Digital Commons Network^™

Ground-Arthropod Assemblage Response To Groundwater As A Metric Of Flooding In The Middle Rio Grande, Wesley Noe

Water Resources Professional Project Reports

Riparian zones are dynamic ecosystems, crucial for maintaining biodiversity and ecological balance, particularly in arid environments like the Middle Rio Grande (MRG). Ground arthropods, with their sensitivity to environmental changes, serve as bioindicators for assessing the impacts of water regime changes in the MRG, specifically flooding which was historically the main driver of the MRG ecosystem. This study investigated the responses of ground arthropod communities to fluctuations in groundwater and land management practices within MRG riparian habitats. Using a combination of pitfall trapping and habitat assessments, arthropod abundance was assessed in relation to depth to groundwater (DTG). Findings revealed shifts …

Spatial And Equity Analysis Of The Xeriscape Conversion Rebate Program In Albuquerque, Nm., Claire Jordy

Water Resources Professional Project Reports

With increasing water scarcity concerns threatening water supplies, many cities in the Western U.S. are focusing more effort on their water conservation programs to reduce consumptive water use. The Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (Water Authority) in Bernalillo County, NM has had several water conservation programs in place since the 1990s, and still, they aim to further reduce water consumption. The Xeriscape Conversion Rebate Program is one of the primary tools to achieve this goal, encouraging customers to convert their high water-use turfgrass lawns to desert-friendly xeriscaping by providing a one-time rebate on their water bill. This rebate program …

Storage Batteries (Renewable Energies/Cars) - Background For Cure "Battery Discharge" Project, Alexa Miner, Clarissa Cortez, James Gonzalez, Ryan Romine

Posters - 2025

In the past, and even today, Texas is known for its oil rigs and non-renewable energy sources, but it has also become a pillar for solar and wind turbine created power. As of late, the usage of these kinds of renewable resources has become essential to keep Texas as efficient as we once were in an ever growing world, where more people need more energy. However, a caveat concerning renewable energy resources is how available they are. At first, this unfamiliar territory led to people doubting its productivity when there was a lack of wind or sunshine. The solution to …

Tritium As A Model Tracer For Predicting Per- And Polyfluoroalkyl Exposure And Potential Ecosystem And Human Health Impacts, Erika Craig

Theses and Dissertations

For this thesis, historical tritium and per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) concentrations measured in surface waters of South Carolina at or near the Savannah River Site (SRS) were compared. Statistical linear regression analysis was used to assess the ability of tritium as a model tracer for predicting PFAS concentrations, specifically perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) distributions. Nine years of tritium monitoring data, (2014 – 2022), were analyzed and used in linear regressions to assess their association with PFAS levels of PFOA and PFOS measured during 2023, in and around the SRS and the adjoining Savannah River. Initially, a normality …

Draft Final Bpsou Insufficiently Reclaimed Sites Bres No. 158 - Waste Rock Dump Remedial Action Work Plan (Rawp), Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Assessing Groundwater Availability And Land Subsidence Risk Associated With Anthropogenic Activities In A Complex Aquifer System, Aya Bakr Attya Mohamed

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The Southern Hills aquifer system (SHAS) is the primary source of water in the Capital area of Louisiana. However, the overexploitation of freshwater-bearing aquifers and the presence of two active faults, the BR fault and the DSS fault, have resulted in groundwater depletion, saltwater intrusion, and increased the risk of land surface subsidence. Such critical issues pose substantial threats to groundwater availability and exert detrimental effects on the environment and urban infrastructures. This dissertation presents a comprehensive investigation of the SHAS for recognizing the consequences of groundwater depletion and its potential long-term impacts on groundwater availability and land stability. A …

Improving Wetland Revegetation In The Intermountain West: Wetland Manager And Native Plant Vendor Insights And Challenges, Annie L. Henry, Rae Robinson, Kate Sinnott, Mark W. Brunson, Emily E. Tarsa, Adrienne Ernst, Karin M. Kettenring

All Current Publications

Diverse native vegetation supports the many ecosystem services that wetlands provide to society. In degraded wetlands, the native vegetation often needs to be reseeded or replanted as part of the restoration process. However, such wetland revegetation practices of managers are relatively undocumented and the availability of native plants for wetland restoration from vendors has been unclear. We conducted surveys of wetland managers and wetland native plant vendors in the Intermountain West in 2023 to understand their practices, challenges, and perspectives. We found that wetland managers in the Intermountain West revegetate diverse habitats for important ecosystem services despite very limited budgets …

