Earth Sciences Commons^™

Evaluation Of The Sustainable Grazing On Saline Lands - Wa Producer Network : Influence On Practice Change And Decision-Making Capacity, Rebecca Heath, Jamie Bowyer, T M. Lacey

Resource management technical reports

No abstract provided.

Multicriteria Decision Analysis: A Comprehensive Decision Approach For Management Of Contaminated Sediments, I Linkov, F K. Satterstrom, G Kiker, T P. Seager, T Bridges, K H. Gardener, S H. Rodgers, D A. Belluck, A Meyer

United States Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District

Contaminated sediments and other sites present a difficult challenge for environmental decision makers. They are typically slow to recover or attenuate naturally, may involve multiple regulatory agencies and stakeholder groups, and engender multiple toxicological and ecotoxicological risks. While environmental decision-making strategies over the last several decades have evolved into increasingly more sophisticated, information-intensive, and complex approaches, there remains considerable dissatisfaction among business, industry, and the public with existing management strategies. Consequently, contaminated sediments and materials are the subject of intense technology development, such as beneficial reuse or in situ treatment. However, current decision analysis approaches, such as comparative risk assessment, …

Origin Of Gabbroic Xenoliths Within The Lone Mountain Dacite Intrusion, Big Sky, Montana: A Field And Petrographic Analysis, Emily Clement

Undergraduate Review

No abstract provided.

Microstructural Analysis Of A Drill Core From The Rhode Island Formation: Upper 750 Feet, Ashlee Kirkwood

Undergraduate Review

No abstract provided.

The Sparrow Surface Water-Quality Model: Theory, Application And User Documentation, G. E. Schwarz, A. B. Hoos, R. B. Alexander, R. A. Smith

United States Geological Survey: Publications

SPARROW (SPAtially Referenced Regressions On Watershed attributes) is a watershed modeling technique for relating water-quality measurements made at a network of monitoring stations to attributes of the watersheds containing the stations. The core of the model consists of a nonlinear regression equation describing the non-conservative transport of contaminants from point and diffuse sources on land to rivers and through the stream and river network. The model predicts contaminant flux, concentration, and yield in streams and has been used to evaluate alternative hypotheses about the important contaminant sources and watershed properties that control transport over large spatial scales.

This report provides …

Predicting The Percent Live Cover Of Corals: An In Situ Remote Sensing Approach, Deepak R. Mishra, Sunil Narumalani, Ronald Bahl, D. Rundquist, Merlin P. Lawson

Center for Advanced Land Management Information Technologies: Publications

Percent reflectance of corals is perhaps the most important remotely sensed data that can be related to their biophysical properties. Because most of the biophysical variables of corals (i.e., pigment content, live cover and algal overgrowth) are related to their reflectance spectra, the analysis and inversion of the spectra may provide an account of these variables. Our research was aimed at determining the relationship between the percent live cover and reflectance of corals. Two wavelength bands (405–425 nm, and 590–600 nm) were identified to establish the relationship. A linear relationship was observed, which showed higher correlation (R² = …

Use Of Sediment Rating Curves And Optical Backscatter Data To Characterize Sediment Transport In The Upper Yuba River Watershed, California, 2001–03, Jennifer A. Curtis, Lorraine E. Flint, Charles N. Alpers, Scott A. Wright, Noah P. Snyder

United States Geological Survey: Publications

Sediment transport in the upper Yuba River watershed, California, was evaluated from October 2001 through September 2003. This report presents results of a three-year study by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the California Ecosystem Restoration Program of the California Bay–Delta Authority and the California Resources Agency. Streamflow and suspended-sediment concentration (SSC) samples were collected at four gaging stations; however, this report focuses on sediment transport at the Middle Yuba River (11410000) and the South Yuba River (11417500) gaging stations. Seasonal suspended-sediment rating curves were developed using a group-average method and non-linear least-squares regression. Bed-load transport relations were used …

Spring Census Of Mid-Continent Sandhill Cranes Using Aerial Infrared Videography, Paul Kinzel, Jonathan Nelson, Randolph Parker, Lawrence Davis

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Aerial infrared videography was used to map spatial distributions of nocturnal sandhill crane (Grus canadensis) flocks and determine crane densities within roosts as an alternative to the currently used diurnal photo-corrected ocular transect method to estimate the size of the midcontinental population. The densities determined from samples taken over the course of a night show variability. Densities measured early in the night (2100 to 2300 hrs) were generally lower than those measured in the time period after midnight and up until cranes prepared to depart their roosts before sunrise. This suggests that cranes may be more active early …

