Earth Sciences Commons^™

Agenda: Sustainable Use Of The West's Water, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Sustainable Use of the West's Water (Summer Conference, June 12-14)

Conference organizers and/or faculty included University of Colorado School of Law professors David H. Getches, Lawrence J. MacDonnell, Teresa A. Rice, Elizabeth A. Rieke and Charles F. Wilkinson.

Sustainable development is on the policy agenda for the '90s. What does sustainability mean? Is it a realistic concept? Are water rights compatible with sustainable use? The Center's 16th annual summer conference will explore the meaning of sustainability in the context of the West's demands, development, and natural values. Presentations by leading experts will address the broad concept of sustainable development, with a particular look at Arizona's experience. The focus will be …

Atrazine And Alachlor Dissipation Rates From Field Experiments, Stephen R. Workman, Andrew D. Ward, Norman R. Fausey, Sue E. Nokes

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Chemical transport is being monitored in the root zone of three agricultural management systems at the Ohio Management Systems Evaluation Area (OMSEA). Atrazine and alachlor concentration data from soil cores taken to a depth of 0.9 m and partitioned into the increments of 0.0 to 0.15, 0.15 to 0.3, 0.45 to 0.6, and 0.75 to 0.9 m show the herbicides remained in the top 0.15 m of the profile during the 1991 and 1992 growing seasons. The slow movement of herbicides was partly due to below normal rainfall during the period. Since the herbicides have not been transported out of …

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 …

A Guide To Floodplain Cattle Fencing, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia, Main Roads, Western Australia

Animal production and livestock published reports

A seminar and workshop was held at Fitzroy Crossing in October 1993 to address the consequences of flooding to landholders and communities.

Damage to flood plain fencing was identified as one of the major concerns to landholders.

An outcome from the workshop was the decision to draw on local knowledge and collate information on options for fence and floodgate designs.

This information was to be made available to land holders and other interested parties - hence this publication.

Sorption Of Chlorinated Organic Compounds By Sedimentary Rocks, Paul M. Mcginley, S. Kesaraju, Ronald D. Gruzesky

KWRRI Research Reports

The sorption of dichlorobenzene and trichlorobenzene on carbonate and shale rocks collected in Kentucky demonstrate that rock organic matter content is a good indicator of sorptive reactivity in rock systems. Although this is similar to soil systems, significant differences between sorption in rock and soil systems exist. Sorption isotherms on these rocks are nonlinear and sorption can be an order of magnitude higher than predicted using correlations from soils and their organic matter content. This sorption reaction could lead to significant concentration tailing during contaminant cleanup. Experimental elution of trichloroethylene from rock filled columns verified that cleanup times might be …

Bulletin 4279 - Streamlining - An Environmentally Sustainable Drainage Network For The Swan Coastal Plain (Peel-Harvey Catchment), Garry Heady, Neil Guise

Bulletins 4000 -

Community Catchment Centre Pinjarra

A network of over 1400 kilometres of drains and modified natural waterways constructed by the Public Works Department criss-crosses the Peel-Harvey catchment. There are also over 3300 kilometres of minor drains and natural waterways in this same region.

The expansion of agriculture relied on this extensive drainage network, which was designed to ensure rapid drainage of the region. Unfortunately there was little regard to future environmental consequences.

Along with drainage water, these same drains now carry high loads of silt and nutrients. Many of the drains are also degraded and require expensive maintenance annually.

Sporomorphs And Palynological Interpretations Of Lower Oligocene Strata From The Eastern Gulf Coast, U.S.A., Lisa M. Reeves

Opportunities for Undergraduate Research Experience Program (OURE)

The Vicksburg Group in the eastern Gulf Coast of the United States belongs to one of the most complete and continuous Paleogene strata in the world. Previous studies in this region have neglected the rich palynomorph assemblages of the Lower Oligocene units of the Vicksburg Group. Four samples from Wayne County Mississippi were analyzed for palynological information on the Vicksburg Group. The initial objective of the study was to understand the principles of palynology and the basis for sporomorph identification. A minimum of 300 specimens were counted per slide to determine the distribution of sporomorphs in the sediments. Two hundred …

Retrieval Of Sizes And Total Masses Of Particles In Volcanic Clouds Using Avhrr Bands 4 And 5, Shiming Wen, William I. Rose

Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences Publications

The advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) sensor on polar orbiting NOAA satellites can discriminate between volcanic clouds and meteorological clouds using two-band data in the thermal infrared. This paper is aimed at developing a retrieval of the particle sizes, optical depth, and total masses of particles from AVHRR two-band data of volcanic clouds. Radiative transfer calculations are used with a semi-transparent cloud model that is based on assumptions of spherical particle shape, a homogeneous underlying surface, and a simple thin cloud parallel to the surface. The model is applied to observed AVHRR data from a 13-hour old drifting cloud …

Three-Dimensional Transport Simulations Of The Dispersal Of Volcanic Aerosol From Mount Pinatubo, T. Duncan A. Fairlie

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

A global finite-difference model that simulates the large-scale dynamics of the Earth's stratosphere and mesosphere is combined with a global spectral transport model to investigate aspects of the initial dispersal of the volcanic aerosol plume from the Mount Pinatubo eruption in 1991. Results of the modelling study are found to compare well with observations of the volcanic plume made from satellite instruments. Dynamical quantities, diagnosed from the simulated fields are used to provide insight into the evolution of the volcanic plume. Lagrangian trajectory analysis is used to help assess the performance of the Eulerian transport model and to highlight small-scale …

Brittle Compressive Failure Of Salt-Water Columnar Ice Under Biaxial Loading, T. R. Smith, E. M. Schulson

Dartmouth Scholarship

The brittle failure of saline columnar ice was investigated under biaxial compression at and −10° and −40°C over the range 0 ≤ R A < 1 where R A is the ratio of the intermediate to major principal compressive stress. The major principal stress and the intermediate (confining) stress were orthogonal to the columnar axes (type-A confinement); both stresses and the c-axes of the grains were co-planar. The results confirm earlier work by Hausier (1981) and Timco and Frederking (1983, 1986) on saline ice and follow similar behavior to fresh-water columnar ice found by Smith and Schulson (1993) and Frederking (1977). Failure stress and failure mode are sensitive to the confinement and two regimes of behavior are found: the failure stress first rapidly increases with R A in the range 0 ≤ R A < R T and then tends to decrease for R A > R t. The transition stress ratio, R t changes from ≈0.2 at −10°C to ≈0.1 at −40°C. The failure mode changes from axial splitting to shear faulting in the loading plane for 0 < R A < R t. Above R t failure changes to a combined mode of splitting across the columns and shear faulting out of the loading plane. The failure-stress envelope is of a truncated Coulomb-type. Damage studies show wing cracks and local fragmentation of grains involving the brine pockets. The results are explained in terms of Coulombic sliding and Hertzian crack mechanics.

Soil Sampling Made Easier, Mike Bolland, Mike Baker

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

A new rotary blade soil sampler has taken the hard work out of collecting soil samples from Western Australia's hard-setting soils to test for soil phosphorus levels .

Conceived and developed by Department of Agriculture technical officer Mike Baker, it should enable soil testing to be more widely adopted. Fortunately, the soil calibration tests that were developed using pogo samples can also be used for the new sampler.

Book Review, Peter C. Christensen

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Review of: MARY R. ENGLISH, SITING LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL FACILITIES: THE PUBLIC POLICY DILEMMA. (Quorum Books 1992) [278 pp.], Appendices, index, introduction, references. LC-91-42774; ISBN 0-89930-560-1. [$49.95 cloth. One Madison Avenue, New York NY 10010.]

Risk Estimation And Expert Judgment: The Case Of Yucca Mountain, Kristin Shrader-Frechette

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Professor Shrader-Frechette discusses factors responsible for acute disagreement between the federal government and Nevada citizens over potential Risks at Yucca Mountain and focuses on the use of expert judgment, concluding that some of them appear to exemplify "bad science." That aside, she argues that 1,000 year predictions cannot be made from current knowledge of geology or, e.g., institutional behavior and concludes that permanent disposal of radioactive waste is currently impossible.

Compact – A Reclamation Soil Compaction Model Part I. Model Development, Ronald L. Bingner, Larry G. Wells

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

A physically based, event oriented soil compaction model, known as COMPACT, was developed as a management or research tool to evaluate the effect of surface mining systems on compaction of soil material during reclamation. Simulation of compaction throughout the soil profile at a surface mining reclamation site requires information describing how equipment moves on the site. The compaction processes that are caused by vehicles throughout the soil profile are described by applying the pressure distribution of the surface contact area of a tire or track to determine stresses in the soil profile. A virgin compression curve is then used to …

Compact – A Reclamation Soil Compaction Model Part Ii. Sensitivity Analysis And Applications, Ronald L. Bingner, Larry G. Wells

