Other Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Human Microbiome Transfer In The Built Environment Differs Based On Occupants, Objects, And Buildings, Andrew J. Hoisington, Christopher E. Stamper, Katherine L. Bates, Maggie A. Stanislawski, Michael C. Flux, Teodor T. Postolache, Christopher A. Lowry, Lisa A. Brenner

Faculty Publications

Compared to microbiomes on other skin sites, the bacterial microbiome of the human hand has been found to have greater variability across time. To increase understanding regarding the longitudinal transfer of the hand microbiome to objects in the built environment, and vice versa, 22 participants provided skin microbiome samples from their dominant hands, as well as from frequently and infrequently touched objects in their office environments. Additional longitudinal samples from home environments were obtained from a subset of 11 participants. We observed stability of the microbiomes of both the hand and built environments within the office and home settings; however, …

On The Computational Efficiency Of Les And Hybrid Rans-Les Models In Building Aerodynamics, Aly Mousaad Aly, Faiaz Khaled

Faculty Publications

Large-eddy simulation (LES) has proven to offer superior accuracy in regards to predicting surface pressures compared to the Reynolds-averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) models. However, the primary impediment is the high computational cost associated with LES. The authors attempt to investigate the computational cost and accuracy by employing different sub-grid scale (SGS) models in LES and hybrid RANS-LES models. One of the prerequisites of accurate pressure estimations is to ensure a horizontally homogeneous empty computational domain. This study aims to compare the computational competence qualitatively and quantitatively using an empty domain in regards to the ability to maintain horizontal homogeneity. The …

On The Computational Efficiency Of Les And Hybrid Rans-Les Models In Building Aerodynamics, Faiaz Khaled, Aly Mousaad Aly

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Model And Data, Equilibrium Of Self-Formed, Single-Thread, Sand-Bed Rivers, Enrica Viparelli, Esther C. Eke

Faculty Publications

This submission contains the following files, also uploaded as Supplementary Information for the manuscript Equilibrium of self-formed, single-thread, sand-bed rivers submitted after major revisions to the AGU journal Geophysical Research Letters.

Excel file with embedded macro Equilibrium_calculator.xlxm, contains the solver of the analytical model presented in the manuscript.

Excel file Equilibrium_results.xlxs contains model data used to generate the plots.

Groundwater Level Mapping Tool: An Open Source Web Application For Assessing Groundwater Sustainability, Steven W. Evans, Norman L. Jones, Gustavious P. Williams, Daniel P. Ames, E. James Nelson

Faculty Publications

Decision makers need an accurate understanding of aquifer storage trends to effectively manage groundwater resources. Groundwater is difficult to monitor and quantify since the data collected from monitoring wells are often available only at irregular and infrequent intervals. We present an open-source web application (app) to visualize groundwater data over time and automatically calculate changes in aquifer storage volume to help managers assess aquifer sustainability. This app uses a novel multi-linear regression (MLR) algorithm to impute missing data for infrequently sampled wells, using correlated data from other wells in the same aquifer. The app uses this MLR-imputed data to spatially …

Exploiting Earth Observation Data To Impute Groundwater Level Measurements With An Extreme Learning Machine, Steven Evans, Gustavious P. Williams, Norman L. Jones, Daniel P. Ames, E. James Nelson

Faculty Publications

Groundwater resources are expensive to develop and use; they are difficult to monitor and data collected from monitoring wells are often sporadic, often only available at irregular, infrequent, or brief intervals. Groundwater managers require an accurate understanding of historic groundwater storage trends to effectively manage groundwater resources, however, most if not all well records contain periods of missing data. To understand long-term trends, these missing data need to be imputed before trend analysis. We present a method to impute missing data at single wells, by exploiting data generated from Earth observations that are available globally. We use two soil moisture …

An Open-Source Tool To Facilitate The Processing Of Grace Observations And Gldas Outputs: An Evaluation In Bangladesh, Adam J. Purdy, Cédric H. David, Md. Safat Sikder, John T. Reager, Hrishikesh A. Chandanpukar, Norman L. Jones, Mir A. Matin

Faculty Publications

Bangladesh lies at the intersection of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna rivers with a combined average discharge of 38,000 m3s−1 ranking fourth globally. Despite the volume of water flowing through and seasonally inundating parts of the landscape, groundwater reliance is necessary to support an intensive agricultural industry. Here we use newly-developed open-source software to combine observations from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites with hydrologic estimates of land water storage from the Global Land Assimilation Data System (GLDAS) to isolate basin-scale groundwater anomalies in Northwest Bangladesh from 2002 to 2016. We place our estimates in the context of …

Hydrologic Modeling As A Service (Hmaas): A New Approach To Address Hydroinformatic Challenges In Developing Countries, Michael A. Souffront Alcantara, E. James Nelson, Kiran Shakya, Christopher Edwards, Wade Roberts, Corey Krewson, Daniel P. Ames, Norman L. Jones, Angelica Gutierrez

