Sustainability Commons^™

Droughtscape, Spring 2021, National Drought Mitigation Center

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

DroughtScape, Spring 2021

Resource Assessment Report Abrolhos Islands And Mid-West Trawl Managed Fishery Resource, Mervi Kangas, A Chandrapavan, Anne Wilkins, E. A. Fisher, S. Evans

WA Marine Stewardship Council report series

This document provides a cumulative description and assessment of the Abrolhos Islands and Mid-West Trawl Managed Fishery (AIMWTMF) and all of the fishing activities (i.e. fisheries / fishing sectors) affecting this resource in Western Australia (WA). This resource comprises of a single species of scallop, Ylistrum balloti which occurs in inshore waters to around 40 m depth at the Abrolhos Islands. This species is captured exclusively by demersal otter trawl gear in the West Coast Bioregion.

Increased Carbon Capture By A Silicate-Treated Forested Watershed Affected By Acid Deposition, Lyla L. Taylor, Charles T. Driscoll, Peter M. Groffman, Greg H. Rau, Joel D. Blum, David J. Beerling J. Beerling

Advanced Science Research Center

Meeting internationally agreed-upon climate targets requires carbon dioxide removal (CDR) strategies coupled with an urgent phase-down of fossil fuel emissions. However, the efficacy and wider impacts of CDR are poorly understood. Enhanced rock weathering (ERW) is a land-based CDR strategy requiring large-scale field trials. Here we show that a low 3.44 t ha−1 wollastonite treatment in an 11.8 ha acid-rain-impacted forested watershed in New Hampshire, USA, led to cumulative carbon capture by carbonic acid weathering of 0.025–0.13 t CO2 ha−1 over 15 years. Despite a 0.8–2.4 t CO2 ha−1 logistical carbon penalty from mining, grinding, transportation, and spreading, by 2015 …

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.

Ua12/13 Student Affairs - Sustainability, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Records created by and about the Office of Sustainability.

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 …

Droughtscape, Winter 2021, National Drought Mitigation Center

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

DroughtScape, Winter 2021

Scottish Marine Renewable Energy: U.S. Approaches For Development Of Wave And Tidal Technologies, Stella Kathryn Fairall

Honors Theses and Capstones

Marine renewable energy, energy harnessed from various ocean resources such as waves, tides, currents, thermal gradients, and marine streams, has incredible potential in the United States. Several European countries have realized the potential of the resource in the North Sea and Atlantic and have created incredibly successful industries already. The United Kingdom, particularly Scotland, is the world leader because of the comprehensive policy, labor force, and markets it has established in order to make MRE a competitive energy source. In the United States, the industry is immature, underfunded, and lacks policy support. In order to establish itself as a world …

Policy Analysis Of Emissions Cap And Trade: The United State And The European Union, Drew Bealby

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

Effects of climate change are appearing each day therefore proactive steps need to be made to reduce these effects. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) notes that humans producing greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane, and nitrous oxide are the main reason the Earth’s overall temperature is rising (NASA 2019). A policy analysis was done on the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) along with comparisons to the United States’ emissions policies that are in place currently. The European Union (E.U.) itself is both an economic and political union of 27 countries in …

Soil Response Of Helicopter Liming In The Monongahela National Forest, Jarrett Douglas Fowler

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Soils in the Monongahela National Forest (MNF) are acidic due to sandstone parent material, acid deposition, uptake of base cations by vegetation, and release of organic acids by organic matter (OM) decomposition. Increases in soil acidity have caused declines in forest health and changed species composition and nutrient status. Liming can neutralize soil acidity, but no large-scale liming projects have been done on acid forest soils in the USA. In anticipation of acquiring funding for a proposed liming project in the MNF, in 2007 and 2009 10 sites were selected to sample and analyze soils before lime was applied. In …

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 …

Recovery Of Phosphorus From Florida Phosphatic Waste Clay, Amir Eskanlou

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This MS thesis examines the recovery of phosphorus (P) from Florida waste clay (WC). A comprehensive literature review revealed that: (i)-The most important values being lost to WC are P and rare earth elements (REEs). For the recovery of these values from WC, two crucial attempts are the removal of extremely fine-sized clays, followed by the recovery of phosphate content, which can pave the path for the recovery of REEs; (ii)-Any scientific/ technological solution should, at the same time, be economically and environmentally attractive to the industry. As such, moving from mostly chemical separation processes to the primarily physical/ physicochemical …

Assessing California Commercial Fishing Community Well-Being In The Context Of Marine Protected Area (Mpa) Formation, Samantha Cook

