Earth Sciences Commons^™

Fossils On The Floor In The Nebraska State Capitol: A Coloring And Activities Book, Robert F. Diffendal Jr.

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

The Nebraska State Capitol is a wonderful place. This building is home to great treasures of art owned by the people of Nebraska. The floor of the Capitol Rotunda has beautiful works of art. Maybe you have seen this art. Small pieces of two kinds of rocks make pictures of people, their tools, the natural resources they used, and pictures of fossil animals and plants. These kinds of pictures are called mosaics [moe ZAY icks]. The animals and plants follow one another in a curved ribbon around the floor. In that ribbon of pictures are many kinds of fossil animals …

Estimates Of Present And Future Flood Risk In The Conterminous United States, Oliver E.J. Wing, Paul D. Bates, Andrew M. Smith, Christopher C. Sampson, Kris A. Johnson, Joseph Fargione, Philip Morefield

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

Past attempts to estimate rainfall-driven flood risk across the US either have incomplete coverage, coarse resolution or use overly simplified models of the flooding process. In this paper, we use a new 30m resolution model of the entire conterminous US with a 2D representation of flood physics to produce estimates of flood hazard, which match to within 90% accuracy the skill of local models built with detailed data. These flood depths are combined with exposure datasets of commensurate resolution to calculate current and future flood risk. Our data show that the total US population exposed to serious flooding is 2.6–3.1 …

Comparison Of The Performance Of Six Drought Indices In Characterizing Historical Drought For The Upper Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia, Yared Bayissa, Shreedhar Maskey, Tsegaye Tadesse, Schalk Jan Van Andel, Semu Moges, Ann Van Griensven, Dimitri Solomatine

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

The Upper Blue Nile (UBN) basin is less-explored in terms of drought studies as compared to other parts of Ethiopia and lacks a basin-specific drought monitoring system. This study compares six drought indices: Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), Standardized Precipitation Evaporation Index (SPEI), Evapotranspiration Deficit Index (ETDI), Soil Moisture Deficit Index (SMDI), Aggregate Drought Index (ADI), and Standardized Runoff-discharge Index (SRI), and evaluates their performance with respect to identifying historic drought events in the UBN basin. The indices were calculated using monthly time series of observed precipitation, average temperature, river discharge, and modeled evapotranspiration and soil moisture from 1970 to 2010. …

Effects Of Herbivores, Wave Exposure And Depth On Benthic Coral Communities Of The Easter Island Ecoregion, Erin E. Easton, Carlos F. Gaymer, Alan M. Friedlander, James J. Herlan

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

The Easter Island ecoregion includes Rapa Nui (Easter Island; RN), with a human population of ~5600, and the uninhabited Salas y Gómez (SyG). Although the culture and terrestrial ecology of RN have been well studied, we know little about the marine environment of these islands, particularly the interplay among herbivores, algae, and corals, and how coral reef communities differ between islands, by wave energy exposure, and between depths. To address the potential roles of herbivores, wave-energy exposure, and depth on the sessile benthic communities, we examined herbivorous fish biomass, sea urchin (Diadema savignyi) density, and algal and coral …

Experimental Study Of Gravitational Mixing Of Supercritical Co2, Dennis L. Newell, J. William Carey, Scott N. Backhaus, Peter Lichtner

Geosciences Faculty Publications

CO₂ injection into saline aquifers for sequestration will initially result in buoyant supercritical (sc)CO₂ trapped beneath the caprock seal. During this period, there is risk of CO₂ migration out of the reservoir along wellbore defects or fracture zones. Dissolution of the scCO₂ plume into brine results in solubility trapping and reduces this risk, but based on diffusion alone, this mechanism could take thousands of years. Gravitational (density-induced) mixing of CO₂-saturated brine is shown to significantly accelerate this process in computational studies, but few experimental efforts have confirmed the phenomenon. Here, constant-pressure, 3-dimensional bench-scale experiments …

Discussion And Survey, Conference Attendees

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

No abstract provided.

The Future Of Alfalfa: Understanding Gmo Traits And Their Impact On Production And Marketing, Phil Bollman

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

No abstract provided.

Emerging Export Markets For High Quality Alfalfa Hay, Tom Keene

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

The exporting of hay from country to country has been evolving for many years. When we look at today’s exports of American hay, we see that the majority of it takes place off the west coast.

