Environmental Monitoring Commons^™

2007 Kentucky River Watershed Watch Sampling Results Summary Report, Malissa Mcalister, Lindell Ormsbee

Kentucky River Watershed Watch

No abstract provided.

Climate-Induced Forest Dieback As An Emergent Global Phenomenon, Craig Allen, David D. Breshears

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

An organized oral session at the annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America in San Jose, Calif., posed this question: Is climate-induced drought stress triggering increasing rates and unusual patterns of forest die-off at a global scale? Twenty-nine researchers representing five continents reported on patterns, mechanisms, and projections of forest mortality.

Groundwater Quality In Watersheds Of The Kentucky River, Salt River, Licking River, Big Sandy River, Little Sandy River, And Tygarts Creek (Kentucky Basin Management Units 1, 2, And 5), R. Stephen Fisher, Bart Davidson, Peter T. Goodmann

Report of Investigations--KGS

The Kentucky Geological Survey, University of Kentucky, and the Kentucky Division of Water (of the Kentucky Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet) are evaluating groundwater quality throughout the commonwealth to determine regional conditions, assess impacts of nonpoint-source pollutants, establish a basis for detecting changes, and provide essential information for environmental-protection and resource-management decisions.

These evaluations are being conducted in stages. Under the Kentucky Watershed management Framework, Kentucky’s 12 major river basins and tributaries of the Ohio River were grouped into five basin management units (BMU’s). A previous report summarized and evaluated groundwater quality in BMU 3 (watersheds of the Upper Cumberland …

Joe Stell's Life, Career, & Contributions, Susan Kelly

Water Matters!

Representative Joe Stell's retirement after 20 years in the New Mexico Legislature has many people wondering: How will we fare without his knowledge and history ofNew Mexico water matters? Stell viewed one of his most important roles as that of helping new legislators get up to speed on w ater issues. We hope that Water Matters! may assist in this role by providing legislators with background information on some of the issues they will encounter. The Utton Center also wanted to acknowledge Joe Stell's outstanding service to New Mexico, and we have therefore included a brief sketch about his career, …

Farm Water For The North-Eastern And Eastern Wheatbelt Of Western Australia (Zones 2 And 5), Susan Murphy-White

Resource management technical reports

Large proportions of Western Australia's dryland farms suffer from water supply problems in the form of shortages, poor quality or combinations of these two factors ... A regional study for the North-eastern and Eastern Wheatbelt of Western Australia was undertaken. The base data used to develop water supply areas included soil type, landscape units, geology, hydrogeology, native vegetation and existing far water resource infrastructure.

Middle Columbia River Aquatic Nuisance Species Survey, Robyn Draheim, Mark D. Sytsma, Rich Miller, Jeffery Cordell

Center for Lakes and Reservoirs Publications and Presentations

Aquatic nonindigenous species (ANS) in the middle Columbia and lower Snake rivers were surveyed during the summer of 2006. The project area included eight reservoirs and the free-flowing, Hanford Reach on the Columbia River. We also conducted a literature review to create a complete list of ANS for the study area.

The Impact Of Acid Mine Drainage On West Little Sugar Creek, Vigo Co., In, Jodie L. Gibson

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study evaluates the degree and extent of contamination in West Little Sugar Creek by analyzing water chemistry in the stream during low and moderate flow conditions. West Little Sugar Creek is located in Vigo County, Indiana and has been severely impacted by AMD discharging from the abandoned Green Valley Mine site. Stream water is commonly acidic (as low as pH 2.4) with elevated concentrations of Fe and Al and elevated trace elements including Ni, Zn, Cu, Cd, Cr, Co, and others, many of which exceed local and/or national surface water quality standards. Amorphous Fe and Al precipitates also form …

Relationships Between Pacific And Atlantic Ocean Sea Surface Temperatures And U.S. Streamflow Variability, Glenn A. Tootle, Thomas C. Piechota

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

An evaluation of Pacific and Atlantic Ocean sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and continental U.S. streamflow was performed to identify coupled regions of SST and continental U.S. streamflow variability. Both SSTs and streamflow displayed temporal variability when applying the singular value decomposition (SVD) statistical method. Initially, an extended temporal evaluation was performed using the entire period of record (i.e., all years from 1951 to 2002). This was followed by an interdecadal-temporal evaluation for the Pacific (Atlantic) Ocean based on the phase of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) (Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO)). Finally, an extended temporal evaluation was performed using detrended SST …

Lockhart Catchment Appraisal 2005, Susan Murphy-White, P Leoni

Resource management technical reports

The Lockhart Catchment is the largest subcatchment of the Avon River Basin covering just over 3.56 million hectares, including 15 Shires running from Quairading and Bruce Rock in the north to Pingrup and Lake King in the south. This document aims to give the reader a starting point from which to further assess larger scale areas of the catchment for the purpose of planning to reverse and improve land degradation and sustainable farming in Western Australia.

