Environmental Monitoring Commons^™

Heavy Metals In Particulate Matter In Spokane County, Delaney M. White

2020 Symposium Posters

Heavy metals in particulate matter (e.g., dust) have multiple negative health ramifications for humans including cancer, infertility, and reduced lung function. The Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency (SRCAA) has seven air quality monitoring stations around Spokane County to measure total levels of PM2.5 (particles with a diameter less than 2.5 micrometers) and PM10 (particles with a diameter less than 10 micrometers). For comparison, the width of a human hair is between 50 and 70 micrometers. The objective of this research is to examine the heavy metal composition of the particulate matter including elements such as lead, copper ...

Sandy Buck '78: Seeing Light Amidst The Gloom, Gerry Boyle

Colby Magazine

"If you look at the macro you could come to a grinding halt and throw your hand up. But when you look at the local, and even state and regional levels, there are reasons for hope." -Sandy Buck '78

Evaluating The Success Of Compensatory Wetland Mitigation In The California Coastal Zone, Tommy Alexander

Master's Projects and Capstones

Compensatory mitigation is a practice whereby a government agency requires the creation, restoration, enhancement, or preservation of ecological resources to offset unavoidable adverse impacts to environmentally sensitive habitat caused by some form of development. Compensatory wetland mitigation programs have slowed the rate of wetland loss in California and elsewhere, but they have largely failed to offset impacts with a sufficient amount of functional mitigation acreage. In California, more than 90% of the state’s historical wetlands have been drained, diked, filled, or dredged over the past 100 years. This report evaluates the success of compensatory wetland mitigation required by the ...

A Comparison Of Fuel Reduction Methods For Wildfire Risk Management And Climate Change Resiliency In Mixed Conifer Forests In The Sierra Nevada, Heather Navle

Master's Projects and Capstones

Wildfires in the mixed conifer forests of California’s Sierra Nevada have been a common and natural disturbance for thousands of years, historically occurring every 3 to 30 years. The flora and fauna of the mixed conifer forest have evolved to depend on low to moderate severity wildfires for reproduction, foraging, and habitat. However, the Sierra Nevada has experienced dramatic environmental changes over the past ~150 years as a result of three main factors: wildfire suppression, climate change, and habitat loss. Because of the threat wildfires pose to human lives, property and timber harvest, they have been suppressed to an ...

What Is The U.S. Drought Monitor?, National Drought Mitigation Center

Publications of the National Drought Mitigation Center

The USDA uses the map as a trigger for programs that help agricultural producers recover from drought and other natural disasters:

Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP)

Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm Raised Fish Program (ELAP)

Fast-Track Secretarial Disaster Declarations

Emergency Loans Program

The U.S. Drought Monitor Network: Improving Drought Early Warning, The U.S. Drought Monitor Network

Publications of the National Drought Mitigation Center

WHAT IS THE U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR NETWORK?

WHO ARE THE OBSERVERS?

WHAT BENEFITS?

The network in action

HOW DOES IT WORK?

WHO CREATES THE MAP?

Massive Peatland Carbon Banks Vulnerable To Rising Temperatures, A. M. Hopple, R. M. Wilson, M. Kolton, Cassandra A. Zalman, J. P. Chanton, J. Kostka, P. J. Hanson, Jason K. Keller, S. D. Bridgham

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Peatlands contain one-third of the world’s soil carbon (C). If destabilized, decomposition of this vast C bank could accelerate climate warming; however, the likelihood of this outcome remains unknown. Here, we examine peatland C stability through five years of whole-ecosystem warming and two years of elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations (eCO₂). Warming exponentially increased methane (CH₄) emissions and enhanced CH₄ production rates throughout the entire soil profile; although surface CH₄ production rates remain much greater than those at depth. Additionally, older deeper C sources played a larger role in decomposition following prolonged warming. Most troubling ...

Shifting Public Perception: Climate Change Means Living With Fire And Smoke, Robert Froembling

Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental & Innovation Law

The urgency to prepare for the climate crisis has never been greater. We are currently living in the sixth mass extinction and the effects are only going to accelerate. We will inherit more wildfires, larger wildfires, and more frequent wildfires.

This piece is not meant to stoke fear in its readers or be depressing, but to shift public perception on what our future holds by evaluating the laws and science presented to us. This piece will look at regional and federal regulations and assess the increased rate of forest fires and the grave public health concerns from stagnant smoke specifically ...