Managing Frost Damaged Alfalfa Stands, Christopher D. Teutsch, Jimmy C. Henning, S. Ray Smith, Tom Keene, Matthew Dixon

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Wide fluctuations in springtime temperature are common in Kentucky. Late freezing temperatures in the spring can cause damage to alfalfa depending on how far along it is in breaking dormancy. This publication provides information on the effect of low spring temperatures on both established and new alfalfa stands that have begun growth, as well as a method of predicting sensitivity to late frosts or freezes.

Harvesting Alfalfa For Quality, Garry D. Lacefield

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Alfalfa can be harvested for hay, baleage, silage, greenchop or grazing. Our goal is to produce, harvest and market high yielding-high quality forage. Profitable alfalfa programs consist of four basic phases and each phase have a specific goal.

Integrated Management Of Alfalfa Diseases, Kiersten A. Wise

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Alfalfa diseases can reduce forage quality and the longevity of alfalfa stands. Integrated management of diseases can minimize disease impact and improve forage stand and quality. There are several important pathogens that cause disease on alfalfa, and the occurrence of these diseases, as well as the severity of damage, depend on several factors, including the type of pathogen, the environment, and the level of resistance of the host to a particular disease. In addition, disease presence and severity are also influenced by agronomic practices, particularly sowing dates, cutting dates and frequency, and fertility programs.

An Integrated Pest Management Ipm Approach In Alfalfa Production Systems, Lee H. Townsend

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Alfalfa lends itself to an integrated pest management (IPM) approach for alfalfa weevils and potato leafhoppers, the two key insect pests of the crop. Both species live in most alfalfa fields every summer. However, alfalfa can tolerate low levels of their feeding without costly yield or quality loss.

An Integrated Approach To Weed Control In Alfalfa Production Systems, Jonathan D. Green

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

The importance of weed control in forage production should not be overlooked, especially when you consider the high investment associated with alfalfa and other legume forages. Weeds reduce forage yield by competing for water, sunlight, and nutrients. For example, yield obtained from the first cutting of alfalfa can be significantly reduced by a heavy infestation of common chickweed. In addition to yield losses, weeds can also lower forage quality, increase the incidence of disease and insect problems, cause premature stand loss, and create harvesting problems. Some weeds are unpalatable to livestock or, in some cases, may be poisonous.

Fertilizing High Producing Alfalfa Stands, Edwin L. Ritchey

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

There are no secrets for successfully producing a high quality alfalfa crop. Successful alfalfa production is a product of suitable site selection, proper fertility and pH management, good pest control, and favorable weather conditions throughout the season. This paper focuses on proper fertility and pH management practices.

Alfalfa Establishment: Getting Off To A Good Start!, Christopher D. Teutsch

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Alfalfa is a highly productive forage legume that is well adapted to transition zone states like Kentucky. It can be grazed, hayed, or ensiled. Once established and under good management, expected yields range from 5-7 tons per acre per year. High yields can only be obtained from a dense and vigorous alfalfa stand. The first step in obtaining such stands is establishment. The establishment phase of alfalfa production is critical since realization of returns from all other input costs is dependent upon having a good stand and it is expensive. It is important to remember that alfalfa establishment begins long …

Fine Tuning Varietal Selection For The Mid-South, S. Ray Smith

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

There are many new alfalfa varieties that have come on the market each year. In fact, it can be hard keeping up with all the developments. In the following pages I will overview most of the important traits that can be found in new varieties. These include Low Lignin, Roundup Ready®, potato leafhopper resistance, higher quality, resistance to new diseases, and more… Many times I am asked “Are new varieties really worth the cost?” The best way to answer that question is to consider work by Dr. Jimmy Henning where he summarized 24 location years of Kentucky alfalfa yield data …

Foreword Of Kentucky Alfalfa And Stored Forages Conference [2018], Christopher D. Teutsch, Christi L. Forsythe

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

No abstract provided.

