Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Adaptive Water Infrastructure Planning For A Changing World, Sarah Fletcher

All ECSTATIC Materials

Water planners face the challenge of ensuring reliable water supply for people and the environment. Long-term changes and short-term variability in both the natural and social environments create large uncertainty in future water supply and demand. This makes it difficult to know when and how to adapt water systems through operational changes, policy, and infrastructure development. Adaptive planning approaches, in which planners defer action and respond as the system changes over time, have the potential to enable robustness to an uncertain future without unnecessary infrastructure development or policy changes. However, adaptive approaches may prevent planners from leveraging economies of scale, …

Adaptive Policy Design In Water Resources Systems Under Uncertain Climate And Human Stressors, Jon Herman

All ECSTATIC Materials

Long-term planning of water resources systems must contend with severe uncertainty in future projections of hydroclimatic variability across multiple scales, as well as uncertainty in human behavior, such as land use and reservoir operation. This talk will review recent developments in adaptive policy design to meet this challenge, centered around the key question: how should we learn from, and react to, dynamic observations of hydroclimatic, human, and ecological variables to ensure long-term sustainability? Specific contributions will cover three areas: (1) adaptation of short-term control rules, enabling existing infrastructure to manage multiple objectives across a range of possible futures; (2) exploration …

Strategies For Managing The Colorado River In An Uncertain Future, Jian Wang

All ECSTATIC Materials

Colorado River managers face a deeply uncertain future. Projections of declining watershed runoff are likely to necessitate restructuring of the present interpretation of the Law of the River that allocates water supply among Mexico and the seven states of the Basin. Additionally, the magnitude and distribution of consumptive uses of water will change. Outcomes for river and reservoir ecosystems are poorly predicted. How should we make better decisions given these uncertain factors? To help answer this question and expand conversation about the Colorado River management issues, we (1) classify different levels of uncertainty to guide decisions about which modeling tools …

Sharpening Ecostress And Viirs Land Surface Temperature Using Harmonized Landsat-Sentinel Surface Reflectances, Jie Xue, Martha C. Anderson, Feng Gao, Christopher Hain, Liang Sun, Yun Yang, Kyle R. Knipper, William P. Kustas, Alfonso F. Torres-Rua, Mitch Schull

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Land surface temperature (LST) is a key diagnostic indicator of agricultural water use and crop stress. LST data retrieved from thermal infrared (TIR) band imagery, however, tend to have a coarser spatial resolution (e.g., 100 m for Landsat 8) than surface reflectance (SR) data collected from shortwave bands on the same instrument (e.g., 30 m for Landsat). Spatial sharpening of LST data using the higher resolution multi-band SR data provides an important path for improved agricultural monitoring at sub-field scales. A previously developed Data Mining Sharpener (DMS) approach has shown great potential in the sharpening of Landsat LST using Landsat …

Impacts Of Beaver Dams On Mountain Stream Discharge And Water Temperature, Timothy R. Clark

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Beaver dam complexes have been shown to affect the hydrologic processes controlling river systems. These processes include surface and groundwater exchanges, water chemistry and temperature variations, and river discharge magnitudes. Majerova et al. (2015) explored the effects of beaver dams on surface and groundwater exchanges and water temperature by evaluating three years of water discharge and temperature data recorded at multiple locations within a small stream in northern Utah. They found that beaver dams increase the water surface elevation and force water into the floodplain resulting in increased inundation and groundwater recharge. They additionally found that beaver dams increase residence …

Advancing Water Resources Systems Modeling Cyberinfrastructure To Enable Systematic Data Analysis, Modeling, And Comparisons, Adel Mohammad Kheir Abdallah

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Water resources systems models aid in managing water resources holistically considering water, economic, energy, and environmental needs, among others. Developing such models require data that represent a water system’s physical and operational characteristics such as inflows, demands, reservoir storage, and release rules. However, such data is stored and described in different formats, metadata, and terminology. Therefore, Existing tools to store, query, and visualize modeling data are model, location, and dataset-specific, and developing such tools is time-consuming and requires programming experience. This dissertation presents an architecture and three software tools to enable researchers to more readily and consistently prepare and reuse …

Evaluating The Hydraulic Performance Of Digital Photogrammetry-Derived 3-Dimensional Models Of A Hydraulic Structure Using Computational Fluid Dynamics, Tyler J. Ashby

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This research investigated the combination of aerial imagery, photogrammetry, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Two 3D models of an 8-ft ramp flume were developed from aerial imagery using a commercial photogrammetry software. The GCP model was developed using ground control points (GCP) to improve and measure the model's accuracy. The Non-GCP model used GCPs as check points, which only measure the model's accuracy. The horizontal and vertical errors were, respectively, 0.39 in. and 0.73 in. for the GCP model, and 5.37 in. and 2.80 in. for the Non-GCP model.

