Fresh Water Studies Commons^™

Water-Level Changes And Change In Water In Storage In The High Plains Aquifer, Predevelopment To 2013 And 2011-13, Virginia L. Mcguire

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

The High Plains aquifer underlies 111.8 million acres (about 175,000 square miles) in parts of eight States—Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. Water-level declines began in parts of the High Plains aquifer soon after the beginning of substantial irrigation with groundwater in the aquifer area (about 1950). This report presents water-level changes in the High Plains aquifer from predevelopment (generally before 1950) to 2013 and from 2011 to 2013. The report also presents change in water in storage in the High Plains aquifer from predevelopment to 2013 and from 2011 to 2013.

The methods to …

Optical Characterization And Distribution Of Chromophoric Dissolved Organic Matter (Cdom) In Soil Porewater From A Salt Marsh Ecosystem, Catherine D. Clark, Paige Aiona, Jason K. Keller, Warren J. De Bruyn

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

To characterize chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) in marsh porewaters and its contribution as a carbon source, optical properties (absorbance, fluorescence indices, 3-dimensional excitation-emission matrices [EEMs]) of soil porewater and surface water were measured in a southern Californian salt marsh. Absorption coefficients and fluorescence intensities were higher in porewater than in overlying surface waters, consistent with higher CDOM concentration at depth. Humic-type peaks A and C were observed in EEMs in all samples, and peak M was observed in surface waters and shallow porewater to -5 cm depth. Fluorescence:absorbance (flu:abs) ratios and spectral slopes (S) decreased across the surface interface, …

Umphlett Qci Dec 2014, Natalie A. Umphlett

HPRCC Personnel Publications

Highlights for the Basin

Temperature and Precipitation Anomalies

Drought Conditions

Agriculture

Horticulture

Recreation and Tourism

3-Month Precipitation and Temperature Outlooks

Soil Moisture Conditions

Development Of A Hydrologic Model For An Urban Headwater Stream: The Influence Of Pervious Surface Properties On Runoff Dynamics, Dawn A. Farver

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A hydrologic model was developed for the Mullins Creek (MC) catchment located on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The MC catchment is a small, dynamic urban stream system with a range of land use/land cover (LULC), an extensive and well-developed stormwater drainage network, and extensive urbanization (over 90% developed, and almost 50% impervious surface area (ISA)). Selected datasets provided information on the stormwater drainage network, the physical attributes of the catchment and receiving waterway (i.e. drainage area, slope, etc.), infiltration potential of soil map units, LULC, and percent ISA. These datasets were analyzed to provide input parameters …

Are Concentration-Discharge Relations Influenced By Water Sample Collection Methods?, William Welch

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Two primary methods of stream water sampling, the U.S. Geologic Survey (USGS) equal-width increment (EWI) and point samples (PS) from vertical centroid of flow (VCF) were compared at three river sites, the White River near Fayetteville, Richland Creek at Goshen, and War Eagle Creek near Hindsville. A little over three years of concentration data, which was paired with corresponding instantaneous discharge values (http://ar.water.usgs.gov/), was gathered separately at each site by the Arkansas Water Resource Center (AWRC) and the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The purpose of this study was to evaluate how concentration is related to discharge when water samples …

Relations Of Water-Quality Constituent Concentrations To Surrogate Measurements In The Lower Platte River Corridor, Nebraska, 2007 Through 2011, Nathaniel J. Schaepe, Philip J. Soenksen, David L. Rus

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

The lower Platte River, Nebraska, provides drinking water, irrigation water, and in-stream flows for recreation, wildlife habitat, and vital habitats for several threatened and endangered species. The United States Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Lower Platte River Corridor Alliance (LPRCA) developed site-specific regression models for water-quality constituents at four sites (Shell Creek near Columbus, Nebraska [USGS site 06795500]; Elkhorn River at Waterloo, Nebraska [USGS site 06800500]; Salt Creek near Ashland, Nebraska [USGS site 06805000]; and Platte River at Louisville, Nebraska [USGS site 06805500]) in the lower Platte River corridor. The models were developed by relating continuously monitored water-quality …

