Digital Commons Network^™

Record Hail Event – Examination Of The Aurora, Nebraska Supercell Of 22 June 2003, Jared Guyer, Rick Ewald

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

During the late afternoon and early evening hours of 22 June 2003, thunderstorms developed from central Nebraska into north central Kansas, quickly becoming severe in an environment favorable for supercell thunderstorms. On this evening, portions of central Nebraska and north central Kansas were affected by tornadoes, destructive hail, and severe flooding.
In particular, a supercell thunderstorm moved northeastward across the community of Aurora, Nebraska, producing extremely large hail and multiple short-lived tornadoes. A record setting hailstone was ultimately discovered in Aurora, measuring 7.0 inches (17.78 cm) in diameter with an 18.75 inch (47.63 cm) circumference. This hailstone broke the previous …

Avian Use Of Roadside Habitat In The Southern Drift Plains Of North Dakota And Implications For Cattail (Typha Spp.) Management, Bryan D. Safratowich, George M. Linz, William J. Bleier

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

We determined avian use of roadside rights-of-way to develop proper management strategies for the manipulation of roadside cattail. Cattail management is a technique used to reduce nesting and roosting habitat for problematic blackbird species, which might feed on sunflower crops in the vicinity of cattail-dominated wetlands. Thirty quarter sections (1 quarter section ≈ 64.75 ha) located in the Southern Drift Plains of North Dakota served as our study units. Roadside habitat along two 0.5 mile (-0.8 km) transects bordering these quarter sections was surveyed to assess avian use. Additionally, nest surveys were , conducted to provide an index of breeding …

Quantification Of Cattail (Typha Spp.) In The Prairie Pothole Region Of North Dakota In Relation To Blackbird Damage To Sunflower, Scott T. Ralston, George M. Linz, William J. Bleier

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Sunflower is an important crop for many farmers in the upper Midwest, especially in North Dakota and South Dakota. Blackbirds have been a major problem for the sunflower grower community. Bud depredation to a field can be devastating. The USDA-APHISWS is charged with reducing the conflict between the birds and the farmers. Many methods have been employed by Wildlife Services and other agencies to lessen the damage. One method is the reduction of the cattail (Typha spp.) habitat used by blackbirds in and around wetlands; however, cattails are used by other animals. Consequently, there is a need to insure …

Avian Use Of Harvested Crop Fields During Spring Migration Trrough North Dakota, Alegra M. Galle, George M. Linz, William J. Bleier

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Over the past century, the amount of mixed-grass prairie in North Dakota has diminished with a concomitant increase in land used for crop production. Consequently, the diversity of habitat available for migrant birds has decreased, and birds are now limited to choosing habitats that are uncharacteristic of those used during other times of the year. Because of the extensive agricultural production in this region, the value of harvested crop fields to spring-migrating birds was studied by examining avian habitat use in harvested fields to determine differences in bird use among these habitats. In the spring of 2003, 60 harvested fields …

Influences Of Land Use Patterns On Blackbird Abundance In The Prairie Pothole Region Of North Dakota, Greg M. Forcey, George M. Linz, William J. Bleier

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

One issue affecting sunflower growers in the upper Great Plains of North America is crop depredation by blackbirds. In this region, blackbirds annually destroy an average of $5.4 million of sunflower. To increase the understanding of how blackbirds are influenced by large-scale land-use patterns, we developed multiple regression models to explain how various land use patterns influence blackbird abundance. We used data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey and the USGS land cover assessment to develop regression models examining associations between land use characteristics and blackbird abundance. Both red-winged blackbirds and yellow-headed blackbirds were negatively associated with the amount …

Lean Energy Analysis: Identifying, Discovering And Tracking Energy Savings Potential, J. Kelly Kissock, John Seryak

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

Energy in manufacturing facilities is used for direct production of goods, space conditioning, and general facility support such as lighting. This paper presents a methodology, called lean energy analysis, LEA, for graphically and statistically analyzing plant energy use in terms of these major end uses.

