Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Bathymetric Survey For Lakes Azuei And Enriquillo, Hispaniola, Michael Piasecki, Mahrokh Moknatian, Fred Moshary, Joseph Cleto, Yolanda Leon, Jorge Gonzalez, Daniel Comarazamy

Publications and Research

The two largest lakes on the Caribbean Island of Hispaniola, Lake Azuei in Haiti and Lake Enriquillo in the Dominican Republic, have experienced dramatic growth and surface area expansion over the past few years leading to severe flooding and loss of arable land around the lake perimeters. In order to better understand the reasons for this unprecedented rate of expansion and the resulting consequences a multi-disciplinary team comprised of researchers from Haiti, the DR, and the US have embarked on an extensive data collecting and hydrologic and climatological modeling campaign. While the sensor deployment entails stations that measure climatological data …

Odor Monitoring At The New Orleans East Bank Wastewater Treatment Plant, Felicia R. Figinsky

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Hydrogen Sulfide is a corrosive, odorous, and hazardous gas that can cause issues for wastewater collection systems and treatment plants. When evaluating hydrogen sulfide concentrations it is important to consider the source, odor causing mechanism, and its level of toxicity. In this study, continuous hydrogen sulfide monitoring was performed for 8 locations within the New Orleans East Bank Wastewater Treatment Plant for a span of 5 months. Hot spots within the plant are located and data analysis is performed based on daily and hourly averages of hydrogen sulfide concentrations. The data was configured to show peak hydrogen sulfide concentrations at …

Drinking Water Treatment: Salt-Free Water “Softener” Options, Bruce I. Dvorak

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

New no-salt technologies may be effective in treating hard water, but consumers should carefully investigate product claims prior to buying a specific treatment device.

Hard water is not a health risk, but many Nebraska consumers find hard water to be a nuisance because of mineral buildup on plumbing fixtures, including water heaters; unsightly film on glass and crystal wares; and poor soap and/or detergent performance. Water described as “hard” contains high amounts of dissolved calcium and magnesium, which are positively charged contaminants called cations.

Water hardness often is expressed as grains of hardness per gallon of water (gpg) or milligrams …

Hydrogeological Conceptual Model Of La Villa River Watershed, Republic Of Panama, Maria G. Castrellon Romero

Honors Scholar Theses

Groundwater in Panama is a valuable and poorly understood resource. Its exploitation has increased 75% in the past decade, reaching a total value of 700,000 m³/day or 185 million gallons per day (MGD). Climate change has caused a lengthening of the dry season, which has reduced precipitation and streamflow, resulting in surface water scarcity during this period. Nevertheless, it has not been possible to determine the extent to which groundwater sources have been affected by these factors since systematic monitoring of groundwater levels has not been implemented in Panama. With support from National Institution of Drinking Water Supply …

A Simulation-Based Analysis Of Chemical And Radiological Hazard Zones Adapted To Physical Boundaries, Mickie J. Sundheim

Theses and Dissertations

In the United States, industrial and terrorist use of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) materials pose a risk to public safety. During the initial phase of typical CBRN incidents, emergency responders establish hazard zones based on standard distances from published guidelines and recommendations. This research investigates how standard hazard zones change in a real world environment that accounts for physical boundaries. Using a python simulation in ArcGIS®, new hazard zones were created by expanding standard hazard zones to follow nearby roads, railroads, and rivers. The new and standard zones were compared by calculating the population and area affected by …

Methane Emissions As Energy Reservoir: Context, Scope, Causes And Mitigation Strategies, Xiaoli Chai, David J. Tonjes, Devinder Mahajan

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

Methane (CH4) is now considered a bridge fuel between present fossil (carbon) economy and desired renewables and this energy molecule is projected to play an important role in the global energy mix well beyond 2035. The atmospheric warming potential of CH4 is 28-36 times, when averaged over a 100-year period, that of carbon dioxide (CO2) and this necessitates a close scrutiny of global CH4 emissions inventory. As the second most abundant greenhouse gas (GHG), the annual global CH4 emissions were 645 million metric tons (MMT), accounting for 14.3% of the global anthropogenic GHG emissions. Of this, five key anthropogenic sources: …

2016 Nebraska Water Monitoring Programs Report, Marty Link, Ryan Chapman

Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality: Reports

The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) is charged with monitoring, assessing, and to the extent possible, managing the state’s water resources. The purpose of this work is to protect and maintain high quality water and encourage or execute activities to improve poor water quality. Monitoring is done on nearly 17,000 miles of flowing rivers and streams, more than 134,000 acres of surface water in lakes and reservoirs, as well as the vast storage of groundwater in Nebraska’s aquifers.

