Hydrology Commons^™

Slides: Moffat Collection System Project, Travis Bray

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Travis Bray, Project Manager, Moffat Collection System Project, Denver Water

45 slides

Slides: Ag Water Sharing: Legal Challenges And Considerations, Peter D. Nichols

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Peter D. Nichols, Esq., Partner, Berg, Hill, Greenleaf and Ruscitti, Boulder, CO

25 slides

Downward Model Development Of The Soil Moisture Accounting Loss Method In Hec-Hms: Revelations Concerning The Soil Profile, Jessica Holberg

Open Access Theses

Despite the fact that the soil profile is known to impact streamflow, most Curve Number (CN)-based models ignore subsurface processes. This study explores the influence of soil storage on peak flows. Two watersheds in flat, humid west-central Indiana were modeled using both the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Curve Number and four versions of the Soil Moisture Accounting (SMA) loss methods in the United States Army Core of Engineers-developed (USACE) Hydrologic Engineering Center Hydrologic Modeling System (HEC-HMS). One watershed encompasses the Wabash and Tippecanoe Rivers' confluence; the other contains an ephemeral stream, Plum Creek. The CN-based model was developed using …

Nebraska’S Natural Resources Districts: An Assessment Of A Large-Scale Locally Controlled Water Governance Framework, Ann Bleed, Christina Hoffman Babbitt

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

In 1972 the State of Nebraska created the Natural Resources Districts (NRDs) to consolidate a multitude of single-purpose local natural resource districts into a more comprehensive, holistic, and efficient natural resources governance system. While consolidation and efficiency was important, so was the concept of maintaining local control. Thus, Nebraska rejected the governance framework of a single top-down state agency, preferring to create NRDs that are each governed by a locally elected board. The locally elected governing boards of the NRDs were given broad authorities over many of the state’s natural resources, including groundwater. Such a governance structure was, and to …

Sustainability, Efficiency And Equitability Of Water Consumption And Pollution In Latin America And The Caribbean, Mesfin Mekonnen, Markus Pahlow, Maite M. Aldaya, Erika Zarate

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

This paper assesses the sustainability, efficiency and equity of water use in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) by means of a geographic Water Footprint Assessment (WFA). It aims to provide understanding of water use from both a production and consumption point of view. The study identifies priority basins and areas from the perspectives of blue water scarcity, water pollution and deforestation. Wheat, fodder crops and sugarcane are identified as priority products related to blue water scarcity. The domestic sector is the priority sector regarding water pollution from nitrogen. Soybean and pasture are priority products related to deforestation. We estimate …

Nephrotoxic Contaminants In Drinking Water And Urine, And Chronic Kidney Disease In Rural Sri Lanka, Tewodros Rango, Marc Jeuland, Herath Manthrithilake, Peter G. Mccornick

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Chronic kidney disease of unknown (“u”) cause (CKDu) is a growing public health concern in Sri Lanka. Prior research has hypothesized a link with drinking water quality, but rigorous studies are lacking. This study assesses the relationship between nephrotoxic elements (namely arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and uranium (U)) in drinking water, and urine samples collected from individuals with and/or without CKDu in endemic areas, and from individuals without CKDu in nonendemic areas. All water samples—from a variety of source types (i.e., shallow and deep wells, springs, piped, and surface water)—contained extremely low concentrations of nephrotoxic elements, and all …

Demonstration Of A Daily High-Resolution (375-M) Alexi Evapotranspiration Product For The Nena Region, Christopher Hain, Martha C. Anderson, Mitch Schull, Christopher M.U. Neale

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

While the current constellation of geostationary sensors provides near-global coverage (60N to 60S) – it requires merging data from 7 satellites [resolving time differences; view angles; atmospheric correction]. Polar orbiting sensors such as MODIS and VIIRS provide daily global coverage of LST at higher resolutions than GEO sensors but at only two times per day.

Assessment Of Village Chicken Production Systems In Kambata Tambaro And Wolaita Zones, Snnpr, Ethiopia, Aman Getiso, Fitsum Tessema, Mesfin Mekonnen, Addisu Jimma, Bereket Zeleke

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

The study was conducted in four woredas (Damot Gale,Of a, Angacha and Hadero Tunto) the first two of them found in Wolaita zone and two of them in Kambata Tambaro Zone of SNNPR, Ethiopia respectively. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in the study areas to assess village chicken production systems, productive and reproductive performance of village chicken and identifying constraints to village chicken production. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select 240 farming households and administer a pre-tested and structured questionnaire. The results showed that the mean age of interviewed farmers was 37.8±9.3 years; average family size & chicken …

Yield Gap Analysis Of Field Crops: Methods And Case Studies, V. O. Sadras, Kenneth Cassman, Patricio Grassini, W. G.M. Bastiaanssen, A. G. Laborte, A. E. Milne, G. Sileshi, P. Steduto

