Earth Sciences Commons^™

Protocol Implementation Plan For Cave Water Quality Monitoring In The Northern Great Plains Network, Narrative Version 1.0, Isabel W. Ashton, Justin S. Mills, Marc Ohms, Daniel Austin, Michael Wiles, Kara Paintner-Green

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

The Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network includes thirteen park units located in five northern Great Plains states across six ecoregions. Two park units, Jewel Cave National Monument (JECA) and Wind Cave National Park (WICA), protect significant cave resources. These two caves are among the longest caves in the world and have an assortment of underground water resources ranging from drip sites to cave lakes. Subsurface water quantity and quality in the caves is a concern due to groundwater depletion and groundwater contamination from pesticides (aboveground applications), hydrocarbons (vehicle use and related activities), and wastewater effluent (sewage …

Droughtscape, Spring 2019, Cory Matteson

DroughtScape: Quarterly Newsletter of the National Drought Mitigation Center (2007–2023)

Contents

From the Director

Wet and cool conditions bring drought relief to the West

Notable numbers from Q1

Drought impact summary, 1st quarter 2019

New research examines drought effects on state recreation areas

At Ethiopian space science workshop, NDMC climatologist sees promise in preparing for drought

U.S.- affiliated Pacific Islands now part of U.S. Drought Monitor

Water conservation tips for drought, flood and other disasters

Upcoming events

Defining, Measuring, And Applying Soil Quality: An Unresolved Debate, Salvador Ramirez Ii

Doctor of Plant Health Program: Dissertations and Student Research

Paradigm shifts occur periodically in the sciences. Proposed paradigm shifts offer opportunities to reexamine extant paradigms and evaluate new ones. Soil science experienced a controversy resembling a proposed paradigm shift in the late 1990s and early 2000s when it grappled with the idea of soil quality (SQ). The most contentious points in the SQ debates were (1) the word “quality” itself and designing a functional definition, (2) identifying appropriate soil quality indicators, (3) the integration of soil quality indicators, and (4) the interpretation of soil quality indicators. The latter three disagreements were rooted in the established, fundamental, soil science paradigm. …

A Case Study Analysis Of Two Heavy Snowfall Events And Road Weather Implications In 2018 For Nebraska, Nancy Barnhardt

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

Weather-related car accidents make up approximately a quarter of all crashes even though the amount of time during the year in which they can occur is minimal in comparison to fair weather day crashes. Maintenance Decision Support Systems (MDSS) were developed to help mitigate the number of crashes that occur during winter weather through improved operations along with reducing chemical usage. An MDSS uses weather information to recommend road treatments based on current and future weather conditions. To evaluate the limitations and capabilities of the Nebraska Department of Transportation Maintenance Decision Support System (NDOT-MDSS), case study analysis was performed on …

Flow Alteration-Ecology Relationships In Ozark Highland Streams: Consequences For Fish, Crayfish And Macroinvertebrate Assemblages, Dustin Thomas Lynch, Douglas R. Leasure, Daniel D. Magoulick

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

We examined flowalteration-ecology relationships in benthic macroinvertebrate, fish, and crayfish assemblages in Ozark Highland streams, USA, over two years with contrasting environmental conditions, a drought year (2012) and a flood year (2013). We hypothesized that: 1) there would be temporal variation in flow alteration-ecology relationships between the two years, 2) flow alteration-ecology relationshipswould be stronger during the drought year vs the flood year, and 3) fish assemblages would show the strongest relationships with flow alteration. We used a quantitative richest-targeted habitat (RTH) method and a qualitative multihabitat (QMH) method to collect macroinvertebrates at 16 USGS gaged sites during both years. …

Flow Alteration-Ecology Relationships In Ozark Highland Streams: Consequences For Fish, Crayfish And Macroinvertebrate Assemblages, Dustin T. Lynch, Douglas R. Easure, Daniel D. Magoulick

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

We examined flowalteration-ecology relationships in benthic macroinvertebrate, fish, and crayfish assemblages in Ozark Highland streams, USA, over two years with contrasting environmental conditions, a drought year (2012) and a flood year (2013). We hypothesized that: 1) there would be temporal variation in flow alteration-ecology relationships between the two years, 2) flow alteration-ecology relationshipswould be stronger during the drought year vs the flood year, and 3) fish assemblages would show the strongest relationships with flow alteration. We used a quantitative richest-targeted habitat (RTH) method and a qualitative multihabitat (QMH) method to collect macroinvertebrates at 16 USGS gaged sites during both years. …

