Water Resource Management Commons^™

Groundwater Contamination At Coal Ash Deposit Sites In Kentucky, Brandon Rose

Scholars Week

No abstract provided.

Hydrological Hazard Assessment For Irrigated Agriculture In The Irwin Focus Area, Russell J. Speed, Adele L. Killen

Resource management technical reports

The Midlands groundwater and land assessment project aimed to identify 2000–3000 hectare precincts suitable to develop intensive irrigated horticulture. The primary focus area was at Irwin, where the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation investigated groundwater resources and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development undertook a multi-faceted site assessment. This report describes the hydrological hazards assessment for the Irwin focus area.

The Irwin focus area is located on fertile loam and clay flats associated with the Irwin River. In the east, it encompasses the Irwin River valley floor and the western boundary loops to the south of the …

Groundwater Recharge Response To Reduced Irrigation Pumping In Western Nebraska, Justin Philip Gibson

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Given current and continued investment in irrigation scheduling technologies, a need exists to better estimate the longevity and magnitude of water savings at watershed level to avoid the paradox of irrigation efficiency. This paradox occurs within a watershed as not all irrigation inefficiencies lead to the system losing water. For example, irrigation pumping rates in excess of crop water demand may lead to enhanced groundwater recharge or surface runoff that migrates to a stream. Thus, increases in efficiency may not lead to similar magnitudes of water savings. I hypothesize that water savings longevities are short given previous work demonstrating rapid …

Season-Ahead Forecasting Of Water Storage And Irrigation Requirements – An Application To The Southwest Monsoon In India, Arun Ravindranath, Naresh Devineni, Upmanu Lall, Paulina Concha Larrauri

Publications and Research

Water risk management is a ubiquitous challenge faced by stakeholders in the water or agricultural sector. We present a methodological framework for forecasting water storage requirements and present an application of this methodology to risk assessment in India. The application focused on forecasting crop water stress for potatoes grown during the monsoon season in the Satara district of Maharashtra. Pre-season large-scale climate predictors used to forecast water stress were selected based on an exhaustive search method that evaluates for highest ranked probability skill score and lowest root-mean-squared error in a leave-one-out cross-validation mode. Adaptive forecasts were made in the years …

Detection, Occurrence And Fate Of Emerging Contaminants In Agricultural Environments, Daniel D. Snow, David A. Cassada, Saptashati Biswas, Mohammedreza Shafieifini, Xu Li, Matteo D'Alessio, Laura Carter, J. Brett Sallach

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

A total of 75 papers published in 2017 were reviewed ranging from detailed descriptions of analytical methods, to fate and occurrence studies, to ecological effects and sampling techniques for a wide variety of emerging contaminants likely to occur in agricultural environments. New methods and studies on veterinary pharmaceuticals, steroids, antibiotic resistance genes, and engineered nanoparticles agricultural environments continue to expand our knowledge base on the occurrence and potential impacts of these compounds. This review is divided into the following sections: Introduction, Analytical Methods, Fate and Occurrence, Pharmaceutical Metabolites, Anthelmintics, Antibiotic Resistance Genes, and Engineered Nanomaterials.

Simulation Of Groundwater Flow, 1895–2010, And Effects Of Additional Groundwater Withdrawals On Future Stream Base Flow In The Elkhorn And Loup River Basins, Central Nebraska—Phase Three, Amanda T. Flynn, Jennifer S. Stanton

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

Document abstract

The United States Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Lewis and Clark, Lower Elkhorn, Lower Loup, Lower Platte North, Lower Niobrara, Middle Niobrara, Upper Elkhorn, and the Upper Loup Natural Resources Districts, designed a study to refine the spatial and temporal discretization of a previously modeled area. This updated study focused on a 30,000-square-mile area of the High Plains aquifer and constructed regional groundwater-flow models to evaluate the effects of groundwater withdrawal on stream base flow in the Elkhorn and Loup River Basins, Nebraska. The model was calibrated to match groundwater-level and base-flow data from the stream-aquifer …

