Digital Commons Network^™

Developing A Drought Impact Reporting System For The Carolinas, Kirstin Dow, Greg Carbone, Gregg Garfin, Michael Crimmins

S.C. Water Resources Conference

2008 S.C. Water Resources Conference Addressing Water Challenges Facing the State and Region

A Dynamic Drought Tool For The Carolinas, Greg Carbone, Hope Mizzell, Jinyoung Rhee, Kirstin Dow

S.C. Water Resources Conference

2008 S.C. Water Resources Conference Addressing Water Challenges Facing the State and Region

Baselines Newsletter, No. 3, Fall 2008, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Baselines: The Natural Resources Law Center Newsletter (2007-2011)

No abstract provided.

Droughtscape, Fall 2008, Kelly Smith

DroughtScape: Quarterly Newsletter of the National Drought Mitigation Center (2007–2023)

Washington Workshops Scheduled for November

Look for Warm West, Rainy Gulf, Easing Drought

New Drought Monitor Authors Profiled

Drought Impact Awareness Growing: Weather Forecast Offices, Geographers Highlight Issue

NDMC Takes on New Projects

Hundreds+ See NDMC at Ag Trade Show

NDMC Welcomes New Employees

Droughtscape, Fall 2008, Kelly Smith

DroughtScape: Quarterly Newsletter of the National Drought Mitigation Center (2007–2023)

Washington Workshops Scheduled for November

Look for Warm West, Rainy Gulf, Easing Drought

New Drought Monitor Authors Profiled

Drought Impact Awareness Growing: Weather Forecast Offices, Geographers Highlight Issue

NDMC Takes on New Projects

Hundreds+ See NDMC at Ag Trade Show

NDMC Welcomes New Employees

Arctic Report Card 2008: Tracking Recent Environmental Changes, J. Overland, J. Walsh, M. Wang, J. Richter-Menge, J. Comiso, W. Meier, S. Nghiem, D. Perovich, A. Proshutinsky, J. Morison, I. Ashik, E. Carmack, I. Frolov, J. C. Gascard, M. Itoh, R. Krishfield, F. Mclaughlin, I . Polyakov, B. Rudels, U. Schauer, K . Shimada, V. Sokolov, M. Steele, M.-L. Timmermans, J. Toole, V. Romanovsky, R. Armstrong, A. Shiklomanov, D. Walker, G. Jia, J. Box, J. Cappelen, D. Bromwich, L.-S. Bai, T. Mote, B. Veenhuis, N. Mikkelsen, A. Weidick, Michael Svoboda, D. Russell, M.J.J.E. Loonen, C. Zöckler, B. Ebbinge, M. Simpkins, C.D. Sawatzky, J.D. Reist

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

There continues to be widespread and, in some cases, dramatic evidence of an overall warming of the Arctic system.

Atmosphere: 5° C temperature increases were recorded in autumn

Ocean: Observed increase in temperature of surface and deep ocean layers

Sea Ice: Near-record minimum summer sea ice extent

Greenland: Records set in both duration and extent of summer surface melt

Biology: Fisheries and marine mammals impacted by loss of sea ice

Land: Permafrost temperatures tend to increase, while snow extent tends to decrease The Arctic Report Card is introduced as a means of presenting clear, reliable and concise information on recent …

North Pacific Right Whale (Eubalaena Japonica) Seasonal And Diel Calling Patterns From Long-Term Acoustic Recordings In The Southeastern Bering Sea, 2000–2006, Lisa Munger, Sean Wiggins, Sue Moore, John Hildebrand

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

We assessed North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica) seasonal and daily calling patterns in the southeastern Bering Sea (SEBS) using long-term hydrophone recordings from October 2000 through January 2006. We detected right whale calls on the SEBS middle shelf (<100 m depth) as early as May, intermittently throughout summer and fall, and as late as December. Calls also were detected on one day in June 2005 on the SEBS slope (>1,000 m), but were not detected near Kodiak Island from April to August 2003. In months with calls, detections occurred on more days in July–October (≥6 d/mo), than from May to June or November to December (≤3 d/mo). Calls were clustered in time and were usually detected on 1–3 consecutive days with a median interval of 6.5 d …

Spatial Analyses And Repletion Of Gargathy Coastal Lagoon, Loreto Herraiz Gomez

OES Theses and Dissertations

Coastal lagoons and bays vary in shape and size in response to antecedent topography, geologic processes and sea level rise. Variations in shape and environmental conditions of coastal basins are believed to influence the distribution of benthic sub-environments and the exchange of water with the ocean and other adjacent coastal systems. Gargathy Inlet and its coastal lagoon vary spatially from the inlet, where the greatest depths are observed, to the mainland, dominated by shallow intertidal areas, colonized by marsh. Hypsographic and hydro-hypsographic analyses of Gargathy's coastal lagoon were the primary techniques applied to understand the relative distribution of the benthic …

