Agriculture Commons^™

Agricultural Contaminant Source And Transport In A Karst Groundwater Basin, Patricia Kambesis

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Agricultural land use in areas that are located in karst groundwater basins negatively impact groundwater quality because karst terrains provide multiple, direct hydrologic connections from the surface into karst aquifers. The connections and rapid velocities associated with surface and subsurface flow in karst aquifers allow for contaminants to move quickly into and through a groundwater basin. When groundwater returns to the surface via a spring or springs, any contaminants within the water become part of surface streams and rivers. These in turn, impact water quality in areas located downstream of the spring or springs. The purpose of this study was …

Evaluation Of Continuous Flow Constructed Wetlands Treating Swine Waste, Stephanie Rivard

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The ability for wetlands to purify contaminated water is not a new concept. Natural wetlands have been cleansing water within our environment for ages. After studying the process of natural wetlands the same concept was applied to municipal waste. It is the success of constructed wetlands treating municipal waste that created the new idea for the application of a wetland system to treat wastewater from livestock facilities. Through proper design and management, constructed wetlands may be useful for reducing the nutrient concentration of waste (Rieck el al., 1996). Taking into consideration the higher nutrient loads of livestock waste, the same …

Physical Properties Of Tar Sand Tailings That Influence Their Ability To Sustain Plant Growth, Timothy Cole

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The mining of bituminous sandstone rock for the purpose of extracting bitumen has created a need for reclamation. One such mine is located in northern Logan County. Their mining operation involves removing large sections of sandstone, which is impregnated with bitumen, and crushing it to sand-sized material. The sand-sized material is then mixed with organic solvents which extract the bitumen. Once separated, the bitumen is stored for future refinement and the spent sand is stockpiled for later disposal.

The spent sands or waste material are referred to as tar sand tailings. These tailings have particular properties which make reclamation efforts …