Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Environmental Fate Of Sulfur In Sulphur Creek, Valles Caldera, Nm: Implications For Metal Transport And Water Quality, Daniel Lavery

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The 1.2 Ma Valles Caldera in north-central New Mexico hosts a young igneous volcanic hydrothermal system after the model proposed in Goff and Janik (2000). The Sulphur Springs area within Valles Caldera is an acid-sulfate area typical of this model, discharging acidic waters (pH 1.5-3) formed by oxidation of magmatic H₂S at the surface. We report on samples obtained from springs and streams collected between October 2021 and May 2023 in the Sulphur Creek and Alamo watersheds. Sulphur Creek receives input from Sulphur Springs and exhibits low pH (2-4) and high concentrations of Al (≤110 mg/L), Fe (≤60 …

Post-Wildfire Effects On A Headwater Stream In The San Bernardino National Forest, Kelley Giron

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Southern California has experienced prolonged drought conditions that have supported frequent wildfires that adversely impact ecosystems, natural resources, and human development. A primary consequence of these events is the impact on water quality and quantity. Of equal concern is evaluating how diverse land use configurations within a watershed can alter the physio-chemical properties of headwater reaches where drought and wildfire conditions are prevalent. To better understand the extent to which wildfires impact water quality and quantity across a headwater watershed, this study investigates wildfire impacts from the 2021 South Fire to Lytle Creek, a headwater stream of the Santa Ana …

Causes And Effects Of Shisper Glacial Lake Outburst Flood Event In Karakoram In 2022, Sandeep Kumar Mondal, Vatsal D. Patel, Rishikesh Bharti, Ramesh P. Singh

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Karakoram Himalayas are vulnerable to glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), which cause catastrophic floods in the surrounding areas. The increasing natural and anthropogenic activities, especially in the Indo-Gangetic Plains at the southern flank of the towering Himalayas, could be the cause of climate change affecting the frequency of the natural hazards in the Himalayas. In the present study, a detailed analysis of the Shisper Lake breach of 7 May 2022 is carried out using satellite remote sensing. A decreasing trend in the glacial mass balance is observed between 2017 and 2021; in this period, frequent GLOF episodes occurred. A pronounced …

Managing Water Quality To Enable Future Irrigation Development In The Kimberley Region, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Natural resources commissioned reports

Three-Dimensional Hydrodynamic Modelling to Evaluate the Effect of Farm Chemicals on the Lower Pools of the Keep River

The National Water Grid Authority awarded the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) a project entitled ‘Managing Water Quality to Enable Future Irrigation Development in the Kimberley Region’.

The purpose of the project is to review the current and future risk profile of agrichemicals (pesticides) in the Keep River catchment (Ord - East Kimberley) in the context of irrigation development across the last decade and proposed in the medium term. The results of the review were to define prospective mitigation …

Report On And Recommendations Arising From The Visit Of Dr Michael Warne (University Of Queensland) And Robert Sluggett To Kununurra, Michael Warne Dr, Rob Sluggett

Natural resources commissioned reports

Dr Michael Warne of the Reef Catchments Science Partnership and Robert Sluggett of Farmacist Pty Ltd were invited by Richard George of Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) to visit Kununurra, Western Australia.

The project was financially supported by the National Water Grid Authority project “Managing water quality to enable future irrigation development in the Kimberley Region”. The aim of the visit was for Dr Warne and Rob Sluggett to engage with farmers, key stakeholders and staff from DPIRD in order to understand the agriculture and water quality in the Ord and Keep river region; and to share …

How Akron Affects The Water Quality Of The Cuyahoga River, Allyson Darst

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this study was to analyze whether the city of Akron had negative effects on the Cuyahoga river, and determine if the Cuyahoga River was naturally able to remediate these effects downstream. The pollutants measured in this study include hardness, bromine, residual chlorine, iron, copper, lead, nitrate, nitrite, ammonium chloride, total chlorine, fluoride, carbonate, pH, total alkalinity and cyanuric acid. This study was done using water testing strips (JNW Direct) to test the water at four different locations along the Cuyahoga River downstream (North) of Akron. This study found that the city of Akron does have a negative …

