Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

Nutrient Interactions Among Reservoirs On The Colorado River, Larry J. Paulson, John R. Baker

Publications (WR)

Interactions among physical, chemical and biological processes in reservoirs can significantly alter the characteristics of the discharge (Neel 1963, Wright 1967, Hannan 1979) that, in turn, can influence the ecology of the river downstream .(Ward and Stanford 1979). Investigations of the Colorado River, system reveal that reservoir-induced changes in the river can also affect downstream reservoirs. The formation of Lake Powell, in 1963 was accompanied by reductions in suspended sediment and nutrient loading and changes in the seasonal temperature and discharge cycles of the Colorado River. In this paper, we evaluate how these changes have influenced the nutrient and trophic …

Ward V. Coleman, Cert. Granted (Sub Nom. United States V. Ward): A Fifth Amendment Problem In The Enforcement Of The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, Mark Cohen

Marine Affairs Theses and Major Papers

On March 23, 1975 oil leaked out of an oil retention pit at a drilling site owned by L.O. Ward. Ward was an Oklahoma wildcatter and the owner and operator of L.O. Ward Oil and Gas Operations. The spilled oil ran down a gully and into Boggie Creek. Boggie Creek is a tributary of the navigable Arkansas River. The discharge of oil from Ward's property therefore amounted to the discharge of a harmful quantity of oil within the meaning of Section 1321 (b)(3) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and also a harmful quantity within the meaning of regulations …

Evaluation Of Possible Temperature Fluctuations From Proposed Power Modifications At Hoover Dam, Larry J. Paulson, John R. Baker, U.S. Water And Power Resources Service

Publications (WR)

There are several planned alternatives for increasing the generation capacity of Hoover Dam to help meet peak power demands. These alternatives include: (a) uprating the existing generating units, (b) replacing or adding one or more generating units and (c) adding reversible pumped-storage hydroelectric units. Since the existing generators are at the end of their economic life and have to be replaced, their uprating has been scheduled as routine maintenance. This will increase the generating capacity of the Hoover Dam powerplant from 1240 MW to 1810 MW, but the anticipated capacity for meeting power demand is 2300 MW. Therefore, modifications (alternatives …

Evaluation Of Impacts Associated With Reregulation Of Water Levels In Lake Mohave, Larry J. Paulson, John R. Baker, U.S. Water And Power Resources Service

Publications (WR)

The U.S. Water and Power Resources Service is considering reregulating Lake Mohave water levels to increase the net power benefit from Hoover Dam. Reregulation will not increase the generation capacity of the Hoover powerplant but it will enable the plant operation to be increased when the energy has greater monetary value. Energy generated at different times of the year has different market value, the highest being in January-March and July- September. By generating more power during these periods more net monetary benefit can be derived from Hoover Dam. The total volume of water released from Hoover Dam over an annual …

Oil And Gas Development On Georges Bank: The Responsibility Of Federal Agencies For Assessment And Mitigation Of Potential Impacts On The Ecosystem, Carolyn A. Griswold

Marine Affairs Theses and Major Papers

Is it possible to provide adequate protection for the Georges Bank ecosystem as oil and gas exploration begins? The fishing industry and environmentalists say "no," but it is the resource managers who are faced with the task of predicting, assessing and mitigating impacts of development while at the same time managing resources and protecting fishery habitats. Much of this responsibility falls within NOAA; however, legislative mandates and agency responsibilities and goals mean that several other federal agencies are involved as well. This paper is an attempt to describe the potential impacts of oil and gas exploration on the Georges Bank …

The Limnological Status Of Lake Mead And Lake Mohave Under Present And Future Powerplant Operations Of Hoover Dam, Larry J. Paulson, John R. Baker, James E. Deacon, U.S. Water And Power Resources Service

Publications (WR)