The LEA methodology uses as few as 60 easily obtainable data points. Multivariable change-point models of electricity and natural gas use as functions of outdoor air temperature and production data are developed. The statistical models are used to subdivide plant energy use into facility, space-conditioning and production-related components.

These breakdowns suggest the savings potential from …

Wetland Basins For Saline Drainage Water Disposal Bodallin And Elachbutting Catchments, Eastern Wheatbelt, Western Australia, P De Broekert, N Coles

Resource management technical reports

This report provides an assessment of two large deep drainage schemes within the lower reaches of the Bodallin and Elachbutting Catchments nearby Merredin in Western Australia, wherein groups of isolated wetland basins have been utilised for evaporative saline drainage water disposal. In both cases, the storage capacity of the basins has been exceeded, leading to flooding and death of the surrounding native vegetation.

Dissolution, Reactor, And Environmental Behavior Of Zro2-Mgo Inert Fuel Matrix: Neutronic Evaluation Of Zro2-Mgo Inert Fuels, E. Fridman, A. Galperin, E. Shwageraus

Fuels Campaign (TRP)

Second task of the BGU part of “Dissolution, Reactor, and Environmental Behavior of ZrO₂-MgO Inert Fuel Matrix” project aims at evaluation of the fertile free fuel matrix composition effect on the fuel reactivity and corresponding reactivity limited burnup. Fertile free fuel with different MgO to ZrO₂ ratio in the matrix will require different PuO₂ loading in order to assure certain fuel cycle length. This is due to the fact that absorption cross section of Zr is slightly higher than that of Mg, although absorption in both of these elements is small compared to Pu. Therefore, the …

Benthic Biological Monitoring Program Of The Elizabeth River Watershed (2003), Daniel M. Dauer

Elizabeth River Reports

Executive Summary

Macrobenthic communities of the Elizabeth River watershed have been quantitatively sampled since summer 1999. This report presents the data from the fifth year of sampling in 2003. The three objectives of the Benthic Biological Monitoring Program of the Elizabeth River watershed are: (1) To characterize the health of the tidal waters of the Elizabeth River watershed as indicated by the structure of the benthic communities. ( 2) To conduct trend analyses on long-term data at 14 fixed-point stations to relate temporal trends in the benthic communities to changes in water and/or sediment quality. Trend analyses will be updated …

Unlv Magazine, Holly Ivy De Vore, Nancy Syzdek, Patrice E.M. Hollrah, Douglas Unger, Eugene Moehring, Gillian Silver, John F. Gallagher, Lori Bachand, Gian Galassi, Hal Rothman, Mark Hoversten, Phil Hagen, Donna Mcaleer, Suzan Dibella

UNLV Magazine

No abstract provided.

Development Of A Systems Engineering Model Of The Chemical Separations Process: Final Report, Yitung Chen, Sean Hsieh

Separations Campaign (TRP)

The whole chemical separation process is complex to the point that definitely requires certain level of systematic coordination. To perform smoothly and meet the target extraction rates among those processes, this research proposed a general-purpose systems engineering model.

A general purposed systems engineering model, Transmutation Research Program System Engineering Model Project (TRPSEMPro), was developed based on the above design concept. The system model includes four main parts: System Manager, Model Integration, Study Plan, and Solution Viewer. TRPSEMPro can apply not only to chemical separation process, but also a general system model.

Software engineering and Object Oriented Analysis and Design (OOA&D) …

Development Of A Systems Engineering Model Of The Chemical Separations Process, Yitung Chen, Sean Hsieh

Separations Campaign (TRP)

The whole chemical separation process is complex to the point that definitely requires certain level of systematic coordination. To perform smoothly and meet the target extraction rates among those processes, this research proposed a general-purpose systems engineering model.

A general purposed systems engineering model, Transmutation Research Program System Engineering Model Project (TRPSEMPro), was developed based on the above design concept. The system model includes four main parts: System Manager, Model Integration, Study Plan, and Solution Viewer. System Manager supervises all the case (problem) creation, and functionality definition. Model Integration identifies chemical extraction processes and their execution sequence. Study Plan is …

Abstracts Of Papers From 6th Annual Meeting, Baltimore 2004

Bird Strike Committee-USA/Canada Joint Annual Meeting: 6th (2004)

Abstracts of 39 papers and 19 poster presentations.

