Digital Commons Network^™

Water Current, Volume 39, No. 3, Summer 2007

Water Current Newsletter

Latest Research on Water Science, Economics and Law To Be Featured in October
Fifth Annual Water Law, Policy and Science Conference Examines Water Quality by Lorrie Benson
SUMMERSTOCK ’07
Meet the Faculty
New Thermal Imaging Camera Advances UNL Research By Steve Ress
Coop Research Unit Tracks Invasive Species By Brent Atema
Water Resources Advisory Panel Update By Jessica Harder
Nebraska Department of Natural Resources Adds Groundwater Modelers, Geohydrologist By Steve Ress
Survey Offers Public Perceptions and Attitudes about Water by Sandi Alswager Karstens
Water Initiative Helps Add Nearly a Dozen New Faculty Members
Dahab Combines UNL Research and Administration with …

Oil. The Geopolitics Of Oil And Natural Gas, Alan Larson

New England Journal of Public Policy

Ensuring the reliability of global energy supplies will call for policies that both encourage the use of newer, cleaner energy technologies and address the political challenges posed by the world’s growing demand for oil and natural gas. U.S. policy seeks to encourage expansion and diversification of world energy supplies and to promote the transparency and democratic institutions that help energy-producing countries make the most productive use of their resources.

Oil. Geopolitics Reborn: Oil, Natural Gas, And Other Vital Resources, Michael T. Klare

New England Journal of Public Policy

Competition over vital resources is a potent source of international friction among nations and within states. The result is the increasing interplay of international and internal struggles and the growing militarization of the global energy resource quest.

Climate. Stern Review: The Economics Of Climate Change, Nicholas Stern

New England Journal of Public Policy

This chapter examines the increasingly serious impacts on people as the world warms. Climate change is a serious and urgent issue. The Earth has already warmed by 0.7°C since around 1900 and is committed to further warming over coming decades simply due to past emissions. On current trends, average global temperatures could rise by 2–3°C within the next fifty years or so, with several degrees more in the pipeline by the end of the century if emissions continue to grow. This chapter examines how the physical changes in climate . . . affect the essential components of lives and livelihoods …

A 2650-Year-Long Record Of Environmental Change From Northern Yellowstone National Park Based On A Comparison Of Multiple Proxy Data, Cathy Whitlock, Walter Dean, Joseph Rosenbaum, Lora Stevens, Sherilyn C. Fritz, Brandi Bracht, Mitchell Power

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Geochemical, stable-isotope, pollen, charcoal, and diatom records were analyzed at high-resolution in cores obtained from Crevice Lake, a varved-sediment lake in northern Yellowstone National Park. The objective was to reconstruct the ecohydrologic, vegetation, and fire history of the watershed for the last 2650 years to better understand past climate variations at the forest-steppe transition. The data suggest a period of limited bottom-water anoxia, relatively wet winters, and cool springs and summers from 2650 to 2100 cal yrBP (700–150 BC). Dry warm conditions occurred between 2100 and 850–800 cal yrBP (150 BC and AD 1100–1150), when the lake was anoxic, winter …

Analysis Of Time-Series Modis 250 M Vegetation Index Data For Crop Classification In The U.S. Central Great Plains, Brian D. Wardlow, Stephen L. Egbert, Jude H. Kastens

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

The global environmental change research community requires improved and up-to-date land use/land cover (LULC) datasets at regional to global scales to support a variety of science and policy applications. Considerable strides have been made to improve large-area LULC datasets, but little emphasis has been placed on thematically detailed crop mapping, despite the considerable influence of management activities in the cropland sector on various environmental processes and the economy. Time-series MODIS 250 m Vegetation Index (VI) datasets hold considerable promise for largearea crop mapping in an agriculturally intensive region such as the U.S. Central Great Plains, given their global coverage, intermediate …

Agenda: The Future Of Natural Resources Law And Policy, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center, Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation

The Future of Natural Resources Law and Policy (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

The Natural Resources Law Center's 25th Anniversary Conference and Natural Resources Law Teachers 14th Biennial Institute provided an opportunity for some of the best natural resources lawyers to discuss future trends in the field. The conference focused on the larger, cross-cutting issues affecting natural resources policy. Initial discussions concerned the declining role of scientific resource management due to the increased inclusion of economic-cost benefit analysis and public participation in the decision-making process. The effectiveness of this approach was questioned particularly in the case of non-market goods such as the polar bear. Other participants promoted the importance of public participation and …

Slides: Summary: Sources Of Stress And The Changing Context Of Natural Resources Law And Policy In The New West, William R. Travis

The Future of Natural Resources Law and Policy (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

Presenter: Dr. William R. Travis, Department of Geography, University of Colorado at Boulder

43 slides

Session 7 - A Comparative Geographic Analysis Of The Impact Of Scale On Hazards And Vulnerability In Industrialized Continental Lands And Small Pacific Islands, William J. Smith Jr.

