Environmental Monitoring Commons^™

Groundwater Trends In The Kent-Frankland Sub-Region, Arjen Ryder

Natural resources published reports

The South Coast Regional Initiative Planning Team (SCRIPT) has divided the South Coast region of Western Australia into six sub-regions. Kent-Frankland covers the catchments of the Frankland, Gordon and Kent' Rivers. Approximately two-thirds (450,000 ha) has been cleared for agriculture. This publication describes the groundwater trends, risk of shallow watertables, and technical feasibility of salinity management on agricultural land.

Soil-landscape zones are spatial units based on geology and geomorphology. Since most groundwater processes in WA are controlled by the geologic and regolith properties, these zones can be used for allocating hydrological attributes, such as groundwater characteristics and trends. The hydrological …

Groundwater Trends In The Albany Hinterland Sub-Region, Arjen Ryder

Natural resources published reports

The South Coast Regional Initiative Planning Team (SCRIPT) has divided the South Coast region of Western Australia into six sub-regions The Albany Hinterland is in the western portion (see Figure 1). It is bounded by the Pallinup River in the east. Stirling Ranges to the north and the Kent River catchment boundary in the west. Two-thirds (580.000 ha) of the sub-region has been cleared for agriculture This publication describes the groundwater trends, risk of shallow watertables, and technical feasibility of salinity management within the agricultural land

Soil-landscape zones are spatial units based on geology and geomorphology. Since most groundwater processes …

Impacts At The Coast: Climate Change Influences On Lake Huron's Water Levels At Oliphant (Ontario), Kevin Tupman

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Since 1998, climate change induced low water levels in the Great Lakes have caused environmental and socioeconomic impacts along most of the Great Lakes' shorelines. According to recent climate change research involving different water level scenarios, climate change over the next century may continue to cause water levels in the Great Lakes to decline. Such impacts may include wider shorelines, drying of coastal wetlands, and navigation hazards that may result in increased dredging activities. These impacts will have a strong influence on new shoreline management policies and planning. To better understand potential future impacts, a specific methodology was developed to …

Status And Trends In Water Quality And Living Resources In The Virginia Chesapeake Bay: York River (1985-2002), Daniel M. Dauer, Harold G. Marshall, John R. Donat, Michael F. Lane, Suzanne Doughten, Frederick A. Hoffman

Status and Trends for Virginia Chesapeake Bay

The Virginia Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries continue to show some environmental trends indicating progress toward restoration of a more balanced and healthy ecosystem. However, the Bay system remains degraded and some areas and indicators show continuing degradation. Progress in reducing nutrient inputs has made demonstrable improvements and we expect that continued progress toward nutrient reduction goals, along with appropriate fisheries management and chemical contaminant controls, will result in additional improvements to the Bay. An overall summary of findings for the major VA Bay tributaries (i.e. James, York, and Rappahannock Rivers) is bulleted below while the remainder of this …

Status And Trends In Water Quality And Living Resources In The Virginia Chesapeake Bay: Rappahannock River (1985-2002), Daniel M. Dauer, Harold G. Marshall, John R. Donat, Michael F. Lane, Suzanne Doughten, Frederick A. Hoffman

Status and Trends for Virginia Chesapeake Bay

The Virginia Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries continue to show some environmental trends indicating progress toward restoration of a more balanced and healthy ecosystem. However, the Bay system remains degraded and some areas and indicators show continuing degradation. Progress in reducing nutrient inputs has made demonstrable improvements and we expect that continued progress toward nutrient reduction goals, along with appropriate fisheries management and chemical contaminant controls, will result in additional improvements to the Bay. An overall summary of findings for the major VA Bay tributaries (i.e. James, York and Rappahannock Rivers) is bulleted below while the remainder of this …

Status And Trends In Water Quality And Living Resources In The Virginia Chesapeake Bay: James River (1985-2002), Daniel M. Dauer, Harold G. Marshall, John R. Donat, Michael F. Lane, Suzanne C. Doughten, Frederick A. Hoffman

Status and Trends for Virginia Chesapeake Bay

The Virginia Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries continue to show some environmental trends indicating progress toward restoration of a more balanced and healthy ecosystem. However, the Bay system remains degraded and some areas and indicators show continuing degradation. Progress in reducing nutrient inputs has made demonstrable improvements and we expect that continued progress toward nutrient reduction goals, along with appropriate fisheries management and chemical contaminant controls, will result in additional improvements to the Bay. An overall summary of findings for the major VA Bay tributaries (i.e. James, York, and Rappahannock Rivers) is bulleted below while the remainder of this …