Microbial Water Quality During The Northern Migration Of Sandhill Cranes (Grus Canadensis) At The Central Platte River, Nebraska, Matthew T. Moser

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

The central Platte River is an important resource in Nebraska. Its water flows among multiple channels and supports numerous beneficial uses such as drinking water, irrigation for agriculture, groundwater recharge, and recreational activities. The central Platte River valley is an important stopover for migratory waterfowl and cranes, such as the Whooping Cranes (Grus americana) and Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis), in their annual northward traversal of the Central Flyway. Waterfowl, cranes, and other migratory birds moving across international and intercontinental borders may provide long-range transportation for any microbial pathogen they harbor, particularly through the spread of feces. …

Droughtscape- Fall 2014, Kelly Smith

Droughtscape, Quarterly Newsletter of NDMC, 2007-

CONTENTS

Director’s report...........................1

Upcoming events.........................3

Drought & climate summary ........ 4

Drought impacts .........................6

Drought planning in Brazil ........10

Ethiopian workshop ................... 12

Visiting scholar .........................13

Help for South Plains ranchers.........13

Wind River tribal workshop...........14

Inter Tribal Buffalo Council ............ 15

South Dakota ranch workshops............ 16

Umphlett Qci Sept 2014, Natalie Umphlett

HPRCC Personnel Publications

Highlights for the Basin

Temperature and Precipitation Anomalies

􏰞􏰥􏰬􏰨􏰤􏰵􏰶􏰫Streamflow

Long-term Impacts of Drought

Cool, Wet Summer Benefits

Heavy Precipitation Impacts the Missouri River and its Tributaries

3-Month Precipitation and Temperature Outlooks

Soil Moisture Conditions

Repeated Multibeam Echosounder Hydrographic Surveys Of 15 Selected Bridge Crossings Along The Missouri River From Niobrara To Rulo, Nebraska, During The Flood Of 2011, Benjamin J. Dietsch, Brenda K. Densmore, Kellan R. Strauch

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

In 2011, unprecedented flooding in the Missouri River prompted transportation agencies to increase the frequency of monitoring riverbed elevations near bridges that cross the Missouri River. Hydrographic surveys were completed in cooperation with the Nebraska Department of Roads, using a multibeam echosounder at 15 highway bridges spanning the Missouri River from Niobrara to Rulo, Nebraska during and after the extreme 2011 flood.

Evidence of bed elevation change near bridge piers was documented. The greatest amount of bed elevation change during the 2011 flood documented for this study occurred at the Burt County Missouri River Bridge at Decatur, Nebraska, where scour …

Droughtscape- Summer 2014, Kelly Smith

Droughtscape, Quarterly Newsletter of NDMC, 2007-

CONTENTS

Director’s report...........................1

Outlook ........................................ 2

Drought & climate summary ........ 2

Drought impacts .........................4

International drought monitoring and planning ...............................8

Visiting scholars.........................10

North American Drought Monitor Forum ........................................ 11

New primary Dust Bowl source .............. 12

New additions to online webinar archive ....................................... 14

Community Capitals Framework Institute ...................................... 15

Hydrostratigraphic Interpretation Of Test-Hole And Borehole Geophysical Data, Kimball, Cheyenne, And Deuel Counties, Nebraska, 2011-12, Christopher M. Hobza, Steven S. Sibray

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

Recently (2004) adopted legislation in Nebraska requires a sustainable balance between long-term supplies and uses of surface-water and groundwater and requires Natural Resources Districts to understand the effect of groundwater use on surface-water systems when developing a groundwater-management plan. The South Platte Natural Resources District (SPNRD) is located in the southern Nebraska Panhandle and overlies the nationally important High Plains aquifer. Declines in water levels have been documented, and more stringent regulations have been enacted to ensure the supply of ground-water will be sufficient to meet the needs of future generations. Because an improved understanding of the hydrogeologic characteristics of …

Water In The 21st Century, Grayson Michael Shor

Social Sciences

The aim of this research project is to provide a comprehensive and global analysis of water use in order to provide the reader with a comprehensive grasp of current and impending issues. The included five (5) chapters discuss water distribution, conservation, purification, law, international development, economic debates, ethical consideration, as well as educated estimations of the effects water related issues may cause in the next one-hundred years.