Phylogeographical Structure And Evolutionary History Of Two Buggy Creek Virus Lineages In The Western Great Plains Of North America, Abinash Padhi, Amy T. Moore, Mary Bomberger Brown, Jerome E. Foster, Martin Pfeffer, Kathryn P. Gaines, Valerie A. O'Brien, Stephanie A. Strickler, Allison E. Johnson, Charles R. Brown

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Buggy Creek virus (BCRV) is an unusual arbovirus within the western equine encephalitis complex of alphaviruses. Associated with cimicid swallow bugs (Oeciacus vicarius) as its vector and the cliff swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) and house sparrow (Passer domesticus) as its amplifying hosts, this virus is found primarily in the western Great Plains of North America at spatially discrete swallow nesting colonies. For 342 isolates collected in Oklahoma, Nebraska, Colorado, and North Dakota, from 1974 to 2007, we sequenced a 2076 bp region of the 26S subgenomic RNA structural glycoprotein coding region, and analyzed phylogenetic relationships, …

Non-Blackbird Avian Occurrence And Abundance In North Dakota Sunflower Fields, Dionn A. Schaaf, George M. Linz, Curt Doetkott, Mark W. Lutman, William J. Bleier

The Prairie Naturalist

Sunflower fields are well-documented as foraging habitat for fallmigrating blackbirds (Family Icteridae). There is, however, a paucity of information on the use of sunflower fields by non-blackbirds. We assessed non-blackbird use of 12 ripening sunflower fields in the Prairie Pothole Region of central North Dakota. From mid-August to mid-October 2000, we counted 4,129 individual birds, consisting of 22 families and 61 species, in the sample fields and within 5 m of the field edges. We saw the largest number of birds from 18 September to 27 September. The Family Emberizidae (sparrows) accounted for 26% of the species and 20% of …

Estimating Soil Seed Bank Characteristics In Ponderosa Pine Forests Using Vegetation And Forest-Floor Data, Scott R. Abella, Judith D. Springer

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Research

Soil seed banks are important for vegetation management because they contain propagules of species that may be considered desirable or undesirable for site colonization after management and disturbance events. Knowledge of seed bank size and composition before planning management activities facilitates proactive management by providing early alerts of exotic species presence and of abilities of seed banks to promote colonization by desirable species. We developed models in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests in northern Arizona to estimate the size and richness of mineral soil seed banks using readily observable vegetation and forestfloor characteristics. Regression models using three or fewer predictors …

Defining A Fire Year For Reporting And Analysis Of Global Interannual Fire Variablility, Luigi Boschetti, David P. Roy

GSCE Faculty Publications

The interannual variability of fire activity has been studied without an explicit investigation of a suitable starting month for yearly calculations. Sensitivity analysis of 37 months of global MODIS active fire detections indicates that a 1-month change in the start of the fire year definition can lead, in the worst case, to a difference of over 6% and over 45% in global and subcontinental scale annual fire totals, respectively. Optimal starting months for analyses of global and subcontinental fire interannual variability are described. The research indicates that a fire year starting in March provides an optimal definition for annual global …

Wavelet Analysis For Aboveground Biomass Estimate In Temperate Deciduous Forests, Xiaofang Wei

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The ever-increasing concentration of anthropogenic greenhouse gases (C02, CH4, and CFCs) has been identified as a likely (greater than 90% confidence) cause of the observed increase of global mean temperatures since the mid-20th century (IPCC, 2007). The effect of human-induced climate change could be unprecedented and far-reaching. Carbon sequestration into trees and forests is an effective and inexpensive way for mitigating the C02 level in the atmosphere. Hence, accurate measurement of biomass will be of great importance to global carbon cycle and climate change. This study performed a wavelet-based forest aboveground biomass estimation approach in a temperate deciduous forest, the …

Future Changes In Snowmelt-Driven Runoff Timing Over The Western Us, Sara A. Rauscher, Jeremy S. Pal, Noah S. Diffenbaugh, Michael M. Benedetti

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Works

We use a high-resolution nested climate model to investigate future changes in snowmelt-driven runoff (SDR) over the western US. Comparison of modeled and observed daily runoff data reveals that the regional model captures the present-day timing and trends of SDR. Results from an A2 scenario simulation indicate that increases in seasonal temperature of approximately 3° to 5°C resulting from increasing greenhouse gas concentrations could cause SDR to occur as much as two months earlier than present. These large changes result from an amplified snow-albedo feedback driven by the topographic complexity of the region, which is more accurately resolved in a …

