Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Physical and Environmental Geography Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 7 of 7

Full-Text Articles in Physical and Environmental Geography

Investigating The Impact Of Restricted Irrigation Practices On Soil Moisture Variability And Distribution In A Dry Farmed Vineyard Site, Boise, Idaho, J. Duffin, David Wilkins, J. Guenther Dec 2011

Investigating The Impact Of Restricted Irrigation Practices On Soil Moisture Variability And Distribution In A Dry Farmed Vineyard Site, Boise, Idaho, J. Duffin, David Wilkins, J. Guenther

David E. Wilkins

Changing climate in semiarid regions may result in increased water stresses for agricultural production as timing and form of precipitation may result in diminished surface water for irrigation. To prepare for these changing conditions, studies are being conducted on the possibility of dry farmed agriculture as an alternative to irrigated production. This study specifically investigates the ability to grow productive wine grapes with limited or zero irrigation in the Boise Front Foothills, West Foothills TIC Vineyard, located in a climate zone receiving less than 300 mm of annual precipitation. Traditional vineyard performance factors such as planting densities, soil type, rootstock, …


Sophomore Field Experiences As An Introduction To The Nature Of Geosciences: Data Collection And Analysis Using Dendrochronology, David Wilkins, M. Kunkel Dec 2011

Sophomore Field Experiences As An Introduction To The Nature Of Geosciences: Data Collection And Analysis Using Dendrochronology, David Wilkins, M. Kunkel

David E. Wilkins

Opportunities for field experiences are often presented as a primary reason that undergraduate students gravitate towards geosciences as a major field of study. What those students may not understand is that, for professional geoscientists, field experiences go beyond the freshman-level field trip, and students may overlook the processes of observation, data collection and analysis that are inherent to the science. The Department of Geosciences at Boise State has developed a set of sophomore field experience courses designed to "set the hook" into new majors and prepare them for field experiences in upper division coursework. These sophomore courses have been shown …


Professional Development For Graduate Students Through Outreach Partnerships With Science Learning Centers, Karen Viskupic, Jennie Rylee, Cindy Busche, Sara Focht, David Cannamela, Annelise Carleton-Hug, James Belthoff, David Wilkins Sep 2011

Professional Development For Graduate Students Through Outreach Partnerships With Science Learning Centers, Karen Viskupic, Jennie Rylee, Cindy Busche, Sara Focht, David Cannamela, Annelise Carleton-Hug, James Belthoff, David Wilkins

David E. Wilkins

With funding from the National Science Foundation’s Graduate STEM Fellows in K-12 Education program (GK-12), students from Boise State University’s graduate programs in biology and geosciences gain experience in curriculum development and delivery in a wide range of settings. The project uniquely partners graduate students with educators at three informal science centers that use their settings to focus on science and environmental issues of local, regional, and global importance. Two-three graduate students per year (GK-12 Fellows) are placed at each learning center where they work to create, modify, and deliver learning activities that incorporate local and regional themes as well …


Physiographic Factors Defining The Snake River Valley Ava; Beyond "Vin De Idaho", David Wilkins, Virginia Gillerman, Krista Shellie, Ron Bitner, Gregory Jones Apr 2011

Physiographic Factors Defining The Snake River Valley Ava; Beyond "Vin De Idaho", David Wilkins, Virginia Gillerman, Krista Shellie, Ron Bitner, Gregory Jones

David E. Wilkins

Beginning in 1971 with the first plantings of wine grapes, the wine and wine grape industry in southwest Idaho have grown to become significant contributors to the state economy with an annual impact of $75 million (Bierle et al., 2008). With around 1600 acres under cultivation in 50 vineyards producing at least 24 varietals (as of 2007), wine grapes are the state's second largest fruit crop in acreage, with the majority of the crop (USDA, 2008) being produced in the western Snake River Plain of southwestern Idaho and eastern Oregon. In April, 2007, a 21,400 sq. km area in this …


Geology And Geomorphology Of Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, Utah, R. Ford, S. Gillman, David Wilkins, W. Clement, K. Nicoll Dec 2009

Geology And Geomorphology Of Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, Utah, R. Ford, S. Gillman, David Wilkins, W. Clement, K. Nicoll

David E. Wilkins

No abstract provided.


Radiocarbon Chronology And Δ13c Analysis Of Mid-To Late-Holocene Aeolian Environments, Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas, Usa, David Wilkins, Donald Currey Mar 1999

Radiocarbon Chronology And Δ13c Analysis Of Mid-To Late-Holocene Aeolian Environments, Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas, Usa, David Wilkins, Donald Currey

David E. Wilkins

The Red Dunes of Guadalupe Mountains National Park are quartzose sand sheets and dunes stabilized by sparse plant cover. Stratigraphy, radiocarbon dating, and δ13C analysis were examined in two of the larger arroyos for correlating evidence of aeolian deposition, which in this basin is taken as an indication of arid conditions. Four quartz-sand lithostratigraphic units, representing intervals of aeolian activity, are identified. Radiocarbon dates provide constraint on the timing of the three youngest quartz-sand units. A mid-Holocene aeolian interval, represented by a single radiocarbon date of 6350± 70 BP, is interpreted as transitional to an altithermal regime. A neopluvial period, …


Timing And Extent Of Late Quaternary Paleolakes In The Trans-Pecos Closed Basin, West Texas And South-Central New Mexico, David Wilkins, Donald Currey Apr 1997

Timing And Extent Of Late Quaternary Paleolakes In The Trans-Pecos Closed Basin, West Texas And South-Central New Mexico, David Wilkins, Donald Currey

David E. Wilkins

The Trans-Pecos Closed Basin is a hydrographically closed region covering 20,000 km centered on Salt Basin, 160 km east of El Paso, Texas. Geomorphic and limnetic evidence have been used to identify four major highstands for Lake King during the last glacial maximum (LGM). Additional geomorphic features from a second, recently identified, paleolake, Lake Sacramento, have been found in the Beargrass subbasin, a nested subbasin approximately 75 km northwest of Salt Basin. Radiocarbon ages of the organic material in Lake King sediments date four abrupt climate changes and rapid lacustrine transgressions during the LGM with a quasi-periodicity of 2000 yr. …