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An Evolutionary Polynomial Regression (Epr) Model For Prediction Of H2s Induced Corrosion In Concrete Sewer Pipes, Anna Romanova, Asaad Faramarzi, Mojtaba Mahmoodian, M. Amir Alani

International Conference on Hydroinformatics

The sulphuric acid is a known growing threat to concrete sewer pipes. Acid production is dictated by rapid urbanisation, increased use of hot water and discharge of toxic metals and sulphate containing detergents into the wastewater. Concrete sewer pipe corrosion due to sulphuric attack is known to be the main contributory factor of pipe degradation. Very little tools are available to accurately predict the corrosion rate and most importantly the remaining safe life of the asset. This paper proposes a new robust model to predict the sewer pipe corrosion rate due to sulphuric acid. The model makes use of a …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Regulatory Stormwater Monitoring Protocols On Groundwater Quality In Urbanized Karst Regions, Daniel C. Nedvidek

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Non-point pollution from stormwater runoff is one of the greatest threats to water quality in the United States today, particularly in urban karst settings. In these settings, the use of karst features and injection wells for stormwater management results in virtually untreated water being directed into the karst aquifer. Currently, no policies exist specifically to provide water quality protections to karst environments. This study utilized a combination of karst stormwater quality data, along with survey data collected from MS4 Phase II communities, and an analysis of current federal, local, and state water quality regulations, to assess the need for karst-specific …

Study On Water Age In An Estuary Using Three-Dimensional Models, Yuheng Ren, Binliang Lin, Jian Sun

International Conference on Hydroinformatics

The age of water (AW) concept is applied in the Pearl River Estuary to investigate the water exchange process in three-dimensional space and its seasonal variation. A three-dimensional AW model is built based on the advanced hydrodynamic model MIKE3, and the model has been verified against a field survey dataset in the Pearl River Estuary. Using this model, the spatio-temporal distributions of water age are numerically determined in response to hydrodynamic factors. The predictions indicate that the mean AW values inside the Pearl River Estuary during the wet season and the dry season are approximately 10 days and 25 days, …

Development And Testing Of Data Driven Nowcasting Models Of Beach Water Quality, Jainy Mavani, Lianghao Chen, Darko Joksimovic, Songnian Li

International Conference on Hydroinformatics

Beach water issues are gaining worldwide attention due to their impact on health and other environmental problems. The Ontario beaches require beach managers to issue swimming advisories when water quality standards are exceeded since users of recreational waters may be exposed to elevated pathogen levels through various point and non-point sources. Typical daily notifications rely on microbial analysis of indicator organisms (e.g. Escherichia coli), which require 18-24 hours to provide an adequate response. This research evaluated the use of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) and Evolutionary Polynomial Regression (EPR) for real time prediction of E.coli in the beach waters of Toronto …

Dynamic Condition Approach To Study The Self-Purification Capacity Of Colombian Water Bodies Case: Cauca River And Salvajina Dam, Alberto Galvis, Isabel Cristina Hurtado, Carlos Martínez-Cano, Juan Gabriel Urrego

International Conference on Hydroinformatics

The impact on water resources caused by municipal wastewater discharge has become a critical and ever-growing environmental and public health problem. In order to be able to efficiently address this problem, it is important to adopt an integrated approach that includes a decrease in and control of contamination at its source. These principles have been successfully applied in the industrial sector and now these concepts are also being applied to integrated water resources management. In this context the conceptual model of the Three Steps Strategic Approach (3-SSA) was developed, consisting of: 1) minimization and prevention, 2) treatment for reuse and …

Developing An Integrated Modelling System For Blue-Green Solutions, Christos Makropoulos, Evangelos Rozos, Cedo Maksimovic

International Conference on Hydroinformatics

Blue-green interventions represent the next level of integration for sustainable cities: that of an integrated urban water and urban green design, operation and management. The key concept is that a more holistic approach would present a win-win scenario, in which urban green would be utilized as infrastructure for water services (e.g. mitigating urban floods) while urban water infrastructure would be used as a source of irrigation for urban green, increasing their performance in a range of services including amenities, reducing heat island effects and increasing ecosystem services. However, this focus on integration brings into sharp relief another need: that of …

Thermoclinic Assessment Of A Preliminary Circulation Model For Lake George In The Jefferson Project, Emanuele Ragnoli, Fearghal O Donncha, Jeffrey W. Short, Imad A. Hannoun, Sandra A. Nierzwicki-Bauer, Lloyd A. Treinish, Anthony P. Priano, Charles W. Boylen

International Conference on Hydroinformatics

The Jefferson Project is a collaboration between the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, IBM, and the FUND for Lake George aimed at understanding and managing complex factors (road salt, storm water runoff, invasive species) threatening Lake George, New York.

