Environmental Monitoring Commons^™

Support For Drought Response And Community Preparedness: Filling The Gaps Between Plans And Action, Kelly Helm Smith, Crystal J. Stiles, Michael Hayes, Christopher Carparelli

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

This chapter examines which levels of government handle various aspects of drought, as well as interactions between levels of government, providing examples from states across the western United States. It also takes a look at aspects of drought that fall outside traditional lines of authority and disciplinary boundaries. As part of a discussion on how states support local drought response, the chapter details and contrasts how California and Colorado track public water supply restrictions, and describes Colorado’s process for incorporating input from river basins across the state into its water plan. Case studies focus on drought planning in the Klamath …

Compliance Calendar/Logbook For Bulk Gasoline Plants: Less That 19,999 Gallons/Day Throughput, Iowa Waste Reduction Center

Iowa Waste Reduction Center Book Gallery

EPA has requirements for Gasoline Distribution Bulk Terminals, Bulk Gasoline Plants and Pipeline Facilities under 40 CFR Part 63 Subpart BBBBBB (NESHAP 6B) to reduce air pollution. This calendar has been developed to assist Bulk Gasoline Plants in complying with NESHAP 6B. Additional Iowa specific NESHAP 6B rules are discussed later.

Plain Facts About Anthropogenic Global Climate Change And Warming: A Review, M. K. Cleaveland

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Anthropogenic global climate change (AGC) is proceeding rapidly. The proximate cause is the greenhouse effect of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases (GHG), which have rapidly accumulated in the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels and other human activities. Measurements of incoming and outgoing radiation have verified the warming imbalance. Effects manifest themselves in accelerating sea level rise and diminishment of the cryosphere. This has already created climatic refugees and water stress, and will destroy coastal infrastructure. It also impacts ecosystems and biodiversity in many ways. To avoid catastrophic effects, fossil fuel use must cease and carbon sinks must be …

Water-Quality Effects On Phytoplankton Species And Density And Trophic State Indices At Big Base And Little Base Lakes, Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas, June Through August, 2015, L. J. Driver, B. G. Justus

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Big Base and Little Base Lakes are located on Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas, and their close proximity to a dense residential population and an active military/aircraft installation make the lakes vulnerable to water-quality degradation. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted a study from June through August 2015 to investigate the effects of water quality on phytoplankton species and density and trophic state in Big Base and Little Base Lakes, with particular regard to nutrient concentrations. Nutrient concentrations, trophic-state indices, and the large part of the phytoplankton biovolume composed of cyanobacteria, indicate eutrophic conditions were prevalent for Big Base …

Adapting Near-Ultraviolet Colorimetry For Long-Term In Situ Monitoring Of Hexavalent Chromium In Groundwater Aquifers, Janine Carter

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This paper briefly describes sources of hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] and the risk it poses to human health and the environment; current methods used to regulate, monitor, and measure Cr(VI); the basic design of a submersible, direct-reading sensor in development for long-term monitoring of Cr(VI) concentration in natural waters; and the means developed to correct sensor readings for two common analytical interferences, turbidity and pH, that could lead to an incorrect measurement of Cr(VI). The principal purposes of this study are to analyze the current methods used to compensate for sample turbidity, to develop methods to compensate for sample pH, and …

Aquatic Food Webs And Heavy Metal Contamination In The Upper Blackfoot River, Montana, Jack E. Landers

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Acid mine drainage (AMD), characterized by low pH and abundant heavy metals, is a widespread problem affecting water quality and fish habitat in Montana. Montana’s upper Blackfoot River exhibits impaired water quality from historic mining that has significantly degraded aquatic habitat and reduced fish and invertebrate abundance in impacted streams. The goal of this study is to investigate the direct and indirect effects of mine-related heavy metals contamination on aquatic ecosystems by examining changes in aquatic community composition, bioaccumulation, and toxicity risk of heavy metals along a contamination gradient in the upper Blackfoot River. Three primary research questions were addressed …

Earthquake Hazard Mitigation In The New Madrid Seismic Zone: Science And Public Policy, Alice M. Orton, Zhenming Wang, Lanmin Wang, Edward W. Woolery

