Digital Commons Network^™

Rehydrating The Landscape At Yanget, Geraldton, Western Australia, Jamie Bowyer, Rod O'Bree

Natural resources published reports

Rod and Bridie O’Bree’s farm is 25 km east of Geraldton in the Northern Agricultural Region of Western Australia. The long-term rainfall average is 486 mm although that has dropped to 354 mm over the last 30 years. They run a 150 head beef cattle herd, fatten 500-700 lambs annually and have a 40-60 head horse stud on the farm. They purchased the farm early in 2008 after one of the worst droughts in the area. There was little to no vegetation, brown or green, across the farm and all of the water from a 25 mm rain event ran …

Managing Water Resource And Land Use In Lower Rio Grande Valley Of South Texas Using A Groundwater Vulnerability Model, Leslie Soto Sanchez

Theses and Dissertations

The Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) has three Metropolitan Statistical Areas. These are Brownsville-Harlingen, Laredo, and McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, the latter with a population of around 1 million people and had an estimated growth of 62% from the period of 2010-2018 (Texas State Data Center, 2020). Low precipitations, intensive agricultures as well as growth in the manufacturing and tourism industries have resulted in an increasing concern of scarce water supply especially the region relies primarily on a single water source, the Rio Grande River. These circumstances could potentially disrupt economic development, negatively affecting the local manufacturing industry, agriculture, and the community. With …

How Do Genetic Relatedness And Spatial Proximity Shape African Swine Fever Infections In Wild Boar?, Tomasz Podgórski, Kim M. Pepin, Anna Radko, Angelika Podbielska, Magdalena Łyjak, Grzegorz Woźniakowski, Tomasz Borowik

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The importance of social and spatial structuring of wildlife populations for disease spread, though widely recognized, is still poorly understood in many host-pathogen systems. In particular, system-specific kin relationships among hosts can create contact heterogeneities and differential disease transmission rates. Here, we investigate how distance-dependent infection risk is influenced by genetic relatedness in a novel host-pathogen system: wild boar (Sus scrofa) and African swine fever (ASF).We hypothesized that infection risk would correlate positively with proximity and relatedness to ASF-infected individuals but expected those relationships to weaken with the distance between individuals due to decay in contact rates and …

Gravity Field Changes During Deep Exploitation Of The Coal Longwall And Their Relation To Stress Distribution And Seismic Activity, Łukasz Kortas

Journal of Sustainable Mining

Mining operations cause volumetric deformations within the rock mass and changes in its density, to which the gravimetric method is sensitive. These changes are particularly well seen in periodic measurements of the local gravity field. The paper analyses the relationship between the movement of a longwall in a coal seam and the change in the distribution of the gravity field in time and space observed on the ground surface. Relative gravimetric measurements were carried out in six series between 2018 and 2020; before the start of coal extraction, with the progress of the longwall and after the cessation of mining. …

Study Of The Relationship Of Tidal Changes In Gravity With The Time Of Mining Tremors In The Area Of The Mining Longwall In A Coal Mine – Case Study In Uscb, Poland, Sławomir Siwek

Journal of Sustainable Mining

Deep mining of coal deposits in Upper Silesia Coal Basin in Poland over several hundred years has led to disturbances in the natural state of equilibrium. As a result of changes in stress distribution, mass distribution (changes in gravity forces) and deformation of the rock mass, seismic tremors with energy reaching up to 10E+09J are generated. In this paper, the time of mining tremors occurrence is linked with changes in the gravitational load of the rock mass caused by litosphere tides, which are considered to be one of the factors leading to occurrence of natural seismic tremors. The analysis used …

Modeling Of Groundwater Potential Using Cloud Computing Platform: A Case Study From Nineveh Plain, Northern Iraq, Ali Za. Al-Ozeer, Alaa M. Al-Abadi, Tariq Abed Hussain, Alan E. Fryar, Biswajeet Pradhan, Abdullah Alamri, Khairul Nizam Abdul Maulud

Earth and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications

Knowledge of the groundwater potential, especially in an arid region, can play a major role in planning the sustainable management of groundwater resources. In this study, nine machine learning (ML) algorithms—namely, Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Decision Jungle (DJ), Averaged Perceptron (AP), Bayes Point Machine (BPM), Decision Forest (DF), Locally-Deep Support Vector Machine (LD-SVM), Boosted Decision Tree (BDT), Logistic Regression (LG), and Support Vector Machine (SVM)—were run on the Microsoft Azure cloud computing platform to model the groundwater potential. We investigated the relationship between 512 operating boreholes with a specified specific capacity and 14 groundwater-influencing occurrence factors. The unconfined aquifer in …

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Npl Site, Trec Inc., A Woodard And Curran Company