Umphlett Qci June 2014, Natalie Umphlett

HPRCC Personnel Publications

Highlights for the Basin

Temperature and Precipitation Anomalies

􏰞􏰥􏰬􏰨􏰤􏰮􏱨Streamflow

Drought Impacts to Livestock

Continued Cold Hampers Producers in North

3-Month Precipitation and Temperature Outlooks

U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook

Geochemical And Stratigraphic Analysis Of The Linnévatnet Sediment Record: A Study Of Late Holocene Cirque Glacier Activity In Spitsbergen, Svalbard, Graham Harper Edwards

Honors Projects

Morainal and lacustrine sediments in Linnédalen, Spitsbergen, Svalbard, record the fluctuations of a glacier in a currently unglaciated mountain cirque during the Little Ice Age (LIA). This study attempts to reconstruct Late Holocene glacial activity within this cirque from geochemical, physical, and visual stratigraphic variation of the Linnévatnet lacustrine sediment record. A 57 cm lacustrine sediment core (D10.5) from Linnévatnet was analyzed at a high-resolution for variations in X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF)-measured elemental composition, spectral reflectance, and magnetic susceptibility. The visual stratigraphy was observed at a microscopic scale. An age-depth model for D10.5 is developed by extrapolating sedimentation rates from dated …

Issue Brief: Asset Management For Stormwater, New England Environmental Finance Center, Sustainable Communities Learning Network

Sustainable Communities Capacity Building

Asset management is a strategic approach to maintaining and sustaining infrastructure in order to meet the needs of the community at the lowest overall life cycle cost. This approach helps communities know how and where to prioritize limited funds in order to achieve the greatest benefit. Often applied to drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, this method is well suited to managing any assets, including stormwater systems.

This issue brief is intended to introduce local governments to the asset management process and to show how it can be applied in managing stormwater assets. It was adapted from an appendix written by …

Salinity Risk Mapping For Assessing Carbon Farming Initiative Proposals: Decision Support And Data Requirements, Paul Raper, Peter Gardiner

Resource management technical reports

The Clean Energy Legislation passed by the Australian Parliament on 8 November 2011 links the carbon price to the Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI). Under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011 (the Act), proponents need to consider regional natural resource management (NRM) plans to ensure that tree plantings for carbon bio-sequestration maximise environmental benefits and avoid unintended adverse effects on biodiversity, water and agricultural production systems.

Droughtscape- Spring 2014, Kelly Smith

Droughtscape, Quarterly Newsletter of NDMC, 2007-

CONTENTS

Director’s report...........................1

Outlook ........................................ 2

Drought climate recap ................. 3

Drought impacts .........................4

DroughtAtlas ..............................8

Missouri River Basin pilot ............ 9

NASA Horn of Africa project ............... 10

U2U tools and social science ............. 12

Consulting for Turkey................. 14

Czech drought monitoring ......... 14

Similar Resilience Attributes In Lakes With Different Management Practices, Didier L. Baho, Stina Drakare, Richard K. Johnson, Craig R. Allen, David G. Angeler

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Liming has been used extensively in Scandinavia and elsewhere since the 1970s to counteract the negative effects of acidification. Communities in limed lakes usually return to acidified conditions once liming is discontinued, suggesting that liming is unlikely to shift acidified lakes to a state equivalent to pre-acidification conditions that requires no further management intervention. While this suggests a low resilience of limed lakes, attributes that confer resilience have not been assessed, limiting our understanding of the efficiency of costly management programs. In this study, we assessed community metrics (diversity, richness, evenness, biovolume), multivariate community structure and the relative resilience of …