Report of Investigations--KGS

In the central United States, earthquake sources that are not well defined, long earthquake recurrence intervals, and uncertain ground-motion attenuation models have contributed to an overstatement of seismic hazard for the New Madrid Seismic Zone on the national seismic hazard maps published by the U.S. Geological Survey. A series of informal interviews in western Kentucky with local businesspersons, public officials, and other professionals in occupations associated with seismic-hazard mitigation discussed seismic-mitigation policies in relation to depressed local economy. Scientific and relative economic analysis was then performed using scenario earthquake models developed with the Federal Emergency management Agency's Hazus-MH software. The …

Mangrove Enhancement As A Climate Change Adaptation Strategy In The Republic Of The Marshall Islands (Rmi): Potential Ecosystem Service Shifts Following Colonization, Andrew S. Harwood

Environmental Science and Management Professional Master's Project Reports

The ability of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Pacific Island communities to adapt to the increasing sea-levels, storm surge, saltwater intrusion, and other threats posed by global climate change is critical to the survival of many of these local communities as well as their cultures (LivingIslands.org). One of the world’s most striking examples of a nation at great risk is the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) in the central Pacific Ocean. Due to a combination of factors, including the country’s extremely low elevation above sea-level (an average of 2 meters) and lack of adequate structures to provide safety …

Greenroof Study: Final Report, An Assessment Of Greenroof Design And Maintenance In Portland, Oregon: 2011 – 2013, Windy Carney Beck

Environmental Science and Management Professional Master's Project Reports

In 1999 the City of Portland (City) began to require that stormwater management facilities (SMF) be built when private property is newly developed or redeveloped (City Code Chapter 17.38). Proper maintenance and upkeep of SMFs is essential to ensuring they function appropriately. The City's Maintenance Inspection Program (MIP) is tasked with inspecting stormwater management facilities on private properties in order to ensure that they are being properly operated and maintained and to meet provisions of the City's NPDES Municipal Separated Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit.

Greenroofs are one type of SMF that are installed to satisfy this requirement. Understanding the …

Management Plan For Western Painted Turtle (Chrysemys Picta Belli) At Fairview Creek Headwaters, Ashley Smithers

Environmental Science and Management Professional Master's Project Reports

Western painted turtles (Chrysemys picta belli) are found occupying Fairview Creek Headwaters (FCH) in Gresham, Oregon. This urban stream contains a large wetland with an adjacent butte, all managed by the City of Gresham. This management plan addresses the preferred habitat and population of turtles at the site. A habitat delineation of the site revealed specific locations where habitat improvements could take place as well as areas of already beneficial habitat. Two site plans were prepared showing areas of the site that could be enhanced with nesting habitat as well as additional aquatic habitat and basking habitat. A habitat study …

A Small-Scale Water Budget Approach And Water Quality Assessment: A Case Study For Calderas Lake, Guatemala, Edrick Ramos

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Increases in water demand and urban development in Calderas community over the past decade have led to questions about the hydrology, water quality, quantity and sustainable management of Calderas Lake micro-basin. However, studies on baseline hydrology are limited for rural communities located inside volcanic origin watersheds of Guatemala. The scope of this study was to characterize the hydrology and establish a method to: 1) quantify a water budget, and 2) qualify the water quality of a lacustrine system that supply water for about 17,000 inhabitants on the state limits or rural Guatemala City. Mean annual rainfall and temperature at the …

Adaptive Management For Soil Ecosystem Services, Hannah E. Birge, Rebecca A. Bevans, Craig R. Allen, David G. Angeler, Sara G. Baer, Diana H. Wall Colorado State University

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Transformative Environmental Governance, Brian C. Chaffin, Ahjond Garmestani, Lance Gunderson, Melinda Harm Benson, David G. Angeler, Craig Anthony (Tony) Arnold, Barbara Cosens, Robin Kundis Craig, J.B. B. Ruhl, Craig R. Allen

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Transformative governance is an approach to environmental governance that has the capacity to respond to, manage, and trigger regime shifts in coupled social-ecological systems (SESs) at multiple scales. The goal of transformative governance is to actively shift degraded SESs to alternative, more desirable, or more functional regimes by altering the structures and processes that define the system. Transformative governance is rooted in ecological theories to explain cross-scale dynamics in complex systems, as well as social theories of change, innovation, and technological transformation. Similar to adaptive governance, transformative governance involves a broad set of governance components, but requires additional capacity to …

Using Standardized Fishery Data To Inform Rehabilitation Efforts, Jonathan J. Spurgeon, Nathaniel T. Stewart, Mark A. Pegg, Kevin L. Pope, Mark T. Porath