Lake George is located about 80 km north of Albany in upstate New York and is known internationally for its water clarity. Understanding the hydrodynamics of the lake is fundamental for creation and maintenance of a research and monitoring program for the early detection of and response to adverse environmental and biological change. In this work a 3D circulation model of the lake …

Application Of Real-Time Control Strategy To Improve Nitrogen Removal In Wastewater Treatment, Qibin Wang, Qiuwen Chen, Jinfeng Ma, Qiang Xu

International Conference on Hydroinformatics

Biological nitrogen removal is an important task in the wastewater treatment. However, the actual removal of total nitrogen (TN) in the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) is often unsatisfactory due to several causes, one of which is the insufficient availability of carbon source. One possible approach to improve the nitrogen removal therefore is addition of external carbon source, while the amount of which is directly related to operation cost of a WWTP. It is obviously necessary to determine the accurate amount of addition of external carbon source according to the demand depending on the influent wastewater quality. This study focused on …

A Harmonized Vocabulary For Water Quality, Simon J.D. Cox, Bruce A. Simons, Jonathan Yu

International Conference on Hydroinformatics

Interoperability of water quality data depends on the use of common models, schemas and vocabularies. However, terms are usually collected during different activities and projects in isolation of one another, resulting in vocabularies that have the same scope being represented with different terms, using different formats and formalisms, and published in various access methods. Significantly, most water quality vocabularies conflate multiple concepts in a single term, e.g. quantity kind, units of measure, substance or taxon, medium and procedure. This bundles information associated with separate elements from the OGC Observations and Measurements (O&M) model into a single slot. We have developed …

In-Situ Algae Control Using Water-Lifting Aerators In A Eutrophicated Source Water Reservoir, Xin Sun, Xue Wang, Tinglin Huang, Haibing Cong

International Conference on Hydroinformatics

Algal pollution is a common water quality problem in many source water reservoirs worldwide and directly threatens the safety of drinking water. Water-lifting aeration has been recently developed to improve the source water quality and to control the excessive algae growth by transporting algae from the surface water to the bottom water of the reservoir. Taking the Shibianyu Reservoir supplying 20% source water to Xi’an, China, as a study case, the effect of in-situ algae control using water-lifting aerators was numerically investigated with Fluent. Two submerged water-lifting aerators with different circulation flow rates were installed with different local water depths …

Propagation Characteristics Of Density Currents And Implications To Pollutant Transport In A Stratified Reservoir, Xin Sun, Yan Xu, Tinglin Huang, Xiao Tang

International Conference on Hydroinformatics

With global warming, the frequency and intensity of extreme rainfall events were predicted to change more dramatically in the near future while the amount of total precipitation will change slightly. Large volume of turbid inflow will enter the source water reservoir after a heavy rainfall, and evolve in various types of density currents depending on the density difference between the inflow and background water. Density currents play an important role in the thermal structure and pollutant transport in the reservoir. Understanding the behaviors of density current is fundamental to study the changes of source water quality during the flooding season. …

Response Of Grassland Songbirds To Grazing System Type And Range Condition, Stephen K. Davis, Brenda C. Dale, Tom Harrison, David C. Duncan

The Prairie Naturalist

Much of the remaining prairie in Canada is grazed by cattle and most grassland birds of conservation concern occupy such habitat. Identifying vegetation features related to grassland bird habitat selection that can be easily understood and measured by professional range managers and livestock producers on private lands is an important step towards conserving and restoring remaining grasslands. We conducted grassland bird surveys on 28 native mixed-grass prairie pastures in southern Saskatchewan to determine whether grazing system type (season-long vs. rotational) influenced avian abundance. Grazing system had no influence on abundance of grassland passerines. Conservation agencies that promote particular grazing systems …