Spectrally Based Bathymetric Mapping Of A Dynamic, Sandbedded Channel: Niobrara River, Nebraska, Usa, E. Dilbone, C.J. Legleiter, J.S. Alexander, B. Mcelroy

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Methods for spectrally based mapping of river bathymetry have been developed and tested in clear‐flowing, gravel‐bed channels, with limited application to turbid, sandbed rivers. This study used hyperspectral images and field surveys from the dynamic, sandy Niobrara River to evaluate three depth retrieval methods. The first regressionbased approach, optimal band ratio analysis (OBRA), paired in situ depth measurements with image pixel values to estimate depth. The second approach used ground‐based field spectra to calibrate an OBRA relationship. The third technique, image‐to‐depth quantile transformation (IDQT), estimated depth by linking the cumulative distribution function (CDF) of depth to the CDF of an …

Expanding The "Active Layer", Peter Ashmore, Sarah Peirce, Pauline Leduc

Geography & Environment Publications

Church and Haschenburger (2017) make helpful distinctions around the issue of defining the active layer, with which we agree. We propose expanding discussion and definition of the ”active layer” in fluvial bedload transport to include the concept of the “morphological active layer”. This is particularly applicable to laterally unstable rivers (such as braided rivers) in which progressive morphological change over short time periods is the process by which much of the bedload transport occurs. The morphological active layer is also distinguished by variable lateral and longitudinal extent continuity over a range of flows and transport intensity. We suggest that the …

Evidence For Cyclical Fractional Crystallization, Recharge, And Assimilation In Basalts Of The Kimama Drill Core, Central Snake River Plain, Idaho: 5.5-Million-Years Of Petrogenesis In A Mid-Crustal Sill Complex, Katherine E. Potter, John W. Shervais, Eric H. Christiansen, Scott K. Vetter

Geosciences Faculty Publications

Basalts erupted in the Snake River Plain of central Idaho and sampled in the Kimama drill core link eruptive processes to the construction of mafic intrusions over 5.5 Ma. Cyclic variations in basalt composition reveal temporal chemical heterogeneity related to fractional crystallization and the assimilation of previously-intruded mafic sills. A range of compositional types are identified within 1,912 m of continuous drill core: Snake River olivine tholeiite (SROT), low K SROT, high Fe-Ti, and evolved and high K-Fe lavas similar to those erupted at Craters of the Moon National Monument. Detailed lithologic and geophysical logs document 432 flow units comprising …

Phytoforensics: Trees As Bioindicators Of Potential Indoor Exposure Via Vapor Intrusion, Jordan L. Wilson, V. A. Samaranayake, Matt A. Limmer, Joel G. Burken

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Human exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) via vapor intrusion (VI) is an emerging public health concern with notable detrimental impacts on public health. Phytoforensics, plant sampling to semi-quantitatively delineate subsurface contamination, provides a potential non-invasive screening approach to detect VI potential, and plant sampling is effective and also time- and cost-efficient. Existing VI assessment methods are time- and resourceintensive, invasive, and require access into residential and commercial buildings to drill holes through basement slabs to install sampling ports or require substantial equipment to install groundwater or soil vapor sampling outside the home. Tree-core samples collected in 2 days at …

Pre-Spawning Snout-Gripping Behaviors Of Gymnothorax Pictus And Gymnothorax Thyrsoideus (Muraenidae) In Captivity, Kar-Hoe Loh, Hong-Ming Chen

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The main focus of this study has been on the distinctive prespawning snout-gripping behaviors and mate choice of two moray species (Gymnothorax pictus and G. thyrsoideus). The behavior of snout-gripping means that the male grips the female’s snout with its jaws. It is the most distinctive behavior to confirm the success of mating pair formation naturally and was rarely described on moray eels or other coral reef fishes. The reproductive behaviors of the two moray species were also first observed and photographed in the laboratory aquaria. Over 22 reproductive events including 9 spawning events by 28 adult individuals of G. …

Reducing Losses But Failing To Sequester Carbon In Soils – The Case Of Conservation Agriculture And Integrated Soil Fertility Management In The Humid Tropical Agro-Ecosystem Of Western Kenya, Rolf Sommer, Birthe Katharina Paul, John Mukalama, Job Kihara

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Agriculture is a global contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, causing climate change. Soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration is seen as a pathway to climate change mitigation. But, long-term data on the actual contribution of tropical soils to SOC sequestration are largely absent. To contribute to filling this knowledge gap, we measured SOC in the top 15 cm over 12 years in two agronomic long-term trials in Western Kenya. These trials include various levels – from absence to full adoption – of two widely promoted sustainable agricultural management practices: Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM; i.e. improved varieties, mineral fertilizer and organic …

Primary Pristine And Altered Iron Sulfides In Cm And Cr Carbonaceous Chondrites: Insights Into Nebular And Parent Body Processes, Sheryl A. Singerling

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

This work presents our detailed investigation of textures and major, minor, and trace element compositions of iron sulfides in CM and CR carbonaceous chondrites using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) from focused ion beam-prepared (FIB) sections, and synchrotron X-ray fluorescence (SXRF) microanalysis. This study represents the first attempt to link micro- to nano-scale textural and chemical characteristics of CM and CR chondrite primary iron sulfides and their alteration products.