The Nadca Probe, Issue 235

The Probe: Newsletter of the National Animal Damage Control Association

Some Extension perspectives on Wildlife Damage Management
Last Free Issue!
Calendar of Upcoming Events
What is the cost of treating a rattlesnake bite?
Introduction to Precharged Pneumatics
"Animal Crackers" by Dexter K. Oliver
Deer-Information Crash Information and Research Center
Wildlife Damage in the News- Faulty Felines
Wild Jaguars photographed in southern Arizona: Endangered Species Lives South of Tucscon
Face-to-Face With Wildlife/Human Conflicts

Dissolution, Reactor, And Environmental Behavior Of Zro2-Mgo Inert Fuel Matrix: Quarterly Report, July 2004 To September 2004, Kenneth Czerwinski, Earl Wolfram

Fuels Campaign (TRP)

This project will examine inert fuels containing ZrO₂ and MgO as the inert matrix, with the relative amount of MgO varied from 30% to 70% in ZrO₂. Reactor physics calculations will be used to examine suitable quantities of burnable poisons from the candidate elements Gd, Er, or Hf with reactor grade Pu providing the fissile component, with up to 10 % of ²³⁹Pu. Ceramics will be synthesized and characterized based on the reactor physics results. The solubility the fuel ceramics, in reactor conditions, reprocessing conditions, and repository conditions, will be investigated in a manner to provide …

Dissolution, Reactor, And Environmental Behavior Of Zro2-Mgo Inert Fuel Matrix: Neutronic Evaluation Of Zro2-Mgo Inert Fuels, E. Fridman, A. Galperin, E. Shwageraus

Fuels Campaign (TRP)

This progress report presents results of analysis performed within the framework of “Dissolution, Reactor, and Environmental Behavior of ZrO₂-MgO Inert Fuel Matrix” project managed by University of Nevada at Las Vegas, Harry Reid Center for Environmental Studies.

The BGU working program includes the following four tasks:

1. Benchmark of computational tools

2. Determination of fissile Pu loading

3. Evaluation of burnable poison designs

4. Evaluation of reactivity feedback coefficients

This progress report presents the results of Task 1. The main objective of this task is to confirm the validity of the ELCOS ¹ code system for inert matrix …

Technical Assessment Of Natural Resource Management Threats And Options In The Northern Agricultural Region Of Western Australia, Lorinda Hunt, G Patterson, Northern Agricultural Catchments Council (Wa)

Resource management technical reports

Analysis of the risk of soil, land and water degradation within the Northern Agricultural Region of Western Australia. Natural resource issues discussed include: acid groundwater, acid sulfate soils, climate change, dryland salinity, flooding, herbicide resistance, non-wetting (water repellence), nutrient loss and eutrophication, remnant vegetation decline, soil acidity, soil fertility decline, soil structure decline, subsurface compaction, waterlogging, wind erosion and soil contamination.

An Audit Of The Uptake Of Agricultural Nutrient Management Practices In The Peel-Harvey Catchment, Kelly Lavell, Robert Summers, David Weaver, Martin Clarke, John Grant, Simon Neville

Conference papers and presentations

Recent funding through the Coastal Catchments Initiative aims to significantly reduce the discharge of nutrients to the waterways of the eutrophic Peel-Harvey catchment. A range of projects within this initiative have been developed, which include activities designed to develop, test and implement point and non-point source best management practices (BMP) for the control of nutrient export, and to audit the current levels of adoption of these practices. Landholders who manage approximately 30% of the catchment area have been interviewed under major BMP themes of fertiliser management, soil amendment, perennial pastures, riparian and water management, revegetation, irrigation management and effluent management. …

The Use Of Bauxite Residue To Control Diffuse Phosphorus Pollution In Western Australia – A Win-Win-Win Outcome, Robert Summers, Mark Rivers, Martin Clarke