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Lakes and reservoirs progress through an aging process often accelerated by human activities, resulting in degradation or loss of ecosystem services. Resource managers thus attempt to slow or reverse the negative effects of aging using a myriad of rehabilitation strategies. Sustained monitoring programs to assess the efficacy of rehabilitation strategies are often limited; however, long-term standardized fishery surveys may be a valuable data source from which to begin evaluation.We present 3 case studies using standardized fishery survey data to assess rehabilitation efforts stemming from the Nebraska Aquatic Habitat Plan, a large-scale program with the mission to rehabilitate waterbodies within the …

Deathcore, Creativity, And Scientific Thinking, David G. Angeler, Shana M. Sundstrom, Craig R. Allen

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Background Major scientific breakthroughs are generally the result of materializing creative ideas, the result of an inductive process that sometimes spontaneously and unexpectedly generates a link between thoughts and/or objects that did not exist before. Creativity is the cornerstone of scientific thinking, but scientists in academia are judged by metrics of quantification that often leave little room for creative thinking. In many scientific fields, reductionist approaches are rewarded and new ideas viewed skeptically. As a result, scientific inquiry is often confined to narrow but safe disciplinary ivory towers, effectively preventing profoundly creative explorations that could yield unexpected benefits.

This paper …

Fishing For Ecosystem Services, Kevin L. Pope, Mark A. Pegg, Nicholas W. Cole, Stephen F. Siddons, Alexis D. Fedele, Brian S. Harmon, Ryan L. Ruskamp, Dylan R. Turner, Caleb C. Uerling

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Ecosystems are commonly exploited and manipulated to maximize certain human benefits. Such changes can degrade systems, leading to cascading negative effects that may be initially undetected, yet ultimately result in a reduction, or complete loss, of certain valuable ecosystem services. Ecosystembased management is intended to maintain ecosystem quality and minimize the risk of irreversible change to natural assemblages of species and to ecosystem processes while obtaining and maintaining long-term socioeconomic benefits. We discuss policy decisions in fishery management related to commonly manipulated environments with a focus on influences to ecosystem services. By focusing on broader scales, managing for ecosystem services, …

Genetic Correlates Of Individual Differences In Sleep Behavior Of Free-Living Great Tits (Parus Major), Erica F. Stuber, Christine Baumgartner, Niels J. Dingemanse, Bart Kempenaers, Jakob C. Mueller

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Within populations, free-living birds display considerable variation in observable sleep behaviors, reflecting dynamic interactions between individuals and their environment. Genes are expected to contribute to repeatable between-individual differences in sleep behaviors, which may be associated with individual fitness. We identified and genotyped polymorphisms in nine candidate genes for sleep, and measured five repeatable sleep behaviors in free-living great tits (Parus major), partly replicating a previous study in blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus). Microsatellites in the CLOCK and NPAS2 clock genes exhibited an association with sleep duration relative to night length, and morning latency to exit the nest …

Body Size Distributions Signal A Regime Shift In A Lake Ecosystem, Trisha L. Spanbauer, Craig R. Allen, David G. Angeler, Tarsha Eason, Sherilyn C. Fritz, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Kirsty L. Nash, Jeffery R. Stone, Craig A. Stow, Shana M. Sundstrom

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Communities of organisms, from mammals to microorganisms, have discontinuous distributions of body size. This pattern of size structuring is a conservative trait of community organization and is a product of processes that occur at multiple spatial and temporal scales. In this study, we assessed whether body size patterns serve as an indicator of a threshold between alternative regimes. Over the past 7000 years, the biological communities of Foy Lake (Montana, USA) have undergone a major regime shift owing to climate change. We used a palaeoecological record of diatom communities to estimate diatom sizes, and then analysed the discontinuous distribution of …

Factors Influencing Recruitment Of Walleye And White Bass To Three Distinct Early Ontogenetic Stages, Jason A. Deboer, Kevin L. Pope

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Determining the factors that influence recruitment to sequential ontogenetic stages is critical for understanding recruitment dynamics of fish and for effective management of sportfish, particularly in dynamic and unpredictable environments. We sampled walleye (Sander vitreus) and white bass (Morone chrysops) at 3 ontogenetic stages (age 0 during spring: ‘age-0 larval’; age 0 during autumn: ‘age-0 juvenile’; and age 1 during autumn: ‘age-1 juvenile’) from 3 reservoirs. We developed multiple linear regression models to describe factors influencing age-0 larval, age-0 juvenile and age-1 juvenile walleye and white bass abundance indices. Our models explained 40–80% (68 ± 9%; …

