Great plains regional climate assessment technical report

Science.gov (United States)

The Great Plains region (GP) plays important role in providing food and energy to the economy of the United States. Multiple climatic and non-climatic stressors put multiple sectors, livelihoods and communities at risk, including agriculture, water, ecosystems and rural and tribal communities. The G...

Assessing the Efficacy of the SWAT Auto-Irrigation Function to Simulate Irrigation, Evapotranspiration, and Crop Response to Management Strategies of the Texas High Plains

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Yong Chen

2017-07-01

Full Text Available In the semi-arid Texas High Plains, the underlying Ogallala Aquifer is experiencing continuing decline due to long-term pumping for irrigation with limited recharge. Accurate simulation of irrigation and other associated water balance components are critical for meaningful evaluation of the effects of irrigation management strategies. Modelers often employ auto-irrigation functions within models such as the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT. However, some studies have raised concerns as to whether the function is able to adequately simulate representative irrigation practices. In this study, observations of climate, irrigation, evapotranspiration (ET, leaf area index (LAI, and crop yield derived from an irrigated lysimeter field at the USDA-ARS Conservation and Production Research Laboratory at Bushland, Texas were used to evaluate the efficacy of the SWAT auto-irrigation functions. Results indicated good agreement between simulated and observed daily ET during both model calibration (2001–2005 and validation (2006–2010 periods for the baseline scenario (Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency; NSE ≥ 0.80. The auto-irrigation scenarios resulted in reasonable ET simulations under all the thresholds of soil water deficit (SWD triggers as indicated by NSE values > 0.5. However, the auto-irrigation function did not adequately represent field practices, due to the continuation of irrigation after crop maturity and excessive irrigation when SWD triggers were less than the static irrigation amount.

Saline lakes of the glaciated Northern Great Plains

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Mushet, David M.

2011-01-01

Unless you have flown over the region or seen aerial photographs, it is hard to grasp the scale of the millions of lakes and wetlands that dot the prairie landscape of the glaciated Northern Great Plains (Figure 1). This region of abundant aquatic habitats within a grassland matrix provides for the needs of a wide diversity of wildlife species and has appropriately been deemed the "duck factory of North America." While the sheer number of lakes and wetlands within this area of the Northern Great Plains can be truly awe-inspiring, their diversity in terms of the chemical composition of their water adds an equally important component supporting biotic diversity and productivity. Water within these lakes and wetlands can range from extremely fresh with salinities approaching that of rainwater to hypersaline with salinity ten times greater than that of seawater. Additionally, while variation in salinity among these water bodies can be great, the ionic composition of lakes and wetlands with similar salinities can vary markedly, influencing the overall spatial and temporal diversity of the region's biota.

Long-term Agroecosystem Research in the Northern Great Plains.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmer, M.; Sanderson, M.; Liebig, M. A.; Wienhold, B.; Awada, T.; Papiernik, S.; Osborne, S.; Kemp, W.; Okalebo, J. A.; Riedall, W.

2015-12-01

The Northern Great Plains is the bread basket of the United States, accounting for a substantial portion of U.S. agricultural production. This region faces critical challenges regarding balancing food needs, resource conservation (e.g Ogallala aquifer), environmental concerns, and rural economy development. Developing transformative, multifunctional systems will require equally imaginative and efficient tools to help farmers manage complex agroecosystems in a rapidly changing climate. The Northern Plains long-term agroecosystem research (LTAR) site at Mandan, ND and the Platte River High Plains LTAR (ARS/University of Nebraska-Lincoln) at Lincoln, NE in collaboration with USDA-ARS research units in Brookings, SD and Fargo, ND are collaborating to address the grand challenge of providing and sustaining multiple service provisions from Northern Great Plains agroecosystems. We propose to attain these goals through sustainable intensification based on the adoption of conservation agriculture principles including reduced soil disturbance, livestock integration, and greater complexity and diversity in the cropping system. Here, we summarize new concepts these locations have pioneered in dynamic cropping systems, resource use efficiency, and agricultural management technologies. As part of the LTAR network, we will conduct long-term cross-site research to design and assess new agricultural practices and systems aimed at improving our understanding of decision making processes and outcomes across an array of agricultural systems.

Expanding the Annual Irrigation Maps (AIM) Product to the entire High Plains Aquifer (HPA): Addressing the Challenges of Cotton and Deficit-Irrigated Fields

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Rapp, J. R.; Deines, J. M.; Kendall, A. D.; Hyndman, D. W.

2017-12-01

The High Plains Aquifer (HPA) is the most extensively irrigated aquifer in the continental United States and is the largest major aquifer in North America with an area of 500,000 km2. Increased demand for agricultural products has led to expanded irrigation extent, but brought with it declining groundwater levels that have made irrigation unsustainable in some locations. Understanding these irrigation dynamics and mapping irrigated areas through time are essential for future sustainable agricultural practices and hydrological modeling. Map products using remote sensing have only recently been able to track annual dynamics at relatively high spatial resolution (30 m) for a large portion of the northern HPA. However follow-on efforts to expand these maps to the entire HPA have met with difficulty due to the challenge of distinguishing irrigation in crop types that are commonly deficit- or partially-irrigated. Expanding these maps to the full HPA requires addressing unique features of partially irrigated fields and irrigated cotton, a major water user in the southern HPA. Working in Google Earth Engine, we used all available Landsat imagery to generate annual time series of vegetation indices. We combined this information with climate covariables, planting dates, and crop specific training data to algorithmically separate fully irrigated, partially irrigated, and non-irrigated field locations. The classification scheme was then applied to produce annual maps of irrigation across the entire HPA. The extensive use of ancillary data and the "greenness" time series for the algorithmic classification generally increased accuracy relative to previous efforts. High-accuracy, representative map products of irrigation extent capable of detecting crop type and irrigation intensity within aquifers will be an essential tool to monitor the sustainability of global aquifers and to provide a scientific bases for political and economic decisions affecting those aquifers.

Effect of climate change on the irrigation and discharge scheme for winter wheat in Huaibei Plain, China

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Zhu, Y.; Ren, L.; Lü, H.

2017-12-01

On the Huaibei Plain of Anhui Province, China, winter wheat (WW) is the most prominent crop. The study area belongs to transitional climate, with shallow water table. The original climate change is complex, in addition, global warming make the climate change more complex. The winter wheat growth period is from October to June, just during the rainless season, the WW growth always depends on part of irrigation water. Under such complex climate change, the rainfall varies during the growing seasons, and water table elevations also vary. Thus, water tables supply variable moisture change between soil water and groundwater, which impact the irrigation and discharge scheme for plant growth and yield. In Huaibei plain, the environmental pollution is very serious because of agricultural use of chemical fertilizer, pesticide, herbicide and etc. In order to protect river water and groundwater from pollution, the irrigation and discharge scheme should be estimated accurately. Therefore, determining the irrigation and discharge scheme for winter wheat under climate change is important for the plant growth management decision-making. Based on field observations and local weather data of 2004-2005 and 2005-2006, the numerical model HYDRUS-1D was validated and calibrated by comparing simulated and measured root-zone soil water contents. The validated model was used to estimate the irrigation and discharge scheme in 2010-2090 under the scenarios described by HadCM3 (1970 to 2000 climate states are taken as baselines) with winter wheat growth in an optimum state indicated by growth height and LAI.

Impacts of climate change on freshwater fisheries of the Great Plains

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Regier, H.A.; Holmes, J.A.

1991-01-01

The diversity and habitats of fish in Great Plains hydrologic systems are described. Fisheries on the Great Plains consist of commercial, subsistence, and recreational. Direct effects of climate change on Great Plains fisheries will involve temperature and hydrology. Increased temperature could expand suitable habitat for fish with preferred temperatures between 10 and 27.5 degree C by 2.5 times base conditions. Reductions in precipitation will reduce river flows and lake levels, and an overall reduction in habitat for the most preferred species is expected. Indirect effects stem from human responses to climate change, and streams, wetlands and coastal zones will likely bear the brunt of such activity. More river systems may be damned or channelized, which could lead to increases in eutrophication or pollution, most severely affecting the preferred white fishes. Geographical shifts of species in response to climate change will likely favour black fish over grey fish over white fish, and when longitudinal or lateral movement is blocked, local extinctions may occur. 22 refs., 1 tab

A conceptual model to facilitate amphibian conservation in the northern Great Plains

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Mushnet, David M.; Euliss, Ned H.; Stockwell, Craig A.

2012-01-01

As pressures on agricultural landscapes to meet worldwide resource needs increase, amphibian populations face numerous threats including habitat destruction, chemical contaminants, disease outbreaks, wetland sedimentation, and synergistic effects of these perturbations. To facilitate conservation planning, we developed a conceptual model depicting elements critical for amphibian conservation in the northern Great Plains. First, we linked upland, wetland, and landscape features to specific ecological attributes. Ecological attributes included adult survival; reproduction and survival to metamorphosis; and successful dispersal and recolonization. Second, we linked ecosystem drivers, ecosystem stressors, and ecological effects of the region to each ecological attribute. Lastly, we summarized information on these ecological attributes and the drivers, stressors, and effects that work in concert to influence the maintenance of viable and genetically diverse amphibian populations in the northern Great Plains. While our focus was on the northern Great Plains, our conceptual model can be tailored to other geographic regions and taxa.

Trend Detection for the Extent of Irrigated Agriculture in Idaho’s Snake River Plain, 1984–2016

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Eric W. Chance

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Understanding irrigator responses to changes in water availability is critical for building strategies to support effective management of water resources. Using remote sensing data, we examine farmer responses to seasonal changes in water availability in Idaho’s Snake River Plain for the time series 1984–2016. We apply a binary threshold based on the seasonal maximum of the Normalized Difference Moisture Index (NDMI using Landsat 5–8 images to distinguish irrigated from non-irrigated lands. We find that the NDMI of irrigated lands increased over time, consistent with trends in irrigation technology adoption and increased crop productivity. By combining remote sensing data with geospatial data describing water rights for irrigation, we show that the trend in NDMI is not universal, but differs by farm size and water source. Farmers with small farms that rely on surface water are more likely than average to have a large contraction (over −25% in irrigated area over the 33-year period of record. In contrast, those with large farms and access to groundwater are more likely than average to have a large expansion (over +25% in irrigated area over the same period.

Climatic change in the Great Plains region of Canada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rizzo, B.

1991-01-01

Implications of global warming to Canada's Great Plains region are discussed, with reference to the climate predictions of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) general circulation model under a two times atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration scenario. Two sets of climate variables for a geographic area located in the Great Plains are tabulated, for the current (1951-1980) climate normals and under the doubled carbon dioxide scenario. Simple univariate statistics were calculated for the two areas, for the variables of mean annual temperature, mean summer temperature, mean winter temperature, mean July temperature, mean growing season temperature, total annual precipitation, total summer precipitation, total winter precipitation, and total growing season precipitation. Under the GISS scenario, temperature values are on average 4 degree C higher than 1951-1980 normals, while precipitation remains about the same. Locations of ecoclimatic regions are graphed for the whole of Canada. 1 fig., 1 tab

Spatiotemporal monitoring of soil salinization in irrigated Tadla Plain (Morocco) using satellite spectral indices

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El Harti, Abderrazak; Lhissou, Rachid; Chokmani, Karem; Ouzemou, Jamal-eddine; Hassouna, Mohamed; Bachaoui, El Mostafa; El Ghmari, Abderrahmene

2016-08-01

Soil salinization is major environmental issue in irrigated agricultural production. Conventional methods for salinization monitoring are time and money consuming and limited by the high spatiotemporal variability of this phenomenon. This work aims to propose a spatiotemporal monitoring method of soil salinization in the Tadla plain in central Morocco using spectral indices derived from Thematic Mapper (TM) and Operational Land Imager (OLI) data. Six Landsat TM/OLI satellite images acquired during 13 years period (2000-2013) coupled with in-situ electrical conductivity (EC) measurements were used to develop the proposed method. After radiometric and atmospheric correction of TM/OLI images, a new soil salinity index (OLI-SI) is proposed for soil EC estimation. Validation shows that this index allowed a satisfactory EC estimation in the Tadla irrigated perimeter with coefficient of determination R2 varying from 0.55 to 0.77 and a Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) ranging between 1.02 dS/m and 2.35 dS/m. The times-series of salinity maps produced over the Tadla plain using the proposed method show that salinity is decreasing in intensity and progressively increasing in spatial extent, over the 2000-2013 period. This trend resulted in a decrease in agricultural activities in the southwestern part of the perimeter, located in the hydraulic downstream.

Groundwater declines are linked to changes in Great Plains stream fish assemblages.

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Perkin, Joshuah S; Gido, Keith B; Falke, Jeffrey A; Fausch, Kurt D; Crockett, Harry; Johnson, Eric R; Sanderson, John

2017-07-11

Groundwater pumping for agriculture is a major driver causing declines of global freshwater ecosystems, yet the ecological consequences for stream fish assemblages are rarely quantified. We combined retrospective (1950-2010) and prospective (2011-2060) modeling approaches within a multiscale framework to predict change in Great Plains stream fish assemblages associated with groundwater pumping from the United States High Plains Aquifer. We modeled the relationship between the length of stream receiving water from the High Plains Aquifer and the occurrence of fishes characteristic of small and large streams in the western Great Plains at a regional scale and for six subwatersheds nested within the region. Water development at the regional scale was associated with construction of 154 barriers that fragment stream habitats, increased depth to groundwater and loss of 558 km of stream, and transformation of fish assemblage structure from dominance by large-stream to small-stream fishes. Scaling down to subwatersheds revealed consistent transformations in fish assemblage structure among western subwatersheds with increasing depths to groundwater. Although transformations occurred in the absence of barriers, barriers along mainstem rivers isolate depauperate western fish assemblages from relatively intact eastern fish assemblages. Projections to 2060 indicate loss of an additional 286 km of stream across the region, as well as continued replacement of large-stream fishes by small-stream fishes where groundwater pumping has increased depth to groundwater. Our work illustrates the shrinking of streams and homogenization of Great Plains stream fish assemblages related to groundwater pumping, and we predict similar transformations worldwide where local and regional aquifer depletions occur.

Effect of Irrigation and Preplant Nitrogen Fertilizer Source on Maize in the Southern Great Plains

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Jacob T. Bushong

2014-01-01

Full Text Available With the demand for maize increasing, production has spread into more water limited, semiarid regions. Couple this with the increasing nitrogen (N fertilizer costs and environmental concerns and the need for proper management practices has increased. A trial was established to evaluate the effects of different preplant N fertilizer sources on maize cultivated under deficit irrigation or rain-fed conditions on grain yield, N use efficiency (NUE, and water use efficiency (WUE. Two fertilizer sources, ammonium sulfate (AS and urea ammonium nitrate (UAN, applied at two rates, 90 and 180 kg N ha−1, were evaluated across four site-years. Deficit irrigation improved grain yield, WUE, and NUE compared to rain-fed conditions. The preplant application of a pure ammoniacal source of N fertilizer, such as AS, had a tendency to increase grain yields and NUE for rain-fed treatments. Under irrigated conditions, the use of UAN as a preplant N fertilizer source performed just as well or better at improving grain yield compared to AS, as long as the potential N loss mechanisms were minimized. Producers applying N preplant as a single application should adjust rates based on a reasonable yield goal and production practice.

Recent Trends in Soil Science and Agronomy Research in the Northern Great Plains of North America

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The book “Recent Trends in Soil Science and Agronomy Research in the Northern Great Plains of North America” summarizes published research in soil science and agronomy from various field experiments conducted in the soil-climatic/agro-ecological regions of the Northern Great Plains of North America....

HYDRUS Simulation of Sustainable Brackish Water Irrigation in a Winter Wheat-Summer Maize Rotation System in the North China Plain

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Kangkang He

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Freshwater resources in the North China Plain (NCP are near depletion due to the unceasing overexploitation of deep groundwater, by far the most significant source of freshwater in the region. To deal with the deepening freshwater crisis, brackish water (rich but largely unused water in agriculture is increasingly being used in irrigation in the region. However, inappropriate irrigation with brackish water could lead to soil salinization and cropland degradation. To evaluate such negative impacts, the HYDRUS-1D model was used to simulate soil salt transport and accumulation under 15 years of irrigation with brackish water. The irrigation scenarios included brackish water irrigation during the wintering and jointing stages of winter wheat and then freshwater irrigation just before the sowing of summer maize. Freshwater irrigation was done to leach out soil salts, which is particularly vital in dry years. For the littoral region of the plain, HYDRUS-ID was used to simulate the irrigated cropping system stated above for a total period of 15 years. The results showed that it was feasible to use brackish water twice in one year, provided freshwater irrigation was performed before sowing summer maize. Freshwater irrigation, in conjunction with precipitation, leached out soil salts from the 100 cm root-zone depth. The maximum salt accumulation was in the 160–220 cm soil layer, which ensured that root-zone soil was free of restrictive salinity for crop growth. Precipitation was a critical determinant of the rate and depth leaching of soil salt. Heavy rainfall (>100 mm caused significant leaching of soluble salts in the 0–200 cm soil profile. Salt concentration under brackish water irrigation had no significant effect on the variations in the trend of soil salt transport in the soil profile. The variations of soil salinity were mainly affected by hydrological year type, for which the buried depth of soil salt was higher in wet years than in dry years

Influence of latitude on the US great plains East-West precipitation gradient

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Precipitation varies greatly from east to west across the US Great Plains as a result of a combination of the rain shadow of the Rocky Mountains and the moisture flow from the Gulf of Mexico. Because of this precipitation gradient, application of research results obtained in one location to other lo...

78 FR 17653 - Upper Great Plains Wind Energy Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (DOE/EIS-0408)

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-22

... Wildlife Service Upper Great Plains Wind Energy Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (DOE/EIS... Plains Wind Energy Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (Draft [[Page 17654

The Rieti Land Reclamation Authority relevance in the management of surface waters for the irrigation purposes of the Rieti Plain (Central Italy

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Lucio Martarelli

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The Rieti Plain is crowned by calcareous-marly reliefs (Rieti and Sabini Mountains and represents an intra-Apennine Plio- Quaternary alluvial and fluvial-lacustrine basin formed after multistage extensional tectonic processes. This territory presents huge amounts of water resources (Velino and Turano rivers; several springs; Lungo and Ripasottile lakes, relics of ancient Lacus Velinus. The aquifers occurring in the reliefs often have hydraulic continuity with the Rieti plain groundwater (detected at about 1-4 m below ground surface, which has general flow directions converging from the reliefs to the lake sector. Hydraulic exchanges between groundwater and surface waters are variable in space and time and play a relevant role for groundwater resource distribution. The Rieti Land Reclamation Authority was instituted in 1929 by Royal Decree N. 34171-3835, and integrates eight former authorities, dating the end of 1800s. It contributes to maintain the reclamation actions in the Rieti Plain, which started with the realization of the Salto and Turano artificial reservoirs, along two left tributaries of Velino River. The hydroelectric energy production purposes struggle with the reclamation and flood mitigation activities in the plain. The Land Reclamation Authority actuated the Integrated Reclamation General Project through the realization of pumping stations, connection and drainage canals, forestry-hydraulic works, rural roads, movable dams along Velino River and irrigation ditches. The irrigation activities, granted by the derivation of 5 m3/s from the Velino River, are carried out through 194,000 hectares within the territory of 42 municipalities of the Rieti Province. The Rieti Land Reclamation Authority contributes to the irrigation needs and to the environmental and hydrogeological protection and monitoring.

Seasonal weather-related decision making for cattle production in the Northern Great Plains

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High inter-annual variability of seasonal weather patterns can greatly affect forage and therefore livestock production in the Northern Great Plains. This variability can make it difficult for ranchers to set yearly stocking rates, particularly in advance of the grazing season. To better understand ...

Potential future impacts of climatic change on the Great Plains

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smit, B.

1991-01-01

A synopsis is provided of approaches to impact studies in the Great Plains, findings from studies of future impacts are summarized, and opportunities for enhancing understanding of future impacts are discussed. Potential impacts of climate change on agriculture, water resources, forestry, recreation/tourism, and energy are summarized. Impact analyses need to look more rigorously at variability in climate, the probabilities of various climatic conditions, and the sensitivity of social and economic activities to climatic variability. Most economic impact studies have assumed no adaptive behavior on the part of economic decision makers. Credible impact assessments require an improved understanding of the sensitivity and adaptability of sectors to climatic conditions, particularly variability. The energy sector in the Great Plains region is likely to be more sensitive to political developments in the Middle East than to climatic variability and change. Speculation and analysis of climate impacts have focused on supply conditions and demands, yet the sector is more keenly sensitive to policy implications of climatic change, such as the potential for fossil fuel taxes or other legislative or pricing constraints. 28 refs

Smallholder groundwater irrigation in sub-Saharan Africa: an interdisciplinary framework applied to the Usangu plains, Tanzania

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Villholth, Karen G.; Ganeshamoorthy, Jegan; Rundblad, Christian M.

2013-01-01

A simple but comprehensive framework for analysing the potential for and constraints to groundwater development for irrigated agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa is proposed. The framework, based on food value chain principles, is applied to the sub-Saharan context and a specific catchment in Tanza......A simple but comprehensive framework for analysing the potential for and constraints to groundwater development for irrigated agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa is proposed. The framework, based on food value chain principles, is applied to the sub-Saharan context and a specific catchment...... in Tanzania, the Usangu plains, where groundwater has been proposed as a strategic resource for augmenting food production and smallholder livelihoods and to alleviate seasonal water scarcity. The novel contribution of the work is the presentation of a tool that can be applied to support an interdisciplinary...... approach to systematically identify most significant barriers and most critical water management and development interventions for sustainable development of groundwater irrigation. The result of the case study shows that farmer economics, capacity, and pump and well drilling market constraints limit...

A GIS-based assessment of groundwater suitability for irrigation purposes in flat areas of the wet Pampa plain, Argentina.

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Romanelli, Asunción; Lima, María Lourdes; Quiroz Londoño, Orlando Mauricio; Martínez, Daniel Emilio; Massone, Héctor Enrique

2012-09-01

The Pampa in Argentina is a large plain with a quite obvious dependence on agriculture, water availability and its quality. It is a sensitive environment due to weather changes and slope variations. Supplementary irrigation is a useful practice for compensating the production in the zone. However, potential negative impacts of this type of irrigation in salinization and sodification of soils are evident. Most conventional methodologies for assessing water irrigation quality have difficulties in their application in the region because they do not adjust to the defined assumptions for them. Consequently, a new GIS-based methodology integrating multiparametric data was proposed for evaluating and delineating groundwater suitability zones for irrigation purposes in flat areas. Hydrogeological surveys including water level measurements, groundwater samples for chemical analysis and electrical conductivity (EC) measurements were performed. The combination of EC, sodium adsorption ratio, residual sodium carbonate, slopes and hydraulic gradient parameters generated an irrigation water index (IWI). With the integration of the IWI 1 to 3 classes (categories of suitable waters for irrigation) and the aquifer thickness the restricted irrigation water index (RIWI) was obtained. The IWI's index application showed that 61.3 % of the area has "Very high" to "Moderate" potential for irrigation, while the 31.4 % of it has unsuitable waters. Approximately, 46 % of the tested area has high suitability for irrigation and moderate groundwater availability. This proposed methodology has advantages over traditional methods because it allows for better discrimination in homogeneous areas.

Southern Great Plains Rapid Ecoregional assessment—Volume I. Ecological communities

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Reese, Gordon C.; Burris, Lucy; Carr, Natasha B.; Leinwand, Ian I.F.; Melcher, Cynthia P.

2017-10-19

The Southern Great Plains Rapid Ecoregional Assessment was conducted in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Great Plains Landscape Conservation Cooperative. The overall goal of the Rapid Ecoregional Assessments (REAs) is to compile and synthesize regional datasets to facilitate evaluation of the cumulative effects of change agents on priority ecological communities and species. In particular, the REAs identify and map the distribution of communities and wildlife habitats at broad spatial extents and provide assessments of ecological conditions. The REAs also identify where and to what degree ecological resources are currently at risk from change agents, such as development, fire, invasive species, and climate change. The REAs can help managers identify and prioritize potential areas for conservation or restoration, assess cumulative effects as required by the National Environmental Policy Act, and inform landscape-level planning and management decisions for multiple uses of public lands.Management questions form the basis for the REA framework and were developed in conjunction with the BLM and other stakeholders. Conservation elements are communities and species that are of regional management concern. Core management questions relate to the key ecological attributes and change agents associated with each conservation element. Integrated management questions synthesize the results of the primary core management questions into overall landscape-level ranks for each conservation element.The ecological communities evaluated as conservation elements are shortgrass, mixed-grass, and sand prairies; all grasslands; riparian and nonplaya wetlands; playa wetlands and saline lakes; and prairie streams and rivers. Species and species assemblages evaluated are the freshwater mussel assemblage, Arkansas River shiner (Notropis girardi), ferruginous hawk (Buteo regalis), lesser prairie chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus), snowy plover (Charadrius

Understanding Great Plains Urbanization through the Lens of South Dakota Townscapes

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Conzen, Michael P.

2010-01-01

Most towns were crucial to the initial colonization and economic development of the Great Plains. Many were, directly or indirectly, creatures of railroad corporate planning, owing their location as well as their physical layout to the townsite companies controlled by railroad officials. This article examines how these facts shaped the fundamental…

Weed Control with Cover Crops in Irrigated Potatoes

OpenAIRE

G.H. Mehring; J.E. Stenger; H.M. Hatterman-Valenti

2016-01-01

Field experiments at Oakes, ND, USA in 2010 and Carrington, ND, USA in 2011 were conducted to evaluate the potential for cover crops grown in the Northern Great Plains, USA in order to reduce weed emergence and density in irrigated potatoes. Treatments included five cover crop treatments and three cover crop termination treatments. Termination of cover crops was done with glyphosate, disk-till, and roto-till. Cover crop biomass accumulation was greatest for rye/canola and triticale at Oakes, ...

Analysis of energy requirement in the irrigation sector and its application in groundwater over-pumping control at a local scale - A case study in the North China Plain

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Wang, L.; Kinzelbach, W.; Yao, H.; Hagmann, A.; Li, N.; Steiner, J. F.

2017-12-01

The North China Plain is one of the most important agricultural regions which relies heavily on groundwater pumping for irrigation powered by electric energy. This region is also facing a severe problem of groundwater over-pumping. Stopping groundwater depletion by controlling pumping for irrigation may harm the agricultural production and affect the interests of the electricity utility who is a direct participant in the irrigation management. Water-saving infrastructures such as sprinklers can be effective means for water conservation but are often difficult to implement due to farmers' unwillingness to pay for the additional electricity consumption. Understanding this food-energy-water nexus is fundamental to implement effective and practical strategies for groundwater over-pumping control in the North China Plain. However, this understanding can be obscured by the missing groundwater pumping monitoring and a lack of access to specific energy data for irrigation use as well as the field observations of pump efficiency. Taking the example of a typical agricultural county (Guantao) in the North China Plain with irrigation pumps generally powered by electricity, this study is focused on the analysis of the energy requirement in the irrigation sector and its application in developing strategies for groundwater over-pumping control at the county scale. 1) Field measurements from pumping tests are used to adjust the pumps' theoretical characteristics. A simple empirical equation is derived to estimate the energy use rate for irrigation given the depth of the groundwater table. Field measurements show that pump efficiency is around 30% in the tested region. 2) We hypothesize that the inter-annual variability of rural energy consumption is caused by the randomness in annual precipitation. This assumption is examined and then applied to separate the energy consumption for irrigation from the total rural energy consumption. 3) Based on the groundwater pumping rate

Small mammals in successional prairie woodlands of the northern Great Plains

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Mark A. Rumble; John E. Gobeille

2001-01-01

Prairie woodlands comprise about 1 percent of the landscape in the northern Great Plains. However, prairie woodlands provide habitat for far more than 1 percent of the wildlife species that occur in the prairie region. With increasing pressures on natural resources, managers need methods for managing wildlife habitat and biodiversity that are based on ecological...

Regional Water Balance Based on Remotely Sensed Evapotranspiration and Irrigation: An Assessment of the Haihe Plain, China

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Yanmin Yang

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Optimal planning and management of the limited water resources for maximum productivity in agriculture requires quantifying the irrigation applied at a regional scale. However, most efforts involving remote sensing applications in assessing large-scale irrigation applied (IA have focused on supplying spatial variables for crop models or studying evapotranspiration (ET inversions, rather than directly building a remote sensing data-based model to estimate IA. In this study, based on remote sensing data, an IA estimation model together with an ET calculation model (ETWatch is set up to simulate the spatial distribution of IA in the Haihe Plain of northern China. We have verified this as an effective approach for the simulation of regional IA, being more reflective of regional characteristics and of higher resolution compared to single site-specific results. The results show that annual ET varies from 527 mm to 679 mm and IA varies from 166 mm to 289 mm, with average values of 602 mm and 225 mm, respectively, from 2002 to 2007. We confirm that the region along the Taihang Mountain in Hebei Plain has serious water resource sustainability problems, even while receiving water from the South-North Water Transfer (SNWT project. This is due to the region’s intensive agricultural production and declining groundwater tables. Water-saving technologies, including more timely and accurate geo-specific IA assessments, may help reduce this threat.

Ecology of fire in shortgrass prairie of the southern Great Plains

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Paulette L. Ford; Guy R. McPherson

1996-01-01

The ecology of fire in shortgrass prairie of the southern Great Plains includes a complex interaction between the shortgrass prairie ecosystem and its inhabitants, all inextricably linked to land-use patterns. The history of the relationship between man and fire has been filled with ambivalence and mistrust, along with an appreciation of the power of fire as a...

A network model framework for prioritizing wetland conservation in the Great Plains

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Albanese, Gene; Haukos, David A.

2017-01-01

ContextPlaya wetlands are the primary habitat for numerous wetland-dependent species in the Southern Great Plains of North America. Plant and wildlife populations that inhabit these wetlands are reciprocally linked through the dispersal of individuals, propagules and ultimately genes among local populations.ObjectiveTo develop and implement a framework using network models for conceptualizing, representing and analyzing potential biological flows among 48,981 spatially discrete playa wetlands in the Southern Great Plains.MethodsWe examined changes in connectivity patterns and assessed the relative importance of wetlands to maintaining these patterns by targeting wetlands for removal based on network centrality metrics weighted by estimates of habitat quality and probability of inundation.ResultsWe identified several distinct, broad-scale sub networks and phase transitions among playa wetlands in the Southern Plains. In particular, for organisms that can disperse >2 km a dense and expansive wetland sub network emerges in the Southern High Plains. This network was characterized by localized, densely connected wetland clusters at link distances (h) >2 km but <5 km and was most sensitive to changes in wetland availability (p) and configuration when h = 4 km, and p = 0.2–0.4. It transitioned to a single, large connected wetland system at broader spatial scales even when the proportion of inundated wetland was relatively low (p = 0.2).ConclusionsOur findings suggest that redundancy in the potential for broad and fine-scale movements insulates this system from damage and facilitates system-wide connectivity among populations with different dispersal capacities.

Net ecosystem exchange of CO2 and H2O fluxes from irrigated grain sorghum and maize in the Texas High Plains

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Net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of carbon dioxide (CO2) and water vapor (H2O) fluxes from irrigated grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) and maize (Zea mays L.) fields in the Texas High Plains were quantified using the eddy covariance (EC) technique during 2014-2016 growing seasons and examined in...

Late Pleistocene dune activity in the central Great Plains, USA

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Mason, J.A.; Swinehart, J.B.; Hanson, P.R.; Loope, D.B.; Goble, R.J.; Miao, X.; Schmeisser, R.L.

2011-01-01

Stabilized dunes of the central Great Plains, especially the megabarchans and large barchanoid ridges of the Nebraska Sand Hills, provide dramatic evidence of late Quaternary environmental change. Episodic Holocene dune activity in this region is now well-documented, but Late Pleistocene dune mobility has remained poorly documented, despite early interpretations of the Sand Hills dunes as Pleistocene relicts. New optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages from drill cores and outcrops provide evidence of Late Pleistocene dune activity at sites distributed across the central Great Plains. In addition, Late Pleistocene eolian sands deposited at 20-25 ka are interbedded with loess south of the Sand Hills. Several of the large dunes sampled in the Sand Hills clearly contain a substantial core of Late Pleistocene sand; thus, they had developed by the Late Pleistocene and were fully mobile at that time, although substantial sand deposition and extensive longitudinal dune construction occurred during the Holocene. Many of the Late Pleistocene OSL ages fall between 17 and 14 ka, but it is likely that these ages represent only the later part of a longer period of dune construction and migration. At several sites, significant Late Pleistocene or Holocene large-dune migration also probably occurred after the time represented by the Pleistocene OSL ages. Sedimentary structures in Late Pleistocene eolian sand and the forms of large dunes potentially constructed in the Late Pleistocene both indicate sand transport dominated by northerly to westerly winds, consistent with Late Pleistocene loess transport directions. Numerical modeling of the climate of the Last Glacial Maximum has often yielded mean monthly surface winds southwest of the Laurentide Ice Sheet that are consistent with this geologic evidence, despite strengthened anticyclonic circulation over the ice sheet. Mobility of large dunes during the Late Pleistocene on the central Great Plains may have been the result of

A comparative analysis of the impacts of climate change and irrigation on land surface and subsurface hydrology in the North China Plain

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leng, Guoyong; Tang, Qiuhong; Huang, Maoyi; Leung, Lai-Yung R.

2015-02-01

The Community Land Model 4.0 (CLM4) was used to investigate and compare the effects of climate change and irrigation on terrestrial water cycle. Three climate change scenarios and one irrigation scenario (IRRIG) were simulated in the North China Plain (NCP), which is one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change and human perturbations in China. The climate change scenarios consist of (1) HOT (i.e. temperature increase by 2oC); (2) HOTWET (same with HOT but with an increase of precipitation by 15%); (3) HOTDRY (same with HOT but with a decrease of precipitation by 15%). In the IRRIG scenario, the irrigation scheme was calibrated to simulate irrigation amounts that match the actual irrigation amounts and irrigation was divided between surface water and groundwater withdrawals based on census data. Our results show that the impacts of climate change were more widespread while those of irrigation were concentrated only over the agricultural regions. Specifically, the mean water table depth was simulated to decline persistently by over 1 m annually due to groundwater exploitation during the period of 1980-2000, while much smaller effects were induced by climate change. Although irrigation has comparable effects on surface fluxes and surface soil moisture as climate change, it has much greater effects on water table depth and groundwater storage. Moreover, irrigation has much larger effects on the top layer soil moisture whereas increase in precipitation associated with climate change exerts more influence on lower layer soil moisture. This study emphasizes the need to accurately account for irrigation impacts in adapting to climate change.

Low-dose glyphosate does not control annual bromes in the northern Great Plains

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Annual bromes (downy brome and Japanese brome) have been shown to decrease perennial grass forage production and alter ecosystem functions in northern Great Plains rangelands. Large-scale chemical control might be a method for increasing rangeland forage production if low application rates confer co...

Energy Profiles of an Agricultural Frontier: The American Great Plains, 1860-2000.

Science.gov (United States)

Cunfer, Geoff; Watson, Andrew; MacFadyen, Joshua

2018-04-01

Agro-ecosystem energy profiles reveal energy flows into, within, and out of U.S. Great Plains farm communities across 140 years. This study evaluates external energy inputs such as human labor, machinery, fuel, and fertilizers. It tracks the energy content of land produce, including crops, grazed pasture, and firewood, and also accounts unharvested energy that remains available for wildlife. It estimates energy redirected through livestock feed into draft power, meat, and milk, and estimates the energy content of final produce available for local consumption or market sale. The article presents energy profiles for three case studies in Kansas in 1880, 1930, 1954, and 1997. Two energy transformations occurred during that time. The first, agricultural colonization , saw farm communities remake the landscape, turning native grassland into a mosaic of cropland and pasture, a process that reduced overall landscape energy productivity. A second energy transition occurred in the mid-twentieth century, characterized by fossil fuel energy imports. That outside energy raised harvested and unharvested energy flows, reused biomass energy, and also final produce. This socio-ecological transition increased landscape energy productivity by 33 to 45 percent above pre-settlement conditions in grain-growing regions. These energy developments were not uniform across the plains. Variations in rainfall and soil quality constrained or favored energy productivity in different places. The case studies reveal the spatial variation of energy profiles in Great Plains agro-ecosystems, while the longitudinal approach tracks temporal change.

Scale Effects of Water Saving on Irrigation Efficiency: Case Study of a Rice-Based Groundwater Irrigation System on the Sanjiang Plain, Northeast China

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Haorui Chen

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This research analyzed the scale effect of water saving in Bielahonghe (BLH Basin, a rice-cultivating district on the Sanjiang Plain, Northeast China. Water budgets with different surface irrigation water supply ratios and water-saving measures were simulated with a semi-distributed water balance model. PFnws, representing the ratio of rice evapotranspiration to net water supply (the total amount of irrigation and precipitation minus the amount of water reused, was employed to assess the water use efficiency. Seven spatial scales (noted from S1 to S7, ranging from a single field (317.87 ha to the whole basin (about 100,800 ha were determined. PFnws values were quantified across scales and several water-saving measures, including water-saving irrigation regimes, canal lining, and a reduction of the surface water supply ratio (SWSR. The results indicated that PFnws increased with scale and could be calculated by a fitted power function (PFnws = 0.736Area0.033, R2 = 0.58. Furthermore, PFnws increased most prominently when the scale increased from S1 to S2. The water-saving irrigation regime (WSIR had the most substantial water-saving effect (WSE at S1. Specifically, PFnws improved by 21.2% at S1 when high-intensity WSIR was applied. Additionally, the WSE values of S3 and S5 were slightly higher than at other scales when the branch canal water delivery coefficient increased from 0.65 to 0.80 through canal lining. Furthermore, the PFnws at each scale varied with SWSR. Specifically, PFnws from S3 to S7 improved as SWSR decreased from 0.4 to 0.3 but remained approximately constant when SWSR decreased from 0.3 to 0.

Summertime Low-Level Jets over the Great Plains

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stensrud, D.J. [NOAA/ERL/National Severe Storms Lab., Norman, OK (United States); Pfeifer, S. [Univ. of Oklahoma, Norman, OK (United States)

1996-04-01

The sky over the southern Great Plains Cloud and Atmospheric Radiation Testbed (CART) site of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program during the predawn and early morning hours often is partially obstructed by stratocumulus, stratus fractus, or cumulus fractus that are moving rapidly to the north, even through the surface winds are weak. This cloud movement is evidence of the low-level jet (LLJ), a wind speed maximum that occurs in the lowest few kilometers of the atmosphere. Owing to the wide spacing between upper-air sounding sites and the relatively infrequent sounding launches, LLJ evolution has been difficult to observe adequately, even though the effects of LLJs on moisture flux into North America are large. Model simulation of the LLJ is described.

Summary of findings from the Great Plains Tree and Forest Invasives Initiative

Science.gov (United States)

Dacia M. Meneguzzo; Andrew J. Lister; Cody. Sullivan

2018-01-01

The Great Plains Tree and Forest Invasives Initiative (GPI) was a cooperative effort of the U.S. Forest Service and state forestry agencies in Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota, with a primary goal of evaluating the tree resources throughout the four-state region as a preparedness measure for the arrival of invasive pests, such as the emerald ash borer...

Whooping crane stopover site use intensity within the Great Plains

Science.gov (United States)

Pearse, Aaron T.; Brandt, David A.; Harrell, Wade C.; Metzger, Kristine L.; Baasch, David M.; Hefley, Trevor J.

2015-09-23

Whooping cranes (Grus americana) of the Aransas-Wood Buffalo population migrate twice each year through the Great Plains in North America. Recovery activities for this endangered species include providing adequate places to stop and rest during migration, which are generally referred to as stopover sites. To assist in recovery efforts, initial estimates of stopover site use intensity are presented, which provide opportunity to identify areas across the migration range used more intensively by whooping cranes. We used location data acquired from 58 unique individuals fitted with platform transmitting terminals that collected global position system locations. Radio-tagged birds provided 2,158 stopover sites over 10 migrations and 5 years (2010–14). Using a grid-based approach, we identified 1,095 20-square-kilometer grid cells that contained stopover sites. We categorized occupied grid cells based on density of stopover sites and the amount of time cranes spent in the area. This assessment resulted in four categories of stopover site use: unoccupied, low intensity, core intensity, and extended-use core intensity. Although provisional, this evaluation of stopover site use intensity offers the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and partners a tool to identify landscapes that may be of greater conservation significance to migrating whooping cranes. Initially, the tool will be used by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other interested parties in evaluating the Great Plains Wind Energy Habitat Conservation Plan.

The Development of Tourist Relations during the Economic Crisis through the Example of the Southern Great Plain Region and Serbia

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PÉTER GULYÁS

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Since the beginning of the economic crisis, nearby feeder markets have become increasingly important for Hungary’s tourism sector with cross-border cooperation schemes playing an ever increasing role. This also holds true for Hungary’s Southern Great Plain Region when viewed in its relationship with neighbouring Serbia. This paper examines tourism flow changes in the Southern Hungarian Great Plain Region during the period of the economic crisis especially as far as tourism flows from Serbia are concerned. The analysis is based on official statistical data available in respect of commercial accommodation facilities, analyses on tourism trends carried out at the European level, and regional development documents drawn up for the Hungarian–Serbian cross border region. The economic crisis caused a significant downturn in tourism flows in the Southern Great Plain Region. However, the number of tourists arriving from Serbia to the Southern Great Plain and the number of nights they spent there increased even during the crisis partly because of the favourable geographical location of the region, partly because of the intensive cooperation schemes implemented in the tourism sector, and partly because of organised marketing campaigns.

Water Leakage and Nitrate Leaching Characteristics in the Winter Wheat–Summer Maize Rotation System in the North China Plain under Different Irrigation and Fertilization Management Practices

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Shufeng Chen

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Field experiments were carried out in Huantai County from 2006 to 2008 to evaluate the effects of different nitrogen (N fertilization and irrigation management practices on water leakage and nitrate leaching in the dominant wheat–maize rotation system in the North China Plain (NCP. Two N fertilization (NF1, the traditional one; NF2, fertilization based on soil testing and two irrigation (IR1, the traditional one; IR2, irrigation based on real-time soil water content monitoring management practices were designed in the experiments. Water and nitrate amounts leaving the soil layer at a depth of 2.0 m below the soil surface were calculated and compared. Results showed that the IR2 effectively reduced water leakage and nitrate leaching amounts in the two-year period, especially in the winter wheat season. Less than 10 percent irrigation water could be saved in a dry winter wheat season, but about 60 percent could be saved in a wet winter wheat season. Besides, 58.8 percent nitrate under single NF2IR1 and 85.2 percent under NF2IR2 could be prevented from leaching. The IR2 should be considered as the best management practice to save groundwater resources and prevent nitrate from leaching. The amounts of N input play a great role in affecting nitrate concentrations in the soil solutions in the winter wheat–summer maize rotation system. The NF2 significantly reduced N inputs and should be encouraged in ordinary agricultural production. Thus, nitrate leaching and groundwater contamination could be alleviated, but timely N supplement might be needed under high precipitation condition.

Land Surface Phenologies of the Northern Great Plains: Possible Futures Arising From Land and Climate Change

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Henebry, G. M.; Wimberly, M. C.; Senay, G.; Wang, A.; Chang, J.; Wright, C. R.; Hansen, M. C.

2008-12-01

Land cover change across the Northern Great Plains of North America over the past three decades has been driven by changes in agricultural management (conservation tillage; irrigation), government incentives (Conservation Reserve Program; subsidies to grain-based ethanol), crop varieties (cold-hardy soybean), and market dynamics (increasing world demand). Climate change across the Northern Great Plains over the past three decades has been evident in trends toward earlier warmth in the spring and a longer frost-free season. Together these land and climate changes induce shifts in local and regional land surface phenologies (LSPs). Any significant shift in LSP may correspond to a significant shift in evapotranspiration, with consequences for regional hydrometeorology. We explored possible future scenarios involving land use and climate change in six steps. First, we defined the nominal draw areas of current and future biorefineries in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Iowa and masked those land cover types within the draw areas that were unlikely to change to agricultural use (open water, settlements, forests, etc.). Second, we estimated the proportion of corn and soybean remaining within the masked draw areas using MODIS-derived crop maps. Third, in each draw area, we modified LSPs to simulate crop changes for a control and two treatment scenarios. In the control, we used LSP profiles identified from MODIS Collection 5 NBAR data. In one treatment, we increased the proportion of tallgrass LSPs in the draw areas to represent widespread cultivation of a perennial cellulosic crop, like switchgrass. In a second treatment, we increased the proportion of corn LSPs in the draw areas to represent increased corn cultivation. Fourth, we characterized the seasonal progression of the thermal regime associated with the LSP profiles using MODIS Land Surface Temperature (LST) products. Fifth, we modeled the LSP profile as a quadratic function of accumulated

Irrigation and avifaunal change in coastal Northwest Mexico: has irrigated habit attracted threatened migratory species?

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Grason, Emily; Navarro-Sigüenza, Adolfo G.

2015-01-01

Irrigation in desert ecosystems can either reduce or increase species diversity. Groundwater pumping often lowers water tables and reduces natural wetlands, whereas canal irrigation often creates mesic habitat, resulting in great increases in avian diversity from irrigation. Here we compare a dataset of potential natural vegetation to recent datasets from areal and satellite imagery to show that 60% of the land in the coastal plain of southern Sonora and northern Sinaloa lying below 200 m elevation has been converted by irrigation to more mesic habitats. We then use the record of bird specimens in the world’s museums from this same region of Mexico to examine the avian community before and after the development of extensive irrigation. In general these museum records show an increase in the abundance and diversity of breeding birds associated with mesic habitats. Although thorn forest birds have likely decreased in total numbers, most are common enough in the remaining thorn forest that collection records did not indicate their probable decline. Four migrants having most of their breeding ranges in the US or Canada, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Cliff Swallow, Bell’s Vireo, and Orchard Oriole, apparently have increased dramatically as breeders in irrigated habitats of NW Mexico. Because these species have decreased or even largely disappeared as breeding birds in parts of the US or Canada, further research should assess whether their increases in new mesic habitats of NW Mexico are linked to their declines as breeding birds in Canada and the US For Bell’s Vireo recent specimens from Sinaloa suggest its new breeding population in NW Mexico may be composed partly of the endangered Least Bell’s Vireo. PMID:26312181

Building Indigenous Community Resilience in the Great Plains

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Gough, B.

2014-12-01

Indigenous community resilience is rooted in the seasoned lifeways, developed over generations, incorporated into systems of knowledge, and realized in artifacts of infrastructure through keen observations of the truth and consequences of their interactions with the environment found in place over time. Their value lies, not in their nature as artifacts, but in the underlying patterns and processes of culture: how previous adaptations were derived and evolved, and how the principles and processes of detailed observation may inform future adaptations. This presentation examines how such holistic community approaches, reflected in design and practice, can be applied to contemporary issues of energy and housing in a rapidly changing climate. The Indigenous Peoples of the Great Plains seek to utilize the latest scientific climate modeling to support the development of large, utility scale distributed renewable energy projects and to re-invigorate an indigenous housing concept of straw bale construction, originating in this region. In the energy context, we explore the potential for the development of an intertribal wind energy dynamo on the Great Plains, utilizing elements of existing federal policies for Indian energy development and existing federal infrastructure initially created to serve hydropower resources, which may be significantly altered under current and prospective drought scenarios. For housing, we consider the opportunity to address the built environment in Indian Country, where Tribes have greater control as it consists largely of residences needed for their growing populations. Straw bale construction allows for greater use of local natural and renewable materials in a strategy for preparedness for the weather extremes and insurance perils already common to the region, provides solutions to chronic unemployment and increasing energy costs, while offering greater affordable comfort in both low and high temperature extremes. The development of large

Potential effects of climate change on aquatic ecosystems of the Great Plains of North America

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Covich, A.P.; Fritz, S.C.; Lamb, P.J.; Marzolf, R.D.; Matthews, W.J.; Poiani, K.A.; Prepas, E.E.; Richman, M.B.; Winter, T.C.

1997-01-01

The Great Plains landscape is less topographically complex than most other regions within North America, but diverse aquatic ecosystems, such as playas, pothole lakes, ox-bow lakes, springs, groundwater aquifers, intermittent and ephemeral streams, as well as large rivers and wetlands, are highly dynamic and responsive to extreme climatic fluctuations. We review the evidence for climatic change that demonstrates the historical importance of extremes in north-south differences in summer temperatures and east-west differences in aridity across four large subregions. These physical driving forces alter density stratification, deoxygenation, decomposition and salinity. Biotic community composition and associated ecosystem processes of productivity and nutrient cycling respond rapidly to these climatically driven dynamics. Ecosystem processes also respond to cultural effects such as dams and diversions of water for irrigation, waste dilution and urban demands for drinking water and industrial uses. Distinguishing climatic from cultural effects in future models of aquatic ecosystem functioning will require more refinement in both climatic and economic forecasting. There is a need, for example, to predict how long-term climatic forecasts (based on both ENSO and global warming simulations) relate to the permanence and productivity of shallow water ecosystems. Aquatic ecologists, hydrologists, climatologists and geographers have much to discuss regarding the synthesis of available data and the design of future interdisciplinary research. ?? 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Mapping marginal croplands suitable for cellulosic feedstock crops in the Great Plains, United States

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Gu, Yingxin; Wylie, Bruce K.

2016-01-01

Growing cellulosic feedstock crops (e.g., switchgrass) for biofuel is more environmentally sustainable than corn-based ethanol. Specifically, this practice can reduce soil erosion and water quality impairment from pesticides and fertilizer, improve ecosystem services and sustainability (e.g., serve as carbon sinks), and minimize impacts on global food supplies. The main goal of this study was to identify high-risk marginal croplands that are potentially suitable for growing cellulosic feedstock crops (e.g., switchgrass) in the US Great Plains (GP). Satellite-derived growing season Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, a switchgrass biomass productivity map obtained from a previous study, US Geological Survey (USGS) irrigation and crop masks, and US Department of Agriculture (USDA) crop indemnity maps for the GP were used in this study. Our hypothesis was that croplands with relatively low crop yield but high productivity potential for switchgrass may be suitable for converting to switchgrass. Areas with relatively low crop indemnity (crop indemnity marginal croplands in the GP are potentially suitable for switchgrass development. The total estimated switchgrass biomass productivity gain from these suitable areas is about 5.9 million metric tons. Switchgrass can be cultivated in either lowland or upland regions in the GP depending on the local soil and environmental conditions. This study improves our understanding of ecosystem services and the sustainability of cropland systems in the GP. Results from this study provide useful information to land managers for making informed decisions regarding switchgrass development in the GP.

Particulate matter concentrations for mono-slope beef cattle facilities in the Northern Great Plains

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Confined cattle facilities are an increasingly common housing system in the Northern Great Plains region of the United States. Producers may maintain a deep-bedded manure pack (Pack), they may remove all bedding/manure material from the pens weekly (Scrape), or use a combination of management styles...

Immigration to the Great Plains, 1865-1914: War, Politics, Technology, and Economic Development

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Garver, Bruce

2011-01-01

The advent and vast extent of immigration to the Great Plains states during the years 1865 to 1914 is perhaps best understood in light of the new international context that emerged during the 1860s in the aftermath of six large wars whose consequences included the enlargement of civil liberties, an acceleration of economic growth and technological…

Annual crop type classification of the U.S. Great Plains for 2000 to 2011

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Howard, Daniel M.; Wylie, Bruce K.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to increase the spatial and temporal availability of crop classification data. In this study, nearly 16.2 million crop observation points were used in the training of the US Great Plains classification tree crop type model (CTM). Each observation point was further defined by weekly Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, annual climate, and a number of other biogeophysical environmental characteristics. This study accounted for the most prevalent crop types in the region, including, corn, soybeans, winter wheat, spring wheat, cotton, sorghum, and alfalfa. Annual CTM crop maps of the US Great Plains were created for 2000 to 2011 at a spatial resolution of 250 meters. The CTM achieved an 87 percent classification success rate on 1.8 million observation points that were withheld from model training. Product validation was performed on greater than 15,000 county records with a coefficient of determination of R2 = 0.76.

Calibration and validation of the STICS crop model for managing wheat irrigation in the semi-arid Marrakech/Al-Haouz Plain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hadria, R.; Khabba, S.; Lahrouni, A.; Duchemin, B.; Chehbouni, A.; Carriou, J.; Ouzine, L.

2007-01-01

In the first part of this work, we shoot growth module and grain yield of the STICS crop model were calibrated and validated by using field data which was collected from irrigated winter wheat fields in the Haouz plain near Marrakech. The calibration was performed on the thermal units between the four phonological stages that control the dynamics of leaf area index and thermal unit between emergence and beginning of grain filling. The plant phenology was calibrated for three fields monitored during the 2002/03 season. Evaluation of the green yields and the temporal evolution of leaf area index were done for six validation fields during 2003/04. The results showed the significant accuracy of the model in simulating these variables and also indicated that the plants mainly suffered from lack of nitrogen. The results in the second part show the potential of crop modeling to schedule irrigation water, on the assumption that the plants were growing under optimal conditions of fertilization. In this case, the model was used to manage the time of irrigation according to a threshold for water deficit. Various simulations displayed logical trends in the relationship between the grain yield and both the amount and timing of irrigation water. These results were finally compared with those obtained from real irrigation practices. For the particular climate pf 2003/04, the comparison showed that 70mm 40 mm of water could be saved in case of early and late showing, respectively. (author)

Factors contributing to record-breaking heat waves over the Great Plains during the 1930s Dust Bowl

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Cowan, T.; Hegerl, G. C.

2016-12-01

Record-breaking summer heat waves that plagued contiguous United States in the 1930s emerged during the decade-long "Dust Bowl" drought. Using high-quality daily temperature observations, the Dust Bowl heat wave characteristics for the Great Plains are assessed using metrics that describe variations in heat wave activity and intensity. We also quantify record-breaking heat waves over the pre-industrial period for 22 CMIP5 model multi-century realisations. The most extreme Great Plains heat wave summers in the Dust Bowl decade (e.g. 1931, 1934, 1936) were pre-conditioned by anomalously dry springs, as measured by proxy drought indices. In general, summer heat waves over the Great Plains develop 15-20 days earlier after anomalously dry springs, and are also significantly longer and hotter, indicative of the importance of land surface feedbacks in heat wave intensification. The majority of pre-industrial climate model experiments capture regionally clustered summer heat waves across North America, although the North Pacific and Atlantic sea surface temperature patterns associated with the heat waves vary considerably between models. Sea surface temperature patterns may be more important for influencing winter and spring precipitation, thus amplifying summer heat waves during drought periods. The synoptic pattern that commonly appeared during the exceptional Dust Bowl heat waves featured an anomalous broad surface pressure ridge straddling an upper level blocking anticyclone over the western United States. This forced significant subsidence and adiabatic warming over the Great Plains, and triggered anomalous southward warm advection over southern regions, prolonging and amplifying the heat waves over central United States. Importantly, the results show that despite the sparsity of stations in the 1930s, homogeneous observations are crucial in accurately quantifying the Dust Bowl decade heat waves, as opposed to solely relying on atmospheric reanalysis.

Darrieus wind-turbine and pump performance for low-lift irrigation pumping

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Hagen, L. J.; Sharif, M.

1981-10-01

In the Great Plains about 15 percent of the irrigation water pumped on farms comes from surface water sources; for the United States as a whole, the figure is about 22 percent. Because of forecast fuel shortages, there is a need to develop alternative energy sources such as wind power for surface water pumping. Specific objectives of this investigation were to: design and assemble a prototype wind powered pumping system for low lift irrigation pumping; determine performance of the prototype system; design and test an irrigation system using the wind powered prototype in a design and test an farm application; and determine the size combinations of wind turbines, tailwater pits, and temporary storage reservoirs needed for successful farm application of wind powered tailwater pumping systems in western Kansas. The power source selected was a two bladed, 6 m diameter, 9 m tall Darrieus vertical axis wind turbine with 0.10 solidity and 36.1 M(2) swept area.

Grasshopper responses to fire and postfire grazing in the northern Great Plains vary among species

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Rangeland management practices such as burning and grazing management may affect grasshopper populations by impacting development, survival and reproduction. Experiments are lacking in the northern Great Plains examining the effects of fire and grazing intensity on grasshoppers. As part of a larger ...

Quantifying uncertainties of seismic Bayesian inversion of Northern Great Plains

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Gao, C.; Lekic, V.

2017-12-01

Elastic waves excited by earthquakes are the fundamental observations of the seismological studies. Seismologists measure information such as travel time, amplitude, and polarization to infer the properties of earthquake source, seismic wave propagation, and subsurface structure. Across numerous applications, seismic imaging has been able to take advantage of complimentary seismic observables to constrain profiles and lateral variations of Earth's elastic properties. Moreover, seismic imaging plays a unique role in multidisciplinary studies of geoscience by providing direct constraints on the unreachable interior of the Earth. Accurate quantification of uncertainties of inferences made from seismic observations is of paramount importance for interpreting seismic images and testing geological hypotheses. However, such quantification remains challenging and subjective due to the non-linearity and non-uniqueness of geophysical inverse problem. In this project, we apply a reverse jump Markov chain Monte Carlo (rjMcMC) algorithm for a transdimensional Bayesian inversion of continental lithosphere structure. Such inversion allows us to quantify the uncertainties of inversion results by inverting for an ensemble solution. It also yields an adaptive parameterization that enables simultaneous inversion of different elastic properties without imposing strong prior information on the relationship between them. We present retrieved profiles of shear velocity (Vs) and radial anisotropy in Northern Great Plains using measurements from USArray stations. We use both seismic surface wave dispersion and receiver function data due to their complementary constraints of lithosphere structure. Furthermore, we analyze the uncertainties of both individual and joint inversion of those two data types to quantify the benefit of doing joint inversion. As an application, we infer the variation of Moho depths and crustal layering across the northern Great Plains.

Evapotranspiration in winter wheat under different grazing and tillage practices in the southern Great Plains

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Precipitation in the Southern Great Plains (SGP) is highly variable both spatially and temporally with recurring periods of severe drought. Winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) – summer fallow system with conventional tillage is the principal dryland cropping system in this region for both grazing an...

Hydrology of area 59, northern Great Plains and Rocky Mountain coal provinces, Colorado and Wyoming

Science.gov (United States)

Gaggiani, Neville G.; Britton, Linda J.; Minges, Donald R.; Kilpatrick, F.A.; Parker, Randolph S.; Kircher, James E.

1987-01-01

Hydrologic information and analysis aid in decisions to lease federally owned coal and to prepare necessary Environmental Assessments and Impact Study reports. This need has become even more critical with the enactment of Public Law 95-87, the "Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977." This act requires an appropriate regulatory agency to issue permits, based on the review of permit-application data to assess hydrologic impacts. This report, which partially fulfills this requirement, is one in a series of nationwide coal province reports that present information thematically, through the use of a brief text and accompanying maps, graphs, charts, or other illustrations for single hydrologic topics. The report broadly characterizes the hydrology of Area 59 in north-central Colorado and southeastern Wyoming.The report area, located within the South Platte River basin, covers a 16,000-square-mile area of diverse geology, topography, and climate. This diversity results in contrasting hydrologic characteristics.The South Platte River, the major stream in the area, and most of its tributaries originate in granitic mountains and flow into and through the sedimentary rocks of the Great Plains. Altitudes range from less than 5,000 feet to more than 14,000 feet above sea level. Precipitation in the mountains may exceed 40 inches annually, much of it during the winter, and produces deep snowpacks. Snowmelt during the spring and summer produces most streamflow. Transmountain diversion of water from the streams on the western slope of the mountains also adds to the streamflow. Precipitation in the plains is as little as 10 inches annually. Streams that originate in the plains are ephemeral.Streamflow quality is best in the mountains, where dissolved-solids concentrations are generally small. Concentrations increase in the plains as streams flow through sedimentary basins, and as urbanization and irrigation increase. The quality of some mountain streams is affected by

Determining the Appropriate Economic Strategy to Conserve Groundwater Resources in Qazvin Plain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abozar Parhizkari

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Qazvin plain is one of the capable plains in Iran to produce of agricultural goods. Unfortunately, due to inordinate shafts digging and irregular use of groundwater the level of groundwater has been decreased during two last decades so that water balance is negative now. To conserve the groundwater resources in this plain, strategies and appropriate policies are needed and this requires a better understanding of farmers’ behavior. Therefore, in the present study in order to investigate farmers' behavior in using of groundwater and determine appropriate strategies to conserve of groundwater resources in Qazvin plain, positive mathematical programming and production function with constant elasticity of substitution were used. The investigated strategies included increase in water price, decrease in water availability and deficit irrigation strategy and were investigated under various scenarios. The required data were registered information related to 2011-2012 collected from relevant departments in Qazvin province. The model was solved using GAMS 23/9 software. The results showed that all the investigated strategies led to water saving however the average gross profit changes decreased by 3.13, 8.61 and 5.54 percent with increasing water price, decrease in water availability and deficit irrigation, respectively. Finally, considering the less reduction in average gross profit, the irrigation water pricing and then deficit irrigation strategies were proposed to conserve groundwater resources in Qazvin plain.

