Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

Seasonal Changes In Stratification And Oxygen Content Of A Eutrophic Lake, Wilgreen Lake, Madison County, Kentucky, Jill Hunter, Walter S. Borowski

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Wilgreen Lake (Madison County, Kentucky) is listed by the Environmental Protection Agency as nutrient-impaired. The overabundance of nutrients is likely linked to the land-use practices in this area. Cattle pasture, residential developments served by septic systems, and urban/industrial areas lie in the lake’s watershed. We have studied the lake for two years to characterize its physical and chemical characteristics, and to identify nutrient sources.

The 2007 field season began in March and continued through October. We measured temperature and oxygen levels along with other parameters at 1-meter depth intervals at 19 stations distributed along the length of the lake and …

Regional Analysis Of Trend And Step Changes Observed In Hydroclimatic Variables Around The Colorado River Basin, William Paul Miller, Thomas C. Piechota

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Recent research has suggested that changes in temperature and precipitation events due to climate change have had a significant impact on the availability and timing of streamflow. In this study, monthly temperature and precipitation data collected over 29 climate divisions covering the entire Colorado River basin and monthly natural flow data from 29 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) gauge locations along the Colorado River are investigated for trend or step changes using parametric and nonparametric statistical tests. Temperature increases are persistent (at least 10 climate divisions over 6 months in trend analysis) throughout the year over the Colorado River basin, whereas …

Sfa Weather Station-February 2008, Arthur Temple College Of Forestry And Agriculture, Stephen F. Austin State University

Weather Station Data

No abstract provided.

Sfa Weather Station-January 2008, Arthur Temple College Of Forestry And Agriculture, Stephen F Austin State University

Weather Station Data

No abstract provided.

From Debate To Design: Issues In Clean Energy And Climate Change Law And Policy, Leslie Parker, Jennifer Ronk, Rachel Maxwell, Bradford Gentry, Marijn Wilder, James Cameron

Yale School of the Environment Publications Series

A report on the work of the REIL Network 2007-2008

Sustainability In A Time Of Climate Change: Developing An Intensive Research Framework For The Platte River Basin And The High Plains Proceedings From The 2008 Climate Change Workshop, Monica Norby, Ashley Washburn

Office of Research and Economic Development: Publications

Proceedings from the 2008 Climate change Workshop, Nebraska Sandhills, May 19-22, 2008. Hosted by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and the U.S. Geological Survey

Visualization Of Groundwater Flow Within Touching-Vu And Matrix Porosity In An Eogenetic Karst Aquifer, Lee J. Florea, Kevin J. Cunningham, Stephen Altobelli

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Faculty Publications

In this study, we use an innovative, non-invasive technology, nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (NMRI), to visualize the direction and magnitude of groundwater flow in field samples of late Pleistocene limestone of the Biscayne aquifer. Specific goals of the first set of NMRI experiments are to map the advective velocity of water flowing at two rates of specific discharge (0.00025 and 0.00013 m/s) through a 10-cm-diameter cylindrical, epoxy-resin model. The model interior accurately reproduces a well-connected maze of ichnologically influenced, centimeter-scale, touching-vug macroporosity common within preferred flow zones in parts of the Biscayne aquifer. A second set of NMRI experiments investigates …

Focus Group On Karst Hydrology - Conceptual Models, Aquifer Characterization, And Numerical Modeling, Martin Sauter, Lee J. Florea, Others

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Drainage Benchmarking In The Northern Agricultural Region : Landholder Survey, Alison Beattie, Angela Stuart-Street

Resource management technical reports

No abstract provided.

Sampling Of Malodorous Compounds In Air Using Stir Bar Sorbtive Extraction, John H. Loughrin, Nanh Lovanh, Arturo I. Quintanar, Rezaul Mahmood

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

Twisters, (poly)‐dimethylsiloxane‐coated magnetic stir bars, were used to measure compounds typical of swine manure malodor in air. In initial experiments, a time to achieve equilibrium was determined by preloading the stir bars with ten compounds with a range of volatilities and polarities and then monitoring their loss. The rate of loss was dependent on compound volatility, and the time for equilibrium to be attained varied widely, from 22 min for phenol to 210 min for skatole. To test whether the Twisters would respond linearly over a range of concentrations, the stir bars were placed in vented jars with solutions of …

Evaluation Of Modis Ndvi And Ndwi For Vegetation Drought Monitoring Using Oklahoma Mesonet Soil Moisture Data, Yingxin Gu, Eric Hunt, Brian Wardlow, Jeffrey B. Basara, Jesslyn F. Brown, James P. Verdin