Droughtscape, Fall 2018, National Drought Mitigation Center

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

Contents

From the director

Drought greatly improves in Southern Plains and South

Texas, Missouri, and Colorado logged late-summer impacts

Memory, remote sensing and a new research methodology

Navigating the U.S. Drought Monitor

Planners discuss the barriers to effective drought mitigation planning

Exploring climate issues from a county management perspective

Strategic Framework for Drought Risk Management and Enhancing Resilience in Africa

Mena global policy forum looks from data to mitigation

About us

State-by-state drought classification table developed by NDMC graduate student

Report Of Community Conversations About Gender Roles In Livestock, Mamusha Lemma, Wole Kinati, Annet Mulema, Zekarias Bassa, Abiro Tigabe, Hiwot Desta, Mesfin Mekonnen, Tadious Asfaw

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the International Center for Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) gender and animal health teams facilitated community conversations (CCs) about gender roles in livestock husbandry in three districts in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region (SNNPR) and Amhara region from 30 May–07 June 2018. These dictricts were: Doyogena (Hawora Arara and Ancha Sadicha kebeles) of SNNPR from 30 and 31 May; and Menz Gera district (Sine Amba kebele) and Menz Mama district (Key Afer kebele) of Amhara from June 6–7. In Doyogena, the team held the conversations in farmer training centres (FTCs) …

Umphlett Qci Sept 2018, Natalie Umphlett

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

Highlights for the Basin

Temperature and Precipitation Anomalies

Drought

Water Resources

Agriculture

Temperature

Precipitation

Regulation Of Dissolved Arsenic Using Zero-Valent Iron With Gypsum And Sulfate Reducing Bacteria: Laboratory Microcosm And Column Studies, Ying Liu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Bench scale microcosm incubation was first conducted in two stages to examine the removal of arsenic (As) by zero-valent iron (ZVI) in the presence of sulfate reducing bacteria, gypsum as well as organic substrates under anaerobic condition. About 98% of dissolved As was removed from solution within 20 days with concurrent decrease of dissolved sulfate and growth of bacterial population. Mineralogy analysis using SEM-EDS found the formation of iron sulfide and Fourier-transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis indicates that some As is associated with pyrite. The main iron corrosion product was found as ferrihydrite with traces of lepidocrocite. Sequential leaching shows …

The Effect Of Two Different Harvesting Methods On The Yield Of 'Topbunch' And 'Hi-Crop' Collards (Brassica Oleracea (L)) When Grown In A Wiregrass Tunnel House, Veronica E. Walton, Raymon Shange, Melissa Johnson, Edward Sparks, Victor Khan, James E. Currington, Ramble Ankumah, Nathaniel Ellison, George X. Hunter Jr., Jeffery L. Moore

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

A study was conducted to determine if 100% or 50% harvesting of collard leaves was a suitable recommendation for Tunnel House producers. The experiment was conducted as a split-split plot design with varieties as the main plots, harvesting 100% or 50% of leaves as the sub-plots, and days after transplanting as the subplots. All treatments were replicated three times, drip irrigated, and fertilized according to soil test recommendations. The results showed significant interactions between varieties and method of harvest, for leaf numbers and weight. Conversely, the varieties showed significant differences for yield but not leaf numbers. Both varieties showed significant …

Estimating Watershed Mercury Contribution To Lake Fort Smith State Park, Arkansas, Usa, William Miles Harmon

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mercury contamination associated with human activities poses global human health and environmental risks. A fish-consumption advisory has been in effect at Lake Fort Smith in central west Arkansas for more than a decade due to observed methylmercury concentrations in fish tissue. Lake Fort Smith is an important municipal drinking water supply and recreational resource. Water samples from the majority contributing tributary stream, Frog Bayou creek, were collected periodically, under differing hydrologic conditions in order to quantify the allochthonous mercury load delivered to the lake. Temperature, specific conductance, and turbidity data were collected and used to estimate dissolved organic carbon, methylmercury …

