Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Assessing Flood Inundation Mapping With The Use Of A Dem And Gis Along The Missouri River At Sioux City, Iowa, Kathryn A. Pfaffle

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

There are various methods that are used to predict flood inundation. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers provided inundation maps for the 2011 Missouri River flood event that did not utilized aerial photo imagery. This study assesses the suitability of using a digital elevation model (DEM) in combination with aerial photo imagery within a geographic information system to predict flood inundation mapping along the Missouri River in Sioux City, Iowa. GPS data was collected during the height of this flood event in order to validate the positional accuracy of the DEM. Using the GPS receiver’s accuracy standards to determine the …

Droughtscape- Fall 2011, Kelly Smith

Droughtscape, Quarterly Newsletter of NDMC, 2007-

Drought Preparedness Community Options

Drought Likely to Persist, Intensify Across South

Database Will Help Planners Find Options

Impacts: Ag Losses, Fire, Water Restrictions

NDMC Welcomes International Visitors

New Drought Impact Reporter Online

Sim-Drought, Available Now at Select Agencies

Using Electrical Resistivity Imaging To Map Saline Groundwater And Subaqueous Spring Discharge: An Example From The Saline Wetlands Of Eastern Nebraska, Bridget B. Kelly

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In order to better understand saline groundwater distribution and discharge dynamics within the saline wetlands of eastern Nebraska, electrical resistivity data were collected at three wetland sites within the Little Salt Creek Watershed. Electrical resistivity imaging (ERI) can provide an expanded understanding of saline groundwater distribution through the acquisition of a large number of resistivity measurements collected at the surface; upon inversion, the distribution of resistivity can be displayed in cross-section and subsurface processes serving to control salinity can be inferred. In recent years, several studies have used conventional methods of characterizing groundwater flow within the saline wetlands. These point …

Droughtscape- Summer 2011, Kelly Smith

Droughtscape, Quarterly Newsletter of NDMC, 2007-

New NDMC Website

Drought May Improve in Southeast and Southwest

Impacts Summary: Fire, Crop Loss and More

International Activities

NDMC Launches Ranch Planning Tool

Serving Data to Order

Workshop Builds Drought Planning Community

Environmental History Of A Closed-Basin Lake In The Us Great Plains: Diatom Response To Variations In Groundwater Flow Regimes Over The Last 8500 Cal. Yr Bp, William O. Hobbs, Sherilyn C. Fritz, Jeffery R. Stone, Joseph J. Donovan, Eric C. Grimm, James E. Almendinger

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Sediment records from closed-basin lakes in the Northern Great Plains (NGP) of North America have contributed significantly to our understanding of regional paleoclimatology. A high-resolution (near decadal) fossil diatom record from Kettle Lake, ND, USA that spans the last 8500 cal. yr BP is interpreted in concert with percent abundance of aragonite in the sediment as an independent proxy of groundwater flow to the lake (and thus lake water level). Kettle Lake has been relatively fresh for the majority of the Holocene, likely because of the coarse substrata and a strong connection to the underlying aquifer. Interpretation of diatom assemblages …

Identifying Changes In Climatic Trends And The Fingerprints Of Landuse And Landcover Changes In The High Plains Of The Usa, Denis Mutiibwa

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Human activities such as conversion of natural ecosystem to croplands and urban-centers, deforestation and afforestation impact biophysical properties of land surface such as albedo, energy balance, and surface roughness. Alterations in these properties affect the heat and moisture exchanges between the land surface and atmospheric boundary layer. The objectives of this research were; (i) to quantitatively identify the High plains’ regional climate change in temperatures over the period 1895 to 2006, (ii) detect the signatures of anthropogenic forcing of LULC changes on the regional climate change of the High Plains, and (iii) examine the trends in evolving regional latent heat …

Building An Enhanced Drought Early Warning System (Dews): Tools And Services For Decision Support, Mark Svoboda

Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Outline

• About the NDMC
• Drought Early Warning System (DEWS) Overview
• Tools (USDM, DIR, Atlas, VegDRI, + EPC/DRC)
• NDMC and the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS)
• Toward a Global Drought Early Warning System (NIDIS)
• Toward a Global Drought Early Warning System (GDEWS)
• Summary
• Q&A

Droughts In The 21st Century And Beyond, Vijay P. Singh, Chris Funk, Jim Angel, Mark Svoboda

Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Drought: Science

• Characterization
• Mechanisms
• Modelings
• Prediction and Forecasting

Drought Monitoring

• Measurement
• Mapping
• Space
• Time
• Data Sharing
• Updating

Building A Sustainable Network Of Drought Communities, Deborah J. Bathke, Nicole Wall, Jeff Nothwehr, Kelly Helm Smith, Donna L. Woudenberg, Tonya K. Bernadt, Crystal Bergman, Joseph P. Robine, Michael Hayes, Mark Svoboda, Lisa Darby, Roger S. Pulwarty, The National Drought Mitigation Center, The National Integrated Drought Information System Program Office

HPRCC Personnel Publications

The first step in managing large-scale (national) collaborations and networks is to consider and address how a group and a potential partnership may match up (Luther, 2005). To explore this concept and many other collaborative concepts, the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) hosted a workshop, “Building a Sustainable Network of Drought Communities,” which was facilitated by the National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) in Chicago, IL, June 8-9, 2011.

The workshop explored current examples of good communication and lessons learned within the realm of drought planning in order to address a future NIDIS Engaging Preparedness Communities (EPC) working group that …

The Green, Blue And Grey Water Footprint Of Crops And Derived Crop Products, Mesfin Mekonnen, Arjen Y. Hoekstra

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Abstract. This study quantifies the green, blue and grey water footprint of global crop production in a spatially-explicit way for the period 1996–2005. The assessment improves upon earlier research by taking a high-resolution approach, estimating the water footprint of 126 crops at a 5 by 5 arc minute grid. We have used a grid-based dynamic water balance model to calculate crop water use over time, with a time step of one day. The model takes into account the daily soil water balance and climatic conditions for each grid cell. In addition, the water pollution associated with the use of nitrogen …

National Water Footprint Accounts: The Green, Blue And Grey Water Footprint Of Production And Consumption. Volume 1: Main Report, Mesfin Mekonnen, Arjen Y. Hoekstra

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

This study quantifies and maps the water footprints of nations from both a production and consumption perspective and estimates international virtual water flows and national and global water savings as a result of trade. The entire estimate includes a breakdown of water footprints, virtual water flows and water savings into their green, blue and grey components. The main finding of the study can be summarized as:

The global water footprint in the period 1996-2005 was 9087 Gm3/yr (74% green, 11% blue, 15% grey). Agricultural production contributes 92% to this total footprint.

About one fifth of the global water footprint relates …

National Water Footprint Accounts: The Green, Blue And Grey Water Footprint Of Production And Consumption. Volume 2: Appendices, Mesfin Mekonnen, Arjen Y. Hoekstra

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Contents

Appendix I. The water footprint of national production (Mm³/yr)

Appendix II. Virtual-water flows related to trade in crop, animal and industrial products, per country (Mm³/yr)

Appendix III. International virtual-water flows per product category (Mm³/yr)

Appendix IV. National water saving related to trade in agricultural and industrial products per country (Mm³/yr)

Appendix V. Global water saving related to trade in agricultural and industrial products, per product (Mm³/yr)

Appendix VI. The average water footprint per ton of commodity per country, weighted based on origin (WF* in m³/ton)

Appendix VII. …

Drought-Ready Communities: A Guide To Community Drought Preparedness, Mark D. Svoboda, Kelly Smith, Melissa Widhalm, Donna Louise Woudenberg, Cody L. Knutson, Meghan Sittler, Jim Angel, Mike Spinar, Mark Shafer, Renee Mcpherson, Heather Lazrus

