Sustainability Commons^™

Modeling Vapor Transfer In Soil Water And Heat Simulations: A Modularized, Partially-Coupled Approach, Zhuangji Wang, Dennis Timlin, David Fleisher, Wenguang Sun, Sahila Beegum, Sanai Li, Ya Chen, Vandimalla R. Reddy, Katherine Tully, Robert Horton

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Coupled water and heat transfer models are widely used to analyze soil water content and temperature dynamics, evaluate agricultural management systems, and support crop growth modelling. In relatively dry soils, vapor transfer, rather than liquid water flux, becomes the main pathway for water redistribution. However, in some modularized soil simulators, e.g., 2DSOIL (Timlin et al., 1996), vapor transfer is not included, which may induce errors in soil water and heat modelling. Directly embedding vapor transfer into existing water and heat transfer modules may violate the modularized architecture of those simulators. Therefore, the objectives of this study are to design a …

Ferrihydrite Enrichment In The Rhizosphere Of Unsaturated Soil Improves Nutrient Retention While Limiting Arsenic And Uranium Plant Uptake, Arindam Malakar, Daniel D. Snow, Michael Kaiser, Jordan Shields, Bijesh Maharjan, Harkamal Walia, Daran Rudnick, Chittaranjan Ray

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Improvement of nutrient use efficiency and limiting trace elements such as arsenic and uranium bioavailability is critical for sustainable agriculture and food safety. Arsenic and uranium possess different properties and mobility in soils, which complicates the effort to reduce their uptake by plants. Here, we postulate that unsaturated soil amended with ferrihydrite nanominerals leads to improved nutrient retention and helps reduce uptake of these geogenic contaminants. Unsaturated soil is primarily oxic and can provide a stable environment for ferrihydrite nanominerals. To demonstrate the utility of ferrihydrite soil amendment, maize was grown in an unsaturated agricultural soil that is known to …

Future Climate Streamflow Estimation In The Donnelly River Catchment, Justin Hughes, Bill Wang

Natural resources commissioned reports

The Donnelly River is located in the south-west of Western Australia. An irrigation development has been proposed in the catchment that would extract water from the Donnelly River and store this in an off stream reservoir for irrigation use. Given the known issues related to non-stationarity and hydrological prediction, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) contracted CSIRO to review the hydrological model that was used to estimate future climate streamflow in the Donnelly River. This model was owned and operated by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER). The CSIRO review of the model, which also …

Droughtscape, Winter 2022, National Drought Mitigation Center

DroughtScape: Quarterly Newsletter of the National Drought Mitigation Center (2007–2023)

DroughtScape, Winter 2022

Quantifying Water Security In West Virginia And The Potomac River Basin, Eric Carl Edvard Sinius Sjostedt

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

All healthy ecosystems, communities, and economies are founded on access to clean, adequate water sources to support ecosystem services, provide clean drinking water, and allow the production of water-intensive goods and services. The state of available water resources must be analyzed through the lens of water security, defined as the capability to safeguard sustainable access to adequate quantities of acceptable quality water for people, the economy, and ecosystems. Mountain regions are sources of freshwater resources for downstream regions, which produce disproportionately higher runoff than downstream regions. As a result, mountain regions are often referred to as natural water towers …

Source Apportionment And Health Risk Assessment Of Nitrate In Foothill Aquifers Of Western Ghats, South India, Banajarani Panda, S. Chidambaram, Daniel D. Snow, Arindam Malakar, Dhiraj Kr Singh, L. Ramanathan

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

The present research reports the level of nitrate (NO₃^-), associated health risks and possible sources of contamination in groundwater from south India. Many samples (32%) are above or approaching the recommended level of NO₃^- for safe drinking water. The correlation analysis indicates different sources of NO₃^- contamination in different regions rather than a common origin. The isotopic measurements provide information about potential nitrogen sources contributing NO₃^- to the groundwater. Based on isotope analysis, the sources of NO₃^- in the groundwater of this region are likely to be from (a) …

