Other Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Stage And Discharge Prediction From Documentary Time-Lapse Imagery, Kenneth W. Chapman, Troy E. Gilmore, Mehrube Mehrubeoglu, Christian D. Chapman, Aaron R. Mittelstet, John E. Stranzl Jr.

Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Imagery from fixed, ground-based cameras is rich in qualitative and quantitative information that can improve stream discharge monitoring. For instance, time-lapse imagery may be valuable for filling data gaps when sensors fail and/or during lapses in funding for monitoring programs. In this study, we used a large image archive (> 40,000 images from 2012 to 2019) from a fixed, ground-based camera that is part of a documentary watershed imaging project (https://plattebasintimelapse.com/). Scalar image features were extracted from daylight images taken at one-hour intervals. The image features were fused with United States Geological Survey stage and discharge data as …

Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions In Maize No-Till Agroecosystems In Southern Brazil Based On A Long-Term Experiment, Guilherme Rosa Da Silva, Adam J. Liska, Cimelio Bayer

Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Brazilian agriculture is constantly questioned concerning its environmental impacts, particularly greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This research study used data from a 34-year field experiment to estimate the life cycle GHG emissions intensity of maize production for grain in farming systems under no-tillage (NT) and conventional tillage (CT) combined with Gramineae (oat) and legume (vetch) cover crops in southern Brazil. We applied the Feedstock Carbon Intensity Calculator for modeling the “field-to-farm gate” emissions with measured annual soil N₂O and CH₄ emissions data. For net CO₂ emissions, increases in soil organic C (SOC) were applied as a proxy, …

Impact Of Eastern Redcedar Encroachment On Water Resources In The Nebraska Sandhills, Yaser Kishawi, Aaron R. Mittelstet, Troy E. Gilmore, Dirac Twidwell, Tirthankar Roy, Nawaraj Shrestha

Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Worldwide, tree or shrub dominated woodlands have encroached into herbaceous dominated grasslands. While very few studies have evaluated the impact of Eastern Redcedar (redcedar) encroachment on the water budget, none have analyzed the impact on water quality. In this study, we evaluated the impact of redcedar encroachment on the water budget in the Nebraska Sand Hills and how the decreased streamflow would increase nitrate and atrazine concentrations in the Platte River. We calibrated a Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT model) for streamflow, recharge, and evapotranspiration. Using a moving window with a dilate morphological filter, encroachment scenarios of 11.9%, 16.1%, …

A Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory For Nebraska: Livestock And Coal Loom Large, Eric R. Holley, Adam Liska

Adam Liska Papers

Mitigation of climate change requires the systematic identification and cataloging of emissions sources at city, state, and national levels. In this study, an inventory of annual greenhouse gas emissions from the state of Nebraska was created based on industry data, and emissions inventories were completed each year from 1990 to 2016. Nebraska’s net emissions were found to increase from 56.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents (MMtCO₂e) in 1990 to 87.4 MMtCO₂e in 2016. Agriculture was found to be the sector with the most emissions (36 MMtCO₂e) followed by electricity generation (21 MMtCO …

Sources Of Variability And Uncertainty In Food-Energy-Water Nexus Systems, Heydi Calderon-Ambelis, Deepak R. Keshwani

Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

A nexus approach contributes to the strategic allocation of resources to secure food, energy, and water for the world population. Integrated models considering the complex interactions across food, energy, and water (FEW) enhance decision-making and strategic planning towards resilience. However, a significant number of the existing integrated models leave unaddressed the inherent variability and uncertainty present in the FEW sectors. Here, we review the importance of characterizing variability over spatial and temporal scales and the importance of decreasing the uncertainty present within a FEW nexus systems. The review also discusses existing modeling tools that address variability and uncertainty on single …

Comparison Effect On Biogas Production From Vegetable And Fruit Waste With Rumen Digesta Through Co-Digestion Process, Anika Tasnim, Muhammad Rashed Al Mamun, Md Anwar Hossen, Md Towfiqur Rahman, Md Janibul Alam Soeb

Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Biogas is the best renewable energy as it can be produced from any biomass for example any plant or living organism. The purpose of this research was to produce biomethane from co-digestion of vegetable and fruit waste with rumen digesta through anaerobic digestion process. In this research, two trials of experiment were conducted. Each trial has three different sample with different mixing ratios. Raw materials used in the experiment was rumen digesta of goat and cow, potato, capsicum, cucumbers, onions, radish, cauliflower, carrot, leafy vegetables, apple, banana, and papaya. In each sample, 1200 gram of raw materials were used. Hydraulic …