International Symposium on Technology and Society

Geography, specifically scale, has significant impacts in terms of hazards and vulnerability. Small islands, such as those found in the Pacific, experience the impacts of their relatively unique geography and scale in terms of hazards and vulnerability in at least five ways: 1) Perception and communication; 2) Impact and escape from impact; 3) Technology; 4) Recovery; and 5) Socio-environmental justice. Comparative analysis in these five areas between the Pacific’s small islands and industrialized continental regions illuminates differences regarding the way hazards and vulnerability should be conceptualized in the under-treated small islands of the world. Lessons from this analysis will aid …

Analysis Of Factors Influencing Southeast Florida Coral Reef Community Composition, M. A. Phillips, David S. Gilliam, L. K. B. Jordan, Richard E. Dodge, Louis E. Fisher

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, Lectures

The southeast Florida reef system lies offshore a heavily populated and urbanized coast. These high latitude reefs are not only affected by their geography but also by anthropogenic factors that accompany an urban area such as dredging activities, ship groundings, waste water outfalls, runoff and beach erosion. Sedimentation has been shown to influence stony coral community composition including dominance, abundance, cover, diversity, and colony size. Using annual monitoring data collected since 2000, the southeastern Florida reef community is being analyzed to examine if and how sedimentation and other factors such as depth, distance from shore and distance from port channels …

Urban Spatial Pattern As Self-Organizing System: An Empirical Evaluation Of Firm Location Decisions In Cleveland–Akron Pmsa, Ohio, Mukesh Kumar, William M. Bowen, Miron Kaufman

Physics Faculty Publications

Economic models of urban spatial patterns have largely ignored complexity as an attribute of urban systems. Complexity theorists on the other hand have not made sufficiently serious and sustained attempts to verify empirically the relevance of complex systems models for urban spatial patterns. This research bridges this gap by simulating the evolution of an urban employment pattern as a self-organizing complex system and seeking its empirical validation. It estimates the model’s parameters by using firm data aggregated to the level of municipalities in Cleveland-Akron Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area in Ohio. The interaction among four parameters, forces of attraction and dispersion …

Population Assessment Of Western Gray Whales In 2007, Justin G. Cooke, David W. Weller, Amanda L. Bradford, Alexander M. Burdin, Robert L. Brownell Jr.

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

A population assessment of the western gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) was conducted using photo-identification data collected off Sakhalin Island under the joint Russia-U.S. program from 1994 to 2006. This is an update of the assessments by Reeves et al (2005) and Cooke et al. (2006) which used data up to 2003 and 2005 respectively, fitted to the same, individually-based population model. New median estimates of key population parameters (with 90% Bayesian confidence intervals) are 0.982 (0.972 - 0.991) for the noncalf annual survival rate; 0.76 (0.66 - 0.85) for the survival rate from calf to yearling; 2.9% per …

Inside Front & Back Covers: Changes And Variability Of Urban Sprawl - Implications For Local Climate Change, Robert Hellström

Bridgewater Review

No abstract provided.

Innovation Engine, Arcot Desai Narasimhalu

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This paper describes a meta-model for innovation using an automobile engine as a metaphor. This innovation meta-model is used to manage a collection of innovation models. We develop an algorithm to identify innovations with potential for success using this meta-model. This meta-model can be used by corporations and individuals to identify plausible innovations at any given point in time.

Mathematics: Always Important, Never Enough: A Christian Perspective On Mathematics And Mathematics Education, Calvin Jongsma

Pro Rege

This article is an edited version of the keynote address delivered by Dr. Jongsma at the B.J. Haan Education Conference on Teaching Math in the Christian School, held at Dordt College on March 9, 2006, for elementary and secondary school mathematics teachers, primarily in Christian schools. The article was earlier published online in the 2006 Journal of the ACMS (http://www.acmsonline.org/Jongsma.htm).

