Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Commons^™

U.S. Drought Monitor, May 28, 2013, Brad Rippey

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for May 28, 2013 (5/28/13) 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.

U.S. Drought Monitor, May 21, 2013, Brad Rippey

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for May 21, 2013 (5/21/13) 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 Role Of The Ocean Industry In The Chinese National Economy: An Input-Output Analysis, Rui Zhao

Working Papers

The OEAS (Ocean Economy Accounting System) has been established in China for 6 years. However, the economic impact of the ocean economy in China’s national economy has not yet been understood clearly at the national or regional levels. The direct impact of ocean industries in China at national and regional levels has been compiled for the period of 2001-2011, but it is still unclear what the overall economic impacts of ocean industries are in the national economy, and how the ocean industries interact with other industries in the national economy. China is similar to other ocean countries in that, - …

Growing A Sustainable Biofuels Industry: Economics, Environmental Considerations, And The Role Of The Conservation Reserve Program, Christopher M. Clark, Yolanda Lin, Britta G. Bierwagen, Laurence M. Eaton, Matthew H. Langholtz, Philip Morefield, Caroline E. Ridley, Laura Vimmerstedt, Steve Peterson, Brian W. Bush

Dartmouth Scholarship

Biofuels are expected to be a major contributor to renewable energy in the coming decades under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). These fuels have many attractive properties including the promotion of energy independence, rural development, and the reduction of national carbon emissions. However, several unresolved environmental and economic concerns remain. Environmentally, much of the biomass is expected to come from agricultural expansion and/or intensification, which may greatly affect the net environmental impact, and economically, the lack of a developed infrastructure and bottlenecks along the supply chain may affect the industry's economic vitality. The approximately 30 million acres (12 million hectares) …

U.S. Drought Monitor, May 14, 2013, Rich Tinker

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for May 14, 2013 (5/14/13) 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.

U.S. Drought Monitor, May 7, 2013, David Miskus

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for May 7, 2013 (5/7/13) 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.

Factors Influencing Nest Site Selection By Wood Turtles (Glyptemys Insculpta) In An Altered Forest Landscape, Ellery Ruther

Theses & Honors Papers

There have been many studies concerning wood turtle (Glyptemys insculpta) nest site selection, including studies that evaluate nest site conditions when stream sand banks are not available. However, because of the unique landscape at our study site (high gradient, first order streams) and rapidly diminishing wood turtle populations in Virginia, I am evaluating wood turtle nest site selection. Nine physiographic and vegetative characteristics from nest, positive, negative-one and negative-two control locations were evaluated using binomial generalized linear models and then best fit models were chosen using Akaike's Information Criterion (AIC). It was found that in lieu of typical stream …

Modeling Greenhouse Gas Emissions And Net Return Implications For Cow-Calf Producers In The Ozark Highlands, Stephen Aaron Smith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cow-calf producers in the Ozark Highlands region are under continuous pressure to improve economic efficiency. Additionally, estimating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from cow-calf and forage production processes may become increasingly important as policy makers seek to mitigate or reduce agriculture's role in climate change. As such, this analysis had three objectives. Objective 1: Provide a model that could be used by cow-calf producers, extension agents, and researchers to evaluate GHG and net return (NR) repercussions when modifying site characteristics, production methods, and inputs. Objective 2: Develop a user guide such that the methodology for estimating cow-calf GHG emissions and NR …

Acting To Address The Ocean-Related Impacts Of Climate Change On Human And National Security, With Recommendations For Priority Actions Drawn From The Discussions Of The Global Conference On Oceans, Climate And Security At The University Of Massachusetts Boston, Robbin Peach, Felix Dodds, Michael Strauss, Collaborative Institute For Oceans, Climate And Security, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Collaborative Institute for Oceans, Climate and Security Publications

In the course of the past calendar year the United States has been struck by a series of droughts, tornadoes, hurricanes, blizzards, wildfires, and floods whose size and path of resulting damage defy previously established patterns. The U.S. thus joins nations on every continent that have increasingly experienced extreme and extremely damaging weather events over the past two decades.

At the same time, the world’s oceans have been exhibiting a less-visible but equally dangerous sequence of temperature rise, acidification increase, fish kills, coastal erosion, salinity shifts, algae blooms, and steady decreases in commercially available fish and shellfish species.