Innovative Genetic Methods For Predicting Microcystin Toxin Production In Cyanobacterial Blooms: Real-Time And Pre-Bloom Public Health Monitoring, Liyuan Hou

Spring Runoff Conference

EQL emphasizes an integrated engineering and science approach to the environmental quality of land, water, and air

Growing Roots: Water Conservation, Innovative Research And Public Education, Aurora Wallis Durfee

Spring Runoff Conference

Hydroponics allows for efficient, sustainable food production, using less water and space than traditional farming methods.

Davis Aqueduct Reach 1 - The Design And Construction Of Large Diameter Pipelines, Shane Mcfarland

Spring Runoff Conference

Designing and building a seismically resilient 72-inch pipeline.

District Overview: Weber Basin Water Conservancy District

Water And Journalism Panel, Heather May, Anastasia Hufham, Ben Winslow, Sheri Quinn

Spring Runoff Conference

Respondents’ sources of information on Great Salt Lake issues

What Does Our Water Year Look Like?, Candice Hasenyager

Spring Runoff Conference

Drip Drip Drop: Water in Utah

In Utah, we are either in drought or preparing for the next one

We Shall Have A Seat At The Table, Yanna Liang

Spring Runoff Conference

Uniqueness of ESE 

• The only environmental BS program in the nation that has “Sustainable” in its title.
• Sustainability in water treatment, air pollution control, energy production, resource re-utilization 

The Once And Future Variability Of Colorado River Water Resources, Balaji Rajagopalan

Spring Runoff Conference

The Plot – “Millennium Drought” Since 2000 

• Current Water Crisis 

Box Elder County - Countywide Water Master Plan, Quinn Dance

Spring Runoff Conference

Box Elder County Water Master Plan.

Project Background: 

Pre-Project Planning 

• Box Elder County General Plan Update 
• Steering Committee Organization 

Utah Water Research Lab, David Tarboton

Spring Runoff Conference

The concept of a dedicated water research laboratory evolved over years, with significant contributions from Vaughn E. Hansen, Dean F. Peterson, and George D. Clyde. The UWRL represents the culmination of a long-held vision at USU to advance water research.

Water Rights Update, Teresa Wilhelmsen

Spring Runoff Conference

State Engineer's Update:

2024-2025 Strategic Action Plan

2024 Updates by functional section:

• Adjudication
• Applications & Records
• Dam Safety & Stream Alterations
• Data Services
• Field Services
• Technical Services

Great Salt Lake: What’S Next?, Brian Steed

Spring Runoff Conference

Water security is key to living in the West.

Springscape: The Nature Coast And The Making Of Modern Florida, 1820s-Present, Douglas E. Ponticos

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

According to an oft-repeated tale, the Florida we know today emerged as a dreamscape of tourism, retirement, and suburbanization during the second half of the twentieth century. Growth victimized nature. This dissertation deeply unsettles that story. The history of the Nature Coast exposes not just nature’s agency but its primacy in the development of modern Florida.

Using surveys, maps, census data, personal correspondence, government documents, business records, timber reports, advertising materials, and hydrological research, this dissertation follows time and water across landscapes, into the Upper Floridan Aquifer, and back out again. Each chapter explores a single landscape within the Nature …

Assessment Indicator System For Siting Of Geologic Co2 Sequestration In Low-Porosity And Low-Permeability Saline Aquifers: A Case Study Of The Ordos Basin, Mou Yu, Wang Haofan, Shaanxi Key Laboratory For Carbon Neutral Technology, Carbon Neutrality College (Yulin), Northwest University, Xi’An 710069, China Xuejun, Ma Jinfeng, Luo Shaocheng, Li Lin, Ding Zhao

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objective CO₂ injection and geologic sequestration in deep saline aquifers as underground spatial resources represents an important means of achieving the targets of greenhouse gas emission reduction and carbon neutrality. Current assessments of the siting and potential for geologic CO₂ sequestration in saline aquifers focus primarily on the macroscopic basin and regional scales, with the assessment indicator system scarcely accounting for the suitability of low-porosity and low-permeability strata. Methods Using data from 192 wells in the Yusheng area, Ordos Basin, this study conducted the division and correlation of intervals bearing no hydrocarbon, carried out lithologic and physical interpretations …

Tundra Recovery Post-Fire In The Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska, Leah K. Clayton, Kevin Schaefer, Elizabeth E. Hoy, Clayton D. Elder, Nancy H. F. French, Gerald V. Frost, Et.Al.

