Fresh Water Studies Commons^™

Agriculture Causes Nitrate Fertilization Of Remote Alpine Lakes, Elizabeth J. Hundey, Sam S.D. Russell, Fred Longstaffe, Katrina A. Moser

Earth Sciences Publications

Humans have altered Earth’s nitrogen cycle so dramatically that reactive nitrogen (Nr) has doubled. This has increased Nr in aquatic ecosystems, which can lead to reduced water quality and ecosystem health. Apportioning sources of Nr to specific ecosystems, however, continues to be challenging, despite this knowledge being critical for mitigation and protection of water resources. Here we use D¹⁷O, d¹⁸O and d¹⁵N from Uinta Mountain (Utah, USA) snow, inflow and lake nitrate in combination with a Bayesian-based stable isotope mixing model, to show that at least 70% of nitrates in aquatic systems are anthropogenic …

Detection, Occurrence And Fate Of Emerging Contaminants In Agricultural Environments, Daniel D. Snow, David A. Cassada, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt, Xu Li, Matteo D'Alessio, Yun Zhang, Yuping Zhang, J. Brett Sallach

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

A total of 59 papers published in 2015 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 in 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, Steroid Hormones, Pharmaceutical Contaminants, Transformation Products, and “Antibiotic Resistance, Drugs, Bugs and Genes”.

Constituent Loads And Trends In The Upper Illinois River Watershed And Upper White River Basin, Erin E. Scott, Zach P. Simpson, Brian E. Haggard

Technical Reports

Water chemistry can greatly influence the quality of surface waters and affect the ability for streams and rivers to meet their designated use(s). In Arkansas, many streams and rivers were placed on the 2008 303(d) list of impaired water bodies due to excess levels of nutrients, chlorides, sulfates, and sediments (ADEQ, 2008). These constituents continue to be listed as the potential cause for water‐quality impairments through the most recent draft 303(d) list (ADEQ, 2014). The Arkansas Non‐Point Source (NPS) Management Program wants to reduce poll‐ utant loading from the landscape and improve water quality, where funding for projects is targeted …

Droughtscape- Winter 2016, Kelly Smith

Droughtscape, Quarterly Newsletter of NDMC, 2007-

CONTENTS

Director’s column.........................1

California drought FAQ................2

Oct.-Dec. 2015 drought ............... 4

Oct.-Dec. 2015 impacts...............6

2015 drought impacts in review.............7

NDMC hiring geospatial analyst ............. 8

CA drought exposes social vulnerability.................................. 9

UA helps AZ ranchers, Forest Service work together................12

NDMC & partners help S. Plains ranchers manage drought ......... 15

Chickasaw ranching workshop............16

The Spatial Sensitivity Analysis Of Evapotranspiration Using Penman-Monteith Method At Grid Scale, Sivarajah Mylevaganam, Chittaranjan Ray

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

The need to allocate the existing water in a sustainable manner, even with the projected population growth, has made to assess the consumptive use or evapotranspiration (ET), which determines the irrigation demand. As underscored in the literature, Penman-Monteith method which is a combination of aerodynamic and energy balance method is widely used and accepted as the method of estimation of ET. However, the application of Penman-Monteith relies on many climate parameters such as relative humidity, solar radiation, temperature, and wind speed. Therefore, there exists a need to determine the parameters that are most sensitive and correlated with dependent variable ( …

A Spatial Evapotranspiration Tool At Grid Scale, Sivarajah Mylevaganam, Chittaranjan Ray

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

The drastic decline in groundwater table and many other detrimental effects in meeting irrigation demand, and the projected population growth have force to evaluate consumptive use or evapotranspiration (ET), the rate of liquid water transformation to vapor from open water, bare soil, and vegetation, which determines the irrigation demand. As underscored in the literature, Penman- Monteith method which is based on aerodynamic and energy balance method is widely used and accepted as the method of estimation of ET. However, the estimation of ET is oftentimes carried out using meteorological data from climate stations. Therefore, such estimation of ET may vary …

