Digital Commons Network^™

The Physical, Legal, And Modeling Infrastructure For Water Resource Management Has Reached A Tipping Point, Paul Brooks

Spring Runoff Conference

Addressing these challenges requires improved predictions of water supply

Supporting The Great Salt Lake: M&I Water Conservation Opportunities, Easton Hopkins

Spring Runoff Conference

Analysis of historical M&I water use, depletion, and conservation strategies to reduce anthropogenic impact on Great Salt Lake (GSL) while supporting M&I water needs.

Impacts Of Biochar And Fe/Zn-Doped Biochar On The Degradation And Transformation Of Pfas In Wastewater Biosolids Compost, Chase Fry, R. Ryan Dupont, Joan Mclean

Spring Runoff Conference

Background

• >5.8 million dry metric tons of biosolids were produced in 2018.
• It is difficult & expensive to landfill all biosolids produced.
• Biosolids are increasingly used as an agricultural fertilizer and soil amendment.

Ground Water Assessment Of Cache Valley Using Modern Tracing Techniques, Eric Humphrey, Bethany Neilson

Spring Runoff Conference

Monitor, analyze, and predict current and evolving dynamics of complex human and natural Earth-system interactions and to deliver actionable information at scales and timeframes relevant to decision makers.

Remediation Of Ammonium Perrhenate Via Tris(2,2’-Bipyridine)Ruthenium(Ii) Chloride, Kaylin L. Thomas, Sandra A. Abdellah, Alvin A. Holder

Knowledge and Creativity Expo

Pertechnetate (TcO₄⁻) is a persistent radioactive byproduct resulting from the decay of uranium-235 or plutonium-239 in the nuclear fuel cycle. Its high environmental mobility, long half-life, and significant beta radiation make TcO₄⁻ a critical contaminant. Structurally tetrahedral and water-soluble, TcO₄⁻ behaves similarly to the sulfate anion, facilitating its rapid introduction into ecosystems.

It bioaccumulates in lower-level organisms, propagating radioactive and toxic effects through food chains. In mammals, technetium-99 accumulates in the thyroid and may also impact fetal development. Its small charge, chemical stability, and solubility present significant challenges for effective remediation.

Current remediation methods often suffer from poor selectivity, dependence …

Reconstructing 5000 Years Of Hurricane Activity In Holyrood Pond Using Sediment Core Analysis, Jamie Mclaulin, Arielle Nogueira, Elizabeth Wallace

Knowledge and Creativity Expo

Hurricanes are hazardous and costly events that annually negatively impact people that live in coastal areas in North America.  The current observational record of hurricanes is short (1970- present) and does not offer insight into the effects of climate change on hurricane frequency.  One method of improving and extending our observational record of hurricanes is to reconstruct paleohurricanes using sediment cores.  These cores record hurricane activity in the form of coarse-grained overwash layers that are deposited when hurricanes move sand from beaches into backbarrier ponds.  In this project, we analyzed sediment cores from Atlantic Canada to locate coarse-grained storm layers …

Methane Consumption Rates By Coastal Virginia Beach Microbes, James R. Bailey Ii

Knowledge and Creativity Expo

This study measures whether microbial communities in the shallow coastal waters of Virginia Beach are capable of consuming methane in the water column. Using methane enrichment incubations and gas chromatography, we found no measurable methane oxidation of our samples over multi-day periods. These results suggest that these coastal waters may act as net sources of atmospheric methane.