Boundary Spanners And Trust Development Between Stakeholders In Integrated Water Resource Management: A Mixed Methods Study, Jodi L. Delozier

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Natural resource issues are inherently complex, even more so are those that involve the management of water. Because watersheds tend to cross multiple jurisdictional and geographical boundaries, a diverse set of stakeholders are needed to develop appropriate and sustainable management policy. This research sheds light on the importance of boundary spanners assisting in the development of trust between stakeholders in integrated water resource management (IWRM). Previous literature has explored the advantages to boundary spanning leadership in business practice, emergency management, university and community management as well as fish and wildlife management, but has failed to address the area of integrated …

Distribution And Habitat Association Of The Northern Long-Eared Bat, Zachary A. Warren

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Because of white-nose syndrome, the northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis) is experiencing rapid population declines across the majority of its range. This decline has prompted increased regulatory protection and thus an increased need for effective habitat management strategies. Insight into the species habitat associations, however, is a prior necessity to ensure management practices are biologically relevant. Understanding these relationships requires a holistic approach that addresses the multiple ways in which the species is interacting with its environment. The objective of my thesis was to address these relationships following a multi-scale approach that assessed the factors associated with roost …

A Comparison Of Vnir And Mir Spectroscopy For Predicting Various Soil Properties, Joshua R. Gates

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Soil plays an important role in our daily lives, namely producing food, cleaning water and storing carbon. The ability to rapidly and cost-effectively quantify the various components of soils can help us understand and better manage this important resource. This study aims to compare the ability of visible near-infrared (VNIR) spectroscopy and mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy to quickly and accurately predict various important soil properties (electrical conductivity, soil pH, cation exchange capacity, exchangeable cations, phosphorus, carbon, beta-glucosidase enzyme activity and nitrogen). Prediction models were developed using partial least squares regression (PLSR) techniques. Three different calibration sampling methods were tested along with …

Spatial And Temporal Trends Of Mining-Related Lead-Zinc Sediment Contamination, Galena River Watershed, Sw Wisconsin-Nw Illinois, Dylan Alexander King

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Alluvial sediments within the Galena River Watershed were severely contaminated with heavy metals by historical zinc (Zn) and lead (Pb) mining operations during the early 1800s until 1979. Since the mines closed, there have been efforts to remediate on-site mine waste. However, the effectiveness of these efforts to reduce metal concentrations in stream sediments is unknown. This study compares present-day (2017) contamination trends in the Galena River Watershed to trends reported 25 years ago. A total of 415 sediment/soil samples were collected and analyzed using X-ray florescence spectrometry to determine sediment metal concentrations. The highest concentrations of zinc measured were …

Nutrient Transport And Storage In A Karst Spring-Reservoir System During Baseflow, Missouri Ozarks, Heather A. Moule

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Urban and agricultural land uses are important sources of nitrogen and phosphorus which, if in excess, can cause eutrophication in lakes and rivers. There have been few studies of nutrient transport and storage in karst spring and reservoir connected stream systems draining the Missouri Ozarks. This study aims to link the baseflow nutrient contributions of Sanders Spring to downstream reservoir outflow and the Headwaters South Dry Sac River Watershed in Springfield, Missouri. Water samples were collected seasonally and analyzed for total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), and several other water quality parameters. Discharge was also monitored to calculate water and …

Groundwater Discharge Characteristics For Selected Streams Within The Loup River Basin, Nebraska, 2014–16, Christopher M. Hobza, Aaron R. Schepers

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

Streams in the Loup River Basin are sensitive to groundwater withdrawals because of the close hydrologic connection between groundwater and surface water. Groundwater discharge is the primary component of streamflow in the Loup River Basin and constitutes more than 90 percent of streamflow in the central part of the Sand Hills. To improve the understanding of geologic controls and various climatic and land-use changes on groundwater discharge, the United States Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Upper Loup Natural Resources District (NRD), the Lower Loup NRD, and the Nebraska Environmental Trust, studied the spatial and temporal characteristics of groundwater …