Reinforcement Learning Policy Gradient Methods For Reservoir Operation Management And Control, Sadegh Sadeghi Tabas

All Theses

Changes in demand, various hydrological inputs, and environmental stressors are among issues that water managers and policymakers face on a regular basis. These concerns have sparked interest in applying different techniques to determine reservoir operation policy and improve reservoir release decisions. As the resolution of the analysis rises, it becomes more difficult to effectively represent a real-world system using traditional approaches for determining the best reservoir operation policy. One of the challenges is the “curse of dimensionality,” which occurs when the discretization of the state and action spaces becomes finer or when more state or action variables are taken into …

Droughtscape, Fall 2021, National Drought Mitigation Center

DroughtScape: Quarterly Newsletter of the National Drought Mitigation Center (2007–2023)

DroughtScape, Fall 2021

Fractured Rock Groundwater Wa Wheatbelt: Data And Methodology Review, Louise Hopgood, Richard Nixon

Natural resources commissioned reports

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) in partnership with Water Corporation, working with Murdoch and Curtin universities, are looking at new options to improve farm water security in the wheatbelt of Western Australia.

Winter rainfall has declined since 2000 and dams, traditionally used for farm water supply, no longer provide sufficient or reliable water, especially after 1 to 2 below average years. Increasingly, groundwater supplies are being considered to supply farm needs, including those from fractured rock aquifers, with opportunities to desalinate to improve water quality.

This project undertook to review groundwater availability in fractured rock aquifers …

Droughtscape, Summer 2021, National Drought Mitigation Center

DroughtScape: Quarterly Newsletter of the National Drought Mitigation Center (2007–2023)

DroughtScape, Summer 2021

Biotransformation Of Doxycycline By Brevundimonas Naejangsanensis And Sphingobacterium Mizutaii Strains, Ting He, Jianguo Bao, Yifei Leng, Daniel D. Snow, Shuqiong Kong, Tong Wang, Xu Li

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

The fate of doxycycline (DC), a second generation tetracycline antibiotic, in the environment has drawn increasing attention in recent years due to its wide usage. Little is known about the biodegradability of DC in the environment. The objective of this study was to characterize the biotransformation of DC by pure bacterial strains with respect to reaction kinetics under different environmental conditions and biotransformation products. Two bacterial strains, Brevundimonas naejangsanensis DD1 and Sphingobacterium mizutaii DD2, were isolated from chicken litter and characterized for their biotransformation capability of DC. Results show both strains rely on cometabolism to biotransform DC with tryptone as …

Quantifying The Contribution Of Solid Precipitates To The Total Alkalinity In A Coal-Mine Discharge, Lili Lei, Dorothy Vesper

Presentations

Flocculates and precipitates from coal mine drainage (CMD) are an integral part of the geochemical setting in mining-impacted streams. The precipitates may be very small, amorphous, and, depending on their chemistry, play a role in the storage and release of alkalinity. To evaluate the potential impact of CMD-solids on alkalinity, we conducted various tests using model and natural solids. Laboratory measurements of alkalinity are operationally defined by a titration to a fixed pH. When the solid-solution mixtures were tested using the standard alkalinity measurement method, no alkalinity could be detected; however, a possible reason for that was that the standard …

Evaluating Impacts Of Anthropogenic Disturbance To Wetland Water Quality Functions, Sindupa De Silva, Jim Anderson, Jason A. Hubbart, Michael P. Strager, Elliott Kellner, Christopher T. Rota, Elizabeth A. Byers

Presentations

Wetland ecosystems play fundamental roles in regulating our freshwater resources, yet they are not comprehensively protected from degradation and loss. West Virginia, USA has wetlands across diverse landscapes and geography that feed into both the Chesapeake Bay and Gulf of Mexico. The state is also comprised of diverse anthropogenic land-use practices. We are assessing 200 wetlands over 2 years to evaluate how anthropogenic disturbance impact wetland water quality functions. Select water quality parameters (20), and relative diversity and abundance of vegetation and macroinvertebrates will be used as bioindicators. They will be compared with GIS assessments of watershed land cover/ land-use …