Winter Dynamics Of Storm Water Management Ponds And Winter Tolerance In Three Aquatic Plant Species, Patrick Strzalkowski

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The vast majority of the research into the performance of stormwater management ponds (SWMPs) has been performed in warm regions or during the warmer seasons in temperate regions. It is presumed that SWMPs are inactive in the winter as any potential stormwater is trapped in snow and ice. The main goal of this thesis was to test this presumption and to study the dynamics and performance of three SWMPs during the winter. Remote water level loggers were installed into the three SWMPs and daily grab samples from the influents and effluents were taken and analyzed for total phosphorus (TP), chloride, …

The North Platte River Valley: The Intersectionality Between Water Quality And People, Anni Poetzl

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

The North Platte River (NPR) Valley of western Nebraska is a semi-arid watershed with row crop production, livestock production, and urban land use activity and has a population of diverse stakeholders. These land use activities contribute to the enrichment of surface waters, such as streams, which can affect human and ecosystem health, as well as economic development and recreational activities. The project objectives are to: (1) quantify the movement of dissolved inorganic nutrients from the land within the NPR Valley to the NPR via tributaries and canals, (2) identify spatiotemporal variability of nutrient limitation of periphyton growth within the NPR, …

Sewer System Infrastructure And Stressors On Water Quality In Streams Within The Alplaus Watershed In Upstate Ny, Camryn Ragland

Honors Theses

Healthy aquatic ecosystems require clean water, but many creeks and streams may be impaired by human activity. This study is focused on surface water quality of the Alplaus, and Indian Kill streams located within the Alplaus Watershed in Schenectady and Saratoga Counties (NY). The primary goal of this study is to understand the extent of water quality impairment within the Alplaus and Indian Kill using a range of indicators to understand the impacts of failing infrastructure and stressors to surface water. Sixty-five water samples were collected in the fall of 2021 from six locations in the Alplaus and Indian Kill …

Arkansas Bulletin Of Water Research - Issue 2021-2022, Erin Grantz, Lillie Haddock, Brian E. Haggard

Arkansas Bulletin of Water Research

The Arkansas Bulletin of Water Research (Bulletin) is a publication of the Arkansas Water Resources Center (AWRC). We publish the Bulletin to communicate the major findings of research funded by the Water Resources Research Act Section 104(b) in Arkansas. This research is relevant to Arkansas water stakeholders, and the Bulletin provides an easily searchable and aesthetically engaging access option.

This is the fourth publication of the Bulletin. This issue contains final reports from research projects that were funded by the 104(b) program in fiscal years 2019 and 2020. The articles in this issue can be cited as an AWRC publication. …

Water Quality Responses To A Semi-Arid Beaver Meadow In Boise, Idaho, Luise Bayer Winslow

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Beavers have been instrumental in shaping the North American riverine landscape. However, land use change and beaver trapping have caused large decreases in beaver populations, resulting in fundamental changes to river morphology, hydrology, and biogeochemical function. Effective river restoration and remediation of arid western rivers relies on a comprehensive interpretation of how beaver activity influences water quantity and quality. In this study, I compared two stream reaches with and without beaver dams in a semi-arid watershed, to quantify the effects of beaver activity on hydrology and biogeochemistry. Within each reach, I combined dilution gauging and stream tracer experiments to determine …

Chamoli Disaster: Pronounced Changes In Water Quality And Flood Plains Using Sentinel Data, Sansar Raj Meena, Akshansa Chauhan, Kushanav Bhuyan, Ramesh P. Singh

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

The Himalayan rivers are vulnerable to devastating flooding caused by landslides and outbreak of glacial lakes. On 7 February 2021, a deadly disaster occurred near the Rishi Ganga Hydropower Plant in the Rishi Ganga River, killing more than 100 people. During the event, a large volume of debris and broken glacial fragments flooded the Rishi Ganga River and washed away the Rishi Ganga Hydropower plant ongoing project. This study presents the impact of the Chamoli disaster on the water quality of Rishi Ganga River in upstream near Tapovan and Ganga River in downstream near Haridwar through remote sensing data. Five …

Development Of A Python Library To Facilitate Wqx Dataset Exchanges, Jonathan Musselwhite, Fernando Rojano