The ever-increasing demand for energy in the southwest has led to a search for additional sources of power generation. Coal-fired powerplants currently provide most of the baseline energy in the southwest, but this must be supplemented with hydroelectric power during periods of peak demand. In order to provide additional peaking power, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is considering a number of projects to modify existing hydroelectric facilities, or add new facilities in the Lake Mead Recreation Area. The Hoover Powerplant Modification Feasibility Investigation was authorized by Congress on December 16, 1975 to determine the feasibility of: (i) adding one or …

Influence Of Dredging And High Discharge On The Ecology Of Black Canyon, Larry J. Paulson, Theron G. Miller, John R. Baker, U.S. Water And Power Resources Service

Publications (WR)

The Water and Power Resources Service is considering dredging in Black Canyon to create a larger forebay to accommodate higher peak discharges and reverse flows for proposed modifications to Hoover Dam. The Black Canyon area from Hoover Dam to Willow Beach supports a heavily utilized trout fishery and is important habitat for the razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus) and possibly bonytail chub (Gila elegans). The Water and Power Resources Service initiated this investigation to determine what effect dredging and higher peak-discharges would have on the ecology of Black Canyon.

An Investigation Of Surface Albedo Variations During The Recent Sahel Drought, Carl C. Norton, Frederick R. Mosher, Barry Hinton

Publications

Applications Technology Satellite (ATS) 3 green sensor data are used to measure surface reflectance variations in the Sahara/Sahel during the recent drought period 1967–74. The magnitude of the seasonal reflectance change is shown to be as much as 80% for years of normal precipitation and less than 50% for drought years. Year-to-year comparisons during both wet and dry seasons reveal the existence of a surface reflectance cycle coincident with the drought intensity. The relationship between the green reflectance and solar albedo is examined and estimated to be about 0.6 times the reflectance change observed by the green channel.

Technology And The Energy Crisis: An Assessment Of The Interrelationship And The Impact, Matilene S. Berryman

Marine Affairs Theses and Major Papers

This paper presents an assessment of past and present technological innovations and research related to the present energy crisis-the impact and the interrelationship. In particular, it surveys the development of tidal power plants with particular emphasis on the past and present status of the Passamaquoddy-Cobscook Bay Dam Project. It exam1nes the benefits and environmental effects associated with tidal power development, and explores the causes and effects of the tides. It concludes w1th a brief detail of the feasibility of other renewable sources of energy-and of the impact of technological developments on marine and international affairs.

Changing Fields: Agricultural Land Use Changes In Nebraska 1925-1974, Donald A. Wilhite

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

The series of graphs and maps which follow illustrate agricultural land use changes in Nebraska from 1925 to 1974. With these graphs and maps, the major agronomic crops of corn (dryland and irrigated), wheat, sorghum and soybeans are analyzed. The purpose of this analysis is to provide a pictorial history of Nebraska's ever-changing cropping system and, hopefully, to stimulate ideas and discussion with regard to trends and future directions. The Nebraska Water Resources Center is deeply interested in both the past and the future of Nebraska's agriculture because of the demands which agriculture places on the state's water resources. An …

Lake Mead And Lake Powell Salinity Reports, Cathy Lee, Steve Gazafy

Publications (WR)

The enclosed reports were compiled for the Colorado River Water Quality Office based on salinity data for Lake Mead and Lake Powell. According to the regional director of the office, the reports are not considered "polished" documents for public distribution. However, he considers them to be "interesting, rough appraisals of general trends that may be very important In our understanding the hydro-salinity system in the Colorado River."

Turbulence Spectra Above A Vegetated Surface Under Conditions Of Sensible Heat Advection, Raymond P. Motha, Shashi B. Verma, Norman J. Rosenberg

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Spectra of vertical and horizontal velocity, air temperature and humidity fluctuations were analyzed from measurements made over a well-watered alfalfa crop under conditions of sensible heat advection. Vertical velocity and air temperature spectra as well as cospectra of momentum, sensible heat and water vapor were found to be dependent on atmospheric thermal stratification. These spectra and cospectra were shifted toward higher frequencies under advective as compared to lapse conditions. These results indicate that the predominant eddy sizes are relatively smaller under advective conditions. Humidity spectra, on the other hand, were independent of daytime thermal stratification conditions but were influenced by …