Legacy Effects In Prairie Restoration: A 73-Year Spatial History, Thomas D. Brock

The Prairie Naturalist

Black Earth Rettenmund Prairie State Natural Area, one of the highest quality prairie remnants in southern Wisconsin’s Driftless Area, has been the target of extensive restoration efforts since it was acquired by the Nature Conservancy (TNC) in 1986. In the present work, I analyzed the spatial history of this prairie using a Geographical Information System (GIS) and an extended series of air photos, on-the-ground surveys, early maps, and land-use records. In 1937, when the first air photo was taken, the site was nearly devoid of trees and shrubs. In subsequent years, the site became progressively woody until at the time …

The Significance Of Micro-Prairie Reconstruction In Urban Environments, Bruno Borsari, Neal Mundahl, Malcom F. Vidrine, Marc Pastorek

The Prairie Naturalist

An aggressive urban sprawl during the last half century has not only contributed to habitat disturbance and extirpation, as well as a loss of knowledge and appreciation for biodiversity. Across the United States, prairie reconstruction has been a very effective approach for developing sustainable landscape designs in city parks and other open spaces. The purpose of this work is to focus on restoration and reconstruction of selected micro-prairies as a vehicle for enhanced place-based education and to partially remediate the consequences of global climate change and loss of pollinators. From the coastal prairies of southwestern Louisiana, to the eastern edge …

Introduction—23rd North American Prairie Conference, Dr. Douglas J. Cattani, Dr. Nicola Koper, Dr. Pamela Rutherford, Dr. Richard K. Baydack

The Prairie Naturalist

Building upon the tradition started in Illinois by Peter Schramm in 1970, with the first conference on prairies and prairie restoration, the North American Prairie Conference (NAPC) has developed a tradition of excellence in native prairie research, conservation, education and restoration of one of the worlds’ most productive, yet most endangered, ecosystems. It has spawned great interest, enthusiasm and efforts to better understand, appreciate, manage and conserve this vital part of North America’s natural and cultural history.

In early August 2012, the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg hosted the 23rd NAPC. The theme of the 2012 conference was “Celebrating Our …

Historic Distribution And Ecology Of Tall-Grass Prairie In Western Canada, Darcy C. Henderson, Nicola Koper

The Prairie Naturalist

Rapid settlement and agricultural development of western Canada in the late 1800s and early 1900s nearly eliminated the tall-grass prairie, and pre-empted a detailed description by ecologists. A combination of literature review and historical ecological analysis of soils, climate, and composition data are applied to estimate the historic distribution, and area occupied by tall-grass prairie in southern Manitoba and southeastern Saskatchewan, Canada. The resulting area estimate of 20,830 km² is more than three times any previously reported value. Some confusion of terms from the first half of the 1900s, and the impact of invasive species on vegetation patterns observed …

Prairie Restoration: Bridging The Past And The Future, Daryl D. Smith

The Prairie Naturalist

Tallgrass prairie once dominated most of mid-continent North America. Conversion of this prairie to cropland was rapid and extensive. Today, it is the most decimated ecosystem in North America with less than two percent remaining. Prairie reconstruction began at the University of Wisconsin Arboretum in the 1930s. Thirty years later, exemplary initiatives by a group of highly motivated restorationists in Illinois and Iowa became a part of the legacy of restoration ecology. Their work generated widespread public interest in prairie restoration and initiated the ongoing biennial North American Prairie Conference. Since then, practitioners have made significant advances in reconstruction and …

Effects Of Compost On Prairie Seedling Establishment And Seed Production, Thomas R. Rosburg, Emiy Sibigtroth, Adam Palmer

The Prairie Naturalist

Compost is a commonly used soil amendment in horticultural and agricultural practices that is generally known to improve soil conditions and plant growth. We conducted a field experiment to investigate the application of compost to prairie production plots as a method to improve seedling establishment and growth and the seed production of established plants. We evaluated the effect of compost depth and tillage on the survivorship, growth, reproduction and ecophysiology of several prairie plant species commonly used in restoration. Results were mixed; for some species, transplants in compost–amended plots incurred lower survivorship and reduced growth compared to control plots. When …