Child Labor in the Early Sugar Beet Industry in the Great Plains, 1890-1920

Science.gov (United States)

Lyons-Barrett, Mary

2005-01-01

Children working in agriculture have always been a part of the rural culture and work ethos of the United States, especially on the Great Plains. Many teenagers still detassel corn or walk the beans in the summer months to earn spending money or money for college. But what about the children who work as migrant laborers in commercialized…

Land Use Effects on Net Greenhouse Gas Fluxes in the US Great Plains: Historical Trends and Model Projections

Science.gov (United States)

Del Grosso, S. J.; Parton, W. J.; Ojima, D. S.; Mosier, A. R.; Mosier, A. R.; Paustian, K.; Peterson, G. A.

2001-12-01

We present maps showing regional patterns of land use change and soil C levels in the US Great Plains during the 20th century and time series of net greenhouse gas fluxes associated with different land uses. Net greenhouse gas fluxes were calculated by accounting for soil CO2 fluxes, the CO2 equivalents of N2O emissions and CH4 uptake, and the CO2 costs of N fertilizer production. Both historical and modern agriculture in this region have been net sources of greenhouse gases. The primary reason for this, prior to 1950, is that agriculture mined soil C and resulted in net CO2 emissions. When chemical N fertilizer became widely used in the 1950's agricultural soils began to sequester CO2-C but these soils were still net greenhouse gas sources if the effects of increased N2O emissions and decreased CH4 uptake are included. The sensitivity of net greenhouse gas fluxes to conventional and alternative land uses was explored using the DAYCENT ecosystem model. Model projections suggest that conversion to no-till, reduction of the fallow period, and use of nitrification inhibitors can significantly decrease net greenhouse gas emissions in dryland and irrigated systems, while maintaining or increasing crop yields.

Mapping irrigated lands at 250-m scale by merging MODIS data and National Agricultural Statistics

Science.gov (United States)

Pervez, Md Shahriar; Brown, Jesslyn F.

2010-01-01

Accurate geospatial information on the extent of irrigated land improves our understanding of agricultural water use, local land surface processes, conservation or depletion of water resources, and components of the hydrologic budget. We have developed a method in a geospatial modeling framework that assimilates irrigation statistics with remotely sensed parameters describing vegetation growth conditions in areas with agricultural land cover to spatially identify irrigated lands at 250-m cell size across the conterminous United States for 2002. The geospatial model result, known as the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Irrigated Agriculture Dataset (MIrAD-US), identified irrigated lands with reasonable accuracy in California and semiarid Great Plains states with overall accuracies of 92% and 75% and kappa statistics of 0.75 and 0.51, respectively. A quantitative accuracy assessment of MIrAD-US for the eastern region has not yet been conducted, and qualitative assessment shows that model improvements are needed for the humid eastern regions where the distinction in annual peak NDVI between irrigated and non-irrigated crops is minimal and county sizes are relatively small. This modeling approach enables consistent mapping of irrigated lands based upon USDA irrigation statistics and should lead to better understanding of spatial trends in irrigated lands across the conterminous United States. An improved version of the model with revised datasets is planned and will employ 2007 USDA irrigation statistics.

Aerosol measurements at the Southern Great Plains Site: Design and surface installation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leifer, R.; Knuth, R.H.; Guggenheim, S.F.; Albert, B. [Department of Energy, New York, NY (United States)

1996-04-01

To impropve the predictive capabilities of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurements (ARM) program radiation models, measurements of awserosol size distributions, condensation particle concentrations, aerosol scattering coefficients at a number of wavelenghts, and the aerosol absorption coefficients are needed at the Southern Great Plains (SGP) site. Alos, continuous measurements of ozone concnetrations are needed for model validation. The environmental Measuremenr Laboratory (EMK) has the responsibility to establish the surface aerosol measurements program at the SGP site. EML has designed a special sampling manifold.

Woody encroachment in northern Great Plains grasslands: Perceptions, actions, and needs

Science.gov (United States)

Symstad, Amy J.; Leis, Sherry A.

2017-01-01

The United States Northern Great Plains (NGP) has a high potential for landscape-scale conservation, but this grassland landscape is threatened by encroachment of woody species. We surveyed NGP land managers to identify patterns in, and illustrate a broad range of, individual managers' perceptions on (1) the threat of woody encroachment to grasslands they manage, and (2) what management practices they use that may influence woody encroachment in this region. In the 34 surveys returned, which came from predominantly public lands in the study area, 79% of responses reported moderate or substantial woody encroachment. Eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) and Rocky Mountain juniper (Juniperus scopulorum) were the most problematic encroachers. Thirty-one survey respondents said that prescribed fire was used on the lands they manage, and 64% of these responses reported that controlling woody encroachment was a fire management objective. However, only 18% of survey respondents using prescribed fire were achieving their desired fire return interval. Most respondents reported using mechanical and/or chemical methods to control woody species. In contrast to evidence from the central and southern Great Plains, few survey respondents viewed grazing as affecting encroachment. Although the NGP public land managers we surveyed clearly recognize woody encroachment as a problem and are taking steps to address it, many feel that the rate of their management is not keeping pace with the rate of encroachment. Developing strategies for effective woody plant control in a variety of NGP management contexts requires filling ecological science gaps and overcoming societal barriers to using prescribed fire.

WRF model sensitivity to land surface model and cumulus parameterization under short-term climate extremes over the southern Great Plains of the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Lisi Pei; Nathan Moore; Shiyuan Zhong; Lifeng Luo; David W. Hyndman; Warren E. Heilman; Zhiqiu. Gao

2014-01-01

Extreme weather and climate events, especially short-term excessive drought and wet periods over agricultural areas, have received increased attention. The Southern Great Plains (SGP) is one of the largest agricultural regions in North America and features the underlying Ogallala-High Plains Aquifer system worth great economic value in large part due to production...

A New Boundary for the High Plains - Ogallala Aquifer Complex

Science.gov (United States)

Haacker, E. M.; Nozari, S.; Kendall, A. D.

2017-12-01

In the semi-arid Great Plains, water is the key ingredient for crop growth: the difference between meager yields for many crops and an agricultural bonanza. The High Plains-Ogallala Aquifer complex (HPA) underlies 452,000 square kilometers of the region, and over 95% of water withdrawn from the aquifer is used for irrigation. Much of the HPA is being pumped unsustainably, and since the region is heavily reliant on this resource for its social and economic health, the High Plains has been a leader in groundwater management planning. However, the geographic boundary of the High Plains region fails to reflect the hydrogeological realities of the aquifer. The current boundary, recognizable from countless textbooks and news articles, is only slightly modified from a version from the 1980's, and largely follows the physiographic borders of the High Plains - defined by surface features such as escarpments and rivers - rather than the edges of water-bearing sediment sufficient for high-volume pumping. This is supported by three lines of evidence: hydrogeological observations from the original aquifer boundary determination; the extent of irrigated land, as estimated by MODIS-MIrAD data; and statistical estimates of saturated thickness, incorporating improved maps of the aquifer base and an additional 35 years of water table measurements. In this project, new maps of saturated thickness are used to create an updated aquifer boundary, which conforms with the standard definition of an aquifer as a package of sediment that yields enough water to be economically pumped. This has major implications for social and physical models, as well as water planning and estimates of sustainability for the HPA. Much of the area of the HPA that has been labeled `sustainable' based upon estimates of recharge relative to pumping estimates falls outside the updated aquifer boundary. In reality, the sustainably-pumped area of this updated aquifer boundary is far smaller—a fact that if more

Oligocene paleogeography of the northern Great Plains and adjacent mountains

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seeland, D.

1985-01-01

Early Oligocene paleogeography of the northern Great Plains and adjacent mountains is inferred in part from published surface and subsurface studies of the pre-Oligocene surface. These studies are combined with published and unpublished information on clast provenance, crossbedding orientation, and Eocene paleogeography. The Oligocene Arctic Ocean-Gulf of Mexico continental divide extended from the southern Absaroka Mountains east along the Owl Creek Mountains, across the southern Powder River Basin, through the northern Black Hills, and eastward across South Dakota. Streams north of the divide flowed northeastward. The Olligocene White River Group contains 50 to 90 percent airfall pyroclastic debris from a northern Great Basin source. Most of the uranium deposits of the region in pre-Oligocene rocks can be related to a uranium source in the volcanic ash of the White River; in many places the pre-Oligocene deposits can be related to specific Oligocene channels. Uranium deposits in sandstones of major Oligocene rivers are an important new type of deposit. The Oligocene channel sandstones also contain small quantities of gold, molybdenum, gas, and oil

Strontium isotope geochemistry of groundwater in the central part of the Dakota (Great Plains) aquifer, USA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gosselin, David C.; Edwin Harvey, F.; Frost, Carol; Stotler, Randy; Allen Macfarlane, P.

2004-01-01

The Dakota aquifer of the central and eastern Great Plains of the United States is an important source of water for municipal supplies, irrigation and industrial use. Although the regional flow system can be characterized generally as east to northeasterly from the Rocky Mountains towards the Missouri River, locally the flow systems are hydrologically complex. This study uses Sr isotopic data from groundwater and leached aquifer samples to document the complex subsystems within the Dakota aquifer in Nebraska and Kansas. The interaction of groundwater with the geologic material through which it flows has created spatial patterns in the isotopic measurements that are related to: long-term water-rock interaction, during which varying degrees of isotopic equilibrium between water and rock has been achieved; and the alteration of NaCl fluids by water-rock interaction. Specifically, Sr isotopic data distinguish brines from Kansas and western Nebraska from those in eastern Nebraska: the former are interpreted to reflect interaction with Permian rocks, whereas the latter record interaction with Pennsylvanian rocks. The Sr isotopic composition of groundwater from other parts of Nebraska and Kansas are a function of the dynamic interaction between groundwater and unlithified sediments (e.g., glacial till and loess), followed by interaction with oxidized and unoxidized sediments within the Dakota Formation. This study illustrates the power of combining Sr chemistry with more conventional geochemical data to obtain a more complete understanding of groundwater flow systems within regional aquifer systems where extensive monitoring networks do not exist

Structural Characteristics of Nocturnal Mesoscale Convective Systems in the U.S. Great Plains as Observed During the PECAN Field Campaign

Science.gov (United States)

Bodine, D. J.; Dougherty, E.; Rasmussen, K. L.; Torres, A. D.

2015-12-01

During the summer in the U.S. Great Plains, some of the heaviest precipitation falls from large thunderstorm complexes known as Mesoscale Convective Systems (MCSs). These frequently occurring MCSs are often nocturnal in nature, so the dynamics associated with these systems are more elusive than those in the daytime. The Plains Elevated Convection at Night (PECAN) field campaign was launched over a 7-week period as an endeavor to better understand nocturnal MCSs occurring in the Great Plains. PECAN featured a dense array of ground-based and airborne instruments to observe nocturnal MCS, including dual-polarization radars at multiple frequencies, mobile mesonets, and sounding units. Our role in PECAN involved deploying Ott Parsivel disdrometers to gain information on drop size distributions (DSDs) and fall speeds. Analysis of disdrometer data in conjunction with radar data presented using Contour Frequency by Altitude Diagrams (CFADs) and high-resolution radiosonde data allows for a structural comparison of PECAN MCS cases to previously identified MCS archetypes. Novel insights into the structural evolution of nocturnal MCSs in relation to their synoptic, mesoscale, and thermodynamic environments are presented, using data collected from dense and numerous observation platforms. Understanding the environmental conditions that result in different nocturnal MCS configurations is useful for gaining insight into precipitation distributions and potential severe weather and flooding hazards in the Great Plains.

An Innovative Approach to Effective Climate Science Application through Stakeholder Participation in Great Plains Grasslands

Science.gov (United States)

Athearn, N.; Broska, J.

2015-12-01

For natural resource managers and other Great Plains stakeholders, climate uncertainties further confound decision-making on a highly altered landscape. Partner organizations comprising the Great Plains Landscape Conservation Cooperative (GPLCC) acknowledge climate change as a high-priority threat to grasslands and associated habitats, affecting water availability, species composition, and other factors. Despite its importance, incorporation of climate change impacts into planning is hindered by high uncertainty and lack of translation to a tangible outcome: effects on species and their habitats. In 2014, the GPLCC initiated a Landscape Conservation Design (LCD) process to ultimately improve the size and connectivity of grasslands - informing land managers of the landscape-scale impacts of local decisions about where to restore, enhance, protect, and develop lands. Defining this goal helped stakeholders envision a tangible product. High resolution land cover data recently completed for Texas and Oklahoma represent current grassland locations. By focusing climate change models to project changes in these land cover datasets, resulting land cover projections can be directly incorporated into LCD-based models to focus restoration where future climates will support grasslands. Broad organizational cooperation has been critical for this USGS-led project, which uses downscaled climate data and other support from the South Central Climate Science Center Consortium and builds on existing work including LCD efforts of the Playa Lakes Joint Venture and the Bureau of Land Management's Southern Great Plains Rapid Ecological Assessment. Ongoing stakeholder guidance through an advisory team ensures effective application of a product that will be both relevant to and understood by decision makers, for whom the primary role of research is to reduce uncertainties and clear the path for more efficient decision-making in the face of climatic uncertainty.

Great Plains Wind Energy Transmission Development Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brad G. Stevens, P.E.; Troy K. Simonsen; Kerryanne M. Leroux

2012-06-09

In fiscal year 2005, the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) received funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to undertake a broad array of tasks to either directly or indirectly address the barriers that faced much of the Great Plains states and their efforts to produce and transmit wind energy at the time. This program, entitled Great Plains Wind Energy Transmission Development Project, was focused on the central goal of stimulating wind energy development through expansion of new transmission capacity or development of new wind energy capacity through alternative market development. The original task structure was as follows: Task 1 - Regional Renewable Credit Tracking System (later rescoped to Small Wind Turbine Training Center); Task 2 - Multistate Transmission Collaborative; Task 3 - Wind Energy Forecasting System; and Task 4 - Analysis of the Long-Term Role of Hydrogen in the Region. As carried out, Task 1 involved the creation of the Small Wind Turbine Training Center (SWTTC). The SWTTC, located Grand Forks, North Dakota, consists of a single wind turbine, the Endurance S-250, on a 105-foot tilt-up guyed tower. The S-250 is connected to the electrical grid on the 'load side' of the electric meter, and the power produced by the wind turbine is consumed locally on the property. Establishment of the SWTTC will allow EERC personnel to provide educational opportunities to a wide range of participants, including grade school through college-level students and the general public. In addition, the facility will allow the EERC to provide technical training workshops related to the installation, operation, and maintenance of small wind turbines. In addition, under Task 1, the EERC hosted two small wind turbine workshops on May 18, 2010, and March 8, 2011, at the EERC in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Task 2 involved the EERC cosponsoring and aiding in the planning of three transmission workshops in the midwest and western regions. Under Task

Synfuels from low-rank coals at the Great Plains Gasification Plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pollock, D.

1992-01-01

This presentation focuses on the use of low rank coals to form synfuels. A worldwide abundance of low rank coals exists. Large deposits in the United States are located in Texas and North Dakota. Low rank coal deposits are also found in Europe, India and Australia. Because of the high moisture content of lignite ranging from 30% to 60% or higher, it is usually utilized in mine mouth applications. Lignite is generally very reactive and contains varying amounts of ash and sulfur. Typical uses for lignite are listed. A commercial application using lignite as feedstock to a synfuels plant, Dakota Gasification Company's Great Plains Gasification Plant, is discussed

Cover crop biomass production and water use in the central great plains under varying water availability

Science.gov (United States)

The water-limited environment of the semi-arid central Great Plains may not have potential to produce enough cover crop biomass to generate benefits associated with cover crop use in more humid regions. There have been reports that cover crops grown in mixtures produce more biomass with greater wate...

A case study of the Great Plains low-level jet using wind profiler network data and a high resolution mesoscale model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhong, S.; Fast, J.D.; Bian, X.; Stage, S. [Pacific Northwest National Lab., Richland, WA (United States)] [and others

1996-04-01

The Great Plains low-level jet (LLJ) has important effects on the life cycle of clouds and on radiative and surface heat and moisture fluxes at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Southern Great Plains (SGP) Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) site. This diurnal phenomenon governs the transport and convergence of low-level moisture into the region and often leads to the development of clouds and precipitation. A full understanding of the life cycle of clouds at the SGP CART site and their proper representation in single column and global climate models cannot be obtained without an improved understanding of this important phenomenon.

Profitability of Irrigated Improved Pecan Orchards in the Southern Plains

OpenAIRE

Springer, Job D.; Swinford, Wyatt; Rohla, Charles

2011-01-01

The objective was to determine if an irrigated improved pecan orchard is economical relative to agronomic systems commonly implemented by producers that have access to irrigation. Results show that the improved pecan orchard is more profitable than competitive enterprises after a twenty year time frame, but is sensitive to pecan price, pecan yield and attitude toward risk.

Why Different Drought Indexes Show Distinct Future Drought Risk Outcomes in the U.S. Great Plains?

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, S.; Hayes, M. J.; Trnka, M.

2015-12-01

Vigorous discussions and disagreements about the future changes in drought intensity in the US Great Plains have been taking place recently within the literature. These discussions have involved widely varying estimates based on drought indices and model-based projections of the future. To investigate and understand the causes for such a disparity between these previous estimates, we analyzed 10 commonly-used drought indexes using the output from 26 state-of-the-art climate models. These drought indices were computed using potential evapotranspiration estimated by the physically-based Penman-Monteith method (PE_pm) and the empirically-based Thornthwaite method (PE_th). The results showed that the short-term drought indicators are similar to modeled surface soil moisture and show a small but consistent drying trend in the future. The long-term drought indicators and the total column soil moisture, however, are consistent in projecting more intense future drought. When normalized, the drought indices with PE_th all show unprecedented and possibly unrealistic future drying, while the drought indices with PE_pm show comparable dryness with the modeled soil moisture. Additionally, the drought indices with PE_pm are closely related to soil moisture during both the 20th and 21st Centuries. Overall, the drought indices with PE_pm, as well as the modeled total column soil moisture, suggest a widespread and very significant drying of the Great Plains region toward the end of the Century. Our results suggested that the sharp contracts about future drought risk in the Great Plains discussed in previous studies are caused by 1) comparing the projected changes in short-term droughts with that of the long-term droughts, and/or 2) computing the atmospheric evaporative demand using the empirically-based method (e.g., PE_th). Our analysis may be applied for drought projections in other regions across the globe.

Dynamic cropping systems: Holistic approach for dryland agricultural systems in the northern Great Plains of North America

Science.gov (United States)

Cropping systems over the past century have developed greater crop specialization, more effectively conserve our soil and water resources, and are more resilient. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the evolution of cropping systems in the Northern Great Plains and provide an approach to crop...

Potential effects of anthropogenic greenhouse gases on avian habitats and populations in the northern Great Plains

Science.gov (United States)

Larson, Diane L.

1994-01-01

Biotic response to the buildup of greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere is considerably more complex than an adjustment to changing temperature and precipitation. The fertilization effect carbon dioxide has on some plants, the impact UVB radiation has on health and productivity of organisms, and the resulting changes in competitive balance and trophic structure must also be considered. The intent of this paper is to review direct and indirect effects of anthropogenic greenhouse gases on wildlife, and to explore possible effects on populations of birds and their habitats in the northern Great Plains.Many of the potential effects of increasing greenhouse gases, such as declining plant nutritional value, changes in timing of insect emergence, and fewer and saltier wetlands, foreshadow a decline in avian populations on the Great Plains. However, other possible effects such as increased drought resistance and water use efficiency of vegetation, longer growing seasons, and greater overall plant biomass promise at least some mitigation. Effects of multiple simultaneous perturbations such as can be expected under doubled carbon dioxide scenarios will require substantial basic research to clarify.

Assessing urban forest effects and values of the Great Plains: Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota

Science.gov (United States)

David J. Nowak; Robert E. III Hoehn; Daniel E. Crane; Allison R. Bodine

2012-01-01

This report details the evaluation of the urban tree resources of the north-central Great Plains region of the United States. Specifically this report provides a more comprehensive understanding of the species composition and structural and functional benefits of the urban forests in the states of Kansas (33.1 million urban trees), Nebraska (13.3 million urban trees),...

Potential nitrogen critical loads for northern Great Plains grassland vegetation

Science.gov (United States)

Symstad, Amy J.; Smith, Anine T.; Newton, Wesley E.; Knapp, Alan K.

2015-01-01

The National Park Service is concerned that increasing atmospheric nitrogen deposition caused by fossil fuel combustion and agricultural activities could adversely affect the northern Great Plains (NGP) ecosystems in its trust. The critical load concept facilitates communication between scientists and policy makers or land managers by translating the complex effects of air pollution on ecosystems into concrete numbers that can be used to inform air quality targets. A critical load is the exposure level below which significant harmful effects on sensitive elements of the environment do not occur. A recent review of the literature suggested that the nitrogen critical load for Great Plains vegetation is 10-25 kg N/ha/yr. For comparison, current atmospheric nitrogen deposition in NGP National Park Service (NPS) units ranges from ~4 kg N/ha/yr in the west to ~13 kg N/ha/yr in the east. The suggested critical load, however, was derived from studies far outside of the NGP, and from experiments investigating nitrogen loads substantially higher than current atmospheric deposition in the region.Therefore, to better determine the nitrogen critical load for sensitive elements in NGP parks, we conducted a four-year field experiment in three northern Great Plains vegetation types at Badlands and Wind Cave National Parks. The vegetation types were chosen because of their importance in NGP parks, their expected sensitivity to nitrogen addition, and to span a range of natural fertility. In the experiment, we added nitrogen at rates ranging from below current atmospheric deposition (2.5 kg N/ha/yr) to far above those levels but commensurate with earlier experiments (100 kg N/ha/yr). We measured the response of a variety of vegetation and soil characteristics shown to be sensitive to nitrogen addition in other studies, including plant biomass production, plant tissue nitrogen concentration, plant species richness and composition, non-native species abundance, and soil inorganic

Geospatial compilation and digital map of centerpivot irrigated areas in the mid-Atlantic region, United States

Science.gov (United States)

Finkelstein, Jason S.; Nardi, Mark R.

2015-01-01

To evaluate water availability within the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the University of Delaware Agricultural Extension, created a dataset that maps the number of acres under center-pivot irrigation in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain study area. For this study, the extent of the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain falls within areas of the States of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. The irrigation dataset maps about 271,900 acres operated primarily under center-pivot irrigation in 57 counties. Manual digitizing was performed against aerial imagery in a process where operators used observable center-pivot irrigation signatures—such as irrigation arms, concentric wheel paths through cropped areas, and differential colors—to identify and map irrigated areas. The aerial imagery used for digitizing came from a variety of sources and seasons. The imagery contained a variety of spatial resolutions and included online imagery from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Imagery Program, Microsoft Bing Maps, and the Google Maps mapping service. The dates of the source images ranged from 2010 to 2012 for the U.S. Department of Agriculture imagery, whereas maps from the other mapping services were from 2013.

Comparison of Water and Nutrient Cycles in the North China Plain and U.S. High Plains related to Climate Forcing

Science.gov (United States)

Scanlon, B. R.; Pei, H.; Shen, Y.

2014-12-01

The North China Plain (NCP) and U.S. High Plains play critical roles in food production, which relies heavily on groundwater resources for irrigation and nutrients. Here we evaluate food production in terms of resource availability (water and nutrients) and impacts on resources (groundwater quantity and quality) within the context of climate forcing. Double cropping of corn and wheat in the NCP under intensive irrigation (80 - 90% of cropland) and massive N fertilization (384 kg/ha) resulted in total corn plus wheat yields of 13.4 kg/ha (2002 - 2011). In contrast, single cropping of corn on the USHP under less intensive irrigation (40% of cropland) and N fertilization (90 kg/ha) resulted in only 15% lower yield in the USHP (11.7 kg/ha) than in the NCP. However, irrigation essentially decouples crop production from climate extremes. Average corn and wheat yield in the NCP over the past three decades is not correlated with precipitation. Irrigated corn yield in the north and central USHP was actually higher during the recent 2012 drought by up to ~ 30% relative to the 30 year long-term mean yield whereas rainfed corn yield decreased by ~50% during the drought. The main impact of climate extremes on the aquifers is indirect through increased irrigation pumpage for crop production rather than direct through changes in recharge. Effects of crop production on groundwater quality should be much greater in the NCP because of ~4 times higher fertilizer application relative to that in the USHP. Field research experiments in the NCP indicate that much of this fertilizer application (> 200 kg N/ha) does not impact yield and could potentially leach into underlying aquifers. Projected groundwater depletion in these aquifers should result in a shift from intensive irrigation to more rainfed crop production, increasing vulnerability of crop production to climate extremes.

Modeling irrigation behavior in groundwater systems

Science.gov (United States)

Foster, Timothy; Brozović, Nicholas; Butler, Adrian P.

2014-08-01

Integrated hydro-economic models have been widely applied to water management problems in regions of intensive groundwater-fed irrigation. However, policy interpretations may be limited as most existing models do not explicitly consider two important aspects of observed irrigation decision making, namely the limits on instantaneous irrigation rates imposed by well yield and the intraseasonal structure of irrigation planning. We develop a new modeling approach for determining irrigation demand that is based on observed farmer behavior and captures the impacts on production and water use of both well yield and climate. Through a case study of irrigated corn production in the Texas High Plains region of the United States we predict optimal irrigation strategies under variable levels of groundwater supply, and assess the limits of existing models for predicting land and groundwater use decisions by farmers. Our results show that irrigation behavior exhibits complex nonlinear responses to changes in groundwater availability. Declining well yields induce large reductions in the optimal size of irrigated area and irrigation use as constraints on instantaneous application rates limit the ability to maintain sufficient soil moisture to avoid negative impacts on crop yield. We demonstrate that this important behavioral response to limited groundwater availability is not captured by existing modeling approaches, which therefore may be unreliable predictors of irrigation demand, agricultural profitability, and resilience to climate change and aquifer depletion.

Critical Review of Technical Questions Facing Low Impact Development and Green Infrastructure: A Perspective from the Great Plains.

Science.gov (United States)

Vogel, Jason R; Moore, Trisha L; Coffman, Reid R; Rodie, Steven N; Hutchinson, Stacy L; McDonough, Kelsey R; McLemore, Alex J; McMaine, John T

2015-09-01

Since its inception, Low Impact Development (LID) has become part of urban stormwater management across the United States, marking progress in the gradual transition from centralized to distributed runoff management infrastructure. The ultimate goal of LID is full, cost-effective implementation to maximize watershed-scale ecosystem services and enhance resilience. To reach that goal in the Great Plains, the multi-disciplinary author team presents this critical review based on thirteen technical questions within the context of regional climate and socioeconomics across increasing complexities in scale and function. Although some progress has been made, much remains to be done including continued basic and applied research, development of local LID design specifications, local demonstrations, and identifying funding mechanisms for these solutions. Within the Great Plains and beyond, by addressing these technical questions within a local context, the goal of widespread acceptance of LID can be achieved, resulting in more effective and resilient stormwater management.

Quantifying seining detection probability for fishes of Great Plains sand‐bed rivers

Science.gov (United States)

Mollenhauer, Robert; Logue, Daniel R.; Brewer, Shannon K.

2018-01-01

Species detection error (i.e., imperfect and variable detection probability) is an essential consideration when investigators map distributions and interpret habitat associations. When fish detection error that is due to highly variable instream environments needs to be addressed, sand‐bed streams of the Great Plains represent a unique challenge. We quantified seining detection probability for diminutive Great Plains fishes across a range of sampling conditions in two sand‐bed rivers in Oklahoma. Imperfect detection resulted in underestimates of species occurrence using naïve estimates, particularly for less common fishes. Seining detection probability also varied among fishes and across sampling conditions. We observed a quadratic relationship between water depth and detection probability, in which the exact nature of the relationship was species‐specific and dependent on water clarity. Similarly, the direction of the relationship between water clarity and detection probability was species‐specific and dependent on differences in water depth. The relationship between water temperature and detection probability was also species dependent, where both the magnitude and direction of the relationship varied among fishes. We showed how ignoring detection error confounded an underlying relationship between species occurrence and water depth. Despite imperfect and heterogeneous detection, our results support that determining species absence can be accomplished with two to six spatially replicated seine hauls per 200‐m reach under average sampling conditions; however, required effort would be higher under certain conditions. Detection probability was low for the Arkansas River Shiner Notropis girardi, which is federally listed as threatened, and more than 10 seine hauls per 200‐m reach would be required to assess presence across sampling conditions. Our model allows scientists to estimate sampling effort to confidently assess species occurrence, which

Backcasting the decline of a vulnerable Great Plains reproductive ecotype: identifying threats and conservation priorities

Science.gov (United States)

Worthington, Thomas A.; Brewer, Shannon K.; Grabowski, Timothy B.; Mueller, Julia

2014-01-01

Conservation efforts for threatened or endangered species are challenging because the multi-scale factors that relate to their decline or inhibit their recovery are often unknown. To further exacerbate matters, the perceptions associated with the mechanisms of species decline are often viewed myopically rather than across the entire species range. We used over 80 years of fish presence data collected from the Great Plains and associated ecoregions of the United States, to investigate the relative influence of changing environmental factors on the historic and current truncated distributions of the Arkansas River shiner Notropis girardi. Arkansas River shiner represent a threatened reproductive ecotype considered especially well adapted to the harsh environmental extremes of the Great Plains. Historic (n = 163 records) and current (n = 47 records) species distribution models were constructed using a vector-based approach in MaxEnt by splitting the available data at a time when Arkansas River shiner dramatically declined. Discharge and stream order were significant predictors in both models; however, the shape of the relationship between the predictors and species presence varied between time periods. Drift distance (river fragment length available for ichthyoplankton downstream drift before meeting a barrier) was a more important predictor in the current model and indicated river segments 375–780 km had the highest probability of species presence. Performance for the historic and current models was high (area under the curve; AUC > 0.95); however, forecasting and backcasting to alternative time periods suggested less predictive power. Our results identify fragments that could be considered refuges for endemic plains fish species and we highlight significant environmental factors (e.g., discharge) that could be manipulated to aid recovery.

Groundwater Pollution Sources Apportionment in the Ghaen Plain, Iran

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Mohammad Reza Vesali Naseh

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Although Iran’s Ghaen Plain provides saffron to much of the world, no regional groundwater quality (GQ assessment has yet been undertaken. Given the region’s potential for saltwater intrusion and heavy metal contamination, it is important to assess the GQ and determine its main probable source of pollution (MPSP. Such knowledge would allow for informed mitigation or elimination of the potential adverse health effects of this groundwater through its use as drinking water, or indirectly as a result of the consumption of groundwater-irrigated crops. Total dissolved solids, sodium, and chloride in the water of the majority of 16 wells sampled within the region exceeded World Health Organization and Iranian permissible standards for drinking water. The groundwater proved to only be suitable for irrigating salt tolerant crops under good drainage conditions. Due to the precipitation of calcium carbonate in the water supply facilities, the water from all wells was deemed unsuitable for industrial purposes. Heavy metal pollution and contamination indices showed no groundwater contamination. Analysis of ionic ratios and the application of principal components analysis indicated the MPSP to be saltwater intrusion, with the geology subtending the plain, and to a lesser extent, anthropogenic activities. Reducing groundwater withdrawals, particularly those for agricultural production by using high performance irrigation methods could reduce saltwater intrusion and improve GQ in the Ghaen Plain.

Groundwater Pollution Sources Apportionment in the Ghaen Plain, Iran.

Science.gov (United States)

Vesali Naseh, Mohammad Reza; Noori, Roohollah; Berndtsson, Ronny; Adamowski, Jan; Sadatipour, Elaheh

2018-01-22

Although Iran's Ghaen Plain provides saffron to much of the world, no regional groundwater quality (GQ) assessment has yet been undertaken. Given the region's potential for saltwater intrusion and heavy metal contamination, it is important to assess the GQ and determine its main probable source of pollution (MPSP). Such knowledge would allow for informed mitigation or elimination of the potential adverse health effects of this groundwater through its use as drinking water, or indirectly as a result of the consumption of groundwater-irrigated crops. Total dissolved solids, sodium, and chloride in the water of the majority of 16 wells sampled within the region exceeded World Health Organization and Iranian permissible standards for drinking water. The groundwater proved to only be suitable for irrigating salt tolerant crops under good drainage conditions. Due to the precipitation of calcium carbonate in the water supply facilities, the water from all wells was deemed unsuitable for industrial purposes. Heavy metal pollution and contamination indices showed no groundwater contamination. Analysis of ionic ratios and the application of principal components analysis indicated the MPSP to be saltwater intrusion, with the geology subtending the plain, and to a lesser extent, anthropogenic activities. Reducing groundwater withdrawals, particularly those for agricultural production by using high performance irrigation methods could reduce saltwater intrusion and improve GQ in the Ghaen Plain.

Using natural range of variation to set decision thresholds: a case study for great plains grasslands

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Symstad, Amy J.; Jonas, Jayne L.; Edited by Guntenspergen, Glenn R.

2014-01-01

Natural range of variation (NRV) may be used to establish decision thresholds or action assessment points when ecological thresholds are either unknown or do not exist for attributes of interest in a managed ecosystem. The process for estimating NRV involves identifying spatial and temporal scales that adequately capture the heterogeneity of the ecosystem; compiling data for the attributes of interest via study of historic records, analysis and interpretation of proxy records, modeling, space-for-time substitutions, or analysis of long-term monitoring data; and quantifying the NRV from those data. At least 19 National Park Service (NPS) units in North America’s Great Plains are monitoring plant species richness and evenness as indicators of vegetation integrity in native grasslands, but little information on natural, temporal variability of these indicators is available. In this case study, we use six long-term vegetation monitoring datasets to quantify the temporal variability of these attributes in reference conditions for a variety of Great Plains grassland types, and then illustrate the implications of using different NRVs based on these quantities for setting management decision thresholds. Temporal variability of richness (as measured by the coefficient of variation, CV) is fairly consistent across the wide variety of conditions occurring in Colorado shortgrass prairie to Minnesota tallgrass sand savanna (CV 0.20–0.45) and generally less than that of production at the same sites. Temporal variability of evenness spans a greater range of CV than richness, and it is greater than that of production in some sites but less in other sites. This natural temporal variability may mask undesirable changes in Great Plains grasslands vegetation. Consequently, we suggest that managers consider using a relatively narrow NRV (interquartile range of all richness or evenness values observed in reference conditions) for designating a surveillance threshold, at which

Irrigation Analysis Based on Long-Term Weather Data

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James R. Mahan

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Irrigation management is based upon delivery of water to a crop in the correct amount and time, and the crop’s water need is determined by calculating evapotranspiration (ET using weather data. In 1994, an ET-network was established in the Texas High Plains to manage irrigation on a regional scale. Though producers used the ET-network, by 2010 public access was discontinued. Why did producers allow a valuable irrigation-management tool to be eliminated? Our objective was to analyze the effect of declining well capacities on the usefulness of cotton ET (ETc for irrigation. Thirty years (1975–2004 of daily ETc data were used to compare irrigation demand vs. irrigation responses at four locations, analyzed for multiple years and range of well capacities for three irrigation-intervals. Results indicated that when well capacities declined to the point that over-irrigation was not possible, the lower well capacities reduced the value of ETc in terms of the number of irrigations and total amount of water applied. At well capacities <1514 L·min−1 the fraction of irrigations for which ETc information was used to determine the irrigation amount was <35% across years and irrigation intervals. The value of an ETc-based irrigation may fall into disuse when irrigation-water supplies decline.

The role of fire in managing for biological diversity on native rangelands of the Northern Great Plains

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Carolyn Hull Sieg

1997-01-01

A strategy for using fire to manage for biological diversity on native rangelands in the Northern Great Plains incorporates an understanding of its past frequency, timing and intensity. Historically, lightning and humans were the major fire setters, and the role of fire varied both in space and time. A burning regime that includes fires at various intervals, seasons...

Adaptability and performance of short-season maize hybrids in the southern high plains

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Drought incidences change with year and location, and are prevalent in the Southern High Plains where annual rainfall is low and highly variable and most maize and other crops are irrigated. The low rainfall and groundwater overuse are leading to shortages of water for crop irrigation in this regio...

Simulating the Evolution of Fluid Underpressures in the Great Plains, by Incorporation of Tectonic Uplift and Tilting, with a Groundwater Flow Model

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Amjad M. J. Umari

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Underpressures (subhydrostatic heads in the Paleozoic units underlying the Great Plains of North America are a consequence of Cenozoic uplift of the area. Based on tectonostratigraphic data, we have developed a cumulative uplift history with superimposed periods of deposition and erosion for the Great Plains for the period from 40 Ma to the present. Uplift, deposition, and erosion on an 800 km geologic cross-section extending from northeast Colorado to eastern Kansas is represented in nine time-stepped geohydrologic models. Sequential solution of the two-dimensional diffusion equation reveals the evolution of hydraulic head and underpressure in a changing structural environment after 40 Ma, culminating in an approximate match with the measured present-day values. The modeled and measured hydraulic head values indicate that underpressures increase to the west. The 2 to 0 Ma model indicates that the present-day hydraulic head values of the Paleozoic units have not reached steady state. This result is significant because it indicates that present-day hydraulic heads are not at equilibrium, and underpressures will increase in the future. The pattern uncovered by the series of nine MODFLOW models is of increased underpressures with time. Overall, the models indicate that tectonic uplift explains the development of underpressures in the Great Plains.

Partners in flight bird conservation plan for the Upper Great Lakes Plain (Physiographic Area 16)

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Knutson, M.G.; Butcher, G.; Fitzgerald, J.; Shieldcastle, J.

2001-01-01

1 November 2001. Conservation of bird habitats is a major focus of effort by Partners in Flight, an international coalition of agencies, citizens, and other groups dedicated to 'keeping common birds common'. USGS worked on a planning team to publish a bird conservation plan for the Upper Great Lakes Plain ecoregion (PIF 16), which includes large portions of southern Wisconsin, southern Michigan and parts of Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. The conservation plan outlines specific habitat restoration and bird population objectives for the ecoregion over the next decade. The plan provides a context for on-the-ground conservation implementation by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, the US Forest Service, states, and conservation groups. Citation: Knutson, M. G., G. Butcher, J. Fitzgerald, and J. Shieldcastle. 2001. Partners in Flight Bird Conservation Plan for The Upper Great Lakes Plain (Physiographic Area 16). USGS Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center in cooperation with Partners in Flight, La Crosse, Wisconsin. Download from website: http://www.blm.gov/wildlife/pifplans.htm. The Upper Great Lakes Plain covers the southern half of Michigan, northwest Ohio, northern Indiana, northern Illinois, southern Wisconsin, and small portions of southwest Minnesota and northwest Iowa. Glacial moraines and dissected plateaus are characteristic of the topography. Broadleaf forests, oak savannahs, and a variety of prairie communities are the natural vegetation types. A oDriftless Areao was not glaciated during the late Pleistocene and emerged as a unique area of great biological diversity. Priority bird species for the area include the Henslow's Sparrow, Sedge Wren, Bobolink, Golden-winged Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, Black-billed Cuckoo, and Red-headed Woodpecker. There are many large urban centers in this area whose growth and sprawl will continue to consume land. The vast majority of the presettlement forest and

Saline systems of the Great Plains of western Canada: an overview of the limnogeology and paleolimnology

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Last, William M; Ginn, Fawn M

2005-01-01

In much of the northern Great Plains, saline and hypersaline lacustrine brines are the only surface waters present. As a group, the lakes of this region are unique: there is no other area in the world that can match the concentration and diversity of saline lake environments exhibited in the prairie region of Canada and northern United States. The immense number of individual salt lakes and saline wetlands in this region of North America is staggering. Estimates vary from about one million to greater than 10 million, with densities in some areas being as high as 120 lakes/km2. Despite over a century of scientific investigation of these salt lakes, we have only in the last twenty years advanced far enough to appreciate the wide spectrum of lake types, water chemistries, and limnological processes that are operating in the modern settings. Hydrochemical data are available for about 800 of the lake brines in the region. Composition, textural, and geochemical information on the modern bottom sediments has been collected for just over 150 of these lakes. Characterization of the biological and ecological features of these lakes is based on even fewer investigations, and the stratigraphic records of only twenty basins have been examined. The lake waters show a considerable range in ionic composition and concentration. Early investigators, concentrating on the most saline brines, emphasized a strong predominance of Na+ and SO4-2 in the lakes. It is now realized, however, that not only is there a complete spectrum of salinities from less than 1 ppt TDS to nearly 400 ppt, but also virtually every water chemistry type is represented in lakes of the region. With such a vast array of compositions, it is difficult to generalize. Nonetheless, the paucity of Cl-rich lakes makes the northern Great Plains basins somewhat unusual compared with salt lakes in many other areas of the world (e.g., Australia, western United States). Compilations of the lake water chemistries show distinct

Human impacts on terrestrial hydrology: climate change versus pumping and irrigation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferguson, Ian M; Maxwell, Reed M

2012-01-01

Global climate change is altering terrestrial water and energy budgets, with subsequent impacts on surface and groundwater resources; recent studies have shown that local water management practices such as groundwater pumping and irrigation similarly alter terrestrial water and energy budgets over many agricultural regions, with potential feedbacks on weather and climate. Here we use a fully-integrated hydrologic model to directly compare effects of climate change and water management on terrestrial water and energy budgets of a representative agricultural watershed in the semi-arid Southern Great Plains, USA. At local scales, we find that the impacts of pumping and irrigation on latent heat flux, potential recharge and water table depth are similar in magnitude to the impacts of changing temperature and precipitation; however, the spatial distributions of climate and management impacts are substantially different. At the basin scale, the impacts on stream discharge and groundwater storage are remarkably similar. Notably, for the watershed and scenarios studied here, the changes in groundwater storage and stream discharge in response to a 2.5 °C temperature increase are nearly equivalent to those from groundwater-fed irrigation. Our results imply that many semi-arid basins worldwide that practice groundwater pumping and irrigation may already be experiencing similar impacts on surface water and groundwater resources to a warming climate. These results demonstrate that accurate assessment of climate change impacts and development of effective adaptation and mitigation strategies must account for local water management practices. (letter)

[Effect of climate change on rice irrigation water requirement in Songnen Plain, Northeast China].

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Zhi-gang; Wang, Xiao-li; Xiao, Ye; Yang, Fei; Wang, Chen-xi

2015-01-01

Based on meteorological data from China national weather stations and climate scenario grid data through regional climate model provided by National Climate Center, rice water requirement was calculated by using McCloud model and Penman-Monteith model combined with crop coefficient approach. Then the rice irrigation water requirement was estimated by water balance model, and the changes of rice water requirement were analyzed. The results indicated that either in historical period or in climate scenario, rice irrigation water requirement contour lines during the whole growth period and Lmid period decreased along southwest to northeast, and the same irrigation water requirement contour line moved north with decade alternation. Rice irrigation water requirement during the whole growth period increased fluctuantly with decade alternation at 44.2 mm . 10 a-1 in historical period and 19.9 mm . 10 a-1 in climate scenario. The increase in rice irrigation water requirement during the Lmid period with decade alternation was significant in historical period, but not significant in climate scenario. Contribution rate of climate change to rice irrigation water requirement would be fluctuantly increased with decade alternation in climate scenario. Compared with 1970s, contribution rates of climate change to rice irrigation water requirement were 23.6% in 2000s and 34.4% in 2040s, which increased 14.8 x 10(8) m3 irrigation water in 2000s and would increase 21.2 x 10(8) m3 irrigation water in 2040s.

Vulnerability of grazing and confined livestock in the Northern Great Plains to projected mid- and late- 21st century climate

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The Northern Great Plains (NGP) region – Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska – is a largely rural area that provides important agricultural and ecological services, including biological diversity. The NGP is projected to experience rising atmospheric CO2, warming and ...

Vulnerability of grazing and confined livestock in the Northern Great Plains to projected mid- and late-twenty-first century climate

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The Northern Great Plains (NGP) region of the United States – which comprises Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska – is a largely rural area that provides important agricultural and ecological services, including biological diversity. The region contains 25% of the Nat...

Irrigation Water Management in Latin America

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Aureo S de Oliveira

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Latin American countries show a great potential for expanding their irrigated areas. Irrigation is important for strengthening local and regional economy and for enhancing food security. The present paper aimed at providing a brief review on key aspects of irrigation management in Latin America. Poor irrigation management can have great impact on crop production and on environment while good management reduces the waste of soil and water and help farmers maximizing their profits. It was found that additional research is needed to allow a better understanding of crop water requirements under Latin American conditions as well as to provide farmers with local derived information for irrigation scheduling. The advantages of deficit irrigation practices and the present and future opportunities with the application of remote sensing tools for water management were also considered. It is clear that due to the importance of irrigated agriculture, collaborative work among Latin American researchers and institutions is of paramount importance to face the challenges imposed by a growing population, environment degradation, and competition in the global market.

Grain Yield and Water Use Efficiency in Extremely-Late Sown Winter Wheat Cultivars under Two Irrigation Regimes in the North China Plain.

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Bin Wang

Full Text Available Wheat production is threatened by water shortages and groundwater over-draft in the North China Plain (NCP. In recent years, winter wheat has been increasingly sown extremely late in early to mid-November after harvesting cotton or pepper. To improve water use efficiency (WUE and guide the extremely late sowing practices, a 3-year field experiment was conducted under two irrigation regimes (W1, one-irrigation, 75 mm at jointing; W2, two-irrigation, 75 mm at jointing and 75 mm at anthesis in 3 cultivars differing in spike size (HS4399, small spike; JM22, medium spike; WM8, large spike. Wheat was sown in early to mid-November at a high seeding rate of 800-850 seeds m(-2. Average yields of 7.42 t ha(-1 and WUE of 1.84 kg m(-3 were achieved with an average seasonal evapotranspiration (ET of 404 mm. Compared with W2, wheat under W1 did not have yield penalty in 2 of 3 years, and had 7.9% lower seasonal ET and 7.5% higher WUE. The higher WUE and stable yield under W1 was associated with higher 1000-grain weight (TGW and harvest index (HI. Among the 3 cultivars, JM22 had 5.9%-8.9% higher yield and 4.2%-9.3% higher WUE than WM8 and HS4399. The higher yield in JM22 was attributed mainly to higher HI and TGW due to increased post-anthesis biomass and deeper seasonal soil water extraction. In conclusion, one-irrigation with a medium-sized spike cultivar JM22 could be a useful strategy to maintain yield and high WUE in extremely late-sown winter wheat at a high seeding rate in the NCP.

Weed Control with Cover Crops in Irrigated Potatoes

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G.H. Mehring

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Field experiments at Oakes, ND, USA in 2010 and Carrington, ND, USA in 2011 were conducted to evaluate the potential for cover crops grown in the Northern Great Plains, USA in order to reduce weed emergence and density in irrigated potatoes. Treatments included five cover crop treatments and three cover crop termination treatments. Termination of cover crops was done with glyphosate, disk-till, and roto-till. Cover crop biomass accumulation was greatest for rye/canola and triticale at Oakes, and hairy vetch and hairy vetch/rye at Carrington. Cover crop and termination affected weed control 14, 29, and 51 days after planting (DAP at Oakes. Weed control at Carrington was at least 90% for all cover crop and termination treatments at all three evaluation timings. Marketable yield at Oakes was greater when roto-till was used to terminate the cover crops compared with disk-till or herbicide, which is beneficial for organic systems where herbicides are not used. Marketable yield at Carrington was not affected by cover crop or termination treatments. Results suggest that cover crops can successfully be integrated into irrigated potato production for weed control with yields equal to no cover crop, and with attention to potential mechanical difficulties.

Analytical study of the effects of the Low-Level Jet on moisture convergence and vertical motion fields at the Southern Great Plains Cloud and Radiation Testbed site

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bian, X.; Zhong, S.; Whiteman, C.D.; Stage, S.A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab., Richland, WA (United States)

1996-04-01

The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Southern Great Plains (SGP) Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) is located in a region that is strongly affected by a prominent meteorological phenomenon--the Great Plains Low-Level Jet (LLJ). Observations have shown that the LLJ plays a vital role in spring and summertime cloud formation and precipitation over the Great Plains. An improved understanding of the LLJ characteristics and its impact on the environment is necessary for addressing the fundamental issue of development and testing of radiational transfer and cloud parameterization schemes for the general circulation models (GCMs) using data from the SGP CART site. A climatological analysis of the summertime LLJ over the SGP has been carried out using hourly observations from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Wind Profiler Demonstration Network and from the ARM June 1993 Intensive Observation Period (IOP). The hourly data provide an enhanced temporal and spatial resolution relative to earlier studies which used 6- and 12-hourly rawinsonde observations at fewer stations.

Assessing drought risk under climate change in the US Great Plains via evaporative demand from downscaled GCM projections

Science.gov (United States)

Dewes, C.; Rangwala, I.; Hobbins, M.; Barsugli, J. J.

2016-12-01

Drought conditions in the US Great Plains occur primarily in response to periods of low precipitation, but they can be exacerbated by enhanced evaporative demand (E0) during periods of elevated temperatures, radiation, advection, and/or decreased humidity. A number of studies project severe to unprecedented drought conditions for this region later in the 21st century. Yet, we have found that methodological choices in the estimation of E0 and the selection of global climate model (GCM) output account for large uncertainties in projections of drought risk. Furthermore, the coarse resolution of GCMs offers little usability for drought risk assessments applied to socio-ecological systems, and users of climate data for that purpose tend to prefer existing downscaled products. Here we derive a physically based estimation of E0 - the FAO56 Penman-Monteith reference evapotranspiration - using driving variables from the Multivariate Adaptive Constructed Analogs (MACA) dataset, which have a spatial resolution of approximately 4 km. We select downscaled outputs from five CMIP5 GCMs, whereby we aim to represent different scenarios for the future of the Great Plains region (e.g. warm/wet, hot/dry, etc.). While this downscaling methodology removes GCM bias relative to a gridded product for historical data (METDATA), we first examine the remaining bias relative to ground (point) estimates of E0. Next we assess whether the downscaled products preserve the variability of their parent GCMs, in both historical and future (RCP8.5) projections. We then use the E0 estimates to compute multi-scale time series of drought indices such as the Evaporative Demand Drought Index (EDDI) and the Standardized Precipitation-Evaporation Index (SPEI) over the Great Plains region. We also attribute variability and drought anomalies to each of the driving parameters, to tease out the influence of specific model biases and evaluate geographical nuances of E0 drivers. Aside from improved understanding of

Summary of the Snake River plain Regional Aquifer-System Analysis in Idaho and eastern Oregon

Science.gov (United States)

Lindholm, G.F.

1996-01-01

smallest, about 50 milligrams per liter, in streams such as the Boise River that drain areas of granitic rocks; concentrations are greatest, about 400 milligrams per liter, in streams such as the Owyhee and Raft Rivers that drain area of sedimentary rocks. Water chemistry reflects the interaction of surface water and ground water. The chemical composition of ground water in the plain is essentially the same as that in streamflow and groundwater discharge from tributary drainage basins. Tributary drainage basins supplied 85 percent of the ground-water recharge in the eastern plain during 1980 and a nearly equivalent percentage of the solute load in ground water; human activities and dissolution of minerals supplied the other solutes. Dissolved-solids concentrations in ground water were generally less than 400 milligrams per liter. Water from the lower geothermal system is chemically different from water from the upper cold-water system. Geothermal water typically has greater concentrations of sodium, bicarbonate, sulfate, chloride, fluoride, silica, arsenic, boron, and lithium and smaller concentrations of calcium, magnesium, and hydrogen. Difference are attributed to ion exchange as geothermal moves through the rock framework. Irrigation, mostly on the Snake River Plain, accounted for about 96 percent of consumptive water use in Idaho during 1980. The use of surface water for irrigation for more than 100 years has caused major changes in the hydrologic system on the plain. Construction of dams, reservoirs, and diversifications effected planned changes in the surface-water system but resulted in largely unplanned changes in the ground-water system. During those years of irrigation, annual recharge in the main part of the eastern plain increased to about 6.7 million acre-feet in 1980, or by about 70 percent. Most of the increase was from percolation of surface water diverted for irrigation. From preirrigation to 1952, groundwater storage increased about 24 million acre

Stratigraphic evidence of desertification in the west-central Great Plains within the past 1000 yr

Science.gov (United States)

Madole, R.F.

1994-01-01

Stratigraphic and geomorphic relations, archaeological data, and eight radiocarbon ages at five widely scattered localities in northeastern Colorado indicate that eolian sand was mobilized over broad areas within the past 1000 yr. The mobilization began after 1 ka, was episodic, and ended at some as yet undetermined time prior to the latter part of the 19th century. Given that climate-model simulations suggest only slight variation in average surface temperature and annual precipitation in this region during the past 1000 yr, this part of the Great Plains evidently is near the threshold of widespread eolian sand transport under the present climate. -Author

Incorporating biodiversity into rangeland health: Plant species richness and diversity in great plains grasslands

Science.gov (United States)

Symstad, Amy J.; Jonas, Jayne L.

2011-01-01

Indicators of rangeland health generally do not include a measure of biodiversity. Increasing attention to maintaining biodiversity in rangelands suggests that this omission should be reconsidered, and plant species richness and diversity are two metrics that may be useful and appropriate. Ideally, their response to a variety of anthropogenic and natural drivers in the ecosystem of interest would be clearly understood, thereby providing a means to diagnose the cause of decline in an ecosystem. Conceptual ecological models based on ecological principles and hypotheses provide a framework for this understanding, but these models must be supported by empirical evidence if they are to be used for decision making. To that end, we synthesize results from published studies regarding the responses of plant species richness and diversity to drivers that are of management concern in Great Plains grasslands, one of North America's most imperiled ecosystems. In the published literature, moderate grazing generally has a positive effect on these metrics in tallgrass prairie and a neutral to negative effect in shortgrass prairie. The largest published effects on richness and diversity were caused by moderate grazing in tallgrass prairies and nitrogen fertilization in shortgrass prairies. Although weather is often cited as the reason for considerable annual fluctuations in richness and diversity, little information about the responses of these metrics to weather is available. Responses of the two metrics often diverged, reflecting differences in their sensitivity to different types of changes in the plant community. Although sufficient information has not yet been published for these metrics to meet all the criteria of a good indicator in Great Plains Grasslands, augmenting current methods of evaluating rangeland health with a measure of plant species richness would reduce these shortcomings and provide information critical to managing for biodiversity.

Mechanisms of diurnal precipitation over the US Great Plains: a cloud resolving model perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Myong-In; Choi, Ildae; Tao, Wei-Kuo; Schubert, Siegfried D.; Kang, In-Sik

2010-02-01

The mechanisms of summertime diurnal precipitation in the US Great Plains were examined with the two-dimensional (2D) Goddard Cumulus Ensemble (GCE) cloud-resolving model (CRM). The model was constrained by the observed large-scale background state and surface flux derived from the Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program’s Intensive Observing Period (IOP) data at the Southern Great Plains (SGP). The model, when continuously-forced by realistic surface flux and large-scale advection, simulates reasonably well the temporal evolution of the observed rainfall episodes, particularly for the strongly forced precipitation events. However, the model exhibits a deficiency for the weakly forced events driven by diurnal convection. Additional tests were run with the GCE model in order to discriminate between the mechanisms that determine daytime and nighttime convection. In these tests, the model was constrained with the same repeating diurnal variation in the large-scale advection and/or surface flux. The results indicate that it is primarily the surface heat and moisture flux that is responsible for the development of deep convection in the afternoon, whereas the large-scale upward motion and associated moisture advection play an important role in preconditioning nocturnal convection. In the nighttime, high clouds are continuously built up through their interaction and feedback with long-wave radiation, eventually initiating deep convection from the boundary layer. Without these upper-level destabilization processes, the model tends to produce only daytime convection in response to boundary layer heating. This study suggests that the correct simulation of the diurnal variation in precipitation requires that the free-atmospheric destabilization mechanisms resolved in the CRM simulation must be adequately parameterized in current general circulation models (GCMs) many of which are overly sensitive to the parameterized boundary layer

Appropriate rehabilitation strategy for a traditional irrigation supply system: a case from the Babai area in Nepal.

Science.gov (United States)

Adhikari, B; Verhoeven, R; Troch, P

2009-01-01

This paper studies primary canals of three traditional irrigation systems in the southern plains of Nepal. It offers a scientific interpretation of the indigenous technology applied to the systems, which facilitates to use the same channel network for irrigation, drainage and flood management. The flood management technology of the farmers by diverting as much discharge as possible to the field channels results in the reduction of discharge towards the downstream part of the main channel. It is depicted in the simulation study that uses the river analysis program HEC-RAS 4.0. A cascade of weirs is found to be the most cost effective and user-friendly option to upgrade these systems preserving the existing irrigation, drainage as well as flood management functions. This study suggests that the conventional irrigation design principles should be applied very cautiously with full knowledge of the existing socio-institutional setting, hydro-ecological regime and indigenous technology for upgrading any traditional irrigation system successfully. The indigenous flood management technology strengthens the emerging concept that the floods in the Ganges plain are to be managed, not controlled.

Long-term patterns of air temperatures, daily temperature range, precipitation, grass-reference evapotranspiration and aridity index in the USA Great Plains: Part I. Spatial trends

Science.gov (United States)

Kukal, M.; Irmak, S.

2016-11-01

Due to their substantial spatio-temporal behavior, long-term quantification and analyses of important hydrological variables are essential for practical applications in water resources planning, evaluating the water use of agricultural crop production and quantifying crop evapotranspiration patterns and irrigation management vs. hydrologic balance relationships. Observed data at over 800 sites across the Great Plains of USA, comprising of 9 states and 2,307,410 km2 of surface area, which is about 30% of the terrestrial area of the USA, were used to quantify and map large-scale and long-term (1968-2013) spatial trends of air temperatures, daily temperature range (DTR), precipitation, grass-reference evapotranspiration (ETo) and aridity index (AI) at monthly, growing season and annual time steps. Air temperatures had a strong north to south increasing trend, with annual average varying from -1 to 24 °C, and growing season average temperature varying from 8 to 30 °C. DTR gradually decreased from western to eastern parts of the region, with a regional annual and growing season averages of 14.25 °C and 14.79 °C, respectively. Precipitation had a gradual shift towards higher magnitudes from west to east, with the average annual and growing season (May-September) precipitation ranging from 163 to 1486 mm and from 98 to 746 mm, respectively. ETo had a southwest-northeast decreasing trend, with regional annual and growing season averages of 1297 mm and 823 mm, respectively. AI increased from west to east, indicating higher humidity (less arid) towards the east, with regional annual and growing season averages of 0.49 and 0.44, respectively. The spatial datasets and maps for these important climate variables can serve as valuable background for climate change and hydrologic studies in the Great Plains region. Through identification of priority areas from the developed maps, efforts of the concerned personnel and agencies and resources can be diverted towards development

Irrigation Water Availability and Winter Wheat Abandonment in the North China Plain (NCP: Findings from a Case Study in Cangxian County of Hebei Province

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xue Wang

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The North China Plain (NCP is the major winter wheat producing area in China. Abandonment of this crop has, however, become more and more prevalent in this region since the late 1990s. Although the underlying causes of this phenomenon remain little understood, irrigation water availability (IWA has always been regarded as the key factor limiting winter wheat production on the NCP. The aim of this paper is to determine the role played by IWA in the abandonment of winter wheat, using evidence drawn from a case study in Cangxian County, Hebei Province. First-hand data were collected for this study from 350 households in 35 villages, using semistructured one-on-one questionnaires. Five types of irrigation water sources were defined and identified at the level of individual land plots: “ground and surface water”, “just groundwater”, “just rivers”, “just reservoirs”, and “no irrigation”. These levels correspond to a decreasing trend in the overall frequency of irrigation and thus provide a clear proxy indicator for IWA. The results from a series of multilevel multinomial models show that the higher the IWA, the less likely it is for a land plot to abandon winter wheat. Specifically, using “no irrigation” cases as a control group, the results show that land plots with more sources of irrigation water also tend to be characterized by greater IWA, including “ground and surface water” and “just groundwater”, and also have lower probabilities of abandoning winter wheat. In contrast, land plots with less IWA (less irrigation water sources, including “just reservoirs” and “just rivers”, are more likely to abandon winter wheat. The results also show that, in addition to IWA, soil quality and plot size at the plot level, as well as demographic characteristics, farm equipment, and land fragmentation at the household level and irrigation prices at the village level, all play additional significant roles in the cropping

Circles of live buffer strips in a center pivot to improve multiple ecosystem services and sustainability of irrigated agriculture in the southern great plains

Science.gov (United States)

Declining Ogallala Aquifer has threatened sustainability of highly productive irrigated agriculture in the region. The region, known for the dust bowl of thirties, is scared of its return. Lower well outputs and increasing pumping costs have compelled farmers to adapt alternative conservation strate...

The impact of climate change on agriculture and related resources in the Great Plains

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Easterling, W.E.

