located on fertile loam and clay flats associated with the Irwin River. In the east, it encompasses the Irwin River valley floor and the western boundary loops to the south of the …

Managing Lake Fertility Within The Guidelines Of A Nutrient Management Plan And Based On Algal Nutrient Limitation, Bradley J. Austin, J. Thad Scott, Brian E. Haggard

Technical Reports

The specific objectives were to first, monitor nutrients, algal biomass, and water clarity in lakes Cove, Spring, and Wedington. Second, evaluate whether algal growth in each of the lakes was limited by N, P, or both N and P. This research was conducted to help USFS better manage lake fertilization to maximize algal growth and improve the fisheries within these lakes.

Water Security For Texas: A Post-Secondary Education Pathway For The Water Workforce, Rudolph A. Rosen, Luis A. Cifuentes, James Fischer, Howard Marquise, John C. Tracey

Water Resources Science and Technology Faculty Publications

Water and wastewater industry leaders in Texas and throughout the United States have expressed concern over high rates of retirement eligibility and difficulties finding and attracting workers ready to fill job openings, especially for work in smaller systems. In late January 2018, the U.S. Government Accountability Office released a report on water workforce readiness and a bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate to establish a water infrastructure workforce development program. Concern over existing education of workers in water and demographic information projecting future workforce readiness are commonly cited as signaling a coming crisis for the water industry. An alignment …

Brownsfields To Greenfields: Environmental Justice Versus Environmental Gentrification, Juliana A. Maantay, Andrew Maroko

Publications and Research

Gentrification is a growing concern in many urban areas, due to the potential for displacement of lower-income and other vulnerable populations. This process can be accelerated when neighborhood “greening” projects are undertaken via governmental or private investor efforts, resulting in a phenomenon termed environmental or “green” gentrification. Vacant land in lower-income areas is often improved by the existing community through the creation of community gardens, but this contributes to these greening efforts and paradoxically may spur gentrification and subsequent displacement of the gardens’ stewards and neighbors. “Is proximity to community gardens in less affluent neighborhoods associated with an increased likelihood …

Spatial Analysis Of Borrow Pits Along The Platte River In South-Central Nebraska, Usa, In 1957 And 2016, Nicole M. Pauley, Mary J. Harner, Emma M. Brinley Buckley, Paul R. Burger, Keith Geluso

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

The Central Platte River Valley (CPRV) of Nebraska provides critical habitat for wildlife, while serving agricultural, indus­trial, and other human uses. Mining of sand and gravel from the floodplain of the Platte River has supported construction of roads and other uses, and this extraction has created many borrow-pit ponds, lakes, and other small bodies of standing water (hereafter borrow-pits), further transforming riparian and prairie habitats. The objective of this study was to compare the abundance, size, and distribution of borrow pits before construction of Interstate 80 (1957) and at present (2016) from Lexington to Chapman, Nebraska, a length of river …

Season-Ahead Forecasting Of Water Storage And Irrigation Requirements – An Application To The Southwest Monsoon In India, Arun Ravindranath, Naresh Devineni, Upmanu Lall, Paulina Concha Larrauri

Publications and Research

Water risk management is a ubiquitous challenge faced by stakeholders in the water or agricultural sector. We present a methodological framework for forecasting water storage requirements and present an application of this methodology to risk assessment in India. The application focused on forecasting crop water stress for potatoes grown during the monsoon season in the Satara district of Maharashtra. Pre-season large-scale climate predictors used to forecast water stress were selected based on an exhaustive search method that evaluates for highest ranked probability skill score and lowest root-mean-squared error in a leave-one-out cross-validation mode. Adaptive forecasts were made in the years …

Algal Blooms In Arkansas Streams, Ponds, And Lakes, Bradley J. Austin, Brie Olsen, Tate Wentz, Brian E. Haggard

Fact Sheets

Did you know that algae are a natural part of ponds, lakes, streams, and rivers? These organisms grow in the water (plankton) and on rocks, plants, and other surfaces (periphyton) and sometimes periphyton slough off into the water (seston). Most of the time these algae are hardly noticeable in waterbodies; however, sometimes they can form very noticeable algal blooms.