The objectives of our studies included determining: 1) if primary sulfides are present in the least-altered CM and CR chondrites, and if so, 2) …

Individual And Combined Effects Of Herbicide Tribenuron-Methyl And Fungicide Tebuconazole On Soil Earthworm Eisenia Fetida, Jiqiang Chen, Muhammad Saleem, Caixia Wang, Wenxing Liang, Qingming Zhang

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

Earthworms are soil engineers that alter the soil bio-physical properties to favor plant growth whereas pesticides represent a significant threat to their abundance and soil health. Thus, we investigated the toxic effects of tribenuron-methyl (TBM) and tebuconazole (TEB) on the soil earthworm, Eisenia fetida. The TBM demonstrated low toxicity to E. fetida in the contact filter paper and artificial soil tests, with median lethal concentrations (LC₅₀) of 135.6 μg cm⁻² at 48 h and 511 mg kg⁻¹ on day 14, respectively. Similarly, TEB also showed low toxicity to E. fetida in the artificial …

Caves As Observatories For Atmospheric Thermal Tides: An Example From Ascunsă Cave, Romania, Virgil Drăgușin, Laura Tîrlă, Nicoleta Cadicheanu, Vasile Ersek, Ionuț Mirea

International Journal of Speleology

As part of a microclimate study at Ascunsă Cave, Romania, we used Gemini Tinytag Plus 2 data loggers to record cave air temperature variability. At one of the monitoring points we recognized the presence of semidiurnal cycles on the order of a few thousands of a degree Celsius that could be produced under the influence of the semidiurnal tidal components of the Sun (S₂) or the Moon (M₂). Using a Gemini Tinytag Plus 2 data logger with an external probe we measured core rock temperature and showed that it does not influence the cave air temperature …

Bathymetry Data For Lakes Azuei And Enriquillo, Michael Piasecki, Mahrokh Moknatian

Publications and Research

This data set supports and forms the basis for the development of Digital Bathymetry Models (DBM) for Lakes Azuei (Haiti) and Enriquillo (Dominican Republic). Bathymetric Data is typically acquired using Sonar devices that measure the depth at specific points along a boat track and for which the longitude and latitude is recorded. From the resulting point cloud one develop a seamless representation of the floor of the lake on either a raster set (which is what we have done) or try to use a contour (vector representation) model in which the depth contours appear as polygons or -lines. The raw …

Gps Vertical Land Motion Corrections To Sea-Level Rise Estimates In The Pacific Northwest, Jean-Philippe Montillet, Timothy I. Melbourne, Walter M. Szeliga

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

We construct coastal Pacific Northwest profiles of vertical land motion (VLM) known to bias long-term tide-gauge measurements of sea-level rise (SLR) and use them to estimate absolute sea-level rise with respect to Earth’s center of mass. Multidecade GPS measurements at 47 coastal stations along the Cascadia subduction zone show VLM varies regionally but smoothly along the Pacific coast and inland Puget Sound with rates ranging from +4.9 to –1.2 mm/yr. Puget Sound VLM is characterized by uniform subsidence at relatively slow rates of +0.1 to –0.3 mm/yr. Uplift rates of 4.5 mm/yr persist along the western Olympic Peninsula of northwestern …

Direct Effects Of Warming Increase Woody Plant Abundance In A Subarctic Wetland, Lindsay G. Carlson, Karen H. Beard, Peter B. Adler

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Both the direct effects of warming on a species’ vital rates and indirect effects of warming caused by interactions with neighboring species can influence plant populations. Furthermore, herbivory mediates the effects of warming on plant community composition in many systems. Thus, determining the importance of direct and indirect effects of warming, while considering the role of herbivory, can help predict long-term plant community dynamics. We conducted a field experiment in the coastal wetlands of western Alaska to investigate how warming and herbivory influence the interactions and abundances of two common plant species, a sedge, Carex ramenskii, and a dwarf …

Aggieair Joins 3rd Annual Aerospace Day, Jessica Griffiths

News

On Thursday, AggieAir joined industry leaders and legislators to participate in the Utah Chapter-Aerospace State Association 3rd Annual Aerospace Day on Capitol Hill.