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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Keyword
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- Remote sensing (4)
- Arizona (2)
- Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Microwave Imager (TMI) (2)
- Arizona fescue (1)
- Azimuth angle modulation (1)
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- Backscatter (1)
- Brightness temperature (1)
- CARB (1)
- CO2 emission (1)
- Cities and towns – growth; Housing development; Natural areas; Urban development (1)
- Climate change (1)
- Community education; Nevada – Nevada Test Site; Radioactive waste repositories – Environmental aspects; Rural population; United States. Dept. of Energy (1)
- Data interpretation (1)
- Decision making (1)
- Diurnal variation (1)
- Drought prediction (1)
- Dynamic panel data GMM model (1)
- ERS scatterometer (ESCAT) (1)
- Earthquakes (1)
- Elymus elymoides (1)
- Environmental management; Mail surveys; Nevada – Nevada Test Site; Public opinion; Rural population; United States. Dept. of Energy (1)
- Environmental quality; GIS; Mountain watersheds ; New York City Water Supply; New York (State)— Catskill Mountains; New York (State) – New York; Soil Erosion; Streamflow Source Areas; Water Quality; Water resource management; Water-supply; Watershed management (1)
- Erg (1)
- Ergs (1)
- Erigeron formosissimus (1)
- Experimental forests (1)
- Festuca arizonica (1)
- Forest litter (1)
- Hazardous waste sites -- Economic aspects (1)
- Implicit warrants (1)
Articles 1 - 16 of 16
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Impact Of Carb's Tailpipe Emission Standard Policy On Co2 Reduction Among The Us States, Jaewon Lim, Doohwan Won
Impact Of Carb's Tailpipe Emission Standard Policy On Co2 Reduction Among The Us States, Jaewon Lim, Doohwan Won
Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications
U.S.Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set the nationwide emission standard policy, but each state in the U.S. has an option to follow the higher emission standard policy set by CARB (California Air Resources Board) in 2004. There are 14 “CARB states” that follow California’s more restrictive standards. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of CARB’s tailpipe emission standard policy. Using the panel dataset for 49 U.S. states over a 28-year study period (1987–2015), this paper found the long-term policy effect in reducing CO2 emission from CARB’s tailpipe standard, and its long-run effect is 5.4 times higher than …
Land Surface Brightness Temperature Modeling Using Solar Insolation, Haroon Stephen, Sajjad Ahmad, Thomas C. Piechota
Land Surface Brightness Temperature Modeling Using Solar Insolation, Haroon Stephen, Sajjad Ahmad, Thomas C. Piechota
Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications
Retrieval of land surface emissivity and temperature from microwave brightness temperature data is a complex problem. The diurnal variation of temperature due to the diurnal cycle of solar radiation and weather conditions makes this problem even more challenging. In this paper, we use solar radiation in modeling the temporal variation of the brightness temperature state of the surface. Solar insolation modeling is used to estimate the diurnal variation of land surface brightness temperature. Solar radiation and brightness temperature are linked through temperature of the surface which is derived based on the radiation balance equation. The temperature state model behaves consistent …
Relating Surface Backscatter Response From Trmm Precipitation Radar To Soil Moisture: Results Over A Semi-Arid Region, Haroon Stephen, Sajjad Ahmad, Thomas C. Piechota, Chunling Tang
Relating Surface Backscatter Response From Trmm Precipitation Radar To Soil Moisture: Results Over A Semi-Arid Region, Haroon Stephen, Sajjad Ahmad, Thomas C. Piechota, Chunling Tang
Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications
The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) carries aboard the Precipitation Radar (TRMMPR) that measures the backscatter (σº) of the surface. σº is sensitive to surface soil moisture and vegetation conditions. Due to sparse vegetation in arid and semi-arid regions, TRMMPR σº primarily depends on the soil water content. In this study we relate TRMMPR σº measurements to soil water content (m(s)) in the Lower Colorado River Basin (LCRB). σº dependence on ms is studied for different vegetation greenness values determined through Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). A new model of σº that couples incidence angle, m(s), and NDVI is used …
An Examination Of Rural Residents’ Perceptions Of Environmental Activities At The Nevada Test Site: Results Of A Mail Questionnaire 2008 – 2009, Helen R. Neill
An Examination Of Rural Residents’ Perceptions Of Environmental Activities At The Nevada Test Site: Results Of A Mail Questionnaire 2008 – 2009, Helen R. Neill
Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications
Purpose:
Given the U.S. DOE's Environmental Management activities at the Nevada Test Site, what matters to rural residents living nearby?
DOE provided a grant to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas to conduct a questionnaire and analyses.