Benthic Biological Monitoring Program Of The Elizabeth River Watershed (2002), Daniel M. Dauer

Elizabeth River Reports

Executive Summary

A study of the macrobenthic communities of the Elizabeth River watershed was initiated in summer 1999. This report presents the data from the fourth year of sampling in 2002. The three objectives of the Benthic Biological Monitoring Program of the Elizabeth River watershed are: (1) To characterize the health of the tidal waters of the Elizabeth River watershed as indicated by the structure of the benthic communities. ( 2) To conduct trend analyses on long-term data at 14 fixed-point stations to relate temporal trends in the benthic communities to changes in water and/or sediment quality. Trend analyses will …

Decision Process For Identification Of Estuarine Benthic Impairments, Roberto J. Llansó, Jon H. Volstad, Daniel M. Dauer

Benthic Applications

To meet the requirements of the Clean Water Act, the States of Maryland and Virginia are in the process of developing biological criteria for evaluating estuarine waters. The Chesapeake Bay Benthic Index of Biotic Integrity (B-IBI) is the basis for these biological criteria. As an initial step, a Workgroup developed an interim framework for the application of the B-IBI to the States’ water quality inventory report (305b report) and list of impaired waters (303d list). The Workgroup included representatives of the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MDNR), Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), USEPA …

Annual Report To The Pastoral Lands Board Of Western Australia: 2002 / 2003 Financial Year, Rod Williams, Sandra Van Vreeswyk, Philip Thomas

Natural resources published reports

The Department of Agriculture has prepared this Annual Report for the Pastoral Lands Board of Western Australia for the financial year 2002 – 2003. The report details trends in a number of indicators of importance to Western Australia’s rangelands.

The Department of Agriculture’s activities to the Board are outlined and environmental indicators are presented at the regional and property scales. New methodologies of pastoral lease inspections incorporating a categorisation model are also introduced. The integrated assessment processes incorporating rangeland resource and condition surveys, pastoral lease inspection processes, and WARMS provides land users with a sound information base from which informed …

Fisheries Research Contract Report No. 2 - Towards An Assessment Of Natural And Human Use Impacts On The Marine Environment Of The Abrolhos Islands (Phase 1 : Data Consolidation And Scoping - Final Report For Frdc Project 2000/1 66), C. F. Chubb, K. Nardi

Fisheries Research Contract Reports

This project has drawn together existing research data relating to natural and human impacts on the Abrolhos Islands marine habitats. It has surveyed current uses of these habitats and placed anthropogenic impacts within the context of natural perturbations. Through public forum presentation and debate, this work has allowed real issues, not perceptions, to surface and be addressed properly. This was achieved by defining a strategic programme of research through a scientific workshop process involving all community stakeholders. A two volume Fisheries Research Report (WA) summarizes current knowledge and details the workshop proceedings and strategic research plan.

Depositional Characteristics Of 7Be And 210Pb In Southeastern Michigan, D. Mcneary, M. Baskaran

Environmental Science and Geology Faculty Research Publications

The depositional fluxes in the bulk and dry fallout as well as the concentrations of ⁷Be and ²¹⁰Pb in aerosols were measured for a period of 17 months at Detroit, Michigan. The bulk depositional fluxes of ⁷Be and ²¹⁰Pb varied between 3.11 and 63.0 dpm cm⁻² yr⁻¹ (mean of 11.4 dpm cm⁻² yr⁻¹) and 0.35 and 10.3 dpm cm⁻² yr⁻¹ (mean of 1.41 dpm cm⁻² yr⁻¹), respectively, and this variability in the depositional fluxes is attributed to the frequency and amount of precipitation and seasonal variations …

Identifying Nursery Areas Used By Inner Bay And Oceanic Pink Snapper ( Pagrus Auratus) To The Effect Of Prawn Trawling On Inner Bay Snapper Stocks - Final Report For Frdc Project 2001/061, D. J. Gaughan, Michael J. Moran, Melinda M. Ranaldi, John R. Watling

Fisheries Research Contract Reports

Final Report for FRDC Project 2001/061

Pink snapper (Pagrus auratus) is the main commercial and recreational finfish (Kailola et al., 1993) in the Shark Bay region. Pink snapper are distributed along much of the temperate and tropical coasts of Western Australia from east of Esperance on the south coast to north of Shark Bay on the west (Paulin 1990). Previous research using genetics (Johnson et al. 1986), tagging (Moran et al. 2004), and otolith microchemistry (Edmonds et al., 1989, 1999) have shown that pink snapper from the innermost parts of Shark Bay do not mix with the ocean fish