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

The evaluation of the relationship between satellitederived vegetation indices (normalized difference vegetation index and normalized difference water index) and soil moisture improves our understanding of how these indices respond to soil moisture fluctuations. Soil moisture deficits are ultimately tied to drought stress on plants. The diverse terrain and climate of Oklahoma, the extensive soil moisture network of the Oklahoma Mesonet, and satellitederived indices from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) provided an opportunity to study correlations between soil moisture and vegetation indices over the 2002–2006 growing seasons. Results showed that the correlation between both indices and the fractional water index …

The Vegetation Drought Response Index (Vegdri): A New Integrated Approach For Monitoring Drought Stress In Vegetation, Jesslyn F. Brown, Brian D. Wardlow, Tsegaye Tadesse, Michael Hayes, Bradley C. Reed

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

The development of new tools that provide timely, detailed-spatial-resolution drought information is essential for improving drought preparedness and response. This paper presents a new method for monitoring drought-induced vegetation stress called the Vegetation Drought Response Index (VegDRI). VegDRI integrates traditional climate-based drought indicators and satellite-derived vegetation index metrics with other biophysical information to produce a 1 km map of drought conditions that can be produced in near-real time. The initial VegDRI map results for a 2002 case study conducted across seven states in the north-central United States illustrates the utility of VegDRI for improved large-area drought monitoring.

Lead Concentration Of Soils In Sorby Hills Area Of Proposed M2 Irrigation Area, East Kimberley, Edward (Ted) Arnold Griffin, Noel R. Schoknecht, Ross Brennan, Jane Speijers, Dave Allen, Mike Freeman

Resource management technical reports

No abstract provided.

Runoff Using A Combined Geographic Information System And Curve Number Approach, Keshia M. Koehn

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

Stormwater runoff can transport nutrients, sediments, chemicals, and pathogens to surface water bodies. Managing runoff is crucial to preserving water quality in rapidly developing urban watersheds like Northwest Arkansas. A watershed containing much of the University of Arkansas campus was identified as the target area for this study because stormwater from this location drains into the West Fork of the White River, designated as an impaired water body due to siltation. The project objective was to develop a methodology to test existing stormwater drainage infrastructure, identify potential areas of improvement, and estimate potentially contaminated runoff by combining two widely used …

Introgression And Dispersal Among Spotted Owl (Strix Occidentalis) Subspecies, W. Chris Funk, Eric D. Forsman, Thomas D. Mullins, Susan M. Haig

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Population genetics plays an increasingly important role in the conservation and management of declining species, particularly for defining taxonomic units. Subspecies are recognized by several conservation organizations and countries and receive legal protection under the US Endangered Species Act (ESA). Two subspecies of spotted owls, northern (Strix occidentalis caurina) and Mexican (S. o. lucida) spotted owls, are ESA-listed as threatened, but the California (S. o. occidentalis) spotted owl is not listed. Thus, determining the boundaries of these subspecies is critical for effective enforcement of the ESA. We tested the validity of previously recognized spotted …

Development And Evaluation Of Geochemical Methods For The Sourcing Of Archaeological Maize, L.V. Benson, H. E. Taylor, K.A. Peterson, B.D. Shattuck, C.A. Ramotnik, J.R. Stein

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Strontium (Sr)-isotope values on bone from deer mice pairs from 12 field sites in the Chaco Canyon area, New Mexico, were compared with isotope values of synthetic soil waters from the same fields. The data indicate that mice obtain Sr from near-surface sources and that soil samples collected at depths ranging from 25 to 95 cm contain Sr that is more accessible to the deep roots of maize; thus, synthetic soil solutions provide better data for the sourcing of archaeological maize. However, the Sr-isotope composition of mice may be more valuable in sourcing archaeological remains of animals such as rabbit, …

Tools And Technology Article: Estimation And Correction Of Visibility Bias In Aerial Surveys Of Wintering Ducks, Aaron T. Pearse, Patrick D. Gerard, Stephen J. Dinsmore, Richard M. Kaminski, Kenneth J. Reinecke

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Incomplete detection of all individuals leading to negative bias in abundance estimates is a pervasive source of error in aerial surveys of wildlife, and correcting that bias is a critical step in improving surveys. We conducted experiments using duck decoys as surrogates for live ducks to estimate bias associated with surveys of wintering ducks in Mississippi, USA. We found detection of decoy groups was related to wedand cover type (open vs. forested), group size (1-100 decoys), and interaction of these variables. Observers who detected decoy groups reported counts that averaged 78% of the decoys actually present, and this counting bias …