1991-01-01

The impacts of climate change on water resources and agriculture in the four Great Plains states Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas (MINK), using the anomalously hot and dry weather of the 1930s as a model for climate in the year 2030 and a mechanistic crop simulation model known as the Erosion Productivity Impact Calculator (EPIC), are described. EPIC was modified for climate impact analysis by compiling data sets providing detailed descriptions of farms representative of the MINK region, representing the effect of increased carbon dioxide on crop water use and photosynthetic efficiency, and incorporating daily temperature and precipitation data, monthly solar radiation and humidity levels. Technologies assumed to become available include advances in breeding and biotechnology to increase harvest index, boosting of photosynthetic efficiency, and advances in pest management. If no technological adjustment was incorporated, corn yielded 20% less than baseline, soybeans 15% less and sorghum 8% less. Wheat and alfalfa yielded slightly higher. Incorporation of technological advances greatly reduced negative effects of climate change, with yields raised above baseline for every crop but corn

Coal Development in the Northern Great Plains. The Impact on Revenues of State and Local Governments. Agricultural Economic Report No. 394.

Science.gov (United States)

Stinson, Thomas F.; Voelker, Stanley W.

Development of Northern Great Plains coal resources will create new demands for state and local government services. Development will also produce increased government revenues. Special taxes on coal production have been enacted in Montana, North Dakota, and Wyoming in order to ensure that state and local governments receive sufficient revenues to…

Global warming likely reduces crop yield and water availability of the dryland cropping systems in the U.S. central Great Plains

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We investigated impacts of GCM-projected climate change on dryland crop rotations of wheat-fallow and wheat-corn-fallow in the Central Great Plains (Akron in Colorado, USA) using the CERES 4.0 crop modules in RZWQM2. The climate change scenarios for CO2, temperature, and precipitation were produced ...

Water quality monitoring protocol for wadeable streams and rivers in the Northern Great Plains Network

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Wilson, Marcia H.; Rowe, Barbara L.; Gitzen, Robert A.; Wilson, Stephen K.; Paintner-Green, Kara J.

2014-01-01

Preserving the national parks unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations is a fundamental purpose of the National Park Service (NPS). To address growing concerns regarding the overall physical, chemical, and biological elements and processes of park ecosystems, the NPS implemented science-based management through “Vital Signs” monitoring in 270 national parks (NPS 2007). The Northern Great Plains Network (NGPN) is among the 32 National Park Service Networks participating in this monitoring effort. The NGPN will develop protocols over the next several years to determine the overall health or condition of resources within 13 parks located in Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.

Integrated hydrological modelling of the North China Plain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shu, Yunqiao; Villholth, Karen G.; Jensen, Karsten Høgh

2012-01-01

The integrated hydrological model MIKE SHE was applied to a part of the North China Plain to examine the dynamics of the hydrological system and to assess water management options to restore depleted groundwater resources. The model simulates the spatio-temporal distribution of recharge...... for scenario analysis of the effect of different cropping rotations, irrigation intensity, and other water management options, like the implementation of the South to North Water Transfer (SNWT) project. The model analysis verified that groundwater tables in the region are subject to steep declines (up to 1 m....../yr) due to decades of intensive exploitation of the groundwater resources for crop irrigation, primarily the widespread crop rotation of irrigated winter wheat and mostly rainfed summer maize. The SNWT project mitigates water stress in Shijiazhuang city and areas adjacent to wastewater canals but cannot...

Comparative riverscape genetics reveals reservoirs of genetic diversity for conservation and restoration of Great Plains fishes.

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Osborne, Megan J; Perkin, Joshuah S; Gido, Keith B; Turner, Thomas F

2014-12-01

We used comparative landscape genetics to examine the relative roles of historical events, intrinsic traits and landscape factors in determining the distribution of genetic diversity of river fishes across the North American Great Plains. Spatial patterns of diversity were overlaid on a patch-based graphical model and then compared within and among three species that co-occurred across five Great Plains watersheds. Species differing in reproductive strategy (benthic vs. pelagic-spawning) were hypothesized to have different patterns of genetic diversity, but the overriding factor shaping contemporary patterns of diversity was the signature of past climates and geological history. Allelic diversity was significantly higher at southern latitudes for Cyprinella lutrensis and Hybognathus placitus, consistent with northward expansion from southern Pleistocene refugia. Within the historical context, all species exhibited lowered occupancy and abundance in heavily fragmented and drier upstream reaches, particularly H. placitus; a pelagic-spawning species, suggesting rates of extirpation have outpaced losses of genetic diversity in this species. Within most tributary basins, genetically diverse populations of each species persisted. Hence, reconnecting genetically diverse populations with those characterized by reduced diversity (regardless of their position within the riverine network) would provide populations with greater genetic and demographic resilience. We discuss cases where cross-basin transfer may be appropriate to enhance genetic diversity and mitigate negative effects of climate change. Overall, striking similarities in genetic patterns and in response to fragmentation and dewatering suggest a common strategy for genetic resource management in this unique riverine fish assemblage. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Wintering Sandhill Crane exposure to wind energy development in the central and southern Great Plains, USA

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Pearse, Aaron T.; Brandt, David; Krapu, Gary

2016-01-01

Numerous wind energy projects have been constructed in the central and southern Great Plains, USA, the main wintering area for midcontinental Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis). In an initial assessment of the potential risks of wind towers to cranes, we estimated spatial overlap, investigated potential avoidance behavior, and determined the habitat associations of cranes. We used data from cranes marked with platform transmitting terminals (PTTs) with and without global positioning system (GPS) capabilities. We estimated the wintering distributions of PTT-marked cranes prior to the construction of wind towers, which we compared with current tower locations. Based on this analysis, we found 7% spatial overlap between the distributions of cranes and towers. When we looked at individually marked cranes, we found that 52% would have occurred within 10 km of a tower at some point during winter. Using data from cranes marked after tower construction, we found a potential indication of avoidance behavior, whereby GPS-marked cranes generally used areas slightly more distant from existing wind towers than would be expected by chance. Results from a habitat selection model suggested that distances between crane locations and towers may have been driven more by habitat selection than by avoidance, as most wind towers were constructed in locations not often selected by wintering cranes. Our findings of modest regional overlap and that few towers have been placed in preferred crane habitat suggest that the current distribution of wind towers may be of low risk to the continued persistence of wintering midcontinental Sandhill Cranes in the central and southern Great Plains.

Heat flow measurements in Great Meteor East, Madeira Abyssal Plain, during Discovery Cruise 144

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Noel, M.

1984-01-01

This report describes 21 closely spaced heat flow measurements which were made along two survey lines in an area of faulted sediments east of Great Meteor Seamount in the Madeira Abyssal Plain. The heat flow was found to be correlated with basement topography as mapped by seismic reflection profiling. Data modelling suggests that this is due both to the thermal conductivity contrast between sediments and basement rocks and to the presence of hydrothermal circulation within basement highs. The existence of non-linear temperature profiles in sediments covering basement highs suggests that the underlying circulation is causing an upward movement of porewater. There is no firm evidence to show that the sediment faults act as preferred pathways for porewater advection. (author)

Simulation of temporal and spatial distribution of required irrigation water by crop models and the pan evaporation coefficient method

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Yang, Yan-min; Yang, Yonghui; Han, Shu-min; Hu, Yu-kun

2009-07-01

Hebei Plain is the most important agricultural belt in North China. Intensive irrigation, low and uneven precipitation have led to severe water shortage on the plain. This study is an attempt to resolve this crucial issue of water shortage for sustainable agricultural production and water resources management. The paper models distributed regional irrigation requirement for a range of cultivated crops on the plain. Classic crop models like DSSAT- wheat/maize and COTTON2K are used in combination with pan-evaporation coefficient method to estimate water requirements for wheat, corn, cotton, fruit-trees and vegetables. The approach is more accurate than the static approach adopted in previous studies. This is because the combination use of crop models and pan-evaporation coefficient method dynamically accounts for irrigation requirement at different growth stages of crops, agronomic practices, and field and climatic conditions. The simulation results show increasing Required Irrigation Amount (RIA) with time. RIA ranges from 5.08×109 m3 to 14.42×109 m3 for the period 1986~2006, with an annual average of 10.6×109 m3. Percent average water use by wheat, fruit trees, vegetable, corn and cotton is 41%, 12%, 12%, 11%, 7% and 17% respectively. RIA for April and May (the period with the highest irrigation water use) is 1.78×109 m3 and 2.41×109 m3 respectively. The counties in the piedmont regions of Mount Taihang have high RIA while the central and eastern regions/counties have low irrigation requirement.

Comparing the cost-effectiveness of water conservation policies in a depleting aquifer:A dynamic analysis of the Kansas High Plains

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This research analyzes two groundwater conservation policies in the Kansas High Plains located within the Ogallala aquifer: 1) cost-share assistance to increase irrigation efficiency; and 2) incentive payments to convert irrigated crop production to dryland crop production. To compare the cost-effec...

Land use in the Northern Great Plains region of the U.S. influences the survival and productivity of honey bee colonies

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Smart, Matthew; Pettis, Jeff S.; Euliss, Ned H. Jr.; Spivak, Marla S.

2016-01-01

The Northern Great Plains region of the US annually hosts a large portion of commercially managed U.S. honey bee colonies each summer. Changing land use patterns over the last several decades have contributed to declines in the availability of bee forage across the region, and the future sustainability of the region to support honey bee colonies is unclear. We examined the influence of varying land use on the survivorship and productivity of honey bee colonies located in six apiaries within the Northern Great Plains state of North Dakota, an area of intensive agriculture and high density of beekeeping operations. Land use surrounding the apiaries was quantified over three years, 2010–2012, and survival and productivity of honey bee colonies were determined in response to the amount of bee forage land within a 3.2-km radius of each apiary. The area of uncultivated forage land (including pasture, USDA conservation program fields, fallow land, flowering woody plants, grassland, hay land, and roadside ditches) exerted a positive impact on annual apiary survival and honey production. Taxonomic diversity of bee-collected pollen and pesticide residues contained therein varied seasonally among apiaries, but overall were not correlated to large-scale land use patterns or survival and honey production. The predominant flowering plants utilized by honey bee colonies for pollen were volunteer species present in unmanaged (for honey bees), and often ephemeral, lands; thus placing honey bee colonies in a precarious situation for acquiring forage and nutrients over the entire growing season. We discuss the implications for land management, conservation, and beekeeper site selection in the Northern Great Plains to adequately support honey bee colonies and insure long term security for pollinator-dependent crops across the entire country.

Mechanisms of Diurnal Precipitation over the United States Great Plains: A Cloud-Resolving Model Simulation

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Lee, M.-I.; Choi, I.; Tao, W.-K.; Schubert, S. D.; Kang, I.-K.

2010-01-01

The mechanisms of summertime diurnal precipitation in the US Great Plains were examined with the two-dimensional (2D) Goddard Cumulus Ensemble (GCE) cloud-resolving model (CRM). The model was constrained by the observed large-scale background state and surface flux derived from the Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program s Intensive Observing Period (IOP) data at the Southern Great Plains (SGP). The model, when continuously-forced by realistic surface flux and large-scale advection, simulates reasonably well the temporal evolution of the observed rainfall episodes, particularly for the strongly forced precipitation events. However, the model exhibits a deficiency for the weakly forced events driven by diurnal convection. Additional tests were run with the GCE model in order to discriminate between the mechanisms that determine daytime and nighttime convection. In these tests, the model was constrained with the same repeating diurnal variation in the large-scale advection and/or surface flux. The results indicate that it is primarily the surface heat and moisture flux that is responsible for the development of deep convection in the afternoon, whereas the large-scale upward motion and associated moisture advection play an important role in preconditioning nocturnal convection. In the nighttime, high clouds are continuously built up through their interaction and feedback with long-wave radiation, eventually initiating deep convection from the boundary layer. Without these upper-level destabilization processes, the model tends to produce only daytime convection in response to boundary layer heating. This study suggests that the correct simulation of the diurnal variation in precipitation requires that the free-atmospheric destabilization mechanisms resolved in the CRM simulation must be adequately parameterized in current general circulation models (GCMs) many of which are overly sensitive to the parameterized boundary layer heating.

Climate, water use, and land surface transformation in an irrigation intensive watershed - streamflow responses from 1950 through 2010

Science.gov (United States)

Dale, Joseph; Zou, Chris B.; Andrews, William J.; Long, James M.; Liang, Ye; Qiao, Lei

2015-01-01

Climatic variability and land surface change have a wide range of effects on streamflow and are often difficult to separate. We analyzed long-term records of climate, land use and land cover, and re-constructed the water budget based on precipitation, groundwater levels, and water use from 1950 through 2010 in the Cimarron–Skeleton watershed and a portion of the Cimarron–Eagle Chief watershed in Oklahoma, an irrigation-intensive agricultural watershed in the Southern Great Plains, USA. Our results show that intensive irrigation through alluvial aquifer withdrawal modifies climatic feedback and alters streamflow response to precipitation. Increase in consumptive water use was associated with decreases in annual streamflow, while returning croplands to non-irrigated grasslands was associated with increases in streamflow. Along with groundwater withdrawal, anthropogenic-induced factors and activities contributed nearly half to the observed variability of annual streamflow. Streamflow was more responsive to precipitation during the period of intensive irrigation between 1965 and 1984 than the period of relatively lower water use between 1985 and 2010. The Cimarron River is transitioning from a historically flashy river to one that is more stable with a lower frequency of both high and low flow pulses, a higher baseflow, and an increased median flow due in part to the return of cropland to grassland. These results demonstrated the interrelationship among climate, land use, groundwater withdrawal and streamflow regime and the potential to design agricultural production systems and adjust irrigation to mitigate impact of increasing climate variability on streamflow in irrigation intensive agricultural watershed.

Monitoring and Assessing the 2012 Drought in the Great Plains: Analyzing Satellite-Retrieved Solar-Induced Chlorophyll Fluorescence, Drought Indices, and Gross Primary Production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Siheng Wang

2016-01-01

Full Text Available We examined the relationship between satellite measurements of solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF and several meteorological drought indices, including the multi-time-scale standard precipitation index (SPI and the Palmer drought severity index (PDSI, to evaluate the potential of using SIF to monitor and assess drought. We found significant positive relationships between SIF and drought indices during the growing season (from June to September. SIF was found to be more sensitive to short-term SPIs (one or two months and less sensitive to long-term SPI (three months than were the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI or the normalized difference water index (NDWI. Significant correlations were found between SIF and PDSI during the growing season for the Great Plains. We found good consistency between SIF and flux-estimated gross primary production (GPP for the years studied, and synchronous declines of SIF and GPP in an extreme drought year (2012. We used SIF to monitor and assess the drought that occurred in the Great Plains during the summer of 2012, and found that although a meteorological drought was experienced throughout the Great Plains from June to September, the western area experienced more agricultural drought than the eastern area. Meanwhile, SIF declined more significantly than NDVI during the peak growing season. Yet for senescence, during which time the reduction of NDVI still went on, the reduction of SIF was eased. Our work provides an alternative to traditional reflectance-based vegetation or drought indices for monitoring and assessing agricultural drought.

Penultimate Glacial-Interglacial Climate Variability in the Southern Great Plains of North America

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Bartow-Gillies, E.; Maupin, C. R.; Roark, E. B.; Chou, Y. C.; White, K.; Kampen-Lewis, S. V.; Shen, C. C.

2017-12-01

Projections of changes in rainfall under future warming scenarios vary in their sign and intensity over the Southern Great Plains (SGP). A scarcity of local paleoclimate information before the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) limits our understanding of regional climate responses to changes in mean state and forcing. Here, we present absolutely U/Th-dated oxygen and carbon isotope records from a calcite stalagmite near Georgetown, Texas (30°N, 98°W), spanning 98 to 209 kyr before present (kyr BP). SGP moisture is primarily sourced from the Gulf of Mexico, and precipitation exhibits clear seasonality, with a biannual rainy season divided into late boreal spring and fall. We interpret the oxygen isotopic composition of the stalagmite to reflect changes in rainwater δ18O composition, as well as cave temperature, through time. There are no clear kinetic isotope effects observed within the stalagmite. More negative (positive) δ18O values are a reflection of warmer and wetter (cooler and drier) conditions based on modern observations of rainwater δ18O at the study site. Variations in stalagmite δ13C may be driven by shifts in overlying vegetation type and changes in the rates of karst flow and prior calcite precipitation. The stalagmite records include Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e, an interval where global temperatures may have been as much as 2°C warmer and sea level 4-6 m higher than present. Thus, our δ18O record provides context of unique importance for how SGP hydroclimate may respond to future warming. Prominent features in the δ18O record, including a warm and wet MIS 5e appear to be paced by precession, with the timing of δ18O minima (maxima) broadly consistent with that of maxima (minima) in monthly insolation at 30°N. The δ13C record exhibits a striking similarity to canonical, sawtooth records of glacial-interglacial variability, which suggests Great Plains vegetation communities may be sensitive to the status of Northern Hemisphere glaciation. Our SGP

An Integrated Modeling System for Water Resource Management Under Climate Change, Socio-Economic Development and Irrigation Management

Science.gov (United States)

SU, Q.; Karthikeyan, R.; Lin, Y.

2017-12-01

Water resources across the world have been increasingly stressed in the past few decades due to the population and economic growth and climate change. Consequently, the competing use of water among agricultural, domestic and industrial sectors is expected to be increasing. In this study, the water stresses under various climate change, socio-economic development and irrigation management scenarios are predicted over the period of 2015-2050 using an integrated model, in which the changes in water supply and demand induced by climate change, socio-economic development and irrigation management are dynamically parameterized. Simulations on the case of Texas, Southwest U.S. were performed using the newly developed integrated model, showing that the water stress is projected to be elevated in 2050 over most areas of Texas, particularly at Northern and Southern Plain and metropolitan areas. Climate change represents the most pronounce factor affecting the water supply and irrigation water demand in Texas. The water supply over East Texas is largely reduced in future because of the less precipitation and higher temperature under the climate change scenario, resulting in an elevated irrigation water demand and thus a higher water stress in this region. In contrast, the severity of water shortage in West Texas would be alleviated in future because of climate change. The water shortage index over metropolitan areas would increase by 50-90% under 1.0% migration scenario, suggesting that the population growth in future could also greatly stress the water supply, especially megacities like Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio. The projected increase in manufacturing water demand shows little effects on the water stress. Increasing irrigation rate exacerbates the water stress over irrigated agricultural areas of Texas.

Future changes in the climatology of the Great Plains low-level jet derived from fine resolution multi-model simulations.

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Ying; Winkler, Julie; Zhong, Shiyuan; Bian, Xindi; Doubler, Dana; Yu, Lejiang; Walters, Claudia

2017-07-10

The southerly Great Plains low-level jet (GPLLJ) is one of the most significant circulation features of the central U.S. linking large-scale atmospheric circulation with the regional climate. GPLLJs transport heat and moisture, contribute to thunderstorm and severe weather formation, provide a corridor for the springtime migration of birds and insects, enhance wind energy availability, and disperse air pollution. We assess future changes in GPLLJ frequency using an eight member ensemble of dynamically-downscaled climate simulations for the mid-21st century. Nocturnal GPLLJ frequency is projected to increase in the southern plains in spring and in the central plains in summer, whereas current climatological patterns persist into the future for daytime and cool season GPLLJs. The relationship between future GPLLJ frequency and the extent and strength of anticyclonic airflow over eastern North America varies with season. Most simulations project a westward shift of anticyclonic airflow in summer, but uncertainty is larger for spring with only half of the simulations suggesting a westward expansion. The choice of regional climate model and the driving lateral boundary conditions have a large influence on the projected future changes in GPLLJ frequency and highlight the importance of multi-model ensembles to estimate the uncertainty surrounding the future GPLLJ climatology.

Scenarios of bioenergy development impacts on regional groundwater withdrawals

Science.gov (United States)

Uden, Daniel R.; Allen, Craig R.; Mitchell, Rob B.; Guan, Qingfeng; McCoy, Tim D.

2013-01-01

Irrigation increases agricultural productivity, but it also stresses water resources (Huffaker and Hamilton 2007). Drought and the potential for drier conditions resulting from climate change could strain water supplies in landscapes where human populations rely on finite groundwater resources for drinking, agriculture, energy, and industry (IPCC 2007). For instance, in the North American Great Plains, rowcrops are utilized for livestock feed, food, and bioenergy production (Cassman and Liska 2007), and a large portion is irrigated with groundwater from the High Plains aquifer system (McGuire 2011). Under projected future climatic conditions, greater crop water use requirements and diminished groundwater recharge rates could make rowcrop irrigation less feasible in some areas (Rosenberg et al. 1999; Sophocleous 2005). The Rainwater Basin region of south central Nebraska, United States, is an intensively farmed and irrigated Great Plains landscape dominated by corn (Zea mays L.) and soybean (Glycine max L.) production (Bishop and Vrtiska 2008). Ten starch-based ethanol plants currently service the region, producing ethanol from corn grain (figure 1). In this study, we explore the potential of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), a drought-tolerant alternative bioenergy feedstock, to impact regional annual groundwater withdrawals for irrigation under warmer and drier future conditions. Although our research context is specific to the Rainwater Basin and surrounding North American Great Plains, we believe the broader research question is internationally pertinent and hope that this study simulates similar research in other areas.

Southern Great Plains Rapid Ecoregional Assessment: pre-assessment report

Science.gov (United States)

Assal, Timothy J.; Melcher, Cynthia P.; Carr, Natasha B.

2015-01-01

The purpose of the Pre-Assessment Report for the Southern Great Plains Rapid Ecoregional Assessment (REA) is to document the selection process for and final list of Conservation Elements, Change Agents, and Management Questions developed during Phase I. The overall goal of the REAs being conducted for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is to provide information that supports regional planning and analysis for the management of ecological resources. The REA provides an assessment of baseline ecological conditions, an evaluation of current risks from drivers of ecosystem change, and a predictive capacity for evaluating future risks. The REA also may be used for identifying priority areas for conservation or restoration and for assessing the cumulative effects of a variety of land uses. There are several components of the REAs. Management Questions, developed by the BLM and partners for the ecoregion, identify the information needed for addressing land-management responsibilities. Conservation Elements represent regionally significant terrestrial and aquatic species and communities that are to be conserved and (or) restored. For each Conservation Element, key ecological attributes will be evaluated to determine the status of each species and community. The REA also will evaluate major drivers of ecosystem change, or Change Agents, currently affecting or likely to affect the status of Conservation Elements in the future. The relationships between Change Agents and key ecological attributes will be summarized using conceptual models. The REA process is a two-phase process. Phase I (pre-assessment) includes developing and finalizing the lists of priority Management Questions, Conservation Elements, and Change Agents, culminating in the REA Pre-Assessment Report.

Raptor habitat use in the Lake Chad Basin : Insights into the effect of flood-plain transformation on Afrotropical and Palearctic raptors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Buij, Ralph; Croes, Barbara M.

West African flood-plains have undergone major land-use transformations in the second half of the 20th century. To obtain insight in the effect of flood-plain development for irrigated rice cultivation on the abundance, richness, and diversity of Palearctic and Afrotropical raptors, we conducted

Raptor habitat use in the lake Chad basin: insights into the effect of flood-plain transformation on afrotropical and paleartic raptors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Buij, R.; Croes, B.M.

2013-01-01

West African flood-plains have undergone major land-use transformations in the second half of the 20th century. To obtain insight in the effect of flood-plain development for irrigated rice cultivation on the abundance, richness, and diversity of Palearctic and Afrotropical raptors, we conducted

Decreased runoff response to precipitation, Little Missouri River Basin, northern Great Plains, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Griffin, Eleanor R.; Friedman, Jonathan M.

2017-01-01

High variability in precipitation and streamflow in the semiarid northern Great Plains causes large uncertainty in water availability. This uncertainty is compounded by potential effects of future climate change. We examined historical variability in annual and growing season precipitation, temperature, and streamflow within the Little Missouri River Basin and identified differences in the runoff response to precipitation for the period 1976-2012 compared to 1939-1975 (n = 37 years in both cases). Computed mean values for the second half of the record showed little change (precipitation, but average annual runoff at the basin outlet decreased by 22%, with 66% of the reduction in flow occurring during the growing season. Our results show a statistically significant (p runoff response to precipitation (runoff ratio). Surface-water withdrawals for various uses appear to account for 1°C increases in January through March, are the dominant driver of the observed decrease in runoff response to precipitation in the Little Missouri River Basin.

Social capital influences farmer participation in collective irrigation management in Shaanxi Provence, China

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Miao, S.; Heijman, W.J.M.; Xueqin Zhu, Xueqin; Lu, Q.

2015-01-01

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of four components of social capital on farmers’ participative behaviour in collective actions for constructing and operating small-scale groundwater irrigation systems on the Guanzhong Plain, Shaanxi Province, China.

The Great Plains low-level jet (LLJ) during the atmospheric radiation measurement (ARM) intensive observation period (IOP)-4 and simulations of land use pattern effect on the LLJ

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Y.; Raman, S. [North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States)

1996-04-01

The Great Plains low-level jet (LLJ) is an important element of the low-level atmospheric circulation. It transports water vapor from the Gulf of Mexico, which in turn affects the development of weather over the Great Plains of the central United States. The LLJ is generally recognized as a complex response of the atmospheric boundary layer to the diurnal cycle of thermal forcing. Early studies have attributed the Great Plains LLJ to the diurnal oscillations of frictional effect, buoyancy over sloping terrain, and the blocking effects of the Rocky Mountains. Recent investigations show that the speed of the LLJ is also affected by the soil type and soil moisture. Some studies also suggest that synoptic patterns may play an important role in the development of the LLJ. Land surface heterogeneties significantly affect mesoscale circulations by generating strong contrasts in surface thermal fluxes. Thus one would expect that the land use pattern should have effects on the LLJ`s development and structure. In this study, we try to determine the relative roles of the synoptic forcing, planetary boundary layers (PBL) processes, and the land use pattern in the formation of the LLJ using the observations from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Intensive Operation Period (IOP)-4 and numerical sensitivity tests.

Ground level measurement of nuclei from coal development in the northern Great Plains: baseline measurements. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Davis, B. L.; Johnson, L. R.; Sengupta, S.; Yue, P. C.

1978-11-01

The Institute of Atmospheric Sciences of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology has completed 20 months of ambient air sampling at rural and remote sites in a five-state region of the northern Great Plains. Sampling was accomplished by use of a 27-ft motor home laboratory containing living accommodations for a field crew of two. The laboratory was outfitted with a number of instruments for measurement of pollutant parameters: cloud condensation nuclei, ice nuclei, Aitken nuclei, size distribution information for Aitken size particulate, sulfur dioxide, ozone, raindrop size distributions, and pH of precipitation. In addition, an instrumented meteorological tower provided wind speed, wind direction, ambient air temperature, and dew-point temperature. Instruments varied as to durability and success of operation, but better than 90% data retrieval was possible for the entire 20-month sampling study. Analyses of the large quantities of data obtained were not possible under the initial baseline measurement program, but examination of most parameters indicate that the air masses in the northern Great Plains are still relatively clean and are influenced primarily by local sources of contamination rather than large regional sources. Particulate concentrations in these remote areas are representative of mountain stations or clean rural conditions, and sulfur dioxide concentrations are at the threshold of detectability of the instrument. Precipitation is only very slightly acidic, and no significant quantity of amorphous particles (such as coal dust or combustion products) is found in the quantitative analyses of the high-volume filter collections. A summary of ''average'' conditions observed over the study area is tabulated.

A cloud climatology of the Southern Great Plains ARM CART

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lazarus, S.M.; Krueger, S.K.; Mace, G.G.

2000-05-15

Cloud amount statistics from three different sources were processed and compared. Surface observations from a National Centers for Environmental Prediction dataset were used. The data (Edited Cloud Report; ECR) consist of synoptic weather reports that have been edited to facilitate cloud analysis. Two stations near the Southern Great Plains (SGP) Cloud and Radiation Test Bed (CART) in north-central Oklahoma (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and Wichita, Kansas) were selected. The ECR data span a 10-yr period from December 1981 to November 1991. The International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) provided cloud amounts over the SGP CART for an 8-yr period (1983--91). Cloud amounts were also obtained from Micro Pulse Lidar (MPL) and Belfort Ceilometer (BLC) cloud-base height measurements made at the SGP CART over a 1-yr period. The annual and diurnal cycles of cloud amount as a function of cloud height and type were analyzed. The three datasets closely agree for total cloud amount. Good agreement was found in the ECR and MPL-BLC monthly low cloud amounts. With the exception of summer and midday in other seasons, the ISCCP low cloud amount estimates are generally 5%--10% less than the others. The ECR high cloud amount estimates are typically 10%--15% greater than those obtained from either the ISCCP or MPL-BLC datasets. The observed diurnal variations of altocumulus support the authors' model results of radiatively induced circulations.

Ecological estimation of the irrigated soils in Qarabagh plain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mammadov, Q.S.; Nuriyeva, K.Q.

2009-01-01

Contemporary agricultural science improved the known adaptive approaches in the past, for it accounting natural peccularities of the concrete region is offered with the assistance of agroecological estimation of soil. Using of collecting materials of the soil esological parameters of soil cover of the studying territory and applying the system of the private scales of the soil estimation on degree of display of their separate signs, the ecological estimation of the irrigated soils of Qarabagh steppe where the highest ecological marks have been got such as grey-brown dark (94 marks) and ordinary soils (93 marks) has been carried out

Diversity, Seasonality, and Context of Mammalian Roadkills in the Southern Great Plains

Science.gov (United States)

Smith-Patten, Brenda D.; Patten, Michael A.

2008-06-01

Thousands of mammals are killed annually from vehicle collisions, making the issue an important one for conservation biologists and environmental managers. We recorded all readily identifiable kills on or immediately adjacent to roads in the southern Great Plains from March 2004-March 2007. We also recorded distance traveled, whether a road was paved or divided, the number of lanes, and prevailing habitat. Surveys were opportunistic and were conducted by car during conditions of good visibility. Over our 239 surveys and >16,500 km traveled, we recorded 1412 roadkills from 18 different mammal species (size ranged from Sciurus squirrels to the white-tailed deer, Odocolieus virginianus). The overall kill rate was 8.50 / 100 km. Four species were prone to collisions: the Virginia opossum ( Didelphis virginiana), nine-banded armadillo ( Dasypus novemcinctus), striped skunk ( Mephitis mephitis), and northern raccoon ( Procyon lotor). Together they accounted for approximately 85% (1198) of all roadkills. Mortality rate differed significantly between 2- and 4-lane roads (8.39 versus 7.79 / 100 km). Kill rates were significantly higher on paved versus unpaved roads (8.60 versus 3.65 / 100 km), but did not depend on whether a road was divided. Roadkills were higher in spring than in fall (1.5×), winter (1.4×), or summer (1.3×). The spring peak (in kills / 100 km) was driven chiefly by the armadillo (2.76 in spring/summer versus 0.73 in autumn/winter) and opossum (2.65 versus 1.47). By contrast, seasonality was dampened by a late winter/early spring peak in skunk mortalities, for which 41% occurred in the 6-week period of mid-February through March. The raccoon did not exhibit a strong seasonal pattern. Our data are consistent with dispersal patterns of these species. Our results underscore the high rate of highway mortality in the southern plains, as well as differences in seasonality and road type that contribute to mortality. Conservation and management efforts should

Digging, Damming or Diverting? Small-Scale Irrigation in the Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irit Eguavoen

2012-10-01

Full Text Available The diversity of small-scale irrigation in the Ethiopian Blue Nile basin comprises small dams, wells, ponds and river diversion. The diversity of irrigation infrastructure is partly a consequence of the topographic heterogeneity of the Fogera plains. Despite similar social-political conditions and the same administrative framework, irrigation facilities are established, used and managed differently, ranging from informal arrangements of households and 'water fathers' to water user associations, as well as from open access to irrigation schedules. Fogera belongs to Ethiopian landscapes that will soon transform as a consequence of large dams and huge irrigation schemes. Property rights to land and water are negotiated among a variety of old and new actors. This study, based on ethnographic, hydrological and survey data, synthesises four case studies to analyse the current state of small-scale irrigation. It argues that all water storage options have not only certain comparative advantages but also social constraints, and supports a policy of extending water storage 'systems' that combine and build on complementarities of different storage types instead of fully replacing diversity by large dams.

Impacts of varying agricultural intensification on crop yield and groundwater resources: comparison of the North China Plain and US High Plains

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pei, Hongwei; Shen, Yanjun; Liu, Changming; Scanlon, Bridget R; Reedy, Robert C; Long, Di

2015-01-01

Agricultural intensification is often considered the primary approach to meet rising food demand. Here we compare impacts of intensive cultivation on crop yield in the North China Plain (NCP) with less intensive cultivation in the US High Plains (USHP) and associated effects on water resources using spatial datasets. Average crop yield during the past decade from intensive double cropping of wheat and corn in the NCP was only 15% higher than the yield from less intensive single cropping of corn in the USHP, although nitrogen fertilizer application and percent of cropland that was irrigated were both ∼2 times greater in the NCP than in the USHP. Irrigation and fertilization in both regions have depleted groundwater storage and resulted in widespread groundwater nitrate contamination. The limited response to intensive management in the NCP is attributed in part to the two month shorter growing season for corn to accommodate winter wheat than that for corn in the USHP. Previous field and modeling studies of crop yield in the NCP highlight over application of N and water resulting in low nitrogen and water use efficiencies and indicate that cultivars, plant densities, soil fertility and other factors had a much greater impact on crop yields over the past few decades. The NCP–USHP comparison along with previous field and modeling studies underscores the need to weigh the yield returns from intensive management relative to the negative impacts on water resources. Future crop management should consider the many factors that contribute to yield along with optimal fertilization and irrigation to further increase crop yields while reducing adverse impacts on water resources. (letter)

Groundwater Management at Varamin Plain: The Consideration of Stochastic and Environmental Effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Najafi Alamdarlo, H.; Ahmadian, M.; Khalilian, S.

2016-01-01

Groundwater is one of the common resources in Varamin Plain, but due to over extraction it has been exposed to ruin. This phenomenon will lead to economic and environmental problems. On the other hand, the world is expected to face with more stochastic events of water supply. Furthermore, incorporating stochastic consideration of water supply becomes more acute in designing water facilities. Therefore, the strategies should be applied to improve managing resources and increase the efficiency of irrigation system. Hence, in this study the effect of efficiency improvement of irrigation system on the exploitation of groundwater and cropping pattern is examined in deterministic and stochastic condition using Nash bargaining theory. The results showed that farmers in B scenario are more willing to cooperate and as a result of their cooperation, they lose only 3 percentages of their present value of the objective function. Therefore, the efficiency improvement of irrigation system can result in improving the cooperation between farmers and increasing the amount of reserves.Groundwater is one of the common resources in Varamin Plain, but due to over extraction it has been exposed to ruin. This phenomenon will lead to economic and environmental problems. On the other hand, the world is expected to face with more stochastic events of water supply. Furthermore, incorporating stochastic consideration of water supply becomes more acute in designing water facilities. Therefore, the strategies should be applied to improve managing resources and increase the efficiency of irrigation system. Hence, in this study the effect of efficiency improvement of irrigation system on the exploitation of groundwater and cropping pattern is examined in deterministic and stochastic condition using Nash bargaining theory. The results showed that farmers in B scenario are more willing to cooperate and as a result of their cooperation, they lose only 3 percentages of their present value of the

Potential Agricultural Uses of Flue Gas Desulfurization Gypsum in the Northern Great Plains

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

DeSutter, T.M.; Cihacek, L.J. [North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND (United States). Department of Soil Science

2009-07-15

Flue gas desulfurization gypsum (FGDG) is a byproduct from the combustion of coal for electrical energy production. Currently, FGDG is being produced by 15 electrical generating stations in Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin. Much of this byproduct is used in the manufacturing of wallboard. The National Network for Use of FGDG in Agriculture was initiated to explore alternative uses of this byproduct. In the northern Great Plains (North Dakota, South Dakota, and Montana), FGDG has the potential to be used as a Ca or S fertilizer, as an acid soil ameliorant, and for reclaiming or mitigating sodium-affected soils. Greater than 1.4 million Mg of FGDG could initially be used in these states for these purposes. Flue gas desulfurization gypsum can be an agriculturally important resource for helping to increase the usefulness of problem soils and to increase crop and rangeland production. Conducting beneficial use audits would increase the public awareness of this product and help identify to coal combustion electrical generating stations the agriculturally beneficial outlets for this byproduct.

OMI NO2 in the Central US Great Plains: How Well Do We Interpret NO2 Trends?

Science.gov (United States)

Kollonige, D. E.; Duncan, B. N.; Thompson, A. M.; Lamsal, L. N.

2017-12-01

Several areas over the Central US show statistically significant increases in OMI NO2 levels of 10-30% in the last 10 years versus the generally decreasing trends over most of CONUS. Are these changes in OMI NO2 a result of human activity, meteorology, or a combination of both? To answer this, we examine regions in the Central US Great Plains that have multiple plausible sources for the observed trends, considering impacts of land surface changes, agriculture growth, oil and gas operations, and drought conditions. We find that changes to the land surface appear to contribute to some of the observed anomalies due to tree removal in the Black Hills National Forest, South Dakota, and additional livestock farming in the Sandhills of Nebraska. However, increasing OMI NO2 also corresponds to several areas with growing agriculture business (ex. South Dakota and Nebraska) and oil and gas activity (ex. Williston Basin in North Dakota and Permian Basin in TX). To understand the relationship between the observed NO2 variability and the regional meteorological conditions over the last decade, we analyze the time series and correlations between OMI NO2, NH3 (an agriculture tracer), surface temperature, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) from Landsat, and the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI). In 2012, drought conditions affect NO2, NH3 and NDVI observations across the Central US. Areas where dryland farming and livestock grazing are predominant (Central SD, ND, KS, and NE) are less sensitive to drought and changes in temperature. This suggests positive OMI NO2 trends are caused by increased production in wheats and livestock in the Northern Great Plains. These study regions in the Central US, impacted by local emissions and meteorology, are valuable for evaluating future trend analyses including the continuation of OMI-type NO2 retrievals from the TROPOMI and TEMPO satellite instruments.

Climatology analysis of cirrus cloud in ARM site: South Great Plain

Science.gov (United States)

Olayinka, K.

2017-12-01

Cirrus cloud play an important role in the atmospheric energy balance and hence in the earth's climate system. The properties of optically thin clouds can be determined from measurements of transmission of the direct solar beam. The accuracy of cloud optical properties determined in this way is compromised by contamination of the direct transmission by light that is scattered into the sensors field of view. With the forward scattering correction method developed by Min et al., (2004), the accuracy of thin cloud retrievals from MFRSR has been improved. Our result shows over 30% of cirrus cloud present in the atmosphere are within optical depth between (1-2). In this study, we do statistics studies on cirrus clouds properties based on multi-years cirrus cloud measurements from MFRSR at ARM site from the South Great Plain (SGP) site due to its relatively easy accessibility, wide variability of climate cloud types and surface flux properties, large seasonal variation in temperature and specific humidity. Through the statistic studies, temporal and spatial variations of cirrus clouds are investigated. Since the presence of cirrus cloud increases the effect of greenhouse gases, we will retrieve the aerosol optical depth in all the cirrus cloud regions using a radiative transfer model for atmospheric correction. Calculate thin clouds optical depth (COD), and aerosol optical depth (AOD) using a radiative transfer model algorithm, e.g.: MODTRAN (MODerate resolution atmospheric TRANsmission)

Future Irrigation Requirement of Rice Under Irrigated Area - Uncertainty through GCMs and Crop Models : A Case Study of Indo-Gangetic Plains of India

Science.gov (United States)

Pillai, S. N.; Singh, H.; Ruane, A. C.; Boote, K. G.; Porter, C.; Rosenzweig, C.; Panwar, A. S.

2017-12-01

Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP), the food basket of South Asia, characterised by predominantly cereal-based farming systems where livestock is an integral part of farm economy. Climate change is projected to have significant effects on agriculture production and hence on food and livelihood security because more than 90 per cent farmers fall under small and marginal category. The rising temperatures and uncertainties in rainfall associated with global warming may have serious direct and indirect impacts on crop production. A loss of 10-40% crop production is predicted in different crops in India by the end of this century by different researchers. Cereal crops (mainly rice and wheat) are crucial to ensuring the food security in the region, but sustaining their productivity has become a major challenge due to climate variability and uncertainty. Under AgMIP Project, we have analysed the climate change impact on farm level productivity of rice at Meerut District, Uttar Pradesh using 29 GCMs under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 during mid-century period 2041-2070. Two crop simulation models DSSAT4.6 and APSIM7.7 were used for impact study. There is lot of uncertainty in yield level by different GCMs and crop models. Under RCP4.5, APSIM showed a declining yield up to 14.5 % while DSSAT showed a declining yield level of 6.5 % only compared to the baseline (1980-2010). However, out of 29 GCMs, 15 GCMs showed negative impact and 14 showed positive impact under APSIM while it showed 21 and 8 GCMs, respectively in the case of DSSAT. DSSAT and APSIM simulated irrigation water requirement in future of the order of 645±75 mm and 730±107 mm, respectively under RCP4.5. However, the same will be of the order of 626 ± 99 mm and 749 ± 147 mm, respectively under RCP8.5. Projected irrigation water productivity showed a range of 4.87-12.15 kg ha-1 mm-1 and 6.77-12.63 kg ha-1 mm-1 through APSIM and DSSAT, respectively under RCP4.5, which stands an average of 7.81 and 8.53 kg ha-1 mm-1 during the

Characterizing isotopic variability of primary production and consumers in Great Plains ecosystems during protracted regional drought

Science.gov (United States)

Haveles, A. W.; Fox-Dobbs, K.; Talmadge, K. A.; Fetrow, A.; Fox, D. L.

2012-12-01

Over the last few years (2010-2012), the Great Plains of the central USA experienced protracted drought conditions, including historically severe drought during Summer, 2011. Drought severity in the region generally decreases with increasing latitude, but episodic drought is a fundamental trait of grassland ecosystems. Documenting above ground energy and nutrient flow with current drought is critical to understanding responses of grassland ecosystems in the region to predicted increased episodicity of rainfall and recurrence of drought due to anthropogenic climate change. Characterization of biogeochemical variability of modern ecosystems at the microhabitat, local landscape, and regional scales is also necessary to interpret biogeochemical records of ancient grasslands based on paleosols and fossil mammals. Here, we characterize three grassland ecosystems that span the drought gradient in the Great Plains (sites in the Texas panhandle, southwest Kansas, and northwest Nebraska). We measured δ13C and δ15N values of plants and consumers to characterize the biogeochemical variability within each ecosystem. Vegetation at each site is a mix of trees, shrubs, herbs, and cool- and warm-growing season grasses (C3 and C4, respectively). Thus, consumers have access to isotopically distinct sources of forage that vary in abundance with microhabitat (e.g., open grassland, shrub thicket, riparian woodland). Observations indicate herbivorous arthropod (grasshoppers and crickets) abundance follows drought severity, with high abundance of many species in Texas, and low abundance of few species in Nebraska. Small mammal (rodents) abundance follows the inverse pattern with 0.8%, 3.2% and 17.2% capture success in Texas, Kansas and Nebraska, respectively. The inverse abundance patterns of consumer groups may result from greater sensitivity of small mammal consumers with high metabolic needs to lower local net primary productivity and forage quality under drought conditions. As a

A comparison of radiometric fluxes influenced by parameterization cirrus clouds with observed fluxes at the Southern Great Plains (SGP) cloud and radiation testbed (CART) site

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mace, G.G.; Ackerman, T.P.; George, A.T. [Penn State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)

1996-04-01

The data from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program`s Southern Great plains Site (SCP) is a valuable resource. We have developed an operational data processing and analysis methodology that allows us to examine continuously the influence of clouds on the radiation field and to test new and existing cloud and radiation parameterizations.

Irrigation enhances local warming with greater nocturnal warming effects than daytime cooling effects

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Xing; Jeong, Su-Jong

2018-02-01

To meet the growing demand for food, land is being managed to be more productive using agricultural intensification practices, such as the use of irrigation. Understanding the specific environmental impacts of irrigation is a critical part of using it as a sustainable way to provide food security. However, our knowledge of irrigation effects on climate is still limited to daytime effects. This is a critical issue to define the effects of irrigation on warming related to greenhouse gases (GHGs). This study shows that irrigation led to an increasing temperature (0.002 °C year-1) by enhancing nighttime warming (0.009 °C year-1) more than daytime cooling (-0.007 °C year-1) during the dry season from 1961-2004 over the North China Plain (NCP), which is one of largest irrigated areas in the world. By implementing irrigation processes in regional climate model simulations, the consistent warming effect of irrigation on nighttime temperatures over the NCP was shown to match observations. The intensive nocturnal warming is attributed to energy storage in the wetter soil during the daytime, which contributed to the nighttime surface warming. Our results suggest that irrigation could locally amplify the warming related to GHGs, and this effect should be taken into account in future climate change projections.

Establishment and early growth of Populus hybrids irrigated with landfill leachate

Science.gov (United States)

Ronald S., Jr. Zalesny; Adam H. Wiese; Edmund O. Bauer; Jill A. Zalesny

2007-01-01

Hybrid poplar genotypes exhibit great potential for tree establishment and growth when irrigated with municipal solid waste landfill leachate. We evaluated the potential for establishment on leachate-irrigated soils by testing: 1) aboveground growth of hybrid poplar during repeated irrigation with landfill leachate and 2) aboveground and belowground biomass after 70 d...

Does the Limpopo River Basin have sufficient water for massive irrigation development in the plains of Mozambique?

Science.gov (United States)

van der Zaag, Pieter; Juizo, Dinis; Vilanculos, Agostinho; Bolding, Alex; Uiterweer, Nynke Post

This paper verifies whether the water resources of the transboundary Limpopo River Basin are sufficient for the planned massive irrigation developments in the Mozambique part of this basin, namely 73,000 ha, in addition to existing irrigation (estimated at 9400 ha), and natural growth of common use irrigation (4000 ha). This development includes the expansion of sugar cane production for the production of ethanol as a biofuel. Total additional water requirements may amount to 1.3 × 10 9 m 3/a or more. A simple river basin simulation model was constructed in order to assess different irrigation development scenarios, and at two storage capacities of the existing Massingir dam. Many uncertainties surround current and future water availability in the Lower Limpopo River Basin. Discharge measurements are incomplete and sometimes inconsistent, while upstream developments during the last 25 years have been dramatic and future trends are unknown. In Mozambique it is not precisely known how much water is currently consumed, especially by the many small-scale users of surface and shallow alluvial groundwater. Future impacts of climate change increase existing uncertainties. Model simulations indicate that the Limpopo River does not carry sufficient water for all planned irrigation. A maximum of approx. 58,000 ha of irrigated agriculture can be sustained in the Mozambican part of the basin. This figure assumes that Massingir will be operated at increased reservoir capacity, and implies that only about 44,000 ha of new irrigation can be developed, which is 60% of the envisaged developments. Any additional water use would certainly impact downstream users and thus create tensions. Some time will elapse before 44,000 ha of new irrigated land will have been developed. This time could be used to improve monitoring networks to decrease current uncertainties. Meanwhile the four riparian Limpopo States are preparing a joint river basin study. In this study a methodology could be

An appraisal of ground water for irrigation in the Wadena area, central Minnesota

Science.gov (United States)

Lindholm, F.G.

1970-01-01

The Wadena area is part of a large sandy plain in central Minnesota whose soils have low water-holding capacity. Drought conditions which adversely affect plant growth frequently occur in the summer when moisture is most needed. To reduce the risk of crop failure in the area supplemental irrigation is on the increase.

Determinants of fish assemblage structure in Northwestern Great Plains streams

Science.gov (United States)

Mullen, J.A.; Bramblett, R.G.; Guy, C.S.; Zale, A.V.; Roberts, D.W.

2011-01-01

Prairie streams are known for their harsh and stochastic physical conditions, and the fish assemblages therein have been shown to be temporally variable. We assessed the spatial and temporal variation in fish assemblage structure in five intermittent, adventitious northwestern Great Plains streams representing a gradient of watershed areas. Fish assemblages and abiotic conditions varied more spatially than temporally. The most important variables explaining fish assemblage structure were longitudinal position and the proportion of fine substrates. The proportion of fine substrates increased proceeding upstream, approaching 100% in all five streams, and species richness declined upstream with increasing fine substrates. High levels of fine substrate in the upper reaches appeared to limit the distribution of obligate lithophilic fish species to reaches further downstream. Species richness and substrates were similar among all five streams at the lowermost and uppermost sites. However, in the middle reaches, species richness increased, the amount of fine substrate decreased, and connectivity increased as watershed area increased. Season and some dimensions of habitat (including thalweg depth, absolute distance to the main-stem river, and watershed size) were not essential in explaining the variation in fish assemblages. Fish species richness varied more temporally than overall fish assemblage structure did because common species were consistently abundant across seasons, whereas rare species were sometimes absent or perhaps not detected by sampling. The similarity in our results among five streams varying in watershed size and those from other studies supports the generalization that spatial variation exceeds temporal variation in the fish assemblages of prairie and warmwater streams. Furthermore, given longitudinal position, substrate, and stream size, general predictions regarding fish assemblage structure and function in prairie streams are possible. ?? American

Assessing the efficacy of the SWAT auto-irrigation function to simulate Irrigation, evapotranspiration and crop response to irrigation management strategies of the Texas High Plains

Science.gov (United States)

The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model is widely used for simulation of hydrologic processes at various temporal and spatial scales. Less common are long-term simulation analyses of water balance components including agricultural management practices such as irrigation management. In the se...

Tapping unsustainable groundwater stores for agricultural production in the High Plains Aquifer of Kansas, projections to 2110

Science.gov (United States)

Groundwater provides a reliable tap to sustain agricultural production, yet persistent aquifer depletion threatens future sustainability. The High Plains Aquifer supplies 30% of the nation’s irrigated groundwater, and the Kansas portion supports the congressional district with the highest market val...

Supplemental irrigation for grain sorghum production in the US Eastern Coastal Plain

Science.gov (United States)

Grain sorghum is an important grain crop throughout the world and is generally considered drought tolerant. Recently, in the US eastern Coastal Plain region, there was an emphasis on increasing regional grain production with grain sorghum having an important role. The region soils have low water hol...

Research on monitoring system of water resources in irrigation region based on multi-agent

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao, T H; Wang, D S

2012-01-01

Irrigation agriculture is the basis of agriculture and rural economic development in China. Realizing the water resource information of irrigated area will make full use of existing water resource and increase benefit of irrigation agriculture greatly. However, the water resource information system of many irrigated areas in our country is not still very sound at present, it lead to the wasting of a lot of water resources. This paper has analyzed the existing water resource monitoring system of irrigated areas, introduced the Multi-Agent theories, and set up a water resource monitoring system of irrigated area based on multi-Agent. This system is composed of monitoring multi-Agent federal, telemetry multi-Agent federal, and the Communication Network GSM between them. It can make full use of good intelligence and communication coordination in the multi-Agent federation interior, improve the dynamic monitoring and controlling timeliness of water resource of irrigated area greatly, provide information service for the sustainable development of irrigated area, and lay a foundation for realizing high information of water resource of irrigated area.

Site scientific mission plan for the Southern Great Plains CART site: July--December 1997

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peppler, R.A.; Lamb, P.J. [Univ. of Oklahoma, Norman, OK (United States). Cooperative Inst. for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies; Sisterson, D.L. [Argonne National Lab., IL (United States). Environmental Research Div.

1997-07-01

The Southern Great Plains (SGP) Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) site is designed to help satisfy the data needs of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program Science Team. This document defines the scientific priorities for site activities during the six months beginning on July 1, 1997, and looks forward in lesser detail to subsequent six-month periods. The primary purpose of this Site Scientific Mission Plan is to provide guidance for the development of plans for site operations. It also provides information on current plans to the ARM functional teams and serves to disseminate the plans more generally within the ARM Program and among the members of the Science Team. This document includes a description of the operational status of the site and the primary site activities envisioned, together with information concerning approved and proposed intensive observation periods (IOPs). This plan is a living document that is updated and reissued every six months as the observational facilities are developed, tested, and augmented and as priorities are adjusted in response to developments in scientific planning and understanding.

Irrigation in the Lower Durance: positive impacts of the agriculture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lacroix, M.; Blavoux, B.

1995-01-01

The water of river Durance is used to produce hydroelectricity and as stretch of water for tourism and since the thirteenth century for irrigation. The inherited situation is a well extended network of gravitation irrigation canals. This system is spendthrift of water, the water supplies are roughly 5 times the farming needs. The impact of this irrigation on the alluvial aquifer of the Lower Durance is the generalisation of the highest level of the water table in summer on the plain though the water budget has an average deficit of 550 mm. In addition, the nitrate concentration is maintained to an average of 17 mg/l in groundwater and 5 mg/l in streams by dilution. In fact, the irrigation dictates an average input of water with 25.4 mg/l of NO 3- . The natural isotopic tracing (oxygen 18) allows to say that 50 to 75% of the water of the alluvial aquifer come from irrigation. To improve the knowledge about the efficiency of irrigation, a mathematical groundwater model has been created. As a result, 53% of the water is lost while reaching the agricultural parcels, 19% is infiltrated during watering at the parcel and only 28% are used to satisfy the needs of plants. The realisation of this model has allowed to simulate the impact on groundwater of changes in irrigation practices which would lead to reduce the consummation of water. In the case of Lower Durance, the reduction of irrigation losses would have a strong impact on the quantity and quality of water in the alluvial aquifer. (J.S.). 10 refs., 9 figs., 2 tabs

Toxic fables: the advertising and marketing of agricultural chemicals in the great plains, 1945-1985.

Science.gov (United States)

Vail, David D

2012-12-01

This paper examines how pesticides and their technologies were sold to farmers and pilots throughout the midtwentieth century. It principally considers how marketing rhetoric and advertisement strategies used by chemical companies and aerial spraying firms influenced the practices and perspectives of farm producers in the Great Plains. In order to convince landowners and agricultural leaders to buy their pesticides, chemical companies generated advertisements that championed local crop health, mixture accuracy, livestock safety and a chemical-farming 'way of life' that kept fields healthy and productive. Combining notions of safety, accuracy and professionalism with pest eradication messages reinforced the standards that landowners, pilots and agriculturalists would hold regarding toxicity and risk when spraying their fields. As the politics of health changed in the aftermath of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, these companies and aerial spraying outfits responded by keeping to a vision of agricultural health that required poisons for protection through technological accuracy. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A one-year climatology using data from the Southern Great Plains (SGP) site micropulse lidar

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mace, G.G.; Ackerman, T.P. [Penn State Univ., University Park, PA (United States); Spinhirne, J.; Scott, S. [NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD (United States)

1996-04-01

The micropulse lidar (MPL) has been operational at the Southern Great Plains (SGP) site of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program for the past 15 months. The compact MPL is unique among research lidar systems in that it is eye-safe and operates continuously, except during precipitation. The MPL is capable of detecting cloud base throughout the entire depth of the troposphere. The MPL data set is an unprecedented time series of cloud heights. It is a vital resource for understanding the frequency of cloud ocurrence and the impact of clouds on the surface radiation budget, as well as for large-scale model validation and satellite retrieval verification. The raw lidar data are processed for cloud base height at a temporal frequency of one minute and a vertical resolution of 270 m. The resultant time series of cloud base is used to generate histograms as a function of month and time of day. Sample results are described.

Organic and Elemental Carbon Aerosol Particulates at the Southern Great Plains Site Field Campaign Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cary, Robert

2016-04-01

The purpose of this study was to measure the organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) fractions of PM2.5 particulate matter at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility Southern Great Plains (SGP) sampling site for a 6-month period during the summer of 2013. The site is in a rural location remote from any populated areas, so it would be expected to reflect carbon concentration over long-distance transport patterns. During the same period in 2012, a number of prairie fires in Oklahoma and Texas had produced large plumes of smoke particles, but OC and EC particles had not been quantified. In addition, during the summer months, other wild fires, such as forest fires in the Rocky Mountain states and other areas, can produce carbon aerosols that are transported over long distances. Both of these source types would be expected to contain mixtures of both OC and EC.

Evaluating hourly rainfall characteristics over the U.S. Great Plains in dynamically downscaled climate model simulations using NASA-Unified WRF

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Huikyo; Waliser, Duane E.; Ferraro, Robert; Iguchi, Takamichi; Peters-Lidard, Christa D.; Tian, Baijun; Loikith, Paul C.; Wright, Daniel B.

2017-07-01

Accurate simulation of extreme precipitation events remains a challenge in climate models. This study utilizes hourly precipitation data from ground stations and satellite instruments to evaluate rainfall characteristics simulated by the NASA-Unified Weather Research and Forecasting (NU-WRF) regional climate model at horizontal resolutions of 4, 12, and 24 km over the Great Plains of the United States. We also examined the sensitivity of the simulated precipitation to different spectral nudging approaches and the cumulus parameterizations. The rainfall characteristics in the observations and simulations were defined as an hourly diurnal cycle of precipitation and a joint probability distribution function (JPDF) between duration and peak intensity of precipitation events over the Great Plains in summer. We calculated a JPDF for each data set and the overlapping area between observed and simulated JPDFs to measure the similarity between the two JPDFs. Comparison of the diurnal precipitation cycles between observations and simulations does not reveal the added value of high-resolution simulations. However, the performance of NU-WRF simulations measured by the JPDF metric strongly depends on horizontal resolution. The simulation with the highest resolution of 4 km shows the best agreement with the observations in simulating duration and intensity of wet spells. Spectral nudging does not affect the JPDF significantly. The effect of cumulus parameterizations on the JPDFs is considerable but smaller than that of horizontal resolution. The simulations with lower resolutions of 12 and 24 km show reasonable agreement but only with the high-resolution observational data that are aggregated into coarse resolution and spatially averaged.

Does the Limpopo River Basin have sufficient water for massive irrigation development in the plains of Mozambique?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zaag, van der P.; Juizo, D.; Vilanculos, A.; Bolding, J.A.; Post Uiterweer, N.C.

2010-01-01

This paper verifies whether the water resources of the transboundary Limpopo River Basin are sufficient for the planned massive irrigation developments in the Mozambique part of this basin, namely 73,000 ha, in addition to existing irrigation (estimated at 9400 ha), and natural growth of common use

Microbial community of high arsenic groundwater in agricultural irrigation area of Hetao Plain, Inner Mongolia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yanhong Wang

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Microbial communities can play important role in arsenic release in groundwater aquifers. To investigate the microbial communities in high arsenic groundwater aquifers in agricultural irrigation area, 17 groundwater samples with different arsenic concentrations were collected along the agricultural drainage channels of Hangjinhouqi County, Inner Mongolia and examined by illumina Miseq sequencing approach targeting the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene. Both principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering results indicated that these samples were divided into two groups (high and low arsenic groups according to the variation of geochemical characteristics. Arsenic concentrations showed strongly positive correlations with NH4+ and TOC. Sequencing results revealed that a total of 329-2823 OTUs were observed at the 97% OTU level. Microbial richness and diversity of high arsenic groundwater samples along the drainage channels were lower than those of low arsenic groundwater samples but higher than those of high arsenic groundwaters from strongly reducing areas. The microbial community structure in groundwater along the drainage channels was different from those in strongly reducing As-rich aquifers of Hetao Plain and other high As groundwater aquifers including Bangladesh, West Bengal and Vietnam. Acinetobacter and Pseudomonas dominated with high percentages in both high and low arsenic groundwaters. Alishewanella, Psychrobacter, Methylotenera and Crenothrix showed relatively high abundances in high arsenic groundwater, while Rheinheimera and the unidentified OP3 were predominant populations in low arsenic groundwater. Archaeal populations displayed a low occurrence and mainly dominated by methanogens such as Methanocorpusculum and Methanospirillum. Microbial community compositions were different between high and low arsenic groundwater samples based on the results of principal coordinate analysis and co-inertia analysis. Other geochemical

Evaluation of Stakeholder-Driven Groundwater Management through Integrated Modeling and Remote Sensing in the US High Plains Aquifer

Science.gov (United States)

Deines, J. M.; Kendall, A. D.; Butler, J. J., Jr.; Hyndman, D. W.

2017-12-01

Irrigation greatly enhances agricultural yields and stabilizes farmer incomes, but overexploitation of water resources has depleted groundwater aquifers around the globe. In much of the High Plains Aquifer (HPA) in the United States, water-level declines threaten the continued viability of agricultural operations reliant on irrigation. Policy and management institutions to address this sustainability challenge differ widely across the HPA and the world. In Kansas, grassroots-driven legislation in 2012 allowed local stakeholder groups to establish Local Enhanced Management Areas (LEMAs) and work with state officials to generate enforceable and monitored water use reduction programs. The pioneering LEMA was formed in 2013, following a popular vote by farmers within a 256 km2 region in northwestern Kansas. The group sought to reduce groundwater pumping by 20% through 2017 in order to stabilize water levels while minimally reducing crop productivity. Initial statistical estimates indicate the LEMA has been successful; planning is underway to extend it for five years (2018-2022) and to implement additional LEMAs in the wider groundwater management district. Here, we assess the efficacy of this first LEMA with coupled crop-hydrology models to quantify water budget impacts and any associated trade-offs in crop productivity. We drive these models with a novel data fusion of water use data and our recent remotely sensed Annual Irrigation Maps (AIM) dataset, allowing detailed tracking of irrigation water in space and time. Results from these process-based models provide detailed insights into changes in the physical system resulting from the LEMA program that can inform future stakeholder-driven management in Kansas and in stressed aquifers around the world.

