Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

A Quantitative Approach For Estimating Exposure To Pesticides In The Agricultural Health Study, Michael C. R. Alavanja, Andrew S. Rowland, David Mage, Shelia Hoar Zahm, Nathaniel Rothman, Jay H. Lubin, Mustafa Dosemeci, Jane A. Hoppin, Dale P. Sandler, Aaron Blair

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

We developed a quantitative method to estimate long-term chemical-specific pesticide exposures in a large prospective cohort study of more than 58000 pesticide applicators in North Carolina and Iowa. An enrollment questionnaire was administered to applicators to collect basic time- and intensity-related information on pesticide exposure such as mixing condition, duration and frequency of application, application methods and personal protective equipment used. In addition, a detailed take-home questionnaire was administered to collect further intensity- related exposure information such as maintenance or repair of mixing and application equipment, work practices and personal hygiene. More than 40% of the enrolled applicators responded to …

Report On An Aeromagnetic Survey Of The Missouri National Recreational River: Data Acquisition, Geopbysical Processing, And Base Map Interpretation, Brian L. Molyneaux

United States Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District

The University of South Dakota Archaeology Laboratory, with the support of the Missouri River Institute, conducted an airborne magnetic survey of the Missouri National Recreational River for the US Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District, (contract #DACW45-01-P-0267, supervised by Rebecca Latka, Project Manager, Missouri National Recreational River). The primary goal was to identify buried or submerged cultural resources along the past and present Missouri River channel.

The Principal Investigator was Brian Leigh Molyneaux, PhD. TerraQuest Ltd., Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, an international specialist in airborne geophysical surveys, acquired the total field magnetic data between November 27 and December 12, 2001. CGI …

An Evaluation Of Sampling Techniques And Life History Information On Biguead Carp In The Missouri River, Below Gavlns Point Dam, South Dakota And Nebraska

United States Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District

Bighead carp Hypopthmichtys nobilis were introduced into the United States from south and central China (Robins et al. 1991) in 1972 (Henderson 1979).  It is an efficient planktivore (Henderson 1978) that was imported into Arkansas by an aquaculturist to improve water quality in catfish ponds (Henderson 1976).  In 1974, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission began looking at potential impacts of bighead and other Asian carp as well as their beneficial effects on the environment.  Regulations were also imposed to prevent these fish from entering public waters from private sources (Henderson 1975).  In 1981, nevertheless, the first bighead carp was …

Diet Of Shovelnose Sturgeon Downstream From Gavins Point Dam: Final Report, Charles R. Berry Jr.

United States Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District

The diet of shovelnose sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus platorhynchus) in the Missouri River downstream from Gavins Point Dam was characterized in 1993 (N=100 fish) and 1994 (N=103 fish) for comparison with similar data collected in 1971-72 (N=130 fish) by Modde and Schmulbach (1977, hereafter Modde). The primary difference among years in the South Dakota studies was river discharge, which was low in 1993 (9-22 kcfs; kcfs=thousand cubic feet per second), moderate in 1994 (18-31 kcfs), and high in 1971-72 (26-49 kcfs). We compared sturgeon diet weight and the weight of benthic and drifting invertebrates among years, among monthly discharges in …

Shovelnose Sturgeon Lridovirus Sampling In The Missouri River, Below Gavins Point Dam, South Dakota And Nebraska

United States Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District

Numerous sturgeon species have been integral components of significant fisheries within North America. Species of sturgeon have played an important historical role in recreational and commercial fisheries of various riverine and Great Lakes communities throughout the United States. Present commercial fisheries for sturgeon species are virtually non-existent, in part due to overexploitation, coupled with an inherently long period of time for sturgeon species to become sexually mature.