Drivers Of Food Wastage And Their Implications For Sustainable Policy Development, Krista L. Thyberg, David J. Tonjes

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

There has been growing interest in establishing food waste prevention and recovery programs throughout the world. The drive to target food waste stems from increasing concerns about resource conservation, food security, food waste’s environmental and economic costs, and a general trend in the waste management industry to transition to more sustainable practices. Here the drivers of residential, institutional, and commercial food waste generation in developed countries, particularly in the U.S., are explored. The impacts of food system modernization on food waste generation are examined, particularly impacts related to food system industrialization, urbanization, globalization, and economic growth. Socio-demographic, cultural, political, and …

Nebraska Water Center Annual Report 2016, Nebraska Water Center

Nebraska Water Center: Administrative Materials

Contents

Foreword

Director’s Letter

Since 1964: The Nebraska Water Center

Building the future

Nebraska’s Top 10 water challenges

Nebraska Water Center advisory board

Water Resources Advisory Panel: A key to success

Nebraska Water Sciences Laboratory

USGS 104b projects for 2016

Ogallala Aquifer focus of USDA research grant

Graduate research on amphetamines draws attention

NIC hosts water symposium and law conference

Water seminar lectures key on “Water and health”

Four picked for IRES program in Czech Republic

WARI program begins

2016 tour to Colorado’s South Platte basin

45th annual tour visits Platte River basin in Colorado

McCornick new Water for Food …

Nebraska Water Center (Brochure ), Nebraska Water Center

Nebraska Water Center: Administrative Materials

The Nebraska Water Center was established in 1964 as one of 54 Water Resources Research Institutes nationwide with passage of the first Clean Water Act. It facilitates the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s land grant missions in research, extension and teaching in water science, law and policy to address water quantity and quality issues of priority to Nebraska. NWC helps water researchers by awarding small grants, conducting water-related education and outreach activities for stakeholders, and disseminating research results through media, colloquia, conferences, lectures, and tours. NWC provides state-of-the-art analytical technology to conduct water research and education to scientists and engineers, helping them …

2016 Nebraska Groundwater Quality Monitoring Report

Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality: Reports

The 2001 Nebraska Legislature passed LB329 (Neb. Rev. Stat. §46-1304) which, in part, directed the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) to report on groundwater quality monitoring in Nebraska. Reports have been issued annually since December 2001. The text of the statute applicable to this report follows: “The Department of Environmental Quality shall prepare a report outlining the extent of ground water quality monitoring conducted by natural resources districts during the preceding calendar year. The department shall analyze the data collected for the purpose of determining whether or not ground water quality is degrading or improving and shall present the …

Gc/Ms Analysis Of Some Extractives From Eichhornia Crassipes, Héctor A. Fileto-Pérez, O. Miriam Rutiaga-Quiñones, Mark D. Sytsma, Isabelle M. Lorne, Wentai Luo, James F. Pankow, José G. Rutiaga-Quiñones

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Eichhornia crassipes (water hyacinth) is an invasive weed that causes serious issues for rivers, lakes, and other reservoirs around the world, although it can be an excellent source for bioactive compounds such as phytosterols and some steroids found in many plants. In this study, water hyacinth samples from both Durango and Distrito Federal in Mexico were collected. Ascendant extracts (cyclohexane, hexane, acetone, and methanol) from their leaves, stems, and roots were analyzed. Using boron trifluoride (similar to 10% [similar to 1.3 M] in 1-butanol), all extracts were derivatized. Twenty-four derivatized samples were analyzed using a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) method. …