Reproductive Failure In Largeleaf Wild Indigo In A Restored Prairie In Southeastern Minnesota, Neal D. Mundahl

The Prairie Naturalist

Native prairie restorations in many regions of the United States have been hindered by various herbivores consuming plant reproductive parts or products. I conducted field studies of a population of largeleaf wild indigo (Baptisia lactea) on a restored prairie in southeastern Minnesota during the growing seasons of 2010–2012 to determine the cause(s) of repeated reproductive failure. I assessed plants for browsing damage caused by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) during the period of flowering and with a deer exclosure experiment involving caged and non-caged plants. I compared reproductive output (numbers of seed pods, viable seeds) of caged …

Association Of Soil Conditions And Grass Species With Variable Cover Of Leafy Spurge, Terence P. Mcgonigle, Jeremy L. Timmer

The Prairie Naturalist

Variation in soil conditions and grass cover was assessed across a range of leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula L.) cover values on a sandy rangeland in Manitoba, Canada. Soil conditions varied by site but not in relation to cover of leafy spurge. We observed a significant negative relationship between total grass cover and increasing cover of leafy spurge. Only porcupine grass (Hesperostipa spartea [Trin.] Barkworth) had a negative relationship with leafy spurge, falling from high cover at low weed occurrence to only trace levels at the highest leafy spurge abundance. Neither prairie Junegrass (Koeleria macrantha [Ledeb.] Schult.), rough …

Soil Chemical Responses To Fire Seasonality And Frequency In A Texas Grassland, Domingo M. Jariel Jr., R. James Ansley, Betty A. Kramp, David L. Jones

The Prairie Naturalist

On a clay-loam mixed grassland dominated by honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa Torr.) in northern Texas, we quantified soil pH, soil organic carbon (OC), electrical conductivity (EC), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn) and copper (Cu) in response to various effects of summer and winter fire treatments from 1991–1996. We conducted summer fire between August and September, and winter fire between January and March. Treatments that included summer fires increased soil pH, EC, Na, and Cu and temporarily decreased soil OC and Mn (P ≤ 0.05). The winter fire treatment …

Evaluating Land Resource Potentials In Kentucky, Edwin L. Ritchey, David C. Ditsch

Agriculture and Natural Resources Publications

The most successful land use decisions are those where the intended use matches the capabilities of the land. Determining the capability of the land begins with a visual assessment of the landscape such as topography (percent slope) and surface drainage patterns followed by a closer examination of the soil physical and chemical characteristics. The purpose of this publication is to provide a basic understanding of the relationship between these landscape and soil properties to facilitate wise land use decisions. Topics such as soil testing to determine plant nutrient supply, plant species selection, and management are not covered in this publication. …

The Sandy Glacier Cave Project: The Study Of Glacial Recession From Within, Eduardo L. Cartaya

The International Workshop on Ice Caves

The Sandy Glacier Cave Project is a National Speleological Society (NSS) sponsored study on the unique system of glacier caves located on the Sandy Glacier on the western flank of Mt Hood, Oregon. While the study primarily targets the structure, layout and ice volume change of the ever moving cave system by conducting annual grade 5 surveys, numerous tangential observations and trends have been recorded that are of great interest to the study of glacial recession, watershed hydrology, micro-biology and astro-biology, as well as the study of organic specimens and remains being thawed out of the ice mass by the …

Social Tipping Points And Earth Systems Dynamics, R.A. Bentley, E. Maddison, P. Ranner, J. Bissell, C. Caiado, P. Bhatanacharoen, Timothy Adrian Robert Clark, Botha M., Akinbami F., Hollow M., Michie R., Huntley B., Curtis S., Garnett P.

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Recently, Early Warning Signals (EWS) have been developed to predict tipping points in Earth Systems. This discussion highlights the potential to apply EWS to human social and economic systems, which may also undergo similar critical transitions. Social tipping points are particularly difficult to predict, however, and the current formulation of EWS, based on a physical system analogy, may be insufficient. As an alternative set of EWS for social systems, we join with other authors encouraging a focus on heterogeneity, connectivity through social networks and individual thresholds to change.