Integrated Decision Tools for Sustainable Watershed/Ground Water and Crop Health using Predictive Weather, Remote Sensing, and Irrigation Decision Tools

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, A. S.; Andales, A.; McGovern, C.; Smith, G. E. B.; David, O.; Fletcher, S. J.

2017-12-01

US agricultural and Govt. lands have a unique co-dependent relationship, particularly in the Western US. More than 30% of all irrigated US agricultural output comes from lands sustained by the Ogallala Aquifer in the western Great Plains. Six US Forest Service National Grasslands reside within the aquifer region, consisting of over 375,000 ha (3,759 km2) of USFS managed lands. Likewise, National Forest lands are the headwaters to many intensive agricultural regions. Our Ogallala Aquifer team is enhancing crop irrigation decision tools with predictive weather and remote sensing data to better manage water for irrigated crops within these regions. An integrated multi-model software framework is used to link irrigation decision tools, resulting in positive management benefits on natural water resources. Teams and teams-of-teams can build upon these multi-disciplinary multi-faceted modeling capabilities. For example, the CSU Catalyst for Innovative Partnerships program has formed a new multidisciplinary team that will address "Rural Wealth Creation" focusing on the many integrated links between economic, agricultural production and management, natural resource availabilities, and key social aspects of govt. policy recommendations. By enhancing tools like these with predictive weather and other related data (like in situ measurements, hydrologic models, remotely sensed data sets, and (in the near future) linking to agro-economic and life cycle assessment models) this work demonstrates an integrated data-driven future vision of inter-meshed dynamic systems that can address challenging multi-system problems. We will present the present state of the work and opportunities for future involvement.

Drought genetics have varying influence on corn water stress under differing water availability

Science.gov (United States)

Irrigated corn (Zea mays L.) in the Great Plains will be increasingly grown under limited irrigation management and greater water stress. Hybrids with drought genetics may decrease the impacts of water stress on yield. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effect of drought genetics o...

Hydrological and Dynamical Characteristics of Summertime Droughts over U.S. Great Plains.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Fong-Chiau; Smith, Eric A.

2001-05-01

A drought pattern and its time evolution over the U.S. Great Plains are investigated from time series of climate divisional monthly mean surface air temperature and total precipitation anomalies. The spatial pattern consists of correlated occurrences of high (low) surface air temperature and deficit (excess) rainfall. The center of maximum amplitude in rain fluctuation is around Kansas City; that of temperature is over South Dakota. Internal consistency between temperature and precipitation variability is the salient feature of the drought pattern. A drought index is used to quantify drought severity for the period 1895-1996. The 12 severest drought months (in order) during this period are June 1933, June 1988, July 1936, August 1983, July 1934, July 1901, June 1931, August 1947, July 1930, June 1936, July 1954, and August 1936. Hydrological conditions are examined using National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) reanalysis precipitable water (PW) and monthly surface observations from Kansas City, Missouri, and Bismarck, North Dakota, near the drought centers. This analysis explains why droughts exhibit negative surface relative humidity anomalies accompanied by larger than normal monthly mean daily temperature ranges and why maximum PWs are confined to a strip of about 10° longitude from New Mexico and Arizona into the Dakotas and Minnesota.Dynamical conditions are examined using NCEP reanalysis sea level pressures and 500- and 200-mb geopotential heights. The analysis indicates a midtroposphere wave train with positive centers situated over the North Pacific, North America, and the North Atlantic, with negative centers in the southeastern Gulf of Alaska and Davis Strait. Above-normal sea level pressures over New Mexico, the North Atlantic, and the subtropical Pacific along with below-normal sea level pressures over the Gulf of Alaska eastward to Canada, Davis Strait, and Greenland are present during drought periods. The most prominent feature is the

Application of DSSAT-CROPGRO-Cotton Model to Assess Long Term (1924-2012) Cotton Yield under Different Irrigation Management Strategies

Science.gov (United States)

Adhikari, P.; Gowda, P. H.; Northup, B. K.; Rocateli, A.

2017-12-01

In this study a well calibrated and validated DSSAT-CROPGRO-Cotton model was used for assessing the irrigation management in the Texas High Plains (THP). Long term (1924-2012) historic lint yield were simulated under different irrigation management practices which were commonly used in the THP. The simulation treatments includes different amount of irrigation water high (H; 6.4 mm d-1), medium (M; 3.2 mm d-1) and low (L; 0 mm d-1) during emergence (S1), vegetative (S2) and maturity (S3) stage. The combination of these treatments resulted into 27 treatments. The amount and date of irrigation for each stage were obtained from the recent cotton irrigation experiment at Halfway, TX (Brodovsky, et al., 2015). Similarly, calibrated model was also used to observe the effect of plantation date on crop yield in the THP regions.

A Matter of Relationships : Actor-Networks of Colonial Rule in the Gezira Irrigation System, Sudan

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ertsen, M.W.

2016-01-01

In the first half of the 20th century, colonial rulers, a British firm and Sudanese farmers changed the Gezira Plain in Sudan into a large-scale irrigated cotton scheme. Gezira continues to be in use up to date. Its story shows how the abstract concept 'development' is shaped through the agency of

Site scientific mission plan for the southern Great Plains CART site, January--June 1998

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peppler, R.A.; Lamb, P.J. [Univ. of Oklahoma, Norman, OK (United States). Cooperative Inst. for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies; Sisterson, D.L. [Argonne National Lab., IL (United States). Environmental Research Div.

1998-01-01

The Southern Great Plains (SGP) Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) site is designed to help satisfy the data needs of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program Science Team. The primary purpose of this site scientific mission plan is to provide guidance for the development of plans for site operations. It also provides information on current plans to the ARM functional teams (Management Team, Data and Science Integration Team, Operations Team, and Instrument Team) and serves to disseminate the plans more generally within the ARM Program and among the members of the Science Team. This document includes a description of the operational status of the site and the primary site activities envisioned, together with information concerning approved and proposed intensive observation periods (IOPs). The primary users of this document are the Site operator, the Site Scientist Team (SST), the Science Team through the ARM Program science director, the ARM Program Experiment Center, and the aforementioned ARM Program functional teams. This plan is a living document that is updated and reissued every six months as the observational facilities are developed, tested, and augmented and as priorities are adjusted in response to developments in scientific planning and understanding.

The role of the US Great Plains low-level jet in nocturnal migrant behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Wainwright, Charlotte E.; Stepanian, Phillip M.; Horton, Kyle G.

2016-10-01

The movements of aerial animals are under the constant influence of atmospheric flows spanning a range of spatiotemporal scales. The Great Plains nocturnal low-level jet is a large-scale atmospheric phenomenon that provides frequent strong southerly winds through a shallow layer of the airspace. The jet can provide substantial tailwind assistance to spring migrants moving northward, while hindering southward migration during autumn. This atmospheric feature has been suspected to play a prominent role in defining migratory routes, but the flight strategies used with respect to these winds are yet to be examined. Using collocated vertically pointing radar and lidar, we investigate the altitudinal selection behavior of migrants over Oklahoma during two spring and two autumn migration seasons. In general, migrants choose to fly within the jet in spring, often concentrating in the favorable wind speed maximum. Autumn migrants typically fly below the jet, although some will rapidly climb to reach altitudes above the inhibiting winds. The intensity of migration was relatively constant throughout the spring due to the predominantly favorable southerly jet winds. Conversely, autumn migrants were more apt to delay departure to wait for the relatively infrequent northerly winds.

I Got Them Dust Bowl Blues: Wind Erosion in the Music of the Southern Great Plains

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, J. A.

2017-12-01

This paper deals with the role of wind erosion and blowing dust on the music of the Dust Bowl region, a portion of the southern Great Plains of the United States. A defining characteristic of the region is dust storms, and in the 1930s, severe dust storms created dramatic images that came to symbolize all of the economic, social and environmental hardships suffered by the people during the 1930s. The music of the time, by Woody Guthrie and others, suggested that the region was being destroyed, never to recover. The region was resilient, however, and in recent decades, dust has been depicted in songs either as an adversity to be endured or simply as a normal part of life in the area. It may be that blowing dust has become a defining characteristic of the region because of a somewhat warped sense of pride in living in an often-difficult environment.

Geomorphology of the Namoi alluvial plain, northwestern New South Wales

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Young, R.W.; Young, A.R.M.; Price, D.M.; Wray, R.A.L.

2002-01-01

The Quaternary history of the extensive alluvial plains of the northern part of the Darling River Basin has received little attention, and has generally been assumed to be an analogue of the very detailed history compiled for the Riverine Plain of southeastern Australia. Our study of the Namoi valley, which is a tributary to the upper Darling, shows that this assumption is unfounded. Thermoluminescence dating demonstrates that the oldest palaeochannels of the Namoi River correspond only to the youngest palaeochannels on the Riverine Plain. The thermoluminescence analyses were carried out on the 90-125 μm quartz fraction thermally stimulated by ionizing radiation using the combined additive/regenerative technique. This technique utilises a second glow normalisation procedure that involves re-irradiating each of the quartz sample aliquots and measuring the thermoluminescence induced in the grains. It has ben demonstrated that unlike the streams on the Riverine Plain, the Namoi River has moved progressively away from its buried Tertiary palaeovalley, probably due to declining sediment input from its southern tributaries. In contrast to the streams of the Riverine Plain, the dimensions of the Namoi palaeochannels are indicative of substantially greater discharges until the mid-Holocene. There is also evidence of significant aeolian input throughout the Late Quaternary. The study indicates that the water resources of this increasingly important irrigated region seem to be considerably constrained by the Quaternary heritage of the Namoi valley. Copyright (2002) Geological Society of Australia

THE CURRENT SITUATION OF WATER RESOURCES IN IRRIGATED AGRICULTURE OF UZBEKISTAN

OpenAIRE

Djalalov, Sandjar

1998-01-01

Irrigation in Uzbekistan is of great importance since the country is an arid zone. The use of water in agriculture is described and its relationship as a constraint to economic development discussed. The current technical and organizational characteristics of irrigation systems need study and analysis to identify opportunities for improvements. The characteristics of demand for water at the farm level are described and irrigation and land improvement activities are outlined. Reform of water u...

Multi-modeling assessment of recent changes in groundwater resource: application to the semi-arid Haouz plain (Central Morocco)

Science.gov (United States)

Fakir, Younes; Brahim, Berjamy; Page Michel, Le; Fathallah, Sghrer; Houda, Nassah; Lionel, Jarlan; Raki Salah, Er; Vincent, Simonneaux; Said, Khabba

2015-04-01

The Haouz plain (6000 km2) is a part of the Tensift basin located in the Central Morocco. The plain has a semi-arid climate (250 mm/y of rainfall) and is bordered in the south by the High-Atlas mountains. Because the plain is highly anthropized, the water resources face heavy demands from various competing sectors, including agriculture (over than 273000 ha of irrigated areas), water supply for more than 2 million inhabitants and about 2 millions of tourists annually. Consequently the groundwater is being depleted on a large area of the plain, with problems of water scarcity which pose serious threats to water supplies and to sustainable development. The groundwater in the Haouz plain was modeled previously by MODFLOW (USGS groundwater numerical modeling) with annual time steps. In the present study a multi-modeling approach is applied. The aim is to enhance the evaluation of the groundwater pumping for irrigation, one of the most difficult data to estimate, and to improve the water balance assessment. In this purpose, two other models were added: SAMIR (Satellite Estimation of Agricultural Water Demand) and WEAP (integrated water resources planning). The three models are implemented at a monthly time step and calibrated over the 2001-2011 period, corresponding to 120 time steps. This multi-modeling allows assessing the evolution of water resources both in time and space. The results show deep changes during the last years which affect generally the water resources and groundwater particularly. These changes are induced by a remarkable urbanism development, succession of droughts, intensive agriculture activities and weak management of irrigation and water resources. Some indicators of these changes are as follow: (i) the groundwater table decrease varies between 1 to 3m/year, (ii) the groundwater depletion during the last ten year is equivalent to 50% of the lost reserves during 40 years, (iii) the annual groundwater deficit is about 100 hm3, (iv) the renewable

Potential uranium host rocks and structures in the central Great Plains

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zeller, E.J.; Dreschhoff, G.; Angino, E.; Holdoway, K.; Hakes, W.; Jayaprakash, G.; Crisler, K.; Saunders, D.F.

1975-01-01

A preliminary study was completed of the uranium potential of the Central Great Plains. The study area extends from longitude 99 to 104 0 W and is bounded by the North Platte River on the north and the Canadian River on the south. This region has no known commercial uranium accumulations, but is an area which contains formations with similar facies that are known to have deposits in other areas. A new method of utilizing petroleum exploration gamma-ray well log data was tested in the western Kansas portion of the survey area. Gamma activities in the Dakota and Morrison formations were computer-processed by trend surface analysis, statistically analyzed, and the anomalies were compared with regional geomorphic lineaments derived from satellite imagery as well as regional geology, to draw conclusions as to their origin and significance. Conclusions are: (1) possible uraniferous provinces have been outlined in the subsurface of western Kansas; (2) the new well log data approach can be used to define potential uraniferous provinces in any well-explored petroleum region; (3) the close spatial correlation between anomalies and regional geomorphic lineaments provides strong support for the concept that the lineaments represent vertical fracture zones which can act as preferred pathways for vertical fluid migration; and (4) the location of the strongest anomalies over impervious salt bodies indicates that any uranium bearing mineralizers must have moved down through the geologic section rather than upward. Recommendations are made to extend the application of the well-log approach, to do drilling and sampling to prove whether the anomalies are really due to uranium, and to add geobotanical and emanometric measurements during future studies

Price, Weather, and `Acreage Abandonment' in Western Great Plains Wheat Culture.

Science.gov (United States)

Michaels, Patrick J.

1983-07-01

Multivariate analyses of acreage abandonment patterns in the U.S. Great Plains winter wheat region indicate that the major mode of variation is an in-phase oscillation confined to the western half of the overall area, which is also the area with lowest average yields. This is one of the more agroclimatically marginal environments in the United States, with wide interannual fluctuations in both climate and profitability.We developed a multiple regression model to determine the relative roles of weather and expected price in the decision not to harvest. The overall model explained 77% of the spatial and temporal variation in abandonment. The 36.5% of the non-spatial variation was explained by two simple transformations of climatic data from three monthly aggregates-September-October, November-February and March-April. Price factors, expressed as indexed future delivery quotations,were barely significant, with only between 3 and 5% of the non-spatial variation explained, depending upon the model.The model was based upon weather, climate and price data from 1932 through 1975. It was tested by sequentially withholding three-year blocks of data, and using the respecified regression coefficients, along with observed weather and price, to estimate abandonment in the withheld years. Error analyses indicate no loss of model fidelity in the test mode. Also, prediction errors in the 1970-75 period, characterized by widely fluctuating prices, were not different from those in the rest of the model.The overall results suggest that the perceived quality of the crop, as influenced by weather, is a much more important determinant of the abandonment decision than are expected returns based upon price considerations.

Mapping the rainfall distribution for irrigation planning in dry season at pineapple plantation, Lampung Province, Indonesia (Study case at Great Giant Pineapple Co. Ltd.)

Science.gov (United States)

Cahyono, P.; Astuti, N. K.; Purwito; Rahmat, A.

2018-03-01

One of the problems caused by climate change is unpredictable of the dry season. Understanding when the dry season will start is very important to planning the irrigation schedule especially on large plantation. Data of rainfall for 30 years in Lampung, especially in Pineapple Plantation show that dry month occurs from June to October. If in two decadals (ten days period) rainfall less than 100 mm then it is predicted that next decadal will be dry season. Great Giant Pineapple Co. Ltd. has 32,000 hectares plantation area and located in three regencies at Lampung Province, Indonesia with varies rainfall between regions within a plantation. Therefore, monitoring the rainfall distribution by using ombrometer installed at 10 representative location points can be used to determine irrigation period at the beginning of dry season. Mapping method using the server program and data source is from 10 monitoring rainfall stations installed at the observed points. Preparation of rainfall distribution mapping is important to know the beginning of the dry season and thus planning the irrigation. The results show that 2nd decadal of April is indicated as the starting time of dry season, which is similar with Indonesian government for climate agency’s result.

The Plains of Venus

Science.gov (United States)

Sharpton, V. L.

2013-12-01

extremely fluid flows (i.e., channel formers), to viscous, possibly felsic lavas of steep-sided domes. Wrinkle ridges deform many plains units and this has been taken to indicate that these ridges essentially form an early stratigraphic marker that limits subsequent volcanism to a minimum. However, subtle backscatter variations within many ridged plains units suggest (but do not prove) that some plains volcanism continued well after local ridge deformation ended. Furthermore, many of volcanic sources show little, if any, indications of tectonic modification and detailed analyses have concluded that resurfacing rates could be similar to those on Earth. Improving constraints on the rates and styles of volcanism within the plains could lend valuable insights into the evolution of Venus's internal heat budget and the transition from thin-lid to thick-lid tectonic regimes. Improved spatial and radiometric resolution of radar images would greatly improve abilities to construct the complex local stratigraphy of ridged plains. Constraining the resurfacing history of Venus is central to understanding how Earth-sized planets evolve and whether or not their evolutionary pathways lead to habitability. This goal can only be adequately addressed if broad coverage is added to the implementation strategies of any future mapping missions to Venus.

Ocean-Atmosphere Interactions Modulate Irrigation's Climate Impacts

Science.gov (United States)

Krakauer, Nir Y.; Puma, Michael J.; Cook, Benjamin I.; Gentine, Pierre; Nazarenko, Larissa

2016-01-01

Numerous studies have focused on the local and regional climate effects of irrigated agriculture and other land cover and land use change (LCLUC) phenomena, but there are few studies on the role of ocean- atmosphere interaction in modulating irrigation climate impacts. Here, we compare simulations with and without interactive sea surface temperatures of the equilibrium effect on climate of contemporary (year 2000) irrigation geographic extent and intensity. We find that ocean-atmosphere interaction does impact the magnitude of global-mean and spatially varying climate impacts, greatly increasing their global reach. Local climate effects in the irrigated regions remain broadly similar, while non-local effects, particularly over the oceans, tend to be larger. The interaction amplifies irrigation-driven standing wave patterns in the tropics and mid-latitudes in our simulations, approximately doubling the global-mean amplitude of surface temperature changes due to irrigation. The fractions of global area experiencing significant annual-mean surface air temperature and precipitation change also approximately double with ocean-atmosphere interaction. Subject to confirmation with other models, these findings imply that LCLUC is an important contributor to climate change even in remote areas such as the Southern Ocean, and that attribution studies should include interactive oceans and need to consider LCLUC, including irrigation, as a truly global forcing that affects climate and the water cycle over ocean as well as land areas.

Water quality in irrigation and drainage networks of Thessaloniki plain in Greece related to land use, water management, and agroecosystem protection.

Science.gov (United States)

Litskas, Vassilis D; Aschonitis, Vassilis G; Antonopoulos, Vassilis Z

2010-04-01

A representative agricultural area of 150 ha located in a protected ecosystem (Axios River Delta, Thermaikos Gulf-N. Aegean, Greece) was selected in order to investigate water quality parameters [pH, electrical conductivity (EC(w)), NO(3)-N, NH(4)-N, total phosphorus (TP)] in irrigation and drainage water. In the study area, the cultivated crops are mainly rice, maize, cotton, and fodder. Surface irrigation methods are applied using open channels network, and irrigation water is supplied by Axios River, which is facing pollution problems. The return flow from surface runoff and the surplus of irrigation water are collected to drainage network and disposed to Thermaikos Gulf. A 2-year study (2006-2007) was conducted in order to evaluate the effects of land use and irrigation water management on the drainage water quality. The average pH and NO(3)-N concentration was higher in the irrigation water (8.0 and 1.3 mg/L, respectively) than that in the drainage water (7.6 and 1.0 mg/L, respectively). The average EC(W), NH(4)-N, and TP concentration was higher in the drainage water (1,754 muS/cm, 90.3 microg/L, and 0.2 mg/L, respectively) than that in the irrigation water (477.1 muS/cm, 46.7 microg/L, and 0.1 mg/L, respectively). Average irrigation efficiency was estimated at 47% and 51% in 2006 and 2007 growing seasons (April-October), respectively. The loads of NO(3)-N in both seasons were higher in the irrigation water (35.1 kg/ha in 2006 and 24.9 kg/ha in 2007) than those in the drainage water (8.1 kg/ha in 2006 and 7.6 kg/ha in 2007). The load of TP was higher in the irrigation water in season 2006 (2.8 kg/ha) than that in the drainage water (1.1 kg/ha). Total phosphorus load in 2007 was equal in irrigation and drainage water (1.2 kg/ha). Wetland conditions, due to rice irrigation regime, drainage network characteristics, and the crop distribution in the study area, affect the drainage water ending in the protected ecosystem of Thermaikos Gulf.

Evaluation of Electromagnetic Induction to Characterize and Map Sodium-Affected Soils in the Northern Great Plains of the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Brevik, E. C.; Heilig, J.; Kempenich, J.; Doolittle, J.; Ulmer, M.

2012-04-01

Sodium-affected soils (SAS) cover over 4 million hectares in the Northern Great Plains of the United States. Improving the classification, interpretation, and mapping of SAS is a major goal of the United States Department of Agriculture-Natural Resource Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS) as Northern Great Plains soil surveys are updated. Apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) as measured with ground conductivity meters has shown promise for mapping SAS, however, this use of this geophysical tool needs additional evaluation. This study used an EM-38 MK2-2 meter (Geonics Limited, Mississauga, Ontario), a Trimble AgGPS 114 L-band DGPS (Trimble, Sunnyvale, CA) and the RTmap38MK2 program (Geomar Software, Inc., Mississauga, Ontario) on an Allegro CX field computer (Juniper Systems, North Logan, UT) to collect, observe, and interpret ECa data in the field. The ECa map generated on-site was then used to guide collection of soil samples for soil characterization and to evaluate the influence of soil properties in SAS on ECa as measured with the EM-38MK2-2. Stochastic models contained in the ESAP software package were used to estimate the SAR and salinity levels from the measured ECa data in 30 cm depth intervals to a depth of 90 cm and for the bulk soil (0 to 90 cm). This technique showed promise, with meaningful spatial patterns apparent in the ECa data. However, many of the stochastic models used for salinity and SAR for individual depth intervals and for the bulk soil had low R-squared values. At both sites, significant variability in soil clay and water contents along with a small number of soil samples taken to calibrate the ECa values to soil properties likely contributed to these low R-squared values.

Southern Great Plains Ice Nuclei Characterization Experiment Final Campaign Summary

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

DeMott, PJ [Colorado State University; Suski, KJ [Colorado State University; Hill, TCJ [Colorado State University; Levin, EJT [Colorado State University

2015-03-01

The first ever ice nucleating particle (INP) measurements to be collected at the Southern Great Plains site were made during a period from late April to June 2014, as a trial for possible longer-term measurements at the site. These measurements will also be used to lay the foundation for understanding and parameterizing (for cloud resolving modeling) the sources of these climatically important aerosols as well as to augment the existing database containing this knowledge. Siting the measurements during the spring was intended to capture INP sources in or to this region from plant, soil, dust transported over long distances, biomass burning, and pollution aerosols at a time when they may influence warm-season convective clouds and precipitation. Data have been archived of real-time measurements of INP number concentrations as a function of processing conditions (temperature and relative humidity) during 18 days of sampling that spanned two distinctly different weather situations: a warm, dry and windy period with regional dust and biomass burning influences in early May, and a cooler period of frequent precipitation during early June. Precipitation delayed winter wheat harvesting, preventing intended sampling during that perturbation on atmospheric aerosols. INP concentrations were highest and most variable at all temperatures in the dry period, where we attribute the INP activity primarily to soil dust emissions. Additional offline INP analyses are underway to extend the characterization of INP to cover the entire mixed phase cloud regime from -5°C to -35°C during the full study. Initial comparisons between methods on four days show good agreement and excellent future promise. The additional offline immersion freezing data will be archived as soon as completed under separate funding. Analyses of additional specialized studies for specific attribution of INP to biological and smoke sources are continuing via the National Science Foundation and National Aeronautics

IRRIGATION OF ORNAMENTAL PLANT NURSERY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eduardo de Aguiar do Couto

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Airports consume significant amounts of water which can be compared to the volume consumed by mid-size cities, thus practices aimed at reducing water consumption are important and necessar y. The objective of this study was to assess the reuse potential of sewage effluent produced at a mid-size international airport for nursery irri gation. The sewage treatment system consisted of a facultative pond followed by a constructed wetland, which were monitored during one hydrological year a nd the parameters COD, pH, solids, nitrogen, phosphorus and Escherichia coli we re analyzed. Removal efficiencies of 85% and 91% were achieved for C OD and solids, respectively. Removal efficiencies for ammonia nitrogen a nd total phosphorus were 77% and 59%, respectively. In terms of E. coli concen tration, the treated effluent met the recommendations by the World Health Organization for reuse in irrigation with the advantage of providing high levels of residual nutrient. The ornamental species Impatiens walleriana was irrigated with treated sewage effluent and plant growth characteristics were evalua ted. The experiment showed that reuse can enhance plant growth without signi ficantly affecting leaf tissue and soil characteristics. This study highlighted th e importance of simple technologies for sewage treatment especially in count ries which still do not present great investment in sanitation and proved that effluent reuse for landscape irrigation can provide great savings of water and financial resources for airport environments.

Drought effect on selection of conservation reserve program grasslands by white-tailed deer on the Northern Great Plains

Science.gov (United States)

Grovenburg, T.W.; Jacques, C.N.; Klaver, R.W.; Jenks, J.A.

2011-01-01

Limited information exists regarding summer resource selection of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in grassland regions of the Northern Great Plains. During summers 2005-2006, we analyzed habitat selection of adult female white-tailed deer in north-central South Dakota. We collected 1905 summer locations and used 21 and 30 home ranges during 2005 and 2006, respectively, to estimate habitat selection. Results indicated that selection occurred at the population (P rural development areas containing permanent water sources during extreme drought conditions during 2006. Deer likely selected for fields of CRP grasslands during early summer for cover and natural forages, such as clover (Trifolium sp.), prior to the period when agricultural crops become available. Drought conditions occurring in semiarid prairie grassland regions may reduce food and water availability and contribute to subsequent changes in deer habitat selection across the range of the species.

The Whole-Genome Sequence of Bacillus velezensis Strain SB1216 Isolated from the Great Salt Plains of Oklahoma Reveals the Presence of a Novel Extracellular RNase with Antitumor Activity

OpenAIRE

Marasini, Daya; Cornell, Carolyn R.; Oyewole, Opeoluwa; Sheaff, Robert J.; Fakhr, Mohamed K.

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT The whole-genome sequence of Bacillus velezensis strain SB1216, isolated from the Great Salt Plains of Oklahoma, showed the presence of a 3,814,720-bp circular chromosome and no plasmids. The presence of a novel 870-bp extracellular RNase gene is predicted to be responsible for this strain’s antitumor activity.

Hydrologic variability in the Red River of the North basin at the eastern margin of the northern Great Plains

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wiche, G.J.

1991-01-01

The temporal and spatial variations in streamflow in the Red River of the North basin on the eastern margin of the Great Plains are described and related to the various climatic conditions associated with the flows. The Red River drains about 290,000 square kilometers in parts of Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and a 200 year flood history is available from documents of fur traders, explorers and missionaries, as well as from gauging-station records. The coefficient of variation of mean annual streamflow ranges from ca 110% for streams in the southern and western parts of the Assiniboine River basin to ca 50% for streams along the eastern margin of the Red River of the North basin. Decadal streamflow variability is great in the Red River of the North basin, with mean annual streamflow for the 10 years ending 1940 of 489 cubic hectometers and for the 10 years ending 1975 of 3,670 cubic hectometers. Construction of the Rafferty Reservoir on the Souris River and the Almeda Reservoir on Moose Mountain Creek will cause changes in water quality in the Souris River, with most problems occurring during protracted low flow conditions

OPERATIONAL COSTS OF CANAL COMPANIES AND IRRIGATION DISTRICTS IN THE INTERMOUNTAIN REGION

OpenAIRE

Wilkins-Wells, John; Lagae, Hubert J.; Anderson, Raymond L.; Anwer, Muhammad Sarfraz

1999-01-01

This study reports on the trends of operational costs of farmer owned and operated irrigation enterprises (irrigation districts and canal companies) in five intermountain states. Administrative costs have risen faster then operation and maintenance costs. While salaries of employees have not risen significantly over time, legal costs have greatly escalated.

Spatial variability analysis of combining the water quality and groundwater flow model to plan groundwater and surface water management in the Pingtung plain

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Ching-Fang; Chen, Jui-Sheng; Jang, Cheng-Shin

2014-05-01

As a result of rapid economic growth in the Pingtung Plain, the use of groundwater resources has changed dramatically. The groundwater is quite rich in the Pingtung plain and the most important water sources. During the several decades, a substantial amount of groundwater has been pumped for the drinking, irrigation and aquaculture water supplies. However, because the sustainable use concept of groundwater resources is lack, excessive pumping of groundwater causes the occurrence of serious land subsidence and sea water intrusion. Thus, the management and conservation of groundwater resources in the Pingtung plain are considerably critical. This study aims to assess the conjunct use effect of groundwater and surface water in the Pingtung plain on recharge by reducing the amount of groundwater extraction. The groundwater quality variability and groundwater flow models are combined to spatially analyze potential zones of groundwater used for multi-purpose in the Pingtung Plain. First, multivariate indicator kriging (MVIK) is used to analyze spatial variability of groundwater quality based on drinking, aquaculture and irrigation water quality standards, and probabilistically delineate suitable zones in the study area. Then, the groundwater flow model, Processing MODFLOW (PMWIN), is adopted to simulate groundwater flow. The groundwater flow model must be conducted by the calibration and verification processes, and the regional groundwater recovery is discussed when specified water rights are replaced by surface water in the Pingtung plain. Finally, the most suitable zones of reducing groundwater use are determined for multi-purpose according to combining groundwater quality and quantity. The study results can establish a sound and low-impact management plan of groundwater resources utilization for the multi-purpose groundwater use, and prevent decreasing ground water tables, and the occurrence of land subsidence and sea water intrusion in the Pingtung plain.

Baseline and projected future carbon storage and greenhouse-gas fluxes in the Great Plains region of the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Bouchard, Michelle; Butman, David; Hawbaker, Todd; Li, Zhengpeng; Liu, Jinxun; Liu, Shu-Guang; McDonald, Cory; Reker, Ryan R.; Sayler, Kristi; Sleeter, Benjamin; Sohl, Terry; Stackpoole, Sarah; Wein, Anne; Zhu, Zhi-Liang; Zhu, Zhi-Liang

2011-01-01

This assessment was conducted to fulfill the requirements of section 712 of the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 and to improve understanding of carbon and greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes in the Great Plains region in the central part of the United States. The assessment examined carbon storage, carbon fluxes, and other GHG fluxes (methane and nitrous oxide) in all major terrestrial ecosystems (forests, grasslands/shrublands, agricultural lands, and wetlands) and freshwater aquatic systems (rivers, streams, lakes, and impoundments) in two time periods: baseline (generally in the first half of the 2010s) and future (projections from baseline to 2050). The assessment was based on measured and observed data collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and many other agencies and organizations and used remote sensing, statistical methods, and simulation models.

DEVELOPMENTS FUNDED BY THE EUROPEAN UNION IN THE SERVICE OF URBAN DESIGN IN THE NORTH GREAT PLAIN REGION (HUNGARY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bence MONYÓK

2017-05-01

Full Text Available One of the most important elements of place marketing is the creation of an attractive urban landscape which require significant financial resources. For this reason local authorities of Central Europe use regional policy grants from European Union for this purpose. In the light of the above, the aim of this paper is to examine the role of European Union grants in the improvement of the built environment in North Great Plain Region (Hungary, one of the least developed regions of Hungary. In the course of the above, on the one hand, we intend to provide a general overview of the situation in Hajdú-Bihar County, also located in this region, and on the other hand, through the example of a specific settlement, we will also present the processes in detail.

ASPECTS OF DRIP IRRIGATION ON SLOPES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oprea Radu

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, water and its supply raise problems of strategic importance, of great complexity, being considered one of the keys to sustainable human development. Drip irrigation consists in the slow and controlled administration of water in the area of the root system of the plants for the purposes of fulfilling their physiological needs and is considered to be one of the variants of localized irrigation. Water is distributed in a uniform and slow manner, drop by drop, in a quantity and with a frequency that depend on the needs of the plant, thanks to the exact regulation of the water flow rate and pressure, as well as to the activation of the irrigation based on the information recorded by the tensiometer with regard to soil humidity. This method enables the exact dosage of the water quantity necessary in the various evolution stages of the plant, thus eliminating losses. By applying the irrigation with 5 liters of water per linear meter, at a 7 days interval, in the month of august, for a vine cultivated on a slope, in layers covered with black film and irrigated via dropping, soil humidity immediately after irrigation reaches its highest level, but within the limits of active humidity, on the line of the irrigation band. Three days later, the water content of the soil in the layer is relatively uniform, and, after this interval, it is higher in the points situated at the basis of the film. This technology of cultivation on slopes favors the accumulation, in the soil, of the water resulted from heavy rains and reduces soil losses as a result of erosion.

Effects of Aquifer Development and Changes in Irrigation Practices on Ground-Water Availability in the Santa Isabel Area, Puerto Rico

Science.gov (United States)

Kuniansky, Eve L.; Gómez-Gómez, Fernando; Torres-Gonzalez, Sigfredo

2003-01-01

The alluvial aquifer in the area of Santa Isabel is located within the South Coastal Plain aquifer of Puerto Rico. Variations in precipitation, changes in irrigation practices, and increasing public-supply water demand have been the primary factors controlling water-level fluctuations within the aquifer. Until the late 1970s, much of the land in the study area was irrigated using inefficient furrow flooding methods that required large volumes of both surface and ground water. A gradual shift in irrigation practices from furrow systems to more efficient micro-drip irrigation systems occurred between the late 1970s and the late 1980s. Irrigation return flow from the furrow-irrigation systems was a major component of recharge to the aquifer. By the early 1990s, furrow-type systems had been replaced by the micro-drip irrigation systems. Water levels declined about 20 feet in the aquifer from 1985 until present (February 2003). The main effect of the changes in agricultural practices is the reduction in recharge to the aquifer and total irrigation withdrawals. Increases in ground-water withdrawals for public supply offset the reduction in ground-water withdrawals for irrigation such that the total estimated pumping rate in 2003 was only 8 percent less than in 1987. Micro-drip irrigation resulted in the loss of irrigation return flow to the aquifer. These changes resulted in lowering the water table below sea level over most of the Santa Isabel area. By 2002, lowering of the water table reversed the natural discharge along the coast and resulted in the inland movement of seawater, which may result in increased salinity of the aquifer, as had occurred in other parts of the South Coastal Plain. Management alternatives for the South Coastal Plain aquifer in the vicinity of Santa Isabel include limiting groundwater withdrawals or implementing artificial recharge measures. Another alternative for the prevention of saltwater intrusion is to inject freshwater or treated sewage

The Whole-Genome Sequence of Bacillus velezensis Strain SB1216 Isolated from the Great Salt Plains of Oklahoma Reveals the Presence of a Novel Extracellular RNase with Antitumor Activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Marasini, Daya; Cornell, Carolyn R; Oyewole, Opeoluwa; Sheaff, Robert J; Fakhr, Mohamed K

2017-11-22

The whole-genome sequence of Bacillus velezensis strain SB1216, isolated from the Great Salt Plains of Oklahoma, showed the presence of a 3,814,720-bp circular chromosome and no plasmids. The presence of a novel 870-bp extracellular RNase gene is predicted to be responsible for this strain's antitumor activity. Copyright © 2017 Marasini et al.

Crop Sequence Influences on Sustainable Spring Wheat Production in the Northern Great Plains

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joseph M. Krupinsky

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Cropping systems in American agriculture are highly successful since World War II, but have become highly specialized, standardized, and simplified to meet the demands of an industrialized food system. Minimal attention has been given to the efficient exploitation of crop diversity and the synergistic and/or antagonistic relationships of crops in crop sequences. Objectives of our research were to determine if previous crop sequences have long-term benefits and/or drawbacks on spring wheat seed yield, seed N concentration, and seed precipitation-use efficiency in the semiarid northern Great Plains, USA. Research was conducted 6 km southwest of Mandan, ND using a 10 × 10 crop matrix technique as a research tool to evaluate multiple crop sequence effects on spring wheat (triticum aestivum L. production in 2004 and 2005. Spring wheat production risks can be mitigated when second year crop residue was dry pea (Pisium sativum L. averaged over all first year crop residues. When compared to spring wheat as second year crop residue in the dry year of 2004, dry pea as the second year residue crop resulted in a 30% spring wheat seed yield increase. Sustainable cropping systems need to use precipitation efficiently for crop production, especially during below average precipitation years like 2004. Precipitation use efficiency average over all treatments, during the below average precipitation year was 23% greater than the above average precipitation year of 2005. Diversifying crops in cropping systems improves production efficiencies and resilience of agricultural systems.

Microscopic composition measurements of organic individual particles collected in the Southern Great Plains

Science.gov (United States)

Bonanno, D.; China, S.; Fraund, M. W.; Pham, D.; Kulkarni, G.; Laskin, A.; Gilles, M. K.; Moffet, R.

2016-12-01

The Holistic Interactions of Shallow Clouds, Aerosols, and Land-Ecosystems (HI-SCALE) Campaign was carried out to gain a better understanding of the lifecycle of shallow clouds. The HISCALE experiment was designed to contrast two seasons, wet and dry, and determine their effect on atmospheric cloud and aerosol processes. The spring component to HISCALE was selected to characterize mixing state for particles collected onto substrates. Sampling was performed before and after rain events to obtain airborne soil organic particles (ASOP), which are ejected after rain events. The unique composition of the ASOP may affect optical properties and/or hygroscopic properties. The collection of particles took place at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Southern Great Plains (ARM SGP) field site. The Scanning Transmission X-Ray Microscope (STXM) was used to image the samples collected during the first HI-SCALE Campaign to determine the carbonaceous mixing state. Scanning Electron Microscopy Energy-dispersive X-ray (SEM/EDX) analysis is more sensitive to the inorganic makeup of particles, while STXM renders a more comprehensive analysis of the organics. Measurements such as nephelometry, Particle Soot Absorption Photometry (PSAP), and Aerosol Mass Spectrometry (AMS) from the ARM archive will be correlated with microscopy measurements. The primary focus is the relation between composition and morphology of ASOP with hygroscopicity and optical properties. Further investigation of these organic particles will be performed to provide a mixing state parameterization and aid in the advancement of current climate models.

Accumulation of Cd in agricultural soil under long-term reclaimed water irrigation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Weiping; Lu, Sidan; Peng, Chi; Jiao, Wentao; Wang, Meie

2013-01-01

Safety of agricultural irrigation with reclaimed water is of great concern as some potential hazardous compounds like heavy metals may be accumulated in soils over time. Impacts of long-term reclaimed water on soil Cd pollution were evaluated based on the field investigation in two main crop areas in Beijing with long irrigation history and on simulation results of STEM-profile model. Under long-term reclaimed water, Cd content in the top 20 cm soil layer was greatly elevated and was more than 2 times higher than that in the deep soil layer. There was very small differences between the field measured and model simulated Cd content in the plow layer (top 20 cm) and entire soil layer. Long-term model prediction showed that reclaimed water irrigation had a low environmental risk of soil Cd pollution, but the risk would be aggravated when there were high metal loading from other sources. The risk is also depending on the soil and plant properties. -- Highlights: •Root zone soil Cd content was elevated by one time under long-term reclaimed water irrigation. •The STEM-profile model can well track the Cd balance in the soil profile. •Reclaimed water irrigation plays a limited role on soil Cd accumulation in Beijing croplands. -- There was a low risk of soil Cd pollution under long-term reclaimed water irrigation

Groundwater uptake by forest and herbaceous vegetation in the context of salt accumulation in the Hungarian Great Plain

Science.gov (United States)

Gribovszki, Zoltán; Kalicz, Péter; Balog, Kitti; Szabó, András; Fodor, Nándor; Tóth, Tibor

2013-04-01

In Hungarian Great Plain forested areas has significantly increased during the last century. Hydrological effects of trees differ from that of crops or grasses in that, due to their deep roots, they extract water from much deeper soil layers. It has been demonstrated that forest cover causes water table depression and subsurface salt accumulation above shallow saline water table in areas with a negative water balance. The above mentioned situation caused by the afforestation in the Hungarian Great Plain is examined in the frame of a systematic study, which analyzed all affecting factors, like climatic water balance, water table depth and salinity, three species, subsoil layering and stand age. At the regional scale altogether 108 forested and neighbouring non forested plots are sampled. At the stand scale 18 representative forested and accompanying non forested plots (from the 108) are monitored intensively. In this paper dataset of two neighbouring plots (common oak forest and herbaceous vegetation) was compared (as first results of this complex investigation). On the basis of the analysis it could be summarized that under forest the water table was lower, and the amplitude of diel fluctuation of water table was significantly larger as under the herbaceous vegetation. Both results demonstrate greater groundwater use of forest vegetation. Groundwater uptake of the forest (which was calculated by diel based method) was almost same as potential reference evapotranspiration (calculated by Penman-Monteith equation with locally measured meteorological dataset) along the very dry summer of 2012. Larger amount of forest groundwater use is not parallel with salt uptake, therefore salt accumulates in soil and also in groundwater as can be measured of the representative monitoring sites as well. In the long run this process can result in the decline of biological production or even the dry out of some part of the forest. Greater groundwater uptake and salt accumulation

Soil water sensors for irrigation management-What works, what doesn't, and why

Science.gov (United States)

Irrigation scheduling can be greatly improved if accurate soil water content data are available. There are a plethora of available soil water sensing systems, but those that are practical for irrigation scheduling are divided into two major types: the frequency domain (capacitance) sensors and the t...

Environmental assessment for the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program: Southern Great Plains Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Policastro, A.J.; Pfingston, J.M.; Maloney, D.M.; Wasmer, F.; Pentecost, E.D.

1992-03-01

The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program is aimed at supplying improved predictive capability of climate change, particularly the prediction of cloud-climate feedback. The objective will be achieved by measuring the atmospheric radiation and physical and meteorological quantities that control solar radiation in the earth's atmosphere and using this information to test global climate and related models. The proposed action is to construct and operate a Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) research site in the southern Great Plains as part of the Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program whose objective is to develop an improved predictive capability of global climate change. The purpose of this CART research site in southern Kansas and northern Oklahoma would be to collect meteorological and other scientific information to better characterize the processes controlling radiation transfer on a global scale. Impacts which could result from this facility are described

Environmental assessment for the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program: Southern Great Plains Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) site

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Policastro, A.J.; Pfingston, J.M.; Maloney, D.M.; Wasmer, F.; Pentecost, E.D.

1992-03-01

The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program is aimed at supplying improved predictive capability of climate change, particularly the prediction of cloud-climate feedback. The objective will be achieved by measuring the atmospheric radiation and physical and meteorological quantities that control solar radiation in the earth`s atmosphere and using this information to test global climate and related models. The proposed action is to construct and operate a Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) research site in the southern Great Plains as part of the Department of Energy`s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program whose objective is to develop an improved predictive capability of global climate change. The purpose of this CART research site in southern Kansas and northern Oklahoma would be to collect meteorological and other scientific information to better characterize the processes controlling radiation transfer on a global scale. Impacts which could result from this facility are described.

Comparison of Agricultural Production and Fertilizer Consumption in the North China Plain (NCP) and the U.S. High Plains (HP)

Science.gov (United States)

Pei, H.; Shen, Y.; Scanlon, B. R.; Long, D.; Reedy, R. C.; Strassberg, G.

2013-12-01

The North China Plain (NCP) and US High Plains (USHP) are considered bread baskets of China and the US. The objective of this study was to compare agricultural production during the past 30 yr in both regions to assess impacts of different management options. The NCP and USHP are similar in terms of climate (mean annual precipitation: NCP, 570 mm; USHP, 520 mm) with mostly summer precipitation, and wheat and corn (maize) as the dominant crops. While single cropping is dominant in the USHP with summer crops coincident with seasonal precipitation, double cropping is prevalent in the NCP with summer corn coinciding with precipitation and winter wheat relying on irrigation. During the past 30 yr (1980 - 2008) in the NCP, crop yield has increased by a factor of 2.8 (2,200 - 6,200 kg/ha), grain production by a factor of 2.6 (23 - 59 million tons), chemical fertilizer application by a factor of 5.1 (68 - 350 kg/ha). During the same time period in the USHP, grain yield increased by a factor of 1.8 (2,800 - 5,000 kg/ha), crop production by a factor of 1.4 (48 - 68 million tons), chemical N fertilizer application by a factor of 1.2 (64 - 74 kg/ha). The spatial averages mask large scale local variability with grain yield in Luancheng county in the NCP for double cropped wheat and corn rising from 8,000 kg/ha in 1980 to ~16,000 kg/ha in 2008. The comparison between the two regions leads to the question of whether agricultural production in the NCP would be more sustainable with a single corn crop with a longer growing season more aligned with precipitation distribution. Increases in fertilizer application in the NCP greatly exceed crop yield increases, suggesting that much of this fertilizer may be leached to the environment, resulting in contamination. The comparisons between these two regions provide valuable insights that should be considered to move toward more sustainable management in terms of crop productivity and environmental impacts.

Groundwater recharge and sustainability in the High Plains aquifer in Kansas, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Sophocleous, M.

2005-01-01

Sustainable use of groundwater must ensure not only that the future resource is not threatened by overuse, but also that natural environments that depend on the resource, such as stream baseflows, riparian vegetation, aquatic ecosystems, and wetlands are protected. To properly manage groundwater resources, accurate information about the inputs (recharge) and outputs (pumpage and natural discharge) within each groundwater basin is needed so that the long-term behavior of the aquifer and its sustainable yield can be estimated or reassessed. As a first step towards this effort, this work highlights some key groundwater recharge studies in the Kansas High Plains at different scales, such as regional soil-water budget and groundwater modeling studies, county-scale groundwater recharge studies, as well as field-experimental local studies, including some original new findings, with an emphasis on assumptions and limitations as well as on environmental factors affecting recharge processes. The general impact of irrigation and cultivation on recharge is to appreciably increase the amount of recharge, and in many cases to exceed precipitation as the predominant source of recharge. The imbalance between the water input (recharge) to the High Plains aquifer and the output (pumpage and stream baseflows primarily) is shown to be severe, and responses to stabilize the system by reducing water use, increasing irrigation efficiency, adopting water-saving land-use practices, and other measures are outlined. Finally, the basic steps necessary to move towards sustainable use of groundwater in the High Plains are delineated, such as improving the knowledge base, reporting and providing access to information, furthering public education, as well as promoting better understanding of the public's attitudinal motivations; adopting the ecosystem and adaptive management approaches to managing groundwater; further improving water efficiency; exploiting the full potential of dryland and

Sources and flow of north Canterbury Plains groundwater, New Zealand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taylor, C.B.; Brown, L.J.; Stewart, M.K.; Brailsford, G.W.; Wilson, D.D.; Burden, R.J.

1989-01-01

Geological, hydrological, isotope (tritium and 18 O) and chemical evidence is interpreted to give a mutually consistent picture of the recharge sources and flow patterns of the important groundwater resource in the deep Quaternary deposits of the Canterbury Plains between Selwyn R. and Ashley R. The study period for tritium measurements extends over 27 years, encompassing the peak and decline of thermonuclear tritium fallout in this region. Major rivers emerging from mountain catchments to the west of the Plains are depleted in 18 O relative to average low-level precipitation. Most of the groundwater is river-recharged, but some areas with significant local precipitation recharge are clearly identified by 18 O and chemical concentrations. Artesian groundwater underlying Christchurch ascends from deeper aquifers into the shallowest aquifer via gaps in the confining layers; much of this flow is induced by withdrawal. The Christchurch aquifers are recharged by infiltration from Waimakariri R. in its central Plains reaches, and the resulting flow regime is E- and SE-directed; satisfactory water quality of the deeper Christchurch aquifer appears to be guaranteed for the future provided the river can be maintained in its present condition. Shallow groundwater, and water recharged to depth by other rivers, irrigation and local precipitation on the unconfined western areas of the Plains, are more susceptible to agricultural and other pollutants; none of this water is encountered in the deeper aquifers under Christchurch. (author). 15 refs., 12 figs

A summary of the occurrence and development of ground water in the southern High Plains of Texas

Science.gov (United States)

Cronin, J.G.; Myers, B.N.

1964-01-01

The Southern High Plains of Texas occupies an area of about 22,000 square miles in n'Orthwest Texas, extending fr'Om the Canadian River southward. about 250 miles and fr'Om the New Mexico line eastward an average distance of about 120 miles. The economy of the area is dependent largely upon irrigated agriculture, and in 1958 about 44,000 irrigation wells were in operation. The economy of the area is also dependent upon the oil industry either in the f'Orm of oil and gas production or in the form of industries based on the producti'On of petroleum. The Southern High Plains of Tems is characterized. 'by a nearly flat land surface sloping gently toward. the southeast at an average of 8 to 10 feet per mile. Shallow undrained depressions or playas are characteristic of the plains surface, and during periods of heavy rainfall, runoff collects in the depressions to form temporary ponds or lakes. Stream drainage 'On the plains surface is poorly developed; water discharges over the eastern escarpment off the plains only during periods of excessive rainfall. The climate of the area is semiarid; the average annual precipitation is about 20 inches. About 70 percent of the precipitation falls during the growing season from April to September. Rocks of Permian age underlie the entire area and consist chiefly of red sandstone and shale containing nUmerous beds of gypsum and dolomite. The Permian rocks are not a source of water in the Southern High Plains, and any water in these rocks would probably be saline. The Triassic rocks underlying the 'S'Outhern Hi'gh Plains consist of three formations of the Dockum group: the Tecovas formation, the Santa Rosa sandstone. and the Chinle formation equivalent. The Tecovas and Chinle formation equivalent both consist chiefly of shale and sandy shale; however, the Santa Rosa sandstone consists mainly of medium to coarse conglomeratic sandstone containing some shale. Tbe formations of the Dockum group are capable of yielding small to moderate

Large Area Crop Inventory Experiment (LACIE). Detecting and monitoring agricultural vegetative water stress over large areas using LANDSAT digital data. [Great Plains

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, D. R.; Wehmanen, O. A. (Principal Investigator)

1978-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. The Green Number Index technique which uses LANDSAT digital data from 5X6 nautical mile sampling frames was expanded to evaluate its usefulness in detecting and monitoring vegetative water stress over the Great Plains. At known growth stages for wheat, segments were classified as drought or non drought. Good agreement was found between the 18 day remotely sensed data and a weekly ground-based crop moisture index. Operational monitoring of the 1977 U.S.S.R. and Australian wheat crops indicated drought conditions. Drought isoline maps produced by the Green Number Index technique were in good agreement with conventional sources.

Memory of irrigation effects on hydroclimate and its modeling challenge

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Fei; Xu, Xiaoyu; Barlage, Michael; Rasmussen, Roy; Shen, Shuanghe; Miao, Shiguang; Zhou, Guangsheng

2018-06-01

Irrigation modifies land-surface water and energy budgets, and also influences weather and climate. However, current earth-system models, used for weather prediction and climate projection, are still in their infancy stage to consider irrigation effects. This study used long-term data collected from two contrasting (irrigated and rainfed) nearby maize-soybean rotation fields, to study the effects of irrigation memory on local hydroclimate. For a 12 year average, irrigation decreases summer surface-air temperature by less than 1 °C and increases surface humidity by 0.52 g kg‑1. The irrigation cooling effect is more pronounced and longer lasting for maize than for soybean. Irrigation reduces maximum, minimum, and averaged temperature over maize by more than 0.5 °C for the first six days after irrigation, but its temperature effect over soybean is mixed and negligible two or three days after irrigation. Irrigation increases near-surface humidity over maize by about 1 g kg‑1 up to ten days and increases surface humidity over soybean (~ 0.8 g kg‑1) with a similar memory. These differing effects of irrigation memory on temperature and humidity are associated with respective changes in the surface sensible and latent heat fluxes for maize and soybean. These findings highlight great need and challenges for earth-system models to realistically simulate how irrigation effects vary with crop species and with crop growth stages, and to capture complex interactions between agricultural management and water-system components (crop transpiration, precipitation, river, reservoirs, lakes, groundwater, etc.) at various spatial and temporal scales.

Subtask 7.3 - The Socioeconomic Impact of Climate Shifts in the Northern Great Plains

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jaroslav Solc; Tera Buckley; Troy Simonsen

2007-12-31

The Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) evaluated the water demand response/vulnerability to climate change factors of regional economic sectors in the northern Great Plains. Regardless of the cause of climatic trends currently observed, the research focused on practical evaluation of climate change impact, using water availability as a primary factor controlling long-term regional economic sustainability. Project results suggest that the Upper Missouri, Red River, and Upper Mississippi Watersheds exhibit analogous response to climate change, i.e., extended drought influences water availability in the entire region. The modified trend suggests that the next period for which the Red River Basin can expect a high probability of below normal precipitation will occur before 2050. Agriculture is the most sensitive economic sector in the region; however, analyses confirmed relative adaptability to changing conditions. The price of agricultural commodities is not a good indicator of the economic impact of climate change because production and price do not correlate and are subject to frequent and irregular government intervention. Project results confirm that high water demand in the primary economic sectors makes the regional economy extremely vulnerable to climatic extremes, with a similar response over the entire region. Without conservation-based water management policies, long-term periods of drought will limit socioeconomic development in the region and may threaten even the sustainability of current conditions.

Site scientific mission plan for the Southern Great Plains CART Site, January--June 1999

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peppler, R.A.; Sisterson, D.L.; Lamb, P.

1999-03-10

The Southern Great Plains (SGP) Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) site was designed to help satisfy the data needs of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program Science Team. This Site Scientific Mission Plan defines the scientific priorities for site activities during the six months beginning on January 1, 1999, and looks forward in lesser detail to subsequent six-month periods. The primary purpose of this document is to provide scientific guidance for the development of plans for site operations. It also provides information on current plans to the ARM functional teams (Management Team, Data and Science Integration Team [DSIT], Operations Team, and Instrument Team [IT]) and serves to disseminate the plans more generally within the ARM Program and among the members of the Science Team. This document includes a description of the operational status of the site and the primary site activities envisioned, together with information concerning approved and proposed intensive observation periods (IOPs). The primary users of this document are the site operator, the site program manager, the Site Scientist Team (SST), the Science Team through the ARM Program science director, the ARM Program Experiment Center, and the aforementioned ARM Program functional teams. This plan is a living document that is updated and reissued every six months as the observational facilities are developed, tested, and augmented and as priorities are adjusted in response to developments in scientific planning and understanding.

Site scientific mission plan for the Southern Great Plains CART site: July--December 1998

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peppler, R.A.; Lamb, P. [Univ. of Oklahoma, Norman, OK (United States). Cooperative Inst. for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies; Sisterson, D.L. [Argonne National Lab., IL (United States). Environmental Research Div.

1998-07-01

The Southern Great Plains (SGP) Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) site was designed to help satisfy the data needs of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program Science Team. This Site Scientific Mission Plan defines the scientific priorities for site activities during the six months beginning on July 1, 1998, and looks forward in lesser detail to subsequent six-month periods. The primary purpose of this document is to provide scientific guidance for the development of plans for site operations. It also provides information on current plans to the ARM functional teams (Management Team, Data and Science Integration Team [DSIT], Operations Team, and Instrument Team [IT]) and serves to disseminate the plans more generally within the ARM Program and among the members of the Science Team. This document includes a description of the operational status of the site and the primary site activities envisioned, together with information concerning approved and proposed intensive observation periods (IOPs). The primary users of this document are the site operator, the site program manager, the Site Scientist Team (SST), the Science Team through the ARM Program science director, the ARM program Experiment Center, and the aforementioned ARM Program functional teams. This plan is a living document that is updated and reissued every six months as the observational facilities are developed, tested, and augmented and as priorities are adjusted in response to developments in scientific planning and understanding.

Site scientific mission plan for the southern Great Plain CART site July-December 1997.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lamb, P.J.; Peppler, R.A.; Sisterson, D.L.

1997-08-28

The Southern Great Plains (SGP) Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) site is designed to help satisfy the data needs of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program Science Team. This document defines the scientific priorities for site activities during the six months beginning on July 1, 1997, and looks forward in lesser detail to subsequent six-month periods. The primary purpose of this Site Scientific Mission Plan is to provide guidance for the development of plans for site operations. It also provides information on current plans to the ARM functional teams (Management Team, Data and Science Integration Team [DSIT], Operations Team, Instrument Team [IT], and Campaign Team) and serves to disseminate the plans more generally within the ARM Program and among the members of the Science Team. This document includes a description of the operational status of the site and the primary site activities envisioned, together with information concerning approved and proposed intensive observation periods (IOPs). The primary users of this document are the site operator, the Site Scientist Team (SST), the Science Team through the ARM Program science director, the ARM Program Experiment Center, and the aforementioned ARM Program functional teams. This plan is a living document that is updated and reissued every six months as the observational facilities are developed, tested, and augmented and as priorities are adjusted in response to developments in scientific planning and understanding.

Drought variability over Thessaly plain, Greece. Present and future changes

Science.gov (United States)

Nastos, Panagiotis T.; Kapsomenakis, John; Dalezios, Nicolas R.; Kotsopoulos, Spyridon; Poulos, Serafim

2015-04-01

The diachronic variability of precipitation is of major scientific concern, because it is linked to water availability or deficiency on regional scale. The latter, resulted from a prolonged period of abnormally low precipitation or permanent absence of precipitation, is associated with dryness, having on one hand, a substantial impact on agricultural production and thus the society itself, and on the other hand, the redistribution of flora and fauna. In some cases, dryness drive climate refugees, and this is a great challenge - threat - that must be faced - mitigated - by stake holders in international organizations and fora. The Aridity Index (AI) measures the degree of dryness of the climate at a given region, and according to the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) it is defined as the ratio of precipitation to the potential evapotranspiration. In this study, we investigate the climate change impacts on AI over Thessaly plain, Greece. Thessaly, the largest plain and granary of Greece, includes a total area of 14,036 km2, which represents almost 11% of the Greek territory. Regarding the geomorphology, the ground is 50% mountainous-hilly and 50% flat, irrigated by Peneus, the third largest river in the country, which flows through the axis east-west. The assessment of AI was conducted utilizing daily evapotranspiration losses, based on the modified FAO-56 Penman-Monteith formula, and daily precipitation totals from a number of Regional Climate Models (RCMs), within the ENSEMBLE European Project. Further, the projected changes of AI between the period 1961-1990 (reference period) and the periods 2021-2050 (near future) and 2071-2100 (far future) along with the inter-model standard deviations are presented, under SRES A1B. The findings of the analysis revealed significant spatiotemporal changes of AI over Thessaly plain, focusing on their societal aspects. Acknowlegdements. This work is supported by the project AGROCLIMA (11SYN_3_1913), which is funded by

Impact of irrigation with high arsenic burdened groundwater on the soil–plant system: Results from a case study in the Inner Mongolia, China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neidhardt, H.; Norra, S.; Tang, X.; Guo, H.; Stüben, D.

2012-01-01

Consequences of irrigation by arsenic (As) enriched groundwater were assigned in the Hetao Plain, part of Chinas’ Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Examinations followed the As flow path from groundwater to soil and finally plants. A sunflower and a maize field were systematically sampled, each irrigated since three years with saline well water, characterized by elevated As concentrations (154 and 238 μg L −1 ). The annual As input per m 2 was estimated as 120 and 186 mg, respectively. Compared to the geogenic background, As concentrations increased toward the surface with observed enrichments in topsoil being relatively moderate (up to 21.1 mg kg −1 ). Arsenic concentrations in plant parts decreased from roots toward leaves, stems and seeds. It is shown that the bioavailability of As is influenced by a complex interplay of partly counteracting processes. To prevent As enrichment and soil salinization, local farmers were recommended to switch to a less problematic water source. - Highlights: ► We examined influences of irrigation with As burdened water at two fields. ► As distribution within soil–plant system in Hetao Plain, PR China. ► Three years of flood irrigation with As containing groundwater. ► Annual As inputs per m 2 were estimated as 120 mg and 186 mg, respectively. ► Contents in topsoil and plants are partly elevated, but not critical yet. - Recent irrigation with groundwater raises the risk of As entering the local food chain in one of the oldest crop producing areas in the People’s Republic of China.

