Environmental Monitoring Commons^™

Utilizing Suas-Based Remote Sensing For Sustainable Outdoor Recreational Trail Design And Monitoring, Isaac C. Kinder

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This study utilizes sUAS-based remote sensing and hydrologic models to analyze and predict locations susceptible to water-based trail erosion. Erosion is frequently cited as the most significant environmental impact of trails and often requires costly design and management considerations. A professionally designed trail totaling 4 km in length was segmented based on presence or absence of water-based erosion for analyses and then flown with sUAS technology. Three Logistic regression (LR) models were generated utilizing several hydrologic terrain models of varying resolutions to determine the effects of spatial resolution on the models’ predictive accuracies. Receiver operator characteristics, kappa, and overall accuracy …

Measuring And Modeling Riparian Wetland Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity, Nutrient Concentrations And Shallow Groundwater Dynamics In An Appalachian Mixed Land Use Catchment, Bidisha Faruque Abesh

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The paucity of research on accurate predictions of saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat), spatiotemporal analysis of nutrient concentrations relative to water source types (stream and shallow groundwater (SGW)), water flow directions, and land use in riparian wetlands of Appalachian mixed land use catchments underscored the need for this study. Additionally, the lack of SGW flow simulations and stream-SGW interactions using three-dimensional (3D) numerical models (i.e., MODFLOW) in these riparian wetlands further highlighted the research gap. Observed data including soil properties, Ksat, surface water (SW) and SGW levels, and nutrient concentrations, including nitrate (NO3-N), nitrite (NO2-N), ammonium (NH4-N), orthophosphate (PO43-P), total nitrogen …

Application Of Artificial Intelligence For Co2 Storage In Saline Aquifer (Smart Proxy For Snap-Shot In Time), Marwan Mohammed Alnuaimi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technology have grown in popularity. Smart Proxy Models (SPM) are AI/ML based data-driven models which have proven to be quite crucial in petroleum engineering domain with abundant data, or operations in which large surface/ subsurface volume of data is generated. Climate change mitigation is one application of such technology to simulate and monitor CO2 injection into underground formations.

The goal of the SPM developed in this study is to replicate the results (in terms of pressure and saturation outputs) of the numerical reservoir simulation model (CMG) for CO2 injection into …

Development Of Multi-Catchment Rating Curves For Streams Of Appalachian Mixed-Land-Use Watersheds: Preliminary Results, Zachary A. Heck

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Anthropogenic activities can alter the quantity and quality of water. Traditional monitoring of streamflow involves measurements of stage (mm), or water height, and discharge (i.e., streamflow) (m3 s -1 ) above a local datum. However, while stage is relatively easily monitored, continuous streamflow measurement is often impractical and prohibitively expensive. To address this challenge, rating curve equations can be developed to convert stage to flow. To establish a series of rating curves for flow estimations in Appalachia, an investigation was conducted in a representative urbanizing, mixed-land-use watershed in north-central West Virginia consisting of 21 nested stream gauge sites. At each …

Effects Of Multiple Stressors On Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Communities In A Mixed-Land-Use Watershed, Joellen Stivala

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

As urbanization continues, there is a need to identify and understand environmental stressors that impact stream condition in mixed-land-use watersheds. This study analyzed four years of aquatic macroinvertebrate community and environmental data collected from ten sites located at the mouths of first-order tributaries and along the main stem creek of a 23-km², mixed-land-use watershed in central Appalachia. The main objectives were to 1) determine stream ecological integrity by analyzing stream macroinvertebrate taxonomic and trait-based composition and 2) assess which of 23 environmental variables explained significant variability in common community composition metrics (WVSCI, GLIMPSS, Biotic Index, % clingers, etc.). …

Evaluation Of A Low-Cost Uas And Phenocams For Measuring Grapevine Greenness, Timothy J. Hoheneder

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Unpersoned aerial systems (UAS) could provide winegrowers with the potential to monitor vineyard productivity with ultra-high-resolution imagery and low operational costs. This ability could prove particularly valuable in the challenging cool-climate viticultural areas of Appalachia. Especially in this mountainous region of increasingly variable microclimates, there could be of great value from an ability to use UAS-measured greenness to monitor wine grape phenology and predict harvest quality and quantity. In this study, I assess how UAS-measured greenness relates to three complementary measures of field-based: leaf angle measurements, phenocam measured greenness, and leaf spectral measurements of greenness. After correlating these field-based measures …

Ecology Of Freshwater Turtles And Other Wetland Wildlife In A North-Central West Virginia Watershed, Darien N. Lozon

