Environmental Monitoring Commons^™

Assessing Regional Responsibility Of Plecoptera (Stoneflies) Across Two U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service Regions, Josie Griffith

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Developing an objective metric to designate taxa that are the responsibility of the region is imperative for the proper allocation of conservation funding. This project focused on stoneflies (Order Plecoptera), an imperiled group of aquatic insects at the global scale, in two U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regions. At the regional scale, a baseline designation of Regional Species of Greatest Conservation Need (RSGCN) was applied to each species where their range included at least 75% of states within either the Midwestern or Northeastern regions. Two sets of data were accumulated for each RSGCN. One, distributional information was collected from valid …

Landuse And Microplastic Transport In Karst Groundwater Of South-Central Kentucky, Katie Norman

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Groundwater in karst areas is susceptible to contamination from various sources of pollution. Microplastics are a prevalent source of pollution entering groundwater. This study examines karst groundwater in three areas of investigation. One point of interest is an area that is impacted by urban activities, the Lost River Groundwater Basin, which includes water drainage from the City of Bowling Green, Kentucky. Another study location is Great Onyx (GO) Spring, which is a part of the Great Onyx Groundwater Basin located in Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky, and that is relatively unimpacted by urban activities. The third point of interest is …

Developing A Controlled Traffic (Tramline) Farming System, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Grains and other field crops factsheets

Controlled traffic farming (CTF) is a farming system built on permanent wheel tracks where the crop zone and traffic lanes are permanently separated. It can improve profitability and sustainability.

Implements for seeding, spraying, spreading and harvesting have a particular span, or multiple of it, and all wheel tracks are confined to specific traffic lanes.

CTF increases profit by more yield, better grain quality, improved operation timeliness, and reduced costs. The environment can improve, with less nutrient leaching, less water erosion, better water infiltration, and less greenhouse gas emission. Implementation needs a clear, long-term plan, and prioritisation of soil health.

Another …

Caught On Camera: Evaluating Wood Duck (Aix Sponsa) Cavity Occurrence And Trapping Efficiency, Cindy L. Von Haugg

All Theses

Wood ducks (Aix sponsa) garner significant ecologic and economic importance as the second most harvested waterfowl species in two of the four migratory flyways in North America, but the accuracy of population monitoring, relative to other duck species, is stifled by the wood duck’s secretive nature and nesting habitat. As an alternate, population models would improve current assessments, but more data on the demographic vital rates of cavity-nesting wood ducks is needed. I aimed to help bridge this knowledge gap by developing a method to increase data collection efficiency, and with it, accomplish two objectives: 1) Calculate the relative abundance …

Development Of A Flow Cytometry Method For The Identification And Enumeration Of Enterococcus Faecalis, Riza Magbitang

Master's Theses

A multi-color flow cytometry method coupled with fluorescent staining was developed to detect and quantify E. faecalis concentrations in coastal waters as an alternative to the traditional membrane filtration method. The developed method was used to characterize E. faecalis during batch growth and yielded consistent results across the various physiological states of the cells. Additionally, the application of propidium iodide (i.e., a viability stain), afforded the method the ability to differentiate between cells with intact and compromised cell membranes, which raises the potential of quantifying cells that are in viable-but-non-culturable (VBNC) state. Initial field test using natural seawater samples spiked …

Draft Final Horseshoe Bend Effluent Line (Hbel) Discharge Structure Surface Enhancements Work Plan, Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Training Uav Teams With Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning Towards Fully 3d Autonomous Wildfire Response, Bryce Hopkins

All Theses

As climate-exacerbated wildfires increasingly threaten landscapes and communities, there is an urgent and pressing need for sophisticated fire management technologies. Coordinated teams of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) present a promising solution for detection, assessment, and even incipient-stage suppression – especially when integrated into a multi-layered approach with other recent wildfire management technologies such as geostationary/polar-orbiting satellites and CCTV detection networks. However, there remains significant challenges in developing the necessary sensing, navigation, coordination, and communication subsystems that enable intelligent UAV teams. Further, federal regulations governing UAV deployment and autonomy pose constraints on real-world aerial testing, creating a disconnect between theoretical research …

Approval Letter For The Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Revised 2023 Residential Metals Abatement Program (Rmap) Field Sampling Plan (Fsp) – Indoor Dust – Group 8 – Gold Hill Lutheran Church (Creativity Factory Preschool) And United Congregational (Crayon Academy Preschool) (Dated July 26, 2023), Nikia Greene

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Submittal Of Operations And Maintenance Manual For The Horseshoe Bend Water Treatment Plant, Dave Griffis, Mark Thompson

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Re: Comment Letter For The Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Draft Butte Treatment Lagoons Stress Test Pre-Design Investigation Work Plan (Dated June 17, 2024), Emma Rott

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Rfc-Berkeley Pit Wpp-2024-02, Mark Thompson, Loren Burmeister

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Draft Final Insufficiently Reclaimed Sites Field Sampling Plan (Fsp) Bres No. 120 – Bonanza Dump., Mike Mcanulty

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Draft Final Insufficiently Reclaimed Sites Field Sampling Plan (Fsp) Bres No. 120 – Bonanza Dump., Mike Mcanulty

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

June 2024 Berkeley Pit Migratory Waterfowl Protection Monthly Report, Mark Thompson, Loren Burmeister

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Draft Final 2024 Residential Metals Abatement Program (Rmap) Brown’S Gulch Borrow Submittal #1, Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Green Transition Situations And Development Suggestions For Upstream Petroleum Industry, Lirong Dou, Feng Gao, Yun Peng, Xi Wang, Liang Xiong