Juvenile …

Status And Trends In Water Quality And Living Resources In The Virginia Chesapeake Bay: James River (1985-2001), Daniel M. Dauer, Harold G. Marshall, Kent E. Carpenter, John R. Donat, Michael F. Lane

Status and Trends for Virginia Chesapeake Bay

This summary includes materials provided by Rick Hoffman of the Chesapeake Bay Program of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. Environmental information regarding other important conditions in Chesapeake Bay (e.g. submerged aquatic vegetation, fisheries, chemical contaminants) has been reported previously (Chesapeake Bay and its Tributaries: Results of Monitoring Programs And Status of Resources; 2002 Biennial Report of the Secretary of Natural Resources to The Virginia General Assembly).

The Virginia Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries continue to show some environmental trends indicating progress toward restoration of a more balanced and healthy ecosystem. However, the Bay system remains degraded …

Status And Trends In Water Quality And Living Resources In The Virginia Chesapeake Bay: Rappahannock River (1985-2001), Daniel M. Dauer, Harold G. Marshall, Kent E. Carpenter, John R. Donat, Michael F. Lane

Status and Trends for Virginia Chesapeake Bay

This summary includes materials provided by Rick Hoffman of the Chesapeake Bay Program of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. Environmental information regarding other important conditions in Chesapeake Bay (e.g. submerged aquatic vegetation, fisheries, chemical contaminants) has been reported previously (Chesapeake Bay and its Tributaries: Results of Monitoring Programs And Status of Resources; 2002 Biennial Report of the Secretary of Natural Resources to The Virginia General Assembly).

The Virginia Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries continue to show some environmental trends indicating progress toward restoration of a more balanced and healthy ecosystem. However, the Bay system remains degraded …

Status And Trends In Water Quality And Living Resources In The Virginia Chesapeake Bay: York River (1985-2001), Daniel M. Dauer, Harold G. Marshall, Kent E. Carpenter, John R. Donat, Michael F. Lane

Status and Trends for Virginia Chesapeake Bay

This summary includes materials provided by Rick Hoffman of the Chesapeake Bay Program of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. Environmental information regarding other important conditions in Chesapeake Bay (e.g. submerged aquatic vegetation, fisheries, chemical contaminants) has been reported previously (Chesapeake Bay and its Tributaries: Results of Monitoring Programs And Status of Resources; 2002 Biennial Report of the Secretary of Natural Resources to The Virginia General Assembly).

The Virginia Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries continue to show some environmental trends indicating progress toward restoration of a more balanced and healthy ecosystem. However, the Bay system remains degraded …

Avoiding The “Fat” Of The Land: Case Studies Of Agricultural Nutrient Balance, David Weaver, Simon Neville

Journal articles

Let’s start with a simple analogy: if a person eats more than they need, they gain weight. That is: if our feed inputs (kilojoules in) are greater than our outputs (exercise — kilojoules out) then we will gain weight (kilojoules in storage).That’s our fat. If, on the other hand, our feed inputs are less than our outputs, then we will lose weight.And if our inputs are the same as our outputs, our weight will remain constant. In general, the further away you are from an ‘ideal’weight, the greater the health risks. And yes, other aspects of your body management — …

Environmental Management Of Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment (Weee) In Ireland, Simon Wilkinson

Theses

This thesis follows two previous studies by the Author on the calculation of theoretical WEEE arisings, and an assessment of ecodesign practices in Ireland. It has established collection trials in five different locations throughout Ireland in order to characterise and quantify WEEE arisings, and to examine outlets for collected WEEE. Overall, during the twelve months of collection at the project locations, more than 450 tonnes of WEEE was collected from the public and recycled. Within the catchments of each facility, collection rates of between 2.1 and 3.5 kg/person/year were achieved during the twelve-month trial period. With further public awareness raising …

Benthic Biological Monitoring Program Of The Elizabeth River Watershed (2001) With A Study Of Paradise Creek, Daniel M. Dauer