Biological Condition Of Money Pont Benthic Communities, Southern Branch Of The Elizabeth River (2010 And 2013), Daniel M. Dauer

Elizabeth River Reports

Executive Summary

The subtidal macrobenthic communities off Money Point in the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River were quantitatively sampled in summer 2010 (Dauer 2011). The designated Money Point study area was part of a sediment contaminant remediation effort. The primary objectives of the present study were to: (1) characterize the biological health of the benthos of Money Point comparing pre-remediation (2010) and post-remediation (2013) conditions and (2) assess the effectiveness of the sediment contamination remediation efforts with respect to Money Point benthos. In this report the macrobenthic communities off Money Point were resampled in the summer of 2013 after …

Comparison Of Bacterial Inactivation Efficiency And Disinfection Byproduct Formation From Different Disinfection Processes, Binbin Li

All Theses

Formation of disinfection byproducts (DBPs) during Escherichia coli K12 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 inactivation under four disinfection processes, including chlorination, chloramination, photo-Fenton reaction, and TiO2/UV photocatalytic inactivation were examined. Factors of pH (5 or 8) and different disinfectant dosages were also investigated in order to balance the risks of DBP formation and bacterial cell viability in the four treatment processes. Chlorination had the fastest bacterial inactivation whereas chloramination, photo-Fenton, and TiO2/UV requiring longer contact times to achieve the same inactivation efficiency. In spite of the lag phase in the treatment processes, both photo-Fenton and TiO2/UV achieved 100% bacteria reduction after …

Development And Evaluation Of An Enrichment Culture For Reductive Dechlorination Of Tetrachloroethene Under Low Ph Conditions, Rui Xiao

All Theses

Perchloroethene (PCE) is a pollutant of major environmental concern at hazardous waste sites worldwide. PCE and trichloroethene (TCE) are suspected carcinogens and are ranked 16th and 31st, respectively, on the Environmental Protection Agency's priority list for hazardous substances, developed under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. As a consequence of the widespread use of chlorinated solvents (including PCE and TCE) for dry cleaning, chemical feedstocks, metal degreasing and other purposes, chloroethenes are widely distributed in the environment. Many soils and groundwater throughout the world are contaminated by chloroethenes. Therefore, further improvements are needed in clean-up methods. Bioaugmentation has …

An Examination Of Radionuclide Transport In The Vadose Zone Using Field Lysimeters, Michael Witmer

All Theses

Understanding how radionuclides interact in the subsurface is important for the remediation of contaminated sites, assessment of risk due to radioactive waste disposal, and designing new radioactive waste management strategies. The current understanding of the geochemical behavior of radionuclides in the subsurface and more specifically the vadose zone has been developed through reactive transport modeling supplemented by laboratory experiments. Interactions between radionuclides with the mineral particles and organic matter in the vadose zone can be very complex and while laboratory experiments produce valuable data, few controlled, intermediate scale transport studies have been performed. In order to accurately predict vadose zone …

Responses Of Target And Non-Target Species To Algaecide Exposures, Alyssa Calomeni

All Theses

Laboratory experiments are often used to predict the responses of target and non-target species to chemical exposures in the field. In the first two experiments of this thesis, a rigorous evaluation of six algal viability measures was conducted. A definitive evaluation of the algal response measures was conducted using heat treatment to create known live: dead cell suspensions. Results from the response measures were compared to the known viability of the cell suspensions to determine their variance and accuracy. Copper-based algaecides were then used as a more realistic exposure to test the algal viability measures. When algal viability measures had …

Spatial And Temporal Analysis Of Land Cover Change, Sedimentation And Water Quality In The Lake Issaqueena Watershed, South Carolina, Cassie Pilgrim

All Theses

Soil erosion and increased sediment yields within a watershed lead to impaired water quality, decreased availability of wildlife habitat and reduced recreational opportunities. While some sedimentation occurs naturally within a water system, most erosion processes are the result of anthropogenic activities across a landscape, namely changes in land use and land cover (LULC). This study was conducted to determine temporal and spatial sedimentation trends in the Lake Issaquena watershed using sonar logging equipment, geographic information systems (GIS) and limited hydrologic data from the Soil Conservation Service (1941 and 1949). Sediment deposition was analyzed in relation to several key factors that …