Tools And Technology Article: Evaluation Of An Aerial Survey To Estimate Abundance Of Wintering Ducks In Mississippi, Aaron T. Pearse, Stephen J. Dinsmore, Richard M. Kaminski, Kenneth J. Reinecke

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Researchers have successfully designed aerial surveys that provided precise estimates of wintering populations of ducks over large physiographic regions, yet few conservation agencies have adopted these probability-based sampling designs for their surveys. We designed and evaluated an aerial survey to estimate abundance of wintering mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), dabbling ducks (tribe Anatini) other than mallards, diving ducks (tribes Aythini, Mergini, and Oxyurini), and total ducks in western Mississippi, USA. We used design-based sampling of fixed width transects to estimate population indices (/), and we used model-based methods to correct population indices for visibility bias and estimate population abundance (N) for 14 …

Relations Between And Among Contaminant Concentrations And Biomarkers In Black Bass (Micropterus Spp.) And Common Carp (Cyprinus Carpio) From Large U.S. Rivers, 1995–2004, Jo Ellen Hinck, Christopher J. Schmitt, Mark R. Ellersieck, Donald E. Tillitt

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Environmental contaminant and biomarker monitoring data from major U.S. river basins were summarized for black bass (Micropterus spp.) and common carp (Cyprinus carpio) sampled over a nine year period. Cumulative frequency distributions revealed taxon differences for many organochlorine residue concentrations, elemental contaminant concentrations, and biomarkers, but few gender differences were evident for chemical concentrations. Concentrations of dacthal, pentachloroanisole, p,p'-DDE, endosulfan sulfate, barium, cadmium, copper, manganese, lead, selenium, vanadium, and zinc were greater in carp than bass, but concentrations of mercury and magnesium were greater in bass. Gender differences were evident in bass for mercury and in carp …

Impact Of Drought On Prehistoric Western Native Americans, Larry Benson

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Some droughts that occurred during the so-called Medieval Climate Anomaly (approximately AD 800-1300) appear to have been catalysts for major changes in settlement patterns of two western Native American groups - the Lovelock culture in Nevada’s Great Basin and the Anasazi people of the Four Corners area. Both groups’ subsistence bases were impacted by diminished water supplies associated with prolonged drought, leading to the dispersal of these Native Americans from their former territories.

Tree-ring-based Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) reconstructions by Cook et al. (2004) indicate that over 50% of the western U.S. experienced drought conditions during the middle-12th and …

Grenetic Evidence Of Intercontinental Movement Of Avian Influenza In A Migratory Bird: The Northern Pintail (Anas Acuta), Anson V. Koehler, John M. Pearce, Paul L. Flint, J. Christian Franson, Hon S. Ip

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The role of migratory birds in the movement of the highly pathogenic (HP) avian influenza H5N1 remains a subject of debate. Testing hypotheses regarding intercontinental movement of low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) viruses will help evaluate the potential that wild birds could carry Asian-origin strains of HP avian influenza to North America during migration. Previous North American assessments of LPAI genetic variation have found few Asian reassortment events. Here, we present results from whole-genome analyses of LPAI isolates collected in Alaska from the northern pintail (Anas acuta), a species that migrates between North America and Asia. Phylogenetic analyses …

Droughtscape, Winter 2008, Kelly Smith

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

Now Up & On-Line:

Winter 2008 Outlook and Oct.-Dec. ’07 Summary

NDMC Experts Serve as Resource for Media

Drought Hits Ag and Urban Interests in 2007

Climatological Summary of Drought in 2007

NDMC Welcomes Data Miner Bo Zhang

New Grant Awards

Determination Of Photochemically Produced Carbon Dioxide In Seawater, Emily M. White, David J. Kieber, Kenneth Mopper

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

An analytical system was developed to determine photochemically produced carbon dioxide in marine waters. Our system was designed to measure low levels of carbon dioxide by maintaining a closed system to prevent atmospheric contamination during sample preparation, irradiation, and analysis. To detect low levels of photoproduced carbon dioxide in seawater, background dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) was removed before irradiation. To strip out DIC, samples were acidified to pH 3.0 (converting DIC to carbon dioxide) and bubbled with low carbon dioxide air. The pH was then readjusted back to the original value, and the resulting low-DIC seawater samples were transferred pneumatically …

Apparent Tolerance Of Turkey Vultures (Cathartes Aura) To The Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug Diclofenac, Barnett A. Rattner, Maria A. Whitehead, Grace Gasper, Carol U. Meteyer, William A. Link, Mark A. Taggart, Andrew A. Meharg, Oliver H. Pattee, Deborah J. Pain