Tracer Studies Conducted Nearly Two Decades Apart Elucidate Groundwater Movement Through A Karst Aquifer In The Frederick Valley Of Maryland, Keith A. White, Michael K. Cobb, Thomas Aley, Ethan Weikel

Sinkhole Conference 2015

A pair of groundwater tracer studies at a single karst test site were completed 18 years apart. The results of these studies have provided evidence of both relatively rapid advective transport via conduits and an extreme capacity for dye storage and retardation. The tracer results, coupled with other subsurface investigation data, are used to develop a conceptual model for groundwater movement through this karst aquifer in the Frederick Valley of Maryland, as well as identify implications for remediation. Three fluorescent tracer dyes used in the initial study were detected in several background monitoring locations established for the second study conducted …

Heterogeneous Oxidation Of Catechol, Elizabeth A. Pillar, Ruixin Zhou, Marcelo I. Guzman

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Natural and anthropogenic emissions of aromatic hydrocarbons from biomass burning, agro-industrial settings, and fossil fuel combustion contribute precursors to secondary aerosol formation (SOA). How these compounds are processed under humid tropospheric conditions is the focus of current attention to understand their environmental fate. This work shows how catechol thin films, a model for oxygenated aromatic hydrocarbons present in biomass burning and combustion aerosols, undergo heterogeneous oxidation at the air–solid interface under variable relative humidity (RH = 0–90%). The maximum reactive uptake coefficient of O₃(g) by catechol γ_O3 = (7.49 ± 0.35) × 10^–6 occurs for …

Using A High Altitude Balloon Platform To Observe And Measure Seasonal Ozone Flux Over Agricultural Landscapes, Cody Sabo

2017 Academic High Altitude Conference

The concentration of greenhouse gasses (GHGs) in the atmosphere has continued to rise since the industrial era. This issue has had a multitude of negative impacts on all living things. Among the major GHGs are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. Ozone is of particular importance because it not only has the ability to trap heat in the atmosphere, but it also directly impacts organisms by causing harm to both plants and humans. The damage that ozone causes to plants is most closely linked to ozone uptake rather than ozone concentration. So, measuring ozone uptake is becoming critical for …

Direct Atmospheric Evidence For The Irreversible Formation Of Aqueous Secondary Organic Aerosol, Marwa M. El-Sayed, Yingqing Wang, Christopher J. Hennigan

Publications

The reversible nature of aqueous secondary organic aerosol (aqSOA) formation was characterized for the first time through direct atmospheric measurements. Water-soluble organic carbon in the gas and particle phases (WSOCg and WSOCp) was measured simultaneously to quantify aqSOA formation in Baltimore, Maryland. During the nighttime, aqSOA formation was evident as WSOCg increasingly partitioned to the particle phase with increasing relative humidity (RH). To characterize the reversible/irreversible nature of this aqSOA, the WSOCp measurement was alternated through an unperturbed ambient channel and through a “dried” channel maintained at ~40% RH (with 7 s residence time) to mimic the natural drying particles …

2015 Nebraska Groundwater Quality Monitoring Report

Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality: Reports

The 2001 Nebraska Legislature passed LB329 (Neb. Rev. Stat. §46-1304) which, in part, directed the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) to report on groundwater quality monitoring in Nebraska. Reports have been issued annually since December 2001. The text of the statute applicable to this report follows: “The Department of Environmental Quality shall prepare a report outlining the extent of ground water quality monitoring conducted by natural resources districts during the preceding calendar year. The department shall analyze the data collected for the purpose of determining whether or not ground water quality is degrading or improving and shall present the …

2015 Nebraska Water Monitoring Programs Report, Marty Link, Ryan Chapman

Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality: Reports

The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) is charged with monitoring, assessing, and to the extent possible, managing the state’s water resources. The purpose of this work is to protect and maintain high quality water and encourage or execute activities to improve poor water quality. Monitoring is done on nearly 17,000 miles of flowing rivers and streams, more than 134,000 acres of surface water in lakes and reservoirs, as well as the vast storage of groundwater in Nebraska’s aquifers.