Fagus Sylvatica (European Beech) Id #1025, Michaela Cartier

BIO 140 Arboretum Project

Location: between McKillop Library and Shepard Avenue

Building Adaptive Capacity In Tribal Communities Of The Missouri River Basin To Manage Drought And Climate Extremes: A Case Study From The Wind River Indian Reservation, Crystal J. Stiles, Natalie Umphlett, Mitch Cottenoir

HPRCC Personnel Publications

Native American peoples of the Northern and Central Plains have long endured harsh climate conditions, such as floods and droughts, and they possess valuable traditional knowledges that have enhanced their resilience to these extreme events. However, in recent times, limited capacity to adapt to a rapidly changing climate combined with a lack of resources have increased tribes’ vulnerability to climate extremes and their associated impacts. In response, a number of projects have been developed to assist tribes with their self-identified climate- and drought-related needs, particularly in the context of on-reservation decision-making. In this case study, we present an engagement strategy ...

Establishing Pastoralist Monitoring Sites In The Grasslands: A Guide For Pastoralists, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development

All other publications

This guide is for lessees and station managers who wish to establish rangeland condition monitoring programs for their pastoral leases. The guide outlines the main principles to consider for establishing monitoring sites, and the collecting and recording data to monitor changes over time of rangeland condition within a grassland environment.

Identifying and ongoing monitoring of representative sites can be used to objectively assess the effect of livestock numbers, fire and seasonal conditions on the health of the perennial vegetation and soil. Importantly, monitoring can assist lessees demonstrate whether their current land management practices are appropriate for achieving acceptable rangeland condition.

Soil Amendment And Soil Testing As Nutrient Reduction Strategies For The Peel Integrated Water Initiative, Robert Summers, Peta Richards, David Weaver, David Rowe

Resource management technical reports

The Transform Peel program focuses on 42 000 hectares (ha) due east of Mandurah called the Peel Food Zone, 75 kilometres (km) south of Perth in the shires of Murray and Serpentine Jarrahdale and includes an assessment of intensified and enclosed agriculture and a business park. The Peel Integrated Water Initiative was developed through Transform Peel to identify water sources and minimise the effect of these projects on water quality by reducing the nutrient loads discharged into the Peel–Harvey Estuarine System, which has been suffering from poor water quality for this reason.

The mineral sand miner MZI Resources Pty ...

Changes In Land Use Land Cover (Lulc), Surface Water Quality And Modelling Surface Discharge In Beaver Creek Watershed, Northeast Tennessee And Southwest Virginia, Tosin James

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Beaver Creek is an impaired streams that is not supporting its designated use for recreation due to Escherichia coli (E.coli), and sediment. To address this problem, this thesis was divided into two studies.

The first study explored changes in Land Use Land Cover (LULC), and its impact on surface water quality. Changes in E.coli load between 1997-2001 and 2014-2018 were analyzed. Also, Landsat data of 2001, and 2018 were examined in Terrset 18.31. Mann-Whitney test only showed a significant reduction in E.coli for one site. Negative correlation was established between E.coli load, and Developed LULC ...

Greenhouse Gas Inventory And Climate Action Plan For Armstrong Township, Pennsylvania, Shian Knouse

Senior Scholars Day

Abstract A greenhouse gas inventory was conducted in Armstrong Township, Pennsylvania in the fall of 2019 and a partial draft of a climate action plan containing suggested mitigation actions to decrease greenhouse gas emissions in the jurisdiction followed using the results of the inventory. The inventory shows the following distribution of emissions: the transportation sector with 82.50% followed by the residential energy sector with 10.89%, the commercial energy sector with 3.65%, the solid waste sector with 1.65%, the industrial energy sector with 0.91%, and the water and wastewater sector with 0.38%. In total, Armstrong ...

Chamaecyparis Pisifera (Sawara Falsecypress) Id #992, Garrett Moen

BIO 140 Arboretum Project

Diameter at breast height: .4318 m

Height: 30 m

Age Class: Mature

Condition: Good

Quercus Robur (English Oak), Sydney Ranalletti

BIO 140 Arboretum Project

Location: Lawn of the Young Building on Bellevue Avenue

Fagus Sylvatica Var. Laciniata (Fernleaf Beech) Id #1048, Andrea Connors

BIO 140 Arboretum Project

Location: Lawrence Avenue behind McKillop Library

Fagus Sylvatica (European Greenleaf Beech) Id #1051, Sophie Beauchesne

BIO 140 Arboretum Project

Location: Behind the garden outside of Gerety Hall

Height: 8 m

Diameter at breast height: 76.3 cm

Chamaecyparis Obtusa (False Cypress-Hinoki) Id #982, Samuel Johnson

BIO 140 Arboretum Project

Location: By the Misto Gatehouse in front of McAuley Hall

Height: 33.4 ft

Acer Pseudoplatanus (Maple-Sycamore) Id #570, Caitlyn Rubino

BIO 140 Arboretum Project

Location: the lawn on Watts-Sherman along Victoria Avenue

Radius of crown: 10 m

Height: 20 m

Diameter at breast height: 40 cm

Age: Mature

Condition: Poor