In addition to the GCP and Non-GCP models, two hybrid 3D …

The Role Of Carbonate Minerals In Arsenic Mobility In A Shallow Aquifer Influenced By A Seasonally Fluctuating Groundwater Table, Jeremy Jensen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Arsenic (As) is a poison historically used to great effect before modern detection methods rendered it obsolete. However, the largest mass poisoning in human history occurred due to groundwater in the Bengal Basin contaminated by natural sources of As. Since that time, research has determined that As is found in groundwater worldwide. This includes aquifers located in basin-filled valleys of the western United States. One of these valleys is the Cache Valley Basin located in Northern Utah. This semi-arid region contains carbonate-rich soils and is heavily influenced by snowmelt and seasonal runoff. Previous studies have found that 15% of private …

Weber Basin Water Conservancy District Bottom-Up Climate Vulnerability Study Using Riverware, Jacob Everitt

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

With so much uncertainty of what the future has in store for us, how can we prepare for what lies ahead? The Weber Basin Water Conservancy District (WBWCD) needs to know how they can best prepare for future climate changes and future growth, and where their water system is vulnerable. A bottom-up approach can be used to consider how factors and subfactors effect the vulnerability of their water system's storage and delivery. This approach is accomplished with the use of RiverWare, an advanced water system modeling program. Scenarios to represent the factors are as follows: range of future stream flows, …

Venturi Flowmeter Performance Installed Downstream Of The Branch Of A Tee Junction, Benjamin G. Sandberg

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the influence of a tee junction on flow rate measurement of a Venturi flowmeter installed downstream of the branch of a tee. Accuracy in flow measurement is important to organizations where miscalculated flow rates can add up to be millions of dollars in either lost revenue, overcharges to the client, or improper system operation. This research used Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to determine ratios by which the manufacturer’s straight-line calibrated C_d (discharge coefficient) can be adjusted to improve the accuracy of the flow measurement when the Venturi is installed on the …

Trisiloxane Surfactant Adjuvants In Pollen, Autumn Slade

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Chemicals are often added to agricultural pesticide mixes to help increase the efficiency of the field spray solution, and one of the main groups of chemicals used for this purpose are trisiloxane surfactants (TSSs). Normally TSSs are considered non-toxic, but recent studies have shown TSSs to have negative impacts on organisms like honey bees. Though TSSs have recently been found in environmental sources like water, pollen, and beeswax, little is known about how TSSs behave in the environment or affects active ingredients, like pesticides.

To help determine the environmental prevalence and fate of TSSs, several studies were performed. Pollen was …

Submerged And Floating Woody Debris-Blocking Sensitivity Of Labyrinth Weirs, Taylor Vaughn

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Accumulation of floating and submerged woody debris at flow control structures can result in reduced discharge efficiency (higher upstream head for a given weir discharge). Labyrinth weirs are more prone to debris blockage than less efficient control structures due to their ability to pass large amounts of flow with relatively small heads. Labyrinth weirs also have geometric properties that are more likely to prevent debris from passing over the weir than linear weirs.

A laboratory study was performed to evaluate the interaction between labyrinth weirs and debris sizes. The individual debris tests indicated that debris blockage probability is influenced by …

Study Of Levee Underseepage Through Abandoned Channels And Point Bars On Curved Levee Sections Using The Response Surface-Monte Carlo Method, Tomsen Reed

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The current procedures for calculated the probability of failure of levees (earthen structures designed to prevent flooding of important locations) all have their own unique limitations. Some methods are very simplistic, and either ignore or do not allow for inclusion of complex geometries. Other methods allow for complex geometry, but do not lend themselves to large quantities of analysis because of the amount of time it takes to create or modify a model. For these reasons, previous research performed by Lourdes Polanco and Dr. John Rice developed the preliminary stages of a new method called the Response Surface-Monte Carlo method. …

Collaborative Research: Network Hub: Enabling, Supporting, And Communicating Critical Zone Research, Jeffery S. Horsburgh

Funded Research Records

No abstract provided.