Presentations

The assistance of programming tools to speed up the exchange of water quality datasets are necessary. These tools reduce and simplify the steps currently needed to transfer datasets from water quality monitoring stations to public databases. Here it is presented a library developed in Python that programmatically covers the steps related to the upload of datasets following the framework of the Water Quality Exchange (WQX) of the US EPA. This library is mainly characterized by its ability to efficiently connect and transfer data formatted as CSV or XLSX files via the WQX to the National STORET Data Warehouse by mostly …

Evaluating Impacts Of Anthropogenic Disturbance To Wetland Water Quality Functions, Sindupa De Silva, Jim Anderson, Jason A. Hubbart, Michael P. Strager, Elliott Kellner, Christopher T. Rota, Elizabeth A. Byers

Presentations

Wetland ecosystems play fundamental roles in regulating our freshwater resources, yet they are not comprehensively protected from degradation and loss. West Virginia, USA has wetlands across diverse landscapes and geography that feed into both the Chesapeake Bay and Gulf of Mexico. The state is also comprised of diverse anthropogenic land-use practices. We are assessing 200 wetlands over 2 years to evaluate how anthropogenic disturbance impact wetland water quality functions. Select water quality parameters (20), and relative diversity and abundance of vegetation and macroinvertebrates will be used as bioindicators. They will be compared with GIS assessments of watershed land cover/ land-use …

Use Of Citizen Science In Monitoring Groundwater Quality: A Case Study From Nebraska, Christopher Olson

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

Citizen science has a key role in modernizing effective communication between professional scientists and the general public. However, citizen science differs to that of professional science due to equipment and experience and is a topic argued against citizen science. However, technology in water quality testing has developed in simplicity and affordability to a point where high school students, with hands-on training, can collect groundwater samples and test for quality themselves. Nebraska groundwater quality is a critical part of the state and can utilize high school students as citizen scientists for their communities. High school students from rural communities across Nebraska …

A Geochemical And Statistical Investigation Of The Big Four Springs Region In Southern Missouri, Jordan Jasso Vega

MSU Graduate Theses

The Big Four Springs region hosts four major first-order magnitude springs in southern Missouri and northern Arkansas. These springs are Big Spring (Carter County, MO), Greer Spring (Oregon County, MO), Mammoth Spring (Fulton County, AR), and Hodgson Mill Spring (Ozark County, MO). Based on historic dye traces and hydrogeological investigations, these springs drain an area of approximately 1500 square miles and collectively discharge an average of 780 million gallons of water per day. The rocks from youngest to oldest that are found in Big Four Springs region are the Cotter and Jefferson City Dolomite (Ordovician), Roubidoux Formation (Ordovician), Gasconade Dolomite …

Physical And Biological Factors Controlling The Fate Of Nitrate In A Louisiana Coastal Deltaic Floodplain, Alexandra Christensen

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The Mississippi River Delta is threatened by a growing pressure to support large human populations in the United States both with food production, navigation systems, and urban development in the Mississippi River Basin. Nitrate-nitrogen load in the Mississippi River, up to 100 Tg N yr^-1 from agricultural and urban runoff, leads to phytoplankton blooms and hypoxia across the Louisiana continental shelf, creating dead zones of low dissolved oxygen threatening a significant commercial fishery. Along the coast and river corridors, floodplain ecosystems have the capacity to retain and remove nitrate. This dissertation explores the role of productive, actively growing coastal …

Risk And Cost Assessment Of Nitrate Contamination In Domestic Wells, Pongpun Juntakut, Erin M.K. Haacker, Daniel D. Snow, Chittaranjan Ray

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

This study combines empirical predictive and economics models to estimate the cost of remediation for domestic wells exceeding suggested treatment thresholds for nitrates. A multiple logistic regression model predicted the probability of well contamination by nitrate, and a life cycle costing methodology was used to estimate costs of nitrate contamination in groundwater in two areas of Nebraska. In south-central Nebraska, 37% of wells were estimated to be at risk of exceeding a threshold of 7.5 mg/L as N, and 17% were at risk of exceeding 10 mg/L as N, the legal limit for human consumption in the United States. In …

Swine Slurry Characteristics As Affected By Selected Additives And Disinfectants, Jon Duerschner, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt, Kent Eskridge, John E. Gilley, Xu Li, Amy M. Schmidt, Daniel D. Snow