Is The Chesapeake Bay Browning?, Samantha Williamson, Jessie Turner

Knowledge and Creativity Expo

Brownification is when water bodies turn brown over time. It occurs due to high amounts of color-dissolved organic matter (CDOM). CDOM is organic material, such as decaying leaves and organisms, that leaches into the water column like tea. It absorbs ultraviolet and blue light more than red light, causing the water to appear brown. After comparing surveys from 1987 and 2018, scientists discovered the Adirondack lakes underwent brownification as they recovered from acid rain. However, while increased CDOM can signify an ecosystem’s recovery, it can also hinder seagrass growth. Although scientists have studied this phenomenon in lakes, estuaries have not …

Living Shorelines As A Solution To Saltwater Marsh Erosion, Elizjah Eddy, Richard Hale

Knowledge and Creativity Expo

In recent years, saltwater marshes fringing the Lafayette River, a tributary of the Elizabeth River, have experienced degradation in response to increased inundation and ocean energy . These marshes provide critical ecological and economic benefits to the City of Norfolk, and prioritizing their long term health and sustainability is an important challenge. An emerging restoration tactic involves enhancing marsh elevation through the application of dredge material that would otherwise require disposal offshore (known as thin-layer placement or TLP). An important first step in TLP projects is characterizing the textural and geochemical properties of the existing marsh sediment. The goal of …

How Much Does Shape Matter: Investigating The Impact Of Marine Particle Morphological Features On In-Situ Settling Velocities Using Pca And Various Ml Models, Huanqing Huang, Alexander B. Bochdansky

Knowledge and Creativity Expo

Particle settling velocity serves as an essential component in ocean biological pump, as it determines particle retention time in the water column. Stokes’ law has been widely used to predict particle settling velocities by particle size and excess density in aquatic environments. However, an increasing number of studies suggest that Stokes’ law fits poorly in the size-velocity relationship of observations on small oceanic particles. Here, we present a series of novel approaches to investigate the relative contribution of settling velocities by the particle shape and optical densities using machine learning (ML) models and principal component analysis (PCA), based on 3906 …

Rethinking Harmful Algal Blooms In Utah Waters: A Paradigm Shift In Water Quality And Management, Kabilan Mani

Spring Runoff Conference

Droughts are intensifying in frequency and severity, straining already limited water supplies.

Hydrodynamics Of Bear Lake: Waves, Currents, Circulation, And Residence Times, Jeffrey Nielson

Spring Runoff Conference

Until we understand water movement, we’ll struggle to explain or manage what happens in Bear Lake.

Water Needs And Recovery Pathways For The Great Salt Lake, David Tarboton, Sarah Null, Bethany Neilson

Spring Runoff Conference

Main Points 

• Levels of GSL inherently fluctuate because of variability in precipitation and temperature that drive inflow and evaporation 
• Reductions in inflows due to water use are superimposed on this variability 
• Consistent delivery of conserved water offers the opportunity to shift the range of lake levels upwards reducing the occurrence of serious adverse effects and increasing the potential for healthy lake levels 
• Adding 250 thousand-acre ft/year reduces the occurrence of serious adverse effects from 61% to 28% over the long term 
• Adding 800 thousand-acre ft/year shifts the mean of variable lake levels to the lower end of the healthy lake …

Great Salt Lake Basin Integrated Plan, Laura Vernon

Spring Runoff Conference

What is the Great Salt Lake Basin Integrated Plan? A roadmap for managing water in ways that promote a healthy lake and a high quality of life in the basin.

Microplastics As Physical Hubs Amplifying Antiobiotic Resistance Under Mixed-Contaminant Selection In Wastewater Systems, Liyuan Hou

Spring Runoff Conference

Microplastics (MPs) are tiny plastic particles within the range of (0.1 mm to 5 mm) in size

Integrating Hydrology And Human Water Footprints: A Case Study Of The Great Salt Lake Watershed, Rocky Lynne Seeley

Spring Runoff Conference

A new model, comprehensively integrating hydrologic, water footprint, and virtual water data

A Conversation On Water, Camille Touton

Spring Runoff Conference

A conversation on water presentation at the 2026 Spring Runoff Conference.

What’S Next In Water Leasing Panel, Scott Hotaling, Adam Wickline, Hannah Freeze, Matt Anderson, Peter Stanton, Mitch Hancock

Spring Runoff Conference

Panel on water leasing at the 2026 Spring Runoff Conference.