Restoring Lake Urmia: Moving Beyond A Uniform Lake Level (2-Page Summary), Somayeh Sima, Dory Rosenberg, Wayne A. Wurtsbaugh, Sarah E. Null, Karin M. Kettenring

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

More than 5 million people live near Lake Urmia in northwestern Iran, one of the world's largest hypersaline lakes. Over the past two decades, the lake has lost 95% of its volume, lake level has dropped more than 7 m, and lake restoration has gained widespread interest. The government seeks a uniform "ecological" target lake level of 1274.1 m above sea level to lower salinity below 240 gL^-1 and recover brine shrimp (Artemia spp.) and flamingos (Phoenicopterus roseus).

We have synthesized over 40 years of available data, defined 8 ecosystem services for human health, water quality, ecology, recreation, and …

A Low-Cost, Open Source Monitoring System For Collecting High Temporal Resolution Water Use Data On Magnetically Driven Residential Water Meters, Camilo J. Bastidas Pacheco, Jeffery S. Horsburgh, Robb J. Tracy

Publications

We present a low-cost (≈$150) monitoring system for collecting high temporal resolution residential water use data without disrupting the operation of commonly available water meters. This system was designed for installation on top of analog, magnetically driven, positive displacement, residential water meters and can collect data at a variable time resolution interval. The system couples an Arduino Pro microcontroller board, a datalogging shield customized for this specific application, and a magnetometer sensor. The system was developed and calibrated at the Utah Water Research Laboratory and was deployed for testing on five single family residences in Logan and Providence, Utah, for …

Nappe Oscillations On Free-Overfall Structures, Data From Laboratory Experiments, Maurine Lodomez, Blake Tullis, Pierre Archambeau, Vasileios Kitsikoudis, Michel Pirotton, Benjamin Dewals, Sébastien Erpicum

Publications

This paper presents a dataset obtained from fifty-two laboratory experiments of nappe oscillations on free overfall structures. Data were collected on two complementary experimental setups, each consisting of a linear weir model. The dataset covers test configurations involving varied geometric parameters (i.e. weir crest shape, weir width, fall height and nappe confinement) and inflow discharges. The following experimental data were produced: assessment of nappe oscillation occurrence and associated frequencies. The later measurements were performed using characterization techniques (image and sound analysis) developed for this research. Reuse of the collected data will support efforts to improve the understanding of the physical …

Developing Open Source Software Using Version Control Systems: An Introduction To The Git Language For Documenting Your Computational Research, Jared D. Smith, Jonathan D. Herman

All ECSTATIC Materials

Version control systems track the history of code as it is committed (saved) by any number of developers. Have you made a coding error and cannot debug it? Version control systems allow for resetting code back to when it worked, and show what code has changed since previous commits.

The contents of this lecture provide an introduction to the git version control language, GitHub for cloud hosting open source code repositories, and tutorials that demonstrate common and useful git and GitHub practices. This lecture is intended to be coupled with a discussion on creating reproducible computational research.

The zipped folder …

Fast Summarizing Algorithm For Polygonal Statistics Over A Regular Grid, Scott Haag, David G. Tarboton, Martyn Smith, Ali Shokoufandeh

Publications

We describe a data structure and associated algorithm called Fast Zonal Statistics (FZS) for the retrieval of the summary characteristics of an arbitrary polygon derived from a regular grid. The FZS algorithm can return numerical (e.g., mean, sum, and count) attributes for a polygonal object over a regular grid (e.g., raster data model). The computational complexity of the FZS algorithm is constant in relation to the length of the polygon perimeter. This contrasts with existing approaches which scale in relation to the polygon area, therefore we expect and measure geometric decreases in execution time using the proposed approach for simple …