Two species within the Missouri River basin (pallid sturgeon, Scaphirhynchus albus) and shovelnose sturgeon, Scaphirhynchus platorynchus) have been recently found to harbor a suspect virus (currently being referred to as the …

Summary Report: Evaluation Of The Benthic Trawl As A Means To Sample Juvenile And Adult Pallid Sturgeon From Main Channel Habitats Of The Missouri River, Gerald Mestl

United States Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District

The Missouri River forming the border between Nebraska and South Dakota, Iowa, and Missouri. The upper unchannelized reach extends from the Nebraska-South Dakota state line (river kilometer (rkm) 1,411) to the upper end of Lewis and Clark Lake (rkm 1,347). The lower unchannelized reach extends from Gavins Point Dam (rkm 1 ,308) to the mouth of the Big Sioux River (rkm 1,184). The upper channelized reach extends from the mouth of the Big Sioux River (rkm 1,184) to the mouth of the Platte River (rkm 959). The lower channelized reach extends from the mouth of the Platte River (rkm 959) …

Ft-Nir Spectroscopic Analysis Of Nitrogen In Cotton Leaves, Mark R. Riley, Loreto C. Canaves

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Near-infrared spectroscopy was evaluated as a means to quantify the nitrogen content- in fresh cotton leaves (Gossypium hirsutum L. var. Delta Pine 90) subjected to a factorial design experiment of varying nitrogen and water applications. Absorbance spectra were collected in the 10000-4000 cm^-1 (1000-2500 nm) region from fresh cotton leaves over a two month portion of the growing season. Total nitrogen content was quantified by a wet chemistry Kjeldahl method for validation purposes. Partial least-squares regression analysis, using an automated grid search method, selected the spectral region 6041 to 5651 cm^-1 (1650-1770 nm) for analysis based on having …

Hydrographic And Ove~Bank Surveys Of The Missouri River At The Vermillion Reach, Myron Grove Game Production Area, And North Alabama Bend Near Vermillion, South Dakota

United States Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District

Survey Control Information and Site Specific Control Point Documentation and Field Notes from Electronic Data Collectors for Myron Grove Game Production Area, North Alabama Bend, and Vermillion Reach.

On The Effectiveness Of State Anti-Corporate Farming Laws In The United States, Rick Welsh, Chantal Line Carpentier, Bryan Hubbell

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

Structural changes in US agriculture toward a more corporate-oriented and vertically aligned system have focused attention on the relative efficacy of the anti-corporate farming laws of nine Midwestern states. Using state-level data from a survey of agricultural lawyers and the U.S. Census of Agriculture, we find that the restrictiveness of the laws vary among states, and the relative restrictiveness of the laws have changed over time. Also, strengthening a law tends to limit acreage under non-family corporate ownership arrangements.

A Practical Guide To Estimating Cleanup Costs, Mike Goldstein, Jon Ritterling

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

Cost estimates are frequently developed to evaluate hazardous-waste-site cleanup options in support of a site investigation, remedy selection decision, or assessment of environmental liabilities. The accuracy of the cost estimate depends largely on the quality of the information available at the time it is prepared. This article presents a practical guide to developing a cleanup cost estimate. It includes information on how to document assumptions, use the latest technical resources, and perform basic adjustments to account for uncertainty and the time value of money. The content is based upon a recent guidance document issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency …

Implementation Of The Biological Opinion For The Missouri River Main Stem System, Missouri River Bank Stabilization And Navigation Project, And Kansas River Reservoir System

United States Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) requires that the Corps of Engineers (Corps), in coordination with the appropriate resources agency, will ensure that any action authorized, funded, or carried out is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any federally listed threatened or endangered species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat. Formal consultation between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the Corps under Section 7 of the ESA culminated with the "Biological Opinion on the Operation of the Missouri River Main Stem System, Operation and Maintenance of the Missouri River Bank Stabilization and …

Missouri National Recreational River Gavins Point Dam To Ponca State Park 2001 Survey

United States Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District

Public and Private Access Spots and Points of Interest Between Gavins Point
Dam and Ponca State Park on the Nebraska Side of the River

Missouri River - Fort Peck Dam To Ponca State Park Geomorphological Assessment Related To Bank Stabilization, David S. Biedenharn, Rebecca S. Soileau, Lisa C. Hubbard, Peggy H. Hoffman, Colin R. Thorne, Chris C. Bromley, Chester C. Watson