Do Mitigated Wetlands Support Similar Small Mammal Communities As Natural Wetlands?, Krista Noe, Mack Frantz, Christopher T. Rota, Jim Anderson

Presentations

Wetlands provide many ecosystem services and play an important ecological role in wildlife communities. Although wetland mitigation is a standard tool to combat losses to natural wetlands, it is essential to understand if mitigated wetlands are truly replacing natural wetlands in their full capacity. Because one important role of wetlands is to provide habitat for wildlife communities, it is important to determine if these created or restored wetlands can foster a wildlife community that is similar to natural wetlands. One understudied taxa in the realm of wetland mitigation research is small mammals. Our objectives are to examine community composition, occupancy, …

Estimating Irrigation In Rice Fields With A Water Balance Approach, Kristen Trinh

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Global food production must increase to meet the demand associated with increased population growth, so irrigation water use will continue to rise. Therefore, it is important to monitor water usage particularly when an irrigation flowmeter is unavailable. A field water balance was created for a selection of rice fields in East-central Arkansas under observation in 2018 and 2019. From those, irrigation inputs are deduced from the water balance alone. First, each field had sensors that collected water table level (WTL) data. Next, other water inputs and outputs such as precipitation and evapotranspiration (ET) were collected from two modeled sources. The …

Low Impact Development: Low-Maintenance Design To Encourage Residential Adoption Of Sustainable Systems, Haley Ellis

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Residential adoption of low-impact development (LID) technology can positively impact downstream watershed hydrology by reducing total volumetric discharge from the residential site. This reduction can provide economic, environmental, and social benefits for the residents as well as the community at large. Additionally, homeowners are often affected by stormwater related issues, like flooding or washout, that could be easily mitigated with a sustainably engineered LID structure or network. Engineering for sustainability often includes the blending of several objectives to provide greater overall benefit. This thesis compares the outflow characteristics of three low-maintenance residential LID design scenarios differing in rain garden soil …

Removal Of Carbamazepine Onto Modified Zeolitic Tuff In Different Water Matrices: Batch And Continuous Flow Experiments, Othman A. Al-Mashaqbeh, Diya A. Alsafadi, Layal Z. Alsalhi, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt, Daniel D. Snow

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Carbamazepine (CBZ) is the most frequently detected pharmaceutical residues in aquatic environments effluent by wastewater treatment plants. Batch and column experiments were conducted to evaluate the removal of CBZ from ultra-pure water and wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent using raw zeolitic tuff (RZT) and surfactant modified zeolite (SMZ). Point zero net charge (pHpzc), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) were investigated for adsorbents to evaluate the physiochemical changes resulted from the modification process using Hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HDTMA-Br). XRD and FTIR showed that the surfactant modification of RZT has created an amorphous surface with new alkyl …

Droughtscape, Spring 2021, National Drought Mitigation Center

DroughtScape: Quarterly Newsletter of the National Drought Mitigation Center (2007–2023)

DroughtScape, Spring 2021

Moving Beyond ‘More Crop Per Drop’: Insights From Two Decades Of Research On Agricultural Water Productivity, Meredith Giordano, Susanne M. Scheierling, David O. Tréguer, Hugh Turral, Peter G. Mccornick

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Concern over increasing water scarcity has led to the introduction of the concept of agricultural water productivity and an emphasis on interventions to achieve ‘more crop per drop’. Yet, a strong debate continues on how the concept is to be defined and used. Drawing largely from the irrigation literature, the origins of the concept and its methodological developments are reviewed, and its use in applied work over two decades is discussed. Based on this analysis of conceptual and applied research, key insights into the concept’s contributions and limitations are presented, as well as opportunities for further refinements.