Including Farmer Irrigation Behavior In A Sociohydrological Modeling Framework With Application In North India, Jimmy O’Keeffe, Simon Moulds, Emma Bergin, Nick Brozovic, Ana Mijic, Wouter Buytaert

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Understanding water user behavior and its potential outcomes is important for the development of suitable water resource management options. Computational models are commonly used to assist water resource management decision making; however, while natural processes are increasingly well modeled, the inclusion of human behavior has lagged behind. Improved representation of irrigation water user behavior within models can provide more accurate and relevant information for irrigation management in the agricultural sector. This paper outlines a model that conceptualizes and proceduralizes observed farmer irrigation practices, highlighting impacts and interactions between the environment and behavior. It is developed using a bottom-up approach, informed …

Droughtscape, Summer 2018, National Drought Mitigation Center

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

Contents

From the director

Drought expands and intensifies

Dry down fuels fires

Tweeting #drought18

MOISST and NSMN

Caribbean planning progress

Drought observer network study

MENA teams report progress

NDMC global outreach

Climate hub workshop

On the horizon

Assessment Of The Ponderosa Woodlands In Nebraska's Wildcat Hills: Implications For Juniperus Encroachment And Management, Allie Victoria Schiltmeyer

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) is a dominant tree species across western North America. Its eastern distribution includes three populations in western Nebraska. This study assesses the distribution, structure and age of ponderosa pine woodlands in one of those regions, the Wildcat Hills. The Wildcat Hills have escaped severe wildfires seen in recent decades in other ponderosa pine regions. Nevertheless, the Wildcat Hills woodlands face multiple threats including climate change, wildfire, drought, pine beetles, and invasive species. Key to these threats is the stand structure of pine woodlands, which have increased in density across much of ponderosa pine’s range. …

Analysis Of Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (Grace) Satellite-Derived Data As A Groundwater And Drought Monitoring Tool, Anthony James Mucia

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This research compares Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) groundwater storage (GWS) and root zone soil moisture (RZSM) percentiles to measured data, other drought indicators (DIs) and indices, and stakeholder observations for the purpose of assessing the feasibility and usefulness of these products to detect drought conditions. GRACE percentiles were directly compared to historic groundwater percentiles at 89 Nebraska well locations. Spatial time-series correlations over CONUS were performed between GRACE GWS and RZSM and the U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM), Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), and soil moisture parameters from several North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS) models. A survey of …

Tracking Drought Perspectives: A Rural Case Study Of Transformations Following An Invisible Hazard, Theresa Jedd, Deborah Bathke, Duane Gill, Bimal Paul, Nicole Wall, Tonya Bernadt, Jacob Peter, Anthony Mucia, Milan Wall

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Rural towns are especially susceptible to the effects of drought because their economies are dependent on natural resources. However, they are also resilient in many ways to natural hazards because they are rich in civic engagement and social capital. Because of the diverse nature of drought’s impacts, understanding its complex dynamics and its effects requires a multidisciplinary approach. To study these dynamics, this research combines appreciative inquiry, the Community Capitals Framework, and a range of climatological monitoring data to assess the 2012–14 Great Plains drought’s effect on McCook, Nebraska. Community coping measures, such as water-use reduction and public health programs, …

Umphlett Qci June 2018, Natalie Umphlett

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

Highlights for the Basin

Temperature Anomalies

Precipitation Anomalies

Water Resources

Agriculture

Temperature

Precipitation

Groundwater Prospectivity In The Midlands Area, L J. Baddock, S Johnson

Natural resources commissioned reports

As part of the Water For Food Midlands project, Department of Primary Industry and Regional Development (DPIRD) is undertaking mapping of high-quality agricultural land (HQAL) to identify areas of agricultural value. This mapping utilises data relating to soils, land capability and rainfall, that is being integrated into a GIS-format that is easy to comprehend and can be incorporated into planning processes. This report details the development and results of a GIS-based product that represents groundwater resource prospectivity for irrigated agriculture in the Midlands project area. The output maps will be useful for landowners and developers highlighting the opportunities and risks …