On The Spatial Nature Of The Groundwater Pumping Externality, Nicholas Brozovic, David L. Sunding, David Zilberman

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Most existing economic analyses of optimal groundwater management use single-cell aquifer models, which assume that an aquifer responds uniformly and instantly to ground- water pumping. This paper demonstrates how spatially explicit aquifer response equations from the water resources engineering literature may be embedded in a general economic framework. Calibration of our theoretical model to published economic studies of spe- cific aquifers demonstrates that, by averaging basin drawdown across the entire resource, existing studies generally understate the magnitude of the groundwater pumping external- ity relative to spatially explicit models. For the aquifers studied, the drawdown predicted by single- cell models may …

The Fate And Transport Of Nitrogen (N) And The Effect Of Emergent Plants On Natural Treatment Of N-Species At Las Vegas Wash, Nevada, Tanju Kiriscioglu

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of emergent plant communities at Las Vegas Wash (the System) using a system dynamics modeling approach. Understanding the dynamics of nitrogen (N —major polluting nutrient in the Wash) that enters the System is important because it occasionally causes algal blooms, choking Lake Mead through excessive eutrophication. Emergent plant communities are an integral part of wetland ecosystems and they play a crucial role in natural treatment of nutrients. This study is intended to test this hypothesis.

The study makes use of Wash data from reliable sources (Las Vegas Valley Water District, …

Hydrological Effects And Groundwater Fluctuations In Interdunal Environments In The Nebraska Sandhills, David Gosselin, Venkataramana Sridhar, F. Edwin Harvey, James Goeke

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Nine years of groundwater monitoring data has documented the important influence that topographic relief and location in the groundwater flow system have on the hydrologic function of interdunal valleys. The western "wet" valley at the Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory in central Nebraska, which is a net discharge area, is more strongly buffered from the effects of annual-scale climatic variability than the eastern "dry" valley. The east valley is generally an area of net recharge and as such is more responsive to climatic variability. This study employed a simple water balance approach to estimate evapotranspiration (ET) from water level measurements in the …

Validation Of Methods To Measure Mass Flux Of A Groundwater Contaminant, Hyouk Yoon

Theses and Dissertations

In this study, flux measurements obtained using two methods are compared with known mass fluxes in a meso-scale three-dimensional artificial aquifer. One method, the tandem recirculating well (TRW) method, is applied using two different techniques. One technique is simple and inexpensive, only requiring measurement of heads, while the second technique requires conducting a tracer test. The second method, the integrated pump test (IPT) method, requires use of one or more pumping and observation wells in various configurations. The results of the experiments in the artificial aquifer show that the most expensive technique, the TRW method using tracers, provides the most …

Optimal Management Of Groundwater Over Space And Time, Nicholas Brozovic, David L. Sunding, David Zilberman

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

For nearly half a century, groundwater has been portrayed in the economic literature as a typical common property resource. Numerous studies of groundwater extraction have analyzed the externalities imposed by users on each other. A large body of work offers clear prescriptions in the form of optimal policy instruments, and a similarly large body of work advocates the needlessness of any centralized intervention. Yet existing theoretical models of groundwater extraction implicitly make two strong assumptions about the underlying behavior of the resource. First, the spatial distribution of resource users is assumed to be irrelevant. Second, path-independence of the resource is …

Determining Biogeochemical Assemblages On The Stony River, Grant County, Wv, Using Fuzzy C-Means And K-Nearest Neighbors Clustering, M. Joseph Hughes

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Periphyton assemblages were assessed on the Stony River, a high-gradient stream in the Potomac drainage of Grant County, WV. Periphyton samples were collected from nine sites along the mainstem and in two tributaries. Chlorophyll-a, dry weight, taxonomic identifications, and bioaccumulated metals concentrations data were compiled. These data were related to water quality parameters measured at each site during the study. Fuzzy C-means and k-nearest neighbor clustering on the combined, normalized dataset produced similar results. Clustering separated species occurring in each tributary from each other and those dominating the mainstem. Nearly every bioaccumulated metal was associated with one of these tributary …

Facilitating The Development Of The Strawberry Industry In Western Australia, Dennis Phillips, Aileen Reid

Horticulture research reports

Horticulture Australia Project No. BS05001 Annual report 2005/06

This is the first of three annual reports for the Horticulture Australia project BS05001 — ‘Facilitating the development of the strawberry industry in Western Australia’. This project is managed by the Strawberry Growers Association of WA Inc. and the work is being done in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture and Food WA (DAFWA). The project has been funded by voluntary contributions from the W.A. Strawberry Producers Committee, Toolangi Strawberry Runner Growers Co-operative and DAFWA with matching funding from Horticulture Australia Ltd (HAL). The project has been funded for three years, 2005, …

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.

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 = …

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.

Zero Effluent Stretch Target (Zest), Orla O'Connor

Theses

The goals of this project were to assess the viability of avoiding water use and of “cascading” water uses, i.e. using outlet water from one process in another activity, possibly with some purification, including the upgrading of the final effluent stream for internal reuse. Water use has been inventoried at FMC Biopolymer, Cork. Avoidance and reduction measures were identified that could reduce water consumption from 49m /hr to 19 m /hr (a reduction in excess of 60%), with an annual saving in excess of €350,000. These projects were assessed for feasibility and implementation. Potential streams that could be subject to …

2006 Kentucky River Watershed Watch Sampling Results, Malissa Mcalister, Lindell Ormsbee

Kentucky River Watershed Watch

No abstract provided.

