Environmental Monitoring Commons^™

Landsat-8: Science And Product Vision For Terrestrial Global Change Research, David P. Roy, M. A. Wulder, T. R. Loveland, C. E. Woodcock, R. G. Allen, M. C. Anderson, D. Helder, J. R. Irons, D. M. Johnson, R. Kennedy, T. A. Scambos, C. B. Schaaf, J. R. Schott, Y. Sheng, E. F. Vermote, A. S. Belward, R. Bindschadler, W. B. Cohen, F. Gao, J. D. Hipple, P. Hostert, Desert Research Institute, Reno, Nv, C. O. Justice, Ayse Kilic, V. Kovalskyy, Z. P. Lee, L. Lymburner, J. G. Masek, J. Mccorkel, Y. Shuai, R. Trezza, J. Vogelmann, R. H. Wynne, Z. Zhu

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Landsat 8, a NASA and USGS collaboration, acquires global moderate-resolution measurements of the Earth's terrestrial and polar regions in the visible, near-infrared, short wave, and thermal infrared. Landsat 8 extends the remarkable 40 year Landsat record and has enhanced capabilities including new spectral bands in the blue and cirrus cloud-detection portion of the spectrum, two thermal bands, improved sensor signal-to-noise performance and associated improvements in radiometric resolution, and an improved duty cycle that allows collection of a significantly greater number of images per day. This paper introduces the current (2012–2017) Landsat Science Team's efforts to establish an initial understanding of …

Data-Driven Diagnostics Of Terrestrial Carbon Dynamics Over North America, Jingfeng Xiao, Scott V. Ollinger, Steve Frolking, George Hurtt, David Y. Hollinger, Kenneth J. Davis, Yude Pan, Xiaoyang Zhang, Feng Deng, Jiquan Chen, Dennis D. Baldocchi, Beverly E. Law, M. Altaf Arain, Ankur R. Desai, Andrew D. Richardson, Ge Sun, Brian Amiro, Hank Margolis, Lianhong Gu, Russell L. Scott, Peter D. Blanken, Andrew E. Suyker

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The exchange of carbon dioxide is a key measure of ecosystem metabolism and a critical intersection between the terrestrial biosphere and the Earth’s climate. Despite the general agreement that the terrestrial ecosystems in North America provide a sizeable carbon sink, the size and distribution of the sink remain uncertain. We use a data-driven approach to upscale eddy covariance flux observations from towers to the continental scale by integrating flux observations, meteorology, stand age,aboveground biomass, and a proxy for canopy nitrogen concentrations from AmeriFlux and Fluxnet-Canada Research Network as well as a variety of satellite data streams from the MODIS sensors. …

Estimation Of Crop Gross Primary Production (Gpp): FaparChl Versus Mod15a2 Fpar, Qingyuan Zhang, Yen-Ben Cheng, A. I. Lyapustin, Yujie Wang, Feng Gao, Andrew E. Suyker, Shashi B. Verma, Elizabeth M. Middleton

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Photosynthesis (PSN) is a pigment level process in which antenna pigments (predominately chlorophylls) in chloroplasts absorb photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) for the photochemical process. PAR absorbed by foliar non-photosynthetic components is not used for PSN. The fraction of PAR absorbed (fAPAR) by a canopy/vegetation (i.e., fAPAR_canopy) derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) images, referred to as MOD15A2 FPAR, has been used to compute absorbed PAR (APAR) for PSN (APAR_PSN) which is utilized to produce the standard MODIS gross primary production (GPP) product, referred to as MOD17A2 GPP. In this study, the fraction of PAR …

On The Role Of Budget Sufficiency, Cost Efficiency, And Uncertainty In Species Management, Max Post Van Der Burg, Bartholomew B. Bly, Tammy Vercauteren, James B. Grand, Andrew J. Tyre

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Many conservation planning frameworks rely on the assumption that one should prioritize locations for management actions based on the highest predicted conservation value (i.e., abundance, occupancy). This strategy may underperform relative to the expected outcome if one is working with a limited budget or the predicted responses are uncertain. Yet, cost and tolerance to uncertainty rarely become part of species management plans. We used field data and predictive models to simulate a decision problem involving western burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia hypugaea) using prairie dog colonies (Cynomys ludovicianus) in western Nebraska. We considered 2 species management strategies: …

Water Metrics, Lisa-Maria Rebelo, Jean-Marc Faurès, Poolad Karimi, Wim Bastiaanssen, Meredith Giordano, Vladimir Smakhtin, Peter G. Mccornick

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Society has a universal need for water that crosses all sectors of activity. We need to be able to measure progress towards sustainable water for all by working towards targets that consider the different dimensions of water resources and use, including water quantity and quality. A suite of indicators that reflect water use by different sectors is needed to measure progress towards the forthcoming SDGs’ [sustainable development goals] water-related targets. Such indicators will need to rely on national data, must consider the variation in data availability, and can be complemented with new cost-effective ways for data collection.