Michigan Tech Publications

The extent of wildfires in tundra ecosystems has dramatically increased since the turn of the 21st century due to climate change and the resulting amplified Arctic warming. We simultaneously studied the recovery of vegetation, subsurface soil moisture, and active layer thickness (ALT) post-fire in the permafrost-underlain uplands of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in southwestern Alaska to understand the interaction between these factors and their potential implications. We used a space-for-time substitution methodology with 2017 Landsat 8 imagery and synthetic aperture radar products, along with 2016 field data, to analyze tundra recovery trajectories in areas burned from 1953 to 2017. We found …

Abiotic Variables Drive Different Aspects Of Fish Community Trait Variation And Species Richness Across The Continental United States, Alicia Mcgrew, Crysta Gantz, Brigid Wills, Benjamin Baiser, Sydne Record, Phoebe L. Zarnetske, Angela L. Strecker

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Intraspecific trait variation (ITV) is an increasingly important aspect of biodiversity and can provide a more complete perspective on how abiotic and biotic processes affect individuals, species' niches and ultimately community-level structure than traditional uses of trait means. Body size serves as a proxy for a suite of traits that govern species' niches. Distributions of co-occurring species body sizes can inform niche overlap, relate to species richness and uncover mechanistic drivers of diversity. We leveraged individual-level body size (length) in freshwater fishes and environmental data from the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) for 17 lakes and streams in the contiguous …

Utilizing Deep Learning And Object-Based Image Analysis To Search For Low-Head Dams In Indiana, Usa, Brian M. Crookston, Caitlin R. Arnold

Publications

Although low-head dams in the USA provide water supply, irrigation, and recreation opportunities, many are unknown by regulators. Unfortunately, hundreds of drownings occur each decade at these dams from an entrapment current that can form immediately downstream. To explore the ability of deep learning to scan large areas of terrain to identify the locations of low-head dams, ArcGIS Pro and embedded deep learning models for object-based image analysis were investigated. The State of Indiana low-head dam dataset was selected for model training and validation. Aerial imagery (leaf-off conditions) captured from 2016 to 2018 for the nearly 94,000 km² area …

Forb Diversity Globally Is Harmed By Nutrient Enrichment But Can Be Rescued By Large Mammalian Herbivory, Rebecca A. Nelson, Lauren L. Sullivan, Erika I. Hersch-Green, Eric W. Seabloom, Elizabeth T. Borer, Pedro M. Tognetti, Peter B. Adler, Lori Biederman, Miguel N. Bugalho, Maria C. Caldeira, Juan P. Cancela, Luísa G. Carvalheiro, Jane A. Catford, Chris R. Dickman, Aleksandra J. Dolezal, Ian Donohue, Anne Ebeling, Nico Eisenhauer, Kenneth J. Elgersma, Anu Eskelinen, Catalina Estrada, Magda Garbowski, Pamela Graff, Daniel S. Gruner, Nicole Hagenah, Sylvia Haider, W. Stanley Harpole, Yann Hautier, Anke Jentsch, Nicolina Johanson, Sally E. Koerner, Lucíola S. Lannes, Andrew S. Macdougall, Holly Martinson, John W. Morgan, Harry Olde Venterink, Devyn Orr, Brooke B. Osborne, Pablo L. Peri, Sally A. Power, Xavier Raynaud, Anita C. Risch, Mani Shrestha, Nicholas G. Smith, Carly J. Stevens, G. F. Ciska Veen, Risto Virtanen, Glenda M. Wardle, Amelia A. Wolf, Alyssa L. Young, Susan P. Harrison

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Forbs (“wildflowers”) are important contributors to grassland biodiversity but are vulnerable to environmental changes. In a factorial experiment at 94 sites on 6 continents, we test the global generality of several broad predictions: (1) Forb cover and richness decline under nutrient enrichment, particularly nitrogen enrichment. (2) Forb cover and richness increase under herbivory by large mammals. (3) Forb richness and cover are less affected by nutrient enrichment and herbivory in more arid climates, because water limitation reduces the impacts of competition with grasses. (4) Forb families will respond differently to nutrient enrichment and mammalian herbivory due to differences in nutrient …