Adaptive Management For Ecosystem Services, Hannah E. Birgé, Craig R. Allen, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Kevin L. Pope

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Management of natural resources for the production of ecosystem services, which are vital for human well-being, is necessary even when there is uncertainty regarding system response to management action. This uncertainty is the result of incomplete controllability, complex internal feedbacks, and nonlinearity that often interferes with desired management outcomes, and insufficient understanding of nature and people. Adaptive management was developed to reduce such uncertainty. We present a framework for the application of adaptive management for ecosystem services that explicitly accounts for cross-scale tradeoffs in the production of ecosystem services. Our framework focuses on identifying key spatiotemporal scales (plot, patch, ecosystem, …

Landscape Context Influences Nest Survival In A Midwest Grassland, Victoria L. Simonsen, Joseph J. Fontaine

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Although the management and restoration of habitat is the key method to conserve species of interest, local habitat management often fails to elicit desired responses in populations. Landscape features beyond the local habitat scale affect the population dynamics of ring-necked pheasants (Phasianus colchicus), but the mechanism behind this response is unknown. One possibility is that nest survival, which is primarily reduced by nest predation, is regulating pheasant responses to the landscape. We investigated the extent to which land use affected nest survival by studying 202 artificial nests on 12 Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) fields in Nebraska, USA with …

Management Applications Of Discontinuity Theory, David G. Angeler, Craig R. Allen, Chris Barichievy, Tarsha Eason, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Nicholas A.J. Graham, Dean Granholm, Lance H. Gunderson, Melinda Knutson, Kristy L. Nash, R. John Nelson, Magnus Nystrom, Trisha L. Spanbauer, Craig A. Stow, Shana M. Sundstrom

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

1. Human impacts on the environment are multifaceted and can occur across distinct spatiotemporal scales. Ecological responses to environmental change are therefore difficult to predict, and entail large degrees of uncertainty. Such uncertainty requires robust tools for management to sustain ecosystem goods and services and maintain resilient ecosystems.

2. We propose an approach based on discontinuity theory that accounts for patterns and processes at distinct spatial and temporal scales, an inherent property of ecological systems. Discontinuity theory has not been applied in natural resource management and could therefore improve ecosystem management because it explicitly accounts for ecological complexity.

3. Synthesis …

Quantifying Spatial Resilience, Craig R. Allen, David G. Angeler, Graeme S. Cumming, Carl Folke, Dirac L. Twidwell, Daniel R. Uden

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

1. Anthropogenic stressors affect the ecosystems upon which humanity relies. In some cases when resilience is exceeded, relatively small linear changes in stressors can cause relatively abrupt and nonlinear changes in ecosystems.

2. Ecological regime shifts occur when resilience is exceeded and ecosystems enter a new local equilibrium that differs in its structure and function from the previous state. Ecological resilience, the amount of disturbance that a system can withstand before it shifts into an alternative stability domain, is an important framework for understanding and managing ecological systems subject to collapse and reorganization.

3. Recently, interest in the influence of …

Biological Invasions, Ecological Resilience And Adaptive Governance, Brian C. Chaffin, Ahjond S. Garmestani, David G. Angeler, Dustin L. Herrmann, Craig A. Stow, Magnus Nystrom, Jan Sendzimir, Matthew E. Hopton, Jurek Kolasa, Craig R. Allen

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

In a world of increasing interconnections in global trade as well as rapid change in climate and land cover, the accelerating introduction and spread of invasive species is a critical concern due to associated negative social and ecological impacts, both real and perceived. Much of the societal response to invasive species to date has been associated with negative economic consequences of invasions. This response has shaped a war-like approach to addressing invasions, one with an agenda of eradications and intense ecological restoration efforts towards prior or more desirable ecological regimes. This trajectory often ignores the concept of ecological resilience and …

Avoiding Decline: Fostering Resilience And Sustainability In Midsize Cities, Craig R. Allen, Hannah E. Birge, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt, Rebecca Bevans, Jessica L. Burnett, Barbara A. Cosens, Ximing Cai, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Igor Linkov, Elizabeth A. Scott, Mark D. Solomon, Daniel R. Uden