Remote sensing measurements, …

Water-Food-Energy Nexus, Jeremy Bird, Felix Dodds, Peter G. Mccornick, Tushaar Shah

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

The proposed SDGs on water, food and energy security all include targets on increasing efficiencies. Yet the water–food–energy nexus has multiple dimensions that, if managed in isolation, will compromise a nation’s ability to achieve the full portfolio of SDGs.

Climate change introduces additional uncertainties, further increasing tensions between sectors for access to water. Conventional energy and food production are emitters of greenhouse gases, but measures to reduce emissions—including renewable energy interventions, such as subsidies for biofuel production—can have adverse consequences on food prices.

To achieve desirable and sustainable outcomes for water, food, and energy requires investigating these elements as an …

Afrontar El Cambio: Cuidar Del Agua, De La Agricultura Y De La Seguridad Alimentaria En Una Era De Incertidumbre Climática, Peter G. Mccornick, Vladimir Smakhtin, Luna Bharati, Robyn Johnston, Matthew Mccartney, Fraser Sugden, Floriane Clement, Beverly Mcintyre

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

En 1950, la población mundial era apenas superior a los 2500 millones de habitantes. En 2013, ronda los 7 mil millones. Aunque el crecimiento de la población se está ralentizando, se estima que en 2050 se alcanzarán los 9600 millones de habitantes. El aumento de la población será mayor en los países en desarrollo, donde los alimentos a menudo escasean, y la tierra y el agua están sometidas a presión. Para alimentar a la población mundial en 2050, tendrán que producirse más alimentos sin que haya un aumento significativo del terreno de cultivo y contando con un caudal menor de …

Fluoride Exposure From Groundwater As Reflected By Urinary Fluoride And Children’S Dental Fluorosis In The Main Ethiopian Rift Valley, Tewodros Rango, Avner Vengosh, Marc Jeuland, Redda Tekle-Haimanot, Erika Weinthal, Julia Kravchenko, Christopher Paul, Peter G. Mccornick

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

This cross-sectional study explores the relationships between children’s F⁻ exposure from drinking groundwater and urinary F⁻ concentrations, combined with dental fluorosis (DF) in the Main Ethiopian Rift (MER) Valley. We examined the DF prevalence and severity among 491 children (10 to 15 years old) who are lifelong residents of 33 rural communities in which groundwater concentrations of F⁻ cover a wide range. A subset of 156 children was selected for urinary F⁻ measurements. Our results showed that the mean F⁻ concentrations in groundwater were 8.5 ± 4.1 mg/L (range: 1.1–18 mg/L), while those in urine …

The Effect Of Non-Fluoride Factors On Risk Of Dental Fluorosis: Evidence From Rural Populations Of The Main Ethiopian Rift, Julia Kravchenko, Tewodros Rango, Igor Akushevich, Behailu Atlaw, Peter G. Mccornick, R. Brittany Merola, Christopher Paul, Erika Weinthal, Courtney Harrison, Avner Vengosh, Marc Jeuland

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Elevated level of fluoride (F⁻) in drinking water is a well-recognized risk factor of dental fluorosis (DF). While considering optimization of region-specific standards for F⁻, it is reasonable, however, to consider how local diet, water sourcing practices, and non-F⁻ elements in water may be related to health outcomes. In this study, we hypothesized that non-F⁻ elements in groundwater and lifestyle and demographic characteristics may be independent predictors or modifiers of the effects of F⁻ on teeth. Dental examinations were conducted among 1094 inhabitants from 399 randomly selected households of 20 rural communities of …

Fluoride Exposure From Groundwater As Reflected By Urinary Fluoride And Children’S Dental Fluorosis In The Main Ethiopian Rift Valley, Tewodros Rango, Avner Vengosh, Marc Jeuland, Redda Tekle-Haimanot, Erika Weinthal, Julia Kravchenko, Christopher Paul, Paul Mccornick

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

This cross-sectional study explores the relationships between children’s F⁻ exposure from drinking groundwater and urinary F⁻ concentrations, combined with dental fluorosis (DF) in the Main Ethiopian Rift (MER) Valley. We examined the DF prevalence and severity among 491 children (10 to 15 This cross-sectional study explores the relationships between children’s F⁻ exposure from drinking groundwater and urinary F⁻ concentrations, combined with dental fluorosis (DF) in the Main Ethiopian Rift (MER) Valley. We examined the DF prevalence and severity among 491 children (10 to 15 years old) who are lifelong residents of 33 rural communities in which …

National Drought Management Policy Guidelines: A Template For Action, Donald A. Wilhite, World Meteorological Organization, Global Water Partnership, National Drought Mitigation Center

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

The implementation of a drought policy based on the philosophy of risk reduction can alter a nation’s approach to drought management by reducing the associated impacts (risk). This was the idea that motivated the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with a number of UN agencies, international and regional organizations, and key national agencies, to organize the Highlevel Meeting on National Drought Policy (HMNDP), which was held in Geneva from 11 to 15 March 2013. The theme of …

Pitzer College Outback Preserve Restoration Project, Paul Faulstich

Pitzer Faculty Publications and Research

A question we keep asking ourselves in environmental analysis at Pitzer College is whether it’s possible to create modern socionatural systems that are truly sustaining; that is, that avoid the features of contemporary systems in which the human factor dominates to the detriment of the environment. Any genuinely sustainable society must honor diversity— cultural and biological—and, at Pitzer, we’re committed to forging innovative directions for a healthy future. Toward this end, students, along with faculty and staff, have initiated a program of ecological restoration in the Pitzer College Outback Preserve.