The Accelerating Influence Of Humans On Mammalian Macroecological Patterns Over The Late Quaternary, Felisa A. Smith, Rosemary E. Elliott Smith, S. Kathleen Lyons, Jonathan L. Payne, Amelia Villaseñor

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The transition of hominins to a largely meat-based diet ~1.8 million years ago led to the exploitation of other mammals for food and resources. As hominins, particularly archaic and modern humans, became increasingly abundant and dispersed across the globe, a temporally and spatially transgressive extinction of large-bodied mammals followed; the degree of selectivity was unprecedented in the Cenozoic fossil record. Today, most remaining large-bodied mammal species are confined to Africa, where they coevolved with hominins. Here, using a comprehensive global dataset of mammal distribution, life history and ecology, we examine the consequences of “body size downgrading” of mammals over the …

Flood-Inundation Maps Of The Meramec River From Eureka To Arnold, Missouri, 2018, Benjamin J. Dietsch, Kellan R. Strauch

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

Document abstract

Libraries of digital flood-inundation maps that spanned a combined 37.2-mile reach of the Meramec River that extended upstream from Eureka, Missouri, to downstream near the confluence of the Meramec and Mississippi Rivers were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, Missouri Department of Transportation, Missouri American Water, Federal Emergency Management Agency Region 7, and the cities of Pacific, Eureka, Wildwood, and Arnold. The flood-inundation maps, which can be accessed through the USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Science website at https://water.usgs.gov/osw/flood_inundation/, depict estimates of …

Geophysical Analysis Of The Midcontinent Rift’S Subsurface Structure In Southeastern Nebraska, Patrick Szopinski

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The Midcontinent Rift System (MCRS) is a 1.1 billion-year-old failed rift system that spans much of the North American continental interior. The MCRS is exposed at Lake Superior and is buried in the subsurface along its southwest-extending arm through southeastern Nebraska. Due to the presence of buried volcanic rocks, the MCRS has characteristic highly-pronounced potential field anomalies (gravity and magnetic). Despite these large anomalies, not much is known about the subsurface faulting associated with the rift zone in the Midwest. The goal of this project is to attempt to use integrated analysis of collected geophysical data from multiple methods to …

Earth Observation And Climate Services For Food Security And Agricultural Decision Making In South And Southeast Asia, Faisal M. Qamer, Tsegaue Tadesse, Mir Matin, Walter L. Ellenburg, Benjamin Zaitchik

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Deliberations on new developments in the use of Earth observation for agriculture and food security in South and Southeast Asia gathered 120 participants to discuss i) agricultural and hydrological drought monitoring and early warning systems, ii) crop mapping and yield estimation, and iii) risk financing and agrometeorological advisory services.

Using Artificial Neural Networks To Predict Future Dryland Responses To Human And Climate Disturbances, C.E. Buckland, R.M. Bailey, D.S.G. Thomas

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Land degradation and sediment remobilisation in dryland environments is considered to be a significant global environmental problem. Given the potential for currently stabilised dune systems to reactivate under climate change and increased anthropogenic pressures, identifying the role of external disturbances in driving geomorphic response is vitally important. We developed a novel approach, using artificial neural networks (ANNs) applied to time series of historical reactivation-deposition events from the Nebraska Sandhills, to determine the relationship between historic periods of sand deposition in semi-arid grasslands and external climatic conditions, land use pressures and wildfire occurrence. We show that both vegetation growth and sediment …

Umphlett Qci March 2019, Natalie Umphlett

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

Highlights for the Basin

Temperature Anomalies

Plains Snowpack

Agriculture

Energy

Transportation

Temperature

Precipitation

Multivariate Analysis Of Hydrochemical Data For Jewel Cave, Wind Cave, And Surrounding Areas, Andrew J. Long, James B. Paces, William G. Eldridge

United States National Park Service: Publications

Abstract

Jewel Cave National Monument and Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota contain two of the six longest caves worldwide. These caves contain subterranean lakes that are important points of intersection between the water table of the Madison aquifer and the caves. During 2015 to 2017, several subterranean lakes were discovered in Jewel Cave, which previously was thought to be above the regional water table. The objectives of this study were to better understand the hydrology of the recently discovered subterranean lakes in Jewel Cave and to evaluate their relation or possible connection to similar lakes in Wind Cave. …

Nebraska Statewide Groundwater-Level Monitoring Report 2018, Aaron R. Young, Mark E. Burbach, Leslie M. Howard, Michele M. Waszgis, Sue Olafsen Lackey, Robert Matthew Joeckel

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

The term “groundwater” has come to be all but synonymous with Nebraska. Nearly three-quarters of the total volume of the High Plains Aquifer lies beneath the State. Groundwater maintains our streams, our ecosystems, our people, and our vitally important agricultural economy. Nebraska’s total groundwater resource is vast, yet it is also vulnerable to natural and anthropogenic changes, necessitating a long-term commitment to wise management through informed decision making. Monitoring, studying, and reporting form the essential basis for such management and, ultimately, for meeting the myriad challenges presented by change.