Widespread Presence Of Naturally Occurring Perchlorate In High Plains Of Texas And New Mexico, Srinath Rajagopalan, Todd Anderson, Lynne Fahlquist, Ken Rainwater, Moira Ridley, W. Andrew Jackson

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Perchlorate (ClO₄^-) occurrence in groundwater has previously been linked to industrial releases and the historic use of Chilean nitrate fertilizers. However, recently a number of occurrences have been identified for which there is no obvious anthropogenic source. Groundwater from an area of 155 000 km² in 56 counties in northwest Texas and eastern New Mexico is impacted by the presence of ClO₄^-. Concentrations were generally low (<4 ppb), although some areas are impacted by concentrations up to 200 ppb. ClO₄^- distribution is not related to well type (public water system, domestic, agricultural, or water-table monitoring) or aquifer (Ogallala, Edward Trinity High Plains, Edwards Trinity …

Simulation Of Solute Movement Through Wellbores To Characterize Public Supply Well Contaminant Vulnerability In The High Plains Aquifer, York, Nebraska, Brian R. Clark, Matthew K. Landon, Leon J. Kauffman, George Z. Hornberger

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

A ground-water flow and transport model simulating contaminant movement to public supply wells in the High Plains aquifer near York, Nebraska was developed as part of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment Program. Water-quality samples were collected from wells screened in unconfined and confined units. Samples collected from a public supply well and selected monitoring wells completed in the confined aquifer have chemistry and age-tracer concentrations consistent with a mix of young water from unconfined recharge areas combined with relatively older confined aquifer water. These results imply that there are preferential flow paths that permit shallow recharge water and …

Change In Atmospheric Mineral Aerosols In Response To Climate: Last Glacial Period, Preindustrial, Modern, And Doubled Carbon Dioxide Climates, Natalie M. Mahowald, Daniel R. Muhs, Samuel Levis, Philip J. Rasch, Masaru Yoshioka, Charles S. Zender, Chao Luo

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Desert dust simulations generated by the National Center for Atmospheric Research’s Community Climate System Model for the current climate are shown to be consistent with present day satellite and deposition data. The response of the dust cycle to last glacial maximum, preindustrial, modern, and doubled-carbon dioxide climates is analyzed. Only natural (non-land use related) dust sources are included in this simulation.

Historical And Current Status Of Elk In Kansas, Jonathan M. Conard, Philip S. Gipson, Matt Peek

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Elk (Cervus elaphus) historically occurred throughout Kansas but were extirpated from the state around 1890. Free-ranging elk populations were reestablished in Kansas through reintroduction efforts on Cimarron National Grasslands from 1981-1990, and on Fort Riley Military Installation from 1986-1994. Current elk distributions in the state have not been published following these reintroduction efforts. The current and historical distribution of this species in Kansas is described.

Measuring Groundwater–Surface Water Interaction And Its Effect On Wetland Stream Benthic Productivity, Trout Lake Watershed, Northern Wisconsin, Usa, Randall J. Hunt, Mac Strand, John F. Walker

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Measurements of groundwater–surface water exchange at three wetland stream sites were related to patterns in benthic productivity as part of the US Geological Survey’s Northern Temperate Lakes–Water, Energy and Biogeochemical Budgets (NTL–WEBB) project. The three sites included one high groundwater discharge (HGD) site, one weak groundwater discharge (WGD) site, and one groundwater recharge (GR) site. Large upward vertical gradients at the HGD site were associated with smallest variation in head below the stream and fewest gradient reversals between the stream and the groundwater beneath the stream, and the stream and the adjacent streambank. The WGD site had the highest number …

Taxonomic Considerations In Listing Subspecies Under The U.S. Endangered Species Act, Susan M. Haig, Erik A. Beever, Steven M. Chambers, Hope M. Draheim, Bruce D. Dugger, Susie M. Dunham, Elise Elliott-Smith, Joseph B. Fontaine, Dylan C. Kesler, Brian J. Knaus, Iara F. Lopes, Pete Loschl, Thomas D. Mullins, Lisa M. Sheffield

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) allows listing of subspecies and other groupings below the rank of species. This provides the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service with a means to target the most critical unit in need of conservation. Although roughly one-quarter of listed taxa are subspecies, these management agencies are hindered by uncertainties about taxonomic standards during listing or delisting activities. In a review of taxonomic publications and societies, we found few subspecies lists and none that stated standardized criteria for determining subspecific taxa. Lack of criteria is attributed to a centuries-old debate …