Potential Use Of Hydroelectric Facilities For Manipulating The Fertility Of Lake Mead, Larry J. Paulson, John R. Baker, James E. Deacon

Publications (WR)

Analysis of historical nutrient data for Lake Mead indicates that the fertility of the reservoir has decreased which may be the cause for a corresponding decline in the largemouth bass population. However, it appears that fertility can be manipulated by altering the operation of the dam. The depletion of nutrients in the euphotic zone by phytoplankton and subsequent accumulation in the hypolimnion during summer and fall provide a natural nutrient gradient from which water of varying fertility can be drawn for discharge. This combined with alterations in the depth or seasonal pattern of discharge can possibly be used to enhance …

Extreme Evapotranspiration By Irrigated Alfalfa: A Consequence Of The 1976 Midwestern Drought, Norman J. Rosenberg, Shashi B. Verma

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

The rate of evapotranspiration by irrigated alfalfa at Mead, NE (41°09'Nj 96°30'W, elevation 354 m) reached record levels in 1976. Evapotranspiration was measured with precision weighing lysimeters in a field 1.9 ha in size. Evapotranspiration ranged during the growing season from 4.75 to 14.22 mm day^-l and exceeded 10 mm day^-I on one-third of the days studied. On each day of study the ratio of latent heat flux density (LE) to the sum of the net radiation and soil heat flux densities (Rn+S) was such that LE/ (Rn+S) > 1, indicating the occurrence of significant …

Fish Of Lake Mead And Lake Mohave, Robert C. Allan, Dennis L. Roden

Publications (WR)

This publication offers an in-depth study of the fish and other organisms that live in Lakes Mead and Mohave. The history and background of the two lakes is offered, as well as information about diseases, parasites, and unusual fish occurrences. Food sources, predation and competition are also discussed.

Limnological Aspects Of Lake Mead, Nevada-Arizona, John R. Baker, James E. Deacon, Thomas A. Burke, Samuel S. Egdorf, Larry J. Paulson, Richard W. Tew, Bureau Of Reclamation

Publications (WR)

Lake Mead is a deep, subtropical, moderately productive, desert impoundment with a negative heterograde oxygen profile occurring during; the summer stratification. investigations of the Boulder Basin of Lake Mead by the University of Nevada were initiated in November 1971. The primary objective of the study was to determine what effects industrial and sewage effluent from the Las Vegas metropolitan area, discharged into Las Vegas Bay, have had on the water quality and limnological conditions of Boulder Basin. Data from the 1975-76 period are presented in detail, with earlier data included in the summaries and discussions. Measurements of water temperature, dissolved …

The Limnetic Zooplankton Community Of Boulder Basin, Lake Mead In Relation To The Metalimnetic Oxygen Minimum, Thomas A. Burke

Publications (WR)

The limnetic zooplankton community of Boulder Basin, Lake Mead, was examined to determine the role of this community in the development of a metalimnetic oxygen minimum which regularly occurs in the lake. Analysis of the community from May 1975 to April 1976 revealed that zooplankton maintain high populations within the metalimnion during summer stratification. The species composition of the community changes noticeably during the summer, but due to advanced stages excysting from resting forms, a complete assemblage of individuals are found throughout the 74 day period studied. Thermal stratification was weak, covering a 30 meter metalimnion. Eddy currents powered by …

A Review Of The Limnology Of And Water Quality Standards For Lake Mead, Charles R. Goldman

Publications (WR)

1. The waters of Las Vegas Bay, a heavily utilized recreational resource, receive discharges from a variety of municipal and industrial waste sources. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has determined, on the basis of numerous studies, that the present water quality violates state and federal standards and constitutes a public nuisance. Consultants have advised the Sewage and Wastewater Advisory Committee that rapid abatement of the alleged pollution conditions can be achieved by an advanced wastewater treatment (AWT) plant.

