Earth Sciences Commons^™

A Report On Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs In Nebraska-- Their Biology, Behavior, Ecology, Management, And Responses To A Visual Barrier Fence, Nancy S. Foster

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

I examined the effects of a visual barrier fence, which had a see-through visibility of 600/0, on the foraging, vigilance, and aggressive behaviors of adult female black-tailed prairie dogs from June through August 1990 in central Nebraska. I also examined changes in their home ranges and use of an area in response to this fence. Prairie dogs prefer an open view of their surroundings. Therefore, I expected animals near a visual barrier to spend more time in vigilance and aggression, and less time foraging. Adult female prairie dogs exposed to the visual barrier devoted more time to foraging and less …

Radon Contamination Of Residences In A City Built Upon A Karst Landscape Bowling Green, Warren County, Kentucky, James William Webster

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that 8 to 12% of U.S. homes have radon concentrations that equal or exceed 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/l). A statewide screening of Kentucky by EPA resulted in an average residential radon concentration of 2.8 pCi/l with 17% of the homes at or above 4 pCi/l. EPA requires routine monitoring and maintenance or worker health records in mines and caves having radon daughter concentrations at or above 0.30 working levels (WL).

Bowling Green is a city located in a karst region of south central Kentucky. Residents of Bowling Green have been subjected …

Hydrogeology And Hydrogeochemistry Of The Shallow Alluvial Aquifer Zone, Las Vegas Valley, Nevada, Harry Stephen Wild Jr.

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In Las Vegas Valley, Nevada, the shallow alluvial aquifer zone is a possible source of contamination to the principal alluvial aquifers that provide 30% of the public drinking water supply for the valley. Development of the principal aquifers has lowered pressure head in the principal aquifers and created the potential for downward seepage from the shallow aquifer zone. This study was undertaken to characterize the hydrogeology and hydrogeochemistry of the shallow alluvial aquifer zone and to compare the hydrogeochemistry of the shallow and principal alluvial aquifer zones.

A 37 well shallow ground water monitoring network was established and water-level, water-quality, …

Hydrogeology And Water Budget Analysis Of Two Interdunal Ponds Nags Head Woods Ecological Preserve, Dare County, North Carolina, Richard A. Hisert

OES Theses and Dissertations

Ground-water-fed interdunal ponds in Nags Head Woods Ecological Preserve lose as much as 7600 m³ yr^-1 of water through evaporation. This withdrawal of groundwater is sufficient to significantly alter flow patterns through the surficial aquifer on Bodie Island, N.C. Statistical analyses of evaporation estimates derived by various methods indicate a weak correlation, (r²=0.4-0.5) between pan evaporation data from Aurora, N.C. and pond evaporation at Nags Head Woods calculated by water budget analyses.

Results of stratigraphic and pedologic analyses in and around the ponds indicate that the ponds formed after development of multiple generations of dunes. This …

Alternative Usages Of Wetlands Other Than Conventional Farming In Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, And Nebraska, Ellen Leventhal, Hubert H. Humphrey

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Staff Publications

Conversion of wetlands in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska into agricultural dry lands in the past several decades has occurred as a means to obtain profit from what landowners would otherwise consider unprofitable land. This activity has resulted in substantial losses of wetlands valued for their unique ability to mitigate flood and storm damage, control erosion, discharge and recharge groundwater, improve water quality, and support a wide diversity of fish, wildlife, and vegetation.