Combining groundwater quality analysis and a numerical flow simulation for spatially establishing utilization strategies for groundwater and surface water in the Pingtung Plain

Science.gov (United States)

Jang, Cheng-Shin; Chen, Ching-Fang; Liang, Ching-Ping; Chen, Jui-Sheng

2016-02-01

Overexploitation of groundwater is a common problem in the Pingtung Plain area of Taiwan, resulting in substantial drawdown of groundwater levels as well as the occurrence of severe seawater intrusion and land subsidence. Measures need to be taken to preserve these valuable groundwater resources. This study seeks to spatially determine the most suitable locations for the use of surface water on this plain instead of extracting groundwater for drinking, irrigation, and aquaculture purposes based on information obtained by combining groundwater quality analysis and a numerical flow simulation assuming the planning of manmade lakes and reservoirs to the increase of water supply. The multivariate indicator kriging method is first used to estimate occurrence probabilities, and to rank townships as suitable or unsuitable for groundwater utilization according to water quality standards for drinking, irrigation, and aquaculture. A numerical model of groundwater flow (MODFLOW) is adopted to quantify the recovery of groundwater levels in townships after model calibration when groundwater for drinking and agricultural demands has been replaced by surface water. Finally, townships with poor groundwater quality and significant increases in groundwater levels in the Pingtung Plain are prioritized for the groundwater conservation planning based on the combined assessment of groundwater quality and quantity. The results of this study indicate that the integration of groundwater quality analysis and the numerical flow simulation is capable of establishing sound strategies for joint groundwater and surface water use. Six southeastern townships are found to be suitable locations for replacing groundwater with surface water from manmade lakes or reservoirs to meet drinking, irrigation, and aquaculture demands.

Correlation of Optical Properties with Atmospheric Solid Organic Particles (ASOPs) in the Southern Great Plains

Science.gov (United States)

Bonanno, D.; Fraund, M. W.; Pham, D.; China, S.; Wang, B.; Laskin, A.; Gilles, M. K.; Moffet, R.

2017-12-01

The Holistic Interactions of Shallow Clouds, Aerosols, and Land-Ecosystems (HI-SCALE) Campaign was carried out to gain a better understanding of the lifecycle of shallow clouds. The HISCALE experiment was designed to contrast two seasons, wet and dry, and determine their effect on atmospheric cloud and aerosol processes. The spring component to HISCALE was selected to characterize mixing state for particles collected onto substrates. Sampling was performed to obtain airborne soil organic particles (ASOP), which are believed to be ejected following rain events. The unique composition of the ASOP have been shown to affect optical properties. The collection of particles took place at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Southern Great Plains (ARM SGP) field site. The Scanning Transmission X-Ray Microscope (STXM) was used to image the samples collected during the first HI-SCALE Campaign to determine the carbonaceous mixing state. Scanning Electron Microscopy Energy-dispersive X-ray (SEM/EDX) analysis is more sensitive to the inorganic makeup of particles, while STXM renders a more comprehensive analysis of the organics. Measurements such as nephelometry, Particle Soot Absorption Photometry (PSAP) from the ARM archive are correlated with microscopy measurements. The primary focus is the relation between composition and morphology of ASOP with optical properties.

Breaking sod or breaking even? Flax on the northern Great Plains and Prairies, 1889-1930.

Science.gov (United States)

MacFayden, Joshua D

2009-01-01

A new thirst for paint and color in cities made extensive flax production profitable in the northern Great Plains and Prairies and contributed to the cultivation of the most fragile grassland ecosystems. The production of flax seed for linseed oil became an early spin-off of the Prairie wheat economy but, unlike wheat, flax vanished from old land after one or two rotations and reappeared in districts with the most new breaking. Officials explained the migrant crop as preparing native grasslands for cultivation or exhausting soil in old land, but farmers brought flax to their new breaking for other reasons. Producers would only put flax on any land when a range of economic and environmental conditions were in place. It was never sown without promise of adequately high prices or in the absence of affordable seed and other inputs. When price allowed, it usually appeared on new breaking because it could be planted later and transported further without upsetting the balance of other activities and without farmers learning many new techniques. Scientists discovered that diseased soil drove flax off old land, not soil exhaustion. Circumventing the disease was possible but costly, and farmers simply replaced flax with the next most lucrative commodity.

Wind and wildlife in the Northern Great Plains: identifying low-impact areas for wind development.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joseph Fargione

Full Text Available Wind energy offers the potential to reduce carbon emissions while increasing energy independence and bolstering economic development. However, wind energy has a larger land footprint per Gigawatt (GW than most other forms of energy production and has known and predicted adverse effects on wildlife. The Northern Great Plains (NGP is home both to some of the world's best wind resources and to remaining temperate grasslands, the most converted and least protected ecological system on the planet. Thus, appropriate siting and mitigation of wind development is particularly important in this region. Steering energy development to disturbed lands with low wildlife value rather than placing new developments within large and intact habitats would reduce impacts to wildlife. Goals for wind energy development in the NGP are roughly 30 GW of nameplate capacity by 2030. Our analyses demonstrate that there are large areas where wind development would likely have few additional impacts on wildlife. We estimate there are ∼1,056 GW of potential wind energy available across the NGP on areas likely to have low-impact for biodiversity, over 35 times development goals. New policies and approaches will be required to guide wind energy development to low-impact areas.

A boundary-layer cloud study using Southern Great Plains Cloud and radiation testbed (CART) data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Albrecht, B.; Mace, G.; Dong, X.; Syrett, W. [Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)] [and others

1996-04-01

Boundary layer clouds-stratus and fairweather cumulus - are closely coupled involves the radiative impact of the clouds on the surface energy budget and the strong dependence of cloud formation and maintenance on the turbulent fluxes of heat and moisture in the boundary layer. The continuous data collection at the Southern Great Plains (SGP) Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) site provides a unique opportunity to study components of the coupling processes associated with boundary layer clouds and to provide descriptions of cloud and boundary layer structure that can be used to test parameterizations used in climate models. But before the CART data can be used for process studies and parameterization testing, it is necessary to evaluate and validate data and to develop techniques for effectively combining the data to provide meaningful descriptions of cloud and boundary layer characteristics. In this study we use measurements made during an intensive observing period we consider a case where low-level stratus were observed at the site for about 18 hours. This case is being used to examine the temporal evolution of cloud base, cloud top, cloud liquid water content, surface radiative fluxes, and boundary layer structure. A method for inferring cloud microphysics from these parameters is currently being evaluated.

Nitrogen source effects on nitrous oxide emissions from irrigated no-till corn.

Science.gov (United States)

Halvorson, Ardell D; Del Grosso, Stephen J; Francesco, Alluvione

2010-01-01

Nitrogen fertilization is essential for optimizing crop yields; however, it may potentially increase nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. The study objective was to assess the ability of commercially available enhanced-efficiency N fertilizers to reduce N2O emissions following their application in comparison with conventional dry granular urea and liquid urea-ammonium nitrate (UAN) fertilizers in an irrigated no-till (NT) corn (Zea mays L.) production system. Four enhanced-efficiency fertilizers were evaluated: two polymer-coated urea products (ESN and Duration III) and two fertilizers containing nitrification and urease inhibitors (SuperU and UAN+AgrotainPlus). Nitrous oxide fluxes were measured during two growing seasons using static, vented chambers and a gas chromatograph analyzer. Enhanced-efficiency fertilizers significantly reduced growing-season N2O-N emissions in comparison with urea, including UAN. SuperU and UAN+AgrotainPlus had significantly lower N2O-N emissions than UAN. Compared with urea, SuperU reduced N2O-N emissions 48%, ESN 34%, Duration III 31%, UAN 27%, and UAN+AgrotainPlus 53% averaged over 2 yr. Compared with UAN, UAN+AgrotainPlus reduced N2O emissions 35% and SuperU 29% averaged over 2 yr. The N2O-N loss as a percentage of N applied was 0.3% for urea, with all other N sources having significantly lower losses. Grain production was not reduced by the use of alternative N sources. This work shows that enhanced-efficiency N fertilizers can potentially reduce N2O-N emissions without affecting yields from irrigated NT corn systems in the semiarid central Great Plains.

Optimized Subsurface Irrigation System: The Future of Sugarcane Irrigation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. H. J. P. Gunarathna

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Climate change may harm the growth and yield of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L. without the introduction of appropriate irrigation facilities. Therefore, new irrigation methods should be developed to maximize water use efficiency and reduce operational costs. OPSIS (optimized subsurface irrigation system is a new solar-powered automatic subsurface irrigation system that creates a phreatic zone below crop roots and relies on capillarity to supply water to the root zone. It is designed for upland crops such as sugarcane. We investigated the performance of OPSIS for irrigating sugarcane and evaluated its performance against sprinkler irrigation under subtropical conditions. We conducted field experiments in Okinawa, Japan, over the period from 2013 to 2016 and took measurements during spring- and summer-planted main crops and two ratoon crops of the spring-planted crop. Compared with sprinkler irrigation, OPSIS produced a significantly higher fresh cane yield, consumed less irrigation water and provided a higher irrigation water use efficiency. We conclude that OPSIS could be adopted as a sustainable solution to sugarcane irrigation in Okinawa and similar environments.

EXAMINATION OF THE SOLVENCY OF ENTERPRISES DEALING WITH ACCOMMODATION SERVICE PROVIDING IN THE NORTHERN GREAT PLAIN REGION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Veronika FENYVES

2016-07-01

Full Text Available One of the most important characteristics of tourism, as an economic and social phenomenon is that it has become a leading sector of the Hungarian economy. The importance of this sector is faithfully reflected by the fact that tourism gives nearly 9% of the GDP. Of course, aim of the enterprises of this type is the liquidity as well i.e. to maintain the short-term solvency that is essential for the long-term successful and smooth operation. The other aim of enterprises is to be solvent for the long-term as well, furthermore, to increase the corporate value and to maximize the ownership value. In our treatise, we have carried out the financial analysis and bankruptcy prediction of those enterprises providing accommodation service which are the biggest from the point of view of employment in the Northern Great Plain region. We think that, due to seasonality, even greater emphasis shall be placed on this area where useful information can be obtained from and the results of bankruptcy model can also provide further useful information and ”problem alerts”.

Nitrate leaching, water-use efficiency and yield of corn with different irrigation and nitrogen management systems in coastal plains, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Irrigation management for corn (Zea mays L.) production on the typical low water holding capacity soil of the southeastern USA needs to be improved to increase irrigation efficiency and reduce losses of nitrate from fields. A three-year (2012-2014) field study was conducted to compare the effects of...

Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Beef Cattle Production in the Southern Great Plains

Science.gov (United States)

Kannan, N.; Niraula, R.; Saleh, A.; Osei, E.; Cole, A.; Todd, R.; Waldrip, H.; Aljoe, H.

2017-12-01

A five-year USDA-funded study titled "Resilience and vulnerability of beef cattle production in the Southern Great Plains under changing climate, land use, and markets" was initiated as a multi-institutional collaboration involving Texas Institute for Applied Environmental Research (TIAER)—Tarleton State University, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)—Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in El Reno, Oklahoma, USDA—ARS in Bushland, Texas, Kansas State University, Oklahoma State University, University of Oklahoma, and the Noble Research Institute in Ardmore, Oklahoma. The project goal is to safeguard and promote regional beef production while mitigating its environmental footprint. Conducting a full Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is one of the major objectives of the study, in addition to field experiments, extension, outreach, and education. Estimation of all the resource use and greenhouse gas emissions are parts of the LCA. A computer model titled Animal Production Life Cycle Analysis Tool (APLCAT) is developed and applied to conduct the LCA on beef cattle production in the study region. The model estimates water use, energy requirements, and emissions of enteric methane, manure methane, nitrous oxide, and carbon dioxide. Also included in the LCA analysis are land-atmospheric exchanges of methane, nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide and the global warming potential. Our study is focused on the cow-calf and stocker phases of beef cattle production. The animal production system in the study region is predominantly forage based with protein and energy supplements when needed. Spring calving typical to the study region. In the cow-calf phase animals typically graze native prairie although introduced pasture grazing is also prevalent. Stockers use winter pasture as the major feed. The results of greenhouse gas emissions summarized per kg of hot carcass weight or animal fed will be presented.

Types, harms and improvement of saline soil in Songnen Plain

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zhengjun; Zhuang, Jingjing; Zhao, Anping; Li, Xinxin

2018-03-01

Saline soil is an extremely difficult and modified soil, widely distributed around the world. According to UN-UNESCO and FAO, the world’s saline soil area is about 9.54×108hm2, and there is a growing trend, every year in 1.0×106-1.5×106hm2 speed growth, the effective utilization of land resources to the world is the most serious threat. The total area of saline-alkali land in China is about 9.91×107hm2, including the Songnen Plain, which is called one of the three major saline soil concentrations in the world. The Songnen plain is an important grain producing area in China, and the saline soil occupies most of the Songnen plain, so it is of great significance to study the saline soil and improvement in Songnen plain.

Dwarf cashew growth irrigated with saline waters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hugo Orlando Carvallo Guerra

2009-12-01

Full Text Available The cashew production is one of the most important agricultural activities from the social-economical viewpoint for the North East of Brazil; besides to produce a great deal of hand labor, it is very important as an exporting commodity. The inadequate use of irrigation in the semi arid regions of the North East of Brazil has induced soil salinization and consequently problems for the irrigated agriculture. In spite of this, few works have been conducted to study the effect of saline stress on the growth and development of the cashew. Because of the lack of information for this crop, an experiment was conducted to study the effect of salinity stress on the phytomass production and nutrient accumulation on the different organs of the precocious dwarf cashew (Anacardium occidentale L. clone CCP76. The study was conducted under controlled conditions using as statistical scheme a randomized block design factorial with six replicates. Five salinity treatments were considered for the irrigation water (electrical conductivities of 0.8, 1.6, 2.4, 3.2 and 4.0 dS m-1 at 25oC. The increasing in salinity of the irrigation water reduced the phytomass at different organs of the studied plant. The nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, chloride and sodium in the plant varied with the salinity of the irrigation water according with the part of the plant analyzed; in some parts increased, in others decreased, in others increased initially and decreased afterwards, and finally, in other part of the plant the salinity of the irrigation water did not affect the nutrient concentration.

Site Scientific Mission Plan for the Southern Great Plains CART site: January--June 1994

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schneider, J.M.; Lamb, P.J. [Univ. of Oklahoma, Norman, OK (United States). Cooperative Inst. for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies; Sisterson, D.L. [Argonne National Lab., IL (United States). Environmental Research Div.

1993-12-01

The Southern Great Plains (SGP) Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) site is designed to help satisfy the data needs of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program Science Team. This document defines the scientific priorities for site activities during the six months beginning on January 1, 1994, and also looks forward in lesser detail to subsequent six-month periods. The primary purpose of this Site Scientific Mission Plan is to provide guidance for the development of plans for site operations. It also provides information on current plans to the ARM Functional Teams (Management Team, Experiment Support Team, Operations Team, Data Management Team, Instrument Team, and Campaign Team), and it serves to disseminate the plans more generally within the ARM Program and among the Science Team. This document includes a description of the site`s operational status and the primary envisaged site activities, together with information concerning approved and proposed Intensive Observation Periods. Amendments will be prepared and distributed whenever the content changes by more than 30% within a six-month period. The primary users of this document are the site operator, the site scientist, the Science Team through the ARM Program Science Director, the ARM Program Experiment Center, and the aforementioned ARM Program Functional Teams. This plan is a living document that will be updated and reissued every six months as the observational facilities are developed, tested, and augmented and as priorities are adjusted in response to developments in scientific planning and understanding.

Natural and anthropogenic factors affecting the shallow groundwater quality in a typical irrigation area with reclaimed water, North China Plain.

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, Xiaomin; Xiao, Yong; Yin, Shiyang; Pan, Xingyao; Niu, Yong; Shao, Jingli; Cui, Yali; Zhang, Qiulan; Hao, Qichen

2017-09-22

In this study, the hydrochemical characteristics of shallow groundwater were analyzed to get insight into the factors affecting groundwater quality in a typical agricultural dominated area of the North China Plain. Forty-four shallow groundwater samples were collected for chemical analysis. The water type changes from Ca·Na-HCO 3 type in grass land to Ca·Na-Cl (+NO 3 ) type and Na (Ca)-Cl (+NO 3 +SO 4 ) type in construction and facility agricultural land, indicating the influence of human activities. The factor analysis and geostatistical analysis revealed that the two major factors contributing to the groundwater hydrochemical compositions were the water-rock interaction and contamination from sewage discharge and agricultural fertilizers. The major ions (F, HCO 3 ) and trace element (As) in the shallow groundwater represented the natural origin, while the nitrate and sulfate concentrations were related to the application of fertilizer and sewage discharge in the facility agricultural area, which was mainly affected by the human activities. The values of pH, total dissolved solids, electric conductivity, and conventional component (K, Ca, Na, Mg, Cl) in shallow groundwater increased from grass land and cultivated land, to construction land and to facility agriculture which were originated from the combination sources of natural processes (e.g., water-rock interaction) and human activities (e.g., domestic effluents). The study indicated that both natural processes and human activities had influences on the groundwater hydrochemical compositions in shallow groundwater, while anthropogenic processes had more contribution, especially in the reclaimed water irrigation area.

Determining Wind Erosion in the Great Plains

OpenAIRE

Elwin G. Smith; Burton C. English

1982-01-01

Wind erosion is defined as the movement of soil particles resulting from strong turbulent winds. The movement of soil particles can be categorized as suspension, saltation, or surface creep. Fine soil particles can be suspended in the atmosphere and carried for great distances. Particles too large to be suspended move in a jumping action along the soil surface, known as saltation. Heavier particles have a rolling movement along the surface and this type of erosion is surface creep.

Evaluating two irrigation controllers under subsurface drip irrigated tomato crop

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Ghobari, H.M.; Mohammad, F.S.; El Marazky, M.S.A.

2016-01-01

Smart systems could be used to improve irrigation scheduling and save water under Saudi Arabia’s present water crisis scenario. This study investigated two types of evapotranspiration-based smart irrigation controllers, SmartLine and Hunter Pro-C2, as promising tools for scheduling irrigation and quantifying plants’ water requirements to achieve water savings. The effectiveness of these technologies in reducing the amount of irrigation water was compared with the conventional irrigation scheduling method as a control treatment. The two smart irrigation sensors were used for subsurface irrigation of a tomato crop (cv. Nema) in an arid region. The results showed that the smart controllers significantly reduced the amount of applied water and increased the crop yield. In general, the Hunter Pro-C2 system saved the highest amount of water and produced the highest crop yield, resulting in the highest water irrigation efficiency compared with the SmartLine controller and the traditional irrigation schedule. It can be concluded that the application of advanced scheduling irrigation techniques such as the Hunter controller under arid conditions can realise economic benefits by saving large amounts of irrigation water.

Evaluating two irrigation controllers under subsurface drip irrigated tomato crop

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Al-Ghobari, H.M.; Mohammad, F.S.; El Marazky, M.S.A.

2016-07-01

Smart systems could be used to improve irrigation scheduling and save water under Saudi Arabia’s present water crisis scenario. This study investigated two types of evapotranspiration-based smart irrigation controllers, SmartLine and Hunter Pro-C2, as promising tools for scheduling irrigation and quantifying plants’ water requirements to achieve water savings. The effectiveness of these technologies in reducing the amount of irrigation water was compared with the conventional irrigation scheduling method as a control treatment. The two smart irrigation sensors were used for subsurface irrigation of a tomato crop (cv. Nema) in an arid region. The results showed that the smart controllers significantly reduced the amount of applied water and increased the crop yield. In general, the Hunter Pro-C2 system saved the highest amount of water and produced the highest crop yield, resulting in the highest water irrigation efficiency compared with the SmartLine controller and the traditional irrigation schedule. It can be concluded that the application of advanced scheduling irrigation techniques such as the Hunter controller under arid conditions can realise economic benefits by saving large amounts of irrigation water.

Soil salinity study in Northern Great Plains sodium affected soil

Science.gov (United States)

Kharel, Tulsi P.

Climate and land-use changes when combined with the marine sediments that underlay portions of the Northern Great Plains have increased the salinization and sodification risks. The objectives of this dissertation were to compare three chemical amendments (calcium chloride, sulfuric acid and gypsum) remediation strategies on water permeability and sodium (Na) transport in undisturbed soil columns and to develop a remote sensing technique to characterize salinization in South Dakota soils. Forty-eight undisturbed soil columns (30 cm x 15 cm) collected from White Lake, Redfield, and Pierpont were used to assess the chemical remediation strategies. In this study the experimental design was a completely randomized design and each treatment was replicated four times. Following the application of chemical remediation strategies, 45.2 cm of water was leached through these columns. The leachate was separated into 120- ml increments and analyzed for Na and electrical conductivity (EC). Sulfuric acid increased Na leaching, whereas gypsum and CaCl2 increased water permeability. Our results further indicate that to maintain effective water permeability, ratio between soil EC and sodium absorption ratio (SAR) should be considered. In the second study, soil samples from 0-15 cm depth in 62 x 62 m grid spacing were taken from the South Dakota Pierpont (65 ha) and Redfield (17 ha) sites. Saturated paste EC was measured on each soil sample. At each sampling points reflectance and derived indices (Landsat 5, 7, 8 images), elevation, slope and aspect (LiDAR) were extracted. Regression models based on multiple linear regression, classification and regression tree, cubist, and random forest techniques were developed and their ability to predict soil EC were compared. Results showed that: 1) Random forest method was found to be the most effective method because of its ability to capture spatially correlated variation, 2) the short wave infrared (1.5 -2.29 mum) and near infrared (0

Buteo Nesting Ecology: Evaluating Nesting of Swainson's Hawks in the Northern Great Plains.

Science.gov (United States)

Inselman, Will M; Datta, Shubham; Jenks, Jonathan A; Jensen, Kent C; Grovenburg, Troy W

2015-01-01

Swainson's hawks (Buteo swainsoni) are long-distance migratory raptors that nest primarily in isolated trees located in areas of high grassland density. In recent years, anthropogenic conversion of grassland habitat has raised concerns about the status of the breeding population in the northern Great Plains. In 2013, we initiated a study to investigate the influence of extrinsic factors influencing Swainson's hawk nesting ecology in north-central South Dakota and south-central North Dakota. Using ground and aerial surveys, we located and monitored nesting Swainson's hawk pairs: 73 in 2013 and 120 in 2014. We documented 98 successful breeding attempts that fledged 163 chicks; 1.52 and 1.72 fledglings per successful nest in 2013 and 2014, respectively. We used Program MARK to evaluate the influence of land cover on nest survival. The top model, SDist2Farm+%Hay, indicated that nest survival (fledging at least one chick) decreased as nests were located farther from farm sites and as the percent of hay cover increased within 1200-m of the nest site (34.4%; 95% CI = 27.6%-42.3%). We used logistic regression analysis to evaluate the influence of landscape variables on nest-site selection; Swainson's hawks selected for nest sites located closer to roads. We suggest that tree belts associated with farm sites, whether occupied or not, provide critical breeding sites for Swainson's hawks. Additionally, poor breeding success may be related to the late migratory behavior of this species which requires them to occupy marginal habitat due to other raptors occupying the most suitable habitat prior to Swainson's hawks arriving to the breeding grounds.

Perception of the drought hazard on the Great Plains and its sociological impacts

Science.gov (United States)

Woudenberg, Donna Louise

Drought, a defining characteristic of the Great Plains, continues to be one of the most expensive natural disasters in the United States, with the lion's share of financial losses shouldered by crop and livestock producers. These producer's perceptions of and responses to drought were studied in the mid-1960s, the mid-1980s, and were examined again in this study, providing valuable longitudinal data. A number of direct and indirect impacts are experienced by non-farm businesses, communities, and individuals, as well. Some of those impacts have not been well researched and were integral to this project. Interviews with crop producers, livestock producers, and community members were conducted in Frontier County, Nebraska in late summer 2006. It was found that producers are very perceptive of the drought hazard, a result found in the two previous studies; recollections and estimates were well supported with 100 years of SPI and PDSI values. Adoption of drought mitigation practices has increased over the past 40 years. Producers were concerned about the myriad of factors they must consider when planning their farm/ranch operations, particularly as they are trying to adjust to water restrictions imposed as an outcome of the Kansas-Nebraska lawsuit on the Republican River (a task exacerbated by the long-term drought in recent years), but overall they are basically optimistic. Community members were very concerned about the future of farming and the quality of rural life. They expressed fears that changes in farming practices may lower the value of land, affect the tax base, and ultimately impact the school system and other county services.

Site scientific mission plan for the Southern Great Plains CART site: January 1997--June 1997

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peppler, R.A.; Lamb, P.J. [Univ. of Oklahoma, Norman, OK (United States). Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies; Sisterson, D.L. [Argonne National Lab., IL (United States)

1997-01-01

The Southern Great Plains (SGP) Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) site is designed to help satisfy the data needs of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program Science Team. This document defines the scientific priorities for site activities during the six months beginning on January 1, 1997, and looks forward in lesser detail to subsequent six-month periods. The primary purpose of this Site Scientific Mission Plan is to provide guidance for the development of plans for site operations. It also provides information on current plans to the ARM functional teams (Management Team, Data and Science Integration Team [DSIT], Operations Team, Instrument Team [IT], and Campaign Team) and serves to disseminate the plans more generally within the ARM Program and among the members of the Science Team. This document includes a description of the operational status of the site and the primary site activities envisioned, together with information concerning approved and proposed intensive observation periods (IOPs). The primary users of this document are the site operator, the Site Scientist Team (SST), the Science Team through the ARM Program science director, the ARM Program Experiment Center, and the aforementioned ARM Program functional teams. This plan is a living document that is updated and reissued every six months as the observational facilities are developed, tested, and augmented and as priorities are adjusted in response to developments in scientific planning and understanding.

Effect of drought/irrigation on proximate composition and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Enset [Ensete ventricosum (Welw.) Cheesman] is an important root crop serving as a carbohydrate rich food source in Ethiopia. Perennial crops, like enset, are often exposed to recurrent dry periods which could greatly affect their growth, physiology and yield. The effect of induced drought/irrigation on the proximate ...

Heat flow measurements in the vicinity of Great Meteor East, Madeira Abyssal Plain, during Darwin Cruise CD9B

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Noel, M.; Hounslow, M.W.

1986-12-01

This report describes 37 new measurements of heat flow in the Madeira Abyssal Plain. These have comprised 22 values in the Great Meteor East Study Area and 15 measurements in the newly defined ''10 km Box'' to the southeast of this region. The aim of the project has been to examine in more detail than hitherto the thermal and fluid processes operating in the oceanic crust. For this purpose, a new thermistor string, with 1/2 m sensor spacing was used. Also, the heat flux data have been compared to the output from a finite element model for heat conduction. No non-linear sediment temperature profiles were discovered indicating that vertical advection of water through the sediment is absent or slow. The results of numerical modelling imply that the variability of measured heat flow cannot be explained entirely on the basis of basement topography. It is necessary to invoke either vertical basement intrusions of differing conductivity or basement hydrothermal circulation. (author)

A comparison of native tallgrass prairie and plains bluestem forage systems for cow-calf production in the southern great plains.

Science.gov (United States)

Coleman, S W; Phillips, W A; Volesky, J D; Buchanan, D

2001-07-01

The objective of this study was to compare an introduced warm-season perennial grass (plains bluestem, Bothriochloa ischaemum) to native tallgrass prairie for cow-calf production. Three systems were used, two based on tallgrass prairie with two different forms of protein supplementation and one based on plains bluestem as the primary forage. The systems were as follows: 1) native tallgrass prairie with pelleted oilseed meal as the winter protein supplement (native-control); 2) native tallgrass prairie with limited access to wheat pasture as the winter protein supplement (native-wheat); and 3) plains bluestem with limited access to wheat pasture as the protein supplement (bluestem-wheat). Oilseed meal protein supplements were fed twice weekly. Cows grazing wheat pasture were allowed 6 h of grazing twice weekly. Ninety-nine cows per year were used over the 3-yr study. Cows were sired by either Charolais, Gelbvieh, Angus, or Hereford bulls out of commercial Angus-Hereford dams. Calves were sired by Simmental bulls. Calving and weaning rate increased over time but did not differ among systems or breed types. System did not influence the size or body condition score of cows or the performance of calves, but changes in the weight and condition scores of cows were greater on either native system than on the bluestem-wheat system. Cows from Charolais and Gelbvieh bulls were taller (P < 0.05), and heavier (P < 0.05), and weaned heavier (P < 0.05) calves than cows from Angus or Hereford bulls. The weight of cows on the bluestem-wheat system tended to decrease over time, whereas cows grazing on the native systems tended to gain weight over time. The native-control system was the most profitable system based on cow production. If excess hay produced from the bluestem-wheat system was sold as a cash crop, then this system was the most profitable. In general, we conclude that limit-grazing wheat pasture is a viable alternative to oilseed meal as protein supplement for wintering

Bringing the "social" into sociohydrology: Conservation policy support in the Central Great Plains of Kansas, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Sanderson, Matthew R.; Bergtold, Jason S.; Heier Stamm, Jessica L.; Caldas, Marcellus M.; Ramsey, Steven M.

2017-08-01

Identifying means of empirically modeling the human component of a coupled, human-water system becomes critically important to further advances in sociohydrology. We develop a social-psychological model of environmental decision making that addresses four key challenges of incorporating social science into integrated models. We use the model to explain preferences for three conservation policies designed to conserve and protect water resources and aquatic ecosystems in the Smoky Hill River Basin, a semiarid agricultural region in the Central U.S. Great Plains. Further, we compare the model's capacity to explain policy preferences among members of two groups in the River Basin: agricultural producers and members of nonfarming communities. We find that financial obligation is the strongest and most consistent explanation of support for conservation policies among members of both groups. We also find that policy support is grounded in cultural values—deeply held ideas about right and wrong. Environmental values are particularly important explanations of policy support. The constellations of values invoked to make decisions about policies, and the social-psychological pathways linking values to policy support, can vary across policies and types of agents (farmers and nonfarmers). We discuss the implications of the results for future research in sociohydrology.

Mapping carbon flux uncertainty and selecting optimal locations for future flux towers in the Great Plains

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, Yingxin; Howard, Daniel M.; Wylie, Bruce K.; Zhang, Li

2012-01-01

Flux tower networks (e. g., AmeriFlux, Agriflux) provide continuous observations of ecosystem exchanges of carbon (e. g., net ecosystem exchange), water vapor (e. g., evapotranspiration), and energy between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere. The long-term time series of flux tower data are essential for studying and understanding terrestrial carbon cycles, ecosystem services, and climate changes. Currently, there are 13 flux towers located within the Great Plains (GP). The towers are sparsely distributed and do not adequately represent the varieties of vegetation cover types, climate conditions, and geophysical and biophysical conditions in the GP. This study assessed how well the available flux towers represent the environmental conditions or "ecological envelopes" across the GP and identified optimal locations for future flux towers in the GP. Regression-based remote sensing and weather-driven net ecosystem production (NEP) models derived from different extrapolation ranges (10 and 50%) were used to identify areas where ecological conditions were poorly represented by the flux tower sites and years previously used for mapping grassland fluxes. The optimal lands suitable for future flux towers within the GP were mapped. Results from this study provide information to optimize the usefulness of future flux towers in the GP and serve as a proxy for the uncertainty of the NEP map.

The WRF model forecast-derived low-level wind shear climatology over the United States great plains

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Storm, B. [Wind Science and Engineering Research Center, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX (United States); Basu, S. [Atmospheric Science Group, Department of Geosciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX (United States)

2010-07-01

For wind resource assessment projects, it is common practice to use a power-law relationship (U(z) {proportional_to} z{sup {alpha}}) and a fixed shear exponent ({alpha} = 1/7) to extrapolate the observed wind speed from a low measurement level to high turbine hub-heights. However, recent studies using tall-tower observations have found that the annual average shear exponents at several locations over the United States Great Plains (USGP) are significantly higher than 1/7. These findings highlight the critical need for detailed spatio-temporal characterizations of wind shear climatology over the USGP, where numerous large wind farms will be constructed in the foreseeable future. In this paper, a new generation numerical weather prediction model - the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, a fast and relatively inexpensive alternative to time-consuming and costly tall-tower projects, is utilized to determine whether it can reliably estimate the shear exponent and the magnitude of the directional shear at any arbitrary location over the USGP. Our results indicate that the WRF model qualitatively captures several low-level wind shear characteristics. However, there is definitely room for physics parameterization improvements for the WRF model to reliably represent the lower part of the atmospheric boundary layer. (author)

Irrigation of pistachios : strategies to confront water scarcity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pérez-López, David; Memmi, Houssem; Gijón-López, Maria del Carmen; Moreno, Marta Maria; Couceiro, José Francisco; Centeno, Ana; Martín-Palomo, Maria J.; Corell, Mireia; Noguera-Artiaga, Luis; Galindo Egea, Alejandro; Torrecillas, Arturo; Moriana, Alfonso; Tejero, Ivan Francisco Garcia; Zuazo, Victor Hugo Duran

2017-01-01

Pistachio trees are capable to be profitable under rain-fed conditions. They also have a good response to low amounts of irrigation water, so are a great candidate to be considered for water-scarcity scenarios. The pistachio tree has a singular way of alternate bearing, losing a percentage of its

Simulating the 2012 High Plains Drought Using Three Single Column Models (SCM)

Science.gov (United States)

Medina, I. D.; Baker, I. T.; Denning, S.; Dazlich, D. A.

2015-12-01

The impact of changes in the frequency and severity of drought on fresh water sustainability is a great concern for many regions of the world. One such location is the High Plains, where the local economy is primarily driven by fresh water withdrawals from the Ogallala Aquifer, which accounts for approximately 30% of total irrigation withdrawals from all U.S. aquifers combined. Modeling studies that focus on the feedback mechanisms that control the climate and eco-hydrology during times of drought are limited, and have used conventional General Circulation Models (GCMs) with grid length scales ranging from one hundred to several hundred kilometers. Additionally, these models utilize crude statistical parameterizations of cloud processes for estimating sub-grid fluxes of heat and moisture and have a poor representation of land surface heterogeneity. For this research, we focus on the 2012 High Plains drought and perform numerical simulations using three single column model (SCM) versions of BUGS5 (Colorado State University (CSU) GCM coupled to the Simple Biosphere Model (SiB3)). In the first version of BUGS5, the model is used in its standard bulk setting (single atmospheric column coupled to a single instance of SiB3), secondly, the Super-Parameterized Community Atmospheric Model (SP-CAM), a cloud resolving model (CRM) (CRM consists of 32 atmospheric columns), replaces the single CSU GCM atmospheric parameterization and is coupled to a single instance of SiB3, and for the third version of BUGS5, an instance of SiB3 is coupled to each CRM column of the SP-CAM (32 CRM columns coupled to 32 instances of SiB3). To assess the physical realism of the land-atmosphere feedbacks simulated by all three versions of BUGS5, differences in simulated energy and moisture fluxes are computed between the 2011 and 2012 period and are compared to those calculated using observational data from the AmeriFlux Tower Network for the same period at the ARM Site in Lamont, OK. This research

The impact of informal irrigation practices on soil drainage condition, soil pollution and land suitability for agriculture in El Saf area of El Giza Governorate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hanan E.M. El Azab

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The study area was selected in El Saf District of El Giza Governorate in Egypt, covering 21461.4 ha of Nile sediments and their outskirts of alluvial higher and lower terraces. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of informal irrigation practices on drainage deterioration, soil pollution and land suitability for agricultural use using the satellite LDCM data 2013. From the lower alluvial terraces (partly cultivated using wastewater, the drainage flows westward via descending slopes resulting in land deterioration in both the alluvial lower terraces and alluvial plain of River Nile. The drainage conditions are excessively drained soils in the alluvial upper terraces within soils of Typic Haplocalcids, sandy skeletal, but in the lower terraces it partly occurred within soils of Typic Torriorthents, sandy skeletal. Moderately well drained soils occurred in soils of Typic Torriorthents, sandy in the alluvial lower terraces, while in the alluvial plain of Nile sediments are Sodic Haplotorrerts, fine. Poorly drained soils in the lower alluvial terraces have soils of Typic Epiaquents, sandy associated with Sodic Psammaquents and Aquic Haplocalcids, coarse loamy, while in the alluvial plain of River Nile the soils are Halic Epiaquerts, fine. Very poorly drained soils (submerged areas are scattered spots in both the lower alluvial terraces and the alluvial plain. In the alluvial plain of River Nile, 1967.1 ha become not suitable for the traditional cultivated crops, while in the alluvial terraces 3251.0 ha are not suitable for the proposed cultivation of Jojoba plants. Heavy metals of Cadmium (Cd, Cobalt (Co, Lead (Pb and Nickel (Ni were added to the soil surface and sub-surface in the irrigated areas by wastewater in the lower alluvial terraces (moderately well drained soils, but Cd and Co exceeded the standards of permissible total concentrations in these soils. The same metals were added to soil sub-surface layers in the alluvial plain

Exploration for petroleum and natural gas in Sonai Plain

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Konishi, K

1965-09-01

Exploration in the Sonai Plain by Sekyu Shigen Kaihatsu Kabushiki Kaisha (Oil Resources Development Corporation) since 1955 is described. The development tasks are made difficult due to the presence of permeability traps. However, 41 out of 65 wells drilled up to late March of 1965 have been successful. Quantities of crude oil and natural gas produced in 1963 were, respectively, 5 and 6 times those of 1958. The Sonai Plain is a relatively new area, and there are still many unknown factors, yet the rate of development has increased greatly. More and deeper wells are expected to be drilled with even better results.

Groundwater Withdrawals under Drought: Reconciling GRACE and Models in the United States High Plains Aquifer

Science.gov (United States)

Nie, W.; Zaitchik, B. F.; Kumar, S.; Rodell, M.

2017-12-01

Advanced Land Surface Models (LSM) offer a powerful tool for studying and monitoring hydrological variability. Highly managed systems, however, present a challenge for these models, which typically have simplified or incomplete representations of human water use, if the process is represented at all. GRACE, meanwhile, detects the total change in water storage, including change due to human activities, but does not resolve the source of these changes. Here we examine recent groundwater declines in the US High Plains Aquifer (HPA), a region that is heavily utilized for irrigation and that is also affected by episodic drought. To understand observed decline in groundwater (well observation) and terrestrial water storage (GRACE) during a recent multi-year drought, we modify the Noah-MP LSM to include a groundwater pumping irrigation scheme. To account for seasonal and interannual variability in active irrigated area we apply a monthly time-varying greenness vegetation fraction (GVF) dataset to the model. A set of five experiments were performed to study the impact of irrigation with groundwater withdrawal on the simulated hydrological cycle of the HPA and to assess the importance of time-varying GVF when simulating drought conditions. The results show that including the groundwater pumping irrigation scheme in Noah-MP improves model agreement with GRACE mascon solutions for TWS and well observations of groundwater anomaly in the southern HPA, including Texas and Kansas, and that accounting for time-varying GVF is important for model realism under drought. Results for the HPA in Nebraska are mixed, likely due to misrepresentation of the recharge process. This presentation will highlight the value of the GRACE constraint for model development, present estimates of the relative contribution of climate variability and irrigation to declining TWS in the HPA under drought, and identify opportunities to integrate GRACE-FO with models for water resource monitoring in heavily

Carbon isotope ratios of great plains soils and in wheat-fallow systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Follett, R.F.; Paul, E.A.; Leavitt, S.W.; Halvorson, A.D.; Lyon, D.; Peterson, G.A.

1997-01-01

The purposes of this study were to improve knowledge of regional vegetation patterns of C3 and C4 plants in the North American Great Plains and to use delta 13C methodology and long-term research sites to determine contributions of small-grain crops to total soil organic carbon (SOC) now present. Archived and recent soil samples were used. Detailed soil sampling was in 1993 at long-term sites near Akron, CO, and Sidney, NE. After soil sieving, drying, and deliming, SOC and delta 13C were determined using an automated C/N analyzer interfaced to an isotope-ratio mass spectrometer. Yield records from long-term experimental sites were used to estimate the amount of C3 plant residue C returned to the soil. Results from delta 13C analyses of soils from near Waldheim, Saskatchewan, to Big Springs, TX, showed a strong north to south decrease in SOC derived from C3 plants and a corresponding increase from C4 plants. The delta 13C analyses gave evidence that C3 plant residue C (possibly from shrubs) is increasing at the Big Springs, TX, and Lawton, OK, sites. Also, delta 13C analyses of subsoil and topsoil layers shows evidence of a regional shift to more C3 species, possibly because of a cooler climate during the past few hundreds to thousands of years. Data from long-term research sites indicate that the efficiency of incorporation of small-grain crop residue C was about 5.4% during 84 yr at Akron, CO, and about 10.5% during 20 yr at Sidney, NE. The 14C age of the SOC at 0- to 10-cm depth was 193 yr and at 30 to 45 cm was 4000 yr; 14C age of nonhydrolyzable C was 2000 and 7000 yr for these same two respective depths. Natural partitioning of the 13C isotope by the photosynthetic pathways of C3 and C4 plants provides a potentially powerful tool to study SOC dynamics at both regional and local scales

Water movement and solute transport in deep vadose zone under four irrigated agricultural land-use types in the North China Plain

Science.gov (United States)

Min, Leilei; Shen, Yanjun; Pei, Hongwei; Wang, Ping

2018-04-01

Groundwater-fed agriculture has caused water table declines and groundwater quality degradation in the North China Plain. Based on sediment sampling in deep vadose zone (with a maximum depth of 11.0 m), groundwater recharge, seepage velocity, solute inventory and transport under four typical irrigated agricultural land-use types (winter wheat and summer maize, WM; pear orchards, PO; outdoor vegetables, VE; and cotton, CO) were investigated in this study. The results reveal that there are many solutes stored in the vadose zone. Nitrate storage per unit depth in the vadose zone is highest under PO (1703 kg/ha), followed by VE (970 kg/ha), WM (736 kg/ha) and CO (727 kg/ha). However, the amount of annual leached nitrate under the four land-use types results in a different order (VE, 404 kg/ha; WM, 108 kg/ha; PO, 23 kg/ha; CO, 13 kg/ha). The estimated average recharge rates are 180 mm/yr for WM, 27 mm/yr for CO, 320 mm/yr for VE and 49 mm/yr for PO. The seepage velocity under VE (2.22 m/yr) exceeds the values under the other three land-use types (WM, 0.85 m/yr; PO, 0.49 m/yr; CO, 0.09 m/yr). The highest seepage velocity under VE caused significant nitrate contamination in groundwater, whereas the other two land-use types (WM and PO) had no direct influence on groundwater quality. The results of this work could be used for groundwater resources management.

Dendroclimatic potential of plains cottonwood (Populus deltoides subsp. monilifera) from the Northern Great Plains, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Edmonson, Jesse; Friedman, Jonathan; Meko, David; Touchan, Ramzi; Scott, Julian; Edmonson, Alan

2014-01-01

A new 368-year tree-ring chronology (A.D. 1643–2010) has been developed in western North Dakota using plains cottonwood (Populus deltoides subsp. monilifera) growing on the relatively undisturbed floodplain of the Little Missouri River in the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We document many slow-growing living trees between 150–370 years old that contradict the common understanding that cottonwoods grow fast and die young. In this northern location, cottonwood produces distinct annual rings with dramatic interannual variability that strongly crossdate. The detrended tree-ring chronology is significantly positively correlated with local growing season precipitation and soil moisture conditions (r  =  0.69). This time series shows periods of prolonged low radial tree growth during the known droughts of the instrumental record (e.g. 1931–1939 and 1980–1981) and also during prehistory (e.g. 1816–1823 and 1856–1865) when other paleoclimate studies have documented droughts in this region. Tree rings of cottonwood will be a useful tool to help reconstruct climate, streamflow, and the floodplain history of the Little Missouri River and other northern river systems.

Evaluation of the applicability of the SWAT model in an arid piedmont plain oasis.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Yong; Li, Changyou; Zhang, Chengfu; Shi, Xiaohong; Bourque, Charles P-A; Zhao, Shengnan

2016-01-01

Hetao Oasis is located in a typical piedmont alluvial plain bounded by the Langshan Mountain Range in the north, desert in the west, and the Yellow River in the south. Agricultural activities within the oasis significantly impact the hydrological cycle and water quality in downstream locations. The research uses the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) for a piedmont plain by defining the watershed boundary as coinciding with the natural mountain ridge, the border between the oasis and the desert, and the Yellow River. The model simulates water discharge with coefficient of determination and a Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency of 0.78 and 0.62 during model calibration, and 0.75 and 0.69 during model validation, suggesting that delineation of the watershed as carried out in this research is suitable for piedmont plain topography. From the results, the mountains contribute 28.4% to the water discharge at the outlet of the watershed, and water-use efficiency of irrigated water is about 40%, which is consistent with field-based measurements. Methodologies used in delineating watershed boundaries and parameterizing SWAT provide a solid foundation for water balance studies in other regions of the world with similar topography.

Condensation irrigation a system for desalination and irrigation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lindblom, J.; Nordell, B

2006-01-01

condensation irrigation is a system for both desalination and irrigation. The principles is that humidified air is let into an underground horizontal pipe system, where the air is cooled by the ground and humidity falls out as fresh water. The humidification could e.g. be achieved by evaporation of seawater in solar stills or any other heat source. By using drainage pipes for underground air transportation the water percolates into the soil, thereby irrigating the land. This study focuses on drinking water production, which means that humid air is led into plan pipes where the condensed water is collected at the pipe endings. Numerical simulations gave a study-state diurnal mean water production of 1.8 kg per meter of pipe over a 50 m pipe. Shorter pipes result in a greater mean production rate. Since the heat transfer of drainage pipes would be greater, current study indicates that condensation irrigation is a promising method for desalination and irrigation. Performed studies in condensation irrigation started at LTU in 2003. Current paper reports the initial theoretical work on the system.(Author)

Approaches and challenges of soil water monitoring in an irrigated vineyard

Science.gov (United States)

Nolz, Reinhard; Loiskandl, Willibald

2016-04-01

Monitoring of water content is an approved method to quantify certain components of the soil water balance, for example as basis for hydrological studies and soil water management. Temporal soil water data also allow controlling water status by means of demand-oriented irrigation. Regarding spatial variability of water content due to soil characteristics, plant water uptake and other non-uniformities, it is a great challenge to select a location that is most likely representing soil water status of a larger area (e.g. an irrigated field). Although such an approach might not satisfy the requirements of precision farming - which becomes more and more related to industrial agriculture - it can help improving water use efficiency of small-scale farming. In this regard, specific conditions can be found in typical vineyards in the eastern part of Austria, where grapes are grown for high quality wine production. Generally, the local dry-subhumid climate supports grape development. However, irrigation is temporarily essential in order to guarantee stable yields and high quality. As the local winegrowers traditionally control irrigation based on their experience, there is a potential to improve irrigation management by means of soil water data. In order to gain experience with regard to irrigation management, soil water status was determined in a small vineyard in Austria (47°48'16'' N, 17°01'57'' E, 118 m elevation). The vineyard was equipped with a subsurface drip irrigation system and access tubes for measuring water content in soil profiles. The latter was measured using a portable device as well as permanently installed multi-sensor capacitance probes. Soil samples were taken at chosen dates and gravimetrically analyzed in the laboratory. Water content data were analyzed using simple statistical procedures and the temporal stability concept. Soil water content was interpreted considering different environmental conditions, including rainfall and irrigation periods

Review of ultrasonic irrigation in endodontics: increasing action of irrigating solutions

Science.gov (United States)

Mozo, Sandra; Llena, Carmen

2012-01-01

Introduction: Effective irrigant delivery and agitation are prerequisites for successful endodontic treatment. Ultrasonic irrigation can be performed with or without simultaneous ultrasonic instrumentation. Existing literature reveals that ultrasonic irrigation may have a very positive effect on chemical, biological and physical debridement of the root canal system as investigated in many in vitro studies. Objective: The purpose of this review article was to summarize and discuss the available information concerning ultrasonic irrigation in endodontics. Methods: This article presents an overview of ultrasonic irrigation methods and their debridement efficacy. In this paper the relevant literature on passive ultrasonic irrigation is reviewed. Information from original scientific papers or reviews listed in MEDLINE and Cochrane were included in the review. Results: The use of ultrasound in the irrigation procedure results in improved canal cleanliness, better irrigant transfer to the canal system, soft tissue debridement, and removal of smear layer and bacteria. There are many in vitro studies, but there is a need to standardize protocols, and correlate the clinical efficacy of ultrasonic devices with improved treatment outcomes. Understanding the basis of ultrasonic irrigation is fundamental for clinicians and researchers to improve the design and use of ultrasonic irrigation. Key words:Ultrasonic irrigation, ultrasound, smear layer, endodontics. PMID:22143738

Second chance for the plains bison

Science.gov (United States)

Freese, Curtis H.; Aune, K.; Boyd, D.; Derr, James N.; Forrest, Steven C.; Gates, C. Cormack; Gogan, Peter J.; Grassel, Shaun M.; Halbert, Natalie D.; Kunkel, Kyran; Redford, Kent

2007-01-01

Before European settlement the plains bison (Bison bison bison) numbered in the tens of millions across most of the temperate region of North America. Within the span of a few decades during the mid- to late-1800s its numbers were reduced by hunting and other factors to a few hundred. The plight of the plains bison led to one of the first major movements in North America to save an endangered species. A few individuals and the American Bison Society rescued the remaining animals. Attempts to hybridize cattle and bison when bison numbers were low resulted in extensive cattle gene introgression in bison. Today, though approximately 500,000 plains bison exist in North America, few are free of cattle gene introgression, 96% are subject to anthropogenic selection for commodity production, and only 4% are in herds managed primarily for conservation purposes. Small herd size, artificial selection, cattle-gene introgression, and other factors threaten the diversity and integrity of the bison genome. In addition, the bison is for all practical purposes ecologically extinct across its former range, with multiple consequences for grassland biodiversity. Urgent measures are needed to conserve the wild bison genome and to restore the ecological role of bison in grassland ecosystems. Socioeconomic trends in the Great Plains, combined with new information about bison conservation needs and new conservation initiatives by both the public and public sectors, have set the stage for significant progress in bison conservation over the next few years.

Secondary salinisation in the Indus basin of Pakistan: an environmental issue of irrigated agriculture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aslam, M.; Kahlown, M.A.; Prathapar, S.A.; Ashraf, M.

2005-01-01

The increasing awareness of environmental issues has created a serious concern about the adverse social and environmental impacts of irrigation and water resources development projects in many developing countries. In Pakistan, development of the Indus Basin Irrigation System (IBIS), which serves 16 million ha, and distributes 172 billion cubic meters of high quality river water per annum, has caused the secondary salinization. An area of about 2 Mha is estimated to be severely salinized. In most of the cases, secondary salinity is caused by shallow saline groundwater and inadequate amounts of irrigation water for leaching salts from root zone. However, intensive use of poor quality groundwater without improving its quality also converts good agricultural lands into salt-affected lands. About 70 to 80 percent of tube wells of the Indus Plain pump sodic water, as a result of which large tracts of irrigated land have become sodic. The secondary salinity has devoured the potential of agricultural lands causing poor yield of crops. The affected lands are either lying barren or give poor yield of crops. As a result of salinization about 28,000 to 40,000 ha of irrigated land are going out of production per year. In response, researchers, policy makers, agency personnel and farmers in Pakistan have continuously devised strategies to mitigate secondary salinization. In this paper, nature and causes of secondary salinization, and review of strategies developed and tested in the IBIS to mitigate salinization are presented. Appropriate combination of strategies for various canal commands, and areas requiring further investigations are identified. (author)

Irrigation and Autocracy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bentzen, Jeanet Sinding; Kaarsen, Nicolai; Wingender, Asger Moll

We show that societies with a history of irrigation-based agriculture have been less likely to adopt democracy than societies with a history of rainfed agriculture. Rather than actual irrigation, the empirical analysis is based on how much irrigation potentially can increase yields.Irrigation pot...

Drip irrigation using a PLC based adaptive irrigation system

OpenAIRE

Shahidian, S.; Serralheiro, R. P.; Teixeira, J. L.; Santos, F. L.; Oliveira, M. R. G.; Costa, J. L.; Toureiro, C.; Haie, Naim; Machado, R. M.

2009-01-01

Most of the water used by man goes to irrigation. A major part of this water is used to irrigate small plots where it is not feasible to implement full-scale Evapotranspiration based irrigation controllers. During the growth season crop water needs do not remain constant and varies depending on the canopy, growth stage and climate conditions such as temperature, wind, relative humidity and solar radiation. Thus, it is necessary to find an economic irrigation controller that can adapt the dail...

The vulnerability of groundwater of the Crau plain in a context of change in land use

Science.gov (United States)

Beltrando, Gérard

2016-04-01

In the Crau plain (520 km², Western part of the region of Marseille), With the arrangement of canals which began at the end of the 17th century, the irrigation by flood in a part of the plain has allowed the production of an quality hay and the preservation of a performing traditional socio-ecological system named "Pastoralism - Foin de Crau" between the arid part (steppe) and the Green Car with a voluminous groundwater in the Green Crau. During the second part of the XXth century the traditional economical functions have quickly changed in a context of uncertainty about the future of climate and a strong pressure on this territory, characterized by an irrigated part (the Green Crau) and a dry part (the steppe named Coussoul) : (1) the surface used for the regular flood (irrigation) in hot season of meadows for hay has decreased, while this water allows the alimentation of an important groundwater in which 80 million of m³ of water are taken every year; (2) the arid steppe, used seasonally by the ovine pastoralism, allows the preservation of a unique biodiversity. These fast changes in the land use raise the question of the durability of this groundwater today which offers numerous ecosystem advantages to the populations but also, the preservation, even the reconstruction, a rare biophysics environment and the major ecological interest. The management of the groundwater of Crau just like the conservation of the agro-system of the dry steppe thus constitutes an inseparable territorial stake. The impact of Man on this old ecosystem modelled slowly by the man is very vulnerable in front of exogenous disturbances. What are today the threats generated by the evolution of the land uses for the groundwater but also on the preservation of the unique and ancestral agro-ecosystem of the steppe?

Monitoring and Modeling Water and Energy Fluxes in North China Plain: From Field to Regional Scales

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Y.

2012-12-01

North China Plain is one of the mostly water deficit region in the world. Even though the total water withdrawal from surface and groundwater exceeded its renewable ability for long years, due to its importance to balance the food budget in China, large amount of groundwater is still extracted every year for intensive irrigation. With winter wheat and summer maize double-cropping system, the grain yield of NCP can reach a very high level of around 15 t/ha annually, which is largely depended on timely irrigation. As a result, the ceaseless over exploitation of groundwater caused serious environmental and ecological problems, e.g. nearly all the rivers run drying-up at plain areas, groundwater declined, land subsidence, and wetland shrank. The decrease in precipitation over past half century reinforced the water shortage in NCP. The sustainability of both the water resources and agriculture became the most important issue in this region. A key issue to the sustainable use of water resources is to improve the water use efficiency and reduce agricultural water consumptions. This study will introduce the efforts we put to clarify the water and heat balances in irrigated agricultural lands and its implications to crop yield, hydrology, and water resources evolution in NCP. We established a multi-scale observation system in NCP to study the surface water and heat processes and agricultural aspect of hydrological cycle in past years. Multi-disciplinary methods are adopted into this research such as micro-meteorologic, isotopic, soil hydrologic methods at the field scale, and remote sensing and modeling for study the water fluxes over regional scale. Detailed research activities and interesting as well as some initial results will be introduced at the workshop.

Trends in Playa Inundation and Water Storage in the Ogallala Aquifer on the Texas High Plains

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Dennis Gitz

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The Ogallala Aquifer is an important source of irrigation water on the Texas High plains; however, significant decreases in saturated thickness threaten its future use for irrigation. A better understanding of the roles of playas, ephemeral surface ponds, in aquifer recharge is needed to establish levels of withdrawals that will meet either established desired future conditions or sustainability. In this study, data regarding playa inundation, depth to groundwater, precipitation and land cover from 2001 to 2011 were collected and analyzed to ascertain associations between these characteristics for four study areas on the Texas High plains. Each area covered 40,000–70,000 ha. Three of the study areas in Hockley, Floyd and Swisher counties were chosen because their center contained a playa instrumented to measure weather and depth of inundation. There were 20 distinct inundation events at the three instrumented playas between 2006 and 2010. For each of these inundations, water loss exceeded rates of potential evapotranspiration (ET by a factor of 1.6–15.7 times, implying that infiltration was occurring. Playa inundation in all four study areas was also assessed by analyzing images from the National Agricultural Imaginary program. Data on depth to groundwater were analyzed from 2000 to 2010 to determine annual changes of stored water. Annual changes in groundwater were weakly associated with surface area of inundated playas in late summer, but was strongly associated with annual rainfall. Rates of infiltration based on playa water loss versus potential ET, and volume of water in playas was more than sufficient to account for annual changes in groundwater. Land use adjoining the playas had less of influence on playa inundation than annual rainfall. These results strengthen the argument that water storage in playas on the Texas High Plains is an important source of water for aquifer recharge.

Buteo Nesting Ecology: Evaluating Nesting of Swainson’s Hawks in the Northern Great Plains

Science.gov (United States)

Inselman, Will M.; Datta, Shubham; Jenks, Jonathan A.; Jensen, Kent C.; Grovenburg, Troy W.

2015-01-01

Swainson’s hawks (Buteo swainsoni) are long-distance migratory raptors that nest primarily in isolated trees located in areas of high grassland density. In recent years, anthropogenic conversion of grassland habitat has raised concerns about the status of the breeding population in the northern Great Plains. In 2013, we initiated a study to investigate the influence of extrinsic factors influencing Swainson’s hawk nesting ecology in north-central South Dakota and south-central North Dakota. Using ground and aerial surveys, we located and monitored nesting Swainson’s hawk pairs: 73 in 2013 and 120 in 2014. We documented 98 successful breeding attempts that fledged 163 chicks; 1.52 and 1.72 fledglings per successful nest in 2013 and 2014, respectively. We used Program MARK to evaluate the influence of land cover on nest survival. The top model, S Dist2Farm+%Hay, indicated that nest survival (fledging at least one chick) decreased as nests were located farther from farm sites and as the percent of hay cover increased within 1200-m of the nest site (34.4%; 95% CI = 27.6%–42.3%). We used logistic regression analysis to evaluate the influence of landscape variables on nest-site selection; Swainson’s hawks selected for nest sites located closer to roads. We suggest that tree belts associated with farm sites, whether occupied or not, provide critical breeding sites for Swainson’s hawks. Additionally, poor breeding success may be related to the late migratory behavior of this species which requires them to occupy marginal habitat due to other raptors occupying the most suitable habitat prior to Swainson’s hawks arriving to the breeding grounds. PMID:26327440

Adaptation of C4 Bioenergy Crop Species to Various Environments within the Southern Great Plains of USA

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Sumin Kim

2017-01-01

Full Text Available As highly productive perennial grasses are evaluated as bioenergy feedstocks, a major consideration is biomass yield stability. Two experiments were conducted to examine some aspects of yield stability for two biofuel species: switchgrass (Panicum vigratum L. and Miscanthus x giganteus (Mxg. Biomass yields of these species were evaluated under various environmental conditions across the Southern Great Plains (SGP, including some sites with low soil fertility. In the first experiment, measured yields of four switchgrass ecotypes and Mxg varied among locations. Overall, plants showed optimal growth performance in study sites close to their geographical origins. Lowland switchgrass ecotypes and Mxg yields simulated by the ALMANAC model showed reasonable agreement with the measured yields across all study locations, while the simulated yields of upland switchgrass ecotypes were overestimated in northern locations. In the second experiment, examination of different N fertilizer rates revealed switchgrass yield increases over the range of 0, 80, or 160 kg N ha−1 year−1, while Mxg only showed yield increases between the low and medium N rates. This provides useful insights to crop management of two biofuel species and to enhance the predictive accuracy of process-based models, which are critical for developing bioenergy market systems in the SGP.

Soil organic matter stabilization in buried paleosols of the Great Plains

Science.gov (United States)

Chaopricha, N. T.; Marin-Spiotta, E.; Mason, J. A.; Mueller, C. W.

2010-12-01

Understanding the mechanisms that control soil organic matter (SOM) stabilization is important for understanding how soil carbon is sequestered over millennia, and for predicting how future disturbances may affect soil carbon stocks. We are studying the mechanisms controlling SOM stabilization in the Brady Soil, a buried paleosol in Holocene loess deposits spanning much of the central Great Plains of the United States. The Brady Soil developed 9,000-13,500 years ago during a time of warming and drying that resulted in a shift from C3 to C4 dominated plants. The Brady soil is unusual in that it has very dark coloring, although it contains less than separate particulate organic matter associated with minerals from that within and outside of soil aggregates. We found the largest and darkest amounts of organic C in aggregate-protected SOM greater than 20 µm in diameter. Density and textural fractionation revealed that much of the SOM is bound within aggregates, indicating that protection within aggregates is a major contributor to SOM- stabilization in the Brady Soil. We are conducting a long-term lab soil incubation with soils collected from the modern A horizon and the Brady Soil to determine if the buried SOM becomes microbially available when exposed to the modern atmosphere. We are measuring potential rates of respiration and production of CH4 and N2O. Results so far show respiration rates at field moisture for both modern and buried horizons are limited by water, suggesting dry environmental conditions may have helped to preserve SOM in the Brady Soil. We are investigating the potential for chemical stabilization of the dark SOM preserved in the buried paleosol by characterizing C chemistry using solid-state 13C-NMR spectroscopy. Furthermore, we plan to use lipid analyses and pyrolysis GC/MS to determine likely sources for the SOM: microbial vs plant. Combining information on the physical location of SOM in the soil, its chemical composition, decomposability

ROOT CANAL IRRIGANTS AND IRRIGATION TECHNIQUES: A REVIEW

OpenAIRE

Aniketh; Mohamed; Geeta; Nandakishore; Gourav Kumar; Patrick Timothy; Jayson Mathew; Sahle Abdul

2015-01-01

Root canal irrigation is not much emphasised in endodontic therapy. Most articles discussed are on root canal shaping and obturation not much emphasis is given for irrigation. There are many irrigation solutions which are introduced into market. The primary objective of root canal therapy is the ret ention of the pulpless or pulpally involved tooth with its associated periapical tissues in a healthy state. Achievement of this objective requires that the pulpal spaces and con...