Implications Of Soil And Canopy Temperature Uncertainty In The Estimation Of Surface Energy Fluxes Using Tseb2t And High-Resolution Imagery In Commercial Vineyards, Ayman Nassar, Alfonso F. Torres-Rua, William Kustas, Héctor Nieto, Mac Mckee, Lawrence Hipps, Joseph Alfieri, John H. Prueger, Maria Mar Alsina, Lynn Mckee, Calvin Coopmans, Luis Sanchez, Nick Dokoozlian

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Estimation of surface energy fluxes using thermal remote sensing–based energy balance models (e.g., TSEB2T) involves the use of local micrometeorological input data of air temperature, wind speed, and incoming solar radiation, as well as vegetation cover and accurate land surface temperature (LST). The physically based Two-source Energy Balance with a Dual Temperature (TSEB2T) model separates soil and canopy temperature (Ts and Tc) to estimate surface energy fluxes including Rn, H, LE, and G. The estimation of Ts and Tc components for the TSEB2T model relies on the linear relationship between the composite land surface temperature and a vegetation index, namely …

To What Extent Does The Eddy Covariance Footprint Cutoff Influence The Estimation Of Surface Energy Fluxes Using Two Source Energy Balance Model And High-Resolution Imagery In Commercial Vineyards?, Ayman Nassar, Alfonso F. Torres-Rua, William Kustas, Héctor Nieto, Mac Mckee, Lawrence Hipps, Joseph Alfieri, John H. Prueger, Maria Mar Alsina, Lynn Mckee, Calvin Coopmans, Louis Sanchez, Nick Dokoozlian

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Validation of surface energy fluxes from remote sensing sources is performed using instantaneous field measurements obtained from eddy covariance (EC) instrumentation. An eddy covariance measurement is characterized by a footprint function / weighted area function that describes the mathematical relationship between the spatial distribution of surface flux sources and their corresponding magnitude. The orientation and size of each flux footprint / source area depends on the micro-meteorological conditions at the site as measured by the EC towers, including turbulence fluxes, friction velocity (u_star), and wind speed, all of which influence the dimensions and orientation of the footprint. The …

Empirical Models For Predicting Water And Heat Flow Properties Of Permafrost Soils, Michael T. O'Connor, M. Bayani Cardenas, Stephen B. Ferencz, Yue Wu, Bethany T. Neilson, Jingyi Chen, George W. Kling

Publications

Warming and thawing in the Arctic are promoting biogeochemical processing and hydrologic transport in carbon‐rich permafrost and soils that transfer carbon to surface waters or the atmosphere. Hydrologic and biogeochemical impacts of thawing are challenging to predict with sparse information on arctic soil hydraulic and thermal properties. We developed empirical and statistical models of soil properties for three main strata in the shallow, seasonally thawed soils above permafrost in a study area of ~7,500 km² in Alaska. The models show that soil vertical stratification and hydraulic properties are predictable based on vegetation cover and slope. We also show that …

Estimation Of Evapotranspiration And Energy Fluxes Using A Deep-Learning-Based High-Resolution Emissivity Model And The Two-Source Energy Balance Model With Suas Information, Alfonso F. Torres-Rua, Andres Ticlavilca, Mahyar Aboutalebi, Héctor Nieto, Maria Mar Alsina, Alex White, John H. Prueger, Joseph Alfieri, Lawrence Hipps, Lynn Mckee, William Kustas, Calvin Coopmans, Nick Dokoozlian

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Surface temperature is necessary for the estimation of energy fluxes and evapotranspiration from satellites and airborne data sources. For example, the Two-Source Energy Balance (TSEB) model uses thermal information to quantify canopy and soil temperatures as well as their respective energy balance components. While surface (also called kinematic) temperature is desirable for energy balance analysis, obtaining this temperature is not straightforward due to a lack of spatially estimated narrowband (sensor-specific) and broadband emissivities of vegetation and soil, further complicated by spectral characteristics of the UAV thermal camera. This study presents an effort to spatially model narrowband and broadband emissivities for …

Quantitative Assessment Of Contested Water Uses And Management In The Conflict-Torn Yarmouk River Basin, Nicolas Avisse, Amaury Tilmant, David E. Rosenberg, Samer Talozi