Rural Communities And Awareness Of Doe Environmental Management Programs At The Nevada Test Site: Do Outreach Efforts Matter?, Helen R. Neill, K. K. Snyder, Janet Ward
Rural Communities And Awareness Of Doe Environmental Management Programs At The Nevada Test Site: Do Outreach Efforts Matter?, Helen R. Neill, K. K. Snyder, Janet Ward
Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications
Are residents living in communities around the Nevada Test Site aware of environmental remediation activities and do outreach efforts contribute to awareness? Through a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grant, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas administered a mail questionnaire to 14,083 residents and received 1,721 responses. Approximately 90% of the respondents reported awareness of past nuclear tests at the Nevada Test Site; 63% reported awareness of low-level radioactive waste disposal at the site; and 41% are aware that the Yucca Mountain Project for high level waste disposal is part of the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management and not …
Plant Recruitment In A Northern Arizona Ponderosa Pine Forest: Testing Seed- And Leaf Litter- Limitation Hypotheses, Scott R. Abella
Plant Recruitment In A Northern Arizona Ponderosa Pine Forest: Testing Seed- And Leaf Litter- Limitation Hypotheses, Scott R. Abella
Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications
Seed availability and leaf litter limit plant establishment in some ecosystems. To evaluate the hypothesis that these factors limit understory plant recruitment in Pinus ponderosa forests, I conducted a seeding and litter removal experiment at six thinned sites in the Fort Valley Experimental Forest, northern Arizona. Experimental seeding of four native species (Penstemon virgatus, Erigeron formosissimus, Elymus elymoides, and Festuca arizonica) and raking of litter occurred in 2005. Seeding resulted in a substantial recruitment of 14 to 103 seedlings/m2 (1 to 10/ft2) one month after seeding for two species (P. virgatus and E. elymoides), but these densities subsequently declined by …
Uncertainty, Climate Change And Nuclear Power, David M. Hassenzahl
Uncertainty, Climate Change And Nuclear Power, David M. Hassenzahl
Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications
Long time-horizon environmental risks with potential for global impacts have increased in visibility over the past several decades. Such issues as climate change, the nuclear fuel cycle, persistent synthetic chemicals, and stratospheric ozone depletion share some characteristics, including intergenerational impacts, strongly decoupled incidence of risks and benefits, substantial decision stakes and extreme uncertainty. What is not well understood are the similarities and differences among sources and implications of uncertainty among these global environmental threats, especially those associate with current and future human behavior. This describes the uncertainties associated with managing two global concerns: the nuclear (fission) fuel cycle and anthropogenic …
Technical Risk Information: Decision Tool Or Rhetorical Ammunition? Undisputed Facts In The Yucca Mountain Debate, David M. Hassenzahl, Denise Tillery, Paulette Laidler
Technical Risk Information: Decision Tool Or Rhetorical Ammunition? Undisputed Facts In The Yucca Mountain Debate, David M. Hassenzahl, Denise Tillery, Paulette Laidler
Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications
This paper examines how both opponents and proponents of the proposed high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca mountain Nevada claim that uncontroversial information supports their conflicting positions. Four pieces of information in particular are claimed by both sides: the distance of the proposed site from Las Vegas, the volume of waste that has been produced, the threat of terrorism since 9/11/01, and the occurrence of an earthquake in early 2002. Possible explanations for the difference include naive positivism, social constructionism, persistent beliefs and implicit warrants. The latter two models better explain observed knowledge/preference states. If so, more or better information …
Microwave Backscatter Modeling Of Erg Surfaces In The Sahara Desert, Haroon Stephen, David G. Long
Microwave Backscatter Modeling Of Erg Surfaces In The Sahara Desert, Haroon Stephen, David G. Long
Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications
The Sahara Desert includes large expanses of sand dunes called ergs. These dunes are formed and constantly reshaped by prevailing winds. Previous study shows that Saharan ergs exhibit significant radar backscatter (σ°) modulation with azimuth angle (f). We use σ° measurements observed at various incidence angles and f from the NASA Scatterometer (NSCAT), the SeaWinds scatterometer, the ERS scatterometer (ESCAT), and the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission's Precipitation Radar to model the σ° response from sand dunes. Observations reveal a characteristic relationship between the backscatter modulation and the dune type, i.e., the number and orientation of the dune slopes. Sand dunes …
Modeling Microwave Emissions Of Erg Surfaces In The Sahara Desert, Haroon Stephen, David G. Long
Modeling Microwave Emissions Of Erg Surfaces In The Sahara Desert, Haroon Stephen, David G. Long
Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications
Sand seas (ergs) of the Sahara are the most dynamic parts of the desert. Aeolian erosion, transportation, and deposition continue to reshape the surface of the ergs. The large-scale features (dunes) of these bedforms reflect the characteristics of the sand and the long-term wind. Radiometric emissions from the ergs have strong dependence on the surface geometry. We model the erg surface as composed of tilted rough facets. Each facet is characterized by a tilt distribution dependent upon the surface roughness of the facet. The radiometric temperature (T(b)) of ergs is then the weighted sum of the T(b) from all the …