Elizabeth River Reports

Executive Summary

A study of the macrobenthic communities of the Elizabeth River watershed was initiated in summer 1999. This report presents the data from the third year of sampling in 2001. The three objectives of the Benthic Biological Monitoring Program of the Elizabeth River watershed are: (1) To characterize the health of the tidal waters of the Elizabeth River watershed as indicated by the structure of the benthic communities. ( 2) To conduct trend analyses on long-term data at 14 fixed-point stations to relate temporal trends in the benthic communities to changes in water and/or sediment quality. Trend analyses will …

Pasture Condition Guides For The Pilbara, A L. Payne, A A. Mitchell

Agriculture reports

These pasture condition guides are relevant to about 192 000 square kilometres of the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The rangeland of the Pilbara can be separated into 12 very broad pasture types. The ‘pasture type’ is not strictly a botanical classification because, in determining such a class of pastoral lands, the perennial plant species that contribute to stock production have an over-riding importance. Even so, each pasture type represents a broad group of similar vegetation associations or ‘site types’ which will have similar management requirements for pastoralism. The aim of this publication is to provide pastoralists with descriptions and …

Using The Index Of Biotic Integrity Of Fish Communities To Evaluate Habitat Quality In Middle Chattahoochee River Tributaries, Theodor W. Roever

Theses and Dissertations

An ichthyological survey was conducted within the lower Piedmont and upper Coastal Plain physiographic regions of the middle Chattahoochee River drainage basin between August 1998 and September 2000. Sampling was conducted by Columbus State University (CSU) under contract to Columbus Water Works for the purpose of obtaining biological measurements of watershed health. Objectives of the survey were the establishment of a data baseline of IBI scores for this ecoregion and to ascertain if there was a correlation between the IBI score and human influence. The thesis to be tested is: 'Fish community IBI scores of different watersheds within the Middle …

Beginning A New Era Of Drought Monitoring Across North America, Jay Lawrimore, Richard R. Heim Jr., Mark D. Svoboda, Val Swail, Phil J. Englehart

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Drought experts from the United States, Canada, and Mexico met at the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, North Carolina, for a three-day workshop in late April 2002 to discuss the United States Drought Monitor program and to develop a plan for initiating a new program of drought monitoring for North America. Since its inception in 1999, the U.S. Drought Monitor (DM) has been extremely successful in assessing and communicating the state of drought in the United States on a weekly basis. This success, and the recognition that an ongoing comprehensive and integrated drought assessment was needed throughout all three …

Creep And Creep-Recovery Models For Wood Under High Stress Levels, Zhiyong Cai, Kenneth J. Fridley, Michael O. Hunt, David V. Rosowsky

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Forty small clear southern pine specimens were loaded under third-point bending to examine creep and creep-recovery behavior for wood under high stress levels. Stress levels of between 69% and 91% of the predicted static strength were applied for 23 h with 1 h allowed for recovery, and the resulting deflection vs. time behavior was studied. The experimental creep and creep-recovery behavior was modeled using modified power law functions. The results indicate that these functions provide the best fit to both primary and secondary experimental data. The empirical models can be used to simulate the viscoelastic behavior of wood under high …

Comparison Of Water Quality, Zooplankton Density, And Cover In Razorback Sucker (Xyrauchen Texanus [Abbott]) Spawning Areas Of Lake Mead And Lake Mohave, Michael E. Golden, Paul B. Holden, Southern Nevada Water Authority

Publications (WR)

Las Vegas Bay and Echo Bay in Lake Mead have small, self-sustaining populations of razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus [Abbot]). Increased productivity and cover have been hypothesized as reasons for successful recruitment of razorback sucker in Lake Mead. Conversely, reproduction has been documented on Lake Mohave, another lower Colorado River reservoir, but no recruitment has been observed. In 2000, BIO-WEST, Inc. was contracted by the Southern Nevada Water Authority to design and implement a study to examine nutrient levels, zooplankton density, and cover in areas with and without razorback sucker recruitment success. We sampled Echo Bay, Las Vegas Bay, and …

Property Planning Manual For The Swan-Canning Catchment - February 2002, Catherine Nind, Kylie Banfield, Brian Lloyd

Farm Systems and Economics published reports

Perth, its suburbs and adjacent semi rural and rural areas are part of the Swan-Canning catchment. Ona broad scale the Swan and Canning Rivers are part of a large drainage system that collects and drains water from across the catchment via a myriad of small channels, creeks, brooks and drains which, working together, concentrates the flow into a single water body, the Swan-Canning Estuary. This drainage system collects water both from the surface of the land and also from water, which seeps beneath the surface and moves underground.