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Npl Site, Trec Inc., A Woodard And Curran Company

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Silver Bow Creek Butte Area Npl Site 2022 Draft Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit Interim Site-Wide Groundwater Monitoring Qapp. Consent Decree- Civil Action No. Cv 89-039-Bu-She, Josh Bryson

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Epa Region 8 Qa Document Review Crosswalk, Nikia Greene

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Npl Site, Trec Inc., A Woodard And Curran Company

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Atlantic Richfield Response To Approval Letter For The Final Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou), 2022 Draft Interim Site-Wide Groundwater Monitoring, Quality Assurance Project Plan (Qapp) (Dated November 23, 2021), Atlantic Richfield Company

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Response To Comments For 2020 Bpsou Uao Submittal: Revised Final Multi-Pathway Residential Metals Abatement Program Plan (Received January 21, 2021), Mike Mcanulty

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Spatial Distribution Of Pm2.5-Related Premature Mortality In China, Sheng Zheng, Uwe Schlink, Kin-Fai Ho, Ramesh P. Singh, Andrea Pozzer

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

PM_2.5 is a major component of air pollution in China and has a serious threat to public health. It is very important to quantify spatial characteristics of the health effects caused by outdoor PM_2.5 exposure. This study analyzed the spatial distribution of PM_2.5 concentration (45.9 μg/m³ national average in 2016) and premature mortality attributed to PM_2.5 in cities at the prefectural level and above in China in 2016. Using the Global Exposure Mortality Model (GEMM), the total premature mortality in China was estimated to be 1.55 million persons, and the per capita mortality was 11.2 …

Epa Region 8 Qa Document Review Crosswalk, Nikia Greene

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

2022 Final Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit Interim Site-Wide Surface Water Monitoring Quality Assurance Project Plan, Trec Inc., A Woodard And Curran Company

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Npl Site, Trec Inc., A Woodard And Curran Company

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Silver Bow Creek Butte Area Npl Site 2022 Draft Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit Interim Site-Wide Surface Water Monitoring Quality Assurance Project Plan. Consent Decree- Civil Action No. Cv 89-039-Bu-She, Josh Bryson

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

2022 Draft Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit Interim Site-Wide Surface Water Monitoring Quality Assurance Project Plan (Qapp), Trec Inc., A Woodard And Curran Company

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Soil Accretion And Mass Accumulation In A Scrub And Fringe Mangrove Forest In Biscayne Bay, Florida, Jessica A. Jacobs

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study estimated soil accretion and mass (organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen (TN), and total soil) accumulation in a scrub and fringe mangrove forest in Biscayne Bay, FL, to assess how forests of different morphologies (scrub vs. fringe) have kept pace with recently accelerating rates of sea-level rise. Accretion rates (AR) were estimated using the Constant Initial Concentration (CIC) model of lead-210 deposition and it was determined that the scrub forest has accreted at 1.3 ± 0.2 mm yr-1 over 75 years and the fringe forest at 2.8 ± 0.4 mm yr-1 over 92 years. The fringe forest estimate met …

California Drought Outlooks Based On Climate Change Models’ Effects On Water Availability, Lauren Lynam, Thomas Piechota

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Future streamflow in California is evaluated based on eight climate projections models and the effects on water availability. The unimpaired projected streamflow for eleven California rivers, collected from Cal-Adapt, are compared with unimpaired historical flows (1950–2015) using eight climate model projections (2020–2099) identified as representative as possible future scenarios; Warm Dry RCP 4.5, Average RCP 4.5, Cool Wet RCP 4.5, Other RCP 4.5, Warm Dry RCP 8.5, Average RCP 8.5, Cool Wet RCP 8.5, and Other RCP 8.5. Projected drought deficits (or magnitudes), durations, and intensities are statistically tested against historical values to determine significance of differences between past streamflow …

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Npl Site Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit, Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Pressure Retarded Osmosis: A Potential Technology For Seawater Desalination Energy Recovery And Concentrate Management, Joshua Benjamin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Currently, a significant challenge with reverse osmosis-based desalination is reducing the energy consumption and environmental impacts of the process. This project analyzed the viability of using pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO) for energy recovery in seawater desalination facilities using brine concentrate (the draw solution) and other water sources (the feed solution) such as wastewater effluent. The primary goal of this project is to decrease the cost and overall energy consumption of seawater desalination through PRO-based energy recovery. Process modeling, statistical and sensitivity analysis, energy and cost analysis, geospatial and GIS analysis, laboratory-scale testing, water quality analysis, SEM-EDS microscopy, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), …

Managing Water Stored For The Environment During Drought, Sarah Null, Jeffrey Mount, Brian Gray, Michael Dettinger, Kristen Dybala, Gokce Sencan, Anna Sturrock, Barton Thompson, Harrison Zeff

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Storing water in reservoirs is important for maintaining freshwater ecosystem health and protecting native species. Stored water also is essential for adapting to the changing climate, especially warming and drought intensification. Yet, reservoir operators often treat environmental objectives as a constraint, rather than as a priority akin to water deliveries for cities and farms. Reservoir management becomes especially challenging during severe droughts when surface water supplies are scarce, and urban and agricultural demands conflict with water supplies needed to maintain healthy waterways and wetlands. In times of drought, most freshwater ecosystems suffer.