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Current swine industry practice is to house animals in confinement facilities which capture and store feces and urine as slurry in pits below the production area. Additives and disinfectants may be introduced into the manure pits. This study was conducted to measure the effects of additives and disinfectants on temporal changes in swine slurry characteristics. Slurry from a commercial swine production facility in southeast Nebraska, USA was collected and transferred to 57 L reactors located within a greenhouse. Selected additives and disinfectants were added to the reactors and physical properties, chemical characteristics, and antibiotic concentrations were monitored for 40 days. …

Evaluation Of The Relationship Between Land Use And Water Quality In Kittitas County, Wa, Lindsay Schulz

All Master's Theses

Water in Kittitas County is extremely valuable since it supports farming, recreation, and cultural activities, as well as environmental processes and a diversity of biological life while providing many ecosystem services. However, land conversions required by agricultural and urban land uses can negatively impact water quality and the biological function of the stream. I studied how forested, agricultural, and urban land use affect six streams. Fourteen sites were sampled, once each in July, August, and September 2019. Land use was calculated as a percentage of forested, agricultural, and urban land use within a 100-m buffer of the stream, upstream of …

Relating Recharge Mechanisms To Chemical Changes In An Updip Appalachian Coal Mine Discharge: A Case Study From Lambert Run, West Virginia, Matthew Lewis Bell

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Impaired drainage from active and abandoned mines degrades the water quality of receiving streams and aquifers. Coal mine drainage (CMD) has been studied for decades in Appalachia, but unknowns and uncertainties are still present, including the influence of mine hydrogeology on the outflow chemistry of above-drainage mines. To evaluate the influence of recharge type on above-drainage mine chemistry, samples were collected every two weeks at a CMD outflow treatment system in Harrison County, West Virginia.

Samples were collected to measure geochemical changes taking place in the mine workings and along the flowpath of the passive treatment system. Samples were divided …

Reconstructing Hydrologic Conditions And Metals Supplied By The Peace River To The Peace-Athabasca Delta, Jelle André Faber

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The Peace-Athabasca Delta (PAD) in northern Alberta, Canada, is recognized internationally for its ecological, historical, and cultural significance. The delta is mostly within Wood Buffalo National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance. The construction of the WAC Bennett Dam (1967) and the Site C Dam (ongoing, 2024) on the Peace River, and expansion of the Alberta Oil Sands industry along the Athabasca River have raised concerns over water quantity and quality in the delta. When industry operations began, effective monitoring had not been implemented. Consequently, pre-industrial reference conditions are unknown and can …

The Spatial Distribution Of Elevated Uranium In The Treasure Valley Aquifer System, Southwest Idaho, Lloyd A. Womeldorph

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The Treasure Valley Aquifer System (TVAS) in southwestern Idaho contains well-documented uranium concentrations over the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency maximum contaminant level of 30 µg/L. With a population in the Treasure Valley projected to reach 1.6 million by 2065, in-depth horizontal and vertical spatial knowledge of the contaminant is needed. This study evaluates the horizontal and vertical spatial nature of uranium in the TVAS and interprets those observations to provide both a conceptual model of uranium behavior, and recommendations for water resource management. A large water quality dataset was compiled, and supplemented by data collected during a field sampling campaign, …

Regenerating Agricultural Landscapes With Perennial Groundcover For Intensive Crop Production, Kenneth J. Moore, Robert P. Anex, Amani E. Elobeid, Shuizhang Fei, Cornelia B. Flora, A. Susana Goggi, Keri L. Jacobs, Prashant Jha, Amy L. Kaleita, Douglas L. Karlen, David A. Laird, Andrew W. Lenssen, Thomas Lubberstedt, Marshall D. Mcdaniel, D. Raj Raman, Sharon L. Weyers

Douglas L Karlen

The Midwestern U.S. landscape is one of the most highly altered and intensively managed ecosystems in the country. The predominant crops grown are maize (Zea mays L.) and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr]. They are typically grown as monocrops in a simple yearly rotation or with multiple years of maize (2 to 3) followed by a single year of soybean. This system is highly productive because the crops and management systems have been well adapted to the regional growing conditions through substantial public and private investment. Furthermore, markets and supporting infrastructure are highly developed for both crops. As maize and …