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

COMPACT, a physically based, event-oriented compaction model, was developed as a management or research tool to evaluate the influence of a surface mining system on compaction of soil material during reclamation. Two systems of area mining reclamation operations were simulated by COMPACT. The first system involved scrapers and bulldozers and the second also included trucks. Scrapers or trucks were used to pick up and deposit the soil material. Bulldozers were then used to shape the site for reclamation. The simulated results were compared with measured results and show how equipment patterns and soil parameters can affect overall soil compaction. This …

Stubble : Friend And Foe, Department Of Agriculture And Food, Western Australia

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Several articles in this issue of the Journal of Agriculture discuss some of the important issues of stubble management. The articles are condensed from some of the papers presented at a stubble workshop at Geraldton in 1991.

Stubble Handling Begins At Harvest, Ed Blanchard

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Long stubble left in the paddock after harvest causes major difficulties at seeding time. To demonstrate the benefits of having short stubble at seeding, the Trayning Land Conservation District Committee created four stubble treatments at harvest in 1988 and sowed into these stubble treatments in 1989.

Cost Effective Stubble Retention Practices, Andrew Green, Ed Blanchard

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

To increase the rate of adoption of stubble retention farming systems the Grains Research and Development Corporation is funding a three-year project with the Farm Machinery Unit to develop low cost, stubble handling systems from harvest to seeding

Evaluation Of Gamma Ray Attenuation For Measuring Soil Bulk Density Part I. Laboratory Investigation, Xiwen Luo, Larry G. Wells

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Gamma ray attenuation was evaluated as a means of determining soil bulk density. Experiments were conducted using clay, silt, and sandy loam soils wherein samples were compacted to uniform densities at various moisture contents. We determined the attenuation characteristics of dry soil to be independent of soil texture while being significantly different from that of water. Comparison of gamma density measurements with known soil sample densities indicated that the gamma gauge provided reliable measurement of soil bulk density, provided that the effect of soil moisture on attenuation was accounted for and the manufacturer-prescribed calibration procedure was followed daily. Further, we …

Evaluation Of Gamma Ray Attenuation For Measuring Soil Bulk Density Part Ii. Field Investigation, Larry G. Wells, Xiwen Luo

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

A field investigation was conducted at sites near Lexington and Central City, Kentucky, to evaluate the use of gamma ray attenuation for measuring soil bulk density. Experiments were conducted whereby the gamma gauge was calibrated by various means and compared with volumetric cores collected from the field soils. Calibration by the manufacturer’s recommended procedure was determined to be as accurate as more rigorous laboratory calibration or calibration via regression of soil bulk density data, provided that the effect of soil water on gamma attenuation is correctly considered. We also developed a linear regression equation to correct for the occurrence of …

Structural, Depositional, And Diagenetic Controls On Reservoir Development: St. Peter Sandstone, Newaygo County, Michigan, Mark S. Caldwell

Masters Theses

Enhanced reservoir quality in the Middle Ordovician St. Peter Sandstone is observed in gas bearing zones in wells located on domal structures. Geometry and degree of this enhanced porosity development is the result of the interplay of structural, depositional, and diagenetic controls. An integrated subsurface study of the Woodville/Goodwell field area was performed in order to document controls on hydrocarbon accumulation.

Recurrent structural growth of domal features throughout the Paleozoic is well documented by isopach mapping. Burial and thermal history studies indicate that hydrocarbons were generated in Ordovician aged source rocks during late Devonian to early Mississippian time, and accumulated …

The Fracture Of Ice On Scales Large And Small: Arctic Leads And Wing Cracks, E. M. Schulson, W. D. Hibler

Dartmouth Scholarship

From observations and calculations of crack patterns in ice, it is suggested that a similar mechanism may account for cracking over a wide range of scales.

Sedimentology Of The Bedford-Berea Sequence (Early Mississippian), Williams Field, Michigan, David Alan Balthazor

Masters Theses

The Berea Sandstone has produced in excess of 1.6 million barrels of oil in the Williams field since discovery in 1980. Seven lithofacies are identified from conventional core in the Bedford-Berea sequence. These facies are interpreted as deltaic deposits comprising prodelta (Bedford Shale), delta front, destructive marine shale, abandoned distributary channel-fill, interdistributary bay-fill, transgressive marine sandstone, and marine shale (Sunbury Shale) facies. Passive channel-fill facies truncate reservoir sandstone bodies and compartmentalize the field NW-SE across the trend of the northwestplunging anticline.