System Change, Not Climate Change: Collaborative Development Of A Few Nexus Experiential Learning Course For A Justice-Centered Comparative Study Abroad Program, Sonya Ahamed

National Collaborative for Research on Food, Energy, and Water Education (NC-FEW)

The International Honors Program (IHP) on Climate Change: The Politics of Land, Water and Energy Justice has been offered by the School for International Training (SIT) since 2013. This thematic multidisciplinary program currently travels to Morocco, Nepal, and Ecuador for one month each, introducing students to local food, water, and energy challenges in the context of a changing climate. In updating the program following its relaunch in 2023, renewed attention was given to the food, energy, and water nexus from a comparative perspective across and within these countries. This presentation will focus on the development of experiential learning cycles for …

The Sustainability Stones: Culturally Embedded Conservation Strategies And Their Vulnerability In Maupiti, French Polynesia, Russell Fielding, Fiona Gimenez

Honors College Faculty Publications

This paper explores culturally embedded conservation strategies through the lens of the traditional agroforestry and fisheries cycles in Maupiti, French Polynesia. By pairing certain breadfruit cultivars with specific fish species, the island’s community created a culinary system that regulates the seasonal consumption of marine resources, making the sustainable use of those resources more likely. While modern pressures such as reduced breadfruit diversity, competition with imported foods, and climate change have weakened these traditional practices, they remain an example of local ecological knowledge guiding conservation. The study highlights the threat of losing sustainable resource-use practices and biodiversity as both biodiversity and …

Predicting Freshwater Spring Distribution Using Maxent Modeling: A Case Study In Groundwater Management Area 9 (Gma-9), Texas, Zayed Mallick

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Freshwater springs are one of the most vital groundwater sources and they have been a reliable water source for mining, irrigation, drinking, and farming, particularly in hot and arid regions like Groundwater Management Area-9 (GMA-9), Texas. However, excessive groundwater extraction, climate change, and environmental degradation have created tremendous stress on the sustainability of freshwater springs and as a result, they might not be able to meet the future water demand. This study uses the Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) model to predict the distribution of springs in GMA-9 and to identify the key topographic and climatic factors influencing their occurrence. This study …

Challenges In Artisanal Small-Scale Gold Mining: Perspectives And Transformations To Sustainability Along Br-163 In Brazil, Carlos Henrique Xavier Araujo, Irfan Ullah, Giorgio De Tomi

Journal of Sustainable Mining

Artisanal Small-scale Gold Mining (ASGM) is a sector beset with unique and complex challenges. Recent literature highlights the growing acknowledgment of the critical need for reforms in how the ASGM industry interacts with communities and the environment. Discussions about sustainable transformations go beyond theoretical and conceptual borders, attempting to understand how local transformative events might reflect global developments. Thus, the goal of this article is to give an analysis from the perspective of the actors participating in artisanal gold mining activities. A survey was carried out along BR-163, which runs from Sinop (Mato Grosso) to Santarém (Pará). Fifty-five (55) interviews …

Fostering & Understanding Diversity Within The Ant Microbiome & Research Group, Manuela O. Ramalho

Sustainability Research & Practice Seminar Presentations

Dr. Manu Ramalho of the Biology Department presents: Fostering and understanding diversity: within the ant microbiome and our research group.

Magnetic And Optical Properties Of Airborne Dust Particles Nearby Coal-Fired Power Plants In Upper Silesia, Poland: A Mineralogical, Petrographical And Chemical Approach, Chrysoula Chrysakopoulou, Konstantinos Perleros, Małgorzata Wojtaszek-Kalaitzidi, Lambrini Papadopoulou, Nikolaos Kantiranis, Stavros Kalaitzidis

Journal of Sustainable Mining

Coal mining and exploitation pose certain challenges in terms of environmental management. The objective of this research is the study of airborne dust from Knurow region, Southern Poland, aiming to identify the level and the features of anthropogenic particles, mostly in the form of fly ash. Two samples collected from a domestic gutter system were analysed regarding their mineralogical, chemical and petrographical features, emphasizing the magnetic fraction and the carbonized organic particles. The airborne dust contains 22 wt.% of fossil and fresh organic matter, whereas the major mineralogical phase is magnetite. The magnetic fraction (up to 3 wt.%) appears in …