Environmental Sciences Commons^™

Quantifying The Regional Water Footprint Of Biofuel Production By Incorporating Hydrologic Modeling, M. Wu, Y. Chiu, Y. Demissie

Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences

A spatially explicit life cycle water analysis framework is proposed, in which a standardized water footprint methodology is coupled with hydrologic modeling to assess blue water, green water (rainfall), and agricultural grey water discharge in the production of biofuel feedstock at county-level resolution. Grey water is simulated via SWAT, a watershed model. Evapotranspiration (ET) estimates generated with the Penman-Monteith equation and crop parameters were verified by using remote sensing results, a satellite-imagery-derived data set, and other field measurements. Crop irrigation survey data are used to corroborate the estimate of irrigation ET. An application of the concept is presented in a …

Selection Of Hydrologic Modeling Approaches For Climate Change Assessment: A Comparison Of Model Scale And Structures, Christopher G. Surfleet, Desirèe Tullos, Heejun Chang, Il-Won Jung

Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences

A wide variety of approaches to hydrologic (rainfall–runoff) modeling of river basins confounds our ability to select, develop, and interpret models, particularly in the evaluation of prediction uncertainty associated with climate change assessment. To inform the model selection process, we characterized and compared three structurally-distinct approaches and spatial scales of parameterization to modeling catchment hydrology: a large-scale approach (using the VIC model; 671,000 km² area), a basin-scale approach (using the PRMS model; 29,700 km² area), and a site-specific approach (the GSFLOW model; 4700 km² area) forced by the same future climate estimates. For each approach, we present …

Uncertainty In Hydrologic Modelling For Estimating Hydrologic Response Due To Climate Change (Santiam River, Oregon), Christopher G. Surfleet, Desirée Tullos

Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences

This paper explores the predicted hydrologic responses associated with the compounded error of cascading global circulation model (GCM) uncertainty through hydrologic model uncertainty due to climate change. A coupled groundwater and surface water flow model (GSFLOW) was used within the differential evolution adaptive metropolis (DREAM) uncertainty approach and combined with eight GCMs to investigate uncertainties in hydrologic predictions for three subbasins of varying hydrogeology within the Santiam River basin in Oregon, USA. Predictions of future hydrology in the Santiam River include increases in runoff in the fall and winter months and decreases in runoff for the spring and summer months. …

Assessing County-Level Water Footprints Of Different Cellulosic- Biofuel Feedstock Pathways, Yi-Wen Chiu, May Wu

Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences

While agricultural residue is considered as a near-term feedstock option for cellulosic biofuels, its sustainability must be evaluated by taking water into account. This study aims to analyze the county-level water footprint for four biofuel pathways in the United States, including bioethanol generated from corn grain, stover, wheat straw, and biodiesel from soybean. The county-level blue water footprint of ethanol from corn grain, stover, and wheat straw shows extremely wide variances with a national average of 31, 132, and 139 L of water per liter biofuel (L_w/L_bf), and standard deviation of 133, 323, and 297 L …

First Record Of Serropalpus Substriatus Haldeman, 1848 (Coleoptera: Melandryidae) On Giant Sequoia, Sequoiadendron Giganteum (Lindl.) J. Buchholz (Cupressaceae): New Larval Host, Kim S. Camilli, Joshua D. Soderlund, David Wood, Jim Kral, Douglas D. Piirto

Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences

No abstract provided.

Measuring Ecological Impact Of Water Consumption By Bioethanol Using Life Cycle Impact Assessment, Yi-Wen Chiu, Sangwon Suh, Stephan Pfister, Stefanie Hellweg, Annette Koehler

Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences

Purpose

Though the development of biofuel has attracted numerous studies for quantifying potential water demand applying life cycle thinking, the impacts of biofuel water consumption still remain unknown. In this study, we aimed to quantify ecological impact associated with corn-based bioethanol water consumption in Minnesota in responding to different refinery expansion scenarios by applying a life cycle impact assessment method.

Methods

This ecological damage assessment method for quantifying water consumption impacts was proposed by Pfister et al. in 2009 (Environ Sci Technol 43: 4098–4104, 2009) using an impact characterization factor integrating terrestrial net primary production and precipitation. In …

An Approach To Study The Effect Of Harvest And Wildfire On Watershed Hydrology And Sediment Yield In A Coast Redwood Forest, Christopher G. Surfleet, Arne Skaugset, Brian Dietterick

Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences

The Little Creek watershed, within California State Polytechnic University’s Swanton Pacific Ranch, is the location of a paired and nested watershed study to investigate the watershed effects of coast redwood forest management. Streamflow, suspended sediment, and stream turbidity have been collected during storms at two locations on the North Fork Little Creek and at the outlet of South Fork Little Creek from 2002 until present. In 2008, the watershed area between the two monitoring stations on the North Fork Little Creek watershed was harvested with an individual tree selection silvicultural system within the Santa Cruz County Rules of the California …