Balancing Water Needs In Walker Basin, Peter Stanton

Spring Runoff Conference

Walker Lake 

Supported 50% of Mineral County economy 

Traditional homeland of Walker River Paiute Tribe (Agai Dicutta) 

World-class fishery

Annual Loon Festival

Utah’S Water Network Panel, Brad Mortensen, Kelly Pehrson, Nate Daugs, Brad Parry, Lindsie Smith, Camille Touton, Megan Nelson

Spring Runoff Conference

A panel on Utah's water network at the 2026 Spring Runoff Conference.

2026 Northern Utah Water Champion Award, Spring Runoff Conference

Spring Runoff Conference

Recognizes individuals who have demonstrated sustained, meaningful contributions to the stewardship, management, governance, or understanding of water in Northern Utah.

Utah State University’S Water Legacy, Brad Mortensen

Spring Runoff Conference

Utah State University's President, Brad Mortensen, presents at the 2026 Spring Runoff Conference.

Extending The Geometric Phase To Relativistic Spacetime, Sajid Raihan Akash

Department of Physics and Astronomy: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The Berry phase [3] is traditionally understood as a geometric phase acquired during cyclic adiabatic evolution, often interpreted as the flux of an effective “magnetic field” through a solid angle in parameter space. In this thesis, we investigate situations in which a geometric phase arises even when no spatial solid angle is enclosed, revealing the limitations of the standard purely spatial interpretation. We first review the Berry phase for a spin-½ particle in a slowly varying magnetic field and analyze scenarios in which the system’s eigenstate is changed during the adiabatic evolution. We show that the resulting phase can be …

Discovery Of Quasi-Carbon Nanotube Structures In Tectonically Deformed Coals And Their Formation Mechanisms, Li Yunbo, Wang Rongqi, Song Dangyu, Wang Chengtao, Li Qiang, Yi Ke, Wang Yuanyuan, Pan Jienan

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objective Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have attracted wide attention due to their unique structures and performance. However, their artificial synthesis requires stringent conditions, including high temperatures (700 ℃ to 2 300 ℃), stable carbon sources, and catalysts. Furthermore, these structures are rarely discovered in nature. As a carbon-rich medium, coals can form a variety of ordered carbon structures during their metamorphic and deformational processes, serving as an ideal carrier for exploring the formation mechanisms of natural CNTs.Methods Typical tectonically deformed coals from the Pingdingshan and Huaibei mining areas were investigated in this study. After demineralization and chloroform extraction, coal samples …

Dynamic Evolution Of Rock Mechanical Properties Of Coal Seam Roofs Under Thermal Loading: A Case Study Of The Baikouquan Area, Xinjiang, China, Sun Fangfang, Li Xin, Sang Shuxun, Qu Huailin, Yang Shuguang, Wei Bo, Wang Ziqiang, Zhang Bin, Chen Yanpeng, Tian Wenling

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objective Underground coal gasification (UCG) represents a key technology for the clean utilization of coal resources. However, during the UCG process, thermal damage to surrounding rocks under thermal effects directly affects the stability and engineering safety of gasification channels.Methods To address the thermal damage to surrounding rocks during UCG, this study investigated the silty mudstones and coarse-grained sandstones in the coal seam roof of the Xishanyao Formation, Baikouquan area, Xinjiang. Through high-temperature uniaxial compression experiments, combined with characterization methods like X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), this study delved into the dynamic evolutionary patterns of rock mechanical …

Coupling Mechanisms Of Fracture Propagation And Proppant Transport Indeep Coalbed Methane Reservoirs, Guo Xiaodong, Zhang Shicheng, Zhang Jingchen, Zhou Changjing, Zhang Chengsheng, Qiu Shixin, Xi Xiangrui