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

The challenges of global agriculture have been analysed exhaustively and the need has been established for sustainable improvement in agricultural production aimed at food security in a context of increasing pressure on natural resources. Whereas the importance of R&D investment in agriculture is increasingly recognised, better allocation of limited funding is essential to improve food production. In this context, the common and often large gap between actual and attainable yield is a critical target. Realistic solutions are required to close yield gaps in both small and large scale cropping systems worldwide; to make progress in this direction, we need (1) …

Detection, Occurrence And Fate Of Emerging Contaminants In Agricultural Environments, Daniel D. Snow, David A. Cassada, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt, Xu Li, Matteo D'Alessio, Rachel Levine, Yun Zhang, J. Brett Sallach

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

A total of 43 papers published in 2014 were reviewed ranging from detailed descriptions of analytical methods, to fate and occurrence studies, to measuring and predicting biological effects for a wide variety of emerging contaminants likely to occur in agricultural environments. New methods and studies on veterinary pharmaceuticals, natural and synthetics steroids, and antibiotic resistance genes in agricultural environments continue to expand our knowledge base on the occurrence and potential impacts of these compounds. This review is divided into the following sections: Introduction, Analytical Methods, Occurrence and Fate, Antibiotic Resistance Genes, and Risk Assessment.

Spatio-Temporal Patterns Of Water Table And Vegetation Status Of A Deserted Area, Limin Duan, Tingxi Liu, Xixi Wang, Yanyun Luo

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Understanding groundwater-vegetation interactions is crucial for sustaining fragile environments of desert areas such as the Horqin Sandy Land (HSL) in northern China. This study examined spatio-temporal variations in the water table and the associated vegetation status of a 9.71 km² area that contains meadowland, sandy dunes, and intermediate transitional zones. The depth of the water table and hydrometeorologic parameters were monitored and Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data were utilized to assess the vegetation cover. Spatio-temporal variations over the six-year study period were examined and descriptive groundwater-vegetation associations developed by overlaying a water table …

Predicting Irrigation Efficiency In The Rio Grande Project, Gerardo Melendez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Surface water losses in the Bureau of Reclamation’s (USBR) Rio Grande Project have become more prevalent within the past few years of the drought of the 2000’s. Simple regressions were performed in order to find correlations and determine factors that may affect the flows within the Rio Grande Project. Correlations were found in the difference between Rio Grande below Caballo flows and Rio Grande at El Paso flows, and between the diversion ratio and groundwater levels. Caballo Reservoir release amounts were found to be fairly well correlated with the difference between the Rio Grande below Caballo and the Rio Grande …

Vapor Flow Resistance Of Dry Soil Layer To Soil Water Evaporation In Arid Environment: An Overview, Xixi Wang

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Evaporation from bare sandy soils is the core component of the hydrologic cycle in arid environments, where vertical water movement dominates. Although extensive measurement and modeling studies have been conducted and reported in existing literature, the physics of dry soil and its function in evaporation is still a challenging topic with significant remaining issues. Thus, an overview of the previous findings will be very beneficial for identifying further research needs that aim to advance our understanding of the vapor flow resistance (VFR) effect on soil water evaporation as influenced by characteristics of the dry soil layer (DSL) and evaporation zone …

Development Of A Hydrologic Model For An Urban Headwater Stream: The Influence Of Pervious Surface Properties On Runoff Dynamics, Dawn A. Farver

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A hydrologic model was developed for the Mullins Creek (MC) catchment located on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The MC catchment is a small, dynamic urban stream system with a range of land use/land cover (LULC), an extensive and well-developed stormwater drainage network, and extensive urbanization (over 90% developed, and almost 50% impervious surface area (ISA)). Selected datasets provided information on the stormwater drainage network, the physical attributes of the catchment and receiving waterway (i.e. drainage area, slope, etc.), infiltration potential of soil map units, LULC, and percent ISA. These datasets were analyzed to provide input parameters …

Identification Of Groundwater Sources For Municipal Wells Using Geochemical Data On The Platte Alluvial Aquifer And Underlying Limestone At The Lincoln Water Well Field Near Ashland Nebraska, Juanita Cruz Torres

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

Alluvial aquifer systems where pumping of municipal wells induces recharge from the adjacent river are the primary source of water for many cities. The city of Lincoln, NE has a primary water source in an alluvial aquifer adjacent to the Platte River. The Lincoln Water System manages the stream/aquifer system by using integrated models for a better understanding during periods of high stress such as a drought. The integrated models set the limestone aquifer as an impermeable boundary to understand the alluvial aquifer system without having a secondary water source. The limestone aquifer is permeable and the purpose of this …

Gis Framework For Spatiotemporal Mapping Of Urban Flooding And Analyze Watershed Hydrological Response To Land Cover Change, Sayed Joinal Hossain Abedin

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Urban flooding is a manmade disaster, and a recurrent problem in cities around the globe. Increased surface imperviousness due to urbanization along with inadequate drainage infrastructure system are the chief culprits for urban flooding. Flooding in an urban area brings about severe economic, structural, and environmental damages, and can be associated with casualties too. In order to evade flooding, an efficient flood model is imperative to study current flooding, and analyze flooding behavior to urban surface characteristics.