National Drought Mitigation Center: Publications

Table of Contents

Introduction to Drought-Ready Communities........................................................ 4

Section 1. Getting Started: Invite the Community to Participate, Commit to the Process...................... 7

1.1 Establish a leadership team that includes individuals with responsibility for monitoring, communication, and implementation .............................................. 7

1.2 Identify stakeholders or groups in the community that may need additional resources to participate in the Drought-Ready Communities process .................... 8

1.3 Include government agencies and regulators ....................................... 9

1.4 Develop a contact list ................................................................ 9

1.5 Gather community perceptions of drought .................................................. 10

Section 2. Information Gathering: Understand Water Sources and Uses, Develop a Drought History . 11

2.1 …

Extent Of Gully Erosion In An Agricultural Field In Northeastern Nebraska At Section 35 Township 29 North Range 1 West In Cedar County, Crystal Starkel

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

My thesis project examined a gully within Section 35 Township 29 North Range 1 West. This gully has been noticed for five years and has grown substantially in those five years. The extent and causes of gully erosion were examined by considering the soil, the climate, the land management history, by measuring the gully physically, by using GIS, and by using an economic support tool was estimate soil loss. Appropriate recommendations were developed to reduce gully erosion.

Spatial Patterns Of Drought Triggers And Indicators, Joseph P. Robine

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Drought is a reoccurring phenomenon with widespread economic, social, and environmental impacts. Unlike other disasters, a drought cannot be easily detected. In addition, droughts are widespread and develop slowly over time making it difficult to detect its onset and monitor its severity and impacts. To assist in monitoring the severity and spatial extent of droughts, drought managers frequently use indicators and triggers. Drought indicators are meteorological or hydrological variables or indices that quantify or describe the level of drought severity. A drought trigger is a value of an indicator that initiates management and response actions. Despite the clear importance of …

Quantifying Evapotranspiration And Water Table Interactions In Regions Of Shallow Groundwater: Sensitivity To Soil Properties, Vegetation, And Climate Variability, Mehmet E. Soylu

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Evapotranspiration (ET) is an important component of the water and energy balance, yet it is also one of the most challenging components to estimate. There has been great effort to understand the nature of controlling mechanisms and interactions between ET and other earth system processes. The controlling factors of ET can be grouped into two broad categories – namely moisture availability and energy availability (e.g., solar radiation). Soil moisture is a key factor that most of the land surface hydrologic processes are dependent on. While plant water use is mainly controlled by radiation, temperature is another key factor for ET …

Evaluation Of Drought Indices Based On Thermal Remote Sensing Of Evapotranspiration Over The Continental United States, Martha C. Anderson, Christopher R. Hain, Brian Wardlow, Agustin Pimstein, John R. Mecikalski, William P. Kustas

Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

The reliability of standard meteorological drought indices based on measurements of precipitation is limited by the spatial distribution and quality of currently available rainfall data. Furthermore, they reflect only one component of the surface hydrologic cycle, and they cannot readily capture nonprecipitation-based moisture inputs to the land surface system (e.g., irrigation) that may temper drought impacts or variable rates of water consumption across a landscape. This study assesses the value of a new drought index based on remote sensing of evapotranspiration (ET). The evaporative stress index (ESI) quantifies anomalies in the ratio of actual to potential ET (PET), mapped using …

Droughtscape- Spring 2011, Kelly Smith

Droughtscape, Quarterly Newsletter of NDMC, 2007-

Register Now

Forecasters Say Dryness in TX and SW to Continue

Drought Planning, The Game: Coming Soon

Ding Takes New Post

South and Southwest Lose Crops, Fight Fires

Drought Monitor Authors Review Enhanced GIS Tools and New Processes

Secondary Minerals From Extrapedogenic Per Latus Acidic Weathering Environments At Geomorphic Edges, Eastern Nebraska, Usa, Robert Matthew Joeckel, K.D. Wally, B.J. Ang Clement, P.R. Hanson, J.S. Dillon, S.K. Wilson