United States Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District

The overall objective of this study was to evaluate the potential impacts of bank stabilization on the morphologic processes in the Missouri River with a particular emphasis on the formation and persistence of habitat bars. This investigation addresses the following four open water reaches of the Missouri: (1) Fort Peck Dam to vicinity of Yellowstone River (304 kilometers); (2) Garrison Dam to Lake Oahe (127 kilometers); (3) Fort Randall Dam to the Niobrara River (58 kilometers); and (4) Gavins Point Dam to Ponca (93 kilometers). This report provides an additional tool for designers and managers to use when developing and …

Estimation Of Reference Crop Evapotranspiration Using Fuzzy State Models, Lameck O. Odhiambo, R. E. Yoder, D. C. Yoder

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Daily evapotranspiration (ET) rates are needed for irrigation scheduling. Owing to the difficulty of obtaining accurate field measurements, ET rates are commonly estimated from weather parameters. A few empirical or semi–empirical methods have been developed for assessing daily reference crop ET, which is converted to actual crop ET using crop coefficients. The FAO Penman–Monteith method, which is now accepted as the standard method for the computation of daily reference ET, is sophisticated. It requires several input parameters, some of which have no actual measurements but are estimated from measured weather parameters. In this study, we examined the suitability of fuzzy …

Optimization Of Fuzzy Evapotranspiration Model Through Neural Training With Input–Output Examples, Lameck O. Odhiambo, R. E. Yoder, D. C. Yoder, J. W. Hines

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

In a previous study, we demonstrated that fuzzy evapotranspiration (ET) models can achieve accurate estimation of daily ET comparable to the FAO Penman–Monteith equation, and showed the advantages of the fuzzy approach over other methods. The estimation accuracy of the fuzzy models, however, depended on the shape of the membership functions and the control rules built by trial–and–error methods. This paper shows how the trial and error drawback is eliminated with the application of a fuzzy–neural system, which combines the advantages of fuzzy logic (FL) and artificial neural networks (ANN). The strategy consisted of fusing the FL and ANN on …

Dynamic Fluvial Systems And Gravel Progradation In The Himalayan Foreland, Nicholas Brozovic, Douglas W. Burbank

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Although the large-scale stratigraphy of many terrestrial foreland basins is punctuated by major episodes of gravel progradation, the relationships of such facies to hinterland tectonism and climate change are often unclear. Structural reentrants provide windows into older and more proximal parts of the foreland than are usually exposed, and thus provide key insights to earlier phases of foreland evolution. Our magnetostratigraphic studies show that, although the major lithofacies preserved within the Himachal Pradesh structural reentrant in northwestern India resemble Neogene facies in Pakistan, they have a much greater temporal and spatial variability. From 11.5 to 7 Ma, major facies boundaries …

Crash Testing Of Michigan's Type B (W-Beam) Guardrail System - Phase Ii, Karla A. Polivka, Dean L. Sicking, John A. Rohde, Ronald K. Faller, James C. Holloway

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

Michigan Department of Transportation's Type B (W-beam) longitudinal barrier system was constructed and crash tested. The barrier design was constructed with a 2.66-mm (12-gauge) thick W-beam rail totaling 53.34 m in length. The W-beam rail was supported by twenty-five W152.13.4 steel posts, each measuring 1,830-mm long, and four standard BCT posts, each measuring 1,080-mm long. Each of the steel posts had a 152.203 by 360-mm long standard wood offset blockout. Post spacings were 1,905-mm on center.