This research aims to develop a framework using Geographic Information System (GIS) to perform modeling and mapping of flood spatiotemporal variation in urban …

Identification Of Long Term Changes And Evaluation Of The Relationships Among Streamflow Variability And Oceanic-Atmospheric Indices, Soumya Sagarika

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

To examine the effects of climate variability on streamflow, this thesis presents a comprehensive analysis of the streamflow variability of the continental United States and its association with oceanic-atmospheric indices. First, the presence of trends with consideration of short term and long term persistence followed by shifts over the past years in the continental U.S. streamflow were analyzed by using the non-parametric tests: Mann Kendall and Pettitt. Second, the spatio-temporal relationships between seasonal streamflow variability of continental U.S. and sea surface temperatures (SST) and 500 mbar geopotential height (Z500) of the Pacific and Atlantic were established using the singular valued …

Watershed Delineation In The Field: A New Approach For Mobile Applications Using Lidar Elevation Data, Samuel Adam Noel

Open Access Theses

With the advancement of mobile devices, opportunities to take watershed management tasks out of the office and into the field can be realized. In turn, field workers can utilize these technologies to expedite the decision-making process so that they may focus on meeting with clients and addressing agricultural watershed management issues. High-resolution (∼1.5 m postspacing) elevation data gathered by light detection and ranging (LiDAR) provides the topographic detail necessary to model hydrology at the field-scale (∼1 km2).

Non-artifactual surface depressions lead to erroneous surface flow patterns when using existing algorithms. So a sequential depression-filling algorithm (SDFA) has been developed to …

A New Passive Surface Water Flux Meter For Simultaneous Measurement Of Contaminant And Water Fluxes In Streams And Rivers, Stephen A. Sassman

Open Access Dissertations

A passive surface water flux meter (PSFM) for measurement of contaminant concentration/flux in rivers and streams is described and tested. The novel PSFM design was developed for portability and ease of adaptability for a variety of contaminant classes. Although previous designs have been evaluated under constant flow conditions, the PSFM has never been used for measurement of pesticides or hormones and this is the first time that it has been tested under transient flow. Discharge through the PSFM is assessed by measuring miscible displacement of alcohol tracers from granular activated carbon (GAC). The tracer retardation factors (R) measured by miscible …

Hydro-Climate Temporal Variations And Their Influences On Net Primary Production In A Eurasian Steppe Watershed, Xiaomin Yang

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Climate, which is the most important factor that influences Net Primary Productivity, has been detected changing all over the world. The confounding effects of step change invalidate the stationarity assumption of commonly used trend analysis methods such as the Mann-Kendall test technique, so previous studies have failed to explain inconsistencies between detected trends and observed large anomalies. In this research, by formulating a trend analysis approach that considers nonstationary due to step changes, trends and extreme occurrences of precipitation, temperature, and runoff in annual, seasonal, and monthly scales were analyzed in a mid-latitude Eurasian steppe watershed in northeast China, and …

Risk Assessment Of Navigation Safety In The Water Area Of Bohai, Bingcong Dai

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.

New Research In Cave Ledenica In Bukovi Vrh On Velebit Mt In Croatian Dinaric Karst, Mladen Garasic

The International Workshop on Ice Caves

No abstract provided.

A Comparative Study Of Underwater Robot Path Planning Algorithms For Adaptive Sampling In A Network Of Sensors, Sreeja Banerjee

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Monitoring lakes, rivers, and oceans is critical to improving our understanding of complex large-scale ecosystems. We introduce a method of underwater monitoring using semi-mobile underwater sensor networks and mobile underwater robots in this thesis. The underwater robots can move freely in all dimension while the sensor nodes are anchored to the bottom of the water column and can move only up and down along the depth of the water column. We develop three different algorithms to optimize the path of the underwater robot and the positions of the sensors to improve the overall quality of sensing of an area of …

Infiltration And Runoff Parameters For Tilled And No-Till Row Crops, Andrew J. Volkmer

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Infiltration and runoff are hydrologic processes that effect the amount of water available to plants, for groundwater recharge, and for stream flow. No-till planting (NT) is a management practice used to reduce soil erosion, increase water infiltration, and reduce soil water evaporation, and can have great impact on infiltration and runoff. An investigation was conducted to determine the impact of NT on infiltration and runoff when compared to tilled conditions.