Mobile G-Portal Supporting Collaborative Sharing And Learning In Geography Fieldwork: An Empirical Study, Yin-Leng Theng, Kuah-Li Tan, Ee Peng Lim, Jun Zhang, Dion Hoe-Lian Goh, Kalyani Chatterjea, Chew-Hung Chang, Aixin Sun, Han Yu, Nam Hai Dang, Yuanyuan Li, Minh Chanh Vo

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Integrated with G-Portal, a Web-based geospatial digital library of geography resources, this paper describes the implementation of Mobile G-Portal, a group of mobile devices as learning assistant tools supporting collaborative sharing and learning for geography fieldwork. Based on a modified Technology Acceptance Model and a Task-Technology Fit model, an initial study with Mobile G-Portal was conducted involving 39 students in a local secondary school. The findings suggested positive indication of acceptance of Mobile G-Portal for geography fieldwork. The paper concludes with a discussion on technological challenges, recommendations for refinement of Mobile G-Portal, and design implications in general for digital libraries …

Multinomial Logistic Regression Model For The Inferential Risk Age Groups For Infection Caused By Vibrio Cholerae In Kolkata, India, Krishnan Rajendran, Thandavarayan Ramamurthy, Dipika Sur

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

Multinomial Logistic Regression (MLR) modeling is an effective approach for categorical outcomes, as compared with discriminant function analysis and log-linear models for profiling individual category of dependent variable. To explore the yearly change of inferential age groups of acute diarrhoeal patients infected with Vibrio cholerae during 1996-2000 by MLR, systematic sampling data were generated from an active surveillance study. Among 1330 V.cholerae infected cases, the predominant age category was up to 5 years accounting for 478 (30.5%) cases. The independent variables V.cholerae O1 (p<0.001) and non-O1 and non-O139 (p < 0.001) were significantly associated with children under 5 years age group. V.cholerae O139 inferential age group was > 40 years. The infection mediated by V.cholerae O1 had significantly decreasing trend Exp(B) year wise from …

An Analysis Of Key Aspects Of Warm And Cool Season Flash Flooding In The Southern Appalachians, William Baldwin

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Flash flooding kills more people in the United States than any other severe weather phenomenon. One of the most vulnerable areas for flooding is the southern Appalachians. These mountains lie in a geographical location that places them near the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, two major moisture source regions. This ample supply of moisture, mid-latitude circulation patterns, and orographic lifting leads to annual precipitation totals in the southern Appalachians that are comparable to locations along the Gulf coast. The present study investigates eight non-tropical flash flood events. Four of the events occurred in the cool season and four …

Semantic Web: Technologies And Applications For The Real-World, Amit P. Sheth

Kno.e.sis Publications

No abstract provided.

Storm Response And Water Balance Of Temperate Rainforest Karst Watersheds: Tongass National Forest, Alaska, Johanna Kovarik

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The Tongass National Forest in southeast Alaska contains 2,176 square kilometers of karst. As part of the evolving Tongass Land Management Plan, research into the function of karst systems is crucial in understanding how forest management affects not only karst areas but also surrounding ecosystems. Dye trace and water balance results in two watersheds on the north end of Prince of Wales Island demonstrate the difficulty in containing the effects of management, as water can enter karst catchments from unknown sources at different flow regimes. A dye trace was conducted in Windgate and Canyon Block watersheds. Two sinking streams were …

Agricultural Contaminant Source And Transport In A Karst Groundwater Basin, Patricia Kambesis

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Agricultural land use in areas that are located in karst groundwater basins negatively impact groundwater quality because karst terrains provide multiple, direct hydrologic connections from the surface into karst aquifers. The connections and rapid velocities associated with surface and subsurface flow in karst aquifers allow for contaminants to move quickly into and through a groundwater basin. When groundwater returns to the surface via a spring or springs, any contaminants within the water become part of surface streams and rivers. These in turn, impact water quality in areas located downstream of the spring or springs. The purpose of this study was …