Utilizing fish, wildlife, and vegetation from wetlands for profit is a way for wetland owners to recognize the value their wetlands add to their property. Landowners then …

Modeling Mass Transport In Aquifers: The Distributed Source Problem, Sergio E. Serrano

KWRRI Research Reports

This report presents a new methodology to model the time and space evolution of groundwater variables in a system of aquifers when certain components of the model, such as the geohydrologic information, the boundary conditions, the magnitude and variability of the sources or physical parameters are uncertain and defined in stochastic terms. This facilitates a more realistic statistical representation of groundwater flow and groundwater pollution forecasting for either the saturated or the unsaturated zone. The method is based on applications of modern mathematics to the solution of the resulting stochastic transport equations. This procedure exhibits considerable advantages over the existing …

Effects Of Aromatic Concentration On Methane Fermentation, Yi-Tin Wang, Pin-Chieh Pai, H. David Gabbard

KWRRI Research Reports

The anaerobic biodegradability and toxicity of fourteen aromatic compounds were evaluated over a wide range of concentrations using a serum bottle technique. Benzene, toluene, and all three isomers of xylene were not significantly degraded to methane in a phenol-enriched culture. Complete degradation of 1000 mg/L phenol, 800 mg/L catechol, 100 mg/L 2-NP, 100 mg/L 3- NP, and 100 mg/L 4-NP was observed within two months while depletion of 100 mg/L resorcinol and 1000 mg/L hydroquinone required more than six and eight months incubation, respectively. None of the three isomers of chlorophenol were degraded in the phenol-enriched culture. Batch toxicity assay …

Metal Speciation And Immobilization Reactions Affecting The True Efficiency Of Artificial Wetlands To Treat Acid Mine Drainage, Anastasios D. Karathanasis, Y. L. Thompson

KWRRI Research Reports

The ability of constructed wetlands to lower total metal concentrations and organically complex metals in acid mine drainage (AMD) was investigated under greenhouse and field conditions. In the greenhouse study, Typha plants grown in six different substrates received simulated acid mine drainage of low metal load for five months. Most effluents, especially those from ground flows, showed significant decreases in acidity and metal concentrations. The pine needle and hay substrates most effectively reduced acidity and total Al levels. Effluents from these substrates contained 80% less total Al than respective influents. Organically complexed Al levels were independent of matrix and varied …

The Hydrogeology And Leachate Generation Of An Alum Sludge Lagoon Chesapeake Virginia, Charles M. Darling

OES Theses and Dissertations

In 1986 the City of Chesapeake, Virginia began to dig shallow ponds ("lagoons") to contain alum sludge, a waste generated by the City from the process of treating potable water. Borings at the disposal site reveal that the near-surface geologic units include a thin mud-rich facies which overlies a thick sandy facies, both of which are in the Lynnhaven Member of the Tabb Formation. At 7 meters depth, a clay-rich facies of the Yorktown Formation (Morgarts Beach Member?) underlies the sandy water table aquifer. Water levels from twenty observation wells and two monitoring wells installed into the water table aquifer …

Water Transfers: Can They Protect And Enhance Rural Economies?, Michael J. Clinton

Moving the West's Water to New Uses: Winners and Losers (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

16 pages.

Shifting Water To Urban Uses: Activities Of The Metropolitan Water District Of Southern California, Timothy H. Quinn

Moving the West's Water to New Uses: Winners and Losers (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

36 pages.

Contains references.

Water Marketing And The Law, Mark Squillace

Moving the West's Water to New Uses: Winners and Losers (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

13 pages.

Legal Devices For Enhancing Water Diversion Opportunities Within The Appropriation System, David C. Hallford

Moving the West's Water to New Uses: Winners and Losers (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

28 pages.

Transferring Conserved Water: The Oregon Experience, Becky Kreag

Moving the West's Water to New Uses: Winners and Losers (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

28 pages.

Contains references.

Economic And Social Impacts Of Agriculture-To-Urban Water Transfers: The Arkansas Valley Of Colorado, Charles W. Howe, Jeffrey K. Lazo

Moving the West's Water to New Uses: Winners and Losers (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

20 pages.

Contains 1 page of references.

Evaluating Judicial Capacity To Determine Public Welfare Values In Water Transfers, Charles T. Dumars

Moving the West's Water to New Uses: Winners and Losers (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

31 pages (includes illustrations).

Contains references.

Water Agencies And Water Transfers In California: A Case Study Of The Kern County Water Agency, Brian E. Gray

Moving the West's Water to New Uses: Winners and Losers (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

20 pages.

