Water Resource Management Commons^™

Umphlett Qci March 2016, Natalie Umphlett

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

Highlights for the Basin

Temperature and Precipitation Anomalies

Vegetation Conditions

Early Signs of Spring

Winter Wheat Breaks Dormancy

3-Month Precipitation and Temperature Outlooks

Percent of Average Precipitation: Strong El Niños

U.S. Drought Monitor, March 1, 2016, David Miskus

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for March 1, 2016 (3/1/16) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

Hydrologic And Water Quality Impacts From Perennial Crop Production On Marginal Lands, Qingyu Feng

Open Access Dissertations

Marginal lands are proposed as a viable option for producing biofeedstocks as these lands are not heavily engaged in agricultural production or may not be suitable for intensive row-crop food/feed production. However, meeting biofeedstock production goals will require large amount of marginal lands and the unintended consequences of producing biofeedstocks on marginal lands are not fully clear. The overall goal of this study was to evaluate the productivity of biofeedstocks on marginal lands and the potential impacts on hydrologic and water quality processes from the land use conversion.

This study was conducted in the Upper Mississippi River Basin (UMRB). First, …

Pharmaceutical Contaminants As Stressors On Rocky Intertidal And Estuarine Organisms: A Case Study Of Fluoxetine, Joseph Richard Peters

Dissertations and Theses

Contaminants such as pharmaceuticals are of increasing concern due to their ubiquitous use and persistence in surface waters worldwide. Limited attention has been paid to the effects of pharmaceuticals on marine life, despite widespread detection of these contaminants in the marine environment. Of the existing studies, the majority assess the negative effects of pharmaceuticals over an exposure period of 30 days or less and focus on cellular and subcellular biomarkers. Longer studies are required to determine if chronic contaminant exposure poses risks to marine life at environmentally relevant concentrations. Also scarce in the literature is examination of whole organism effects …

U.S. Drought Monitor, February 23, 2016, Eric Luebehusen

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for February 23, 2016 (2/23/16) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

Identifying The Relationships Of Climate And Physiological Responses Of A Beech Forest Using The Standardised Recipitation Index: A Case Study For Slovakia, Jaroslav Vido, Katarína Střelcová, Paulína Nalevanková, Adriana Leštianska, Radoslav Kandrík, Alena Pástorová, Jaroslav Škvarenina, Tsegaye Tadesse

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

The paper presents relationship between the Standardised Precipitation Index (SPI) and physiological responses of individual trees in a beech stand using an example of an experimental plot in Bienska valley (Zvolen, Slovakia). SPI is a widely used tool for monitoring both short-term and long-term droughts, and for the assessments of drought impacts on agriculture. Due to the complex ecosystem bonds, monitoring of drought in forests often requires a sophisticated technological approach. The aim of the paper was to correlate the SPI on the physiological responses of trees that were recorded during the performed physiological research (sap flow, and stem circumference …

U.S. Drought Monitor, February 16, 2016, Eric Luebehusen

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for February 16, 2016 (2/16/16) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

Emerging Contaminants In Virginia, Peter L. Defur, Laura E. Williams, Sarah D. Sanford

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

This Article summarizes the rise of emerging contaminants in waterways in Virginia and nationwide, and how they affect ecological and human health. First, we review the scientific discovery of chemicals that alter hormone systems, reproductive and developmental processes and how these were discovered in waterways. We go on to explain the current state of emerging contaminant regulations, noting that few states have a clear understanding of what chemicals are discharged into surface waters. The Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) has no national effort in this area, despite congressional interest and action. Finally, we make recommendations for future emerging contaminant control and …

Coal Ash And Groundwater: Past, Present And Future Implications Of Regulation, John Daniels

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Essay – The Toxic Legacy Of Coal Ash On Southeastern Rivers, Waterways, And Reservoirs, Cale Jaffe

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

My talk focuses on what I have called the toxic legacy of coal ash pollution in the Southeastern United States, andmy goal today is to give you all an insight into how we in the environmental community—by which I mean the waterkeepers and riverkeepers—are seeing this issue. I also hope to share with you the perspective of the impacted communities and families that live downstream of these coal ash lagoons.