A Model-Based Exploratory Study Of Sulfur Dioxide Dispersions From Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations In The Southeastern United States, Jesse Winchester, Rezaul Mahmood, William Rodgers, Philip J. Silva, Nanh Lovanh, Joshua D. Durkee, John Loughrin

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

In the Southeastern U. S. there are Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) that emit a variety of gases, including SO₂. Sulfur is emitted as reduced sulfur compounds and can react in the atmosphere to produce SO₂. It is expected that the concentra­tion and spread of SO₂ emissions from these sources would differ between wet and dry periods. In this research, SO₂ emissions from locations representing CAFOs and its dispersion over the south­eastern U.S. were simulated through sensitivity experiments using the Weather Research and Forecasting-Chemistry (WRF- Chem) model. Simulations were performed for dry periods and …

Transforming Agriculture In The Pilbara: Interpretation Of Airborne Electromagnetic (Aem) Data, Aaron C. Davis, Mike Donn, John A. Simons, Christopher Schelfhout Dr, Olga Barron

Natural resources commissioned reports

This report focusses on hydrogeophysical and geological interpretation of the inversion results of an airborne electromagnetic (AEM) survey conducted north of Newman, Western Australia, in October and November 2019. The interpretation of the inversions is regional in scale, although we pay specific attention to interpretation of the near-surface transported cover sequences north and west of the Fortescue River. Specifically, we attempt to locate aquifers and near-surface geological structures that are likely to provide good quality groundwater for future extraction and storage. Analysis of the electrical conductivity structure of the ground also provides an estimate of the depth of the groundwater …

Pesticide Occurrence And Persistence Entering Recreational Lakes In Watersheds Of Varying Land Uses, Jessica Satiroff, Tiffany Messer, Aaron R. Mittelstet, Daniel D. Snow

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Currently little is known of newer pesticide classes and their occurrence and persistence in recreational lakes. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to (1) assess average pesticide concentrations and loadings entering recreational lakes in three mixed land use watersheds throughout the growing season, (2) evaluate pesticide persistence longitudinally within the lakes, and (3) perform an ecotoxicity assessment. Six sampling campaigns were conducted at three lakes from April through October 2018 to measure the occurrence and persistence during pre, middle, and post growing season. Polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS) were placed in streams near lake inlets and monthly samples …

Occurrence Of Arsenite In Surface And Groundwater Associated With A Perennial Stream Located In Western Nebraska, Usa, Arindam Malakar, Rajesh Singh, Jeffrey Westrop, Karrie A. Weber, Christopher N. Elofson, Manish Kumar, Daniel D. Snow

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Dissolved arsenic typically results from chemical weathering of arsenic rich sediments and is most often found in oxidized forms in surface water. The mobility of arsenic is controlled by its valence state and also by its association with iron oxides minerals, the forms of which are both influenced by abiotic and biotic processes in aqueous environment. In this study, speciation methods were used to measure and confirm the presence of reduced arsenic species in the surface water of Frenchman creek, a gaining stream that crosses the Colorado- Nebraska border. Selective extraction analysis of aquifer and stream bed sediments shows that …

Droughtscape, Winter 2021, National Drought Mitigation Center

DroughtScape: Quarterly Newsletter of the National Drought Mitigation Center (2007–2023)

DroughtScape, Winter 2021

Supporting Data - Recycling Of Nitrate And Organic Matter By Plants In The Vadose Zone Of A Saturated Riparian Buffer, Patience Bosompemaa, Eric Wade Peterson, William Perry, Wondwosen M. Seyoum

Faculty Publications - Geography, Geology, and the Environment

Data from the analysis of nitrate as nitrogen in the soil and soil pore water within the vadose zone of a saturated riparian buffer (SRB). Additional properties measured include: Organic matter (as %), bulk density, moisture content, and porosity. Soil samples were collected pre-growing season (n=57) and post-growing season from two plots (n=29): vegetated plots and barren plots. Statistical comparison of among the treatments, Pre-growing season, plot with plants, and barren plot, and among the different depths, 30 cm, 60 cm, and 90 cm identified significantly different soil NO₃^--N concentrations. Plots with plants experienced a reduction in …