Umphlett Qci March 2014, Natalie Umphlett

HPRCC Personnel Publications

Highlights for the Basin

Temperature and Precipitation Anomalies

Mountain Snowpack

Agriculture

Tourism and Recreation

Missouri Basin Flood Outlook

U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook

Water Movement Through The Unsaturated Zone Of The High Plains Aquifer In The Central Platte Natural Resources District, Nebraska, 2008-12, Gregory V. Steele, Jason J. Gurdak, Christopher M. Hobza

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

Uncertainty about the effects of land use and climate on water movement in the unsaturated zone and on groundwater recharge rates can lead to uncertainty in water budgets used for groundwater-flow models. To better understand these effects, a cooperative study between the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the Central Platte Natural Resources District (CP NRD) was initiated in 2007 to determine field-based estimates of recharge rates in selected land-use areas of the CP NRD in Nebraska. Measured total water potential and unsaturated-zone profiles of tritium, chloride, nitrate as nitrogen, and bromide, along with groundwater-age dates, were used to evaluate …

Co-Occurrence Of The Cyanotoxins Bmaa, Daba And Anatoxin-A In Nebraska Reservoirs, Fish, And Aquatic Plants, Maitham Ahmed Al-Sammak, Kyle D. Hoagland, David A. Cassada, Daniel D. Snow

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Several groups of microorganisms are capable of producing toxins in aquatic environments. Cyanobacteria are prevalent blue green algae in freshwater systems, and many species produce cyanotoxins which include a variety of chemical irritants, hepatotoxins and neurotoxins. Production and occurrence of potent neurotoxic cyanotoxins β-N-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA), 2,4-diaminobutyric acid dihydrochloride (DABA), and anatoxin-a are especially critical with environmental implications to public and animal health. Biomagnification, though not well understood in aquatic systems, is potentially relevant to both human and animal health effects. Because little is known regarding their presence in fresh water, we investigated the occurrence and potential for bioaccumulation of cyanotoxins …

A Review Of The Hyporheic Zone, Stream Restoration, And Means To Enhance Denitrification, Leanne Merill, David J. Tonjes

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

The hyporheic zone is the subsurface area below and adjacent to a stream where groundwater mixes with stream water, through vertical, lateral, and longitudinal flows. The hyporheic zone connects the stream to uplands and other terrestrial environments. It is a zone of distinct faunal communities, high biological diversity and ecological complexity, and is the site of chemical processing and transformations of ground- and stream waters. The hyporheic zone is important to the overall ecosystem ecology of the stream, and it can influence stream water chemistry. Flows, reactions, and biota in the hyporheic zone are heterogeneous and patchy, making it difficult …

Winter Wind Chill Climatology For The High Plains Region, Holly B. Lussenden, Natalie A. Umphlett, Martha D. Shulski, Daniel Ebert

HPRCC Personnel Publications

During the winter months in the High Plains region of the United States, wind chill temperatures can reach dangerous levels for humans and animals. Knowing the frequency in which extreme wind chill temperatures occur could help forecasters know when to issue wind chill advisories and also the general public understand just how rare, or common, certain wind chill temperatures are. A climatology spanning a 37-year period was created using data from 57 stations in and around the plains portion of the High Plains region from the Integrated Surface Hourly Database at National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). These climatologies were completed …

Droughtscape- Winter 2014, Kelly Smith

Droughtscape, Quarterly Newsletter of NDMC, 2007-

CONTENTS

Director’s report...........................1

Outlook & quarterly review .......... 2

Drought in 2013 review................3

Quarterly impacts review ............. 5

Impacts in 2013 review................8

Belmont Forum research...........10

USDM change maps ................. 11

Central Asia drought planning ....... 12

Kansas RC&D planning.............13

Publication compares plans.......13

Drought for planners webinar .... 14

Soil moisture networks .............. 14

KS farm & ranch planning..........15

$500 to develop leadership ....... 15

Kids seek solutions....................16

Plains symposium April 1-4 ....... 17

Investigating The Effect Of The ‘‘Land Between The Lakes’’ On Storm Patterns, Joshua D. Durkee, Ahmed M. Degu, Faisal Hossain, Rezaul Mahmood, Jesse Winchester, Themis Chronis