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac is extremely toxic to Old World Gyps vultures (median lethal dose ~0.1–0.2 mg/kg), evoking visceral gout, renal necrosis, and mortality within a few days of exposure. Unintentional secondary poisoning of vultures that fed upon carcasses of diclofenac-treated livestock decimated populations in the Indian subcontinent. Because of the widespread use of diclofenac and other cyclooxygenase-2 inhibiting drugs, a toxicological study was undertaken in turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) as an initial step in examining sensitivity of New World scavenging birds. Two trials were conducted entailing oral gavage of diclofenac at doses ranging from 0.08 to …

Quantifying Vertical Mixing In Estuaries, W. Rockwell Geyer, Malcolm E. Scully, David K. Ralston

CCPO Publications

Estuarine turbulence is notable in that both the dissipation rate and the buoyancy frequency extend to much higher values than in other natural environments. The high dissipation rates lead to a distinct inertial subrange in the velocity and scalar spectra, which can be exploited for quantifying the turbulence quantities. However, high buoyancy frequencies lead to small Ozmidov scales, which require high sampling rates and small spatial aperture to resolve the turbulent fluxes. A set of observations in a highly stratified estuary demonstrate the effectiveness of a vessel-mounted turbulence array for resolving turbulent processes, and for relating the turbulence to the …

Survival Of Eastern Oysters Crassostrea Virginica From Three Lines Following Experimental Challenge With Bacterial Pathogens, Javier Gomez-Leon, Luisa Villamil, Scott A. Salger, Rachel Sallum, Antonio Remacha-Trivino, Dale F. Leavitt, Marta Gomez-Chiarri

Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Sciences Faculty Publications

Shellfish production is often affected by bacterial pathogens that cause high losses in hatcheries and nurseries. We evaluated the relative survival of larvae and juveniles of 3 Crassostrea virginica oyster lines: (1) GHP, a Rhode Island line; (2) NEHY, a line resistant to dermo and multinucleated sphere X diseases; and (3) FLOWERS, a line resistant to Roseovarius oyster disease, experimental challenge with Vibrio spp. isolates RE22 and RE101, causative agents of bacillary necrosis in Pacific oyster larvae, and the type strain of Roseovarius crassostreae, causative agent of Roseovarius oyster disease. All of the isolates were able to induce significant …

State Of The River Report For The Lower St. Johns River Basin, Florida: Water Quality, Fisheries, Aquatic Life, And Contaminants 2008, Environmental Protection Board, City Of Jacksonville, University Of North Florida, Jacksonville University

State of the River Report

No abstract provided.

Setting Targets For Resource Condition In Narrakine Gully And Highbury Catchments, Leon Van Wyk, Gregory Paul Raper

Resource management technical reports

No abstract provided.

Comparison Of Total Mercury And Methylmercury Cycling At Five Sites Using The Small Watershed Approach, James B. Shanley, M. Alisa Mast, Donald H. Campbell, George R. Aiken, David P. Krabbenhoft, Randall J. Hunt, John F. Walker, Paul F. Schuster, Ann Chalmers, Brent T. Aulenbach, Norman E. Peters, Mark Marvin-Dipasquale, David W. Clow, Martin M. Shafer

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The small watershed approach is well-suited but underutilized in mercury research. We applied the small watershed approach to investigate total mercury (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) dynamics in streamwater at the five diverse forested headwater catchments of the US Geological Survey Water, Energy, and Biogeochemical Budgets (WEBB) program. At all sites, baseflow THg was generally less than 1 ng L^-1 and MeHg was less than 0.2 ng L^-1. THg and MeHg concentrations increased with streamflow, so export was primarily episodic. At three sites, THg and MeHg concentration and export were dominated by the particulate fraction in association with …

Range-Wide Phylogeographic Analysis Of The Spotted Frog Complex (Rana Luteiventris And Rana Pretiosa) In Northwestern North America, W. Chris Funk, Christopher A. Pearl, Hope M. Draheim, Michael J. Adams, Thomas D. Mullins, Susan M. Haig

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The dynamic geological and climatic history of northwestern North America has made it a focal region for phylogeography. We conducted a range-wide phylogeographic analysis of the spotted frog complex (Rana luteiventris and Rana pretiosa) across its range in northwestern North America to understand its evolutionary history and the distribution of clades to inform conservation of R. pretiosa and Great Basin R. luteiventris, candidates for listing under the US Endangered Species Act. Mitochondrial DNA sequence data from a segment of the cytochrome b gene were obtained from 308 R. luteiventris and R. pretiosa from 96 sites. Phylogenetic analysis …