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The goal of wetland mitigation in the United States is to achieve a no-net-loss of wetlands; however, mitigated wetlands must be monitored to ensure wetland function is comparable to natural wetlands. In this study, relationships between land use practices and freshwater turtle abundance, wetland connectivity, and heavy metal bioaccumulation were investigated. In Chapter 1, a summary of pre-restoration species abundance and diversity is provided for anurans, birds, benthic macroinvertebrates, fishes, small mammals, plants, and turtles in riparian wetlands along Ruby Run, a tributary of Deckers Creek in north-central West Virginia, USA. These data provide a baseline for comparison after mitigation …

Soil Response Of Helicopter Liming In The Monongahela National Forest, Jarrett Douglas Fowler

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Soils in the Monongahela National Forest (MNF) are acidic due to sandstone parent material, acid deposition, uptake of base cations by vegetation, and release of organic acids by organic matter (OM) decomposition. Increases in soil acidity have caused declines in forest health and changed species composition and nutrient status. Liming can neutralize soil acidity, but no large-scale liming projects have been done on acid forest soils in the USA. In anticipation of acquiring funding for a proposed liming project in the MNF, in 2007 and 2009 10 sites were selected to sample and analyze soils before lime was applied. In …

A Spatially Distributed Investigation Of Stream Water Temperature In A Contemporary Mixed-Land-Use Watershed, Jason P. Horne

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Stream water temperature is an important physical variable that influences many biological and abiotic water quality processes. The land-use/land-cover (LULC) types and corresponding variability in stream water temperature (Tw) processes in contemporary mixed-land-use watersheds necessitate research to advance management and policy decisions. Water temperature was analyzed from 21 gauging sites using a nested-scale experimental watershed study design. Results showed that forested land use was significantly negatively correlated (α = 0.05) with mean and maximum Tw. Agricultural land use was significantly positively correlated (α = 0.05) with maximum Tw except during the spring season. Mixed development and Tw were significantly correlated …

Relating Recharge Mechanisms To Chemical Changes In An Updip Appalachian Coal Mine Discharge: A Case Study From Lambert Run, West Virginia, Matthew Lewis Bell

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Impaired drainage from active and abandoned mines degrades the water quality of receiving streams and aquifers. Coal mine drainage (CMD) has been studied for decades in Appalachia, but unknowns and uncertainties are still present, including the influence of mine hydrogeology on the outflow chemistry of above-drainage mines. To evaluate the influence of recharge type on above-drainage mine chemistry, samples were collected every two weeks at a CMD outflow treatment system in Harrison County, West Virginia.

Samples were collected to measure geochemical changes taking place in the mine workings and along the flowpath of the passive treatment system. Samples were divided …

Using Lidar To Approximate Keystone Structure And Evaluate Management Practices In Potential Habitats Of The Endangered Karner Blue Butterfly (Lycaeides Melissa Samuelis), Brandyn Balch

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Keystone structure is the spatial structure required by a given species, at a scale that is determined by that species’ needs and mobility. The endangered Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis, hereafter KBB) has a keystone structure that incorporates trees and bushes to provide the mixture of sun and shade required to fulfil its life functions. Airborne light detection and ranging (lidar) is a potentially invaluable tool for characterizing keystone structures. However, lidar has yet to be utilized to evaluate structural suitability of KBB habitats. Therefore, I investigated the use of lidar for characterizing critical attributes of KBB habitat structure, …

An Interspecies Investigation Of Thyroid Plasma Hormone Concentrations, Histology, And Gene Expression, Emily A. Underwood

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

A high prevalence of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOCs) has raised concerns as to the health and fitness of fish and wildlife. It is not well understood to what extent existing contaminants, many with continuing inflows into the environment, may impact fish populations. This study provides an initial characterization of thyroid endocrine-related effects in two indigenous fish species sampled from Great Lakes AOCs. Biomonitoring was conducted on a pelagic, top predator species, smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) and benthic, omnivorous brown bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus) at 7 sites in spring and fall …

Application Of Molecular Pathology Techniques To Understand Mechanisms Of Disease In Smallmouth Bass, Heather Leigh Walsh

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

In the Chesapeake Bay drainage, smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu are used as an indicator species of estrogenic contaminant exposure and have been implicated in fish kills and disease since 2005. In the Potomac River drainage, adult smallmouth bass have experienced mortality and disease and males have a high prevalence of intersex (testicular oocytes). Conversely, in the Susquehanna River drainage mortalities and disease of young-of-the-year smallmouth bass (YOY SMB) have occurred and resulted in a population shift to older and larger fish. The exact cause of these events remains unknown; however, factors such as poor water quality, contaminants, pathogens and parasites, …