The personnel of the Conservation and Survey Division (CSD) are pleased …

Limits To The World’S Green Water Resources For Food, Feed, Fiber, Timber, And Bioenergy, Joep F. Schyns, Arjen Y. Hoekstra, Martijn J. Booij, Rick J. Hogeboom, Mesfin Mekonnen

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Green water––rainfall over land that eventually flows back to the atmosphere as evapotranspiration––is the main source of water to produce food, feed, fiber, timber, and bioenergy. To understand how freshwater scarcity constrains production of these goods, we need to consider limits to the green water footprint (WFg), the green water flow allocated to human society. However, research traditionally focuses on scarcity of blue water––groundwater and surface water. Here we expand the debate on water scarcity by considering green water scarcity (WSg). At 5 × 5 arc-minute spatial resolution, we quantify WFg and the maximum sustainable level to this footprint (WFg,m), …

The Influence Of Fetch On The Holocene Thermal Structure Of Hidden Lake, Glacier National Park, Jeffery R. Stone, Jasmine E. Saros, Trisha L. Spanbauer

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

We use three-dimensional modeling of the basin of Hidden Lake, Montana, to assess the influence of effective fetch on diatom-inferred changes in mixing depths throughout the Holocene. The basin of Hidden Lake is characterized by a complex morphometry; for example, three-dimensional modeling of the lake basin indicates that a decrease in lake level of 2 m would result in complete isolation of the deepest part of the lake basin from the rest of the lake. Our model suggests that small changes in the lake surface elevation at Hidden Lake would produce threshold-like responses in effective fetch, which in turn would …

Newgeochemical Evidence For The Origin Of North America's Largest Dune Field, The Nebraska Sand Hills, Central Great Plains, Usa, Daniel R. Muhs, James R. Budahn

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The Nebraska SandHills region is the largest dune field inNorthAmerica and has diverse aeolian landforms. It has been active during both the late Pleistocene and late Holocene. Despite decades of study, the source of sediment for this large sand sea is still controversial. Here we report new trace element compositions of aeolian sand that are compared to four hypothesized sediment sources, Tertiary rocks of the Arikaree Group and Ogallala Group, unconsolidated sands of Pliocene age, and Platte River systemsands. All four potential sources have amineralogy that is similar to the Nebraska Sand Hills. K/Rb, K/Ba, Sc-Th-La, Eu/Eu*, LaN/YbN, As/Sb, and …

Testing Pyroxenite Versus Peridotite Sources For Marine Basalts Using U-Series Isotopes, Lynne J. Elkins, Bernard Bourdon, Sarah Lambart

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Geochemically enriched signatures in global oceanic basalts have long indicated a heterogeneous mantle source, but the role of lithologic heterogeneity in producing mantle partial melts, particularly fertile pyroxenite rocks, remains unclear. Uranium-series disequilibria in basalts are particularly sensitive to the increased garnet mode and melting rates of pyroxenite rocks, making the system a useful indicator of mantle lithologic heterogeneity in the melt region for oceanic basalts. Here we summarize evidence for the presence and importance of pyroxenite rocks in the upper mantle and their role in melt generation of mid-ocean ridge basalts and ocean island basalts, with a synthesis of …

Building A High-Resolution Vegetation Outlook Model To Monitor Agricultural Drought For The Upper Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia, Yared Bayissa, Tsegaye Tadesse, Getachew B. Demisse

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

To reduce the impacts of drought, developing an integrated drought monitoring tool and early warning system is crucial and more effective than the crisis management approach that is commonly used in developing countries like Ethiopia. The overarching goal of this study was to develop a higher-spatial-resolution vegetation outlook (VegOut-UBN) model that integrates multiple satellite, climatic, and biophysical input variables for the Upper Blue Nile (UBN) basin. VegOut-UBN uses current and historical observations in predicting the vegetation condition at multiple leading time steps of 1, 3, 6, and 9 dekades. VegOut-UBN was developed to predict the vegetation condition during the main …

Informing Water Use Decision-Making For Waterfowl And Agricultural Production On A Ranch Along The North Platte River, Nebraska, Douglas R. Hallum P.G.