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Marine protected areas (MPAs)—defined geographic areas where fishing and harvesting activity is limited or restricted—have emerged as a popular marine biodiversity and climate resilience strategy worldwide. MPA monitoring efforts often follow MPA designation to help inform the adaptive management of MPAs and MPA networks. In 2012, California completed the largest statewide system of MPAs to date, consisting of 124 MPAs covering 16% of state waters. Following MPA implementation, the state initiated a long-term monitoring program (2019-2022) to help inform the 10-year MPA management review. This two-chapter thesis presents findings from a state-funded project to conduct long-term socioeconomic monitoring for human …

Applying The Food-Energy-Water Nexus Approach To Urban Agriculture: From Few To Fewp (Food-Energy- Water-People), Silvio Caputo, Victoria Schoen, Kathrin Spect, Baptiste Grard, Chris Blythe, Nevin Cohen, Runrid Fox-Kämper, Jason Hawes, Joshua Newell, Lidia Poniży

Publications and Research

Many studies examine the correlation between the use of resources such as water, energy and land, and the production of food. These nexus studies focus predominantly on large scale systems, often considering the social dimensions only in terms of access to resources and participation in the decision- making process, rather than individual attitudes and behaviours with respect to resource use. Such a concept of the nexus is relevant to urban agriculture (UA), but it requires customisation to the particular characteristics of growing food in cities, which is practiced mainly at a small scale and produces not only food but also …

Tree Canopy Effects On Roof-Harvested Rainwater In East Texas, Kimberly Gamez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nine experimental metal roofs with rainwater harvesting systems were constructed and water quality parameters were measured in 2016-2017 in order to evaluate the effects of arboreal overhang on roof-harvested rainwater quality collected in East Texas. Three treatments were evaluated: Rainwater collected from roofs without any overhanging tree vegetation, rainwater collected from roofs under predominantly Southern yellow pine tree cover, and rainwater collected from roofs under predominantly hardwood tree cover. Rainwater was collected from these roofs for one year. The effects of canopy cover on water quality parameters, comparison to drinking water standards, first-flush efficiency, and seasonal effects were evaluated.

Significant …

Water Quality And Water Security Panel, Lameck Osinde

Africa-Western Collaborations Day 2020

8 graduate student/recent graduate presentations on the topic of water security and water quality. Moderated by Dr. Lameck Osinde. Reporting of panel done by current GHS students of the 2021 class. Abstracts can be found under "Africa-Western Collaborations Day 2020 Abstracts". Presenters as follows:

Thelma Zulfawu Abu et al., "When you Preach Water and you Drink Wine: Exploring the Implementation, Use and Management of WaSH in Healthcare Facilities in Kisumu County"

Katherine Butler, Eva Chang, "Western Heads East Remote Internship: Canada-Rwanda Partnership"

Josephine De Leon, Ryan Grilli, Yasmina Garber, Riddhi Nandola, Mofiyin Lawal, "Ecoland"

Maurice Dogoli et al., "Tackling Access …

Satellite-Based Monitoring Of Irrigation Water Use: Assessing Measurement Errors And Their Implications For Agricultural Water Management Policy, T. Foster, Taro Mieno, Nicholas Brozovic

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Reliable accounting of agricultural water use is critical for sustainable water management. However, the majority of agricultural water use is not monitored, with limited metering of irrigation despite increasing pressure on both groundwater and surface water resources in many agricultural regions worldwide. Satellite remote sensing has been proposed as a low-cost and scalable solution to fill widespread gaps in monitoring of irrigation water use in both developed and developing countries, bypassing the technical, socioeconomic, and political challenges that to date have constrained in situ metering. In this paper, we show through a systematic meta-analysis that the relative accuracy of different …

Droughtscape, Fall 2020, National Drought Mitigation Center

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

DroughtScape, Fall 2020

Assessment Of Switchgrass-Based Bioenergy Supply Using Gis-Based Fuzzy Logic And Network Optimization In Missouri (U.S.A.), Gia Nguyen, Erik Lyttek, Pankaj Lal, Taylor Wieczerak, Pralhad Burli

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Bioenergy has been globally recognized as one of the sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels. An assured supply of biomass feedstocks is a crucial bottleneck for the bioenergy industry emanating from uncertainties in land-use changes and future prices. Analytical approaches deriving from geographical information systems (GIS)-based analysis, mathematical modeling, optimization analyses, and empirical techniques have been widely used to evaluate the potential for bioenergy feedstock. In this study, we propose a three-phase methodology integrating fuzzy logic, network optimization, and ecosystem services assessment to estimate potential bioenergy supply. The fuzzy logic analysis uses multiple spatial criteria to identify suitable biomass cultivating regions. …