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objectives and Methods Deep coalbed methane (CBM) reservoirs commonly exhibit well-developed beddings, strong mechanical heterogeneity, and high in-situ stress gradients. These characteristics result in pronounced nonlinear fracture propagation and strong multi-field coupling effects during hydraulic fracturing. Consequently, it is challenging to accurately describe the mechanisms governing fracture complexity in deep coal reservoirs using conventional mechanical models for fractures. Using a super-large true triaxial system with dimensions of 2.0 m × 2.0 m × 1.0 m, this study conducted physical simulation experiments on hydraulic fracturing under varying injection rates and viscosities of fracturing fluids. In combination with fracture mechanics and energy …

Advances In Research On Mechanisms And Prevention And Control Technologies For Solid-Phase Production In Hydraulically Fractured Coalbed Methane Wells, Zhang Fengsan, Wu Jinqiao, Lin Jin, Li Yu, Zhang Ying, Li Bing, Zhang Guobiao, Sun Ying, Gan Yuke

Coal Geology & Exploration

Background The effective coalbed methane (CBM) exploitation using hydraulic fracturing wells is severely constrained by two major solid-phase production issues: coal fines blockage and proppant flowback. The mechanisms behind both issues are associated with complex interplays between geological conditions and engineering disturbances. This study presents a systematic review of the current status of domestic and international research on the mechanisms of the solid-phase production, as well as relevant prevention and control methods. Furthermore, future research directions are proposed.Advances The solid-phase production in hydraulically fractured CBM wells essentially arises from flow-solid-chemical multi-field coupling processes under interplays between geological conditions and …

Characteristics And Mechanisms Of The Adsorption Of Shales For Ba2+ In Fracturing Fluids, Xie Chenyang, Liu Bo, Zhang Yuting, Zhu Fang

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objectives and Methods Large-scale hydraulic fracturing represents a key technology for shale gas exploitation. However, engineering practices indicate that the flowback rates of fracturing fluids are low and vary significantly across different blocks. Furthermore, some components in fracturing fluids may cause groundwater contamination. To explore the adsorption characteristics and mechanisms of Ba²⁺ within fracturing fluids in shale reservoirs, this study investigated four typical types of samples, including shale and three shale samples with different compositions, from the Longmaxi Formation in the Changning Block, southern Sichuan Basin. Systematic experiments were conducted on the adsorption of shales with different mineral …

Predicting The Risk Of Water-Sand Inrushes From Coal Seam Roofs Based On A Small-Size Sample Dataset, Zhang Wenquan, Li Zixu, Zhu Xianxiang, Qiu Wei, Zhang Chengjie

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objective The eastern and northern regions of China exhibit thick unconsolidated layers and thin bedrocks, with water-sand inrush disasters occurring frequently. Therefore, accurately predicting the risk of water-sand inrushes from coal seam roofs holds great significance for safe coal mining. However, the water-sand inrushes in these regions exhibit complex disaster-causing mechanisms, which involve the coupling effects of multiple factors. Accordingly, the real-time prediction of the water-sand inrush risk in the field poses challenges including high risk and cost. These issues lead to difficult data acquisition and severely insufficient samples, limiting the accuracy and performance of traditional prediction models. Therefore, there …

An Experimental Study On The Mechanical Property Evolution Of Granites Post-High-Temperature Treatment Under Loading And Unloading Conditions, Hao Wencai, Qiao Wei, Liu Huichen, Zhu Zhennan, Wang Hao, Liu Richeng, Guo Jie, Xie Jingyu, Cheng Xianggang, Lyu Ruijie

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objective The surrounding rocks of wellbores remain in a state of stress release during the drilling and heat extraction of deep geothermal reservoirs. Therefore, investigating the characteristic stresses of heat-treated granites under loading and unloading conditions is critical to understanding the crack evolution in deep hot dry rock (HDR) reservoirs during their stimulation. Methods Targeting the granite specimens after heat treatment at varying high temperatures (e.g., 200 ℃, 300 ℃, 400 ℃, 500 ℃, and 600 ℃), this study conducted triaxial loading and unloading tests under a confining pressure of 60 MPa, aiming to investigate the impacts of high temperature …