The water may contain a considerable variety of potential pollutants, such as …

Land Usage Impacts On Springhead Salamander Populations, At Callaway Extended Properties, Harris County, Georgia, Neil Allen Pearce

Theses and Dissertations

Recent scientific studies have indicated that anrphibian populations appear to be declining in many areas of the world or exhibiting local population fluctuations. Some of the reasons given for this population decline are associated with land usage, and the negative biological impacts of many forms of land management practices. A study was conducted at the Callaway Gardens Extended Properties in Pine Mountain Georgia which compared the local aquatic salamander populations of five spring -fed streams in the Cason J. Callaway Memorial Forest, and five spring-fed streams in the Lower Valley Area. Using a cat ch-per-unit -effort sampling methodology, a comparison …

Using Gis And Land Use Data To Select Candidate Reference Sites For Stream Bioassessment, John Robert Olson

Theses and Dissertations

GIS was used to select candidate reference sites in Georgia to characterize the reference condition by sub-ecoregion for a rapid bioassessment of streams statewide. Instead of relying on best professional judgment or previous knowledge of a limited number of sites, we performed an objective evaluation of cumulative impact on all catchments using land use data sets. These included road and impoundment data from DLGs and Multi-Resolution Land use Consortium data. Land use impairment was measured as percentages of forest, urban, pasture, row crops, and barren area for both the entire catchment and for 10, 40, and 130-m riparian buffers, road …

1080 Summary Information, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia, Department Of Conservation And Land Management, Western Australia, Department Of Health, Western Australia

Biosecurity research reports

Fluoroacetate, the active ingredient of 1080, occurs naturally in toxic plants in Australia, South Africa, and South America. Manufactured I080 underpins most vertebrate pest control programs in Australia and New Zealand. Fluoroacetate occurs naturally in about 40 plant species in Australia with most of these plants restricted to the south-west of WA.

I080 was introduced to rabbit control programs in the early 1950s and therefore has a long history of proven effectiveness and safety in Australia. There have been few repo1ted problems associated with human safety, environmental persistence, bioaccumulation or impact on populations of non-target species.

In particular, I080 baits …

The Drought Monitor, Mark D. Svoboda, Doug Lecomte, Mike Hayes, Richard Heim, Karin Gleason, Jim Angel, Brad Rippey, Rich Tinker, Mike Palecki, David Stooksbury, David Miskus, Scott Stephens

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

There is a need for improved drought monitoring and assessment methods in the United States. Drought is the most costly natural disaster [Federal Emergency Management Agancy (FEMA 1995; Wilhite 2000)], but it is often neglected by developers of assessment and forecast products. Drought is more nebulous than other disasters and does not lend itself to traditional assessments or forecast methods. Its relatively slow onset and the complexity of its impacts are reasons for the new assessment methodology. Improvements in drought monitoring and forecasting techniques will allow for better preparation, lead to better management practices, and reduce the vulnerability of society …

Development Of Diagnostic Approaches To Determine Sources Of Anthropogenic Stress Affecting Benthic Community Conditions In The Chesapeake Bay, Daniel M. Dauer, Michael F. Lane, Roberto J. Llansó

Benthic Applications

Benthic macrofauna are an important component of estuarine ecosystems. These organisms are a food source for higher trophic levels including fishes and crabs (Virnstein 1977, 1979; Holland et al. 1980; Dauer et al. 1982) and birds (Botton 1984; Quammen 1984). Benthic macrofauna affect both the physical and chemical properties of the sediment and the overlying water column (e.g., Rhoads and Young 1970; Rhoads 1973; Aller 1978, 1980), influence nutrient cycling (Rowe et al 1975; Zeiteschel 1980; Flint and Kamykowski 1984), and are capable of directly controlling phytoplankton biomass in the water column (Cleorn 1982; Officer et al 1982; Cohen et …

Land Use Patterns In Relation To Lake Water Quality In The Webber Pond Watershed, Problems In Environmental Science Course (Biology 493), Colby College, Colby Environmental Assessment Team, Colby College

Colby College Watershed Study: Webber Pond (2002)

The Webber Pond watershed was chosen as our study site. It is a characteristic New England lake located in Vassalboro, Maine. Webber Pond is a popular site for recreation and is home to a wide range of flora and fauna. Like all other lakes in Maine, it is a young lake. However, intensive human activity in the watershed contributes a substantial amount of nutrients and the lake has algal blooms anually in the summer months.

The purpose of this study was to asses the impact of land use and development on the water quality of Webber Pond. Physical and chemical …