This blog post examines 2021 water year actions …

Comments For: Draft Residential Metals Abatement Program Quality Assurance Project Plan (Non-Residential Parcels), Atlantic Richfield Company And Butte- Silver Bow County, Dated October 8, 2021, Nikia Greene

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Npl Site Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit, Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Exposure Of Predatory And Scavenging Birds To Anticoagulant Rodenticides In France: Exploration Of Data From French Surveillance Programs, Meg-Anne Moriceau, Sébastien Lefebvre, Isabelle Fourel, Etienne Benoit, Florence Buronfosse-Roque, Pascal Orabi, Barnett A. Rattner, Virginie Lattard

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Wild raptors are widely used to assess exposure to different environmental contaminants, including anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs). ARs are used on a global scale for rodent control, and act by disruption of the vitamin K cycle that results in haemorrhage usually accompanied by death within days. Some ARs are highly persistent and bioaccumulative, which can cause significant exposure of non-target species.We characterized AR exposure in a heterogeneous sample of dead raptors collected over 12 years (2008–2019) in south-eastern France. Residue analysis of 156 liver samples through LC-MS/MS revealed that 50% (78/156) were positive for ARs, with 13.5% (21/156) having summed second-generation …

Salient Experiences In Student Development: Impact Of An Undergraduate Stem Teacher Preparation Program, Amie S. Sommers, Kelly Gomez Johnson, Paula Jakopovic, Julio Rivera, Neal Grandgenett, John A. Conrad, William E. Tapprich, Christine E. Cutucache

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The need for a comprehensive, high-quality pipeline for the development of undergraduate pre-service teachers, especially those that represent a diverse student body, within STEM disciplines is acute. Here, we studied the NoyceSCIENCE program to determine the most impactful experiences offered to undergraduates through the lens of student development theory. We used qualitative coding to analyze data collected from journals (n = 29) written by students of varying backgrounds, and at varying levels within the program (i.e., the Scholar and Intern level) over a 3-year program running period. We observed that faculty mentorship, the ability of undergraduates to mentor others, volunteer …

Felsic Volcanism As A Factor Driving The End-Permian Mass Extinction, Hua Zhang, Feifei Zhang, Jiu Bin Chen, Douglas H. Erwin, Drew D. Syverson, Pei Ni, Michael Rampino, Zhe Chi, Yao Feng Cai, Lei Xiang, Wei Qiang Li, Sheng Ao Liu, Ru Cheng Wang, Xiang Dong Wang, Zhuo Feng, Hou Min Li, Ting Zhang, Hong Ming Cai, Wang Zheng, Ying Cui, Xiang Kun Zhu, Zeng Qian Hou, Fu Yuan Wu, Yi Gang Xu, Noah Planavsky, Shu Zhong Shen

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The Siberian Traps large igneous province (STLIP) is commonly invoked as the primary driver of global environmental changes that triggered the end-Permian mass extinction (EPME). Here, we explore the contributions of coeval felsic volcanism to end-Permian environmental changes. We report evidence of extreme Cu enrichment in the EPME interval in South China. The enrichment is associated with an increase in the light Cu isotope, melt inclusions rich in copper and sulfides, and Hg concentration spikes. The Cu and Hg elemental and isotopic signatures can be linked to S-rich vapor produced by felsic volcanism. We use these previously unknown geochemical data …

Informing Wetland Management With Waterfowl Movement And Sanctuary Use Responses To Human-Induced Disturbance, Fiona Mcduie, Austen A. Lorenz, Robert C. Klinger, Cory T. Overton, Cliff L. Feldheim, Joshua T. Ackerman, Michael L. Casazza

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Long-term environmental management to prevent waterfowl population declines is informed by ecology, movement behavior and habitat use patterns. Extrinsic factors, such as human-induced disturbance, can cause behavioral changes which may influence movement and resource needs, driving variation that affects management efficacy. To better understand the relationship between human-based disturbance and animal movement and habitat use, and their potential effects on management, we GPS tracked 15 dabbling ducks in California over ~4-weeks before, during and after the start of a recreational hunting season in October/November 2018. We recorded locations at 2-min intervals across three separate 24-h tracking phases: Phase 1) two …