Nebraska Water Center Annual Report 2015, Nebraska Water Center

Nebraska Water Center: Administrative Materials

Contents

Foreword 4

The Nebraska Water Center: Leadership in Research, Education and Communication 6

Director’s Letter 8

For More Than 50 years: The Nebraska Water Center 10

Helping Build the Future 11

Nebraska Water Center Advisory Board 14

Water Resources Advisory Panel: A key to success 15

Information for Our Clients and the Public 16

Primary Goals 18

USGS 104b Projects 20

Dvorak, Ray Aim at Improving Water Quality for Small Communities 20

October Retreat at UNK 24

Public Water Lectures 25

2015 Special Seminars 26

2015 Water Symposium and Water Law Conference 28

Water Tour Visits Republican River Basin …

Quantification Of Food Waste Disposal In The United States: A Meta-Analysis, Krista L. Thyberg, David J. Tonjes, Jessica Gurevitch

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

Food waste has major consequences for social, nutritional, economic, and environmental issues, and yet the amount of food waste disposed in the U.S. has not been accurately quantified. We introduce the transparent and repeatable methods of meta-analysis and systematic reviewing to determine how much food is discarded in the U.S., and to determine if specific factors drive increased disposal. The aggregate proportion of food waste in U.S. municipal solid waste from 1995 to 2013 was found to be 0.147 (95% CI 0.137-0.157) of total waste, which is lower than that estimated by USEPA for the same period (0.176). The proportion …

Methane Production By A Packed-Bed Anaerobic Digester Fed Dairy Barn Flush Water, Sean Richard Thomson

Master's Theses

Packed-bed digesters are an alternative to covered lagoon digesters for methane production and anaerobic treatment of dilute wastewaters such as dairy barn flush water. The physical media of packed-beds retain biofilms, often allowing increased treatment rates. Previous studies have evaluated several types of media for digestion of dilute wastewaters, but cost and media fouling have setback commercial development. A major operational cost has been effluent recirculation pumping.

In the present effort, a novel approach to anaerobic digestion of flush dairy water was developed at pilot-scale: broken walnut shells were used as a low-cost packed-bed medium and effluent recirculation was replaced …

Reply To ‘Co2 Emissions From Crop Residue-Derived Biofuels’, Adam Liska, Haishun Yang, Matthew P. Pelton, Andrew E. Suyker

Adam Liska Papers

The soil organic carbon (SOC) model that we used was parameterized with data from arable land under normal farming conditions in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia, but the equation is insensitive to changes in tillage, soil texture and moisture. The model has reasonable accuracy, however, in predicting changes in SOC, residue remaining and CO₂ emissions from initial SOC, carbon inputs from residue, and daily temperature; the shoot-to-root ratio used in the geospatial simulation was 0.29 (that is, root carbon is 29% of total aboveground carbon), which did not underestimate carbon input to soil (Supplementary Figure 2 in Ref. …

Is Horizon Sampling More Powerful Than Depth Sampling?, Chris E. Johnson

Civil and Environmental Engineering - All Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Landsat-8: Science And Product Vision For Terrestrial Global Change Research, David P. Roy, M. A. Wulder, T. R. Loveland, C. E. Woodcock, R. G. Allen, M. C. Anderson, D. Helder, J. R. Irons, D. M. Johnson, R. Kennedy, T. A. Scambos, C. B. Schaaf, J. R. Schott, Y. Sheng, E. F. Vermote, A. S. Belward, R. Bindschadler, W. B. Cohen, F. Gao, J. D. Hipple, P. Hostert, Desert Research Institute, Reno, Nv, C. O. Justice, Ayse Kilic, V. Kovalskyy, Z. P. Lee, L. Lymburner, J. G. Masek, J. Mccorkel, Y. Shuai, R. Trezza, J. Vogelmann, R. H. Wynne, Z. Zhu