2. The major problems in Las Vegas Bay are an objectionable water color, excessive turbidity, noxious odors, and oxygen depletion in certain …

Report On Wastewater Disposal To Board Of County Commissioners, Clark County Nevada, Clair N. Sawyer

Publications (WR)

This report is concerned with the management of waste-waters and subsurface drainage from the City of Las Vegas and its environs and the BMI complex, all in Clark County, Nevada. The prime objective is to recommend a plan of action which will utilize the natural resources of the area in the least costly manner and still protect Lake Mead for recreational purposes and use as a public water supply, At this writing, conditions in the upper Las Vegas arm of Boulder Basin are quite unsatisfactory for some recreational purposes due to the extensive blooms of algae which develop. Experience at …

Distribution Of Stream Pollution In Lake Water, Richard W. Tew, Samuel S. Egdorf, James E. Deacon

Publications (WR)

Wastewater effluent-laden waters from Las Vegas Wash (LVW) form a density current that may be detected in Boulder Basin of Lake Mead at considerable distances from the wash estuary. This led to the suspicion that water from the inflowing stream [40 mgd (1.5 X 10⁵ cu m/day)] might not be rapidly diluted in the enormous volume of the lake [19 mil acre-ft (2.3 X 10¹⁰ cu m)], but might persist as a recognizable entity to the vicinity of the intake of a major water source for populous Clark County, Nev.

Because of the detection sensitivity implicit in the …

The Nature And Distribution Of Enteric Bacteria In Las Vegas Bay, Samuel S. Egdorf

Publications (WR)

The distribution of water and of enteric bacteria of possible fecal origin into Las Vegas Bay from Las Vegas Wash was determined. Determination of distribution patterns was attained by applying the concept of the population component ratio of enteric bacteria. The development and application of new techniques and methods implicit in the application of the "component ratio" concept are discussed. The unreliability of thoroughly referenced techniques and methods generally accepted as standard are treated in detail. Physical factors affecting the distribution and deposition of enteric bacteria (including those of special public health importance) in Las Vegas Bay are also discussed.

An Evaluation Of The Effects Of Dredging Within The Arkansas River Navigation System: Volume I - Introduction, Summary And Conclusions, And Recommendations, Myra Mcnutt, T. M. Buchanan, L. R. Kraemer, R. L. Meyer, E. H. Schmitz

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

The Arkansas River originates in the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains near Leadville, Colorado, and extends through Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, where it flows into the Mississippi River. The Arkansas River is approximately 1,450 miles in length and drains a total area of 160,500 square miles. The river and its tributaries have been developed for navigation, flood control, and hydro-electric power, as well as recreational purposes under the River and Harbor Act of July 24, 1946. The development of the Arkansas River for recreational use will be completed in the near future. The McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System was …

An Evaluation Of The Effects Of Dredging Within The Arkansas River Navigation System - Volume Ii - Effects Upon The Phytoplankton Associations, Myra Mcnutt, Richard L. Meyer

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

Phytoplankton are a major source of primary production in aquatic ecosystems and constitute one of the most important assemblages of the biotic community. These organisms are the basic level of the trophic pyramid upon which other organisms are dependent. The development, maintenance, and environmental influence of phytoplankton in and on the aquatic ecosystem has been a subject of interest and concern for many years. Most of the studies concerning the nature and distribution of phytoplankton have been confined to lacustrine systems. Hutchinson (1967), citing several lake studies, sutmarized various aspects of the physical and chemical factors associated with phytoplankton. These …

Seasonal And Spatial Variation In Primary Productivity In Boulder Basin, Lake Mead, Clark County, Nevada, Isamu Aoki

Publications (WR)

The ¹⁴C light and dark bottle technique for measurement of primary production was utilized as a means of assessing the amount of inorganic carbon being converted Into organic form by the photosynthesis of phytoplankton populations In the Boulder Basin of Lake Mead.