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

In the current global energy transition process, which is accelerating overall but with further uncertainty, the global oil and gas industry is showing four major trends: a shift in business structure from oil and gas dominance to multi-energy complementarity, a shift in market structure from globalization to differentiation between the Eastern and Western hemispheres, a shift in policy orientation from radical transition to orderly development, and an expansion of technological innovation from traditional to emerging fields. Governments of various countries and international oil companies have made adjustments to policies, strategic goals, implementation paths, and other aspects based on their own …

Learning From “Nature-Based Solutions” To Promote Optimal Management Of Integrated Ecological Conservation And Restoration In Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, Jun Wang, Bojie Fu, Xiao Zhang, Yanxu Liu, Wenwu Zhao

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

The Qinghai-Xizang Plateau plays an important role as an ecological security barrier for China and the world, where the ecological environment has generally improved in recent years. Nevertheless, the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau still faces management challenges in dealing with the three relationships, namely, key problems and coordinated governance, natural recovery and artificial restoration, and high-quality development and high-level protection. This study proposes the application of “Nature-based Solutions” for adaptive management, including the implementation of ecological protection and restoration planning based on the “three-scale framework”, the ecological protection and restoration projects adaptation management under climate change and human disturbance based on quantitative …

Re: Approval Letter Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit Resubmittal Of The Grove Gulch Sedimentation Bay 100% Remedial Design (Submitted On July 10, 2024), Emma Rott

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Chemical And Morphological Characterization Of Airborne Particulate Matter At The Jackpile-Paguate Mine, Pueblo Of Laguna, New Mexico: Implications For Potential Metals Exposure, Andreanna C. Roros

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The inhalation of windblown particulate matter (PM) derived from abandoned uranium mines (AUMs) is a potential environmental health risk to Native American communities that live in proximity to these sites. However, the aeolian transport of metal-bearing PM from AUMs, as a potential exposure pathway, has not been investigated in any detail. In this study, we sampled airborne particulate matter within the Jackpile Mine located on the lands of the Pueblo of Laguna, New Mexico using passive sampling methods to understand the characteristics of dust within the mine site. The objective was to determine the elemental concentrations, mineralogy, and morphology of …

Final 2024 Residential Metals Abatement Program (Rmap) Quality Assurance Project Plan (Qapp) Annual Update (Non-Residential Parcels And Residential Daycares), Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Conditional Approval Letter For The 2024 Butte Priority Soils (Bpsou) Residential Metals Abatement Program (Rmap) – Quality Assurance Project Plan (Qapp) Annual Update (Non-Residential Parcels And Residential Daycares) (Dated July 1, 2024), Molly Roby

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

The Impacts Of Urbanization On Soil: The Effect On Decomposition Rates And Microbial Communities, Maximus C. Halekakis

DePaul Discoveries

The anthropogenic impacts of industrialization have left many ecosystems polluted. Soil, being an imperative actor for ecosystem functions, is important to observe under anthropogenic change. My study examined soil organic matter decomposition, microbial biomass carbon(MBC) and the fungal to bacteria ratio(F:B) across an urban-suburban-exurban landuse gradient in San Luis Obispo, California. A cotton strip assay as well as microBIOMETER® testing was performed on three geographic locations in and outside of the city. The cotton strip decomposition acts as an indicator for organic matter breakdown as microorganisms break down the cellulose in the strips causing them to lose mass and tensile …

Re: Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Final Unreclaimed Sites Field Sampling Plan (Fsp) Package #10: Ur-44, Ur-45, Ur-46, Ur-47, And Ur-48, Mike Mcanulty

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Re: Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Final Unreclaimed Sites Field Sampling Plan (Fsp) Package #11: Ur-49 And Ur-50, Mike Mcanulty

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Residential Metals Abatement Program Construction Completion Report (Non- Residential Parcels – Indoor Dust) Kennedy Elementary, Christopher Berg, Thomas J. Beckman

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Re: Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) 2024 Final Unreclaimed Sites Quality Assurance Project Plan (Qapp), Mike Mcanulty

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

A Comparative Analysis Of Openet For Evaluating Evapotranspiration In California Almond Orchards, Kyle Knipper, Martha Anderson, Nicholas Bambach, Forrest Melton, Zac Ellis, Yun Yang, John Volk, Andrew J. Mcelrone, William Kustas, Matthew Roby, Will Carrara, Sebastian Castro, Ayse Kilic, Joshua B. Fisher, Anderson Ruhoff, Gabriel B. Senay, Charles Morton, Sebastian Saa, Richard G. Allen

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

The almond industry in California faces water management challenges that are being exacerbated by droughts, climate change, and groundwater sustainability legislation. The Tree-crop Remote sensing of Evapotranspiration eXperiment (T-REX) aims to explore opportunities to improve precision irrigation management for woody perennial cropping systems. Almond orchards in the California Central Valley were equipped with eddy covariance flux measurements to evaluate satellite remote sensing-based evapotranspiration (RSET) models. OpenET provides high-resolution (30-m spatial and daily temporal) RSET data, synthesizing decades of research for practical water management. This study provides an evaluation of OpenET performance at six almond sites covering a large range in …

Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit Grove Gulch Sedimentation Bay 100% Remedial Design/Remedial Action Re-Submittal, Josh Bryson

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Re: Approval Letter For The Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou), Draft Final Residential Metals Abatement Program Investigation Summary Report (Non-Residential – Interior School Dust) - Gold Hill Lutheran Church (Creativity Factory Preschool) (Dated April 8, 2024), Molly Roby

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Re: Approval Letter For The Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou), Draft Residential Metals Abatement Program Construction Completion Report (Non-Residential Parcels – Indoor Dust) – Kennedy Elementary (Dated April 17, 2024), Molly Roby

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.