Supporting Data – Floating Gardens, Chicago River, April 29, 2018 To November 19, 2019, Eric Wade Peterson, Phil Nicodemus, Emmett Andrew Spooner

Faculty Publications - Geography, Geology, and the Environment

Between April 29, 2018 to November 19, 2019, water samples were collected upstream and downstream of a floating garden installed along the Chicago River. At each location, samples were collected at the surface and at 0.3 m below the surface. In-situ measurements of Dissolved Oxygen, Specific Conductance, and Temperature were recorded with a YSI 85. Anion samples were analyzed using a Ion Chromatograph for fluoride (F^-), chloride (Cl^-), nitrate as nitrogen (NO₃-N), phosphate (PO₄^-3), and sulfate (SO₄^-2). The available dataset provides the recorded field parameters and the analyzed …

Nanomaterials In The Environment, Human Exposure Pathway, And Health Effects: A Review, Arindam Malakar, Sushil R. Kanel, Chittaranjan Ray, Daniel D. Snow, Mallikarjuna N. Nadagouda

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Nanomaterials (NMs), both natural and synthetic, are produced, transformed, and exported into our environment daily. Natural NMs annual flux to the environment is around 97% of the total and is significantly higher than synthetic NMs. However, synthetic NMs are considered to have a detrimental effect on the environment. The extensive usage of synthetic NMs in different fields, including chemical, engineering, electronics, and medicine, makes them susceptible to be discharged into the atmosphere, various water sources, soil, and landfill waste. As ever-larger quantities of NMs end up in our environment and start interacting with the biota, it is crucial to understand …

Baseflow Nitrate Dynamics Within Nested Watersheds Of An Agricultural Stream In Nebraska, Usa, Galen Richards, Troy E. Gilmore, Aaron R. Mittelstet, Tiffany Messer, Daniel D. Snow

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

There is a need to evaluate high surface nitrate concentrations across agricultural watersheds, both spatially and temporally, to increase understanding of source and timing of nitrogen loads in streams and rivers. Bazile Creek is a high-nitrate stream originating in the agriculturally intensive Bazile Groundwater Management Area of Eastern Nebraska, USA. It is a gaining stream that receives groundwater with high nitrate concentrations originating from nonpoint sources. The objective of this study was to determine spatial and temporal variability of baseflow nitrate concentrations in Bazile Creek and its tributaries and to relate this variability to watershed characteristics. Surface-water nitrate samples were …

Surveillance Of Plasticizers, Bisphenol A, Steroids And Caffeine In Surface Water Of River Ganga And Sundarban Wetland Along The Bay Of Bengal: Occurrence, Sources, Estrogenicity Screening And Ecotoxicological Risk Assessment, Paromita Chakraborty, Nancy W. Shappell, Moitraiyee Mukhopadhyay, Sathaporn Onanong, Daniel D. Snow

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

The transboundary River Ganga serves as a conduit for meltwater from the Himalayas and is a major freshwater source for two thirds of Indian population before emptying into the Sundarban Delta, the largest estuary in the Bay of Bengal. Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) such as phthalic acid esters (PAEs) and bisphenol A (BPA) used as organic plastic additives can pollute the aquatic environment receiving plastic litter. Hence, we have investigated these EDCs in water samples from Ganga and Sundarban wetland of India. Since these compounds exhibit estrogenic potential, we have further measured steroids and evaluated the estrogenic activity (estradiol equivalents, …

Transmission Routes Of The Microbiome And Resistome From Manure To Soil And Lettuce, Yuepeng Sun, Daniel D. Snow, Harkamal Walia, Xu Li

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

The land application of animal manure can introduce manure microbiome and resistome to croplands where food crops are grown. The objective of this study was to characterize the microbiome and resistome on and in the leaves of lettuce grown in manured soil and identify the main transmission routes of microbes and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) from soil to the episphere and endosphere of lettuce. Shotgun metagenomic results show that manure application significantly altered the composition of the microbiome and resistome of surface soil. SourceTracker analyses indicate that manure and original soil were the main source of the microbiome and resistome …