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

In 2014, operators of a ranch along the North Platte River approached Conservation and Survey Division seeking expertise to interpret data collected on their ranch. The interpretations inform ranch decisions to accomplish operators’ goals. This publication documents the work by: 1) characterizing the ranch, 2) summarizing data collected, 3) characterizing hydrogeology of the site and the adjacent reach, and 4) conceptualizing groundwater/surface water interaction.

The ranch is a recreation property and a migratory waterfowl refuge with a few general goals: 1) develop and maintain high-quality wet meadow habitat, 2) maximize the extent and duration of surface water on the property …

Spatiotemporal Changes In Extreme Precipitation And Its Dependence On Topography Over The Poyang Lake Basin, China, Xianghu Li, Qi Hu

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Spatiotemporal changes in extreme precipitation at local scales in the context of climate warming are overwhelmingly important for prevention and mitigation of water-related disasters and also provide critical information for effective water resources management. In this study, the variability and trends of extreme precipitation in both time and space in the Poyang Lake basin over the period of 1960–2012 are analyzed. Also, changes in precipitation extremes with topography are investigated, and possible causes are briefly discussed. ,e results show that extreme precipitation over the Poyang Lake basin is intensified during the last 50 years, especially the increasing trends are more …

Insights Into Paleoenvironmental Conditions, Relative Sea-Level, And Carbonate Reservoir Quality Using Ichnology: Middle–Upper Miocene Slope Deposits, Great Bahama Bank, Ryan M. Mustacato

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

Detailed ichnological and petrographic analyses were conducted on two biostratigraphically-constrained intervals (11.9-11.3 Ma and 10.7-9.4 Ma) from the Middle-Upper Miocene stratigraphy of the Great Bahama Bank’s leeward margin to assess spatiotemporal trends in paleoenvironmental conditions and reservoir properties in carbonate slope deposits. Six ichnofacies, varied in expression, are documented: the Skolithos Ichnofacies (distal and impoverished expressions) the Cruziana Ichnofacies (proximal, archetypal, distal and impoverished expressions), the Zoophycos Ichnofacies, the Nereites Ichnofacies, the Glossifungites Ichnofacies, and the Trypanites Ichnofacies. An analysis of spatiotemporal ichnofacies trends reveals two distinct responses of the benthic community to significant environmental perturbations on the slope. An …

Hunter And Angler Motivations, Preferences, And Barriers To Waterfowl Hunting In The Central United States, Matthew P. Hinrichs

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

Since the mid-1980s, there has been a decrease in individuals participating in waterfowl hunting in the United States. The decline in participation has over-arching consequences for state and federal wildlife agencies in their ability to fund and manage habitat and waterfowl populations. There is a fundamental need to understand why individuals participate in waterfowl hunting and what barriers there are to participating in waterfowl hunting. An online survey was conducted in the summer and fall of 2018 asking waterfowl hunters, anglers, big game hunters, combination users (i.e., hunters that have multiple hunting and fishing permits), and small game hunters about …

Assessing Landscape Scale Heterogeneity In Irrigation Water Use With Remote Sensing And In Situ Monitoring, T. Foster, I. Z. Goncalves, I. Campos, C. M.U. Neale, N. Brozovic

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Understanding how irrigation is used across agricultural landscapes is essential to support efforts to grow more food while reducing pressures on limited freshwater resources. However, to date, few studies have analyzed the underlying spatial and temporal variability in farmers’ individual water use decisions at a landscape scale.Wecompare estimates of irrigation water requirements derived using state-of-the-art remote sensing models with metered abstraction records for 1400 fields over a 13 year period in the US state of Nebraska, one of the world’s most intensively irrigated agricultural regions. Weshow that farmers’ observed water use decisions often diverge significantly from biophysical estimates of crop …

Assessing The Evolution Of Soil Moisture And Vegetation Conditions During A Flash Drought–Flash Recovery Sequence Over The South-Central United States, Jason A. Otkin, Yafang Zhong, Eric D. Hunt, Jeff Basara, Mark Svoboda, Martha C. Anderson, Christopher Hain

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

This study examines the evolution of soil moisture, evapotranspiration, vegetation, and atmospheric conditions during an unusual flash drought–flash recovery sequence that occurred across the south-central United States during 2015. This event was characterized by a period of rapid drought intensification (flash drought) during late summer that was terminated by heavy rainfall at the end of October that eliminated the extreme drought conditions over a 2-week period (flash recovery). A detailed analysis was performed using time series of environmental variables derived from meteorological, remote sensing, and land surface modeling datasets. Though the analysis revealed a similar progression of cascading effects in …