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

The Yarmouk River basin is shared between Syria, Jordan, and Israel. Since the 1960s, Yarmouk River flows have declined more than 85% despite the signature of bilateral agreements. Syria and Jordan blame each other for the decline and have both developed their own explanatory narratives: Jordan considers that Syria violated their 1987 agreement by building more dams than what was agreed on, while Syria blames climate change. In fact, because the two countries do not share information, neither on hydrological flows nor on water management, it is increasingly difficult to distinguish between natural and anthropogenic factors affecting the flow regime. …

Integrating Hydrologic Modeling Web Services With Online Data Sharing To Prepare, Store, And Execute Hydrologic Models, Tian Gan, David G. Tarboton, Pabitra Dash, Tseganeh Z. Gichamo, Jeffery S. Horsburgh

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Web based applications, web services, and online data and model sharing technology are becoming increasingly available to support hydrologic research. This promises benefits in terms of collaboration, computer platform independence, and reproducibility of modeling workflows and results. In this research, we designed an approach that integrates hydrologic modeling web services with an online data sharing system to support web-based simulation for hydrologic models. We used this approach to integrate example systems as a case study to support reproducible snowmelt modeling for a test watershed in the Colorado River Basin, USA. We demonstrated that this approach enabled users to work within …

Validating A Finite Element Model With Ansys Workbench For Isotruss® Structures Subject To Uniaxial Compression, Hanna B. Opdahl

Utah Space Grant Consortium

The purpose of this study is to develop, verify, and validate a finite element (FE) model of IsoTruss® structures subject to uniaxial compression. The FE model is implemented in ANSYS WorkBench and verified using axial stiffness and critical buckling loads that are derived from traditional mechanics. The buckling failure modes include global buckling and local bay buckling. The predictions from the FE model and mechanics calculations are validated by experimental data generated in preceding studies. Results indicate that the effective material modulus is highly affected by variations in manufacturing. Adjustment factors are applied to the nominal material properties to accurately …

Designing Technology For Different Scales Of Irrigation Scheduling, Paolo Alexander Consalvo

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Uncertainty in water availability is a significant challenge to the agriculture industry. Farmers and irrigators depend on novel uses of sensors and data to maximize water efficiency. Documented studies have demonstrated scheduling irrigation is a straightforward, deterministic means of achieving water efficiency. Irrigation scheduling uses several parameters to determine the moment of crop water stress due to available water in the soil. However, sensors and data for soil moisture and matric potential, a parameter describing water available to plants, have the potential to train machine learning algorithms to forecast water irrigation needs based on previous measurements. Satellite remote-sensing is another …

Ranchers Adapting To Climate Variability In The Upper Colorado River Basin, Utah, Hadia Akbar

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Changes in climate influence agricultural production. This study looks at the impacts of climate variability in the Utah regions of the Upper Colorado River Basin by combining regression techniques with interview data to explore how climate variability affects agricultural production and how the farmers are adapting their practices to these changes. The results show that climate does not have any significant impact on cattle and hay production in the study area on a decadal scale. However, on an annual basis temperature seems to have more impact than precipitation. Among non-climatic variables, commodity prices and their regulations by the government are …

Pollution Prevention And Water Reuse At Utah Department Of Transportation Facilities, Amanda Stoudt

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

As stormwater flows over roads, sidewalks, and other impervious surfaces, it picks up pollutants that are deposited on these surfaces. One common pollutant transported by stormwater is road salt. While the application of road salt is crucial for wintertime public safety, road salt has a host of negative environmental impacts. Road salt has been linked to increasing levels of dissolved solids in groundwater, vegetation damage, and behavioral changes in aquatic organisms. Studies have shown that these impacts are concentrated around salt storage facilities. As a result, the United States Environmental Protection Agency issued many state departments of transportation municipal separate …

Strategic Infrastructure Planning For Autonomous Vehicles, Zhaocai Liu

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Compared with conventional human-driven vehicles (HVs), AVs have various potential benefits, such as increasing road capacity and lowering vehicular fuel consumption and emissions. Road infrastructure management, adaptation, and upgrade plays a key role in promoting the adoption and benefit realization of AVs. This dissertation investigated several strategic infrastructure planning problems for AVs. First, it studied the potential impact of AVs on the congestion patterns of transportation networks. Second, it investigated the strategic planning problem for a new form of managed lanes for autonomous vehicles, designated as autonomous-vehicle/toll lanes, which are freely accessible to autonomous vehicles while allowing human-driven vehicles to …