Greenhouse Gas Emissions And Drought Projections For Nebraska, Adam Liska

Adam Liska Papers

This lecture will focus on three issues. The first is a presentation of data from the first greenhouse gas emissions inventory for the State of Nebraska, which will be published in the coming weeks. In 2016, emissions from beef cattle made up 23% of net state emissions, and coal for electricity made up 23.7% of net state emissions. The second issue to be addressed are the impacts of the 2012 drought on agriculture in Nebraska and the region. The drought of 2012 indicates that future droughts in the 21^st century in the region can be a dominant influence on …

Climate Change And Market-Based Insurance Feedbacks, Eric R. Holley, Adam Liska, Cory Walters, Geoffrey C. Friesen, Michael Hayes, Max J. Rudolph, Donald A. Wilhite

Adam Liska Papers

Climatic events have accounted for 91% of $1.05 trillion in insured costs for global catastrophic events from 1980 to 2016. Costs are driven by socio-economic development and increased frequency and severity of climatic disasters driven by climate change. Government policies to reduce systemic risk (e.g., cap-and-trade, carbon tax) have been a predominant approach for mitigation and adaptation. Alternatively, market-based incentives for climate change adaptation and mitigation already operate via the insurance industry to lessen impacts on society. Insurance feedbacks include changes in 1) premiums and insurance policies, 2) non-coverage, and 3) policy making and litigation. Alongside government policies, insurance feedbacks …

The Fluxnet2015 Dataset And The Oneflux Processing Pipeline For Eddy Covariance Data, Gilberto Pastorello, Timothy Arkebauer, Dave P. Billesbach, Anatoly Gitelson, Adam Liska, Andrew Suyker, Elizabeth Walter-Shea, More Than 200 Other

Adam Liska Papers

The FLUXNET2015 dataset provides ecosystem-scale data on CO2, water, and energy exchange between the biosphere and the atmosphere, and other meteorological and biological measurements, from 212 sites around the globe (over 1500 site-years, up to and including year 2014). These sites, independently managed and operated, voluntarily contributed their data to create global datasets. Data were quality controlled and processed using uniform methods, to improve consistency and intercomparability across sites. The dataset is already being used in a number of applications, including ecophysiology studies, remote sensing studies, and development of ecosystem and Earth system models. FLUXNET2015 includes derived-data products, such as …

Modeled And Measured Ecosystem Respiration In Maize–Soybean Systems Over 10 Years, Ming Zhan, Adam Liska, Anthony Nguy-Robertson, Andrew E. Suyker, Matthew P. Pelton, Haishun Yang

Adam Liska Papers

Crop residue is an abundant resource for the potential production of biofuels, but a better understanding of its use on net carbon emissions must be developed to mitigate climate change. This analysis combines two established crop growth models (Hybrid-Maize and SoySim) with a simple soil and crop residue respiration model to estimate daily ecosystem respiration (ERe) from maize and soybean; ERe was estimated to be the sum of CO₂ emissions from the oxidation of the growing crop, crop residue, and soil organic carbon (SOC). Model-estimated CO₂ fluxes from irrigated continuous maize and irrigated maize–soybean cropping systems in eastern …

Water, Energy, And Carbon Footprints Of Bioethanol From The U.S. And Brazil, Mesfin Mekonnen, Thiago L. Romanelli, Chittaranjan Ray, Arjen Y. Hoekstra, Adam Liska, Christopher M. U. Neale

Adam Liska Papers

Driven by biofuel policies, which aim to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and increase domestic energy supply, global production and consumption of bioethanol have doubled between 2007 and 2016, with rapid growth in corn-based bioethanol in the U.S. and sugar cane-based bioethanol in Brazil. Advances in crop yields, energy use efficiency in fertilizer production, biomass-to-ethanol conversion rates, and energy efficiency in ethanol production have improved the energy balance and GHG emission reduction potential of bioethanol. In the current study, the water, energy, and carbon footprints of bioethanol from corn in the U.S. and sugar cane in Brazil were assessed. The …

Cover Crops Have Negligible Impact On Soil Water In Nebraska Maize–Soybean Rotation, J. Burdette Barker, Derek M. Heeren, Katja Koehler-Cole, Charles Shapiro, Humberto Blanco-Canqui, Roger W. Elmore, Christopher A. Proctor, Suat Irmak, Charles A. Francis, Tim M. Shaver, Ali T. Mohammed

Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

One perceived cost of integrating winter cover cropping in maize (Zea mays L.) and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] rotation systems is the potential negative impact on soil water storage available for primary crop production. The objective of this 3-year study was to evaluate the effects of winter cover crops on soil water storage and cover crop biomass production following no-till maize and soybean rotations. Locations were near Brule (west-central), Clay Center (south-central), Concord (northeast), and Mead (east-central), Nebraska, United States. Treatments included crop residue only (no cover crop) and a multi-species cover crop mix, both broadcast-seeded before …

Adam J. Liska: Curriculum Vitae, Adam Liska

Adam Liska Papers

Associate Professor, George Dempster Smith Chair of Industrial Ecology, Departments of Biological Systems Engineering and Agronomy & Horticulture, University of Nebraska-Lincoln 236 L.W. Chase Hall, Lincoln, NE 68583-0726, Ph: (402) 472-8744, e-mail: aliska2@unl.edu

Ph.D. 2003 Biology (magna cum laude), Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology & Genetics, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany

The Irreversible Momentum Of Clean Energy, Barack Obama

US Department of Energy Publications

The release of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) due to human activity is increasing global average surface air temperatures, disrupting weather patterns, and acidifying the ocean. Left unchecked, the continued growth of GHG emissions could cause global average temperatures to increase by another 4°C or more by 2100 and by 1.5 to 2 times as much in many midcontinent and far northern locations. Although our understanding of the impacts of climate change is increasingly and disturbingly clear, there is still debate about the proper course for U.S. policy—a debate that is very much on display …

A Five-Year Performance Review Of Field-Scale, Slow-Release Permanganate Candles With Recommendations For Second-Generation Improvements, Mark Christenson, Ann Kambhu, James Reece, Steve D. Comfort, Laurie Brunner

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

In 2009, we identified a TCE plume at an abandoned landfill that was located in a low permeable siltyclay aquifer. To treat the TCE, we manufactured slow-release potassium permanganate cylinders (oxidant candles) that had diameters of either 5.1 or 7.6 cm and were 91.4 cm long. In 2010, we compared two methods of candle installation by inserting equal masses of the oxidant candles (7.6-cm vs 5.1-cm dia). The 5.1-cm dia candles were inserted with direct-push rods while the 7.6-cm candles were housed in screens and lowered into 10 permanent wells. Since installation, the 7.6-cm oxidant candles have been refurbished approximately …

Preparing Nebraska Future Water Leaders: Nwla Academy Class Iii (2013), Connie I. Reimers-Hild

Nebraska Water Leaders Academy: Publications and Materials

Group communications, Phyllis Schoenholz, UNL

Communication and transformational leadership. Dr. Mark Burbach and Dr. Connie Reimers-Hild, UNL

Nebraska's instream flow laws and applications, Ann Bleed, board member, Lower Platte Natural Resources District

River Basin Compacts; Nebraska's obligations, Michael Jess, water resources engineer; consultant.

Conservation along the Central Platte, Mark Peyton, senior biologist, Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District

Central Platte River water issues in regard to habitat for endangered species, Jason Farnsworth, natural resources specialist, Headwaters Corporation & Jerry Kenny, executive director of the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program

Rowe Sanctuary; discussion and viewing …

The Nebraska Water Leaders Academy: Blending Water Policy And Science With Leadership Theory, Mark E. Burbach, Connie I. Reimers-Hild

Nebraska Water Leaders Academy: Publications and Materials

Water Challenges are Growing
Population Continues to Grow
New and Innovative Leadership is Needed
Nebraska Water Leaders Academy (NWLA) was born!

NWLA Objectives
•Develop scientific, social and political knowledge about water and related natural resources
• Examine the economical and beneficial uses of Nebraska’s water resources
• Develop and enhance leadership and critical thinking skills
• Develop interpersonal skills to become actively involved with water policy issues at the local, regional, state, and national levels
• Develop life-long water resources management skills
• Challenge traditional paradigms while encouraging critical thinking and creative solutions.

Impact Of Erosion, Mass Wasting, And Sedimentation On Human Activities In The Río Grande Basin, Jujuy Province, Argentina, Waldo Chayle, William J. Wayne

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Nearly all dry mountainous regions are affected by severe erosion, floods, and debris flows during times of intense precipitation. The lithology, geologic structure, and climate in Jujuy Province, Argentina combine to place at serious risk the people who live along the Río Grande, the major river that drains the east side of the Cordillera Oriental and the west side of the Sierras Subandinas. Nearly all precipitation falls during summer (January–March) with little during the remainder of the year; most of the basin is semiarid to arid, although the southern end has a humid subtropical climate. Relief is great, as much …