The Return Of Russia: Energy's Superpower Or Potemkin Village?, Greg R. Bayes

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

George Kennan's prediction of the Soviet Union's downfall may have, in retrospect, jinxed Russia on the one aspect that had historically worked in its favor: time. The confluence of time and space--brought about by an emphasis on territorial expansion-had greatly aided Russia when difficulties had rendered the variable of time indispensable. When confronted by the likes of Napoleon and Hitler, for example, Russia had at its disposal the luxury of always trading space for time. Although deprived of its empire, the issue of space is not an overarching concern for a Russia that today still spans from Vladivostok to St. …

Water Levels Effects On Overall Customer Satisfaction:, Crayton Pruitt

All Theses

Abstract The combination of hydroelectric power generation and the amount of precipitation results in fluctuating water levels on the United States Army Corps of Engineers: Lake Hartwell. Beginning in 2002 and continuing to the end of survey year 2004, water levels ranged from approximately ten feet below full pool to within half a foot under full pool. These fluctuations created difficulty for adjacent landowners to access sufficient water depths for recreational needs. The problems were magnified by a common perception that neighboring lakes', Lake Keowee and Lake Thurmond, water levels had not dropped as dramatically. This study examined the effects …

Timing And Cause Of Water Level Fluctuations In Kluane Lake, Yukon Territory, Over The Past 5000 Years, Janice Brahney, John J. Clague, Brian Menounos, Thomas W. D. Edwards

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

We reconstructed late Holocene fluctuations of Kluane Lake in Yukon Territory from variations in bulk physical properties and carbon and nitrogen elemental and isotopic abundances in nine sediment cores. Fluctuations of Kluane Lake in the past were controlled by changes in climate and glaciers, which affected inflow of Slims and Duke rivers, the two largest sources of water flowing into the lake. Kluane Lake fluctuated within a narrow range, at levels about 25 m below the present datum, from about 5000 to 1300 cal yr BP. Low lake levels during this interval are probably due to southerly drainage of Kluane …

The Economic Impact Of The Kentucky Green River Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (Crep), Lorie B. Owen

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This study examines the impact of the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) on fourteen Kentucky counties. The CREP program is an advancement of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) which began nationally in 1985. The primary intention of both programs is to improve water quality and reduce soil erosion. Thus, in order to stimulate conservation efforts, farmers are given an opportunity to remove land from current production and still reap financial benefits. When CREP was introduced to Kentucky in 2002, the program provided far more lucrative incentives than the parent program. In 2007 CREP underwent an amendment process that broadened the …

Droughtscape, Summer 2008, Kelly Smith

DroughtScape: Quarterly Newsletter of the National Drought Mitigation Center (2007–2023)

VegDRI Expands West

Spring Rains Ease Drought But CA Still Dry

Scholar Donates Books

NDMC Welcomes Employees Bathke, Nothwehr

Latest Workshop Info Up

State Lawmakers to Focus on Drought Planning

Decadal Variation -- Clues to Droughts and Floods?

Seasonal And Annual Variation In Body Condition Of Western Gray Whales Off Northeastern Sakhalin Island, Russia, Amanda L. Bradford, David W. Weller, Yulia V. Ivashchenko, Alexander M. Burdin, Robert L. Brownell Jr.

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

The western gray whale population (Eschrichtius robustus) is critically endangered and its potential for recovery is uncertain. Along with other natural and anthropogenic threats, western gray whales are susceptible to nutritional stress, known from regular observations of individual whales in compromised body condition. Thus, the ability to visually quantify the relative body condition of free-ranging western gray whales and evaluate how this condition varies seasonally and annually is needed. A photo-identification study of western gray whales on their feeding ground off the northeastern coast of Sakhalin Island, Russia, produced a large dataset of digital, film, and video images …

Darfur: Rainfall And Conflict, Michael Kevane, Leslie C. Gray

Economics

Data on rainfall patterns only weakly corroborate the claim that climate change explains the Darfur conflict that began in 2003 and has claimed more than 200,000 lives and displaced more than two million persons. Rainfall in Darfur did not decline significantly in the years prior to the eruption of major conflict in 2003; rainfall exhibited a flat trend in the thirty-years preceding the conflict (1972-2002). The rainfall evidence suggests instead a break around 1971. Rainfall is basically stationary over the pre- and post-1971 sub-periods. The break is larger for the more northerly rainfall stations, and is less noticeable for En …

Hazard Adaptations Along The Ohio River: A Case Study Of Bushman's Lake, Clark County, Indiana, Jennifer L. Lathem

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hazard researchers define a hazard as a threat to people and their belongings (Cutter 2001). An adaptation, for the purposes of this research, is any alteration, physical or behavioral, made by a person in which the person is better able to survive in their "hazardous" natural environment. The challenge facing individuals and communities is the ability to adapt to these hazards so as to continue with normal everyday life. People living near a waterway are faced with flooding, which becomes a hazard when it alters everyday social structures. The purpose of this study is to identify flood hazard adaptations in …