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

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff 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 …

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.

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff 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 …

Adjudications, Brigette Buynak, Darcy S. Bushnell

Water Matters!

Adjudications are lawsuits that take place in state or federal court to resolve all claims to water use in the state of New Mexico, including those of Pueblos, tribes and the federal government. These cases are required by statute to create a formal inventory of water uses and to facilitate administration of New Mexico’s surface and groundwater. The geographic scope of each case is generally described by a stream system and occasionally by a groundwater basin. By statute, the State is always the plaintiff. The mission is to formally identify and recognize all valid water rights in each area being …

Esterification Pretreatment Of Free Fatty Acid In Biodiesel Production, From Laboratory To Industry, Ming Chai, Qingshi Tu, Jeffrey Y. Yang, Mingming Lu

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

In the United States, biodiesel producers usually follow the 19.8:1 methanol-to-FFA molar ratio for free fatty acid (FFA) esterification, as suggested by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) without optimization studies. In this paper, both laboratory studies and industrial practices of the esterification process were compared, and an optimization study of a used vegetable oil with 5% FFA was conducted. The optimal conditions of this oil, i.e., methanol-to-FFA molar ratio of 40:1, and sulfuric acid usage of 10%, fell out of the suggested range of 19.8:1. The activation energy of the esterification reaction is 20.7 kJ/mol at the optimized condition …

Bringing Resilience To Wildlife Management And Biodiversity Protection, Melinda Harm Benson, Matthew E. Hopton

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

Biological diversity can be considered both temporally (Le., evolutionary time) and/or spatially and reflects the number, variety, and variability of organisms. It includes diversity within species (Le., genetic and morphological), between species (Le., alpha and beta), and among ecosystems (Le., beta and gamma). Over the past few hundred years, human activities have increased species extinction rates by as much as 1,000 times above the background rates that were typical over Earth's history (Figure 2.1) (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005; but see He and Hubbell 2011). In the United States, there are approximately 1,900 species listed as threatened or endangered, with potentially …

Identifying Priority Conservation Areas For The American Burying Beetle, Nicrophorus Americanus (Coleoptera: Silphidae), A Habitat Generalist, Jessica D. Jurzenski, Christopher F. Jorgensen, Andy Bishop, Roger Grosse, John Riens, W. Wyatt Hoback

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

Conservation efforts leading to the recovery of the federally endangered American burying beetle (ABB), Nicrophorus americanus Olivier, have been challenging because of the unknown causes of its decline, difficulty in establishing habitat requirements, and unclear population distribution across the species’ range. Extant populations of this widespread generalist species occur in broadly separated regions of North America with varying habitat characteristics. A habitat suitability model for ABB in the Nebraska Sandhills was developed over the course of 3 years resulting in a final cross-validated spatial model. The succession of models from 2009 to 2011 indicated that most of the predictive variables …

Assessing And Managing Freshwater Ecosystems Vulnerable To Environmental Change, David G. Angeler, Craig R. Allen, Hannah E. Birgé, Stina Drakare, Brendan G. Mckie, Richard K. Johnson

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Freshwater ecosystems are important for global biodiversity and provide essential ecosystem services. There is consensus in the scientific literature that freshwater ecosystems are vulnerable to the impacts of environmental change, which may trigger irreversible regime shifts upon which biodiversity and ecosystem services may be lost. There are profound uncertainties regarding the management and assessment of the vulnerability of freshwater ecosystems to environmental change. Quantitative approaches are needed to reduce this uncertainty. We describe available statistical and modeling approaches along with case studies that demonstrate how resilience theory can be applied to aid decision-making in natural resources management. We highlight especially …

On Target For People And Planet: Setting And Achieving Water-Related Sustainable Development Goals, Julie Van Der Bliek, Peter G. Mccornick, James Clarke

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Our specific focus in this book is on securing water for sustainable food production. This links to sustainable water resources management, delivering on the water supply and sanitation requirements and provisioning water for energy and the urban sector. A specific intent is to ensure that the realities in low- and middle-income countries in Africa and Asia are recognized and to provide practical pathways to change that fit these realities and the aspirations of those countries. This will help to prepare for the next step in the SDG [sustainable development goals] process: devolving the SDGs to the national level. It will …