Message In A Water Bottle: The Call For A Tri-State Tmdl For Western Lake Erie, Lauren Coleman

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Four Billion People Facing Severe Water Scarcity, Mesfin Mekonnen, Arjen Y. Hoekstra

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Freshwater scarcity is increasingly perceived as a global systemic risk. Previous global water scarcity assessments, measuring water scarcity annually, have underestimated experienced water scarcity by failing to capture the sea- sonal fluctuations in water consumption and availability. We assess blue water scarcity globally at a high spatial resolution on a monthly basis. We find that two-thirds of the global population (4.0 billion people) live under conditions of severe water scarcity at least 1 month of the year. Nearly half of those people live in India and China. Half a billion people in the world face severe water scarcity all year …

U.S. Drought Monitor, February 9, 2016, Anthony Artusa

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for February 9, 2016 (2/9/16) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

Bats Serves As Nebraska's Natural Pest Control Agents, Michael Whitby, Craig R. Allen

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

You don't notice them flying in the night sky as you drive home, or in the trees above you as you walk your dog or under the bark of the dead tree at your fishing hole, but bats are everywhere in Nebraska. In fact, there are 13 species of bats inhabiting our state. They exhibit a wide variety of shapes, sizes and colors. Some migrate to unknown locations each winter. others stay in Nebraska and hibernate in caves, mines and occasionally homes. You probably won't notice them unless you happen to catch a glimpse of one eating insects under a …

Water Balance Monitoring For Two Bioretention Gardens In Omaha, Nebraska, 2011–14, Kellan R. Strauch, David L. Rus, Kent E. Holm

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

Document abstract

Bioretention gardens are used to help mitigate stormwater runoff in urban settings in an attempt to restore the hydrologic response of the developed land to a natural predevelopment response in which more water is infiltrated rather than routed directly to urban drainage networks. To better understand the performance of bioretention gardens in facilitating infiltration of stormwater in eastern Nebraska, the United States Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Douglas County Environmental Services and the Nebraska Environmental Trust, assessed the water balance of two bioretention gardens located in Omaha, Nebraska by monitoring the amount of stormwater entering and …

Sediment Loads And Transport At Constructed Chutes Along The Missouri River-Upper Hamburg Chute Near Nebraska City, Nebraska, And Kansas Chute Near Peru, Nebraska, Brenda K. Densmore, David L. Rus, Matthew T. Moser, Brent M. Hall, Michael J. Andersen

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

The United States Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the United States Army Corps of Engineers, monitored suspended sediment within constructed Missouri River chutes during March through October 2012. Chutes were constructed at selected river bends by the US Army Corps of Engineers to help mitigate aquatic habitat lost through the creation and maintenance of the navigation channel on the Missouri River. The restoration and development of chutes is one method for creating shallow-water habitat within the Missouri River to meet requirements established by the amended 2000 Biological Opinion. Understanding geomorphic channel-evolution processes and sediment transport is important for the …

U.S. Drought Monitor, February 2, 2016, Anthony Artusa

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for February 2, 2016 (2/2/16) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

Graphene Oxide Quantum Dots Covalently Functionalized Pvdf Membrane With Significantly-Enhanced Bactericidal And Antibiofouling Performances, Zhiping Zeng, Dingshan Yu, Ziming He, Jing Liu, Fang-Xing Xiao, Yan Zhang, Rong Wang, Dibakar Bhattacharyya, Timothy Thatt Yang Tan

Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Covalent bonding of graphene oxide quantum dots (GOQDs) onto amino modified polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane has generated a new type of nano-carbon functionalized membrane with significantly enhanced antibacterial and antibiofouling properties. A continuous filtration test using E. coli containing feedwater shows that the relative flux drop over GOQDs modified PVDF is 23%, which is significantly lower than those over pristine PVDF (86%) and GO-sheet modified PVDF (62%) after 10 h of filtration. The presence of GOQD coating layer effectively inactivates E. coli and S. aureus cells, and prevents the biofilm formation on the membrane surface, producing excellent antimicrobial activity and …

Review Of Land Capability Assessment For The Swan Valley, Peter Tille, Angela Stuart-Street

Resource management technical reports

Land capability review for the Swan Valley.

The land capability review of the Swan Valley examined and updated previous soil and capability studies done in the area, which are still considered highly relevant for the planning requirements of the Swan Valley. As a result we have updated information on the potential for irrigated agriculture in the Swan Valley which will guide decision-making in the future.

This review uses a modified version of a new approach to presenting information for land use planning, developed by DAFWA in the Mid West region.