Spatio-Temporal Analysis Of Observed Soil Moisture From Nebraska, Ashley Littell

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Soil moisture is a measure of the water content in a soil that is dependent upon precipitation, evapotranspiration, runoff, drainage, and irrigation. Nebraska is one of the few states that measures soil moisture in an extensive network that records weather variables on a daily basis. Daily soil moisture observations are collected from depths of 10, 25, 50, and 100 centimeters and analyzed in this research. Data from these stations are evaluated on the spatial and temporal scales using spatial interpolations, time-series analysis, and cross-correlations to better understand the variations of soil moisture in the Northern Great Plains. Spatial interpolation grids …

Modeling Of Culicidae Population Capacity Using Remote Sensing, Gis, And Fractal Geometry, Daniel Patrick Johnson

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A remote sensing and fractal geometric approach is proposed for the surveillance of mosquito population. The spread of vector-borne pathogens is becoming increasingly important with recent discussions of extensive human urbanization and global climate change. To date most studies dealing with mosquito transmitted disease surveyed by remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems have been conducted in tropical homogenous locales. This study approached the issue in a rapidly suburbanizing county in the Midwestern portion of the United States. Adult mosquitoes were trapped over a several year period and the landscape of the surrounding patches analyzed via remote sensing, fractal geometry, and …

Modeling Environmental Justice: A Comparative Analysis Of Multiple Environmental Metrics, Trevor K. Fuller

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Environmental justice, the study of interactions between environmental disamenities and socioeconomic conditions, has been a focus of policy debates and research since the late 1970s. To date, environmental justice research has relied heavily on a few selected metrics, including, but not limited to, Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facilities (TSDF), and Super.fund site Jocations. In this study, I will examine the efficacy of these environmental quality datasets, as well as that oflocal blood-lead level data (in children), to predict observed socioeconomic conditions and compare these results to an emerging metric, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Based on …

Wmi Outdoor News Bulletin * May 2007, Volume 61, No. 5

Wildlife Management Institute Outdoor News Bulletin

Contents:

• WMI's path forward

• Special Sessions Announced for 73rd North American Conference

• Public hearings conclude on Northern Rockies gray wolf delisting proposal

• CWD Alliance announces new on-line bibliography

• Coyotes not dissuaded by Chicago politics or its perpetual road construction

• New addition to WMI family

• Worth reading: The White Cascade

Homogenization Of Forest Plant Communities And Weakening Of Species-Environment Relationships Via Agricultural Land Use, Mark Vellend, Kris Verheyen, Kathryn M. Flinn, Hans Jacquemyn, Annette Kolb, Hans Van Calster, George Peterken, Bente Jessen Graae, Jesse Bellemare, Olivier Honnay, Jörg Brunet, Monika Wulf, Fritz Gerhardt, Martin Hermy

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Disturbance may cause community composition across sites to become more or less homogenous, depending on the importance of different processes involved in community assembly. In north-eastern North America and Europe local (alpha) diversity of forest plants is lower in forests growing on former agricultural fields (recent forests) than in older (ancient) forests, but little is known about the influence of land-use history on the degree of compositional differentiation among sites (beta diversity). Here we analyse data from 1446 sites in ancient and recent forests across 11 different landscapes in north-eastern North America and Europe to demonstrate decreases in beta diversity …

Industrial Symbiosis In Action, D. Rachel Lombardi, Peter Laybourn

Yale School of the Environment Publications Series

Report on the Third International Industrial Symbiosis Research Symposium Birmingham, England, August 5-6, 2006

Analysis Of Topological Characteristics Of Huge Online Social Networking Services, Yong-Yeol Ahn, Seungyeop Han, Haewoon Kwak, Sue Moon, Hawoong Jeong

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Social networking services are a fast-growing business in the Internet. However, it is unknown if online relationships and their growth patterns are the same as in real-life social networks. In this paper, we compare the structures of three online social networking services: Cyworld, MySpace, and orkut, each with more than 10 million users, respectively. We have access to complete data of Cyworld's ilchon (friend) relationships and analyze its degree distribution, clustering property, degree correlation, and evolution over time. We also use Cyworld data to evaluate the validity of snowball sampling method, which we use to crawl and obtain partial network …

Big Fences Do Not Make Good Neighbors, David J. Keeling

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

2007 - The Twelfth Annual Symposium Of Student Scholars

Symposium of Student Scholars Program Books

The full program book from the Twelfth Annual Symposium of Student Scholars, held on April 23, 2007. Includes abstracts from the presentations and posters.