Converting Low-Level Mixed Waste Into Transuranic Waste For Geologic Disposal At Wipp: A Cost Analysis, Helen R. Neill, Robert H. Neill
Converting Low-Level Mixed Waste Into Transuranic Waste For Geologic Disposal At Wipp: A Cost Analysis, Helen R. Neill, Robert H. Neill
Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications
The Department of Energy (DOE) has approximately 43,000 cubic meters of mixed-low-level waste (MLLW) with alpha emitting concentrations of 10 to 100 nanocuries per gram (nCi/g) generated from the nations defense programs requiring radioactive waste disposal [1]. DOE has decided to commingle MLLW containers with transuranic (TRU) waste containers in larger containers such that the average concentration in the larger container would qualify as TRU waste for deep geologic disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). Since Congress has exempted the WIPP mixed TRU waste from the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) [2] requirement to treat the waste …
Perspectives On Economic Analyses For High Level Waste Disposal, Helen R. Neill, Robert H. Neill
Perspectives On Economic Analyses For High Level Waste Disposal, Helen R. Neill, Robert H. Neill
Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications
There are both internal and external pressures on the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to reduce costs of disposal and still maintain radiation protection to both present and future generations. The question arises whether both of these goals are attainable.
What Does Smart Growth Mean For Housing?, Karen A. Danielsen, Robert E. Lang, William Fulton
What Does Smart Growth Mean For Housing?, Karen A. Danielsen, Robert E. Lang, William Fulton
Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications
Barely noticed amid the returns from the 1998 midterm elections was a quiet revolution that goes to the heart of how and where Americans live. While most news accounts focused on the high-profile candidate elections, voters across the nation-in Democratic and Republican areas alike-approved more than 160 state and local ballot measures intended to preserve open space and limit urban sprawl.
The coalition forming around the idea of limiting sprawl includes environmentalists, farmers, big-city mayors, and some developers. But perhaps most important, the so-called "smart growth" movement also includes many suburban voters who are fed up with growth. For example, …
Describing The Elephant: Multiple Perspectives In New York City's Watershed Protection Conflict, Krystyna Anne Stave
Describing The Elephant: Multiple Perspectives In New York City's Watershed Protection Conflict, Krystyna Anne Stave
Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications
New York City's efforts to avoid filtration mandated by the 1986 Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments and the 1989 Surface Water Treatment Rule have generated considerable controversy. Since the conflict began in 1990, a spectrum of stakeholder groups has emerged, representing land owners, sport fishermen, businesses, environmental groups, developers, and watershed communities. What was originally defined by New York City water supply managers as a scientific problem--identifying sources of water quality degradation and preventing contaminants from entering the water supply system--now has broadened to include a diverse set of social and economic issues as well.
Resource Use Conflict In New York City's Catskill Watersheds: A Case For Expanding The Scope Of Water Resource Management, Krystyna Anne Stave
Resource Use Conflict In New York City's Catskill Watersheds: A Case For Expanding The Scope Of Water Resource Management, Krystyna Anne Stave
Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications
In New York City's water supply watersheds, controversy over water quality protection underscores both the need to expand the scope of water resource management and the challenges to doing so. This paper describes the response of watershed residents to !'Jew York City's efforts to avoid filtration mandated by the 1986 Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments and 1989 Surface Water Treatment Rule. The emergence of a spectrum of stakeholder groups representing land owners, sport fishermen, businesses, environmental groups and local communities has brought social and economic issues not previously part of the City's water management program to the center of the …
Using Gis To Identify Critical Areas For Water Quality Protection In New York City's Water Supply System, Paul K. Barten, Krystyna Anne Stave
Using Gis To Identify Critical Areas For Water Quality Protection In New York City's Water Supply System, Paul K. Barten, Krystyna Anne Stave
Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications
The protection of water quality at its source — the watershed — recognizes that minimizing land use impacts and allowing natural processes to provide in situ biological treatment can complement conventional engineering methods. In contrast to the enormous costs projected for drinking water filtration, the judicious application of watershed management principles and practices is a way to balance the needs of people with the capacity of the natural resource base over time. This paper describes the development and initial application of a geographic information system (GIS) to a ortion of New York City's 2,000 square mile water supply system, the …