Conference papers and presentations

The Department of Agriculture, Western Australia has been working with Alcoa World Alumina Australia Ltd for more than ten years investigating the potential to use bauxite refining residues as soil amendments for the poor, acidic, sandy soils of the Swan Coastal Plain in south west Australia. Regional waterways, especially the Peel Inlet and Harvey Estuary, have historically been susceptible to nuisance algal blooms fed by phosphorus in run-off from farmland and urban areas. Extensive laboratory, field and catchment-scale trials have shown the ability of soil amendment with fine bauxite refining residue (now trademarked in this context as Alkaloam™) to reduce …

Fisheries Research Report No. 145 - The Western Rock Lobster Fishery 1999/2000 To 2000/2001, C F. Chubb, E H. Barker

Fisheries Research Reports

Season 1999/2000 produced the highest catch in the history of the fishery of 14,500 tonnes following a high catch of about 13,000 tonnes in 1998/1999. The record season led to the highest ever catch in B & C zones of 4,500 and 8,300 tonnes respectively. The Abrolhos Islands fishery produced a catch of 1,800 tonnes, somewhat down on the previous seasons catch of 2,000 tonnes. The record catch was taken by a total of 594 vessels. Nominal fishing effort in 1999/2000 was 10,724 million pot lifts, slightly down on the previous season, which was 10,745 million pot lifts. The 2000/2001 …

Accuracy Of Neural Network Classifiers In Humid Tropical Areas, Genong Yu

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research develops a better understanding of the use of neural networks in the context of tropical land cover characterization using multiple scale remotely sensed data. Results of the research contributed to developing a robust neural network classifier suitable to use for humid tropical land cover classification in areas such as Altamira, Brazil. Research was focused upon the following: (1) performance ofneural networks with different ancillary data- such as DEM (digital elevation model) and its derivatives; (2) effect of spatial scale on neural network classifiers using remote sensing data from IKONOS, Landsat TM, ASTER, and MODIS; (3) accuracy of neural …

Taking Downtown To The Next Level: An Assessment Of The Downtown Chattanooga Plan For Sustainable Development, Jeffrey B. Bostick

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Today, many cities are looking to change the paradigm of development that is centered on economic progress at the expense of the environment. Land-use management schemes are inefficient. Central business districts have become abandoned and damaged areas. Revitalization has been the key to making positive changes. Chattanooga, Tennessee is one of the cities that has revitalized its central business district to bring new life, new development, and a place where people can coexist with the natural environment. The objective of this study is to assess sustainable development during the revitalization of the Chattanooga, Tennessee central business district. The revitalization of …

Vegetation Characteristics Associated With Small Mammal Populations In The Las Vegas Wash, Christine Therese Herndon

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Percent litter, average litter depth, percent bare ground, vegetation density, vegetation canopy, and distance to an ecotone boundary were measured and compared to small mammal capture locations in the Las Vegas Wash. Neotoma lepida appear to be greatly dependent upon the foliage litter of T. ramosissima. Alternatively, ecotone boundaries appear to be the most important factor affecting Dipodomys merriami distributions. Peromyscus eremicus distributions may be predicted based on vegetation density and increased canopy during shorter, winter torpor periods. Chaetodipus penicillatus were consistently associated with dense, seed-bearing vegetation, although C. penicillatus is extremely opportunistic and vegetation density should not limit their …

Pastoral Risk Management In Southern Ethiopia: Observations From Pilot Projects Based On Participatory Community Assessments, D. Layne Coppock, Solomon Desta, Seyoum Tezera, Rancis K. Lelo

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

The Borana pastoral system has come under increasing pressure as human populations grow and per capita availability of resources declines. Livestock exhibit large, periodic die-offs that threaten wealth accumulation and food security. Several types of interventions may improve risk management here. For example, there may be opportunity for some pastoralists to diversify their livelihoods. Here we report on a community-based process involving pilot projects begun since 2000. We have embraced Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) and Action Research (AR) as tools for investigation and empowerment of local people. Full PRAs were conducted for semi-settled communities, located near towns, to identify priority …

Advisory Circular: Hazardous Wildlife Attractants On Or Near Airports, David L. Bennett

Other Bird Strike and Aviation Materials

This Advisory Circular (AC) provides guidance on certain land uses that have the potential to attract hazardous wildlife on or near public-use airports. It also discusses airport development projects (including airport construction, expansion, and renovation) affecting aircraft movement near hazardous wildlife attractants. Appendix 1 provides definitions of terms used in this AC.