2016 Annual Report Building Drought Resilence, Kelly Smith

National Drought Mitigation Center: Publications

CONTENTS

04 From the Director

05 U.S. Drought Monitor puts national conversation on same page

06 Bringing the USDM to the U.S. Virgin Islands

07 Centers lead drought project in the Middle East and North Africa region

10 Drought impact archive updates make finding local data easier

11 National Drought Mitigation Center, tribes partner to assess climate vulnerability

12 Drought guidebook comprehensive catalog of indicators

13 Caribbean nations advance drought preparedness

14 By the numbers: A look at the NDMC in 2016

16 Where we worked in 2016

18 By the numbers: The NDMC’s 20-year footprint

19 DrIVER keeps eye …

Studies On Hydroxyl Radical Formation And Correlated Photoflocculation Process Using Degraded Wood Leachate As A Cdom Source, Luni Sun, Kenneth Mopper

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

In this study, we examined hydroxyl radical (•OH) formation with respect to photoreactivity of colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM), the Fenton reaction, and photoflocculation using leachate from decaying wood. The relationship between •OH photoproduction rate and leachate optical properties (UV-visible absorption and fluorescence excitation-emission matrices (EEMS)) was studied during irradiation using a UV solar simulator. The results showed that the •OH photochemical formation rate is strongly related to humic-like fluorescence as characterized by parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC), and that these fluorescence components are more photolabile than most of the other CDOM components. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) indicated the photodegradation …

Measurement Of Antioxidant Activity Toward Superoxide In Natural Waters, D. Whitney King, Emma Berger, Zachary Helm, Eleanor Irish, Kenneth Mopper

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Antioxidants are a class of molecules that provide a protective function against reactive oxygen species (ROS) in biological systems by out competing physiologically important molecules for ROS oxidation. In natural waters, the reactivity of antioxidants gives an estimate of oxidative stress, and may determine the reactivity and distribution of reactive oxidants. We present an analytical method to measure antioxidant activity in natural waters through the competition between ascorbic acid, an antioxidant, and MCLA, a chemiluminescent probe for superoxide. A numerical kinetic model of the analytical method has been developed to optimize analytical performance. Measurements of antioxidant concentrations in pure and …

The Conflict Resolution Case Study In Urban Life: Bull Run Watershed Case, Chang-Yu Hong

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

The City of Portland and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service are working together, along with citizens, to formulate a comprehensive new policy to guide joint management of the Bull Run watershed at Mt. Hood National Forest. This process has brought about four decades of conflict, resulting from differences between the federal view of multiple use and the local view of exclusive use for producing high quality water. The new policy is being formulated by the City of Portland and the Forest Service through negotiation of a comprehensive Memorandum of Understanding that structures the parties’ roles, responsibilities, …

Climate-Relevant Land Use And Land Cover Change Policies, Rezaul Mahmood, Roger A. Pielke Sr., Clive Mcalpine

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Personnel Publications

Both observational and modeling studies clearly demonstrate that land-use and land-cover change (LULCC) play an important biogeophysical and biogeochemical role in the climate system from the landscape to regional and even continental scales. Without comprehensively considering these impacts, an adequate response to the threats posed by human intervention into the climate system will not be adequate. Public policy plays an important role in shaping local- to national-scale land-use practices. An array of national policies has been developed to influence the nature and spatial extent of LULCC. Observational evidence suggests that these policies, in addition to international trade treaties and protocols, …

Support For Drought Response And Community Preparedness: Filling The Gaps Between Plans And Action, Kelly Helm Smith, Crystal J. Stiles, Michael Hayes, Christopher Carparelli

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Personnel Publications

This chapter examines which levels of government handle various aspects of drought, as well as interactions between levels of government, providing examples from states across the western United States. It also takes a look at aspects of drought that fall outside traditional lines of authority and disciplinary boundaries. As part of a discussion on how states support local drought response, the chapter details and contrasts how California and Colorado track public water supply restrictions, and describes Colorado’s process for incorporating input from river basins across the state into its water plan. Case studies focus on drought planning in the Klamath …