Those impacts …

Soil Organic Carbon Dynamics In Agriculture: Model Development And Application From Daily To Decadal Timescales, Matthew P. Pelton

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Soil carbon (C) is the largest terrestrial C pool globally, containing more C than the atmosphere and biosphere. Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a source and sink of CO₂ emissions to and from the atmosphere, thus influencing future climate change. Understanding SOC dynamics is also important for maintaining C stocks to sustain and improve crop yields. An existing model to estimate changes in SOC due to respiration was modified to operate in three computational platforms: MS Excel, MS Excel with Visual Basic for Applications, and supercomputing. This model was validated against CO₂ flux data from a 9-year field …

U.S. Drought Monitor, April 30, 2013, Eric Luebehusen

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for April 30, 2013 (4/30/13) 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.

Enhancing Coastal Resilience: Perspectives On Valuing Ri Coastal Lands, Kyle Nyskohus

Honors Projects in Science and Technology

This paper discusses coastal resilience as an organizing framework for future policymaking, coastal planning, and insurance decisions, and explores the different perspectives of the value of ecosystems held by various stakeholders in Rhode Island’s coastal communities. A grounded theory approach was used in an effort to abstract general insights from the substantive but isolated areas of coastal management and economics. Special attention is given to the perspectives of municipal decision makers, the National Flood Insurance Program, natural economists, and real estate developers. We have (1) conducted a statistical analysis of environmental spending of RI towns, (2) identified key models for …

U.S. Drought Monitor, April 23, 2013, Eric Luebehusen

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for April 23, 2013 (4/23/13) 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.

Application Of Gis And Spatial Analysis Of Golden Eagle Fatalities Caused By Wind Turbines At The Altamont Pass Wind Resource, Andrew James Pinger

Dissertations and Theses

The Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area (Altamont) near Livermore, California is the oldest and largest wind farm in the United States. It is known as a location of high avian mortality, especially for diurnal raptors such as the Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos). Using the avian monitoring data collected at Altamont for over thirteen years (1998-2003, 2005- 2011), records were analyzed of 134 golden eagle deaths caused by wind turbine collisions. All wind turbines present during the same temporal range were characterized according to turbine variables, and geographic placement characteristics. Values of turbines that killed golden eagles were compared to values …

U.S. Drought Monitor, April 16, 2013, David Miskus

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for April 16, 2013 (4/16/13) 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: Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

Examining Rapid Onset Drought Development Using The Thermal Infrared–Based Evaporative Stress Index, Jason A. Otkin, Martha C. Anderson, Christopher Hain, Iliana E. Mladenova, Jeffrey B. Basara, Mark Svoboda

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Reliable indicators of rapid drought onset can help to improve the effectiveness of drought early warning systems. In this study, the evaporative stress index (ESI), which uses remotely sensed thermal infrared imagery to estimate evapotranspiration (ET), is compared to drought classifications in the U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) and standard precipitation-based drought indicators for several cases of rapid drought development that have occurred across the United States in recent years. Analysis of meteorological time series from the North American Regional Reanalysis indicates that these events are typically characterized by warm air temperature and low cloud cover anomalies, often with high winds …

U.S. Drought Monitor, April 9, 2013, David Miskus

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for April 9, 2013 (4/9/13) 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: Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

U.S. Drought Monitor, April 2, 2013, Rich Tinker

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for April 2, 2013 (4/2/13) 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: Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

Spatial Perceptions Of Wildlife Crop Raiding In The Jangwani Corridor, Tanzania, Shelby Weiss

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study seeks to determine the spatial differences in perceptions on crop raiding by wildlife and farmers’ relationships with Tanzania National Parks from selected subvillages located in the Jangwani Corridor in Northern Tanzania, outside of Lake Manyara National Park. This project was conducted in Spring of 2013 in four subvillages of Mto wa Mbu from April 6- April 22, 2013. Subvillages included Magomeni, Jangwani, Migungani and Mgombani subvillages. 16 farmers were selected randomly from each subvillage and interviewed over the course of four days with a total of 64 farmers interviewed total. One TANAPA park officer was also interviewed. GPS …

Climate Data Manipulation And The Use Of Water To Build Political Power In The Southwest United States, Conrad Moore, Professor Emeritus

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Faculty Publications

Models utilized by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change indicate a striking trend toward increasing aridity in the Southwest United States. Two landmark articles published in Science magazine have emphasized the critical future consequences of this trend. Data from 59 National Weather Service stations distributed across the region west of the continental divide and south of the 41^stparallel (the northern border of Colorado and northeastern Utah), including 36 stations in the Upper Colorado River Basin and lower Southwest, show that annual and winter precipitation increased over the 60-year period 1950-2010, although the record is impoverished by the deletion …