Improved Estimates Of Tributary Nitrogen Load To Casco Bay, Maine, Whitley J. Gray

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Over the past two decades, total nitrogen (TN) concentrations have increased in Casco Bay (CBEP 2015). The sources of the increased nitrogen are poorly understood but occur with simultaneous population growth and land use changes. The total riverine nitrogen load to Casco Bay was previously estimated by Liebman and Milstead (2012) using the United States Geologic Survey’s (USGS) SPAtially Referenced Regression On Watershed attributes (SPARROW) model. The SPARROW model uses watershed characteristics, regional monitoring data and nitrogen source data to estimate nitrogen loading but was not validated using measurements of nitrogen in the Casco Bay watershed. This study attempts to …

An Urban Karst Aquifer Resource Evaluation And Monitoring Toolbox, Rachel Anne Kaiser

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In urban karst areas, such as the City of Bowling Green, Kentucky and the Tampa Bay Metropolitan Area, groundwater quality faces a variety of threats. The development of residential, commercial, and industrial landuse types allows for a wide variety of groundwater pollutants to enter the karst groundwater systems. Various different models and indices have attempted evaluative approaches to identify issues in urban karst areas, but the methods vary by location and lack a focus on urban karst groundwater quality. There also exists a lack of a data-driven approach that is able to capture short- and long-term changes in threats to …

Rating Curve Development For The Upper James Fork, Lower James Fork And Hinkle Jones Creek In The Upper Poteau River Watershed In Arkansas, Meagan O'Hare

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Stream discharge is necessary to estimate loads and calibrate and validate watershed models. Access to long-term water quality data and discharge measurements allows for modeling of water quality changes across a watershed over time. However, discharge monitoring stations are often expensive to install and maintain, particularly in small rivers. A more cost-effective method for monitoring streamflow has been implemented in the Upper Poteau River Watershed (UPRW) in Arkansas. This method consists of an SonTek acoustic doppler instrument for measuring storm stream flow, with is combined with manual baseflow discharge measurements. The combined stormflow and baseflow measurements are combined with a …

The Impacts Of Land Use And Land Cover Change On Water Quality In The Big Sioux River: 2007-2016, Dinesh Shrestha

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Between 2006 and 2012, conversion of 485,000 acres of grassland to cropland in eastern South Dakota was reported. In 2012, the Big Sioux River (BSR) running through most of eastern South Dakota was listed among the dirtiest rivers in the nation. This rating convinced state authorities to study trends of land cover changes in the BSR watershed and its association with BSR water quality with respect to increases in nitrate levels. This research i) quantifies spatial and temporal changes in the land cover types within the BSR watershed, and ii) identifies any correlation between these changes and changes in BSR …

Evaluation Of A Sequential Pond System For Detention And Treatment Of Runoff At Skypark, Santa's Village, Elizabeth Caporuscio

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Understanding the extent to which human activities impact surface water resources has become increasingly important as both human population growth and related landscape changes impact water quality and quantity across varying geographical scales. Skypark, Santa’s Village is a 233.76-acre tourism-based outdoor recreation area located in Skyforest, California residing within the San Bernardino National Forest. The park is situated at Hooks Creek, the headwaters of the Mojave River Watershed, and is characterized by a diverse landscape that includes forest cover and human development, including impervious surfaces, a restored meadow, and recreational trails. In 2016, Hencks Meadow was considered degraded by human …

Sediment Dynamics In The Bear River-Mud Lake-Bear Lake System, Patrick Belmont, Mitchell Donovan, Janice Brahney, Lindsay Capito, Zach Burgert

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

The overarching goal of this project was to compile and analyze a variety of existing datasets, and generate several new datasets, to advance our understanding of how the Bear River Mud Lake-Bear Lake system functions, how it has, or is expected to change, identify which components are degraded or vulnerable to degradation, and determine if/where critical data and/or knowledge gaps exist. We conducted a series of analyses to evaluate changes in hydrology and suspended sediment, collected sediment cores from nine locations in Mud Lake to evaluate how sedimentation rates, sediment sources and water quality have changed over time, and utilized …