Vertically resolved concentration and liquid water content of atmospheric nanoparticles at the US DOE Southern Great Plains site

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H. Chen

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Most prior field studies of new particle formation (NPF have been performed at or near ground level, leaving many unanswered questions regarding the vertical extent of NPF. To address this, we measured concentrations of 11–16 nm diameter particles from ground level to 1000 m during the 2013 New Particle Formation Study at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Southern Great Plains site in Lamont, Oklahoma. The measurements were performed using a tethered balloon carrying two condensation particle counters that were configured for two different particle cut-off diameters. These observations were compared to data from three scanning mobility particle sizers at the ground level. We observed that 11–16 nm diameter particles were generated at the top region of the boundary layer, and were then rapidly mixed throughout the boundary layer. We also estimate liquid water content of nanoparticles using ground-based measurements of particle hygroscopicity obtained with a Humidified Tandem Differential Mobility Analyzer and vertically resolved relative humidity (RH and temperature measured with a Raman lidar. Our analyses of these observations lead to the following conclusions regarding nanoparticles formed during NPF events at this site: (1 ground-based observations may not always accurately represent the timing, distribution, and meteorological conditions associated with the onset of NPF; (2 nanoparticles are highly hygroscopic and typically contain up to 50 % water by volume, and during conditions of high RH combined with high particle hygroscopicity, particles can be up to 95 % water by volume; (3 increased liquid water content of nanoparticles at high RH greatly enhances the partitioning of water-soluble species like organic acids into ambient nanoparticles.

Vertically resolved concentration and liquid water content of atmospheric nanoparticles at the US DOE Southern Great Plains site

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Haihan; Hodshire, Anna L.; Ortega, John; Greenberg, James; McMurry, Peter H.; Carlton, Annmarie G.; Pierce, Jeffrey R.; Hanson, Dave R.; Smith, James N.

2018-01-01

Most prior field studies of new particle formation (NPF) have been performed at or near ground level, leaving many unanswered questions regarding the vertical extent of NPF. To address this, we measured concentrations of 11-16 nm diameter particles from ground level to 1000 m during the 2013 New Particle Formation Study at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Southern Great Plains site in Lamont, Oklahoma. The measurements were performed using a tethered balloon carrying two condensation particle counters that were configured for two different particle cut-off diameters. These observations were compared to data from three scanning mobility particle sizers at the ground level. We observed that 11-16 nm diameter particles were generated at the top region of the boundary layer, and were then rapidly mixed throughout the boundary layer. We also estimate liquid water content of nanoparticles using ground-based measurements of particle hygroscopicity obtained with a Humidified Tandem Differential Mobility Analyzer and vertically resolved relative humidity (RH) and temperature measured with a Raman lidar. Our analyses of these observations lead to the following conclusions regarding nanoparticles formed during NPF events at this site: (1) ground-based observations may not always accurately represent the timing, distribution, and meteorological conditions associated with the onset of NPF; (2) nanoparticles are highly hygroscopic and typically contain up to 50 % water by volume, and during conditions of high RH combined with high particle hygroscopicity, particles can be up to 95 % water by volume; (3) increased liquid water content of nanoparticles at high RH greatly enhances the partitioning of water-soluble species like organic acids into ambient nanoparticles.

Toxicity of a glufosinate- and several glyphosate-based herbicides to juvenile amphibians from the Southern High Plains, USA.

Science.gov (United States)

Dinehart, Simon K; Smith, Loren M; McMurry, Scott T; Anderson, Todd A; Smith, Philip N; Haukos, David A

2009-01-15

Pesticide toxicity is often proposed as a contributing factor to the world-wide decline of amphibian populations. We assessed acute toxicity (48 h) of a glufosinate-based herbicide (Ignite 280 SL) and several glyphosate-based herbicide formulations (Roundup WeatherMAX, Roundup Weed and Grass Killer Super Concentrate, Roundup Weed and Grass Killer Ready-To-Use Plus on two species of amphibians housed on soil or moist paper towels. Survival of juvenile Great Plains toads (Bufo cognatus) and New Mexico spadefoots (Spea multiplicata) was reduced by exposure to Roundup Weed and Grass Killer Ready-To-Use Plus on both substrates. Great Plains toad survival was also reduced by exposure to Roundup Weed and Grass Killer Super Concentrate on paper towels. New Mexico spadefoot and Great Plains toad survival was not affected by exposure to the two agricultural herbicides (Roundup WeatherMAX and Ignite 280 SL) on either substrate, suggesting that these herbicides likely do not pose an immediate risk to these species under field conditions.

Analysis of Irrigation Water Quality at Kadawa Irrigation Project for Improved Productivity

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AR Sanda

2014-09-01

Full Text Available In the face of water scarcity and the several negative consequences, such as water wastage, flooding, water logging, soil losses and production losses, conserving the finite amount of fresh water is a must. The quality of irrigation water must therefore be ascertained. The chemical quality of three sources of irrigation water from canal and drainage water, namely drainage water, fresh irrigation water from canal, and drainage/irrigation water mixture, were analyzed from Kadawa irrigation Project for year 2013 and 2014 cropping seasons, with the view to evaluating the potential risks associated with their use in irrigation and hence their suitability or otherwise for irrigation purposes. The analysis revealed that the use of drainage water alone for irrigation may result in problems associated with salinity, while a blend of drainage/irrigation water in the ratio of 1:1 is a viable means of water conservation and a good means of crop production. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ije.v3i3.11082 International Journal of Environment Vol.3(3 2014: 235-240

Assessment the Economic Damage of Inter-Basin Water Transfer on Cropping Pattern and Farmers’ Income Situation in the Origin Basin (Case Study: Water Transfer of Alamoutrood to Qazvin Plain

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A. Parhizkari

2016-03-01

building the dam, canals, streams and aqueducts. Even today, many projects are implemented in Iran that water transfer project of Alamoutrood to Qazvin plain is one of the most important of these projects. According to reports of Regional Water Company of Qazvin province and the specifications of inter-basin water transfer project of Alamoutrood to Qazvin plain will be out from the farmers availability of Alamut region about 370 million cubic meters of irrigation water. This issue has the huge impacts on cropping pattern and farmers economic and livelihood condition in the origin basin (Alamout region. Therefore, in this study a hydrological-economic modeling system to analysis the effects of water transfer project of Alamoutrood to Qazvin plain on cropping pattern, farmers gross profit and economic value of irrigation water in the Alamut region (origin basin was used. Materials and Methods: Nowadays different methods to analysis of the issues related to the management of water resources and agriculture are used. One of the most important of these methods is mathematical programming that in recent years are in use to solve problems of water resource management sector and analysis of the agricultural policies. In this study a hydrological-economic modeling system consists of the Positive Mathematical Programming (PMP and product function with Constant Elasticity of Substitution (CES to analysis of the effects of inter-basin water transfer on land use, farmers income situation and economic value of irrigation water in the origin basin (Alamout region was used. The first time PMP model developed by Howitt (1995 to calibrate agricultural supply models have been used to link biophysical and economic information in an integrated biophysical and economic modelling framework and to assess impacts of agricultural policies and scenarios. These models are also accepted for analysing the impact of water resources management policies and scenarios. PMP model used in this paper is a

Current knowledge and future research directions to link soil health and water conservation in the Ogallala Aquifer region.

Science.gov (United States)

The Ogallala Aquifer is one of the largest freshwater aquifers in the world. It acts as a valuable resource in agriculture, animal production, and public water supplies across eight Great Plains states. However, with high irrigation demand, low recharge rates across most of the region, and extreme c...

Ball Games of Native American Women of the Plains.

Science.gov (United States)

Pesavento, Wilma J.

The problem under investigation concerned (1) determining the ball games of Native American girls and women of the Great Plains, (2) determining the geographical spread of the games within the culture area, and (3) determining the characteristics of the various games. Data for this investigation were obtained from the 48 "Annual Reports of the…

Spatial Variation of Arsenic in Soil, Irrigation Water, and Plant Parts: A Microlevel Study

OpenAIRE

Kabir, M. S.; Salam, M. A.; Paul, D. N. R.; Hossain, M. I.; Rahman, N. M. F.; Aziz, Abdullah; Latif, M. A.

2016-01-01

Arsenic pollution became a great problem in the recent past in different countries including Bangladesh. The microlevel studies were conducted to see the spatial variation of arsenic in soils and plant parts contaminated through ground water irrigation. The study was performed in shallow tube well command areas in Sadar Upazila (subdistrict), Faridpur, Bangladesh, where both soil and irrigation water arsenic are high. Semivariogram models were computed to determine the spatial dependency of s...

Can conservation trump impacts of climate change on soil erosion? An assessment from winter wheat cropland in the Southern Great Plains of the United States

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Jurgen D. Garbrecht

2015-12-01

Full Text Available With the need to increase crop production to meet the needs of a growing population, protecting the productivity of our soil resource is essential. However, conservationists are concerned that conservation practices that were effective in the past may no longer be effective in the future under projected climate change. In winter wheat cropland in the Southern Great Plains of the U.S., increased precipitation intensity and increased aridity associated with warmer temperatures may pose increased risks of soil erosion from vulnerable soils and landscapes. This investigation was undertaken to determine which conservation practices would be necessary and sufficient to hold annual soil erosion by water under a high greenhouse gas emission scenario at or below the present soil erosion levels. Advances in and benefits of agricultural soil and water conservation over the last century in the United States are briefly reviewed, and challenges and climate uncertainties confronting resource conservation in this century are addressed. The Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP computer model was used to estimate future soil erosion by water from winter wheat cropland in Central Oklahoma and for 10 projected climates and 7 alternative conservation practices. A comparison with soil erosion values under current climate conditions and conventional tillage operations showed that, on average, a switch from conventional to conservation tillage would be sufficient to offset the average increase in soil erosion by water under most projected climates. More effective conservation practices, such as conservation tillage with a summer cover crop would be required to control soil erosion associated with the most severe climate projections. It was concluded that a broad range of conservation tools are available to agriculture to offset projected future increases in soil erosion by water even under assumed worst case climate change scenarios in Central Oklahoma. The problem

Green and blue water footprint reduction in irrigated agriculture: effect of irrigation techniques, irrigation strategies and mulching

Science.gov (United States)

Chukalla, A. D.; Krol, M. S.; Hoekstra, A. Y.

2015-12-01

Consumptive water footprint (WF) reduction in irrigated crop production is essential given the increasing competition for freshwater. This study explores the effect of three management practices on the soil water balance and plant growth, specifically on evapotranspiration (ET) and yield (Y) and thus the consumptive WF of crops (ET / Y). The management practices are four irrigation techniques (furrow, sprinkler, drip and subsurface drip (SSD)), four irrigation strategies (full (FI), deficit (DI), supplementary (SI) and no irrigation), and three mulching practices (no mulching, organic (OML) and synthetic (SML) mulching). Various cases were considered: arid, semi-arid, sub-humid and humid environments in Israel, Spain, Italy and the UK, respectively; wet, normal and dry years; three soil types (sand, sandy loam and silty clay loam); and three crops (maize, potato and tomato). The AquaCrop model and the global WF accounting standard were used to relate the management practices to effects on ET, Y and WF. For each management practice, the associated green, blue and total consumptive WF were compared to the reference case (furrow irrigation, full irrigation, no mulching). The average reduction in the consumptive WF is 8-10 % if we change from the reference to drip or SSD, 13 % when changing to OML, 17-18 % when moving to drip or SSD in combination with OML, and 28 % for drip or SSD in combination with SML. All before-mentioned reductions increase by one or a few per cent when moving from full to deficit irrigation. Reduction in overall consumptive WF always goes together with an increasing ratio of green to blue WF. The WF of growing a crop for a particular environment is smallest under DI, followed by FI, SI and rain-fed. Growing crops with sprinkler irrigation has the largest consumptive WF, followed by furrow, drip and SSD. Furrow irrigation has a smaller consumptive WF compared with sprinkler, even though the classical measure of "irrigation efficiency" for furrow

Root canal irrigants

OpenAIRE

Kandaswamy, Deivanayagam; Venkateshbabu, Nagendrababu

2010-01-01

Successful root canal therapy relies on the combination of proper instrumentation, irrigation, and obturation of the root canal. Of these three essential steps of root canal therapy, irrigation of the root canal is the most important determinant in the healing of the periapical tissues. The primary endodontic treatment goal must thus be to optimize root canal disinfection and to prevent reinfection. In this review of the literature, various irrigants and the interactions between irrigants are...

Nitrate accumulation and leaching potential reduced by coupled water and nitrogen management in the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Ping; Zhang, Jiabao; Zhu, Anning; Li, Xiaopeng; Ma, Donghao; Xin, Xiuli; Zhang, Congzhi; Wu, Shengjun; Garland, Gina; Pereira, Engil Isadora Pujol

2018-01-01

Irrigation and nitrogen (N) fertilization in excess of crop requirements are responsible for substantial nitrate accumulation in the soil profile and contamination of groundwater by nitrate leaching during intensive agricultural production. In this on-farm field trial, we compared 16 different water and N treatments on nitrate accumulation and its distribution in the soil profile (0-180cm), nitrate leaching potential, and groundwater nitrate concentration within a summer-maize (Zea mays L.) and winter-wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) rotation system in the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain over five cropping cycles (2006-2010). The results indicated that nitrate remaining in the soil profile after crop harvest and nitrate concentration of soil solutions at two depths (80cm and 180cm) declined with increasing irrigation amounts and increased greatly with increasing N application rates, especially for seasonal N application rates higher than 190kgNha -1 . During the experimental period, continuous torrential rainfall was the main cause for nitrate leaching beyond the root zone (180cm), which could pose potential risks for contamination of groundwater. Nitrate concentration of groundwater varied from 0.2 to 2.9mgL -1 , which was lower than the limit of 10mgL -1 as the maximum safe level for drinking water. In view of the balance between grain production and environmental consequences, seasonal N application rates of 190kgNha -1 and 150kgNha -1 were recommended for winter wheat and summer maize, respectively. Irrigation to the field capacity of 0-40cm and 0-60cm soil depth could be appropriate for maize and wheat, respectively. Therefore, taking grain yields, mineral N accumulation in the soil profile, nitrate leaching potential, and groundwater quality into account, coupled water and N management could provide an opportunity to promote grain production while reducing negative environmental impacts in this region. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A short overview of measures for securing water resources for irrigated crop production

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Christian Richardt; Ørum, Jens Erik; Pedersen, Søren Marcus

2014-01-01

Agriculture is the main user of limited fresh water resources in the world. Optimisation of agricultural water resources and their use can be obtained by both agronomical and political incentives. Important options are: reduction of the loss of irrigation water in conveyance before it reaches...... of the 'virtual water' principles so that water-rich regions secure food supply to dry regions; reduction in waste of food, feed and biofuel from post-harvest to the end consumer; changing of food composition to less water-consuming products; regulating amount of irrigation water by rationing, subsidies or water...... pricing to support water-saving measures such as use of drip, irrigation scheduling and DI. The potential for water saving for different measures is discussed and estimated. Reduction in waste of food and loss of irrigation water from conveyance source to farm both has a great potential for water saving...

Estimation of groundwater recharge using the chloride mass-balance method, Pingtung Plain, Taiwan

Science.gov (United States)

Ting, Cheh-Shyh; Kerh, Tienfuan; Liao, Chiu-Jung

Due to rapid economic growth in the Pingtung Plain of Taiwan, the use of groundwater resources has changed dramatically. Over-pumping of the groundwater reservoir, which lowers hydraulic heads in the aquifers, is not only affecting the coastal area negatively but has serious consequences for agriculture throughout the plain. In order to determine the safe yield of the aquifer underlying the plain, a reliable estimate of groundwater recharge is desirable. In the present study, for the first time, the chloride mass-balance method is adopted to estimate groundwater recharge in the plain. Four sites in the central part were chosen to facilitate the estimations using the ion-chromatograph and Thiessen polygon-weighting methods. Based on the measured and calculated results, in all sites, including the mountain and river boundaries, recharge to the groundwater is probably 15% of the annual rainfall, excluding recharge from additional irrigation water. This information can improve the accuracy of future groundwater-simulation and management models in the plain. Résumé Du fait de la croissance économique rapide de la plaine de Pingtung à Taiwan, l'utilisation des ressources en eau souterraine s'est considérablement modifié. La surexploitation des aquifères, qui a abaissé le niveau des nappes, n'affecte pas seulement la région côtière, mais a de sérieuses répercutions sur l'agriculture dans toute la plaine. Afin de déterminer les ressources renouvelables de l'aquifère sous la plaine, une estimation précise de la recharge de la nappe est nécessaire. Dans cette étude, le taux de recharge de la nappe a d'abord été estimé au moyen d'un bilan de matière de chlorure. Quatre sites de la partie centrale ont été sélectionnés pour réaliser ces estimations, à l'aide d'un chromatographe ionique et de la méthode des polygones de Thiessen. A partir des résultats mesurés et calculés, à chaque site, et en prenant comme limites les montagnes et les rivi

Willingness to pay for more efficient irrigation techniques in the Lake Karla basin, Greece.

Science.gov (United States)

Mylopoulos, Nikitas; Fafoutis, Chrysostomos

2014-05-01

Thessaly, the second largest plain of Greece, is an intensively cultivated agricultural region. The intense and widespread agriculture of hydrophilic crops, such as cotton, has led to a remarkable water demand increase, which is usually covered by the overexploitation of groundwater resources. The Lake Karla basin is a prominent example of this unsustainable practice. Competition for the limited available freshwater resources in the Lake Karla basin is expected to increase in the near future as demand for irrigation water increases and drought years are expected to increase due to climate change. Together with the Unions of Agricultural Cooperatives, the Local Organizations of Land Reclamation is planning to introduce more efficient, water saving automated drip irrigation in the area among farmers who currently use non-automated drip irrigation, in order to ensure that these farmers can better cope with drought years and that water will be used more efficiently in crop production. Saving water use in irrigated agriculture is expected to be beneficial to both farmers and the restoration of Lake Karla and its wildlife like plants and birds. The aim of this study is to understand and record the farmers' opinions regarding the use of irrigation water and the restoration of Lake Karla, and to extract valuable conclusions and perform detailed analysis of the criteria for a new irrigation method. A general choice experiment with face-to-face interviews was conducted, using a random sample of 150 open field farmers from the study area. The farmers, who use the non-automated drip irrigation method and their farms are located within the watershed of Lake Karla, were interviewed regarding their willingness to switch to more efficient irrigation techniques, such as automated and controlled drip irrigation.The most important benefits of automated drip irrigation are an increase in crop yield, as plants are given water in a more precise way (based on their needs during the

Analysis of shallow-groundwater dynamic responses to water supply change in the Haihe River plain

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Z.; Lin, W.; Pengfei, L.

2015-05-01

When the middle route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project is completed, the water supply pattern of the Haihe River plain in North China will change significantly due to the replenishment of water sources and groundwater-exploitation control. The water-cycle-simulation model - MODCYCLE, has been used in simulating the groundwater dynamic balance for 2001-2010. Then different schemes of water supply in 2020 and 2030 were set up to quantitatively simulate the shallow-groundwater dynamic responses in the future. The results show that the total shallow-groundwater recharge is mainly raised by the increases in precipitation infiltration and surface-water irrigation infiltration. Meanwhile, the decrease of groundwater withdrawal contributes to reduce the total discharge. The recharge-discharge structure of local groundwater was still in a negative balance but improved gradually. The shallow-groundwater level in most parts was still falling before 2030, but more slowly. This study can benefit the rational exploitation of water resources in the Haihe River plain.

Spatial variation in seed bank dynamics of two annual brome species in the northern Great Plains

Science.gov (United States)

Annual bromes decrease forage production in northern central plains rangelands of North America. Early life history stages are when plants are most failure-prone, yet studying death post-germination and prior to emergence is difficult. In seed bank collections conducted over the course of two growin...

Spring soil moisture-precipitation feedback in the Southern Great Plains: How is it related to large-scale atmospheric conditions?

KAUST Repository

Su, Hua

2014-02-22

The Southern Great Plains (SGP) has been shown as a region of significant soil moisture-precipitation (S-P) coupling. However, how strong evapotranspiration (ET) can affect regional precipitation remains largely unclear, impeding a full grasp of the S-P feedback in that area. The current study seeks to unravel, in a spring month (April), the potential role played by large-scale atmospheric conditions in shaping S (ET)-P feedback. Our regional climate modeling experiments demonstrate that the presence of anomalous low (high) pressure and cyclonic (anticyclonic) flows at the upper/middle troposphere over the relevant areas is associated with strongest (minimum) positive S-P feedback in the SGP. Their impacts are interpreted in terms of large-scale atmospheric dynamical disturbance, including the intensity and location of synoptic eddies. Further analyses of the vertical velocity fields corroborate these interpretations. In addition, the relationship between lower tropospheric moisture conditions (including winds) and feedback composites is evaluated. Key Points The S-P feedback strength in SGP in April varies inter-annually The atmospheric dynamic features affect significantly the feedback strength composite moisture conditions are related to atmospheric circulation structure ©2014. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.

Spring soil moisture-precipitation feedback in the Southern Great Plains: How is it related to large-scale atmospheric conditions?

KAUST Repository

Su, Hua; Yang, Zong-Liang; Dickinson, Robert E.; Wei, Jiangfeng

2014-01-01

The Southern Great Plains (SGP) has been shown as a region of significant soil moisture-precipitation (S-P) coupling. However, how strong evapotranspiration (ET) can affect regional precipitation remains largely unclear, impeding a full grasp of the S-P feedback in that area. The current study seeks to unravel, in a spring month (April), the potential role played by large-scale atmospheric conditions in shaping S (ET)-P feedback. Our regional climate modeling experiments demonstrate that the presence of anomalous low (high) pressure and cyclonic (anticyclonic) flows at the upper/middle troposphere over the relevant areas is associated with strongest (minimum) positive S-P feedback in the SGP. Their impacts are interpreted in terms of large-scale atmospheric dynamical disturbance, including the intensity and location of synoptic eddies. Further analyses of the vertical velocity fields corroborate these interpretations. In addition, the relationship between lower tropospheric moisture conditions (including winds) and feedback composites is evaluated. Key Points The S-P feedback strength in SGP in April varies inter-annually The atmospheric dynamic features affect significantly the feedback strength composite moisture conditions are related to atmospheric circulation structure ©2014. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.

Groundwater recharge and chemical evolution in the southern High Plains of Texas, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Fryar, Alan; Mullican, William; Macko, Stephen

2001-11-01

The unconfined High Plains (Ogallala) aquifer is the largest aquifer in the USA and the primary water supply for the semiarid southern High Plains of Texas and New Mexico. Analyses of water and soils northeast of Amarillo, Texas, together with data from other regional studies, indicate that processes during recharge control the composition of unconfined groundwater in the northern half of the southern High Plains. Solute and isotopic data are consistent with a sequence of episodic precipitation, concentration of solutes in upland soils by evapotranspiration, runoff, and infiltration beneath playas and ditches (modified locally by return flow of wastewater and irrigation tailwater). Plausible reactions during recharge include oxidation of organic matter, dissolution and exsolution of CO2, dissolution of CaCO3, silicate weathering, and cation exchange. Si and 14C data suggest leakage from perched aquifers to the High Plains aquifer. Plausible mass-balance models for the High Plains aquifer include scenarios of flow with leakage but not reactions, flow with reactions but not leakage, and flow with neither reactions nor leakage. Mechanisms of recharge and chemical evolution delineated in this study agree with those noted for other aquifers in the south-central and southwestern USA. Résumé. L'aquifère libre des Hautes Plaines (Ogallala) est le plus vaste aquifère des états-Unis et la ressource de base pour l'eau potable de la région semi-aride du sud des Hautes Plaines du Texas et du Nouveau-Mexique. Des analyses de l'eau et des sols prélevés au nord-est d'Amarillo (Texas), associées à des données provenant d'autres études dans cette région, indiquent que des processus intervenant au cours de l'infiltration contrôlent la composition de l'eau de la nappe libre dans la moitié septentrionale du sud des Hautes Plaines. Les données chimiques et isotopiques sont compatibles avec une séquence de précipitation épisodique, avec la reconcentration en solut

Evaluation of the North American Land Data Assimilation System over the southern Great Plains during the warm season

Science.gov (United States)

Robock, Alan; Luo, Lifeng; Wood, Eric F.; Wen, Fenghua; Mitchell, Kenneth E.; Houser, Paul R.; Schaake, John C.; Lohmann, Dag; Cosgrove, Brian; Sheffield, Justin; Duan, Qingyun; Higgins, R. Wayne; Pinker, Rachel T.; Tarpley, J. Dan; Basara, Jeffery B.; Crawford, Kenneth C.

2003-11-01

North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS) land surface models have been run for a retrospective period forced by atmospheric observations from the Eta analysis and actual precipitation and downward solar radiation to calculate land hydrology. We evaluated these simulations using in situ observations over the southern Great Plains for the periods of May-September of 1998 and 1999 by comparing the model outputs with surface latent, sensible, and ground heat fluxes at 24 Atmospheric Radiation Measurement/Cloud and Radiation Testbed stations and with soil temperature and soil moisture observations at 72 Oklahoma Mesonet stations. The standard NLDAS models do a fairly good job but with differences in the surface energy partition and in soil moisture between models and observations and among models during the summer, while they agree quite well on the soil temperature simulations. To investigate why, we performed a series of experiments accounting for differences between model-specified soil types and vegetation and those observed at the stations, and differences in model treatment of different soil types, vegetation properties, canopy resistance, soil column depth, rooting depth, root density, snow-free albedo, infiltration, aerodynamic resistance, and soil thermal diffusivity. The diagnosis and model enhancements demonstrate how the models can be improved so that they can be used in actual data assimilation mode.

Improvements in irrigation system modelling when using remotely sensed ET for calibration

Science.gov (United States)

van Opstal, J. D.; Neale, C. M. U.; Lecina, S.

2014-10-01

Irrigation system modelling is often used to aid decision-makers in the agricultural sector. It gives insight on the consequences of potential management and infrastructure changes. However, simulating an irrigation district requires a considerable amount of input data to properly represent the system, which is not easily acquired or available. During the simulation process, several assumptions have to be made and the calibration is usually performed only with flow measurements. The advancement of estimating evapotranspiration (ET) using remote sensing is a welcome asset for irrigation system modelling. Remotely-sensed ET can be used to improve the model accuracy in simulating the water balance and the crop production. This study makes use of the Ador-Simulation irrigation system model, which simulates water flows in irrigation districts in both the canal infrastructure and on-field. ET is estimated using an energy balance model, namely SEBAL, which has been proven to function well for agricultural areas. The seasonal ET by the Ador model and the ET from SEBAL are compared. These results determine sub-command areas, which perform well under current assumptions or, conversely, areas that need re-evaluation of assumptions and a re-run of the model. Using a combined approach of the Ador irrigation system model and remote sensing outputs from SEBAL, gives great insights during the modelling process and can accelerate the process. Additionally cost-savings and time-savings are apparent due to the decrease in input data required for simulating large-scale irrigation areas.

Agronomical effects of deficit irrigation in apricot, peach and plum trees

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Torrecillas, Arturo; Corell, M.; Galindo Egea, Alejandro; Pérez-López, David; Memmi, Houssem; Rodriguez, Pedro; Cruz, Zulma N.; Centeno, Ana; Intrigliolo, Diego S.; Moriana, A.; Garcia Tejero, Ivan Francisco; Duran Zuazo, Victor Hugo

2017-01-01

Stone fruits are some of the most important irrigated crops around the world. Their ability to grow in different environments implies great variations in water needs. This chapter discusses the effect of water restriction on yield and quality of the fruits obtained. The information will provide

Factors affecting irrigant extrusion during root canal irrigation: a systematic review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boutsioukis, C.; Psimma, Z.; van der Sluis, L.W.M.

2013-01-01

The aim of the present study was to conduct a systematic review and critical analysis of published data on irrigant extrusion to identify factors causing, affecting or predisposing to irrigant extrusion during root canal irrigation of human mature permanent teeth. An electronic search was conducted

Site scientific mission plan for the southern great plains CART site January-June 2000.; TOPICAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peppler, R. A.; Sisterson, D. L.; Lamb, P.

2001-01-01

The Southern Great Plains (SGP) Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) site was designed to help satisfy the data needs of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program Science Team. This Site Scientific Mission Plan defines the scientific priorities for site activities during the six months beginning on January 1, 2000, and looks forward in less detail to subsequent six-month periods. The primary purpose of this document is to provide scientific guidance for the development of plans for site operations. It also provides information on current plans to the ARM functional teams (Management Team, Data and Science Integration Team[DSIT], Operations Team, and Instrument Team[IT]) and serves to disseminate the plans more generally within the ARM Program and among the members of the Science Team. This document includes a description of the operational status of the site and the primary site activities envisioned, together with information concerning approved and proposed intensive observation periods (IOPs). The primary users of this document are the site operator, the site program manager, the Site Scientist Team (SST), the Science Team through the ARM Program science director, the ARM Program Experiment Center, and the aforementioned ARM Program functional teams. This plan is a living document that is updated and reissued every six months as the observational facilities are developed, tested, and augmented and as priorities are adjusted in response to developments in scientific planning and understanding. With this issue, many aspects of earlier Site Scientific Mission Plan reports have been moved to ARM sites on the World Wide Web. This report and all previous reports are available on the SGP CART web site

Productivity and CO2 exchange of Great Plains ecoregions. I. Shortgrass steppe: Flux tower estimates

Science.gov (United States)

Gilmanov, Tagir G.; Morgan, Jack A.; Hanan, Niall P.; Wylie, Bruce K.; Rajan, Nithya; Smith, David P.; Howard, Daniel M.

2017-01-01

The shortgrass steppe (SGS) occupies the southwestern part of the Great Plains. Half of the land is cultivated, but significant areas remain under natural vegetation. Despite previous studies of the SGS carbon cycle, not all aspects have been completely addressed, including gross productivity, ecosystem respiration, and ecophysiological parameters. Our analysis of 1998 − 2007 flux tower measurements at five Bowen ratio–energy balance (BREB) and three eddy covariance (EC) sites characterized seasonal and interannual variability of gross photosynthesis and ecosystem respiration. Identification of the nonrectangular hyperbolic equation for the diurnal CO2 exchange, with vapor pressure deficit (VPD) limitation and exponential temperature response, quantified quantum yield α, photosynthetic capacity Amax, and respiration rate rd with variation ranges (19 \\production from − 900 to + 700 g CO2 m− 2 yr− 1, indicating that SGS may switch from a sink to a source depending on weather. Comparison of the 2004 − 2006 measurements at two BREB and two parallel EC flux towers located at comparable SGS sites showed moderately higher photosynthesis, lower respiration, and higher net production at the BREB than EC sites. However, the difference was not related only to methodologies, as the normalized difference vegetation index at the BREB sites was higher than at the EC sites. Overall magnitudes and seasonal patterns at the BREB and the EC sites during the 3-yr period were similar, with trajectories within the ± 1.5 standard deviation around the mean of the four sites and mostly reflecting the effects of meteorology.

A hydrogeological investigation of the Yeşilyurt (Isparta-Sütçüler plain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suat Taşdelen

2002-03-01

Full Text Available Investigation area is almost 10 km in the north-west of Sütçüler country of Isparta and covers 60 km2 area. Firstly, detailed geological and hydrological investigation of Yeşilyurt Plain surface drainage area has been performed. Long term monitoring and analyses have been done for direction of hydrological investigation. An isohiyetal map was prepared for the investigation area. Water table maps were drawn by means of deep and shallow boreholes in the plain and flow direction was determined (October 2000. Water which was collected at boreholes was chemically analyzed to determine the characteristic of water for domestic use, irrigation and industrial purposes. In order to achieve this, the anion and cation concentrations, ionization abilities ionic activity, calcite dolomite sulphate saturation indexes and the partial pressures of dissolved CO2 were calculated and the results were interpreted. In addition, water has been classified according to chemical contend and use purpose by means of Wilcox, USA Salinity Laboratory, Piper and Schoeller diagrams and similarities in the origins of waters were investigated. During the study, a groundwater budget of Yeşilyurt Plain was prepared in the light of obtained data and optimum output of groundwater has been calculated.

Potentiometric surfaces, summer 2013 and winter 2015, and select hydrographs for the Southern High Plains aquifer, Cannon Air Force Base, Curry County, New Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Collison, Jake

2016-04-07

Cannon Air Force Base (Cannon AFB) is located in the High Plains physiographic region of east-central New Mexico, about 5 miles west of Clovis, New Mexico. The area surrounding Cannon AFB is primarily used for agriculture, including irrigated cropland and dairies. The Southern High Plains aquifer is the principal source of water for Cannon AFB, for the nearby town of Clovis, and for local agriculture and dairies. The Southern High Plains aquifer in the vicinity of Cannon AFB consists of three subsurface geological formations: the Chinle Formation of Triassic age, the Ogallala Formation of Tertiary age, and the Blackwater Draw Formation of Quaternary age. The Ogallala Formation is the main water-yielding formation of the Southern High Plains aquifer. Groundwater-supplied, center-pivot irrigation dominates pumping from the Southern High Plains aquifer in the area surrounding Cannon AFB, where the irrigation season typically extends from early March through October. The U.S. Geological Survey has been monitoring groundwater levels in the vicinity of Cannon AFB since 1954 and has developed general potentiometric-surface maps that show groundwater flow from northwest to southeast in the study area. While previous potentiometric-surface maps show the general direction of groundwater flow, a denser well network is needed to show details of groundwater flow at a local scale. Groundwater levels were measured in 93 wells during summer 2013 and 100 wells during winter 2015.The summer and winter potentiometric-surface maps display the presence of what is interpreted to be a groundwater trough trending from the northwest to the southeast through the study area. This groundwater trough may be the hydraulic expression of a Tertiary-age paleochannel. Groundwater north of the trough flows in a southerly direction into the trough, and groundwater south of the trough flows in an easterly direction into the trough.During the 18-month period between summer 2013 and winter 2015, changes

Sustainable management after irrigation system transfer : experiences in Colombia - the RUT irrigation district

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Urrutia Cobo, N.

2006-01-01

Colombiais a tropical country located in South America. It has a total area of 114 million ha. In Colombia two irrigation sectors are distinguished: the small-scale irrigation and the large-scale irrigation sector. The small-scale irrigation sector is developed on lands

Developments Related to Tourism and Their Effects in Debrecen Following the Turn of the Millennium (Northern Great Plain Region, Hungary Success Or Failure?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mária Vasvári

2013-04-01

Full Text Available The present paper focuses on the developments related to tourism and their effects in Debrecen, the largest city in the Northern Great Plain Region most of all in the time period after the country joining the European Union. The tourist industrial development regarding the infrastructure and supra-structure inDebrecen is presented. These developed further the traditionally popular attractions (Great Forest of the city. Relationship between the demand and reception conditions are described reflecting statistic data and the role of Debrecen in the market is analysed in relation to several other greater towns of the country. Data reveal that the number of visitors did not increase despite the developments related to tourism in the years following the turn of the millennium, even so it decreased after 2008 similarly to other greater towns of the country. Our questionnaire survey performed among the inhabitants and visitors as well revealed that the realized investments and the produced new attractions have only a slight role in attracting the target audience. Still the traditionally popular attractions attract most of the visitors to Debrecen therefore the most important task for the leaders of the Debrecen-Hortobágy Tourism Destination Management founded in 2010 is to propagate the new attraction elements.

Monitoring irrigation water consumption using high resolution NDVI image time series (Sentinel-2 like). Calibration and validation in the Kairouan plain (Tunisia)

Science.gov (United States)

Saadi, Sameh; Simonneaux, Vincent; Boulet, Gilles; Mougenot, Bernard; Zribi, Mehrez; Lili Chabaane, Zohra

2015-04-01

Water scarcity is one of the main factors limiting agricultural development in semi-arid areas. It is thus of major importance to design tools allowing a better management of this resource. Remote sensing has long been used for computing evapotranspiration estimates, which is an input for crop water balance monitoring. Up to now, only medium and low resolution data (e.g. MODIS) are available on regular basis to monitor cultivated areas. However, the increasing availability of high resolution high repetitivity VIS-NIR remote sensing, like the forthcoming Sentinel-2 mission to be lunched in 2015, offers unprecedented opportunity to improve this monitoring. In this study, regional crops water consumption was estimated with the SAMIR software (Satellite of Monitoring Irrigation) using the FAO-56 dual crop coefficient water balance model fed with high resolution NDVI image time series providing estimates of both the actual basal crop coefficient (Kcb) and the vegetation fraction cover. The model includes a soil water model, requiring the knowledge of soil water holding capacity, maximum rooting depth, and water inputs. As irrigations are usually not known on large areas, they are simulated based on rules reproducing the farmer practices. The main objective of this work is to assess the operationality and accuracy of SAMIR at plot and perimeter scales, when several land use types (winter cereals, summer vegetables…), irrigation and agricultural practices are intertwined in a given landscape, including complex canopies such as sparse orchards. Meteorological ground stations were used to compute the reference evapotranspiration and get the rainfall depths. Two time series of ten and fourteen high-resolution SPOT5 have been acquired for the 2008-2009 and 2012-2013 hydrological years over an irrigated area in central Tunisia. They span the various successive crop seasons. The images were radiometrically corrected, first, using the SMAC6s Algorithm, second, using invariant

Rare Earth Elements (REE Deposits Associated with Great Plain Margin Deposits (Alkaline-Related, Southwestern United States and Eastern Mexico

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Virginia T. McLemore

2018-01-01

Full Text Available W.G. Lindgren in 1933 first noted that a belt of alkaline-igneous rocks extends along the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains and Basin and Range provinces from Alaska and British Columbia southward into New Mexico, Trans-Pecos Texas, and eastern Mexico and that these rocks contain relatively large quantities of important commodities such as, gold, fluorine, zirconium, rare earth elements (REE, tellurium, gallium, and other critical elements. In New Mexico, these deposits were called Great Plain Margin (GPM deposits, because this north-south belt of alkaline-igneous rocks roughly coincides with crustal thickening along the margin between the Great Plains physiographic province with the Basin and Range (including the Rio Grande rift and Rocky Mountains physiographic provinces, which extends into Trans-Pecos Texas and eastern Mexico. Since 1996, only minor exploration and development of these deposits in New Mexico, Texas, and eastern Mexico has occurred because of low commodity prices, permitting issues, and environmental concerns. However, as the current demand for gold and critical elements, such as REE and tellurium has increased, new exploration programs have encouraged additional research on the geology of these deposits. The lack of abundant quartz in these systems results in these deposits being less resistant to erosion, being covered, and not as well exposed as other types of quartz-rich deposits, therefore additional undiscovered alkaline-related gold and REE deposits are likely in these areas. Deposits of Th-REE-fluorite (±U, Nb epithermal veins and breccias are found in the several GPM districts, but typically do not contain significant gold, although trace amounts of gold are found in most GPM districts. Gold-rich deposits in these districts tend to have moderate to low REE and anomalously high tungsten and sporadic amounts of tellurium. Carbonatites are only found in New Mexico and Mexico. The diversity of igneous rocks, including

Irrigation Training Manual. Planning, Design, Operation, and Management of Small-Scale Irrigation Systems [and] Irrigation Reference Manual. A Technical Reference to Be Used with the Peace Corps Irrigation Training Manual T0076 in the Selection, Planning, Design, Operation, and Management of Small-Scale Irrigation Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Salazar, LeRoy; And Others

This resource for trainers involved in irrigated agriculture training for Peace Corps volunteers consists of two parts: irrigation training manual and irrigation reference manual. The complete course should fully prepare volunteers serving as irrigation, specialists to plan, implement, evaluate and manage small-scale irrigation projects in arid,…

Moistening of the northern North American Great Plains enhances land-atmosphere coupling

Science.gov (United States)

Gerken, T.; Bromley, G. T.; Stoy, P. C.

2017-12-01

Land use change impacts planetary boundary layer processes and regional climate by altering the magnitude and timing of water and energy flux into the atmosphere. In the North American Great Plains (NGP), a decline in the practice of summer fallow on the order of 20 Mha from the 1970s until the present has coincided with a decrease in summertime radiative forcing, on the order of 6 W m-2. MERRA 2 (Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications) for the area near Fort Peck, Montana, (a FLUXNET site established in 2000) shows a decrease of summertime (June-August) sensible heat fluxes ranging from -3.6 to -8.5 W m-2 decade-1, associated with an increase of latent heat fluxes (5.2-9.1 W m-2 decade-1) since the 1980s. Net radiation changed little. The result was a strong decrease of summer Bowen ratios from 1.5-2 in 1980 to approximately 1 in 2015. Findings are consistent with the effects on increased summertime evapotranspiration due to reduction in summer fallow that should lead to smaller Bowen ratios and a larger build-up of moist static energy. We use a mixed-layer (ML) atmospheric modeling framework to further investigate the impact of the surface energy balance on convective development and local land-atmosphere coupling in the NGP. Using summertime eddy covariance data from Fort Peck and atmospheric soundings from the nearby Glasgow airport, we compare the development of modeled ML and lifted condensation level (LCL) to find times of ML exceeding LCL, a necessary but not sufficient condition for the occurrence of convective precipitation. We establish that the ML model adequately captures ML heights and timing of locally triggered convection at the site and that there is a c. 10% increase in modeled convection permitting conditions today compared to 1975-85 in response to ML-moistening and decreasing Bo. We find that growing season land-atmosphere coupling develops from wet preference in May to dry coupling in July and atmospheric suppression

A Prototype Physical Database for Passive Microwave Retrievals of Precipitation over the US Southern Great Plains

Science.gov (United States)

Ringerud, S.; Kummerow, C. D.; Peters-Lidard, C. D.

2015-01-01

An accurate understanding of the instantaneous, dynamic land surface emissivity is necessary for a physically based, multi-channel passive microwave precipitation retrieval scheme over land. In an effort to assess the feasibility of the physical approach for land surfaces, a semi-empirical emissivity model is applied for calculation of the surface component in a test area of the US Southern Great Plains. A physical emissivity model, using land surface model data as input, is used to calculate emissivity at the 10GHz frequency, combining contributions from the underlying soil and vegetation layers, including the dielectric and roughness effects of each medium. An empirical technique is then applied, based upon a robust set of observed channel covariances, extending the emissivity calculations to all channels. For calculation of the hydrometeor contribution, reflectivity profiles from the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission Precipitation Radar (TRMM PR) are utilized along with coincident brightness temperatures (Tbs) from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI), and cloud-resolving model profiles. Ice profiles are modified to be consistent with the higher frequency microwave Tbs. Resulting modeled top of the atmosphere Tbs show correlations to observations of 0.9, biases of 1K or less, root-mean-square errors on the order of 5K, and improved agreement over the use of climatological emissivity values. The synthesis of these models and data sets leads to the creation of a simple prototype Tb database that includes both dynamic surface and atmospheric information physically consistent with the land surface model, emissivity model, and atmospheric information.

Sustainable crop intensification through surface water irrigation in Bangladesh? A geospatial assessment of landscape-scale production potential.

Science.gov (United States)

Krupnik, Timothy J; Schulthess, Urs; Ahmed, Zia Uddin; McDonald, Andrew J

2017-01-01

Changing dietary preferences and population growth in South Asia have resulted in increasing demand for wheat and maize, along side high and sustained demand for rice. In the highly productive northwestern Indo-Gangetic Plains of South Asia, farmers utilize groundwater irrigation to assure that at least two of these crops are sequenced on the same field within the same year. Such double cropping has had a significant and positive influence on regional agricultural productivity. But in the risk-prone and food insecure lower Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains (EIGP), cropping is less intensive. During the dryer winter months, arable land is frequently fallowed or devoted to lower yielding rainfed legumes. Seeing opportunity to boost cereals production, particularly for rice, donors and land use policy makers have consequently reprioritized agricultural development investments in this impoverished region. Tapping groundwater for irrigation and intensified double cropping, however, is unlikely to be economically viable or environmentally sound in the EIGP. Constraints include saline shallow water tables and the prohibitively high installation and energetic extraction costs from deeper freshwater aquifers. The network of largely underutilized rivers and natural canals in the EIGP could conversely be tapped to provide less energetically and economically costly surface water irrigation (SWI). This approach is now championed by the Government of Bangladesh, which has requested USD 500 million from donors to implement land and water use policies to facilitate SWI and double cropping. Precise geospatial assessment of where freshwater flows are most prominent, or where viable fallow or low production intensity cropland is most common, however remains lacking. In response, we used remotely sensed data to identify agricultural land, detect the temporal availability of freshwater in rivers and canals, and assess crop production intensity over a three-year study period in a 33,750�

A new approach for assessing the future of aquifers supporting irrigated agriculture

Science.gov (United States)

Butler, James J.; Whittemore, Donald O.; Wilson, Blake B.; Bohling, Geoffrey C.

2016-03-01

Aquifers supporting irrigated agriculture are under stress worldwide as a result of large pumping-induced water deficits. To aid in the formulation of more sustainable management plans for such systems, we have developed a water balance approach for assessing the impact of proposed management actions and the prospects for aquifer sustainability. Application to the High Plains aquifer (HPA) in the state of Kansas in the United States reveals that practically achievable reductions in annual pumping (determining the net inflow (capture) component of the water balance. The HPA is similar to many aquifers supporting critically needed agricultural production, so the presented approach should prove of value far beyond the area of this initial application.

A Concept for a Long Term Hydrologic Observatory in the South Platte River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Ramirez, J. A.

2004-12-01

The intersection between: (1) the Rocky Mountains and developments occurring in high altitude fragile environments; (2) the metropolitan areas emerging at the interface of the mountains and the plains; (3) the irrigation occurring along rivers as they break from the mountains and snake across the Great Plains; and (4) the grasslands and the dryland farming that covers the vast amount of the Great Plains, represents a dynamic, complex, highly integrated ecosystem, stretching from Montana and North Dakota to New Mexico and Texas. This swath of land, and the rivers that cross it (headwaters of the Missouri , the Yellowstone, the North Platte , the South Platte, the Arkansas , the Cimarron, the Red and the Pecos Rivers ), represent a significant percentage of the landmass of the United States. Within this large area, besides tremendous increases in population in metropolitan areas, there are new energy developments, old hard rock mining concerns, new recreation developments, irrigation farms selling water to meet urban demands, new in-stream flow programs, struggling rural areas, and continued "mining" of ground water. The corresponding impacts are creating endangered and threatened species conflicts which require new knowledge to fully understand the measures needed to mitigate harmful ecosystem conditions. Within the Rocky Mountain/Great Plains interface, water is limiting and land is plentiful, presenting natural resource managers with a number of unique problems which demand a scale of integrated science not achieved in the past. For example, water is imported into a number of the streams flowing east from the Rocky Mountains. Nitrogen is deposited in pristine watersheds that rise up high in the Rocky Mountains. Cities capture spring runoff in reservoirs to use at a steady rate over the entire year, putting water into river systems normally moving low flows in the winter. Irrigation of both urban landscapes and farm fields may be at a scale that impacts climate

Nematode suppression and growth stimulation in corn plants (Zea mays L.) irrigated with domestic effluent.

Science.gov (United States)

Barros, Kenia Kelly; do Nascimento, Clístenes Williams Araújo; Florencio, Lourdinha

2012-01-01

Treated wastewater has great potential for agricultural use due to its concentrations of nutrients and organic matter, which are capable of improving soil characteristics. Additionally, effluents can induce suppression of plant diseases caused by soil pathogens. This study evaluates the effect of irrigation with effluent in a UASB reactor on maize (Zea mays L.) development and on suppression of the diseases caused by nematodes of the genus Meloidogyne. Twelve lysimeters of 1 m(3) each were arranged in a completely randomized design, with four treatments and three replicates. The following treatments were used: T1 (W+I), irrigation with water and infestation with nematodes; T2 (W+I+NPK), irrigation with water, infestation with nematodes and fertilization with nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K); T3 (E+I), irrigation with effluent and infestation with nematodes; and T4 (E+I+P), irrigation with effluent, infestation with nematodes and fertilization with phosphorus. The plants irrigated with the effluent plus the phosphorus fertilizer had better growth and productivity and were more resistant to the disease symptoms caused by the nematodes. The suppression levels may have been due to the higher levels of Zn and NO(3)(-) found in the leaf tissue of the plants irrigated with the effluent and phosphorus fertilizer.

The Use of Remote Sensing for Monitoring, Prediction, and Management of Hydrologic, Agricultural, and Ecological Processes in the Northern Great Plains

Science.gov (United States)

Farwell, Sherry O.; DeTroye, Diane (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The NASA-EPSCoR program in South Dakota is focused on the enhancement of NASA-related research in earth system science and corresponding infrastructure development to support this theme. Hence, the program has adopted a strategy that keys on research projects that: a) establish quantitative links between geospatial information technologies and fundamental climatic and ecosystem processes in the Northern Great Plains (NGP) and b) develop and use coupled modeling tools, which can be initialized by data from combined satellite and surface measurements, to provide reliable predictions and management guidance for hydrologic, agricultural, and ecological systems of the NGP. Building a partnership network that includes both internal and external team members is recognized as an essential element of the SD NASA-EPSCoR program. Hence, promoting and tracking such linkages along with their relevant programmatic consequences are used as one metric to assess the program's progress and success. This annual report first summarizes general activities and accomplishments, and then provides progress narratives for the two separate, yet related research projects that are essential components of the SD NASA-EPSCoR program.

Impact of Irrigation Method on Water Use Efficiency and Productivity of Fodder Crops in Nepal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ajay K Jha

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Improved irrigation use efficiency is an important tool for intensifying and diversifying agriculture in Nepal, resulting in higher economic yield from irrigated farmlands with a minimum input of water. Research was conducted to evaluate the effect of irrigation method (furrow vs. drip on the productivity of nutritious fodder species during off-monsoon dry periods in different elevation zones of central Nepal. A split-block factorial design was used. The factors considered were treatment location, fodder crop, and irrigation method. Commonly used local agronomical practices were followed in all respects except irrigation method. Results revealed that location effect was significant (p < 0.01 with highest fodder productivity seen for the middle elevation site, Syangja. Species effects were also significant, with teosinte (Euchlaena mexicana having higher yield than cowpea (Vigna unguiculata. Irrigation method impacted green biomass yield (higher with furrow irrigation but both methods yielded similar dry biomass, while water use was 73% less under drip irrigation. Our findings indicated that the controlled application of water through drip irrigation is able to produce acceptable yields of nutritionally dense fodder species during dry seasons, leading to more effective utilization and resource conservation of available land, fertilizer and water. Higher productivity of these nutritional fodders resulted in higher milk productivity for livestock smallholders. The ability to grow fodder crops year-round in lowland and hill regions of Nepal with limited water storages using low-cost, water-efficient drip irrigation may greatly increase livestock productivity and, hence, the economic security of smallholder farmers.

Land-use change reduces habitat suitability for supporting managed honey bee colonies in the Northern Great Plains

Science.gov (United States)

Otto, Clint R.; Roth, Cali; Carlson, Benjamin; Smart, Matthew

2016-01-01

Human reliance on insect pollination services continues to increase even as pollinator populations exhibit global declines. Increased commodity crop prices and federal subsidies for biofuel crops, such as corn and soybeans, have contributed to rapid land-use change in the US Northern Great Plains (NGP), changes that may jeopardize habitat for honey bees in a part of the country that supports >40% of the US colony stock. We investigated changes in biofuel crop production and grassland land covers surrounding ∼18,000 registered commercial apiaries in North and South Dakota from 2006 to 2014. We then developed habitat selection models to identify remotely sensed land-cover and land-use features that influence apiary site selection by Dakota beekeepers. Our study demonstrates a continual increase in biofuel crops, totaling 1.2 Mha, around registered apiary locations in North and South Dakota. Such crops were avoided by commercial beekeepers when selecting apiary sites in this region. Furthermore, our analysis reveals how grasslands that beekeepers target when selecting commercial apiary locations are becoming less common in eastern North and South Dakota, changes that may have lasting impact on pollinator conservation efforts. Our study highlights how land-use change in the NGP is altering the landscape in ways that are seemingly less conducive to beekeeping. Our models can be used to guide future conservation efforts highlighted in the US national pollinator health strategy by identifying areas that support high densities of commercial apiaries and that have exhibited significant land-use changes.

Distribution Of 15N Fertilizer Added To Sandy Soil Under Drip Irrigation System As Affected By Irrigation Frequencies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

GADALLA, A.M.; GALAL, Y.G.M.; EL-GENDY, R.W.; ISMAIL, M.M.; EL-DEGWY, S.M.; KASSAB, M.F.

2009-01-01

Neutron moisture meter and stable nitrogen isotope ( 15 N) were used to follow horizontal and vertical water movement and N-fertilizer added to soil before and after irrigation. The data indicated that soil moisture distribution and values of total hydraulic potential depend on soil moisture content. Characterization of nitrogen in soil for all sites around the emitter indicated spatial variability with different soil depths due to leaching and volatilization processes. Moreover, water movement and flow direction greatly were characterized by active evaporation depth which was 30 cm.

Root Development of Transplanted Cotton and Simulation of Soil Water Movement under Different Irrigation Methods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hao Zhang

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Winter wheat and cotton are the main crops grown on the North China Plain (NCP. Cotton is often transplanted after the winter wheat harvest to solve the competition for cultivated land between winter wheat and cotton, and to ensure that both crops can be harvested on the NCP. However, the root system of transplanted cotton is distorted due to the restrictions of the seedling aperture disk before transplanting. Therefore, the investigation of the deformed root distribution and water uptake in transplanted cotton is essential for simulating soil water movement under different irrigation methods. Thus, a field experiment and a simulation study were conducted during 2013–2015 to explore the deformed roots of transplanted cotton and soil water movement using border irrigation (BI and surface drip irrigation (SDI. The results showed that SDI was conducive to root growth in the shallow root zone (0–30 cm, and that BI was conducive to root growth in the deeper root zone (below 30 cm. SDI is well suited for producing the optimal soil water distribution pattern for the deformed root system of transplanted cotton, and the root system was more developed under SDI than under BI. Comparisons between experimental data and model simulations showed that the HYDRUS-2D model described the soil water content (SWC under different irrigation methods well, with root mean square errors (RMSEs of 0.023 and 0.029 cm3 cm−3 and model efficiencies (EFs of 0.68 and 0.59 for BI and SDI, respectively. Our findings will be very useful for designing an optimal irrigation plan for BI and SDI in transplanted cotton fields, and for promoting the wider use of this planting pattern for cotton transplantation.

Correlations of soil-gas and indoor radon with geology in glacially derived soils of the northern Great Plains

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schumann, R.R.; Owen, D.E.; Peake, R.T.; Schmidt, K.M.

1990-01-01

This paper reports that a higher percentage of homes in parts of the northern Great Plains underlain by soils derived from continental glacial deposits have elevated indoor radon levels (greater than 4 pCi/L) than any other area in the country. Soil-gas radon concentrations, surface radioactivity, indoor radon levels, and soil characteristics were studied in areas underlain by glacially-derived soils in North Dakota and Minnesota to examine the factors responsible for these elevated levels. Clay-rich till soils in North Dakota have generally higher soil-gas radon levels, and correspondingly higher indoor radon levels, than the sandy till soils common to west-central Minnesota. Although the proportions of homes with indoor radon levels greater than 4 pCi/L are similar in both areas, relatively few homes underlain by sandy tills have screening indoor radon levels greater than 20 pCi/L, whereas a relatively large proportion of homes underlain by clayey tills have screening indoor radon levels exceeding 20 pCi/L. The higher radon levels in North Dakota are likely due to enhanced emanation from the smaller grains and to relatively higher soil radium concentrations in the clay-rich soils, whereas the generally higher permeability of the sandy till soils in Minnesota allows soil gas to be drawn into structures from a larger source volume, increasing indoor radon levels in these areas

Effect of Irrigation with Reclaimed Water on Fruit Characteristics and Photosynthesis of Olive Trees under Two Irrigation Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. Ashrafi

2016-02-01

enhanced photosynthetic assimilation rates and plant growth to a great extent. David et al. (2003 showed that subsurface drip irrigation versus other irrigation methods reduced evaporation and improved growth and production in peach trees. Conclusion: As a conclusion, the results from this research show that recycled water could be a promising resource for irrigation of olive trees and acted as a source of nutrients and irrigation water.In addition, SLI irrigation system is more efficient in irrigation of olive trees when compared to surface irrigation system and proved beneficial for olive growth.

FEATURES OF MINERAL NUTRITION FOR TOMATO PLANTS WITH DRIP IRRIGATION SYSTEM IN OPEN FIELD CONDITION

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P. M. Akhmetova

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Dagestan is the largest region with irrigation system of agriculture in Russia. Irrigated lands provide 70% of total plant production. The field cultivation is carried on arable land in plain region of the republic. The drip irrigation as an ecologically safe technology for watering is regarded as major means for vegetable production farming. This approach maintains the propitious level of water and air in the soil without surface and deep drainage of irrigating water. These irrigated lands are expected to be used first of all for valuable and profitable crops such as tomato that is a leading crop in Dagestan. The experimental work was carried out at OOO ‘Dagagrocomplex’, Aleksandro-Nevskoye, in Tarumovskiy region. The aim of the study was to determinate the optimal dose of mineral fertilizers and the way of their application to improve the productivity without quality loss. The complex analysis of the technology for tomato production under drip irrigation through nontransplanting culture showed its high efficiency, because volume and quality of yield directly depended on soil moisture and precise supporting of mineral nutrition rates. The maximal yield of tomato fruits, 88.7-94.5 t/ha was observed with once mineral fertilizer application at a dose of N180P135K60 with soil humidity 70-80% (field moisture capacity, and also at the dose of N180P135K60 with basic application of N100 in nutrition rate. The result of the study showed that the optimization of two factors, namely soil water rate and mineral nutrition, enabled to produce additionally 39.2 t/ha. It was shown the tight connection between yielding and its quality; when yielding 95 t/ha, the increased contents of dry matter to 7.01%, sugar to 3.8% vitamin C to 18.46% were noticed. The high quality of produced output was supported by pre-watering threshold of moisture at 75-80% (field moisture capacity, when once fertilizer application at a dose of N180P135K60. 

Role of Surface Energy Exchange for Simulating Wind Turbine Inflow: A Case Study in the Southern Great Plains, USA

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Sonia Wharton

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF model is used to investigate choice of land surface model (LSM on the near surface wind profile, including heights reached by multi-megawatt (MW wind turbines. Simulations of wind profiles and surface energy fluxes were made using five LSMs of varying degrees of sophistication in dealing with soil–plant–atmosphere feedbacks for the Department of Energy (DOE Southern Great Plains (SGP Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program (ARM Central Facility in Oklahoma, USA. Surface flux and wind profile measurements were available for validation. WRF was run for three, two-week periods covering varying canopy and meteorological conditions. The LSMs predicted a wide range of energy flux and wind shear magnitudes even during the cool autumn period when we expected less variability. Simulations of energy fluxes varied in accuracy by model sophistication, whereby LSMs with very simple or no soil–plant–atmosphere feedbacks were the least accurate; however, the most complex models did not consistently produce more accurate results. Errors in wind shear were also sensitive to LSM choice and were partially related to energy flux accuracy. The variability of LSM performance was relatively high suggesting that LSM representation of energy fluxes in WRF remains a large source of model uncertainty for simulating wind turbine inflow conditions.

Representing Farmer Irrigation Decisions in Northern India: Model Development from the Bottom Up.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Keeffe, J.; Buytaert, W.; Brozovic, N.; Mijic, A.

2017-12-01

The plains of northern India are among the most intensely populated and irrigated regions of the world. Sustaining water demand has been made possible by exploiting the vast and hugely productive aquifers underlying the Indo-Gangetic basin. However, an increasing demand from a growing population and highly variable socio-economic and environmental variables mean present resources may not be sustainable, resulting in water security becoming one of India's biggest challenges. Unless solutions which take into consideration the regions evolving anthropogenic and environmental conditions are found, the sustainability of India's water resources looks bleak. Understanding water user decisions and their potential outcome is important for development of suitable water resource management options. Computational models are commonly used to assist water use decision making, typically representing natural processes well. The inclusion of human decision making however, one of the dominant drivers of change, has lagged behind. Improved representation of irrigation water user behaviour within models provides more accurate, relevant information for irrigation management. This research conceptualizes and proceduralizes observed farmer irrigation practices, highlighting feedbacks between the environment and livelihood. It is developed using a bottom up approach, informed through field experience and stakeholder interaction in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. Real world insights are incorporated through collected information creating a realistic representation of field conditions, providing a useful tool for policy analysis and water management. The modelling framework is applied to four districts. Results suggest predicted future climate will have little direct impact on water resources, crop yields or farmer income. In addition, increased abstraction may be sustainable in some areas under carefully managed conditions. By simulating dynamic decision making, feedbacks and interactions

The Temporal Variation of Leaf Water Potential in Pistachio under Irrigated and Non-Irrigated Conditions

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Yusuf AYDIN

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The present study was carried out in the experimental field of Pistachio Research Institute on pistachio trees which has uzun variety that was 30 years old. The aim of this research was to determine the Leaf Water Potential (LWP of Pistacia vera L. under irrigated and non-irrigated conditions. In the study, the leaf water potential of pistachio was investigated under fully irrigated and non irrigated conditions. The leaf water potential values were measured one day before and after irrigation by using pressure chamber technique at the beginning, mid and end of irrigation season. According to the results obtained from measurements, the LWP value at the beginning of the irrigation season was -3.7 MPa at noon time due to relatively high temperature for both treatments. At the time of pre-dawn and sunset, this value increased and reached to - 1.6 MPa due to relatively low temperature. In general, the LWP values during the mid of irrigation season, in the irrigated treatments, reached to almost -2.5 MPa in the non-irrigated treatment and the value was measured as -3.68 MPa.

