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Full-Text Articles in Earth Sciences

Watershed Delineation In The Field: A New Approach For Mobile Applications Using Lidar Elevation Data, Samuel Adam Noel Oct 2014

Watershed Delineation In The Field: A New Approach For Mobile Applications Using Lidar Elevation Data, Samuel Adam Noel

Open Access Theses

With the advancement of mobile devices, opportunities to take watershed management tasks out of the office and into the field can be realized. In turn, field workers can utilize these technologies to expedite the decision-making process so that they may focus on meeting with clients and addressing agricultural watershed management issues. High-resolution (∼1.5 m postspacing) elevation data gathered by light detection and ranging (LiDAR) provides the topographic detail necessary to model hydrology at the field-scale (∼1 km2).

Non-artifactual surface depressions lead to erroneous surface flow patterns when using existing algorithms. So a sequential depression-filling algorithm (SDFA) has been developed to …


Infiltration And Runoff Parameters For Tilled And No-Till Row Crops, Andrew J. Volkmer Aug 2014

Infiltration And Runoff Parameters For Tilled And No-Till Row Crops, Andrew J. Volkmer

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations and Theses

Infiltration and runoff are hydrologic processes that effect the amount of water available to plants, for groundwater recharge, and for stream flow. No-till planting (NT) is a management practice used to reduce soil erosion, increase water infiltration, and reduce soil water evaporation, and can have great impact on infiltration and runoff. An investigation was conducted to determine the impact of NT on infiltration and runoff when compared to tilled conditions.

Runoff and precipitation data was gathered from sites at Fillmore County, NE, Phelps County, NE, the USDA-ARS North Appalachian Experimental Watersheds (NAEW) near Coshocton, OH, and the Lennoxville Research Station …


Water Quality Effects Of Cellulosic Biofuel Crops Grown On Marginal Land, Ruoyu Wang Jul 2014

Water Quality Effects Of Cellulosic Biofuel Crops Grown On Marginal Land, Ruoyu Wang

Ruoyu Wang

Since Congress' Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, there has been increasing interest
in the ability to reach the cellulosic renewable fuel goal of 60.5 billion liters. Cellulosic biofuel crops include
sorghum, switchgrass, Miscanthus, woody crops, and crop residue, among others. Because of concern about
food production on existing highly productive agricultural lands, there is an interest regarding biofuel crop
production on marginal lands. Second generation biofuels, such as perennial grasses and woody plants,
provide an alternative to traditional crops; however, their effects on water quality are not well studied when
grown on marginal lands. Because grasses and woody …


Uncertainties In Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions From U.S. Beef Cattle, Quentin M. Dudley, Adam Liska, Andrea K. Watson, Galen E. Erickson Apr 2014

Uncertainties In Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions From U.S. Beef Cattle, Quentin M. Dudley, Adam Liska, Andrea K. Watson, Galen E. Erickson

Adam Liska Papers

Beef cattle feedlots are estimated to contribute 26% of U.S. agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and future climate change policy could target reducing these emissions. Life cycle assessment (LCA) of GHG emissions from U.S. grain-fed beef cattle was conducted based on industry statistics and previous studies to identify the main sources of uncertainty in these estimations. Uncertainty associated with GHG emissions from indirect land use change, pasture soil emissions (e.g. soil carbon sequestration), enteric fermentation from cattle on pasture, and methane emissions from feedlot manure, respectively, contributed the most variability to life cycle GHG emissions from beef production. Feeding of …


Responses Of Hydrological Processes And Water Quality To Land Use/Cover (Lulc) And Climate Change In A Coastal Watershed, Ruoyu Wang Jan 2014

Responses Of Hydrological Processes And Water Quality To Land Use/Cover (Lulc) And Climate Change In A Coastal Watershed, Ruoyu Wang

Ruoyu Wang

Land use/cover (LULC) and climate change are two main factors affecting watershed hydrology and, in turn, influencing water quality. In this paper, the potential changes in flow, Total Suspended Solid (TSS) and nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorous) loadings were investigated under climate, LULC and combined change scenarios in the Wolf Bay watershed in coastal Alabama, USA. Four Global Circulation Models (GCMs) under three Special Report Emission Scenarios (SRES) of greenhouse gas were used to demonstrate the future climate change (2016-2040). Three projected LULC maps (2030) were employed to reflect different extents of urbanization in future. The individual, combined and synergistic impacts …