Contains references.

The Role Of Market Transfers In The Accommodation Of New Uses: A Case Study Of The Truckee-Carson Basin, A. Dan Tarlock

Moving the West's Water to New Uses: Winners and Losers (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

31 pages (includes 1 map).

The Role Of The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission In Protecting Non-Consumptive Water Uses, Peter J. Kirsch, J. Barton Seitz

Moving the West's Water to New Uses: Winners and Losers (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

55 pages.

Urban Water Conservation: The Last Water Hole Or Mostly A Mirage?, Gary C. Woodward

Moving the West's Water to New Uses: Winners and Losers (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

28 pages.

Contains references.

Update On Market Strategies For The Protection Of Western Instream Flows And Wetlands, Robert Wigington

Moving the West's Water to New Uses: Winners and Losers (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

49 pages.

Contains references.

Sources Of Water Iv: Tribal Water Rights, John E. Echohawk

Moving the West's Water to New Uses: Winners and Losers (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

10 pages.

Contains references.

Sources Of Water Iii: Interstate Transfers, Clyde O. Martz

Moving the West's Water to New Uses: Winners and Losers (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

35 pages.

Contains references.

Sources Of Water I: Agriculture – The Deep Pool?, Bonnie G. Colby

Moving the West's Water to New Uses: Winners and Losers (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

34 pages (includes illustration).

Contains 2 pages of references.

Sources Of Water Ii: Federal Water Projects, Bruce C. Driver

Moving the West's Water to New Uses: Winners and Losers (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

46 pages.

Contains references.

Shifting The Uses Of Water In The West: An Overview, Lawrence J. Macdonnell

Moving the West's Water to New Uses: Winners and Losers (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

31 pages.

Contains references.

Changing Demand For Water In The West, Kenneth D. Frederick

Moving the West's Water to New Uses: Winners and Losers (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

19 pages.

Contains references.

Agenda: Moving The West's Water To New Uses: Winners And Losers, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Moving the West's Water to New Uses: Winners and Losers (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

Conference organizers and/or faculty included University of Colorado Law School professors Lawrence J. MacDonnell and Mark Squillace.

Moving the West's Water to New Uses: Winners and Losers will be the theme for this year's water conference, June 6-8 at the Law School in Boulder. The conference will consider the changing demands for water in the West and the need to reallocate a portion of the existing uses of water to new uses.

The first day will provide the background by looking at the most likely sources of water to meet these demands, including agriculture, federal water projects, interstate transfers, and …

A Preliminiary Investigation To Determine The Economic Implications Of The "404" Permit For Constructing Agriculturally Related Reservoirs In Arkansas, Richard K. Ford, Charles R. Britton

Technical Reports

A descriptive inquiry of the economic consequences of federal regulations which restrict the construction of agriculturally related reservoirs in Arkansas's wetlands is presented in this report. The applicable economic principles are identifyed and applied to the situation without the quantifiable information necessary to evaluate the alternatives. The difficulty of collecting the required quantifiable information necessitates the formulation of a different technique to unravel the dilemma. An alternative method for resolving the wetlands allocation question is presented for a public sector decision maker. This unconventional technique suggests that it may be desirable to estimate and compare the costs associated with the …

Virus Reduction By The Stanford Onsite Wastewater Treatment System, Mark A. Gross

Technical Reports

A field study to examine the Stanford Onsite Wastewater Treatment System's ability to remove bacteriophage from wastewater was conducted. MS2 Coliphage was Injected Into the low pressure pipe (LPP) distribution system to achieve an Influent concentration of 1.6 x 106 plague forming units per milliliter (PFU/ml). The bacteriophage was Injected Into the system three times during the day, and samples were taken from drainage tiles of the treatment system. Tile drainage was assayed on conform bacteria host cultures for MS2 phage. The treatment system removed two to three logs (99% to 99.9%) of the phage. During the past two years, …