Effect of low-cost irrigation methods on microbial contamination of lettuce irrigated with untreated wastewater

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Keraita, Bernard; Konradsen, Flemming; Drechsel, P.

2007-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effectiveness of simple irrigation methods such as drip irrigation kits, furrow irrigation and use of watering cans in reducing contamination of lettuce irrigated with polluted water in urban farming in Ghana. METHODS: Trials on drip kits, furrow irrigation and watering...... cans were conducted with urban vegetable farmers. Trials were arranged in a completely randomised block design with each plot having all three irrigation methods tested. This was conducted in both dry and wet seasons. Three hundred and ninety-six lettuce, 72 soil, 15 poultry manure and 32 water samples...... were analysed for thermotolerant coliforms and helminth eggs. RESULTS: Lettuce irrigated with drip kits had the lowest levels of contamination, with, on average, 4 log units per 100 g, fewer thermotolerant coliforms than that irrigated with watering cans. However, drip kits often got clogged, required...

IRRIGATION USING SOLAR PUMP

OpenAIRE

Prof. Nitin P.Choudhary*1 & Ms. Komal Singne2

2017-01-01

In this report the described design of a PV and soil moisture sensor based automated irrigation system is introduced. This project aims to provide a human friendly, economical and automated water pumping system which eliminates the problems of over irrigation and helps in irrigation water optimization and manage it in accordance with the availability of water. Our project not only tries to modernize the irrigation practices and ensure the optimum yield by carefully fulfilling the requirements...

Groundwater Governance and the Growth of Center Pivot Irrigation in Cimarron County, OK and Union County, NM: Implications for Community Vulnerability to Drought

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Kathryn Wenger

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Cimarron County, Oklahoma and Union County, New Mexico, neighboring counties in the Southern High Plains, are part of a vital agricultural region in the United States. This region experiences extended periods of cyclical drought threatening its ability to produce, creating an incentive for extensive center pivot irrigation (CPI. Center pivots draw from the rapidly depleting High Plains Aquifer System. As a result, the prospect of long-term sustainability for these agricultural communities is questionable. We use Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems to quantify growth in land irrigated by CPI between the 1950s and 2014, and key informant interviews to explore local perspectives on the causes and impact of such growth. In Cimarron County, OK, CPI increased by the mid-1980s, and has continually increased since. Results suggest adaptation to drought, a depleting aquifer, high corn prices, and less rigid groundwater regulations contribute to CPI growth. Conversely, CPI in Union County, NM, increased until 2010, and then declined. Results also suggest that drought-related agricultural changes and more aggressive well drilling regulations contribute to this decrease. Nevertheless, in both counties, there is a growing concern over the depleting aquifer, the long-term sustainability of CPI, and the region’s economic future.

Contribution to the improvement of irrigation management practices through water - deficit irrigation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bazza, M.

1995-01-01

The study aimed at identifying irrigation management practices which could result in water savings through -water deficit irrigation. Two field experiments, one on wheat and the other on sugar beet, were conducted and consisted of refraining from supplying water during specific stages of the cycle so as to identy the period(s) during which water deficit would have a limited effect on crop production. In the case of wheat, high water deficit occurred during the early and during these stages was the most beneficial for the crop. However, one water application during the tillering stage allowed the yield to be lower only to that of the treatement with three irrigations. Irrigation during the stage of grain filling caused the kernel weight to be as high as under three irrigations. The lowest value corresponded to the treatement with one irrigation during grain filling and that under rainfed conditions. For sugar beet, when water stress was was applied early in the crop cycle, its effect could be almost entirely recovered with adequate watering during the rest of the growing season. On the opposite, good watering early in cycle, followed by a stress, resulted in the second lowest yield. Water deficit during the maturity stage had also a limited effect on yield. The most crucial periods for adequate watering were which correspond to late filiar development and root growth which coincided with the highest water requirements period. For the same amount of water savings through deficit irrigation, it was better to partition the stress throughout the cycle than during the critical stages of the crop. However, at the national level, it would have been more important to practice deficit irrigation and the irrigated area. For both crops, high yields as high as water - use efficiency values could have been obtained. 8 tabs; 5 refs ( Author )

Automation of irrigation systems to control irrigation applications and crop water use efficiency

Science.gov (United States)

Agricultural irrigation management to slow water withdrawals from non-replenishing quality water resources is a global endeavor and vital to sustaining irrigated agriculture and dependent rural economies. Research in site-specific irrigation management has shown that water use efficiency, and crop p...

Ghana - Agriculture - Irrigation

Data.gov (United States)

Millennium Challenge Corporation — The Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) financed the construction of a new irrigation scheme in Kpong and the renovation of two irrigation schemes in Botanga and...

Landsat classification of surface-water presence during multiple years to assess response of playa wetlands to climatic variability across the Great Plains Landscape Conservation Cooperative region

Science.gov (United States)

Manier, Daniel J.; Rover, Jennifer R.

2018-02-15

To improve understanding of the distribution of ecologically important, ephemeral wetland habitats across the Great Plains, the occurrence and distribution of surface water in playa wetland complexes were documented for four different years across the Great Plains Landscape Conservation Cooperative (GPLCC) region. This information is important because it informs land and wildlife managers about the timing and location of habitat availability. Data with an accurate timestamp that indicate the presence of water, the percent of the area inundated with water, and the spatial distribution of playa wetlands with water are needed for a host of resource inventory, monitoring, and research applications. For example, the distribution of inundated wetlands forms the spatial pattern of available habitat for resident shorebirds and water birds, stop-over habitats for migratory birds, connectivity and clustering of wetland habitats, and surface waters that recharge the Ogallala aquifer; there is considerable variability in the distribution of playa wetlands holding water through time. Documentation of these spatially and temporally intricate processes, here, provides data required to assess connections between inundation and multiple environmental drivers, such as climate, land use, soil, and topography. Climate drivers are understood to interact with land cover, land use and soil attributes in determining the amount of water that flows overland into playa wetlands. Results indicated significant spatial variability represented by differences in the percent of playas inundated among States within the GPLCC. Further, analysis-of-variance comparison of differences in inundation between years showed significant differences in all cases. Although some connections with seasonal moisture patterns may be observed, the complex spatial-temporal gradients of precipitation, temperature, soils, and land use need to be combined as covariates in multivariate models to effectively account for

Comparative geoscience studies of the Madeira and Southern Nares Abyssal Plains: NEA/SWG preference location document

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Auffret, G.A.; Buckley, D.E.; Schuttenhelm, R.T.E.; Searle, R.C.; Shephard, L.E.; Cranston, R.E.

1986-01-01

This document summarizes the status of geoscience investigations in the two primary North Atlantic study locations Great Meteor East (GME) in the Madeira Abyssal Plain, and the Southern Nares Abyssal Plain (SNAP), and assesses the characteristics of these locations relative to the guidelines considered desirable and necessary for a potential subseabed high-level waste repository. These characteristics will be continually reevaluated as additional data become available and as our understanding of deep-sea sediment processes within abyssal plain environments improves. Initially, a number of areas of minimum size were identified in the ocean basins that appeared to comply with most of the stability and barrier guidelines. However, detailed studies in both GME and SNAP demonstrate that as our level of knowledge improves, and the degree of resolution increases, the number of 100 km 2 areas complying with these guidelines becomes much more limited. This observation may be characteristic of abyssal plain and abyssal hill environments in both the North Atlantic and North Pacific basins. Marked differences in geoscience characteristics exist between the Great Meteor East and the Southern Nares Abyssal Plain study locations. The significance of these differences, as they impact the selection of a single preferred site for a potential subseabed repository, can only be determined by using an integrated systems risk assessment modeling approach. The known geoscience characteristics can, however, be used in conjunction with the site assessment guidelines to draw conclusions concerning the geoscience suitability of these two locations. These conclusions will be modified as specific types of data from future expeditions become available

Coronado and Aesop: Fable and Violence on the Sixteenth-Century Plains

Science.gov (United States)

Palmer, Daryl W.

2009-01-01

In the spring of 1540, Francisco Vazquez de Coronado led an "entrada" from present-day Mexico into the region we call New Mexico, where the expedition spent a violent winter among pueblo peoples. The following year, after a long march across the Great Plains, Coronado led an elite group of his men north into present-day Kansas where,…

National coal resource assessment non-proprietary data: Location, stratigraphy, and coal quality for selected tertiary coal in the Northern Rocky Mountains and Great Plains region

Science.gov (United States)

Flores, Romeo M.; Ochs, A.M.; Stricker, G.D.; Ellis, M.S.; Roberts, S.B.; Keighin, C.W.; Murphy, E.C.; Cavaroc, V.V.; Johnson, R.C.; Wilde, E.M.

1999-01-01

One of the objectives of the National Coal Resource Assessment in the Northern Rocky Mountains and Great Plains region was to compile stratigraphic and coal quality-trace-element data on selected and potentially minable coal beds and zones of the Fort Union Formation (Paleocene) and equivalent formations. In order to implement this objective, drill-hole information was compiled from hard-copy and digital files of the: (1) U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) offices in Casper, Rawlins, and Rock Springs, Wyoming, and in Billings, Montana, (2) State geological surveys of Montana, North Dakota, and Wyoming, (3) Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality in Cheyenne, (4) U.S. Office of Surface Mining in Denver, Colorado, (5) U.S. Geological Survey, National Coal Resource Data System (NCRDS) in Reston, Virginia, (6) U.S. Geological Survey coal publications, (7) university theses, and (8) mining companies.

Development of a high spectral resolution surface albedo product for the ARM Southern Great Plains Central Facility

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McFarlane, Sally A.; Gaustad, Krista L.; Mlawer, Eli J.; Long, Charles N.; Delamere, Jennifer

2011-09-01

We present a method for identifying dominant surface type and estimating high spectral resolution surface albedo at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) facility at the Southern Great Plains (SGP) site in Oklahoma for use in radiative transfer calculations. Given a set of 6-channel narrowband visible and near-infrared irradiance measurements from upward and downward looking multi-filter radiometers (MFRs), four different surface types (snow-covered, green vegetation, partial vegetation, non-vegetated) can be identified. A normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) is used to distinguish between vegetated and non-vegetated surfaces, and a scaled NDVI index is used to estimate the percentage of green vegetation in partially vegetated surfaces. Based on libraries of spectral albedo measurements, a piecewise continuous function is developed to estimate the high spectral resolution surface albedo for each surface type given the MFR albedo values as input. For partially vegetated surfaces, the albedo is estimated as a linear combination of the green vegetation and non-vegetated surface albedo values. The estimated albedo values are evaluated through comparison to high spectral resolution albedo measurements taken during several Intensive Observational Periods (IOPs) and through comparison of the integrated spectral albedo values to observed broadband albedo measurements. The estimated spectral albedo values agree well with observations for the visible wavelengths constrained by the MFR measurements, but have larger biases and variability at longer wavelengths. Additional MFR channels at 1100 nm and/or 1600 nm would help constrain the high resolution spectral albedo in the near infrared region.

Development of a high spectral resolution surface albedo product for the ARM Southern Great Plains central facility

Science.gov (United States)

McFarlane, S. A.; Gaustad, K. L.; Mlawer, E. J.; Long, C. N.; Delamere, J.

2011-09-01

We present a method for identifying dominant surface type and estimating high spectral resolution surface albedo at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) facility at the Southern Great Plains (SGP) site in Oklahoma for use in radiative transfer calculations. Given a set of 6-channel narrowband visible and near-infrared irradiance measurements from upward and downward looking multi-filter radiometers (MFRs), four different surface types (snow-covered, green vegetation, partial vegetation, non-vegetated) can be identified. A normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) is used to distinguish between vegetated and non-vegetated surfaces, and a scaled NDVI index is used to estimate the percentage of green vegetation in partially vegetated surfaces. Based on libraries of spectral albedo measurements, a piecewise continuous function is developed to estimate the high spectral resolution surface albedo for each surface type given the MFR albedo values as input. For partially vegetated surfaces, the albedo is estimated as a linear combination of the green vegetation and non-vegetated surface albedo values. The estimated albedo values are evaluated through comparison to high spectral resolution albedo measurements taken during several Intensive Observational Periods (IOPs) and through comparison of the integrated spectral albedo values to observed broadband albedo measurements. The estimated spectral albedo values agree well with observations for the visible wavelengths constrained by the MFR measurements, but have larger biases and variability at longer wavelengths. Additional MFR channels at 1100 nm and/or 1600 nm would help constrain the high resolution spectral albedo in the near infrared region.

Development of a high spectral resolution surface albedo product for the ARM Southern Great Plains central facility

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Delamere

2011-09-01

Full Text Available We present a method for identifying dominant surface type and estimating high spectral resolution surface albedo at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM facility at the Southern Great Plains (SGP site in Oklahoma for use in radiative transfer calculations. Given a set of 6-channel narrowband visible and near-infrared irradiance measurements from upward and downward looking multi-filter radiometers (MFRs, four different surface types (snow-covered, green vegetation, partial vegetation, non-vegetated can be identified. A normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI is used to distinguish between vegetated and non-vegetated surfaces, and a scaled NDVI index is used to estimate the percentage of green vegetation in partially vegetated surfaces. Based on libraries of spectral albedo measurements, a piecewise continuous function is developed to estimate the high spectral resolution surface albedo for each surface type given the MFR albedo values as input. For partially vegetated surfaces, the albedo is estimated as a linear combination of the green vegetation and non-vegetated surface albedo values. The estimated albedo values are evaluated through comparison to high spectral resolution albedo measurements taken during several Intensive Observational Periods (IOPs and through comparison of the integrated spectral albedo values to observed broadband albedo measurements. The estimated spectral albedo values agree well with observations for the visible wavelengths constrained by the MFR measurements, but have larger biases and variability at longer wavelengths. Additional MFR channels at 1100 nm and/or 1600 nm would help constrain the high resolution spectral albedo in the near infrared region.

Traditional Irrigation Management in Betmera-Hiwane, Ethiopia: The Main Peculiarities for the Persistence of Irrigation Practices

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Solomon Habtu; Kitamura Yoshinobu

2006-01-01

Traditional irrigation, as part of the ancient agricultural practices in northern Ethiopia (Tigray), has persisted for long time since 500 B.C.,while many newly introduced irrigation projects have usually failed there. The main objective of this study is thus to investigate the peculiarities pertinent to irrigation management and those having contributed for the persistence of traditional irrigation practices for a long period of time. The experience gained from such areas can definitely help make irrigation management system of new irrigation schemes sustainable. Betmera-Hiwane, one of the ancient traditional irrigation areas in Tigray region, was selected for the field study. Direct observations through field visits accompanied by interviews to farmers, local officials, local knowledgeable individuals and higher officials were made. After analyzing the collected primary and secondary information, the main peculiarities that contributed to the persistence of traditional irrigation areas were identified, and they are: the presence of communally constructed local rules, locally designed hydraulic control structures, ownership feeling of the irrigators and accountability of water distributors to the irrigation management, the culture for mobilizing communal resources and the culture of self-initiating local water management strategies.

Project plan-Surficial geologic mapping and hydrogeologic framework studies in the Greater Platte River Basins (Central Great Plains) in support of ecosystem and climate change research

Science.gov (United States)

Berry, Margaret E.; Lundstrom, Scott C.; Slate, Janet L.; Muhs, Daniel R.; Sawyer, David A.; VanSistine, D. Paco

2011-01-01

The Greater Platte River Basin area spans a central part of the Midcontinent and Great Plains from the Rocky Mountains on the west to the Missouri River on the east, and is defined to include drainage areas of the Platte, Niobrara, and Republican Rivers, the Rainwater Basin, and other adjoining areas overlying the northern High Plains aquifer. The Greater Platte River Basin contains abundant surficial deposits that were sensitive to, or are reflective of, the climate under which they formed: deposits from multiple glaciations in the mountain headwaters of the North and South Platte Rivers and from continental ice sheets in eastern Nebraska; fluvial terraces (ranging from Tertiary to Holocene in age) along the rivers and streams; vast areas of eolian sand in the Nebraska Sand Hills and other dune fields (recording multiple episodes of dune activity); thick sequences of windblown silt (loess); and sediment deposited in numerous lakes and wetlands. In addition, the Greater Platte River Basin overlies and contributes surface water to the High Plains aquifer, a nationally important groundwater system that underlies parts of eight states and sustains one of the major agricultural areas of the United States. The area also provides critical nesting habitat for birds such as plovers and terns, and roosting habitat for cranes and other migratory birds that travel through the Central Flyway of North America. This broad area, containing fragile ecosystems that could be further threatened by changes in climate and land use, has been identified by the USGS and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as a region where intensive collaborative research could lead to a better understanding of climate change and what might be done to adapt to or mitigate its adverse effects to ecosystems and to humans. The need for robust data on the geologic framework of ecosystems in the Greater Platte River Basin has been acknowledged in proceedings from the 2008 Climate Change Workshop and in draft

Modernized Irrigation Technologies in West Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hakan Büyükcangaz

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Crop production in West Africa is mostly dependent upon rainfed agriculture. Irrigation is a vital need due to uneven distribution of rainfall and seasonality of water resources. However, management and sustainability of irrigation are under risk due to notably weak database, excessive cost, unappropriate soil or land use, environmental problems and extreme pessimism in some quarters since rainfed agriculture is seen as potentially able to support the present population. This paper focuses on modernized irrigation technologies and systems that utilize less water. Information about irrigation systems in Ghana and Liberia were gathered through: 1 Irrigation development authorities in both countries, by reviewing past literatures, online publications, reports and files about irrigation in West Africa, specifically Ghana and Liberia; 2 International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI; 3 Collation of information, reports and data from Ghana Irrigation Development Authority (GIDA and 4 International Water Management Institute (IWMI. The result shows that both countries have higher irrigation potential. However, the areas developed for irrigation is still a small portion as compare to the total land available for irrigation. On the other hand, as seen in the result, Liberia as compare to Ghana has even low level of irrigation development.

Irrigation in endodontic treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Basrani, Bettina

2011-01-01

The primary endodontic treatment goal is to optimize root canal disinfection and to prevent reinfection. Successful root canal therapy relies on the combination of proper instrumentation, irrigation, and obturation of the root canal system. In this review of the literature, various irrigants and the interactions between irrigants are discussed and new delivery systems are introduced.

The effect of irrigation time and type of irrigation fluid on cartilage surface friction.

Science.gov (United States)

Stärke, F; Awiszus, F; Lohmann, C H; Stärke, C

2018-01-01

It is known that fluid irrigation used during arthroscopic procedures causes a wash-out of lubricating substances from the articular cartilage surface and leads to increased friction. It was the goal of this study to investigate whether this effect depends on the time of irrigation and type of fluid used. Rabbit hind legs were used for the tests. The knees were dissected and the friction coefficient of the femoral cartilage measured against glass in a boundary lubrication state. To determine the influence of irrigation time and fluid, groups of 12 knees received either no irrigation (control), 15, 60 or 120min of irrigation with lactated Ringer's solution or 60min of irrigation with normal saline or a sorbitol/mannitol solution. The time of irrigation had a significant effect on the static and kinetic coefficient of friction (CoF), as had the type of fluid. Longer irrigation time with Ringer's solution was associated with increased friction coefficients (relative increase of the kinetic CoF compared to the control after 15, 60 and 120min: 16%, 76% and 88% respectively). The sorbitol/mannitol solution affected the static and kinetic CoF significantly less than either Ringer's or normal saline. The washout of lubricating glycoproteins from the cartilage surface and the associated increase of friction can be effectively influenced by controlling the time of irrigation and type of fluid used. The time of exposure to the irrigation fluid should be as short as possible and monosaccharide solutions might offer a benefit compared to salt solutions in terms of the resultant friction. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Carbon and water footprints of irrigated corn and non-irrigated wheat in Northeast Spain.

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Abrahão, Raphael; Carvalho, Monica; Causapé, Jesús

2017-02-01

Irrigation increases yields and allows several crops to be produced in regions where it would be naturally impossible due to limited rainfall. However, irrigation can cause several negative environmental impacts, and it is important to understand these in depth for the correct application of mitigation measures. The life cycle assessment methodology was applied herein to compare the main irrigated and non-irrigated crops in Northeast Spain (corn and wheat, respectively), identifying those processes with greater contribution to environmental impacts (carbon and water footprint categories) and providing scientifically-sound information to facilitate government decisions. Due to concerns about climate change and water availability, the methods selected for evaluation of environmental impacts were IPCC 2013 GWP (carbon footprint) and water scarcity indicator (water footprint). The area studied, a 7.38-km 2 basin, was monitored for 12 years, including the period before, during, and after the implementation of irrigation. The functional unit, to which all material and energy flows were associated with, was the cultivation of 1 ha, throughout 1 year. The overall carbon footprint for irrigated corn was higher, but when considering the higher productivity achieved with irrigation, the emissions per kilogram of corn decrease and finally favor this irrigated crop. When considering the water footprint, the volumes of irrigation water applied were so high that productivity could not compensate for the negative impacts associated with water use in the case of corn. Nevertheless, consideration of productivities and gross incomes brings the results closer. Fertilizer use (carbon footprint) and irrigation water (water footprint) were the main contributors to the negative impacts detected.

Making the user visible: analysing irrigation practices and farmers’ logic to explain actual drip irrigation performance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Benouniche, M.; Kuper, M.; Hammani, A.; Boesveld, H.

2014-01-01

The actual performance of drip irrigation (irrigation efficiency, distribution uniformity) in the field is often quite different from that obtained in experimental stations. We developed an approach to explain the actual irrigation performance of drip irrigation systems by linking measured

Estimating irrigated areas from satellite and model soil moisture data over the contiguous US

Science.gov (United States)

Zaussinger, Felix; Dorigo, Wouter; Gruber, Alexander

2017-04-01

Information about irrigation is crucial for a number of applications such as drought- and yield management and contributes to a better understanding of the water-cycle, land-atmosphere interactions as well as climate projections. Currently, irrigation is mainly quantified by national agricultural statistics, which do not include spatial information. The digital Global Map of Irrigated Areas (GMIA) has been the first effort to quantify irrigation at the global scale by merging these statistics with remote sensing data. Also, the MODIS-Irrigated Agriculture Dataset (MirAD-US) was created by merging annual peak MODIS-NDVI with US county level irrigation statistics. In this study we aim to map irrigated areas by confronting time series of various satellite soil moisture products with soil moisture from the ERA-Interim/Land reanalysis product. We follow the assumption that irrigation signals are not modelled in the reanalysis product, nor contributing to its forcing data, but affecting the spatially continuous remote sensing observations. Based on this assumption, spatial patterns of irrigation are derived from differences between the temporal slopes of the modelled and remotely sensed time series during the irrigation season. Results show that a combination of ASCAT and ERA-Interim/Land show spatial patterns which are in good agreement with the MIrAD-US, particularly within the Mississippi Delta, Texas and eastern Nebraska. In contrast, AMSRE shows weak agreements, plausibly due to a higher vegetation dependency of the soil moisture signal. There is no significant agreement to the MIrAD-US in California, which is possibly related to higher crop-diversity and lower field sizes. Also, a strong signal in the region of the Great Corn Belt is observed, which is generally not outlined as an irrigated area. It is not yet clear to what extent the signal obtained in the Mississippi Delta is related to re-reflection effects caused by standing water due to flood or furrow

Treated wastewater and Nitrate transport beneath irrigated fields near Dodge city, Kansas

Science.gov (United States)

Sophocleous, M.; Townsend, M.A.; Vocasek, F.; Ma, Liwang; Ashok, K.C.

2010-01-01

Use of secondary-treated municipal wastewater for crop irrigation south of Dodge City, Kansas, where the soils are mainly of silty clay loam texture, has raised a concern that it has resulted in high nitratenitrogen concentrations (10-50 mg/kg) in the soil and deeper vadose zone, and also in the underlying deep (20-45 m) ground water. The goal of this field-monitoring project was to assess how and under what circumstances nitrogen (N) nutrients under cultivated corn that is irrigated with this treated wastewater can reach the deep ground water of the underlying High Plains aquifer, and what can realistically be done to minimize this problem. We collected 15.2-m-deep cores for physical and chemical properties characterization; installed neutron moisture-probe access tubes and suction lysimeters for periodic measurements; sampled area monitoring, irrigation, and domestic wells; performed dye-tracer experiments to examine soil preferential-flow processes through macropores; and obtained climatic, crop, irrigation, and N-application rate records. These data and additional information were used in the comprehensive Root Zone Water Quality Model (RZWQM2) to identify key parameters and processes that influence N losses in the study area. We demonstrated that nitrate-N transport processes result in significant accumulations of N in the thick vadose zone. We also showed that nitrate-N in the underlying ground water is increasing with time and that the source of the nitrate is from the wastewater applications. RZWQM2 simulations indicated that macropore flow is generated particularly during heavy rainfall events, but during our 2005-06 simulations the total macropore flow was only about 3% of precipitation for one of two investigated sites, whereas it was more than 13% for the other site. Our calibrated model for the two wastewater-irrigated study sites indicated that reducing current levels of corn N fertilization by half or more to the level of 170 kg/ha substantially

The characteristic and influence factors of extinction depth of shallow groundwater on the high-latitude region: a case study on the Sanjiang Plain, northeast China.

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Wang, Xihua

2018-03-01

Accurate estimation of extinction depth of shallow groundwater (EDSG) and identification of its influence factors are important for sustainable management of groundwater resources, ecological protection, and human health in intensively irrigated region. In this study, the ratio of actual groundwater depth and EDSG (RAE) method was used to understand the spatial variability of EDSG in the Sanjiang Plain, one of China's largest grain production bases and China's largest inland freshwater wetland region. The study showed a large spatial variation of EDSG in the region. Spatially, the sites, which were in the northeast and center had the deepest and the shallowest EDSG, whereby, indicate that it has higher and lower pumping potential capacity. Many factors including climate, soil parameters, vegetation and topography affected the EDSG. We also identified an area of 3.86 × 10 10  m 2 , which accounting for 35.3% of the entire Sanjiang Plain, has exceeded the ESGD by over exploited for years. Knowledge of the variation and influence factors of EDSG for a certain plant system and the current shallow groundwater condition in the higher latitude region can be a key to the development of preventive actions for large quantity pumping groundwater and protection regional and sustainable development of irrigated agriculture.

Carbonate microbialites and hardgrounds from Manito Lake, an alkaline, hypersaline lake in the northern Great Plains of Canada

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Last, Fawn M.; Last, William M.; Halden, Norman M.

2010-03-01

Manito Lake is a large, perennial, Na-SO 4 dominated saline to hypersaline lake located in the northern Great Plains of western Canada. Significant water level decrease over the past several decades has led to reduction in volume and surface area, as well as an increase in salinity. The salinity has increased from 10 ppt to about 50 ppt TDS. This decrease in water level has exposed large areas of nearshore microbialites. These organogenic structures range in size from several cm to over a meter and often form large bioherms several meters high. They have various external morphologies, vary in mineralogical composition, and show a variety of internal fabrics from finely laminated to massive. In addition to microbiolities and bioherms, the littoral zone of Manito Lake contains a variety of carbonate hardgrounds, pavements, and cemented clastic sediments. Dolomite and aragonite are the most common minerals found in these shoreline structures, however, calcite after ikaite, monohydrocalcite, magnesian calcite, and hydromagnesite are also present. The dolomite is nonstoichiometric and calcium-rich; the magnesian calcite has about 17 mol% MgCO 3. AMS radiocarbon dating of paired organic matter and endogenic carbonate material confirms little or no reservoir affect. Although there is abundant evidence for modern carbonate mineral precipitation and microbialite formation, most of the larger microbialites formed between about 2300 and 1000 cal BP, whereas the hardgrounds, cements, and laminated crusts formed about 1000-500 cal BP.

Analysis on the Change in Shallow Groundwater Level based on Monitoring Electric Energy Consumption - A Case Study in the North China Plain

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, L.; Wolfgang, K.; Steiner, J. F.

2016-12-01

Groundwater has been over-pumped for irrigation in the North China Plain in the past decades causing a drastic decrease in the groundwater level. Shallow groundwater can be recharged by rainfall, and the aquifer could be rehabilitated for sustainable use. However, understanding and maintaining the balance of the aquifer - including climatic as well as anthropogenic influences - are fundamental to enable such a sustainable groundwater management. This is still severely obstructed by a lack of measurements of recharge and exploitation. A project to measure groundwater pumping rate at the distributed scale based on monitoring electric energy consumption is going on in Guantao County (456 km2) located in the southern part of the North China Plain. Considerably less costly than direct measurements of the pumping rate, this approach enables us to (a) cover a larger area and (b) use historic electricity data to reconstruct water use in the past. Pumping tests have been carried out to establish a relation between energy consumption and groundwater exploitation. Based on the results of the pumping tests, the time series of the pumping rate can be estimated from the historical energy consumption and serves as the input for a box model to reconstruct the water balance of the shallow aquifer for recent years. This helps us to determine the relative contribution of recharge due to rainfall as well as drawdown due to groundwater pumping for irrigation. Additionally, 100 electric meters have been installed at the electric transformers supplying power for irrigation. With insights gained from the pumping tests, real-time monitoring of the groundwater exploitation is achieved by converting the measured energy consumption to the water use, and pumping control can also be achieved by limiting the energy use. A monitoring and controlling system can then be set up to implement the strategy of sustainable groundwater use.

How Patients Experience Antral Irrigation

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Karin Blomgren

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background Antral irrigation earlier had an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of rhinosinusitis. Nowadays, it is often considered too unpleasant. However, the experience of patients of this procedure has been very seldom evaluated. Nor has the effect on pain in rhinosinusitis been evaluated. The aim of this study was to evaluate patients’ experience of discomfort and pain during antral irrigation. We also assessed facial pain caused by rhinosinusitis before the procedure and pain soon after the procedure. Methods Doctors and 121 patients completed their questionnaires independently after antral irrigation in a university clinic, in a private hospital, and at a communal health center. Results Patients experienced mild pain during antral irrigation (mean and median visual analog scale score: <3. Their experience of pain during antral irrigation was closely comparable to pain during dental calculus scaling. Facial pain assessed before antral irrigation decreased quickly after the procedure. Conclusions Antral irrigation was well tolerated as an outpatient procedure. The procedure seems to relieve facial pain caused by the disease quickly. The role of antral irrigation in the treatment of acute rhinosinusitis will need further investigation.

Estimation of Actual Evapotranspiration by Remote Sensing: Application in Thessaly Plain, Greece

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Nikos Mamassis

2008-06-01

Full Text Available Remote sensing can assist in improving the estimation of the geographical distribution of evapotranspiration, and consequently water demand in large cultivated areas for irrigation purposes and sustainable water resources management. In the direction of these objectives, the daily actual evapotranspiration was calculated in this study during the summer season of 2001 over the Thessaly plain in Greece, a wide irrigated area of great agricultural importance. Three different methods were adapted and applied: the remotesensing methods by Granger (2000 and Carlson and Buffum (1989 that use satellite data in conjunction with ground meteorological measurements and an adapted FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation Penman-Monteith method (Allen at al. 1998, which was selected to be the reference method. The satellite data were used in conjunction with ground data collected on the three closest meteorological stations. All three methods, exploit visible channels 1 and 2 and infrared channels 4 and 5 of NOAA-AVHRR (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer sensor images to calculate albedo and NDVI (Normalised Difference Vegetation Index, as well as surface temperatures. The FAO Penman-Monteith and the Granger method have used exclusively NOAA-15 satellite images to obtain mean surface temperatures. For the Carlson-Buffum method a combination of NOAA-14 and ΝΟΑΑ-15 satellite images was used, since the average rate of surface temperature rise during the morning was required. The resulting estimations show that both the Carlson-Buffum and Granger methods follow in general the variations of the reference FAO Penman-Monteith method. Both methods have potential for estimating the spatial distribution of evapotranspiration, whereby the degree of the relative agreement with the reference FAO Penman-Monteith method depends on the crop growth stage. In particular, the Carlson- Buffum

Simulating the 2012 High Plains drought using three single column versions (SCM) of BUGS5

Science.gov (United States)

Medina, I. D.; Denning, S.

2013-12-01

The impact of changes in the frequency and severity of drought on fresh water sustainability is a great concern for many regions of the world. One such location is the High Plains, where the local economy is primarily driven by fresh water withdrawals from the Ogallala Aquifer, which accounts for approximately 30% of total irrigation withdrawals from all U.S. aquifers combined. Modeling studies that focus on the feedback mechanisms that control the climate and eco-hydrology during times of drought are limited, and have used conventional General Circulation Models (GCMs) with grid length scales ranging from one hundred to several hundred kilometers. Additionally, these models utilize crude statistical parameterizations of cloud processes for estimating sub-grid fluxes of heat and moisture and have a poor representation of land surface heterogeneity. For this research, we will focus on the 2012 High Plains drought and will perform numerical simulations using three single column versions (SCM) of BUGS5 (Colorado State University (CSU) GCM coupled to the Simple Biosphere Model (SiB3)) at multiple sites overlying the Ogallala Aquifer for the 2011-2012 periods. In the first version of BUGS5, the model will be used in its standard bulk setting (single atmospheric column coupled to a single instance of SiB3), secondly, the Super-Parameterized Community Atmospheric Model (SP-CAM), a cloud resolving model (CRM consists of 64 atmospheric columns), will replace the single CSU GCM atmospheric parameterization and will be coupled to a single instance of SiB3, and for the third version of BUGS5, an instance of SiB3 will be coupled to each CRM column of the SP-CAM (64 CRM columns coupled to 64 instances of SiB3). To assess the physical realism of the land-atmosphere feedbacks simulated at each site by all versions of BUGS5, differences in simulated energy and moisture fluxes will be computed between the 2011 and 2012 period and will be compared to differences calculated using

Modernisation Strategy for National Irrigation Systems in the Philippines: Balanac and Sta. Maria River Irrigation Systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Delos Reyes, M.L.F.

2017-01-01

This book examines the nature and impact of irrigation system rehabilitation on increasing the actual area irrigated by the publicly funded canal irrigation systems of the Philippines. It proposes a system diagnosis approach for the development of a more appropriate and climate-smart irrigation

Comparing Sprinkler and Surface Irrigation for Wheat Using Multi-Criteria Analysis: Water Saving vs. Economic Returns

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Hanaa Darouich

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Coping with water scarcity using supplemental irrigation of wheat (Triticum aestivum L. in the semi-arid northeast Syria is a great challenge for sustainable water use in agriculture. Graded borders and set sprinkler systems were compared using multi-criteria analysis. Alternative solutions for surface irrigation and for sprinkler systems were developed with the SADREG and the PROASPER design models, respectively. For each alternative, two deficit irrigation strategies were considered, which were characterized using indicators relative to irrigation water use, yields and water productivity, including farm economic returns. Alternatives were ranked considering two contrasting priorities: economic returns and water saving. A first step in ranking led to a selection of graded borders with and without precise land levelling and of solid set and semi-permanent sprinkler systems. Precise-levelled borders were better for water saving, while non-precise ones ranked higher for economic returns. Semi-permanent set systems have been shown to be better in economic terms and similar to solid set systems when water saving is prioritized. Semi-permanent sprinkler systems rank first when comparing all type of systems together regardless of the considered deficit irrigation strategy. Likely, border irrigation is appropriate when wheat is in rotation with cotton if the latter is surface irrigated. When peace becomes effective, appropriate economic incentives and training for farmers are required to implement innovative approaches.

Nitrous oxide and methane emissions from optimized and alternative cereal cropping systems on the North China Plain: A two-year field study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao, Bing; Ju, Xiaotang; Su, Fang; Meng, Qingfeng; Oenema, Oene; Christie, Peter; Chen, Xinping; Zhang, Fusuo

2014-01-01

The impacts of different crop rotation systems with their corresponding management practices on grain yield, greenhouse gas emissions, and fertilizer nitrogen (N) and irrigation water use efficiencies are not well documented. This holds especially for the North China Plain which provides the staple food for hundreds of millions of people and where groundwater resources are polluted with nitrate and depleted through irrigation. Here, we report on fertilizer N and irrigation water use, grain yields, and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) and methane (CH 4 ) emissions of conventional and optimized winter wheat–summer maize double-cropping systems, and of three alternative cropping systems, namely a winter wheat–summer maize (or soybean)–spring maize system, with three harvests in two years; and a single spring maize system with one crop per year. The results of this two-year study show that the optimized double-cropping system led to a significant increase in grain yields and a significant decrease in fertilizer N use and net greenhouse gas intensity, but the net greenhouse gas N 2 O emissions plus CH 4 uptake and the use of irrigation water did not decrease relative to the conventional system. Compared to the conventional system the net greenhouse gas emissions, net greenhouse gas intensity and use of fertilizer N and irrigation water decreased in the three alternative cropping systems, but at the cost of grain yields except in the winter wheat–summer maize–spring maize system. Net uptake of CH 4 by the soil was little affected by cropping system. Average N 2 O emission factors were only 0.17% for winter wheat and 0.53% for maize. In conclusion, the winter wheat–summer maize–spring maize system has considerable potential to decrease water and N use and decrease N 2 O emissions while maintaining high grain yields and sustainable use of groundwater. - Highlights: • Yields, resource use efficiency and N 2 O + CH 4 emission differ among cropping systems. • An

Nitrous oxide and methane emissions from optimized and alternative cereal cropping systems on the North China Plain: A two-year field study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gao, Bing [College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193 (China); Ju, Xiaotang, E-mail: juxt@cau.edu.cn [College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193 (China); Su, Fang; Meng, Qingfeng [College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193 (China); Oenema, Oene [Wageningen University and Research, Alterra, Wageningen (Netherlands); Christie, Peter [College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193 (China); Agri-Environment Branch, Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, Belfast BT9 5PX (United Kingdom); Chen, Xinping; Zhang, Fusuo [College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193 (China)

2014-02-01

The impacts of different crop rotation systems with their corresponding management practices on grain yield, greenhouse gas emissions, and fertilizer nitrogen (N) and irrigation water use efficiencies are not well documented. This holds especially for the North China Plain which provides the staple food for hundreds of millions of people and where groundwater resources are polluted with nitrate and depleted through irrigation. Here, we report on fertilizer N and irrigation water use, grain yields, and nitrous oxide (N{sub 2}O) and methane (CH{sub 4}) emissions of conventional and optimized winter wheat–summer maize double-cropping systems, and of three alternative cropping systems, namely a winter wheat–summer maize (or soybean)–spring maize system, with three harvests in two years; and a single spring maize system with one crop per year. The results of this two-year study show that the optimized double-cropping system led to a significant increase in grain yields and a significant decrease in fertilizer N use and net greenhouse gas intensity, but the net greenhouse gas N{sub 2}O emissions plus CH{sub 4} uptake and the use of irrigation water did not decrease relative to the conventional system. Compared to the conventional system the net greenhouse gas emissions, net greenhouse gas intensity and use of fertilizer N and irrigation water decreased in the three alternative cropping systems, but at the cost of grain yields except in the winter wheat–summer maize–spring maize system. Net uptake of CH{sub 4} by the soil was little affected by cropping system. Average N{sub 2}O emission factors were only 0.17% for winter wheat and 0.53% for maize. In conclusion, the winter wheat–summer maize–spring maize system has considerable potential to decrease water and N use and decrease N{sub 2}O emissions while maintaining high grain yields and sustainable use of groundwater. - Highlights: • Yields, resource use efficiency and N{sub 2}O + CH{sub 4} emission

Year-Round Irrigation Schedule for a Tomato–Maize Rotation System in Reservoir-Based Irrigation Schemes in Ghana

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Ephraim Sekyi-Annan

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Improving irrigation management in semi-arid regions of Sub-Saharan Africa is crucial to respond to increasing variability in rainfall and overcome deficits in current irrigation schemes. In small-scale and medium-scale reservoir-based irrigation schemes in the Upper East region of Ghana, we explored options for improving the traditional, dry season irrigation practices and assessed the potential for supplemental irrigation in the rainy season. The AquaCrop model was used to (i assess current water management in the typical tomato-maize rotational system; (ii develop an improved irrigation schedule for dry season cultivation of tomato; and (iii determine the requirement for supplemental irrigation of maize in the rainy season under different climate scenarios. The improved irrigation schedule for dry season tomato cultivation would result in a water saving of 130–1325 mm compared to traditional irrigation practices, accompanied by approximately a 4–14% increase in tomato yield. The supplemental irrigation of maize would require 107–126 mm of water in periods of low rainfall and frequent dry spells, and 88–105 mm in periods of high rainfall and rare dry spells. Therefore, year-round irrigated crop production may be feasible, using water saved during dry season tomato cultivation for supplemental irrigation of maize in the rainy season.

Colonization and extinction in dynamic habitats: an occupancy approach for a Great Plains stream fish assemblage.

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Falke, Jeffrey A; Bailey, Larissa L; Fausch, Kurt D; Bestgen, Kevin R

2012-04-01

Despite the importance of habitat in determining species distribution and persistence, habitat dynamics are rarely modeled in studies of metapopulations. We used an integrated habitat-occupancy model to simultaneously quantify habitat change, site fidelity, and local colonization and extinction rates for larvae of a suite of Great Plains stream fishes in the Arikaree River, eastern Colorado, USA, across three years. Sites were located along a gradient of flow intermittency and groundwater connectivity. Hydrology varied across years: the first and third being relatively wet and the second dry. Despite hydrologic variation, our results indicated that site suitability was random from one year to the next. Occupancy probabilities were also independent of previous habitat and occupancy state for most species, indicating little site fidelity. Climate and groundwater connectivity were important drivers of local extinction and colonization, but the importance of groundwater differed between periods. Across species, site extinction probabilities were highest during the transition from wet to dry conditions (range: 0.52-0.98), and the effect of groundwater was apparent with higher extinction probabilities for sites not fed by groundwater. Colonization probabilities during this period were relatively low for both previously dry sites (range: 0.02-0.38) and previously wet sites (range: 0.02-0.43). In contrast, no sites dried or remained dry during the transition from dry to wet conditions, yielding lower but still substantial extinction probabilities (range: 0.16-0.63) and higher colonization probabilities (range: 0.06-0.86), with little difference among sites with and without groundwater. This approach of jointly modeling both habitat change and species occupancy will likely be useful to incorporate effects of dynamic habitat on metapopulation processes and to better inform appropriate conservation actions.

Evaluation of the effects of mulch on optimum sowing date and irrigation management of zero till wheat in central Punjab, India using APSIM

OpenAIRE

Balwinder-Singh,; Humphreys, E.; Gaydon, D.S.; Eberbach, P.L.

2016-01-01

Machinery for sowing wheat directly into rice residues has become more common in the rice-wheat systems of the north-west Indo-Gangetic Plains of South Asia, with increasing numbers of farmers now potentially able to access the benefits of residue retention. However, surface residue retention affects soil water and temperature dynamics, thus the optimum sowing date and irrigation management for a mulched crop may vary from those of a traditional non-mulched crop. Furthermore, the effects of s...

Uranium in pore waters from North Atlantic (GME and Southern Nares Abyssal Plain) sediments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santschi, P.H.; Bajo, C.; Mantovani, M.; Orciuolo, D.; Cranston, R.E.; Bruno, J.

1988-01-01

Here we report the measurement of low uranium concentrations in composite pore-water samples from the uppermost 20-30 m of deep-sea abyssal plain sediments from the Great Meteor East and Southern Nares Abyssal Plains Area. Many values are the lowest uranium concentrations ever measured in the pore waters of deep-sea sediments. Our lowest value, 0.05 ± 0.01 p.p.b., is orders of magnitude lower than the predicted solubility of U0 2 or U 4 0 9 . The uranium concentrations obtained from both sites correlate closely with measured redox potentials in the sediments. The low mobility of uranium in pore waters from turbiditic deep-sea abyssal plain sediments, which can be deduced from these measurements, has important implications for the sub-seabed disposal of high-level radioactive waste, and for marine geochemistry of uranium. (author)

Distribution, typology and assessment of degraded soils Piedmont Plains Zhetysu Ridge, Kazakhstan

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Maira Kussainova

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Identification of land degradation is essential to check the problem and to implement the remedial measures needed. The study area falls under parts of foothill plains Zhetysu Ridge, Kazakhstan, that is an arid region in climate. Recent data on the status of study area refer to the 80s of the last century, and the intensive use of them led to a significant anthropogenic transformation. This study was carried out in 2015-2016 as part of a project aimed to study features and causes of land degradation in foothill plains Zhetysu Ridge, Kazakhstan. Under the conditions of rainfed soil degradation manifests itself in the development of erosion processes, agro depletion of soils, reducing the productivity of agriculture. The use of land for irrigation often accompanied by secondary salinization. In this regard, at present there is need to assess current state of the soil, with the identification of changes in their properties as a result of the impact of various anthropogenic factors and creation of new electronic soil maps and applied the powerful capabilities of advanced remote sensing (RS and geographic information system (GIS techniques to identify the geomorphological units and degradation risk assessment. Satellite imagery in addition to the field and laboratory studies to identify salinity-induced soil degradation was adopted in this study. Morphological, chemical and physical characteristics of soils in degraded sites in foothill plains Zhetysu Ridge, Kazakhstan, were depicted. The main results of a thorough evaluation of soil degradation in foothill plains Zhetysu Ridge, Kazakhstan, are presented. The data revealed that extent of salinity-induced degradation was generally related to some physical properties of soil, uncontrolled livestock grazing and previous soil management practices. These results are useful as the basis for designing soil conservation and restoration programs, as a base line for evaluating the performance of conservation

Irrigation water sources and irrigation application methods used by U.S. plant nursery producers

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Paudel, Krishna P.; Pandit, Mahesh; Hinson, Roger

2016-02-01

We examine irrigation water sources and irrigation methods used by U.S. nursery plant producers using nested multinomial fractional regression models. We use data collected from the National Nursery Survey (2009) to identify effects of different firm and sales characteristics on the fraction of water sources and irrigation methods used. We find that regions, sales of plants types, farm income, and farm age have significant roles in what water source is used. Given the fraction of alternative water sources used, results indicated that use of computer, annual sales, region, and the number of IPM practices adopted play an important role in the choice of irrigation method. Based on the findings from this study, government can provide subsidies to nursery producers in water deficit regions to adopt drip irrigation method or use recycled water or combination of both. Additionally, encouraging farmers to adopt IPM may enhance the use of drip irrigation and recycled water in nursery plant production.

Wireless sensor networks for irrigation management

Science.gov (United States)

Sustaining an adequate food supply for the world's population will require advancements in irrigation technology and improved irrigation management. Site-specific irrigation and automatic irrigation scheduling are examples of strategies to deal with declining arable land and limited fresh water reso...

Scintigraphic assessment of colostomy irrigation.

Science.gov (United States)

Christensen, P.; Olsen, N.; Krogh, K.; Laurberg, S.

2002-09-01

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate colonic transport following colostomy irrigation with a new scintigraphic technique. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To label the bowel contents 19 patients (11 uncomplicated colostomy irrigation, 8 complicated colostomy irrigation) took 111In-labelled polystyrene pellets one and two days before investigation. 99mTc-DTPA was mixed with the irrigation fluid to assess its extent within the bowel. Scintigraphy was performed before and after a standardized washout procedure. The colon was divided into three segments 1: the caecum andascending colon; 2: the transverse colon; 3: the descending and sigmoid colon. Assuming ordered evacuation of the colon, the contribution of each colonic segment to the total evacuation was expressed as a percentage of the original segmental counts. These were added to reach a total defaecation score (range: 0-300). RESULTS: In uncomplicated colostomy irrigation, the median defaecation score was 235 (range: 145-289) corresponding to complete evacuation of the descending and transverse colon and 35% evacuation of the caecum/ascending colon. In complicated colostomy irrigation it was possible to distinguish specific emptying patterns. The retained irrigation fluid reached the caecum in all but one patient. CONCLUSION: Scintigraphy can be used to evaluate colonic emptying following colostomy irrigation.

Postcataract endophthalmitis prophylaxis using irrigation, incision hydration, and eye pressurization with vancomycin

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Schelonka LP

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Lee P Schelonka,1 Margaret A SaBell2 1Department of Opthalmology, Kaiser Permanente Lone Tree Medical Offices, Lone Tree, 2Department of Infection Control, Kaiser Permanente Lone Tree Medical Offices, Lone Tree, Denver, CO, USA Purpose: This study aimed to determine whether switching from balanced salt solution (BSS to vancomycin 20 g/mL BSS for incision hydration and eye pressurization reduces the rate of postcataract endophthalmitis.Methods: This was a patient safety/quality improvement project, including all patients undergoing cataract surgery at the Kaiser Permanente Colorado Ophthalmology Department from January 2002 to December 2014. Throughout the study, patients received vancomycin 20 µg/mL in the irrigating solution. During the baseline period from 2002 to 2005, surgeons pressurized eyes and hydrated incisions with plain BSS. During the intervention period from 2006 through 2014, surgeons switched from BSS to the vancomycin/BSS irrigating solution for eye pressurization and incision hydration.Results: A total of 57,263 cataract operations were performed by 24 surgeons at seven surgical centers: 12,400 in the baseline period and 44,863 in the intervention period. The rate of postcataract endophthalmitis declined significantly from 5/12,400 (rate: 0.4/1,000 in the baseline period to 1/44,863 (rate: 0.022/1,000 during the intervention period (odds ratio [OR]: 18.1, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.11–154.9; χ2=13.5, P=0.00024. Accounting for an estimated 2.05-fold risk reduction due to confounding variables, the risk reduction attributed to the intervention remained significant: (adjusted OR: 8.78, 95% CI: 1.73–44.5; χ2=10.06, P=0.0015. Since 2009, we have not experienced any cases of postcataract endophthalmitis after 32,753 operations.Conclusion: We experienced a significant reduction in postcataract endophthalmitis when we switched from BSS to the vancomycin/BSS irrigating solution for incision hydration and eye pressurization

Assessment of Irrigation Water Quality and Suitability for Irrigation in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

A number of factors like geology, soil, effluents, sewage disposal and other environmental conditions in which the water stays or moves and interacts are among the factors that affect the quality of irrigation water. This study was conducted to determine the quality and suitability of different water sources for irrigation purpose ...

Effect of irrigation on heavy metals content of wastewater irrigated ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

There is an urgent need to educate farmers on the dangers of the presence of heavy metals in soils as well as the quality of irrigation water especially if it comes from tanning industries for increased crop production. Accordingly, soil and irrigation wastewater study was conducted to assess the concentrations of heavy ...

Highly calcareous lacustrine soils in the Great Konya Basin, Turkey

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Meester, de T.

1971-01-01

The Great Konya Basin is in the south of the Central Anatolian Plateau in Turkey. It is a depression without outlet to the sea. The central part of the Basin is the floor of a former Pleistocene lake, the Ancient Konya Lake. This area, called the Lacustrine
Plain, has highly calcareous

An assessment of colostomy irrigation.

Science.gov (United States)

Laucks, S S; Mazier, W P; Milsom, J W; Buffin, S E; Anderson, J M; Warwick, M K; Surrell, J A

1988-04-01

One hundred patients with permanent sigmoid colostomies were surveyed to determine their satisfaction and success with the "irrigation" technique of colostomy management. Most patients who irrigate their colostomies achieve continence. Odors and skin irritation are minimized. The irrigation method is economical, time efficient, and allows a reasonably liberal diet. It avoids bulky appliances and is safe. In appropriately selected patients, the irrigation technique is the method of choice for management of an end-sigmoid colostomy.

Irrigation and Autocracy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bentzen, Jeanet Sinding; Kaarsen, Nicolai; Wingender, Asger Moll

2017-01-01

. We argue that the effect has historical origins: irrigation allowed landed elites in arid areas to monopolize water and arable land. This made elites more powerful and better able to oppose democratization. Consistent with this conjecture, we show that irrigation dependence predicts land inequality...

STUDY ON MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES AND SOIL ORGANIC MATTER IN IRRIGATED AND NON-IRRIGATED VERTISOL FROM BOIANU

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Sorina Dumitru

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Irrigation, when administered correctly, confers the producers the possibility to overcome drought effects and obtain higher yields, supplementing the quality of food for animals or human consumers. In the mean time, soil erosion, pathogens attack and nutrients or pesticides spreading can be prevented by an adequate management of irrigation water. As a consequence, soil microbial community structure, composition and activities, as well as the organic matter quality can be different from those in non-irrigated soil. Research have been carried out in order to assess changes in bacterial and fungal communities and activity in irrigated Vertisol from Boianu, as compared with non-irrigated. The paper presents the results concerning the taxonomical composition of bacterial and fungalmicroflora in the horizons of the two soil profiles, as well as the level of CO2 released by microorganisms. Chromatographic aspects of humus fractions were used to characterize the organic matter in irrigated and nonirrigated soil. Increased moisture and lowered temperature in Ap horizon of irrigated soil increased bacterial counts(18 x106 viable cells x g-1 dry soil and their metabolic activity expressed by carbon dioxide released (46.838mg CO2 x g-1 dry soil comparatively with non- irrigated soil. Fungal microflora was more abundant after 25-50cm under irrigation. Species diversity slightly increased under irrigation in both upper and lower part of soil profile. In irrigated soil, associations of species belonging to bacterial genera Pseudomonas and Bacillus were dominant in surface and white actinomycetes in the depth. Fungal consortia of Penicillium, Aspergillus and Fusarium dominated in both soil profiles.Irrigation induced changes in the quantity and quality of soil organic matter, as well as in the aspect of their migration pattern, as revealed on circular chromatograms.

Impacts of Irrigation Practices on Groundwater Recharge in Mississippi Delta Using coupled SWAT-MODFLOW Model

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, F.; Feng, G.; Han, M.; Jenkins, J.; Ouyang, Y.

2017-12-01

The Lower Mississippi River alluvial plain (refers to as MS Delta), located in the northwest state of Mississippi, is one of the most productive agricultural region in the U.S. The primary crops grown in this region are soybean, corn, cotton, and rice. Approximately 80% water from the alluvial aquifer in MS Delta are withdrawn for irrigation, which makes it the most used aquifer in the State. As a result, groundwater level has declined > 6 m since 1970, which threaten the sustainability of irrigated agriculture in this region. The objectives of this study were to: 1) couple the SWAT and MODFLOW then calibrate and validate the incorporated model outputs for stream flow, groundwater level and evapotranspiration (ET) in MS Delta; 2) simulate the groundwater recharge as affected by a) conventional irrigation scheme, b) no irrigation scheme, c) ET based and soil moisture based full irrigation schedules using all groundwater, and d) ET and soil moisture based full irrigation schedule using different percentages of surface and ground water. Results indicated that the coupled model performed well during the calibration and validation for daily stream flow at three USGS gauge stations. (R2=0.7; Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) varied from 0.6 to 0.7; Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) ranged from 20 to 27 m3/s). The values of determination coefficient R2 for groundwater level were 0.95 for calibration and 0.88 for validation, their NSE values were 0.99 and 0.93, respectively. The values of RMSE for groundwater level during the calibration and validation period were 0.51 and 0.59 m. The values of R2, NSE and RMSE between SWAT-MODFLOW simulated actual evapotranspiration (ET) and remote sensing evapotranspiration (ET) were 0.52, 0.51 and 28.1 mm. The simulated total average monthly groundwater recharge had lower values of 19 mm/month in the crop season than 30 mm/month in the crop off-growing season. The SWAT-MODFLOW can be a useful tool for not only simulating the recharge in MS

Early emergence of anthropogenically forced heat waves in the western United States and Great Lakes

Science.gov (United States)

Lopez, Hosmay; West, Robert; Dong, Shenfu; Goni, Gustavo; Kirtman, Ben; Lee, Sang-Ki; Atlas, Robert

2018-05-01

Climate projections for the twenty-first century suggest an increase in the occurrence of heat waves. However, the time at which externally forced signals of anthropogenic climate change (ACC) emerge against background natural variability (time of emergence (ToE)) has been challenging to quantify, which makes future heat-wave projections uncertain. Here we combine observations and model simulations under present and future forcing to assess how internal variability and ACC modulate US heat waves. We show that ACC dominates heat-wave occurrence over the western United States and Great Lakes regions, with ToE that occurred as early as the 2020s and 2030s, respectively. In contrast, internal variability governs heat waves in the northern and southern Great Plains, where ToE occurs in the 2050s and 2070s; this later ToE is believed to be a result of a projected increase in circulation variability, namely the Great Plain low-level jet. Thus, greater mitigation and adaptation efforts are needed in the Great Lakes and western United States regions.

Vascular flora of saline lakes in the southern high plains of Texas and eastern New Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Rosen, David J.; Conway, Warren C.; Haukos, David A.; Caskey, Amber D.

2013-01-01

Saline lakes and freshwater playas form the principal surface hydrological feature of the High Plains of the Southern Great Plains. Saline lakes number less than 50 and historically functioned as discharge wetlands with relatively consistent water availability due to the presence of one or more springs. Currently, less than ten saline lakes contain functional springs. A survey of vascular plants at six saline lakes in the Southern High Plains of northwest Texas and one in eastern New Mexico during May and September 2009 resulted in a checklist of 49 species representing 16 families and 40 genera. The four families with the most species were Asteraceae (12), Amaranthaceae (8), Cyperaceae (5), and Poaceae (12). Non-native species (Bromus catharticus, Poa compressa, Polypogon monspeliensis, Sonchus oleraceus, Kochia scoparia, and Tamarix ramosissima) accounted for 10% of the total species recorded. Whereas nearly 350 species of vascular plants have been identified in playas in the Southern High Plains, saline lakes contain a fraction of this species richness. The Southern High Plains saline lake flora is regionally unique, containing taxa not found in playas, with species composition that is more similar to temperate desert wetlands of the Intermountain Region and Gulf Coastal Plain of North America.

The Effect of Land Cover/Land Use Changes on the Regional Climate of the USA High Plains

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Denis Mutiibwa

2014-08-01

Full Text Available We present the detection of the signatures of land use/land cover (LULC changes on the regional climate of the US High Plains. We used the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI as a proxy of LULC changes and atmospheric CO2 concentrations as a proxy of greenhouse gases. An enhanced signal processing procedure was developed to detect the signatures of LULC changes by integrating autoregression and moving average (ARMA modeling and optimal fingerprinting technique. The results, which are representative of the average spatial signatures of climate response to LULC change forcing on the regional climate of the High Plains during the 26 years of the study period (1981–2006, show a significant cooling effect on the regional temperatures during the summer season. The cooling effect was attributed to probable evaporative cooling originating from the increasing extensive irrigation in the region. The external forcing of atmospheric CO2 was included in the study to suppress the radiative warming effect of greenhouse gases, thus, enhancing the LULC change signal. The results show that the greenhouse gas radiative warming effect in the region is significant, but weak, compared to the LULC change signal. The study demonstrates the regional climatic impact of anthropogenic induced atmospheric-biosphere interaction attributed to LULC change, which is an additional and important climate forcing in addition to greenhouse gas radiative forcing in High Plains region.

Irrigation management in Mediterranean salt affected agriculture: how leaching operates

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Angela Libutti

2012-03-01

and relative drainage volumes according to a three steps procedure of covariance analysis. A simple, general and comprehensive leaching model is thus presented. Results showed that salt build up into the soil can be very rapid, generally occurring within a single irrigated summer crop cycle. Rainfalls of the autumn-winter period had a crucial role in the removal of salts brought into the soil by summer irrigation. This paper strongly emphasises that additional fresh water supply is of great importance to establish acceptable soil conditions. Two suitable periods for intentional leaching were identified.

Are There Infinite Irrigation Trees?

Science.gov (United States)

Bernot, M.; Caselles, V.; Morel, J. M.

2006-08-01

In many natural or artificial flow systems, a fluid flow network succeeds in irrigating every point of a volume from a source. Examples are the blood vessels, the bronchial tree and many irrigation and draining systems. Such systems have raised recently a lot of interest and some attempts have been made to formalize their description, as a finite tree of tubes, and their scaling laws [25], [26]. In contrast, several mathematical models [5], [22], [10], propose an idealization of these irrigation trees, where a countable set of tubes irrigates any point of a volume with positive Lebesgue measure. There is no geometric obstruction to this infinitesimal model and general existence and structure theorems have been proved. As we show, there may instead be an energetic obstruction. Under Poiseuille law R(s) = s -2 for the resistance of tubes with section s, the dissipated power of a volume irrigating tree cannot be finite. In other terms, infinite irrigation trees seem to be impossible from the fluid mechanics viewpoint. This also implies that the usual principle analysis performed for the biological models needs not to impose a minimal size for the tubes of an irrigating tree; the existence of the minimal size can be proven from the only two obvious conditions for such irrigation trees, namely the Kirchhoff and Poiseuille laws.