Summary Report 2005 Kentucky River Watershed Watch Data Collection Effort, L. Ormsbee, M. Mcalister

Kentucky River Watershed Watch

No abstract provided.

Assessing Water-Supply Potential Of Abandoned Underground Coal Mines In Eastern Kentucky, James S. Dinger, Dennis H. Cumbie, Bart Davidson

Report of Investigations--KGS

Use of water in abandoned underground coal mines for municipal, industrial, agricultural, or domestic water supplies is dependent upon the water quantity and quality. For either of these factors, the requirements of the user will play a role in what water quantity or quality is acceptable. This report provides analysis of field-derived water-quality and -quantity characteristics for six abandoned underground coal mines in the Eastern Kentucky Coal Field. In addition, some ancillary data from State regulatory agencies were used to help characterize water quality coming from the mines.

This study demonstrates that water quality in abandoned deep mines can be …

Ravensthorpe Area Catchment Appraisal 2006, A Massenbauer

Resource management technical reports

The Ravensthorpe area covers 861, 000 hectares. Ninety percent of the study area covered in this report falls within the Ravensthorpe Shire, Western Australia. This document aims to give the reader a starting point from which to further assess larger scale areas of the catchment for the purpose of planning to reverse and improve land degradation and sustainable farming in Western Australia.

2005 Diamond Lake Submersed Aquatic Vegetation Survey, Mark D. Sytsma, Mary Pfauth

Center for Lakes and Reservoirs Publications and Presentations

Diamond Lake is a large natural lake having a surface area of some 3214 acres (1300.7 hectares) and a maximum depth of 52 feet (15.8 meters). It is located within the Umpqua National Forest in the Southern Cascade Mountains of Oregon, at an elevation of over 5000 feet (>1524 meters). Diamond Lake is a high-use waterbody that supports angling, public campgrounds, recreational boating, swimming, and water skiing. The human activity associated with the lake has been a significant contributor to the economy of southern Oregon since the early part of the twentieth century.

Historically Diamond Lake was fishless but …

Coupled Oceanic-Atmospheric Variability And U.S. Streamflow, Glenn A. Tootle, Thomas C. Piechota, Ashok Singh

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

A study of the influence of interdecadal, decadal, and interannual oceanic-atmospheric influences on streamflow in the United States is presented. Unimpaired streamflow was identified for 639 stations in the United States for the period 1951–2002. The phases (cold/negative or warm/positive) of Pacific Ocean (El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO)) and Atlantic Ocean (Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)) oceanic-atmospheric influences were identified for the year prior to the streamflow year (i.e., long lead time). Statistical significance testing of streamflow, based on the interdecadal, decadal, and interannual oceanic-atmospheric phase (warm/positive or cold/negative), was performed by …

Maximum Size Of Fish Caught With Standard Gears And Recreational Angling, Kevin L. Pope, Gene R. Wilde, Daryl L. Bauer

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

We correlated maximum lengths of freshwater fishes captured during 10 years with standard gears (i.e., gill nets, boat electrofishers and trap nets) and angling from Nebraska water bodies to determine which methodology provided better estimates of maximum size of fishes produced within a given water body. In general, maximum length of fishes captured with standard gears was smaller than maximum length of fishes captured with angling. Although significant (based on sequential Bonferroni adjustment) correlation was found in only one of nine sport fishes assessed, all correlations were positive indicating a general trend between maximum size of fishes captured with these …

Risk And Consequence Analysis Focused On Biota Transfers Potentially Associated With Surface Water Diversions Between The Missouri River And Red River Basins, Greg Linder, Ed Little, Lynne Johnson, Chad Vishy, Bruce Peacock, Heather Goeddecke

United States Geological Survey: Publications

Section 1 provides a brief overview of the project, including a cursory summary of the history of the “Garrison Diversion” and how that history relates to this work focused on the analysis of risks and consequences potentially associated with interbasin biota transfers. The present study was initiated under the auspices of the Dakota Water Resources Act (DWRA) of 2000, which directed the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a comprehensive study of the water quality and quantity needs of the Red River Valley and the options for meeting those needs. As such, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) requested technical support …

Total Suspended Solids In Las Vegas Wash, Mika Koponen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Erosion along the Las Vegas Wash (Wash) has increased steadily along with the rapidly increasing population. The focus of this study is to find out if there is a relationship between lower total suspended solids rate (TSS) and the construction of erosion control structures along the Wash. The study was conducted between 7/15/2003 and 11/29/2004.

The method was water sampling on 7 sites and the samples were analyzed at Southern Nevada Water Systems (SNWS) laboratory at Saddle Island in Boulder City. Additional water quality data was also collected using Quanta, a device measuring different parameters in water. In this study …

Kentucky River Watershed Watch Five-Year Data Analysis: 1999 To 2003, Malissa Mcalister, L. Ormsbee

Kentucky River Watershed Watch

No abstract provided.