Faculty Publications

Hydrologic modeling can be used to aid in decision-making at the local scale. Developed countries usually have their own hydrologic models; however, developing countries often have limited hydrologic modeling capabilities due to factors such as the maintenance, computational costs, and technical capacity needed to run models. A global streamflow prediction system (GSPS) would help decrease vulnerabilities in developing countries and fill gaps in areas where no local models exist by providing extensive results that can be filtered for specific locations. However, large-scale forecasting systems come with their own challenges. These New hydroinformatic challenges can prevent these models from reaching their …

Enabling Stakeholder Decision-Making With Earth Observation And Modeling Data Using Tethys Platform, E. James Nelson, Sarva T. Pulla, Mir A. Matin, Kiran Shakya, Norm Jones, Daniel P. Ames, W. Lee Ellenburg, Kel N. Markert, Cédric H. David, Benjamin F. Zaitchik, Patrick Gatlin, Riley Hales

Faculty Publications

Tethys Platform is an open source framework for developing web-based applications for Earth Observation data. Our experience shows that Tethys significantly lowers the barrier for cloud-based app development, simplifies the process of accessing scalable distributed cloud computing resources and leverages additional software for data and computationally intensive modeling. The Tethys software development kit allows users to create web apps for visualizing, analyzing, and modeling Earth Observation data. Tethys platform provides a collaborative environment for scientists to develop and deploy several Earth Observation web applications across multiple Tethys portals. We work in partnership with leading regional organizations world-wide to help developing …

Using Wind And Hydro Power To Sustain The Off-Grid Power Supply For A 50' Cruising Sailboat, Keisha Meyer, Torrey J. Wagner, Jada Williams

Faculty Publications

Cruising sailboats operate with a power requirement modest enough to operate mostly or completely on renewable energy technology sources. Cruisers without renewable energy systems use the vessel’s diesel engine to charge the boat’s batteries; if the systems are operated at anchor, this dramatically decreases the time before the engine needs major overhaul. System users estimate a diesel engine can run approximately 8,000 hours underway before needing major overhaul, whereas operating 500 hours at anchor produces similar wear and tear on engine pistons. Although renewable energy systems have a high initial capital cost, these systems can provide the vessel’s electrical system …

Austere Location Wind Turbine Energy System Analysis, Lukas Cowen, Douglas S. Dudis, Torrey J. Wagner

Faculty Publications

One promising technology to combat an energy shortage in austere locations is wind energy. In combination with battery storage and generator backup, we explore the feasibility of using a hybrid energy system to reduce the volume of diesel fuel required. Modeling the energy demands in austere locations will enable missions in remote settings to optimize their energy costs, increased their energy resiliency and assure their supply. For a modeled time-series energy requirement that varied between 2.4 MW and 5.1 MW, the optimal wind system size was 9.9 MW of installed wind power paired with a 741 kWh battery. Assuming an …

Toward Building Resilient, Sustainable, And Smart Infrastructure In The 21st Century, Aly Mousaad Aly

Faculty Publications

In recent years, as a result of significant climate change, stringent windstorms are becoming more frequent than before. Given the threat that windstorms bring to people and property, wind/structural engineering research is imperative to improve the resilience of existing and new infrastructure, for community safety and assets protection. The Windstorm Impact, Science and Engineering (WISE) research program at Louisiana State University (LSU) focuses on creating new knowledge applicable to the mitigation of existing and new infrastructure, to survive and perform optimally under natural hazards. To achieve our research goals, we address two imperious challenges: (i) characterization of realistic wind forces …

A New Open Source Platform For Lowering The Barrier For Environmental Web App Development, Nathan R. Swain, Scott D. Christensen, Alan D. Snow, Herman Dolder, Gonzola Espinoza-Dávalos, Erfan Goharian, Norman L. Jones, E. James Nelson, Daniel P. Ames, Steven J. Burian

Faculty Publications

The interactive nature of web applications or “web apps” makes them a well-suited medium for conveying complex scientific concepts to lay audiences and creating decision support tools that harness cutting edge modeling techniques and promote the work of environmental scientists and engineers. Despite this potential, the technical expertise required to develop web apps represents a formidable barrier—even for scientists and engineers who are skilled programmers. This paper describes four hurdles that contribute to this barrier and introduces an approach to overcoming these hurdles. We present an open source implementation of this approach, a development and hosting environment for environmental web …

Miss Lonesome: Old Boats Past Their Prime, Garth Woodruff

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

An Overview Of Current Applications, Challenges, And Future Trends In Distributed Process-Based Models In Hydrology, Simone Fatichi, Enrique R. Vivoni, Fred L. Ogden, Valeriy Y. Ivanov, Benjamin Mirus, David Gochis, Charles W. Downer, Matteo Camporese, Jason H. Davidson, Brian Ebel, Norm Jones, Jongho Kim, Giuseppe Mascaro, Richard Niswonger, Pedro Restrepo, Riccardo Rigon, Chaopeng Shen, Mauro Sulis, David Tarboton