Soil Moisture Monitoring Using Remote Sensing Data And A Stepwise-Cluster Prediction Model: The Case Of Upper Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia, Getachew Ayehu, Tsegaye Tadesse, Berhan Gessesse, Yibeltal Yigrem

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

In this study, a residual soil moisture prediction model was developed using the stepwise cluster analysis (SCA) and model prediction approach in the Upper Blue Nile basin. The SCA has the advantage of capturing the nonlinear relationships between remote sensing variables and volumetric soil moisture. The principle of SCA is to generate a set of prediction cluster trees based on a series of cutting and merging process according to a given statistical criterion. The proposed model incorporates the combinations of dual-polarized Sentinel-1 SAR data, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and digital elevation model as input parameters. In this regard, two …

Socioecological Determinants Of Drought Impacts And Coping Strategies For Ranching Operations In The Great Plains, Tonya Haigh, Walter H. Schacht, Cody L. Knutson, Alexander J. Smart, Jerry Volesky, Craig R. Allen, Michael Hayes, Mark E. Burbach

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

In Great Plains rangelands, drought is a recurring disturbance. Ranchers in this region expect to encounter drought but may not be adequately prepared for it. Efforts to encourage drought preparednesswould benefit froma better understanding of the conditions under which managers make decisions to minimize the impacts of drought.We tested the direct andmoderating roles of the drought hazard and the social-ecological context on drought impacts and response. This study was conducted with ranchers in western and central South Dakota and Nebraska following the drought that began in 2012. We surveyed ranchers regarding the effects of the drought and their responses and …

Sensitivity Of Potential Groundwater Recharge To Projected Climate Change Scenarios: A Site-Specific Study In The Nebraska Sand Hills, Usa, Zablon A. Adane, Vitaly A. Zlotnik, Nathan R. Rossman, Tiejun Wang, Paolo Nasta

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Assessing the relationship between climate forcings and groundwater recharge (GR) rates in semi-arid regions is critical for water resources management. This study presents the impact of climate forecasts on GR within a probabilistic framework in a site-specific study in the Nebraska Sand Hills (NSH), the largest stabilized sand dune region in the USA containing the greatest recharge rates within the High Plains Aquifer. A total of 19 downscaled climate projections were used to evaluate the impact of precipitation and reference evapotranspiration on GR rates simulated by using HYDRUS 1-D. The analysis of the decadal aridity index (AI) indicates that climate …

Effects Of The Sea Breeze Circulation On Soil Temperature Over Kuwait Using In Situ Observations And The Ecmwf Model, Hussain Alsarraf, Matthew V.D. Broeke, Hala Aljassar

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background: The mesoscale circulation over Kuwait is an important influence on changes in surface temperatures and soil temperatures.

Introduction: This paper presents two common summertime atmospheric features over Kuwait linking wind circulation to soil temperatures.

Methods: In this study, we use the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts ECMWF reanalysis ERA-Interim dataset to investigate effects of the synoptic scale and mesoscale circulations.

Results: The results show that a large-scale pressure gradient in summer typically leads to northerly winds over Kuwait, while a weak synoptic-scale pressure gradient leads to light easterly humid winds from the Persian Gulf, consistent with a mesoscale …

Defining The Morphological Quality Of Fossil Footprints. Problems And Principles Of Preservation In Tetrapod Ichnology With Examples From The Palaeozoic To The Present, Lorenzo Marchetti, Matteo Belvedere, Sebastian Voigt, Hendrik Klein, Diego Castanera, Ignacio Díaz-Martínez, Daniel Marty, Lida Xing, Silverio Feola, Ricardo N. Melchor, James O. Farlow

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

The morphology of fossil footprints is the basis of vertebrate footprint ichnology. However, the processes acting during and after trace fossil registration which are responsible for the final morphology have never been precisely defined, resulting in a dearth of nomenclature. Therefore, we discuss the concepts of ichnotaphonomy, ichnostratinomy, taphonomy, biostratinomy, registration and diagenesis and describe the processes acting on footprint morphology. In order to evaluate the morphological quality of tetrapod footprints, we introduce the concept of morphological preservation, which is related to the morphological quality of footprints (M-preservation, acronym MP), and distinguish it from physical preservation (P-preservation, acronym PP), which …