Detection, Occurrence And Fate Of Emerging Contaminants In Agricultural Environments, Daniel D. Snow, David A. Cassada, Saptashati Biswas, Mohammedreza Shafieifini, Xu Li, Matteo D'Alessio, Laura Carter, J. Brett Sallach

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

A total of 75 papers published in 2017 were reviewed ranging from detailed descriptions of analytical methods, to fate and occurrence studies, to ecological effects and sampling techniques for a wide variety of emerging contaminants likely to occur in agricultural environments. New methods and studies on veterinary pharmaceuticals, steroids, antibiotic resistance genes, and engineered nanoparticles 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, Fate and Occurrence, Pharmaceutical Metabolites, Anthelmintics, Antibiotic Resistance Genes, and Engineered Nanomaterials.

Adaptive Groundwater Governance And The Challenges Of Policy Implementation In Idaho’S Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer Region, Margaret V. Du Bray, Morey Burnham, Katrina Running, Vicken Hillis

Human-Environment Systems Research Center Faculty Publications and Presentations

Globally, groundwater overdraft poses significant challenges to agricultural production. As a result, it is likely that new water management policies and governance arrangements will be needed to stop groundwater depletion and maintain agricultural viability. Drawing on interviews with state and non-state water managers and other water actors, this paper provides a study of a recent resource management agreement between surface water and groundwater irrigators in the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer region of Idaho. Using adaptive governance as our descriptive framework, we examine how groundwater governance arrangements emerge and are applied to mitigate the impacts of groundwater overdraft. Our findings suggest …

Droughtscape- 2018 Fall, National Drought Mitigation Center

Droughtscape, Quarterly Newsletter of NDMC, 2007-

Contents

From the director.............. 2

Drought greatly improves in Southern Plains and South............. 3

Texas, Missouri, and Colorado logged late-summer impacts.............. 5

Memory, remote sensing and a new research methodology............. 8

Navigating the U.S. Drought Monitor......... 9

Planners discuss the barriers to effective drought mitigation planning............ 12

Exploring climate issues from a county management perspective.............. 13

Strategic Framework for Drought Risk Management and Enhancing Resilience in Africa..................... 14

Mena global policy forum looks from data to mitigation............. 15

About us............17

State-by-state drought classification table developed by NDMC graduate student........19

Sources Of Contaminated Flood Sediments In A Rural–Urban Catchment: Johnson Creek, Oregon, Heejun Chang, Deonie Allen, Jennifer L. Morse, Janardan Mainali

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study investigated the delivery of contaminated sediments to the channel network by urban drainage systems in Johnson Creek in Oregon, USA. Concentrations of five heavy metal concentrations measured in 136 samples collected from 37 stormwater outfalls and 99 bed sampling points were analysed. While concentrations of zinc, cadmium and lead increased with distance downstream in Johnson Creek, this was not the case for chromium and copper. Zinc, copper, and cadmium concentrations in outfalls were significantly higher than those in the stream bed, indicating that stormwater runoff is responsible for delivering contaminated sediments to Johnson Creek. Zinc concentrations in outfalls …

La Calidad Del Agua Y El Impacto En La Salud Pública: Un Examen A Las Fuentes Del Agua En La Amazonia Cerca De Puyo, Ecuador Y La Salud De Las Comunidades Indígenas / Water Quality And The Impact On Public Health: An Examination Of Water Sources In The Amazon Near Puyo, Ecuador And The Health Of Indigenous Communities, Mary Kathryn Mcgregor

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Agua limpia es una de las cosas más importantes para la salud humana y el acceso a esta es un derecho humano. Sin embargo, mucha gente todavía no tiene acceso a agua limpia, especialmente en las áreas rurales. El objetivo de este proyecto fue determinar la salud de 3 de las 11 comunidades de la nacionalidad Shuar cerca de Puyo, Ecuador, en la región amazónica con análisis de macroinvertebrados, pH, temperatura y bacterias. Las comunidades de Yuu, Kunkuk y Pitirishca fueron elegidas porque Pitirishca tiene agua entubada y las otras no la tienen, así que necesitan tomar el agua de …