HPRCC Personnel Publications

The artificially created region around the ‘‘Land between the Lakes’’ (LBL) in Kentucky represents unique land use and land cover (LULC) heterogeneities. Over a distance of 100 km, the LULC comprises artificially created open water bodies (i.e., two parallel large run-on-river dams separated by the LBL), mountainous terrain, forest cover, and extensive agricultural land. Such heterogeneities increase (decrease) moisture supply and sensible heat, resulting in a differential air mass boundary that helps to initiate (inhibit) convection. Hence, the LBL can potentially modify precipitation formation. Historical anecdotes reveal a tendency for storms to dissipate or reintensify near the LBL. The specific …

Climate Masters Of Nebraska: An Innovative Action-Based Approach For Climate Change Education, Tapan Pathak, Tonya Bernadt, Natalie A. Umphlett

HPRCC Personnel Publications

Climate Masters of Nebraska is an innovative educational program that strategically trains community volunteers about climate change science and corresponding ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in an interactive and action-based teaching environment. As a result of the program, 91% of participants indicated that they made informed changes in their lives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Approximately 500 hours of volunteer work was reported by participants as an outreach for greenhouse gas emission reduction. The program can be easily replicated to other locales with an effective planning and with small leadership team.

A Comparison Of The Mm5 And The Regional Atmospheric Modeling System Simulations For Land--Atmosphere Interactions Under Varying Soil Moisture, Astrid Suarez, Rezaul Mamood, Arturo I. Quintanar, Adriana Beltran-Prezekurat, Roger Pielke Sr.

HPRCC Personnel Publications

A comparison between two mesoscale models, Colorado State University Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS) version 4.4 coupled with the Land-Ecosystem--Atmosphere Feedback Model (LEAF2) and Penn State/NCAR’s Mesoscale Model (MM5) coupled with NOAH Land Surface Model, was conducted in order to assess the sensitivity of forecasted planetary boundary layer (PBL) variables to anomalous initial volumetric soil moisture conditions. The experiments were conducted using three synoptic events: June 11, 17 and 22, 2006. For each event, one control run and six additional simulations were completed using RAMS and MM5. In each of the events, initial volumetric soil moisture was increased and decreased …

The Effects That Liquid And Solid Cattle Manure Have On The Water Quality Of Drainage Ditches In Putnam County, Ohio, Janelle Horstman

Honors Projects

Lake Erie has experienced harmful algal blooms with increased frequency since the mid-1990s due to excess nutrients from Rivers, such as the Maumee River, and largely agricultural watersheds. Nonpoint source pollution from agriculture contributes to eutrophication, algal blooms, and the degradation of water quality. This creates stress on aquatic fauna, reduced aesthetic quality, odor, and limits of the water for usage of drinking, recreation, and industry. This research paper asks what the contributions of having access to manure application records, soil records, and information about antibiotics have on what is known about manure management and antibiotic resistance, which has been …

Capacitively Coupled And Direct-Current Resistivity Surveys Of Selected Reaches Of Cozad, Thirty-Mile, Orchard-Alfalfa, Kearney, And Outlet Canals In Nebraska, 2012-13, Christopher M. Hobza, Bethany L. Burton, Jeffrey E. Lucius, Ryan E. Tompkins

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

Understanding the spatial characteristics of leakage from canals is critical to effectively managing and utilizing water resources for irrigation and hydroelectric purposes. Canal leakage in some parts of Nebraska is the primary source of water for groundwater recharge and helps maintain the base flow of streams. Because surface-water supplies depend on the streamflow of the Platte River and the available water stored in upstream reservoirs, water managers seek to minimize conveyance losses, which can include canal leakage. The United States Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Central Platte Natural Resources District and Nebraska Public Power District, used capacitively coupled (CC) …