Conserving Biodiversity In Human-Dominated Landscapes, Dale D. Goble, J. Michael Scott, Frank W. Davis

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The two volumes of The Endangered Species Act at Thirty look backward to evaluate the effectiveness of the act over its first three decades (Wilcove and McMillan 2006; Scott et al. 2006, chap. 2; Goble, this volume; Svancara, this volume; Callicott, this volume; Norton, this volume) and also forward to suggest how it can be used as a cornerstone for conserving biological diversity in increasingly human-dominated landscapes (Davis et al. 2006; Bean 2006). The chapters in part 2 of this volume, for example, appraise the science of the 1990s and 2000s at both the large scale (Lomolino, this volume; Naeem …

Isotope Sourcing Of Prehistoric Willow And Tule Textiles Recovered From Western Great Basin Rock Shelters And Caves: Proof Of Concept, Larry V. Benson, E. M. Hattori, H. E. Taylor, S. R. Poulson, E. A. Jolie

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Isotope and trace-metal analyses were used to determine the origin of plants used to manufacture prehistoric textiles (basketry and matting) from archaeological sites in the western Great Basin. Research focused on strontium (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) and oxygen (¹⁸O/¹⁶O) isotope ratios of willow (Salix sp.) and tule (Schoenoplectus sp.), the dominant raw materials in Great Basin textiles. The oxygen-isotope data indicated that the willow and tule used to produce the textiles were harvested from the banks of rivers or in marshes characterized by flowing water and not from lakes or sinks. The strontium-isotope …

Contact Zone Permeability At Intrusion Boundaries: New Results From Hydraulic Testing And Geophysical Logging In The Newark Rift Basin, New York, Usa, Jurg M. Matter, D. S. Goldberg, Roger H. Morin, M. Stute

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Hydraulic tests and geophysical logging performed in the Palisades sill and the underlying sedimentary rocks in the NE part of the Newark Rift Basin, New York, USA, confirm that the particular transmissive zones are localized within the dolerite-sedimentary rock contact zone and within a narrow interval below this contact zone that is characterized by the occurrence of small layers of chilled dolerite. Transmissivity values determined from fluid injection, aquifer testing, and flowmeter measurements generally fall in the range of 8.1E-08 to 9.95E-06 m²/s and correspond to various scales of investigation. The analysis of acoustic and optical BHTV images …

Natural Resource Management Issues In The Avon River Basin, Paul Galloway

Resource management technical reports

Analyses the risk of soil, land and water degradation within the Avon River Basin of Western Australia. Information is based on the interpretation of the characteristics of soils and landscapes within the Avon River basin. This report deals with 15 natural resource management issues and describes the extent of each issue, the impacts that each issue will have, management options that can be used to deal with each issue, and the effectiveness of each management option in dealing with the issues.

Unraveling The Geologic History Of The Avalon Terrane In Ma, Erin Nevens

Undergraduate Review

No abstract provided.

Field, Petrographic, And Geochemical Characteristics Of Price Creek, Russ Mccormack

Undergraduate Review

No abstract provided.

Microstructural Analysis Of The Rhode Island Formation, Narragansett Basin, Ma, Elizabeth Connell

Undergraduate Review

No abstract provided.

Implications Of Climate Change And Tephra Accumulation On The Lacustrine Environment In A Volcanic Caldera In Michoacan, Mexico, Tabitha Trosper

Undergraduate Honors Theses

La Alberca is a volcanic caldera in the Michoacan-Guanajuato volcanic field of central Mexico. The oldest known burial ( ~5000 yrs BP) in the state of Michoacan was discovered beneath prehispanic cliff paintings on the caldera wall. The stratigraphy of fluvial and lacustrine sediments exposed in trenches in the caldera floor record environmental changes that have implications for the type of human use of the site. La Alberca is a closed system with an alluvial fan that extends from the northeastern wall into the lowest southern comer of the caldera floor. Paricutin eruption in 1943-52 and other earlier eruptions deposited …

Sequence Of Tuffs Between The Kbs Tuff And The Chari Tuff In The Turkana Basin, Kenya And Ethiopia, Francis H. Brown, Bereket Haileab, Ian Mcdougall

Geology Faculty Work

No abstract provided.