Runoff and precipitation data was gathered from sites at Fillmore County, NE, Phelps County, NE, the USDA-ARS North Appalachian Experimental Watersheds (NAEW) near Coshocton, OH, and the Lennoxville Research Station …

Systematic Analysis Of Drainage Events In Free Draining And Managed Subsurface Drainage Systems, Guy Bou Lahdou

Open Access Theses

Understanding the hydrologic controls that regulate outflow from free and managed subsurface drainage systems during drainage events can offer improved insight on the overall functioning and effectiveness of the systems so that they can be better managed or retrofitted to increase their environmental benefits. This study used drainage, precipitation, water table, and soil moisture data from a monitoring site located in east central Indiana to investigate the event hydrology of 22 drainage events in free and managed subsurface drainage systems. Relationships between event drainage volume, drain flow hydrograph metrics, column soil moisture, water table depth, and precipitation characteristics were explored …

Toward A Reliable Prediction Of Seasonal Forecast Uncertainty: Addressing Model And Initial Condition Uncertainty With Ensemble Data Assimilation And Sequential Bayesian Combination, Caleb Matthew Dechant, Hamid Moradkhani

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Uncertainties are an unfortunate yet inevitable part of any forecasting system. Within the context of seasonal hydrologic predictions, these uncertainties can be attributed to three causes: imperfect characterization of initial conditions, an incomplete knowledge of future climate and errors within computational models. This study proposes a method to account for all threes sources of uncertainty, providing a framework to reduce uncertainty and accurately convey persistent predictive uncertainty. In currently available forecast products, only a partial accounting of uncertainty is performed, with the focus primarily on meteorological forcing. For example, the Ensemble Streamflow Prediction (ESP) technique uses meteorological climatology to estimate …

Estimating Unsaturated Flow Properties In Coarse Conglomeratic Sediment, Michael James Thoma Jr.

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I address the lack of knowledge of unsaturated flow in coarse, conglomeratic sediment by determining if functional θ-ψ-K relationships, specifically van Genuchten-Mualem (VGM) relationships, developed to predict unsaturated flow in relatively fine-grained sediment can be directly applied to coarse, conglomeratic sediment. In the summer of 2011, a field-scale infiltration test was conducted at the Boise Hydrogeophysical Research Site to determine if functional ψ-θ-K relationships could be applied to infiltration in coarse, conglomeratic sediment, and to estimate parameter values for the VGM relationships. Vertically and laterally distributed ψ(t) and θ( …

Determining The Dynamics Of Agricultural Water Use: Cases From Asia And Africa, Lisa-Maria Rebelo, Robyn Johnston, Poolad Karimi, Peter G. Mccornick

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Across Africa and Asia, water resources are being affected by a complex mixture of social, economic, and environmental factors. These include climate change and population growth, food prices, oil prices, financial disruptions, and political fluctuations. The need to produce more food will have one of the largest impacts on water and will continue to reshape the patterns of agricultural water use in major food-growing regions. With this increasing demand on water for agriculture, from large-scale irrigation to intensification of rainfed systems, it is becoming increasingly important to ensure that water resources decision-making has access to information that captures the spectrum …

Floodplain Mapping Using Soil Survey Geographic (Ssurgo) Database, Nikhil Sangwan

Open Access Theses

Floods are the most damaging of all natural disasters, adversely affecting millions of lives and causing financial losses worth billions of dollars every year across the globe. Flood inundation maps play a key role in assessment and mitigation of the potential flood hazards. However, there are several communities in the United States for which the flood risk maps have not been published yet, as the current flood inundation mapping methods are typically very expensive and time consuming. The objective of this study is to develop and examine an economical alternative approach to floodplain mapping using widely available soil survey data. …

Improving The Treatment Of Non-Aqueous Phase Tce In Low Permeability Zones With Permanganate, Chanat Chokejaroenrat, Steve D. Comfort, Chainarong Sakulthaew, Bruce I. Dvoark

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Treating dense non-aqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs) embedded in low permeability zones (LPZs) is aparticularly challenging issue for injection-based remedial treatments. Our objective was to improve thesweeping efficiency of permanganate (MnO4−) into LPZs to treat high concentrations of TCE. This wasaccomplished by conducting transport experiments that quantified the penetration of various perman-ganate flooding solutions into a LPZ that was spiked with non-aqueous phase14C-TCE. The treatments weevaluated included permanganate paired with: (i) a shear-thinning polymer (xanthan); (ii) stabilizationaids that minimized MnO2rind formation and (iii) a phase-transfer catalyst. In addition, we quantifiedthe ability of these flooding solutions to improve TCE destruction under batch …