The research study included full-scale vehicle crash testing, using a 3/4-ton pickup truck. The test vehicle impacted at a speed of 99.8 km/hr and …

Biological Assessment Protection Of Bald Eagle Nest Tree Cedar County, Nebraska

United States Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District

In February of 2000, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) was contacted about a potential bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) nest in a tree that was in eminent danger of falling into the Missouri River as a result of stream bank erosion. This tree is located at approximate river mile 796.5, near St. Helena, in the NWl/4 of Sec. 28, T93N, R54W, Cedar County, Nebraska. Personnel from the Corps visited the site along with the landowner on March 9, 2000, and confirmed that the nest was a bald eagle nest. During the site visit, measurements of the eroding …

Final Environmental Assessment Ponca State Park Resource And Education Center

United States Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District

An environmental assessment has been prepared that summarizes the expected effects of the proposed project on the existing environment. The Omaha District, Corps of Engineers in partnership with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, proposes to construct a research and education center (REC) at Ponca State Park in Dixon County, Nebraska. The proposed project would consist of the construction ofa 15,000 square foot REC building, a constructed treatment wetland to handle the waste from the REC building, a 1.5 acre lake that would receive used water from the heat pump system, a system of geothermal wells for use as part …

Freshwater Mussels Of The Missouri National Recreational River Below Gavins Point Dam, South Dakota And Nebraska, Keith Perkins Iii, Douglas C. Backlund

United States Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District

In 1999 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contracted with the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks to conduct a presence/absence survey of the freshwater mussels of the Missouri National Recreational River below Gavins Point Dam, South Dakota and Nebraska. Subsequently, S.D. Department of Game, Fish and Parks contracted Keith Perkins III, a malacological expert at the University of Sioux Falls, to take charge of the inventory with the assistance of Doug Backlund, South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks, Pierre, S.D.

Nebraska And South Dakota 2000 Missouri River Recreational Use Survey, Gerald Mestl, Gerald Wickstrom, Clifton Stone

United States Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District

The 2000 Missouri River recreational use survey ran 1 April 2000 through 31 December 2000 and covered the Fort Randall Dam to Big Sioux River reach. Recreational user data was collected from postage paid post cards left on vehicles and through personal interviews. Pressure data was collected during a roving survey from ground counts of vehicles, boat trailers, recreational users. Aerial counts were made to compare angling and recreational boating data with ground count data.

Recreational users spent an estimated 745,303 hours on the Missouri River survey reach during 2000. Fishing accounted for an estimated 458,749 hours, or 62% of …

The Effect Of Ozone On Below-Ground Carbon Allocation In Wheat, J. K. Mccrady, C.P. Andersen

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

Short-term ¹⁴CO₂ pulse and chase experiments were conducted in order to investigate the effect of ozone on below-ground carbon allocation in spring wheat seedlings (Triticum aestivum L. `ANZA'). Wheat seedlings were grown in a sand-hydroponic system and exposed to either high ozone (38-40 ppm-h) or low ozone (23-31 ppm-h) for 21 days in a series of replicated experiments. Following the ozone exposures, the plants were pulsed with ¹⁴CO₂ and allocation of ¹⁴C-labeled photosynthate was measured in the plant and growth media. Soluble root exudates were measured, without disturbing the plant roots, 24 h after …

Determination Of Semivariogram Models To Krige Hourly And Daily Solar Irradiance In Western Nebraska*, G.G. Merino, D. Jones, David Stooksbury, Kenneth Hubbard

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

In this paper, linear and spherical semivariogram models were determined for use in kriging hourly and daily solar irradiation for every season of the year. The data used to generate the models were from 18 weather stations in western Nebraska. The models generated were tested using cross validation. The performance of the spherical and linear semivariogram models were compared with each other and also with the semivariogram models based on the best fit to the sample semivariogram of a particular day or hour. There were no significant differences in the performance of the three models. This result and the comparable …

U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service Biological Opinion On The Operation Of The Missouri River Main Stem Reservoir System, Operation And Maintenance Of The Missouri River Bank Stabilization And Navigation Project, And Operation Of The Kansas River Reservoir System

United States Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District

The Corps of Engineers provides the primary operational management of the Missouri River and is responsible under the Endangered Species Act to take actions within its authorities to conserve listed species. On April 3, 2000, the Corps asked the Fish and Wildlife Service to formally consult under the Endangered Species Act on the Operations of the Missouri River Main Stem System, and related Operations of the Kansas River Tributary Reservoirs, and the Operations and Maintenance of the Missouri River Bank Stabilization and Navigation Project. The Corps of Engineers prepared biological assessments for each of these projects and determined that their …