Tapeworms Of Elasmobranchs (Part Ii) A Monograph On The Diphyllidea (Platyhelminthes, Cestoda), Gaines Albert Tyler Ii

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

The main objective of this monograph was a synthesis of the available knowledge on the diversity, systematics, host associations, and biogeography of the Diphyllidea. A thorough review of the literature resulted in the transfer of Diagonobothrium into Diphyllidea as a genus inquirendum. The genus Yogeshwaria was also transferred to Diphyllidea as a synonym of Echinobothrium. Its only species, E. nagabhushani n. comb., is considered to be a species inquirenda. New collections resulted in the description of a new species of Echinobothrium. Type and/or voucher specimens for 32 of 36 valid diphyllidean species (including the new species) …

Pumping-Induced Drawdown And Stream Depletion In A Leaky Aquifer System, James J. Butler Jr., Xiaoyong Zhan, Vitaly A. Zlotnik

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

The impact of ground water pumping on nearby streams is often estimated using analytic models of the interconnected stream-aquifer system. A common assumption of these models is that the pumped aquifer is underlain by an impermeable formation. A new semianalytic solution for drawdown and stream depletion has been developed that does not require this assumption. This solution shows that pumping-induced flow (leakage) through an underlying aquitard can be an important recharge mechanism in many stream-aquifer systems. The relative importance of this source of recharge increases with the distance between the pumping well and the stream. The distance at which leakage …

Nutrient Loads In An Urban Ozark Watershed: Jordan, Fassnight And Upper Wilson's Creeks, Springfield, Missouri, Ronald B. Miller

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The study watershed includes Jordan Creek, the primary stream draining the central downtown area of Springfield, Missouri, and also Fassnight and upper Wilson Creeks. Ten sample sites were established within the watershed and water samples and were collected during baseflow and storm runoff events between August 1, 2004 and July 31, 2005. Samples were tested for total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP) and selected heavy metals (zinc, arsenic, lead, copper and cadmium) and the parameters pH, specific conductance, turbidity, temperature and dissolved oxygen. Rating curves were used to correlate discharge and water quality variables. Separate rating curves were developed for …

Historical Glacier And Climate Fluctuations At Mount Hood, Oregon, Karl Lillquist, Karen Walker

Geography Faculty Scholarship

Terminus fluctuations of five glaciers and the correspondence of these fluctuations to temperature and precipitation patterns were assessed at Oregon's Mount Hood over the period 1901–2001. Historical photographs, descriptions, and climate data, combined with contemporary GPS measurements and GIS analysis, revealed that each glacier experienced overall retreat, ranging from −62 m at the Newton Clark Glacier to −1102 m at the Ladd Glacier. Within this overall trend, Mount Hood's glaciers experienced two periods each of retreat and advance. Glaciers retreated between 1901 and 1946 in response to rising temperatures and declining precipitation. A mid-century cool, wet period led to glacier …

The Corn Belt Multi-State Corn Nitrogen Rate Calculator: Not Reliable For Kentucky Corn Producers, John H. Grove, Gregory J. Schwab

Soil Science News and Views

Because of the rising price of nitrogen (N) fertilizer, university personnel across the country are in the process of fine tuning N recommendations for com. Historically, each state has had different N recommendations based on research results obtained in different production systems and growing environments across each state. Some states in the Com Belt have used a yield potential (yield goal) approach to N recommendations. The expected yield is multiplied by a factor (usually 1.2) and then N credits for previous crop, manure, etc. are subtracted. One problem with this method is that as com yields increase N recommendations also …

Relating Damping To Soil Permeability, Paul Michaels

CGISS Publications and Presentations

Published comparisons of complex moduli in dry and saturated soils have shown that viscous behavior is only evident when a sufficiently massive viscous fluid (like water) is present. That is, the loss tangent is frequency dependent for water saturated specimens, but nearly frequency independent for dry samples. While the Kelvin-Voigt (KV) representation of a soil captures the general viscous behavior using a dashpot, it fails to account for the possibly separate motions of the fluid and frame (there is only a single mass element). An alternative representation which separates the two masses, water and frame, is presented here. This Kelvin-Voigt-Maxwell-Biot …

Comparison Of Viscous Damping In Unsaturated Soils, Compression And Shear, Paul Michaels

CGISS Publications and Presentations

Geophysical down-hole surveys can be used to measure the small strain dynamic properties of soils by the effects these properties have on wave propagation. The relevant effects include amplitude decay (corrected for beam divergence) and velocity dispersion. In this paper, down-hole data collected during the GeoInstitute's Denver 2000 field day are presented and analyzed as a Kelvin-Voigt solid. Findings for these unsaturated soils include viscous damping and stiffness which differ significantly for shear and compressional waves. A strong viscous damping is observed in compression, but weak damping is presented in shear. Lumped parameter constitutive models are discussed which mathematically represent …