The main findings of the review include:

• The alluvial terraces …

U.S. Drought Monitor, January 26, 2016, Mark D. Svoboda

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for January 26, 2016 (1/26/16) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

The Real Footprint Of Electric Vehicles, And What That Could Mean For Our Future, Krista Brown

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

This paper looks at the impact of electric vehicles on CO2 emissions specifically based on the type of electricity used in each New England state analyzed. The research looks at the question of whether or not emissions will in fact be lowered as electric cars start to take the majority of vehicles used instead of the conventional cars that take up a much larger percent of the motor vehicles used today. Taking into account the use of electricity and how many sources of electricity also release a substantial amount of emissions, we see how valid the public opinion of electric …

The Effect Of Information On Avoidance Behavior And Bicycle Transportation: A Study Of “Spare The Air” And Bay Area Bikeshare, Paige W. Whistler

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

This paper seeks to address the effect of “Spare the Air” pollution control alerts in the San Francisco Bay Area in California on the use of Bay Area BikeShare as a form of transportation. By observing the daily alerts on the duration of rides using BikeShare, this paper observes if STA ozone alerts are effective in changing human behavior. The results show that only as a subscriber to the BikeShare program and on an alert day does duration decrease whereas customers regardless of if it is an alert day will ride more often and at longer distances. The results contradict …

Socioeconomic Attributes’ Relationship To Green Commercial Office Buildings, Tianyang Zhou

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

This paper examines the relationship between the socioeconomic attributes of a state and its green commercial office space adaptation. I hypothesize that a state with high socioeconomic status will have a high green building adoption. Additionally, the high socioeconomic status states may be more likely to invest in green commercial buildings with higher LEED certification levels, and various types of LEED commericial office projects are affected by the socoeconomic attributes differently.

Who Cares About The Environment? A Study Of Environmental Behavior In Maine, Chandler L. Blake

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

Identifying and targeting environmentally minded people is crucial to making any environmental campaign successful. It allows you to advertise to the people who will be the most helpful and supportive to your cause. The goal of this study is to identify the general demographics of environmentally minded people. To do this I examine voting data through each county in Maine and run a regression to test whether income, education level, and household size have any correlation to how the county votes on environmental issues. I found that the higher a county’s income, the more environmentally friendly their voting. I also …

Do Peers Get Punished: Stock Market Effect Of Bp Oil Spill On Peers, Yuga Koda

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

This paper examines the stock market reaction to the British Petroleum oil spill on April 20, 2010. This event study looks at different sectors that may be affected by the oil spill. It finds that different industries do not have significant abnormal returns, with two exceptions. First, utilities companies have a very small positive abnormal return for a short period of time after the incident. Second, when only looking at BP's direct competitors, there is a statistically significant negative abnormal return, implying that BP's competitors are punished for BP's mishap.

Media Effects On Solar Panel Installations Across 20 States, Casey Romeo

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

This paper looks at the relationship between media coverage of solar power and the solar panel installation at a state level. Specifically, it aims to find if more newspaper articles cause more households to adopt solar energy. Use data from 20 states from 2009 to 2014. I find that there is a modest, yet positive and statistically significant relationship between newspaper articles and installations, which suggests that the media does influence the decision to install solar panels. There is possible endogeneity between these two variables. Disentangling this endogeneity is beyond the scope of this research and would be a topic …

Invited Introduction To Jerec, Matthew Kotchen

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

No abstract provided.

Welcome By The Editor, Nathan W. Chan

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

No abstract provided.

U.S. Drought Monitor, January 19, 2016, Mark D. Svoboda

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for January 19, 2016 (1/19/16) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

Spatial Analysis Of Forest Crimes In Mark Twain National Forest, Missouri, Karun Pandit, Eddie Bevilacqua, Giorgos Mountrakis, Robert W. Malmsheimer

Journal of Geospatial Applications in Natural Resources

Forest crime mitigation has been identified as a challenging issue in forest management in the United States. Knowledge of the spatial pattern of forest crimes would help in wisely allocating limited enforcement resources to curb forest crimes. This study explores the spatial pattern of three different types of forest crimes: fire crime, illegal timber logging crime, and occupancy use crime in the Salem-Patosi Ranger District of Mark Twain National Forest. Univariate and bivariate Ripley’s K-functions were applied to explore the spatial patterns in crime events, like clustering and attraction among forest crime types. Results reveal significant clustering for each forest …