Baseline Assessment Of The Use Of A Small Missouri River Backwater By Fish At Ponca State Park In Dixon County, Nebraska, A. Luke Wallace

United States Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District

Ponca State Park is located adjacent to the Missouri River near the town of Ponca in Dixon County, Nebraska between river miles 753.8 and 755.3. This portion of the river is a 59-mile, unchannelized segment that has been designated as the Missouri National Recreational River under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. The majority of the park is situated high on bluffs that overlook the Missouri River. Until recently, the park had only a small amount of easily accessible river frontage. In 1999, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) acquired an additional 295 acres of river bottomland on the …

Habitat Erosion Protection Analysis Missouri National Recreational River Nebraska And South Dakota

United States Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District

The Corps was tasked by the National Park Service to detennine if erosion protection measures were needed to prevent further decline in cottonwood forest within the Missouri National Recreational River. The 1990's had three unusually high water years resulting in increased runoff and dam discharges, with resultant increased erosion. Concern about erosion of cottonwood forests was expressed by the public during public meetings held by the National Park Service and the Corps during 1999. Severe erosion was also evident in the comparison of aerial maps from 1985 to those from 1997. Forested habitat is considered a "wildlife value" for the …

Effect Of Sample Complexity On Quantification Of Analytes In Aqueous Samples By Near-Infrared Spectroscopy, Mark R. Riley, Mark A. Arnold, David W. Murhammer

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

This study was undertaken to quantitate the impact of increasing sample complexity on near-infrared spectroscopic (NIRS) measurements of small molecules in aqueous solutions with varying numbers of components. Samples with 2, 6, or 10 varying components were investigated. Within the 10-component samples, three analytes were quantified with errors below 6% and seven of the analytes were quantified with errors below 10%. An increase in the number of varying components can substantially increase the error associated with measurement. A comparison of measurement errors across sample sets, as gauged by the standard error of prediction (SEP), reveals that an increase in the …

Metadata In A Digital Special Library: The Energy And Environmental Information Resources Center In Lafayette, Louisiana, Dan Foley

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

This paper discusses three kinds of metadata and how they are used in the Energy & Environmental Information Resources Center (EE-IR Center), a digital special library of text, numeric, and geospatial data, located in Lafayette, Louisiana. These metadata are Dublin Core (DC), MARC21 (formerly USMARC), and Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) metadata.

The EE-IR Center was formed as a partnership between the National Wetlands Research Center (NWRC) of the U.S. Geological Survey and the Center for Advanced Computer Studies of the University of Southwestern Louisiana (CACS/USL). Both partners are located in Lafayette, Louisiana. The EE-IR Center is funded by a …

Compliance Testing Of Iowa’S Skid-Mounted Sign Device, Karla A. Polivka, Ronald K. Faller, John R. Rohde, James C. Holloway, Dean L. Sicking

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

A wide variety of traffic control devices are used in work zones, some of which are nont ormally found on the roadside or in the traveled way outsideofthe work zones. These devices are used to enhance the safety of the work zones by controlling the traffic through these areas. Due to the placement of the traffic control devices, the devices themselves may be potentially hazardous to both workers and errant vehicles. The impact performance of many work zone traffic control devices is mainly unknown and to date limited crash testing has been conducted under the criteria of National Cooperative Highway …

Missouri River Stream Bank Erosion Assessment Gavins Point Dam To Ponca, Ne

United States Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District

The purpose of this report is to document the methodology and results obtained from a study of bank erosion along the Missouri River between Gavins Point Dam (RM 805.2) and Ponca, Nebraska (RM 752.3). Three (3) periods were studied: 1) August 1985 to August 1995, a time span of 10 years and; 2) from August 1995 and August 1997, a time span of 2 years. This study has been prepared by HDR Engineering, Inc. (HDR) under Contract No. DACW 45-97-D-0007 (Delivery Order 0019) for the Omaha District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.