Faculty Publications

Process-based hydrological models have a long history dating back to the 1960s. Criticized by some as over-parameterized, overly complex, and difficult to use, a more nuanced view is that these tools are necessary in many situations and, in a certain class of problems, they are the most appropriate type of hydrological model. This is especially the case in situations where knowledge of flow paths or distributed state variables and/or preservation of physical constraints is important. Examples of this include: spatiotemporal variability of soil moisture, groundwater flow and runoff generation, sediment and contaminant transport, or when feedbacks among various Earth’s system …

Modeling Napl Dissolution From Pendular Rings In Idealized Porous Media, Junqi Huang, John A. Christ, Mark N. Goltz, Avery H. Demond

Faculty Publications

The dissolution rate of nonaqueous phase liquid (NAPL) often governs the remediation time frame at subsurface hazardous waste sites. Most formulations for estimating this rate are empirical and assume that the NAPL is the nonwetting fluid. However, field evidence suggests that some waste sites might be organic wet. Thus, formulations that assume the NAPL is nonwetting may be inappropriate for estimating the rates of NAPL dissolution. An exact solution to the Young‐Laplace equation, assuming NAPL resides as pendular rings around the contact points of porous media idealized as spherical particles in a hexagonal close packing arrangement, is presented in this …

A Cloud-Based Modflow Service For Aquifer Management Decision Support, David Jones, Norm Jones, James Greer, Jim Nelson

Faculty Publications

A framework to publish simplified MODFLOW groundwater modeling capabilities to a web interface for use by water managers and stakeholders is presented. Numerical modeling simulations can assist aquifer management decisions, but the amount of time and professional expertise required to wield modern groundwater models often exceeds the resources of regulating agencies – even for simple modeling tasks that are repetitive in nature. The framework is capable of automating such modeling tasks, accepting user input, executing MODFLOW, and generating specialized results including maps and modeling reports. This framework was used to build a pilot system for an aquifer in central Utah, …

A Review Of Open Source Software Solutions For Developing Water Resources Web Applications, Nathan R. Swain, Kilisimasi Latu, Scott D. Christensen, Norman L. Jones, E. James Nelson, Daniel P. Ames, Gustavious P. Williams

Faculty Publications

Water resources web applications or “web apps” are growing in popularity as a means to overcome many of the challenges associated with hydrologic simulations in decision-making. Water resources web apps fall outside of the capabilities of standard web development software, because of their spatial data components. These spatial data needs can be addressed using a combination of existing free and open source software (FOSS) for geographic information systems (FOSS4G) and FOSS for web development. However, the abundance of FOSS projects that are available can be overwhelming to new developers. In an effort to understand the web of FOSS features and …

Efficient Application Programming Interface For Multi-Dimensional Modeling Data, Norman L. Jones, Robert M. Wallace, Russell Jones, Cary Butler, Alan Zundel

Faculty Publications

This paper describes an Application Programming Interface (API) for managing multi-dimensional data produced for water resource computational modeling that is being developed by the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), in conjunction with Brigham Young University. This API, along with a corresponding data standard, is being implemented within ERDC computational models to facilitate rapid data access, enhanced data compression and data sharing, and cross-platform independence. The API and data standard are known as the eXtensible Model Data Format (XMDF), and version 1.3 is available for free download. This API is designed to manage geometric data associated with grids, …

Information Infrastructure For Integrated Ecohydraulic And Water Resources Modeling And Assessment, R. Wallace, K. Pathak, M. Fife, Norman L. Jones, J. P. Holland, D. Stuart, J. Harris, C. Butler, D. R. Richards

Faculty Publications

Watershed management increasingly requires ecohydraulic modeling and assessment within a regional context, rather than on a project-by-project basis. Such holistic modeling and assessment require evaluation capabilities across multiple temporal and spatial scales. Thus, modeling and assessment tools must be integrated in a scientifically and computationally effective infrastructure. The US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, in concert with the Hydrologic Engineering Center and its academic partners, including Brigham Young University, is establishing a comprehensive set of hydroinformatics modeling and assessment tools for ecohydraulic and water resources management applications, all linked based on a common data and information infrastructure. This paper …

Managing Temporal Data In A Comprehensive Modeling Environment, Norman L. Jones, E. James Nelson, Colby T. Manwaring

Faculty Publications

Numerous graphical pre- and post-processors have been developed for numerical modeling. Many of these systems support numerical models that can be used for both steady state and transient simulations. Dealing with transient data can be particularly difficult in such an environment due to the differing time scales and units associated with transient field data and boundary conditions. A data model and a set of functions are presented in this paper as a simple, yet powerful strategy for managing temporal data in a comprehensive modeling environment. The strategy makes it possible to seamlessly integrate multiple types of transient data and convert …