The two reservoir facies in the Williams field are the delta front and transgressive marine sandstones. The sandstone framework …

Drainage Of Sandplain Seeps For Salinity Control And Stock Water Supplies, Richard George, Peter Frantom

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Sandplain seeps are derived from a shallow groundwater system which flows from the deep sandplain soils upslope. Seeps result in small areas of salinity and waterlogging, which can be the focus of soil erosion. Sandplain seeps may represent as much as 10 per cent of Western Australia's salt problem in the drier agricultural area. Several drainage experiments conducted between 1986 and 1989 determined the best methods of reclaiming sandplain seeps.

This article discusses the results of these drainage experiments. It comments on the most suitable method for reclaiming sandplain seeps and developing them for stock water supplies.

Whole-Farm Planning : Success At Wilgi Creek, Kevin Shanhun

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Ian and Bev Lynch own Wilgi Creek, a 376 ha mixed farming property at West Mount Barker in the 700 mm rainfall zone. In 1983, they started a whole-farm plan to overcome the problems of declining production caused by waterlogging (their biggest problem), salinity and deterioration of the remnant native vegetation. Today, their property is an example of a successful, wholefarm land conservation plan based on agroforestry, timber production, water harvesting and improved pastures.

Narrow-Winged Seeder Points Reduce Water Erosion And Maintain Crop Yields, Kevin Bligh

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Sowing crops without loosening the topsoil by tillage reduces water erosion. It can increase infiltration of rainfall into loamy soils, thereby reducing runoff and increasing potential crop yields. Crop yields were maintained after I1 seasons of seeding an Avon Valley loam near Beverley with minimum and no-tillage seeding operations. Infiltration increased significantly from 80 per cent of the 1983 growing-season rainfall under the traditional three tillage operations, to 87per cent under a single tillage operation using a combine seed drill. Infiltration increased further to 96 per cent under a no-tillage system using a triple^lisc drill. At Gnowangerup, 80 per cent …

Mining In Maine : Past, Present, And Future, Carolyn A. Lepage

Maine Collection

Mining in Maine : Past, Present, and Future

by Carolyn A. Lepage, Michael E. Foley, and Woodrow B. Thompson

Maine Geological Survey, Department of Conservation, Augusta, Me., 1990.

Contents: Introduction / The Early Years: Pre-Civil War / The Civil War to World War II / The War Years of the 1940's / The Postwar Years: 1940's to 1960 / The 1960's / The 1970's / Maine Mineral Resources Association / The 1980's / Current Mining and Exploration / Future Potential / Acknowledgments / References

Economics Of Interceptor Drains : A Case Study, Andrew Bathgate, Ian Evans

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

This case study determines the most likely rate of return to capital invested in constructing seepage interceptor drains to reduce the effect of waterlogging on crop and pasture yields. The analysis of a farm in the Denbarker region, west of Albany, determined what increases were needed in pasture growth to justify the cost of constructing drains across four adjacent paddocks. The benefits of changing rotations to include lupins were also determined, as growing lupins was unprofitable before the construction of drains.

The Effect Of The Specimen–Platen Interface On Internal Cracking And Brittle Fracture Of Ice Under Compression: High-Speed Photography, E. M. Schulson, M. C. Gies, G. J. Lasonde, W. A. Nixon

Dartmouth Scholarship

Uniaxial compression experiments at –10°C at 10−3s−1 on fresh-water, granular ice have established through the use of high-speed photography that internal cracks nucleate preferentially away from the ice/platen (i/p) interface under conditions of i/p contraint, but near the interface under conditions of i/p expansion. Under conditions of little i/p interaction, cracks nucleate more or less randomly throughout the specimen. Correspondingly, the brittle-fracture strength decreases as the i/p interaction changes from compressive to tensile. These effects are explained in terms of the spatial variation of the maximum shear stress and the crack density.

Goes Imagery Fills Gaps In Montserrat Volcanic Cloud Observations, Mark A. Davies, William I. Rose

Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences Publications

GOES satellite imagery offers great potential to lessen the risk of volcanic ash clouds to aviation, and the situation at Montserrat in the Caribbean is providing the proof. Many transatlantic, commercial, and private aircraft use airspace around Montserrat, where the Soufriere Hills Volcano has been erupting since 1995.

Worldwide over the last 15 years, more than 80 airplanes have reported encountering volcanic ash along flight paths. Encounters cannot be avoided because onboard radar cannot detect fine-grained ash particles—those with a radius of 15 microns or less. In recent years volcanic cloud encounters are estimated to have caused hundreds of millions …