A Quantitative Analysis Of The Effects Of Urbanization, Mesophication And Prescribed Burns On Oak Woodlands In The Chicago Metropolitan Area, Chad Populorum

Celebration of Learning

Urban expansion has had devastating impacts on forest ecosystems, especially within the past century. Human attempts to dominate nature have diminished natural disturbance regimes, which have maintained the biodiversity and historic composition of these ecosystems. Fires have been a prominent force in maintaining the structure of oak, hickory and other heliophytic (sun loving and fire-adapted) forest systems. Human induced fire suppression has led to mesophication across North America. Mesophication is the transition from drier conditions with open canopies to wetter conditions with closed canopies. These new conditions decrease the survival rates of these important species and begin to favor mesophytic …

Smap Soil Moisture Change As An Indicator Of Drought Conditions, Rajasekaran Eswar, Narendra N. Das, Calvin Christian Poulsen, Ali Behrangi, John Swigart, Mark D. Svoboda, Dara Entekhabi, Simon Yueh, Bradley Doorn, Jared Entin

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Soil moisture is considered a key variable in drought analysis. The soil moisture dynamics given by the change in soil moisture between two time periods can provide information on the intensification or improvement of drought conditions. The aim of this work is to analyze how the soil moisture dynamics respond to changes in drought conditions over multiple time intervals. The change in soil moisture estimated from the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite observations was compared with the United States Drought Monitor (USDM) and the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) over the contiguous United States (CONUS). The results indicated that the …

Radical Social Ecology As Deep Pragmatism: A Call To The Abolition Of Systemic Dissonance And The Minimization Of Entropic Chaos, Arielle Brender

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper aims to shed light on the dissonance caused by the superimposition of Dominant Human Systems on Natural Systems. I highlight the synthetic nature of Dominant Human Systems as egoic and linguistic phenomenon manufactured by a mere portion of the human population, which renders them inherently oppressive unto peoples and landscapes whose wisdom were barred from the design process. In pursuing a radical pragmatic approach to mending the simultaneous oppression and destruction of the human being and the earth, I highlight the necessity of minimizing entropic chaos caused by excess energy expenditure, an essential feature of systems that aim …

Speleogenetic Evolution And Geological Remote Sensing Of The Gypsum Plain, Eddy County, New Mexico, Jessica Shields

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Permian evaporites of the Gypsum Plain region of the Delaware Basin host extensive karst phenomena, as well as unique diagenetic alterations of host strata. Because of the complex, poorly understood hydrogeologic system, little has been established concerning the relation and evolution of the overprinted, modern and ancient karst manifestations within the Gypsum Plain, as a whole. Through a combination of traditional field studies and the development of improved remote sensing methodologies, this study established the speleogenetic evolution of the Gypsum Plain in relation to the greater tectonic, stratigraphic, hydrogeologic and climatic history of the Delaware Basin. Emphasis was focused on …

Predicting Spatial Patterns In Precipitation Isotope (Δ2h And Δ18o) Seasonality Using Sinusoidal Isoscapes, Scott T. Allen, James W. Kirchner, Gregory R. Goldsmith

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Understanding how precipitation isotopes vary spatially and temporally is important for tracer applications. We tested how well month‐to‐month variations in precipitation δ18O and δ2H were captured by sinusoidal cycles, and how well spatial variations in these seasonal cycles could be predicted, across Switzerland. Sine functions representing seasonal cycles in precipitation isotopes explained between 47% and 94% of the variance in monthly δ18O and δ2H values at each monitoring site. A significant sinusoidal cycle was also observed in line‐conditioned excess. We interpolated the amplitudes, phases, and offsets of these sine functions across the landscape, using multiple linear …