Conservation and Survey Division

Acidic weathering of the sulfidic Upper Cretaceous Carlile and Pierre Shales in Nebraska has led to the precipitation of the Al sulfate–hydroxide minerals aluminite, alunite, “basaluminite”/felsöbányaite (e.g.,), the aluminum hydroxides gibbsite and bayerite, and the rare Al phosphate hydroxide vashegyite. Kaolinite has also been produced as a result of this acidic weathering. These minerals do not appear as neoformed constituents in any extant soils in the region, and their existence underscores the ability of pyrite oxidation to produce major changes in mineralogy on a Holocene to Recent time scale. Jarosite, hydronium jarosite, gypsum, halotrichite, and melanterite also appear as secondary …

Meeting Reports: Research On Coupled Human And Natural Systems (Chans): Approach, Challenges, And Strategies, Marina Alberti, Heidi Asbjornsen, Lawrence A. Baker, Nicholas Brozovic, Laurie E. Drinkwater, Scott A. Drzyzga, Claire A. Jantz, José Fragoso, Daniel S. Holland, Timothy A. Kohler, Jianguo Liu, William J. Mcconnell, Herbert D.G. Maschner, James D.A. Millington, Michael Monticino, Guillermo Podestá, Robert Gilmore Pontius, Charles L. Redman, Nicholas J. Reo, David Sailor, Gerald Urquhart

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Understanding the complexity of human–nature interactions is central to the quest for both human well-being and global sustainability. To build an understanding of these interactions, scientists, planners, resource managers, policymakers, and communities increasingly are collaborating across wide-ranging disciplines and knowledge domains. Scientists and others are generating new integrated knowledge on top of their requisite specialized knowledge to understand complex systems in order to solve pressing environmental and social problems (e.g., Carpenter et al. 2009). One approach to this sort of integration, bringing together detailed knowledge of various disciplines (e.g., social, economic, biological, and geophysical), has become known as the study …

The Water Footprint Assessment Manual: Setting The Global Standard, Arjen Y. Hoekstra, Ashok K. Chapagain, Maite M. Aldaya, Mesfin Mekonnen

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

This book contains the global standard for 'water footprint assessment' as developed and maintained by the Water Footprint Network (WFN). It covers a comprehensive set of definitions and methods for water footprint accounting. It shows how water footprints are calculated for individual processes and products, as well as for consumers, nations and businesses. It also includes methods for water footprint sustainability assessment and a library of water footprint response options. A shared standard on definitions and calculation methods is crucial given the rapidly growing interest in companies and governments to use water footprint accounts as a basis for formulating sustainable …

The Global Drought Monitor Portal, Michael J. Brewer, Richard R. Heim Jr.

Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Drought monitoring, assessment, response, mitigation, adaptation, and early warning systems have been created in a number of countries around the world, and some regional and continental efforts have been successful. However, the creation of a Global Drought Early Warning System (GDEWS) remains elusive. A GDEWS incorporates forecasting and research improvements, in addition to monitoring, impact, planning, mitigation and adaptation and recovery information. At a series of workshops in 2010, the U.S. National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) agreed to take the first step toward a GDEWS, the formation of a Global Drought Monitoring Portal (GDMP). This effort currently covers three …

Farmer Perceptions Of Sustainable Agriculture Practices And Drought Risk Reduction In Nebraska, Usa, Cody L. Knutson, Tonya Haigh, Michael J. Hayes, Melissa Widhalm, J. Nothwehr, M. Kleinschmidt, L. Graf

Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Social factors, such as farming methods, have an impact on farm vulnerability to drought, but have received little research or policy attention. Some researchers and advocates have argued that sustainable agriculture systems are less vulnerable to climate risk than conventional systems because sustainable agriculture requires producers to have skills promoting adaptability. In this paper, we investigate producers’ perceptions on the use of sustainable agriculture in reducing drought risk, and what they believe would help them better adapt to drought. We surveyed and interviewed farmer members of two sustainable agriculture organizations in Nebraska, USA, during a multi-year drought period from 1999 …

Droughtscape- Winter 2011, Kelly Smith

Droughtscape, Quarterly Newsletter of NDMC, 2007-

Register for the U.S. Drought Monitor Forum

La Niña Brings Southeast, Southwest Drought

International Efforts

Drought Returns in 2010

Impacts Emerge “Before” Summer Drought in East

October-December Quarterly Impacts Summary

Climate Adaptation for Local Government

NDMC Elicits Missouri River Basin Recollections

Woudenberg Coordinates Educational Booklet

Influence Of Karst Landscape On Planetary Boundary Layer Atmosphere: A Weather Research And Forecasting (Wrf) Model–Based Investigation, Ronnie Leeper, Rezaul Mamood, Arturo I. Quintanar

HPRCC Personnel Publications

Karst hydrology provides a unique set of surface and subsurface hydrological components that affect soil moisture variability. Over karst topography, surface moisture moves rapidly below ground via sink holes, vertical shafts, and sinking streams, reducing surface runoff and moisture infiltration into the soil. In addition, subsurface cave blockage or rapid snowmelt over karst can lead to surface flooding. Moreover, regions dominated by karst may exhibit either drier or wetter soils when compared to nonkarst landscape. However, because of the lack of both observational soil moisture datasets to initialize simulations and regional land surface models (LSMs) that include explicit karst hydrological …

Reference List For Describing Cuttings And Cores Of Sediments And Sedimentary Rocks In Nebraska, J. T. Korus, Robert Matthew Joeckel, P. R. Hanson, J. W. Goeke, S. O. Lackey, M. B. Burbach

Conservation and Survey Division

No abstract provided.

Annual Outflow Of Water From Nebraska, 1950 - 2010, S. Olafsen-Lackey

Conservation and Survey Division

No abstract provided.

Annual Outflow And Annual Inflow Of Water From/To Nebraska, 1950- 2010, Susan Olafsen-Lackey

Conservation and Survey Division

No abstract provided.

Demographic Responses Of Least Terns And Piping Plovers To The 2011 Missouri River Flood—A Large-Scale Case Study, Michael J. Anteau, Mark H. Sherfy, Terry L. Shaffer, Rose J. Swift, Dustin L. Toy, Colin M. Dovichin

Publications of the US Geological Survey

2011 led to substantial changes in abundance and distribution of unvegetated sand habitat. This river system is a major component of the breeding range for interior Least terns (Sternula antillarum; “terns”) and piping plovers (Charadrius melodus; “plovers”), both of which are Federally listed ground-nesting birds that prefer open, unvegetated sand and gravel nesting substrates on sandbars and shorelines. The 2011 flood inundated essentially all tern and plover nesting habitat during 2011, but it had potential to generate post-flood habitat conditions that favored use by terns and plovers in subsequent years. We compared several tern and plover demographic parameters during the …

Sediment Samples And Channel-Geometry Data, Lower Platte River Watershed, Nebraska, 2010, Nathaniel J. Schaepe, Jason S. Alexander

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

The relation between channel width and stream physical habitat in the lower Platte River in eastern Nebraska was studied as part of the lower Platte River Cumulative Impact Study. The purpose of this component was to document the grain-size distribution of sediment deposited as specific types of physical features, such as sandbars, banks, and stream beds within different hydraulic habitats, within the lower Platte River system. In so doing, the major sources of sediment for sandbar creation downstream are described. Sediment samples were collected from 11 reaches of the lower Platte River from Silver Creek, Nebraska, to the mouth of …