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Eighty-five percent of United States citizens live in urban areas. However, research surrounding the resilience and sustainability of complex urban systems focuses largely on coastal megacities (>1 million people). Midsize cities differ from their larger counterparts due to tight urban-rural feedbacks with their immediate natural environments that result from heavy reliance and close management of local ecosystem services. They also may be less path-dependent than larger cities due to shorter average connection length among system components, contributing to higher responsiveness among social, infrastructural, and ecological feedbacks. These distinct midsize city features call for a framework that organizes information and …

2016 Nebraska Groundwater Quality Monitoring Report

Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality: Reports

The 2001 Nebraska Legislature passed LB329 (Neb. Rev. Stat. §46-1304) which, in part, directed the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) to report on groundwater quality monitoring in Nebraska. Reports have been issued annually since December 2001. The text of the statute applicable to this report follows: “The Department of Environmental Quality shall prepare a report outlining the extent of ground water quality monitoring conducted by natural resources districts during the preceding calendar year. The department shall analyze the data collected for the purpose of determining whether or not ground water quality is degrading or improving and shall present the …

A Comparison Between 2010 And 2006 Air Quality And Meteorological Conditions, And Emissions And Boundary Conditions Used In Simulations Of The Aqmeii-2 North American Domain, Till E. Stoeckenius, Christian Hogrefe, Justin Zagunis, Timonthy M. Sturtz, Benjamin Wells, Tanarit Sakulyanontvittaya

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

Several participants in Phase 2 of the Air Quality Model Evaluation International Initiative (AQMEII-2) who are applying coupled models to the North American domain are comparing model results for two years, 2006 and 2010, with the goal of performing dynamic model evaluation. From a modeling perspective, the differences of interest are the large reductions in domain total emissions of NO_x (21%) and SO₂ (37%) from 2006 to 2010 and significant differences in meteorological conditions between these two years. The emission reductions occurred mostly in the eastern U.S, with some reduction in emissions from western wildfires in 2010. Differences …

Potential Aquifer Vulnerability In Regions Down-Gradient From Uranium In Situ Recovery (Isr) Sites, James A. Saunders, Bruce E. Pivetz, Nathan Voorhies, Richard T. Wilkin

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

Sandstone-hosted roll-front uranium ore deposits originate when U(VI) dissolved in groundwater is reduced and precipitated as insoluble U(IV) minerals. Groundwater redox geochemistry, aqueous complexation, and solute migration are important in leaching uranium from source rocks and transporting it in low concentrations to a chemical redox interface where it is deposited in an ore zone typically containing the uranium minerals uraninite, pitchblende, and/or coffinite; various iron sulfides; native selenium; clays; and calcite. In situ recovery (ISR) of uranium ores is a process of contacting the uranium mineral deposit with leaching and oxidizing (lixiviant) fluids via injection of the lixiviant into wells …

Identification Of Putative Geographically Isolated Wetlands Of The Conterminous United States, Charles R. Lane, Ellen D'Amico

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

Geographically isolated wetlands (GIWs) are wetlands completely surrounded by uplands. While common throughout the United States (U.S.), there have heretofore been no nationally available, spatially explicit estimates of GIW extent, complicating efforts to understand the myriad biogeochemical, hydrological, and habitat functions of GIWs and hampering conservation and management efforts at local, state, and national scales. We used a 10-m geospatial buffer as a proxy for hydrological or ecological connectivity of National Wetlands Inventory palustrine and lacustrine wetland systems to nationally mapped and available stream, river, and lake data. We identified over 8.3 million putative GIWs across the conterminous U.S., encompassing …

Water Consumption Estimates Of The Biodiesel Process In The Us, Qingshi Tu, Mingming Lu, Y. Jeffrey Yang, Don Scott

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

As a renewable alternative to petroleum diesel, biodiesel has been widely used in the US and the world. However, its potential impact on water resources has not been much evaluated. This study investigates water consumption from the biodiesel process, which includes three stages: soybean irrigation, soybean-to-soybean oil processing, and biodiesel manufacturing, at both national and state levels. Mass-based allocation is performed and water consumption at the three stages is obtained on the basis of million gallons per year and gallon water per gallon biodiesel (gal/gal). The normalized water consumption (water intensity) of the irrigation, oil processing, and biodiesel production stages …