Brunswick Me: De-Militarizing The Bnas, Anne Holland, Brett Richardson, Richard Barringer

Planning

Closure of the Brunswick Naval Air Station in 2011 will have profound economic impacts on the entire mid-coast Maine region of Maine, with an estimated loss of 6,500 jobs and $330 million annual income. Throughout the Base Realignment and Closure process, Brunswick, the region, and the State of Maine followed federal rules and developed the federally-funded Brunswick Local Redevelopment Authority (BLRA) to plan for reuse of the 3300 acre base. In its planning process, the BLRA adhered to a number of well thought-out Guiding Principles, including the use of extensive public participation and the consideration of “smart growth” principles and …

Human–Wildlife Conflict And Gender In Protected Area Borderlands: A Case Study Of Costs, Perceptions, And Vulnerabilities From Uttarakhand (Uttaranchal), India, Monica V. Ogra

Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

Human–wildlife conflict (HWC) is a growing problem for communities located at the borders of protected areas. Such conflicts commonly take place as crop-raiding events and as attack by wild animals, among other forms. This paper uses a feminist political ecology approach to examine these two problems in an agricultural village located at the border of Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand (formerly Uttaranchal), India. Specifically, it investigates the following three questions: What are the “visible” and “hidden” costs of such conflict with wildlife? To what extent are these costs differentially borne by men and women? How do villagers perceive any such …

Carbon, Nitrogen, Sodium And Phosphorous Concentrations And Ratios In Spartina Alterniflora (Loiser) From Sites Of Various Freshwater And Nutrient Inputs In Coastal Louisiana Wetlands, Margaret Frances Williamson

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Environmental Response Management Application, Michele Jacobi, Nancy E. Kinner, Rob Braswell, Kurt Schwehr, Kimberly S. Newman, Amy A. Merten

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

The Coastal Response Research Center (CRRC), a partnership between the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration (ORR), is leading an effort to develop a data platform capable of interfacing both static and real-time data sets accessible simultaneously to a command post and assets in the field with an open source internet mapping server. The Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA™) is designed to give responders and decision makers ready access to geographically specific data useful during spill planning/drills, incident response, damage assessment and site restoration. In addition to oil spill and chemical release response, this …

Solving A Crisis: Water Quality & Storm Water Infrastructure In New York City, Kelsey Ripper

Student Theses 2001-2013

This past semester I have was given the privilege of working with an organization that is at the forefront of environmental protection and combating environmental injustices. This organization, the Bronx River Alliance, it fighting a battle against those that believe minorities and low-income groups have less of a right to live in a safe and healthy environment. The Bronx River Alliance created a set of guidelines and principles to operate under and then proceeded to support and develop projects as concrete solutions to environmental degradation in the Bronx. One of these projects, which is growing substantially, is the SWIM coalition. …

Getting Started With Psleuth, Qingfeng (Gene) Guan

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

SLEUTH1 is a Cellular Automata (CA) model of urban growth and land use change simulation and forecasting, developed in the Department of Geography, University of California, Santa Barbara (Clarke, Hoppen, and Gaydos 1997; Clarke and Gaydos 1998; Silva and Clarke 2002).

A classical Cellular Automata model is a set of identical elements, called cells, each one of which is located in a regular, discrete space, called cellspace. Each cell is associated with a state from a finite set. The model evolves in discrete time steps, changing the states of all its cells according to a transition rule, homogeneously and synchronously …

Getting Started With Prpl, Qingfeng Guan

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

pRPL is an open-source1 general-purpose parallel Raster Processing programming Library developed by Qingfeng Guan, in the Department of Geography, University of California, Santa Barbara. pRPL encapsulates complex parallel computing utilities and routines specifically for raster processing (e.g., raster data decomposition, distribution and gathering among multiple processors, inter-processor communication and data exchange), and provides an easy-to-use interface for users to parallelize almost any raster processing algorithm with any arbitrary neighborhood (or moving window) configuration. pRPL enables the implementation of parallel raster-processing algorithms without requiring a deep understanding of parallel computing and programming, thus it greatly reduces the development complexity. Moreover, even …

Sustainable Portland: Implementation Series 1, New England Environmental Finance Center

Climate Change

When the Sustainable Portland Task Force Report was released in November 2007, under the leadership of Mayor Jim Cohen, Portland Councilor Kevin Donoghue had the idea that students at the Muskie School of Public Service might be able to help implement recommendations from the report. It may have helped that Kevin was himself a graduate of the Community Planning and Development Master’s program at the Muskie School, but it was a good idea nevertheless. He approached Professor Sam Merrill in the CPD program, who spoke with the new Mayor Ed Suslovic about a possible partnership between the City and the …