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Landsat 8, a NASA and USGS collaboration, acquires global moderate-resolution measurements of the Earth's terrestrial and polar regions in the visible, near-infrared, short wave, and thermal infrared. Landsat 8 extends the remarkable 40 year Landsat record and has enhanced capabilities including new spectral bands in the blue and cirrus cloud-detection portion of the spectrum, two thermal bands, improved sensor signal-to-noise performance and associated improvements in radiometric resolution, and an improved duty cycle that allows collection of a significantly greater number of images per day. This paper introduces the current (2012–2017) Landsat Science Team's efforts to establish an initial understanding of …

Nebraska Water Center, Robert B. Daugherty Water For Food Institute, University Of Nebraska (Handout), Nebraska Water Center

Nebraska Water Center: Administrative Materials

Who We Are: The Nebraska Water Center (NWC), established by Congress in 1964 as one of 54 Water Resources Research Institutes nationwide, focuses on helping the University of Nebraska (NU) become an international leader in water research, teaching, extension and outreach by facilitating programs that will result in NU becoming a premiere institution in the study of agricultural and domestic water use. The NWC helps arrange research addressing water problems or water understanding; helps new water researchers and engineers; and publishes research results to water professionals and the public through publications, colloquiums and conferences, lectures and tours. The NWC is …

Quantitative Assessments Of Municipal Waste Management Systems: Using Different Indicators To Compare And Rank Programs In New York State, Krista L. Greene, David J. Tonjes

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

The primary objective of waste management technologies and policies in theUnited Statesis to reduce the harmful environmental impacts of waste, particularly those relating to energy consumption and climate change. Performance indicators are frequently used to evaluate the environmental quality of municipal waste systems, as well as to compare and rank programs relative to each other in terms of environmental performance. However, there currently is no consensus on the best indicator for performing these environmental evaluations. The purpose of this study is to examine the common performance indicators used to assess the environmental benefits of municipal waste systems to determine if …

A Review Of The Hyporheic Zone, Stream Restoration, And Means To Enhance Denitrification, Leanne Merill, David J. Tonjes

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

The hyporheic zone is the subsurface area below and adjacent to a stream where groundwater mixes with stream water, through vertical, lateral, and longitudinal flows. The hyporheic zone connects the stream to uplands and other terrestrial environments. It is a zone of distinct faunal communities, high biological diversity and ecological complexity, and is the site of chemical processing and transformations of ground- and stream waters. The hyporheic zone is important to the overall ecosystem ecology of the stream, and it can influence stream water chemistry. Flows, reactions, and biota in the hyporheic zone are heterogeneous and patchy, making it difficult …

2014 Nebraska Water Monitoring Programs Report, Marty Link, Ryan Chapman

Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality: Reports

The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) is charged with monitoring, assessing, and to the extent possible, managing the state’s water resources. The purpose of this work is to protect and maintain high quality water and encourage or execute activities to improve poor water quality. Monitoring is done on nearly 17,000 miles of flowing rivers and streams, more than 134,000 acres of surface water in lakes and reservoirs, as well as the vast storage of groundwater in Nebraska’s aquifers.

2014 Nebraska Groundwater Quality Monitoring Report

Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality: Reports

The 2001 Nebraska Legislature passed LB329 (Neb. Rev. Stat. §46-1304) which, in part, directed the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) to report on groundwater quality monitoring in Nebraska. Reports have been issued annually since December 2001. The text of the statute applicable to this report follows: “The Department of Environmental Quality shall prepare a report outlining the extent of ground water quality monitoring conducted by natural resources districts during the preceding calendar year. The department shall analyze the data collected for the purpose of determining whether or not ground water quality is degrading or improving and shall present the …

Nebraska Water Center Annual Report 2014, Nebraska Water Center

Nebraska Water Center: Administrative Materials

Letter from the Director

I am pleased to present this annual report on the activities, finances and many accomplishments of the Nebraska Water Center (NWC) during 2013 and 2014, a time when the NWC is celebrating its Golden Anniversary. More than being a simple look back at where we’ve been and what we have accomplished over the past year, this report looks forward to the complex challenges and exciting opportunities that lie ahead of us. We are now an integral part of the Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Institute (DWFI), a growing global institute focused on one of the …