Droughtscape, Summer 2020, National Drought Mitigation Center

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

DroughtScape, Summer 2020

Data From: Forest Density Intensifies The Importance Of Snowpack To Growth In Water-Limited Pine Forests, Kelly E. Gleason, John B. Bradford, Anthony W. D’Amato, Shawn Fraver, Brian J. Palik, Michael A. Battaglia

Environmental Science and Management Datasets

Research Study
Warming climate and resulting declines in seasonal snowpack have been associated with drought stress and tree mortality in seasonally snow-covered watersheds worldwide. Meanwhile, increasing forest density has further exacerbated drought stress due to intensified tree-tree competition. Using a uniquely detailed dataset of population-level forest growth (n=2495 sampled trees), we examined how inter-annual variability in growth relates to snow volume across a range of forest densities (e.g., competitive environments) in sites spanning a broad aridity gradient across the United States. Forest growth was positively related to snowpack in water-limited forests located at low latitude, and this relationship was intensified …

A Hydrometeorological Assessment Of The Historic 2019 Flood Of Nebraska, Iowa, And South Dakota, Paul Xavier Flanagan, Rezaul Mahmood, Natalie Umphlett, Erin M.K. Haacker, Chittaranjan Ray, Bill Sorensen, Martha Shulski, Crystal J. Stiles, David Pearson, Paul Fajman

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

During early 2019, a series of events set the stage for devastating floods in eastern Nebraska, western Iowa, and southeastern South Dakota. When the floodwaters hit, dams and levees failed, cutting off towns, while destroying roads, bridges, and rail lines, further exacerbating the crisis. Lives were lost and thousands of cattle were stranded. Estimates indicate that the cost of the flooding has topped $3 billion as of August 2019, with this number expected to rise.

After a warm and wet start to winter, eastern Nebraska, western Iowa, and southeastern South Dakota endured anomalously low temperatures and record-breaking snowfall. By March …

Storm Surges In The Bohai Sea: The Role Of Waves And Tides, Yuanyi Li, Huan Feng, Guillaume Vigouroux, Dekui Yuan, Guangyu Zhang, Xiaodi Ma, Kun Lei

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

A storm surge is a complex phenomenon in which waves, tide and current interact. Even though wind is the predominant force driving the surge, waves and tidal phase are also important factors that influence the mass and momentum transport during the surge. Devastating storm surges often occur in the Bohai Sea, a semi-enclosed shallow sea in North China, due to extreme storms. However, the effects of waves on storm surges in the Bohai Sea have not been quantified and the mechanisms responsible for the higher surges that affect part of the Bohai Sea have not been thoroughly studied. In this …

Tyler Clevenger: Advancing Climate Policy At Home And Abroad, Christina Nunez

Colby Magazine

"I appreciated pretty early on that [climate] would represent my generation's defining challenge, it would take the best that we as people have to offer." -Tyler Clevenger '18

Energy Intensity Variation Among California Urban Water Supplies, Madeline Willett

Master's Projects and Capstones

Drought, population growth, and warmer temperatures will continue to strain and stress California's water supplies. Surface water and groundwater will not suffice as primary water supplies in the future. As California looks to build a more resilient water supply portfolio, the energy intensity of the water supplies in California could increase. This study examines 4 cities in California and their varied water supplies. Urban Water Management Plans (UWMP) are used to calculate the projected change in energy intensity of each city's supply. The results show that there is such variation in climate and water supply sources across California that there …

Bull Kelp (Nereocystic Lutkeana) Restoration And Management In Northern California, Olivia Johnson

Master's Projects and Capstones

Northern California’s coastal marine ecosystems support one of the most productive and biodiverse habitats on the planet. Bull kelp forests (Nereocystic lutkeana) form habitats for an abundance of marine mammals, sea bird, fish, and invertebrates. In recent years, compounding ecological and climatic factors have disrupted the balance of the bull kelp forests and led to an unprecedented loss of bull kelp biomass and canopy cover. These areas that are typically teeming with marine life have shifted into a stable state of sea urchin barrens due to over grazing of bull kelp by purple sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus pupuratus). These sea urchin …

A Comparison Of Fuel Reduction Methods For Wildfire Risk Management And Climate Change Resiliency In Mixed Conifer Forests In The Sierra Nevada, Heather Navle

Master's Projects and Capstones

Wildfires in the mixed conifer forests of California’s Sierra Nevada have been a common and natural disturbance for thousands of years, historically occurring every 3 to 30 years. The flora and fauna of the mixed conifer forest have evolved to depend on low to moderate severity wildfires for reproduction, foraging, and habitat. However, the Sierra Nevada has experienced dramatic environmental changes over the past ~150 years as a result of three main factors: wildfire suppression, climate change, and habitat loss. Because of the threat wildfires pose to human lives, property and timber harvest, they have been suppressed to an extent …