Oliver Ranch Core Group Meeting: July 20, 2004, Red Rock Desert Learning Center

Reports (RRLC)

1. Introductions (5 minutes)
2. Approval of Minutes from June 15 Meeting (5 minutes)
3. Review of Draft Talking Points/FAQ – Nancy Flagg (30 min)
4. Discussion of Wild Horse and Burro Facility – Billie Young (30 min.)
5. Standing Reports (30 minutes)
   A. Line and Space Update – Les Wallach/Henry Tom
   B. UNLV/CESU Update – Peg Rees/Nancy Flagg
   c. RRCNRA Capital Improvements Update – Mark Morse/Michael Reiland
6. ORSS Committee Reports (15 minutes)
   A. Design Oversight – David Frommer
   B. Educational Programs – Paul Buck
   C. Fund-Raising & Partnerships – Blaine Benedict
   D. NEPA – Charles Carroll
   E. Operations – Jack Ramsey
   F. Other Uses …

Double-Crested Cormorant Movements In Relation To Aquaculture In Eastern Mississippi And Western Alabama, Brian Dorr, D. Tommy King, Mark E. Tobin, J. Brent Harrel, Patrick L. Smith

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Concomitant with increasing numbers of the Double-crested Cormorant ( Phalacrocorax auritus ), catfish producers in eastern Mississippi and western Alabama have reported damage caused by cormorant predation. VHF telemetry was used to document movements of 25 cormorants from all known night roosts in the aquaculture producing areas of eastern Mississippi and western Alabama, January-April 1998. A total of 193 day locations and 396 night roost locations of the cormorants were obtained. Each cormorant was found in the study area for 57 ± 4 (SE) days. Each cormorant averaged three night roosts (range: 1-8) and spent 20 (±2) days at each …

Factors Related To Fecal Estrogens And Fecal Testosterone In California Spotted Owls, Brian E. Washburn, Douglas J. Tempel, Joshua J. Millspaugh, R.J. Gutierrez, Mark E. Seamans

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

We estimated concentrations of fecal reproductive steroid metabolites in free-ranging California Spotted Owls (Strix occidentalis occidentalis) during the breeding season. We collected fresh fecal samples (n= 142) from 65 individual owls in the Sierra Nevada during April–August of 2001. We developed and validated radioimmunoassay procedures to quantify fecal estrogen metabolites and fecal testosterone metabolites. We used an information- theoretic approach to identify factors that might influence fecal estrogen (E), fecal testosterone (T), and fecal estrogen:testosterone ratio (E:T ratio) levels during the owl’s breeding season. We hypothesized that factors related to sampling procedures, owl characteristics (sex, reproductive …

Monitoring Maize (Zea Mays L.) Phenology With Remote Sensing, Andrés Viña, Anatoly A. Gitelson, Donald C. Rundquist, Galina P. Keydan, Bryan Leavitt, James Schepers

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Monitoring crop phenology is required for understanding intra- and interannual variations of agroecosystems, as well as for improving yield prediction models. The objective of this paper is to remotely evaluate the phenological development of maize (Zea mays L.) in terms of both biomass accumulation and reproductive organ appearance. Maize phenology was monitored by means of the recently developed visible atmospherically resistant indices, derived from spectral reflectance data. Visible atmospherically resistant indices provided significant information for crop phenology monitoring as they allowed us to detect: (i) changes due to biomass accumulation, (ii) changes induced by the appearance and development of …

Silence Is Golden, Leaden, And Copper, Robert Repetto

Yale School of the Environment Publications Series

No abstract provided.