Spatial and time series changes of productivity levels observed at eight sampling locations within Boulder Basin Indicate that the Influence of treated municipal arts' industrial effluent flowing into Les Vegas Bay is contributing high levels of available nutrients at Las Vegas Wash Inlet to cause productivity to approximate those levels associated with polluted waters.

Productivity levels at …

The Deepwater Port Act Of 1974, James C. Moses

Marine Affairs Theses and Major Papers

During the past two years of the 93rd Congress, no less than eleven different bills were introduced to deal with the various aspects of deep-water port development. Much has been made of the supposition that with energy conservation, higher petroleum prices, import quotas and all the other gas-saving ideas in vogue, deepwater ports have become an anachronism of pre-energy crisis days, the days of world-scale 400 in tankers and dreams of million-ton ULCC's. The truth of the matter is that we shall still, for an indeterminate period, require imported oil, by the dictum of economics, it will come via the …

Fisheries Report No 16 - Notes On The Wildlife Of A Proposed Nature Reserve Around Lake Grace And Lake Chinokup, Western Australia, N. L. Mckenzie, W. K. Youngson

Fisheries Research Reports

During 1972 and 1973 plants and vertebrate animals were collected and recorded from a proposed 22 000 ha nature reserve centred on a chain of salt lakes in south-western Western Australia (33° 10' S - 33° 35' 8 and 118° 19' B - 118° 29' E).

The dominant plant species were collected, the structural formations desert bed and a vegetation map produced. Seven species of native terrestrial mammal and three species of bat were recorded.

Three of the terrestrial species are endemic to southwestern Western Australia, and two of these - Pseudomys occidentalis and Sminthopsis granulipes - are regarded as …

International Regulation Of Marine Pollution From Land-Based Sources, Richard Tucker Scully

Marine Affairs Theses and Major Papers

Most of the waste products of human society end up in the oceans and the number and quantities of pollutants entering the oceans have been increasing at exponential rates. Recognition of these trends has resulted in expansion of international environmental attention to include sources of marine pollution other than vessels. Source, in this sense, refers to the pathway through which pollutants reach the sea. Land-based sources accounts for the vast bulk of the pollutants reaching the oceans. Effective protection of the marine environment, therefore, must include regulation of land-based sources of marine pollution.

The Tanker And Ocean Oil Pollution, Raymond Coombs

Marine Affairs Theses and Major Papers

It is now clear that the capacity of the oceans to accept some of the by-products of civilization is limited. The oceans can no longer be the world's sink, it we are to maintain the ecological viability of the biosphere. The dangers of the present situation are compounded by the difficulties in defining "marine pollution." Today's concern with pollution and its effects upon our way of life requires that the impact of ships on the marine environment be considered in order to minimize the risk that waterborne cargoes, particularly petroleum products, present to the ecology.

Waste Disposal In The Waters Of The New York Bight: The Genesis Of A Dead Sea, Edward J. Linky

Marine Affairs Theses and Major Papers

This paper is composed of four chapters. Chapter I will seek to delineate the scope of the paper and acquaint the reader with recent activity concerning pollution in the Bight. Chapter II will focus exclusively on scientific data gathered to date, about the effects of pollution on marine ecosystems. Chapter II will consider legal aspects of the problem, including relevant legislation, standing and other remedies which would be available to individuals or groups seeking to ultimately halt all ocean dumping in the area. Chapter IV will consist of conclusions to be drawn from this study.

The Gulf-Atlantic Waterway: Instrument To Increase Profit Margins In The Jacksonville Area, Jacksonville Area Chamber Of Commerce Research Department, Jay A. Smith

Waterways and wildlife

The purpose of this report is to reassess the economic value that the Gulf-Atlantic Waterway will have on Duval county. This will show the direct relationship on the Port and the indirect benefits to other segments in our economy. This is needed for three reasons: 1. The last economic study was completed by the Corps of Engineers with the assistance of Arthur D. Little, Inc., a national consulting firm, in 1962. So, it has been almost twelve years since an economic report has been started from scratch. 2. The economic reports in the past have been mainly concerned with cost/benefit, …