Local land-atmosphere feedbacks limit irrigation demand

Science.gov (United States)

Decker, Mark; Ma, Shaoxiu; Pitman, Andy

2017-05-01

Irrigation is known to influence regional climate but most studies forecast and simulate irrigation with offline (i.e. land only) models. Using south eastern Australia as a test bed, we demonstrate that irrigation demand is fundamentally different between land only and land-atmosphere simulations. While irrigation only has a small impact on maximum temperature, the semi-arid environment experiences near surface moistening in coupled simulations over the irrigated regions, a feedback that is prevented in offline simulations. In land only simulations that neglect the local feedbacks, the simulated irrigation demand is 25% higher and the standard deviation of the mean irrigation rate is 60% smaller. These local-scale irrigation-driven feedbacks are not resolved in coarse-resolution climate models implying that use of these tools will overestimate irrigation demand. Future studies of irrigation demand must therefore account for the local land-atmosphere interactions by using coupled frameworks, at a spatial resolution that captures the key feedbacks.

Vulnerability of crops and croplands in the U.S. Northern Plains to predicted climate change

Science.gov (United States)

The states of Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming comprise the Northern Great Plains region of the United States. The soil and water resources contained in this region have historically supported a highly diverse and productive agriculture that provides a significant...

CAUSES: Attribution of Surface Radiation Biases in NWP and Climate Models near the U.S. Southern Great Plains

Science.gov (United States)

Van Weverberg, K.; Morcrette, C. J.; Petch, J.; Klein, S. A.; Ma, H.-Y.; Zhang, C.; Xie, S.; Tang, Q.; Gustafson, W. I.; Qian, Y.; Berg, L. K.; Liu, Y.; Huang, M.; Ahlgrimm, M.; Forbes, R.; Bazile, E.; Roehrig, R.; Cole, J.; Merryfield, W.; Lee, W.-S.; Cheruy, F.; Mellul, L.; Wang, Y.-C.; Johnson, K.; Thieman, M. M.

2018-04-01

Many Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) and climate models exhibit too warm lower tropospheres near the midlatitude continents. The warm bias has been shown to coincide with important surface radiation biases that likely play a critical role in the inception or the growth of the warm bias. This paper presents an attribution study on the net radiation biases in nine model simulations, performed in the framework of the CAUSES project (Clouds Above the United States and Errors at the Surface). Contributions from deficiencies in the surface properties, clouds, water vapor, and aerosols are quantified, using an array of radiation measurement stations near the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Southern Great Plains site. Furthermore, an in-depth analysis is shown to attribute the radiation errors to specific cloud regimes. The net surface shortwave radiation is overestimated in all models throughout most of the simulation period. Cloud errors are shown to contribute most to this overestimation, although nonnegligible contributions from the surface albedo exist in most models. Missing deep cloud events and/or simulating deep clouds with too weak cloud radiative effects dominate in the cloud-related radiation errors. Some models have compensating errors between excessive occurrence of deep cloud but largely underestimating their radiative effect, while other models miss deep cloud events altogether. Surprisingly, even the latter models tend to produce too much and too frequent afternoon surface precipitation. This suggests that rather than issues with the triggering of deep convection, cloud radiative deficiencies are related to too weak convective cloud detrainment and too large precipitation efficiencies.

Smallholder Led Irrigation Development in the Humid Ethiopian highlands

Science.gov (United States)

Tilahun, S. A.; Schmitter, P.; Alemie, T. C.; Yilak, D. L.; Yimer, A.; Mamo, A.; Langan, S.; Baronn, J.; Steenhuis, T. S.

2017-12-01

More than 70% of the population of in sub-Saharan Africa are living in rural areas that depend on the rainfed agriculture for their livelihood on the rainfed agriculture. With the rapidly increasing population, competition for land and water is growing is intensifying. This, together with future landscape and climate change, the rainfed agriculture is unlikely to meet the future food demands. Many donors see irrigation a rational way to solve the future food crises. In Ethiopia, less than 10% of the irrigatable area has been developed. The main limitation of increasing the irrigatable areas is a severe lack of surface water during an extended dry phase of almost seven months. Flow in most rivers currently have dried up before the rain phase begins middle of the dry periods. In response, the Ethiopian government is installing large reservoirs at great cost to store water from the wet monsoon phase. At the same time, small scale household have started using irrigation using wells on sloping lands that have sprung up with minimal governmental intervention. It could be one of the strategies to increase the irrigated acreage without large investments. Donors and governmental planners are eager to follow the farmer's initiatives and intensify irrigation on these hillside areas. However, it is not yet known to the extent that it is sustainable. For this reason, shallow ground water levels and river discharge were measured over a three-year period in the Robit Bata and Dangishta watersheds in Northern Ethiopian highlands for assessing recharge and use of shallow groundwater irrigation during dry period. The theoretical results show that the ground water availability depends on the slope of the land and the depth of the soil. In sloping Robit Bata watershed the groundwater runs out under gravity to the stream channel in 3-4 months after the rainfall stops. The only wells that remain productive are those associated with fractures in the bedrock. For the less sloping

SOIL DEGRADATION OF IRRIGATED PLAINS OF DAGESTAN AND WAYS OUT OF THE SITUATION

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M. R. Musaev

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Aim. The aim is to select the crops to reclaim the highly saline soils of the plains of Dagestan.Materials and Methods. We made an analysis of the literature sources; applied the field experiment methods using standard techniques, instruments and equipment along with processing of experimental data and mathematical statistics methods.Results. According to the results of the research held in agricultural production cooperative "Novaya Zhizn" of Kazbekski district, wheatgrass (Elytrigia elongata formed higher rates of leaf area, photosynthetic potential of crops and net photosynthetic productivity. In the year of planting alfalfa, the yield amounted to 11.8; 14.0 and 11.7 t / ha which is less than the Elytrigia elongata for 22.8; 7.8 and 15.4%. A similar situation occurred in the second and third years of growth of perennial grasses. On average, during the years of research, productivity of Elytrigia elongate was higher compared with alfalfa respectively by 36.8; 20.1 and 40.7%.Conclusion. These studies indicate the effectiveness of growing Elytrigia elongata as a phytomeliorant on saline soils, as compared with alfalfa. Growing Elytrigia elongata on highly saline meadow soils is an effective technique to improve its structure.

Irrigation of steppe soils in the south of Russia: Problems and solutions (Analysis of Irrigation Practices in 1950-1990)

Science.gov (United States)

Minashina, N. G.

2009-07-01

Experience in irrigation of chernozems in the steppe zone of Russia for a period from 1950 to 1990 is analyzed. By the end of this period and in the subsequent years, the areas under irrigation reduced considerably, and the soil productivity worsened. This was caused by the improper design of irrigation systems, on the one hand, and by the low tolerance of chernozems toward increased moistening upon irrigation, on the other hand. The analysis of the factors and regimes of soil formation under irrigation conditions shows that irrigation-induced changes in the soil hydrology also lead to changes in the soil physicochemical, biochemical, and other properties. In particular, changes in the composition of exchangeable cations lead to the development of solonetzic process. In many areas, irrigation of chernozems was accompanied by the appearance of solonetzic, vertic, saline, and eroded soils. The development of soil degradation processes is described. In general, the deterioration of irrigated chernozems was related to the absence of adequate experience in irrigation of steppe soils, unskilled personnel, improper regime of irrigation, and excessively high rates of watering. In some cases, the poor quality of irrigation water resulted in the development of soil salinization and alkalization. To improve the situation, the training of personnel is necessary; the strategy of continuous irrigation should be replaced by the strategy of supplementary irrigation in the critical periods of crop development.

Irrigation management of sigmoid colostomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Jao, S W; Beart, R W; Wendorf, L J; Ilstrup, D M

1985-08-01

Questionnaires were sent to 270 patients who had undergone abdominoperineal resection and sigmoid colostomy at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn, during the ten years from 1972 to 1982; 223 patients returned their questionnaires with evaluable data. Sixty percent of the patients were continent with irrigation, and 22% were incontinent with irrigation. Eighteen percent had discontinued irrigation for various reasons. The proportion continent was higher in women, younger patients, and previously constipated patients. A poorly constructed colostomy may cause acute angle, parastoma hernia, stomal prolapse, or stenosis and thus be the cause of failure of irrigation.

Prospect Evaluation as an Emerging Pre-Evaluation Technique in the Case of Great Plains Wheat Producers’ Use of Web 2.0

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Nicholas R. Brown

2016-06-01

Full Text Available We introduce a pre-evaluation technique, prospect evaluation, in the case of Great Plains wheat producers’ practices with Web 2.0. We emerged prospect evaluation as a pre-evaluation technique, expanding the role of evaluative logic and reasoning into the ideation phase of project and product development to close the risk gap between project idea and implementation. Prospect evaluation serves as a prequel to the well-established developmental, formative, and summative evaluation models. We implemented the prospect evaluation technique in the context of iWheat, a USDA-funded Web 2.0 project (currently known as myFields, http://myfields.info/dashboard. Wheat producers were comfortable using computers; however, they conceptualized the Internet with a Web 1.0 mindset that depends on a centralized model of development and delivery of content. Wheat producers were not comfortable actively co-creating useful information for the betterment of community, a fundamental underpinning of Web 2.0 advancement. Extension specialists and educators should focus on the rewards of contributing to Web 2.0 sites and proceed in diffusing Web 2.0 tools to the wheat producers. Prospect evaluation was sufficient for helping project leaders bridge the risk gap and move forward with the project.

Quantification of the impacts of coalmine water irrigation on the underlying aquifers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vermeulen, D.; Usher, B.; van Tonder, G. [University of Free State, Bloemfontein (South Africa). Institute of Groundwater Studies

2009-07-15

It is predicted that vast volumes of affected mine water will be produced by mining activities in the Mpumalanga coalfields of South Africa, The potential environmental impact of this excess water is of great concern in a water-scarce country like South Africa. Research over a period of more than 10 years has shown that this water can be used successfully for the irrigation of a range of crops. There is, however, continuing concern from the local regulators regarding the long-term impact that large-scale mine water irrigation may have on groundwater quality and quantity. Detailed research has been undertaken over the last three years to supplement the groundwater monitoring programme at five different pilot sites, on both virgin soils (greenfields) and in coalmining spoils. These sites range from sandy soils to very clayey soils. The research has included soil moisture measurements, collection of in situ soil moisture over time, long-term laboratory studies of the leaching and attenuation properties of different soils and the impact of irrigation on acid rock drainage processes, and in depth determination of the hydraulic properties of the subsurface at each of these sites, including falling head tests, pumping tests and point dilution tests. This has been supported by geochemical modelling of these processes to quantify the impacts. The results indicate that many of the soils have considerable attenuation capacities and that in the period of irrigation, a large proportion of the salts have been contained in the upper portions of the unsaturated zones below each irrigation pivot. The volumes and quality of water leaching through to the aquifers have been quantified at each site. From this mixing ratios have been calculated in order to determine the effect of the irrigation water on the underlying aquifers.

[Nitrogen and water cycling of typical cropland in the North China Plain].

Science.gov (United States)

Pei, Hong-wei; Shen, Yan-jun; Liu, Chang-ming

2015-01-01

Intensive fertilization and irrigation associated increasing grain production has led to serious groundwater depletion and soil/water pollution in the North China Plain (NCP). Intensive agriculture changes the initial mass and energy balance, and also results in huge risks to the water/soil resources and food security regionally. Based on the research reports on the nitrogen cycle and water cycle in typical cropland (winter wheat and summer corn) in the NCP during the past 20 years, and the meteorological data, field experiments and surveys, we calculated the nitrogen cycle and water-cycle for this typical cropland. Annual total nitrogen input were 632 kg N . hm-2, including 523 kg N . hm-2 from commercial fertilizer, 74 kg N . hm-2 from manure, 23 kg N . hm-2 from atmosphere, and 12 kg N . hm-2 from irrigation. All of annual outputs summed to 532 kg N . hm-2 including 289 kg N . hm-2 for crop, 77 kg N . hm-2 staying in soil profile, leaching 104 kg N . hm-2, 52 kg N . hm-2 for ammonia volatilization, 10 kg N . hm-2 loss in nitrification and denitrification. Uncertainties of the individual cases and the summary process lead to the unbalance of nitrogen. For the dominant parts of the field water cycle, annual precipitation was 557 mm, irrigation was 340 mm, while 762 mm was for evapotranspiration and 135 mm was for deep percolation. Considering uncertainties in the nitrogen and water cycles, coupled experiments based on multi-disciplines would be useful for understanding mechanisms for nitrogen and water transfer processes in the soil-plant-atmosphere-continuum (SPAC) , and the interaction between nitrogen and water, as well as determining the critical threshold values for sustainability of soil and water resources in the NCP.

Using stable isotopes to understand hydrochemical processes in and around a Prairie Pothole wetland in the Northern Great Plains, USA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mills, Christopher T.; Goldhaber, Martin B.; Stricker, Craig A.; Holloway, JoAnn M.; Morrison, Jean M.; Ellefsen, Karl J.; Rosenberry, Donald O.; Thurston, Roland S.

2011-01-01

Highlights: → A stable isotope study of the hydrochemistry of a Prairie Pothole wetland system. → δ 18 O H2O and δ 2 H H2O values show salt concentration by transpiration at wetland edge. → A range of δ 34 S SO4 values indicate SO 4 source and reduction processes. → Isotopic mixing lines show interaction of surface and groundwater at wetland edge. - Abstract: Millions of internally drained wetland systems in the Prairie Potholes region of the northern Great Plains (USA and Canada) provide indispensable habitat for waterfowl and a host of other ecosystem services. The hydrochemistry of these systems is complex and a crucial control on wetland function, flora and fauna. Wetland waters can have high concentrations of SO 4 2- due to the oxidation of large amounts of pyrite in glacial till that is in part derived from the Pierre shale. Water chemistry including δ 18 O H2O , δ 2 H H2O , and δ 34 S SO4 values, was determined for groundwater, soil pore water, and wetland surface water in and around a discharge wetland in North Dakota. The isotopic data for the first time trace the interaction of processes that affect wetland chemistry, including open water evaporation, plant transpiration, and microbial SO 4 reduction.

Radon and thoron levels, their spatial and seasonal variations in adobe dwellings - a case study at the great Hungarian plain.

Science.gov (United States)

Szabó, Zsuzsanna; Jordan, Gyozo; Szabó, Csaba; Horváth, Ákos; Holm, Óskar; Kocsy, Gábor; Csige, István; Szabó, Péter; Homoki, Zsolt

2014-06-01

Radon and thoron isotopes are responsible for approximately half of the average annual effective dose to humans. Although the half-life of thoron is short, it can potentially enter indoor air from adobe walls. Adobe was a traditional construction material in the Great Hungarian Plain. Its major raw materials are the alluvial sediments of the area. Here, seasonal radon and thoron activity concentrations were measured in 53 adobe dwellings in 7 settlements by pairs of etched track detectors. The results show that the annual average radon and thoron activity concentrations are elevated in these dwellings and that the proportions with values higher than 300 Bq m(-3) are 14-17 and 29-32% for radon and thoron, respectively. The calculated radon inhalation dose is significantly higher than the world average value, exceeding 10 mSv y(-1) in 7% of the dwellings of this study. Thoron also can be a significant contributor to the inhalation dose with about 30% in the total inhalation dose. The changes of weather conditions seem to be more relevant in the variation of measurement results than the differences in the local sedimentary geology. Still, the highest values were detected on clay. Through the year, radon follows the average temperature changes and is affected by the ventilation, whereas thoron rather seems to follow the amount of precipitation.

Assessing the changes of groundwater recharge / irrigation water use between SRI and traditional irrigation schemes in Central Taiwan

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Shih-Kai; Jang, Cheng-Shin; Tsai, Cheng-Bin

2015-04-01

To respond to agricultural water shortage impacted by climate change without affecting rice yield in the future, the application of water-saving irrigation, such as SRI methodology, is considered to be adopted in rice-cultivation in Taiwan. However, the flooded paddy fields could be considered as an important source of groundwater recharge in Central Taiwan. The water-saving benefit of this new methodology and its impact on the reducing of groundwater recharge should be integrally assessed in this area. The objective of this study was to evaluate the changes of groundwater recharge/ irrigation water use between the SRI and traditional irrigation schemes (continuous irrigation, rotational irrigation). An experimental paddy field located in the proximal area of the Choushui River alluvial fan (the largest groundwater pumping region in Taiwan) was chosen as the study area. The 3-D finite element groundwater model (FEMWATER) with the variable boundary condition analog functions, was applied in simulating groundwater recharge process and amount under traditional irrigation schemes and SRI methodology. The use of effective rainfall was taken into account or not in different simulation scenarios for each irrigation scheme. The simulation results showed that there were no significant variations of infiltration rate in the use of effective rainfall or not, but the low soil moisture setting in deep soil layers resulted in higher infiltration rate. Taking the use of effective rainfall into account, the average infiltration rate for continuous irrigation, rotational irrigation, and SRI methodology in the first crop season of 2013 were 4.04 mm/day, 4.00 mm/day and 3.92 mm/day, respectively. The groundwater recharge amount of SRI methodology was slightly lower than those of traditional irrigation schemes, reducing 4% and 2% compared with continuous irrigation and rotational irrigation, respectively. The field irrigation requirement amount of SRI methodology was significantly

Keynote address

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McClellan, S.

1991-01-01

Activities in Alberta relating to research on the impact of climate change on the Great Plains are reviewed. Alberta has been active in trying to understand climate, and trying to change it. These activities have included the provision of significant irrigation capabilities in southern Alberta, and many years of research into the possibility of weather modification for precipitation enhancement and hail suppression. Organizations in Alberta active in the area of climate include the Alberta Climatological Association, the Climate Advisory Committee, the Alberta Research Council, the provincial departments Alberta Environment and Alberta Forestry, Lands and Wildlife, and the Department of Agriculture. It is widely recognized that crop production on the Great Plains is dependent on water, and climate is one of the greatest sources of risk facing agriculture in Alberta

Irrigation water management: Basic principles and applications

OpenAIRE

Ella, Victor B.

2007-01-01

This presentation defines the term, irrigation, as well as explains the common methods of irrigation in attempt to define the fundamental principles needed to wisely design an irrigation system. It outlines a typical drip irrigation set-up, and discusses management of an irrigation system, including water volume application suggestions. LTRA-5 (Agroforestry and Sustainable Vegetable Production)

Javelin, Arrow, Dart and Pin Games of Native American Women of the Plains.

Science.gov (United States)

Pesavento, Wilma J.; Pesavento, Lisa C.

This study was designed to determine (1) the arrow, dart, javelin, and pin games of Native American girls and women of the Great Plains, (2) the geographical spread of the games within the culture area, and (3) the characteristics of the various games. Data for this investigation were researched from "Annual Reports of the Bureau of American…

Irrigation-based livelihood challenges and opportunities : a gendered technology of irrigation development intervention in the Lower Moshi irrigation scheme Tanzania

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kissawike, K.

2008-01-01

This thesis is a study of a modernised irrigation scheme in Tanzania. It aims to
understand how irrigation and agricultural technologies have interacted with local
society to transform production, paying particular attention to gender relations and
changes for women farmers. The

Comparative study of irrigation water use and groundwater recharge under various irrigation schemes in an agricultural region, central Taiwan

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Shih-Kai; Jang, Cheng-Shin; Tsai, Cheng-Bin

2016-04-01

The risk of rice production has increased notably due to climate change in Taiwan. To respond to growing agricultural water shortage without affecting normal food production in the future, the application of water-saving irrigation will be a substantial resolution. However, the adoption of water-saving irrigation may result in the reducing of groundwater recharge because continuous flooding in the paddy fields could be regarded as an important source for groundwater recharge. The aim of this study was to evaluate the irrigation water-saving benefit and groundwater recharge deficit when adopting the System of Rice Intensification, known as SRI methodology, in the Choushui River alluvial fan (the largest groundwater pumping and the most important rice-cropping region in central Taiwan). The three-dimensional finite element groundwater model, FEMWATER, was applied to simulate the infiltration process and groundwater recharge under SRI methodology and traditional irrigation schemes including continuous irrigation, and rotational irrigation in two rice-crop periods with hydro-climatic data of 2013. The irrigation water use was then calculated by water balance. The results showed that groundwater recharge amount of SRI methodology was slightly lower than those of traditional irrigation schemes, reduced 3.6% and 1.6% in the first crop period, and reduced 3.2% and 1.6% in the second crop period, compared with continuous irrigation and rotational irrigation, respectively. However, the SRI methodology achieved notably water-saving benefit compared to the disadvantage of reducing the groundwater recharge amount. The field irrigation requirement amount of SRI methodology was significantly lower than those of traditional irrigation schemes, saving 37% and 20% of irrigation water in the first crop period, and saving 53% and 35% in the second crop period, compared with continuous irrigation and rotational irrigation, respectively. Therefore, the amount of groundwater pumping for

Where Does the Irrigation Water Go? An Estimate of the Contribution of Irrigation to Precipitation Using MERRA

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Jiangfeng; Dirmeyer, Paul A.; Wisser, Dominik; Bosilovich, Michael G.; Mocko, David M.

2013-01-01

Irrigation is an important human activity that may impact local and regional climate, but current climate model simulations and data assimilation systems generally do not explicitly include it. The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Interim Re-Analysis (ERA-Interim) shows more irrigation signal in surface evapotranspiration (ET) than the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) because ERA-Interim adjusts soil moisture according to the observed surface temperature and humidity while MERRA has no explicit consideration of irrigation at the surface. But, when compared with the results from a hydrological model with detailed considerations of agriculture, the ET from both reanalyses show large deficiencies in capturing the impact of irrigation. Here, a back-trajectory method is used to estimate the contribution of irrigation to precipitation over local and surrounding regions, using MERRA with observation-based corrections and added irrigation-caused ET increase from the hydrological model. Results show substantial contributions of irrigation to precipitation over heavily irrigated regions in Asia, but the precipitation increase is much less than the ET increase over most areas, indicating that irrigation could lead to water deficits over these regions. For the same increase in ET, precipitation increases are larger over wetter areas where convection is more easily triggered, but the percentage increase in precipitation is similar for different areas. There are substantial regional differences in the patterns of irrigation impact, but, for all the studied regions, the highest percentage contribution to precipitation is over local land.

Effective colostomy irrigation.

Science.gov (United States)

Mazier, W P; Dignan, R D; Capehart, R J; Smith, B G

1976-06-01

The ultimate goal of the cone method of colostomy irrigation is to return patients with colostomies to their former role in society with confidence in themselves to the extent that having a colostomy is not considered a handicap. The results have generally been excellent. We believe all patients with stomas should be afforded the opportunity to attempt colostomy irrigation.

Potato yield and yield structure depending on irrigation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milić Stanko

2010-01-01

Full Text Available In the agroclimatic conditions of the Vojvodina Province, the application of an economic water regime and modern technology is necessary for stable and intensive potato production. A two-year experiment on calcareous chernozem was carried out to determine how irrigation and different pre-irrigation soil moisture affect potato yield and distribution of tuber fraction in the potato yield. The block-design trial had four replicates and was adapted for sprinkler irrigation conditions. It included four treatments: irrigation with pre-irrigation moisture levels of 60 % of field water capacity (FC, irrigation with pre-irrigation moisture levels of 70 % (FC, irrigation with pre-irrigation moisture levels of 80% (FC, and a non-irrigated control treatment. Irrigation significantly increased the yield of potato, which increased from 37.27 % to 75.86 %. Under irrigation, the percentage of small fractions decreased in favour of the 55 mm one, or fractions above the 45-55 mm range. On average, irrigated treatments produced significantly more tubers than the conditions of natural water supply. .

Plain formation on Mercury: tectonic implications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomas, P.

1980-01-01

Four major plain units, plus intermediates, are distinguished on Mercury. The chronologic relationships between these plains indicate that plains formation was a permanent process on Mercury. Their location and morphology seem to indicate a possible volcanic origin for these plains. The relationships between tectonism and volcanism seems to indicate the global contraction is not the only tectonic process on Mercury. (Auth.)

Nitrous oxide emissions from a Northern Great Plains soil as influenced by nitrogen management and cropping systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Dusenbury, M P; Engel, R E; Miller, P R; Lemke, R L; Wallander, R

2008-01-01

Field measurements of N2O emissions from soils are limited for cropping systems in the semiarid northern Great Plains (NGP). The objectives were to develop N2O emission-time profiles for cropping systems in the semiarid NGP, define important periods of loss, determine the impact of best management practices on N2O losses, and estimate direct N fertilizer-induced emissions (FIE). No-till (NT) wheat (Triticum Aestivum L.)-fallow, wheat-wheat, and wheat-pea (Pisum sativum), and conventional till (CT) wheat-fallow, all with three N regimes (200 and 100 kg N ha(-1) available N, unfertilized control); plus a perennial grass-alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) system were sampled over 2 yr using vented chambers. Cumulative 2-yr N2O emissions were modest in contrast to reports from more humid regions. Greatest N2O flux activity occurred following urea-N fertilization (10-wk) and during freeze-thaw cycles. Together these periods comprised up to 84% of the 2-yr total. Nitrification was probably the dominant process responsible for N2O emissions during the post-N fertilization period, while denitrification was more important during freeze-thaw cycles. Cumulative 2-yr N2O-N losses from fertilized regimes were greater for wheat-wheat (1.31 kg N ha(-1)) than wheat-fallow (CT and NT) (0.48 kg N ha(-1)), and wheat-pea (0.71 kg N ha(-1)) due to an additional N fertilization event. Cumulative losses from unfertilized cropping systems were not different from perennial grass-alfalfa (0.28 kg N ha(-1)). Tillage did not affect N2O losses for the wheat-fallow systems. Mean FIE level was equivalent to 0.26% of applied N, and considerably below the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change mean default value (1.25%).

Performing drip irrigation by the farmer managed Seguia Khrichfa irrigation system, Morocco

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kooij, van der S.

2016-01-01

Drip irrigation is represented in literature and agricultural policies as a modern and water saving technology. Because this technology is often associated with ‘modern’ agriculture and development, it seems out-of-place in ‘traditional’ farmer managed irrigation systems (FMIS). Thinking along

Scheduling of Irrigation and Leaching Requirements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amer Hassan Al-haddad

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Iraq depends mainly on Tigris and Euphrates Rivers to provide high percentage of agricultural water use for thousands years. At last years, Iraq is suffering from shortage in water resources due to global climate changes and unfair water politics of the neighboring countries, which affected the future of agriculture plans for irrigation, added to that the lack of developed systems of water management in the irrigation projects and improper allocation of irrigation water, which reduces water use efficiency and lead to losing irrigation water and decreasing in agricultural yield. This study aims at studying the usability of irrigation and leaching scheduling within the irrigating projects and putting a complete annual or seasonal irrigation program as a solution for the scarcity of irrigation water, the increase of irrigation efficiency, lessening the salinity in the projects and preparing an integral irrigation calendar through field measurements of soil physical properties and chemical for project selected and compared to the results of the irrigation scheduling and leaching with what is proposed by the designers. The process is accomplished by using a computer program which was designed by Water Resources Department at the University of Baghdad, with some modification to generalize it and made it applicable to various climatic zone and different soil types. Study area represented by large project located at the Tigris River, and this project was (Al-Amara irrigation project. Sufficient samples of project's soil were collected so as to identify soil physical and chemical properties and the salinity of soil and water as well as identifying the agrarian cycles virtually applied to this project. Finally, a comparison was conducted between the calculated water quantities and the suggested ones by the designers. The research results showed that using this kind of scheduling (previously prepared irrigation and leaching scheduling with its properties

[Distribution Characteristics and Source of Fluoride in Groundwater in Lower Plain Area of North China Plain: A Case Study in Nanpi County].

Science.gov (United States)

Kong, Xiao-le; Wang, Shi-qin; Zhao, Huan; Yuan, Rui-qiang

2015-11-01

There is an obvious regional contradiction between water resources and agricultural produce in lower plain area of North China, however, excessive fluorine in deep groundwater further limits the use of regional water resources. In order to understand the spatial distribution characteristics and source of F(-) in groundwater, study was carried out in Nanpi County by field survey and sampling, hydrogeochemical analysis and stable isotopes methods. The results showed that the center of low fluoride concentrations of shallow groundwater was located around reservoir of Dalang Lake, and centers of high fluoride concentrations were located in southeast and southwest of the study area. The region with high fluoride concentration was consistent with the over-exploitation region of deep groundwater. Point source pollution of subsurface drainage and non-point source of irrigation with deep groundwater in some regions were the main causes for the increasing F(-) concentrations of shallow groundwater in parts of the sampling sites. Rock deposition and hydrogeology conditions were the main causes for the high F(-) concentrations (1.00 mg x L(-1), threshold of drinking water quality standard in China) in deep groundwater. F(-) released from clay minerals into the water increased the F(-) concentrations in deep groundwater because of over-exploitation. With the increasing exploitation and utilization of brackish shallow groundwater and the compressing and restricting of deep groundwater exploitation, the water environment in the middle and east lower plain area of North China will undergo significant change, and it is important to identify the distribution and source of F(-) in surface water and groundwater for reasonable development and use of water resources in future.

Biological degradation of chernozems under irrigation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oksana Naydyonova

2014-12-01

Full Text Available We studied the changes in the state of microbial cenosis of Ukraine’s chernozems under irrigation. Considerable part of Ukraine’s chernozems is located in the areas where humidification is insufficient and unstable. Irrigation is a soil-reclamation measure for chernozems of Ukrainian Forest-steppe and Steppe which enables getting the assured yield, especially vegetable and fodder crops. At the same time, irrigation is a powerful anthropogenic factor that affects the soil, causes a significant transformation of many of its properties and regimes including biological ones. Often these changes are negative. The purpose of our investigation was to identify changes in the state of microbial cenoses of chernozem soils under irrigation which depend on such factors as the quality of irrigation water, the duration and intensity of irrigation, the initial properties of soil, the structure of crop rotation, usage of fertilizing systems and agroameliorative techniques. We identified direction and evaluated a degree of changes in biological properties of chernozems under influence of irrigation in different agro-irrigational and soil-climatic conditions. In the long-term stationary field experiments we identified the following biological indices of irrigated soils and their non-irrigated analogues: a number of microorganisms which belong to main ecological-trophic groups, activity of soil enzymes (dehydrogenase, invertase, phenol oxidase, soil phytotoxic activity, cellulose destroying capacity of soil, indices of oligotrophy and mineralization, summary biological index (SBI and index of biological degradation (BDI. Results of researches showed that irrigation unbalanced the soil ecosystem and stipulated the forming of microbial cenosis with new parameters. Long-term intensive irrigation of typical chernozem (Kharkiv Region with fresh water under condition of 4-fields vegetable crop rotation led to the degradation changes of its microbial cenosis such as

EVALUATING SHORT-TERM CLIMATE VARIABILITY IN THE LATE HOLOCENE OF THE NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Joseph H. Hartman

1999-09-01

Great Plains, northern hemisphere, and elsewhere. Finally these data can be integrated into a history of climate change and predictive climate models. This is not a small undertaking. The goals of researchers and the methods used vary considerably. The primary task of this project was literature research to (1) evaluate existing methodologies used in geologic climate change studies and evidence for short-term cycles produced by these methodologies and (2) evaluate late Holocene climate patterns and their interpretations.

Evaluation of hydraulic performance of downstream-controlled Maira-PHLC irrigation canals under crop-based irrigation operations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Munir, S.; Schultz, B.; Suryadi, F.X.; Bharati, L.

2012-01-01

Demand-based irrigation systems are operated according to crop water requirements. As crop water requirements remain variable throughout the growing season, the discharges in the canal also vary to meet demands. The irrigation system under study is a demand-based semi-automatic irrigation system,

Role of sediment in the design and management of irrigation canals : Sunsari Morang Irrigation Scheme, Nepal

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Paudel, K.

2010-01-01

Sediment transport in irrigation canals The sediment transport aspect is a major factor in irrigation development as it determines to a large extent the sustainability of an irrigation scheme, particularly in case of unlined canals in alluvial soils. Investigations in this respect started since

Using a water-food-energy nexus approach for optimal irrigation management during drought events in Nebraska

Science.gov (United States)

Campana, P. E.; Zhang, J.; Yao, T.; Melton, F. S.; Yan, J.

2017-12-01

Climate change and drought have severe impacts on the agricultural sector affecting crop yields, water availability, and energy consumption for irrigation. Monitoring, assessing and mitigating the effects of climate change and drought on the agricultural and energy sectors are fundamental challenges that require investigation for water, food, and energy security issues. Using an integrated water-food-energy nexus approach, this study is developing a comprehensive drought management system through integration of real-time drought monitoring with real-time irrigation management. The spatially explicit model developed, GIS-OptiCE, can be used for simulation, multi-criteria optimization and generation of forecasts to support irrigation management. To demonstrate the value of the approach, the model has been applied to one major corn region in Nebraska to study the effects of the 2012 drought on crop yield and irrigation water/energy requirements as compared to a wet year such as 2009. The water-food-energy interrelationships evaluated show that significant water volumes and energy are required to halt the negative effects of drought on the crop yield. The multi-criteria optimization problem applied in this study indicates that the optimal solutions of irrigation do not necessarily correspond to those that would produce the maximum crop yields, depending on both water and economic constraints. In particular, crop pricing forecasts are extremely important to define the optimal irrigation management strategy. The model developed shows great potential in precision agriculture by providing near real-time data products including information on evapotranspiration, irrigation volumes, energy requirements, predicted crop growth, and nutrient requirements.

Integrated hydrological modeling of the North China Plain and implications for sustainable water management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Qin

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Groundwater overdraft has caused fast water level decline in the North China Plain (NCP since the 1980s. Although many hydrological models have been developed for the NCP in the past few decades, most of them deal only with the groundwater component or only at local scales. In the present study, a coupled surface water–groundwater model using the MIKE SHE code has been developed for the entire alluvial plain of the NCP. All the major processes in the land phase of the hydrological cycle are considered in the integrated modeling approach. The most important parameters of the model are first identified by a sensitivity analysis process and then calibrated for the period 2000–2005. The calibrated model is validated for the period 2006–2008 against daily observations of groundwater heads. The simulation results compare well with the observations where acceptable values of root mean square error (RMSE (most values lie below 4 m and correlation coefficient (R (0.36–0.97 are obtained. The simulated evapotranspiration (ET is then compared with the remote sensing (RS-based ET data to further validate the model simulation. The comparison result with a R2 value of 0.93 between the monthly averaged values of simulated actual evapotranspiration (AET and RS AET for the entire NCP shows a good performance of the model. The water balance results indicate that more than 70% of water leaving the flow system is attributed to the ET component, of which about 0.25% is taken from the saturated zone (SZ; about 29% comes from pumping, including irrigation pumping and non-irrigation pumping (net pumping. Sustainable water management analysis of the NCP is conducted using the simulation results obtained from the integrated model. An effective approach to improve water use efficiency in the NCP is by reducing the actual ET, e.g. by introducing water-saving technologies and changes in cropping.

Newer Root Canal Irrigants in Horizon: A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sushma Jaju

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Sodium hypochloride is the most commonly used endodontic irrigant, despite limitations. None of the presently available root canal irrigants satisfy the requirements of ideal root canal irrigant. Newer root canal irrigants are studied for potential replacement of sodium hypochloride. This article reviews the potential irrigants with their advantages and limitations with their future in endodontic irrigation.

Evaluation of the effects of mulch on optimum sowing date and irrigation management of zero till wheat in central Punjab, India using APSIM.

Science.gov (United States)

Balwinder-Singh; Humphreys, E; Gaydon, D S; Eberbach, P L

2016-10-01

Machinery for sowing wheat directly into rice residues has become more common in the rice-wheat systems of the north-west Indo-Gangetic Plains of South Asia, with increasing numbers of farmers now potentially able to access the benefits of residue retention. However, surface residue retention affects soil water and temperature dynamics, thus the optimum sowing date and irrigation management for a mulched crop may vary from those of a traditional non-mulched crop. Furthermore, the effects of sowing date and irrigation management are likely to vary with soil type and seasonal conditions. Therefore, a simulation study was conducted using the APSIM model and 40 years of weather data to evaluate the effects of mulch, sowing date and irrigation management and their interactions on wheat grain yield, irrigation requirement (I) and water productivity with respect to irrigation (WP I ) and evapotranspiration (WP ET ). The results suggest that the optimum wheat sowing date in central Punjab depends on both soil type and the presence or absence of mulch. On the sandy loam, with irrigation scheduled at 50% soil water deficit (SWD), the optimum sowing date was late October to early November for maximising yield, WP I and WP ET . On the clay loam, the optimum date was about one week later. The effect of mulch on yield varied with seasonal conditions and sowing date. With irrigation at 50% SWD, mulching of wheat sown at the optimum time increased average yield by up to 0.5 t ha -1 . The beneficial effect of mulch on yield increased to averages of 1.2-1.3 t ha -1 as sowing was advanced to 15 October. With irrigation at 50% SWD and 7 November sowing, mulch reduced the number of irrigations by one in almost 50% of years, a reduction of about 50 mm on the sandy loam and 60 mm on the clay loam. The reduction in irrigation amount was mainly due to reduced soil evaporation. Mulch reduced irrigation requirement by more as sowing was delayed, more so on the sandy loam than the clay

Preserving prairies: Understanding temporal and spatial patterns of invasive annual bromes in the Northern Great Plains

Science.gov (United States)

Ashton, Isabel; Symstad, Amy J.; Davis, Christopher; Swanson, Daniel J.

2016-01-01

Two Eurasian invasive annual brome grasses, cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) and Japanese brome (Bromus japonicus), are well known for their impact in steppe ecosystems of the western United States where these grasses have altered fire regimes, reduced native plant diversity and abundance, and degraded wildlife habitat. Annual bromes are also abundant in the grasslands of the Northern Great Plains (NGP), but their impact and ecology are not as well studied. It is unclear whether the lessons learned from the steppe will translate to the mixed-grass prairie where native plant species are adapted to frequent fires and grazing. Developing a successful annual brome management strategy for National Park Service units and other NGP grasslands requires better understanding of (1) the impact of annual bromes on grassland condition; (2) the dynamics of these species through space and time; and (3) the relative importance of environmental factors within and outside managers' control for these spatiotemporal dynamics. Here, we use vegetation monitoring data collected from 1998 to 2015 in 295 sites to relate spatiotemporal variability of annual brome grasses to grassland composition, weather, physical environmental characteristics, and ecological processes (grazing and fire). Concern about the impact of these species in NGP grasslands is warranted, as we found a decline in native species richness with increasing annual brome cover. Annual brome cover generally increased over the time of monitoring but also displayed a 3- to 5-yr cycle of reduction and resurgence. Relative cover of annual bromes in the monitored areas was best predicted by park unit, weather, extant plant community, slope grade, soil composition, and fire history. We found no evidence that grazing reduced annual brome cover, but this may be due to the relatively low grazing pressure in our study. By understanding the consequences and patterns of annual brome invasion, we will be better able to preserve and restore

Thermodynamic and Turbulence Characteristics of the Southern Great Plains Nocturnal Boundary Layer Under Differing Turbulent Regimes

Science.gov (United States)

Bonin, Timothy A.; Blumberg, William G.; Klein, Petra M.; Chilson, Phillip B.

2015-12-01

The nocturnal stable boundary layer (SBL) can generally be classified into the weakly stable boundary layer (wSBL) and very stable boundary layer (vSBL). Within the wSBL, turbulence is relatively continuous, whereas in the vSBL, turbulence is intermittent and not well characterized. Differentiating characteristics of each type of SBL are still unknown. Herein, thermodynamic and kinematic data collected by a suite of instruments in north central Oklahoma in autumn 2012 are analyzed to better understand both SBL regimes and their differentiating characteristics. Many low-level jets were observed during the experiment, as it took place near a climatological maximum. A threshold wind speed, above which bulk shear-generated turbulence develops, is found to exist up to 300 m. The threshold wind speed must also be exceeded at lower heights (down to the surface) in order for strong turbulence to develop. Composite profiles, which are normalized using low-level jet scaling, of potential temperature, wind speed, vertical velocity variance, and the third-order moment of vertical velocity (overline{w'^3}) are produced for weak and moderate/strong turbulence regimes, which exhibit features of the vSBL and wSBL, respectively. Within the wSBL, turbulence is generated at the surface and transported upward. In the vSBL, values of vertical velocity variance are small throughout the entire boundary layer, likely due to the fact that a strong surface inversion typically forms after sunset. The temperature profile tends to be approximately isothermal in the lowest portions of the wSBL, and it did not substantially change over the night. Within both types of SBL, stability in the residual layer tends to increase as the night progresses. It is thought that this stability increase is due to differential warm air advection, which frequently occurs in the southern Great Plains when southerly low-level jets and a typical north-south temperature gradient are present. Differential radiative

[Irrigants and intracanal medicaments in endodontics].

Science.gov (United States)

Zehnder, Matthias; Lehnert, Birgit; Schönenberger, Kathrin; Waltimo, Tuomas

2003-01-01

Modern, biologic root canal therapy should be performed with suitable irrigating solutions and intracanal medicaments. The goal of endodontic treatment is to free the treated tooth from infection and prevent reinfection as thoroughly as possible by means which do not put the organism at risk. In this review of the literature, an evidence-based concept for irrigation and medication of root canal systems is presented. Irrigants and medicaments are discussed with respect to their antimicrobial, tissue-dissolving and endotoxin-decontaminating capacity in relation to their systemic toxicity. Recent findings pertaining to interactions of root canal medicaments and irrigating solutions and their impact on a sound irrigating and medicating concept are discussed.

Irrigation in dose assessments models

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bergstroem, Ulla; Barkefors, Catarina [Studsvik RadWaste AB, Nykoeping (Sweden)

2004-05-01

SKB has carried out several safety analyses for repositories for radioactive waste, one of which was SR 97, a multi-site study concerned with a future deep bedrock repository for high-level waste. In case of future releases due to unforeseen failure of the protective multiple barrier system, radionuclides may be transported with groundwater and may reach the biosphere. Assessments of doses have to be carried out with a long-term perspective. Specific models are therefore employed to estimate consequences to man. It has been determined that the main pathway for nuclides from groundwater or surface water to soil is via irrigation. Irrigation may cause contamination of crops directly by e.g. interception or rain-splash, and indirectly via root-uptake from contaminated soil. The exposed people are in many safety assessments assumed to be self-sufficient, i.e. their food is produced locally where the concentration of radionuclides may be the highest. Irrigation therefore plays an important role when estimating consequences. The present study is therefore concerned with a more extensive analysis of the role of irrigation for possible future doses to people living in the area surrounding a repository. Current irrigation practices in Sweden are summarised, showing that vegetables and potatoes are the most common crops for irrigation. In general, however, irrigation is not so common in Sweden. The irrigation model used in the latest assessments is described. A sensitivity analysis is performed showing that, as expected, interception of irrigation water and retention on vegetation surfaces are important parameters. The parameters used to describe this are discussed. A summary is also given how irrigation is proposed to be handled in the international BIOMASS (BIOsphere Modelling and ASSessment) project and in models like TAME and BIOTRAC. Similarities and differences are pointed out. Some numerical results are presented showing that surface contamination in general gives the

Irrigation in dose assessments models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bergstroem, Ulla; Barkefors, Catarina

2004-05-01

SKB has carried out several safety analyses for repositories for radioactive waste, one of which was SR 97, a multi-site study concerned with a future deep bedrock repository for high-level waste. In case of future releases due to unforeseen failure of the protective multiple barrier system, radionuclides may be transported with groundwater and may reach the biosphere. Assessments of doses have to be carried out with a long-term perspective. Specific models are therefore employed to estimate consequences to man. It has been determined that the main pathway for nuclides from groundwater or surface water to soil is via irrigation. Irrigation may cause contamination of crops directly by e.g. interception or rain-splash, and indirectly via root-uptake from contaminated soil. The exposed people are in many safety assessments assumed to be self-sufficient, i.e. their food is produced locally where the concentration of radionuclides may be the highest. Irrigation therefore plays an important role when estimating consequences. The present study is therefore concerned with a more extensive analysis of the role of irrigation for possible future doses to people living in the area surrounding a repository. Current irrigation practices in Sweden are summarised, showing that vegetables and potatoes are the most common crops for irrigation. In general, however, irrigation is not so common in Sweden. The irrigation model used in the latest assessments is described. A sensitivity analysis is performed showing that, as expected, interception of irrigation water and retention on vegetation surfaces are important parameters. The parameters used to describe this are discussed. A summary is also given how irrigation is proposed to be handled in the international BIOMASS (BIOsphere Modelling and ASSessment) project and in models like TAME and BIOTRAC. Similarities and differences are pointed out. Some numerical results are presented showing that surface contamination in general gives the

Sediment Transport Model for a Surface Irrigation System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Damodhara R. Mailapalli

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Controlling irrigation-induced soil erosion is one of the important issues of irrigation management and surface water impairment. Irrigation models are useful in managing the irrigation and the associated ill effects on agricultural environment. In this paper, a physically based surface irrigation model was developed to predict sediment transport in irrigated furrows by integrating an irrigation hydraulic model with a quasi-steady state sediment transport model to predict sediment load in furrow irrigation. The irrigation hydraulic model simulates flow in a furrow irrigation system using the analytically solved zero-inertial overland flow equations and 1D-Green-Ampt, 2D-Fok, and Kostiakov-Lewis infiltration equations. Performance of the sediment transport model was evaluated for bare and cropped furrow fields. The results indicated that the sediment transport model can predict the initial sediment rate adequately, but the simulated sediment rate was less accurate for the later part of the irrigation event. Sensitivity analysis of the parameters of the sediment module showed that the soil erodibility coefficient was the most influential parameter for determining sediment load in furrow irrigation. The developed modeling tool can be used as a water management tool for mitigating sediment loss from the surface irrigated fields.

Task 50 - deposition of lignites in the Fort Union Group and related strata of the northern Great Plains

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hartman, J.H.; Roth, B.; Kihm, A.J.

1997-08-11

Late Cretaceous, Paleocene, and early Eocene geologic and paleontologic studies were undertaken in western North Dakota, eastern and south-central Montana, and northwestern and northeastern Wyoming. These study areas comprise the Williston, Bighorn, and Powder River Basins, all of which contain significant lignite resources. Research was undertaken in these basins because they have the best geologic sections and fossil record for the development of a chronostratigraphic (time-rock) framework for the correlation of lignite beds and other economic resources. A thorough understanding of the precise geologic age of the deposition of sediments permits a powerful means of interpreting the record of geologic events across the northern Great Plains. Such an understanding allows for rigorous interpretation of paleoenviromnents and estimates of resource potential and quality in this area of economically significant deposits. This work is part of ongoing research to document change in the composition of molluscan fossil faunas to provide a paleoenvironmentally sensitive independent means of interpreting time intervals of brief duration during the Late Cretaceous, Paleocene, and Eocene. This study focuses on the record of mollusks and, to a lesser extent, mammals in the (1) Hell Creek-Tullock Formations, which include the Cretaceous-Paleocene boundary, in the western portion of the Williston Basin, Montana; (2) uppermost Cretaceous, Paleocene, and lowermost Eocene strata in western North Dakota, which -includes the last interior seaway in North Dakota; (3) upper Paleocene and lowermost Eocene of the northern portion of the Bighorn Basin of south-central Montana and northwestern Wyoming; and (4) Powder River Basin of northeastern Wyoming and southeastern Montana. The geologic record provides different physical and paleontological information to aid in interpreting the geologic record through the study interval.

Bayesian Belief Networks Approach for Modeling Irrigation Behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Andriyas, S.; McKee, M.

2012-12-01

Canal operators need information to manage water deliveries to irrigators. Short-term irrigation demand forecasts can potentially valuable information for a canal operator who must manage an on-demand system. Such forecasts could be generated by using information about the decision-making processes of irrigators. Bayesian models of irrigation behavior can provide insight into the likely criteria which farmers use to make irrigation decisions. This paper develops a Bayesian belief network (BBN) to learn irrigation decision-making behavior of farmers and utilizes the resulting model to make forecasts of future irrigation decisions based on factor interaction and posterior probabilities. Models for studying irrigation behavior have been rarely explored in the past. The model discussed here was built from a combination of data about biotic, climatic, and edaphic conditions under which observed irrigation decisions were made. The paper includes a case study using data collected from the Canal B region of the Sevier River, near Delta, Utah. Alfalfa, barley and corn are the main crops of the location. The model has been tested with a portion of the data to affirm the model predictive capabilities. Irrigation rules were deduced in the process of learning and verified in the testing phase. It was found that most of the farmers used consistent rules throughout all years and across different types of crops. Soil moisture stress, which indicates the level of water available to the plant in the soil profile, was found to be one of the most significant likely driving forces for irrigation. Irrigations appeared to be triggered by a farmer's perception of soil stress, or by a perception of combined factors such as information about a neighbor irrigating or an apparent preference to irrigate on a weekend. Soil stress resulted in irrigation probabilities of 94.4% for alfalfa. With additional factors like weekend and irrigating when a neighbor irrigates, alfalfa irrigation

Evaluation model development for sprinkler irrigation uniformity ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

use

Sprinkle and trickle irrigation. The. Blackburn Press, New Jersey, USA. Li JS, Rao MJ (1999). Evaluation method of sprinkler irrigation nonuniformity. Trans. CSAE. 15(4): 78-82. Lin Z, Merkley GP (2011). Relationships between common irrigation application uniformity indicators. Irrig Sci. Online First™, 27 January. 2011.

Survey the Effects of Partial Root Zone Deficit Irrigation and Deficit Irrigation on Quantitative, Qualitative and Water Use Efficiency of Pomegranate

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mohammad saeed tadaion

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Introduction: One of the latest efficient methods on increment of water use efficiency that confirmed by many scientists all over the world is deficit and alternative partial root zone deficit irrigation. In this experiment the effect of deficit and alternative partial root zone deficit irrigation on fruit yield, quality and water use efficiency of pomegranate (Punicagranatum (L. cv. Zarde-anar were investigatedin Arsenjan semi-arid region. Materials and Methods: The experiment was carried out in a constant plots and randomized complete block design (RCBD with four replicationsin five years.Treatmentswere 1- full flood irrigation (100 percent crop water requirement (T1 2- flood irrigation with 100 percent crop water requirement as alternate partial root-zone irrigation(every irrigation conducted on one side of tree (T2 3- flood irrigation with 50 percent crop water requirement as regular deficit irrigation (T3 4- full two-side drip irrigation(with regard to crop water requirement (eight drippers with twolit/hour flow by two different individual networks (T4 5- alternate partial root-zone drip irrigation with 100 percent crop water requirement (T5 6- regular deficit drip irrigation with 50 percent crop water requirement (T6 in every irrigation period. Each experimental treatment includes four trees and 96 similar twelve years old trees overall. Cultivation practice was conducted similarly on all of the trees. Results and Discussion: Results showed that the highest yield and water use efficiency based on statistical analysis belong to both PRD treatments i.e. alternate partial root-zone drip irrigation with 100 percent crop water requirement and alternate partial root-zone flood irrigation with 100 percent crop water requirement, respectively, that both of them decreased water requirement for irrigation up to 35 and 50 percent in comparison tocontrol. Application of partial root drying irrigation on both traditional flood irrigation and drip

Preliminary study of uranium in Pennsylvanian and lower Permian strata in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming and Montana, and the Northern Great Plains

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dunagan, J.F. Jr.; Kadish, K.A.

1977-11-01

Persistent and widespread radiometric anomalies occur in Pennsylvanian and Lower Permian strata in the subsurface of the northern Great Plains and the Powder River Basin. The primary host lithology of these anomalies is shale interbedded with sandstone, dolomite, and dolomitic sandstone. Samples from the project area indicate that uranium is responsible for some anomalies. In some samples there seems to be a correlation between high uranium content and high organic-carbon content, which possibly indicates that carbonaceous material acted as a trapping mechanism in some strata. The Pennsylvanian and Permian rocks studied are predominantly marine carbonates and clastics, but there are rocks of fluvial origin in the basal Pennsylvanian of Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota and in the Pennsylvanian and Permian deposits on the east flank of the Laramie Mountains. Fine-grained clastic rocks that flank the Chadron arch in western Nebraska are possibly of continental origin. The trend of the Chadron arch approximately parallels the trend of radiometric anomalies in the subsurface Permian-Pennsylvanian section. Possible source areas for uranium in the sediments studied were pre-Pennsylvanian strata of the Canadian Shield and Precambrian igneous rocks of the Ancestral Rocky Mountains

Irrigation as an Historical Climate Forcing

Science.gov (United States)

Cook, Benjamin I.; Shukla, Sonali P.; Puma, Michael J.; Nazarenko, Larissa S.

2014-01-01

Irrigation is the single largest anthropogenic water use, a modification of the land surface that significantly affects surface energy budgets, the water cycle, and climate. Irrigation, however, is typically not included in standard historical general circulation model (GCM) simulations along with other anthropogenic and natural forcings. To investigate the importance of irrigation as an anthropogenic climate forcing, we conduct two 5-member ensemble GCM experiments. Both are setup identical to the historical forced (anthropogenic plus natural) scenario used in version 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, but in one experiment we also add water to the land surface using a dataset of historically estimated irrigation rates. Irrigation has a negligible effect on the global average radiative balance at the top of the atmosphere, but causes significant cooling of global average surface air temperatures over land and dampens regional warming trends. This cooling is regionally focused and is especially strong in Western North America, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and Asia. Irrigation enhances cloud cover and precipitation in these same regions, except for summer in parts of Monsoon Asia, where irrigation causes a reduction in monsoon season precipitation. Irrigation cools the surface, reducing upward fluxes of longwave radiation (increasing net longwave), and increases cloud cover, enhancing shortwave reflection (reducing net shortwave). The relative magnitude of these two processes causes regional increases (northern India) or decreases (Central Asia, China) in energy availability at the surface and top of the atmosphere. Despite these changes in net radiation, however, climate responses are due primarily to larger magnitude shifts in the Bowen ratio from sensible to latent heating. Irrigation impacts on temperature, precipitation, and other climate variables are regionally significant, even while other anthropogenic forcings (anthropogenic aerosols

Significance of oceanographic field investigations for siting coastal thermal and nuclear power plants

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Krishnakumar, V.; Swamy, G.N.; Sastry, J

stream_size 7 stream_content_type text/plain stream_name Irrig_Power_J_49_129.pdf.txt stream_source_info Irrig_Power_J_49_129.pdf.txt Content-Encoding ISO-8859-1 Content-Type text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 ...

Biomass and nitrogen-use efficiency of grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) with nitrogen and supplemental irrigation in Coastal Plain Region, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Poor rainfall distribution and soil conditions such as high soil strength, low water holding capacity of soils and poor soil fertility in the humid Coastal Plain region may affect production of grain crops. Nitrogen insufficiency and water stress can both reduce crop yield, but little information is...

Colostomy irrigation: are we offering it enough?

Science.gov (United States)

Woodhouse, Fran

This article discusses the use of irrigation for suitable colostomists and reasons why it can have a very positive effect on lifestyle. While it is evidence-based it also includes anecdotal tips from patients who irrigate. The suitability of patients to irrigate and ways to 'get started' with irrigation are discussed.

Water availability as a driver of spatial and temporal variability in vegetation in the La Mancha plain (Spain): Implications for the land-surface energy, water and carbon budget

Science.gov (United States)

Los, Sietse

2017-04-01

Vegetation is water limited in large areas of Spain and therefore a close link exists between vegetation greenness observed from satellite and moisture availability. Here we exploit this link to infer spatial and temporal variability in moisture from MODIS NDVI data and thermal data. Discrepancies in the precipitation - vegetation relationship indicate areas with an alternative supply of water (i.e. not rainfall), this can be natural where moisture is supplied by upwelling groundwater, or can be artificial where crops are irrigated. As a result spatial and temporal variability in vegetation in the La Mancha Plain appears closely linked to topography, geology, rainfall and land use. Crop land shows large variability in year-to-year vegetation greenness; for some areas this variability is linked to variability in rainfall but in other cases this variability is linked to irrigation. The differences in irrigation treatment within one plant functional type, in this case crops, will lead to errors in land surface models when ignored. The magnitude of these effects on the energy, carbon and water balance are assessed at the scale of 250 m to 200 km. Estimating the water balance correctly is of particular important since in some areas in Spain more water is used for irrigation than is supplemented by rainfall.

A scintigraphic study of colostomy irrigation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yasuda, Shinji; Fujii, Hisao; Nakano, Hiroshige (Nara Medical Univ., Kashihara (Japan))

1991-09-01

Colostomy irrigation was investigated by colonoscintigraphy. Twelve rectal cancer and one sigmoid colon cancer patients were examined. The tepid water whose volume was determined by barium enema was mixed with {sup 99m}Tc-DTPA. Dynamic scanning was started on commencement of colostomy irrigation. The sampling time was 3 seconds and scanning was performed for 30 minutes. The mean volume of remnant colon as measured by barium enema was 650 ml. The mean number of mass movements was 4.3. The mean evacuation time was 11 minutes 56 seconds and the mean half emptying time was calculated to be 9.5 minutes. The evacuation time in the patients who underwent colostomy irrigation for more than 2 years was greater than that in the patients who underwent irrigation for less than 2 years. Colonic motility was thought to have weakened. The half emptying time and the number of mass movements in the patients whose irrigation water went into the terminal ileum was more than that in the patients whose irrigation water was within the colon and cecum. Irrigation water which went into the terminal ileum was caused evacuation after the contents of the remnant colon were washed out. In conclusion, patients should have their colostomy irrigated with the tepid water, volume is determined by barium enema. Furthermore single infusion of the water is recommended. (author).

A scintigraphic study of colostomy irrigation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yasuda, Shinji; Fujii, Hisao; Nakano, Hiroshige

1991-01-01

Colostomy irrigation was investigated by colonoscintigraphy. Twelve rectal cancer and one sigmoid colon cancer patients were examined. The tepid water whose volume was determined by barium enema was mixed with 99m Tc-DTPA. Dynamic scanning was started on commencement of colostomy irrigation. The sampling time was 3 seconds and scanning was performed for 30 minutes. The mean volume of remnant colon as measured by barium enema was 650 ml. The mean number of mass movements was 4.3. The mean evacuation time was 11 minutes 56 seconds and the mean half emptying time was calculated to be 9.5 minutes. The evacuation time in the patients who underwent colostomy irrigation for more than 2 years was greater than that in the patients who underwent irrigation for less than 2 years. Colonic motility was thought to have weakened. The half emptying time and the number of mass movements in the patients whose irrigation water went into the terminal ileum was more than that in the patients whose irrigation water was within the colon and cecum. Irrigation water which went into the terminal ileum was caused evacuation after the contents of the remnant colon were washed out. In conclusion, patients should have their colostomy irrigated with the tepid water, volume is determined by barium enema. Furthermore single infusion of the water is recommended. (author)

Simulating Effects of Long Term Use of Wastewater on Farmers Health Using System Dynamics Modeling (Case Study: Varamin Plain

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Hamzehali Alizadeh

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Agricultural activity in Varamin plain has been faced with many challenges in recent years, due to vicinity to Tehran the capital of Iran (competition for Latian dam reservoir, and competition with Tehran south network in allocation of Mamlou dam reservoir and treated wastewater of south wastewater treatment plant. Mamlou and Latian dam reservoirs, due to increase of population and industry sectors, allocated to urban utilization of Tehran. Based on national policy, the treated wastewater should be replaced with Latian dam reservoir water to supply water demand of agricultural sector. High volume transmission of wastewater to Varamin plain, will be have economical, environmental, and social effects. Several factors effect on wastewater management and success of utilization plans and any change in these factors may have various feedbacks on the other elements of wastewater use system. Hence, development of a model with capability of simulation of all factors, aspects and interactions that affect wastewater utilization is very necessary. The main objective of present study was development of water integrated model to study long-term effects of irrigation with Tehran treated wastewater, using system dynamics modeling (SD approach. Materials and Methods: Varamin Plain is one of the most important agricultural production centers of the country due to nearness to the large consumer market of Tehran and having fertile soil and knowledge of agriculture. The total agricultural irrigated land in Varamin Plain is 53486 hectares containing 17274 hectares of barley, 16926 hectares of wheat, 3866 hectares of tomato, 3521 hectares of vegetables, 3556 hectares of alfalfa, 2518 hectares of silage maize, 1771 hectares of melon, 1642 hectares of cotton, 1121 hectares of cucumber and 1291 hectares of other crops. In 2006 the irrigation requirement of the crop pattern was about 690 MCM and the actual agriculture water consumption was about 620 MCM

The Response and Repairing of Three Kinds of Crops on Xi’an’s Sewage Irrigation Area Soil

Science.gov (United States)

Xin, H.; Zhimei, Z.; Lei, H.; Huan, L.; Tian, Z.

2017-10-01

This paper focuses on the XiChaZhai village’s vegetable soil which is located in the northern suburbs of Xi’an and on its vegetables, thus analyzes the quality of sewage irrigation region soil and its influence on vegetables through the measurement of Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd’s content in samples. The results show that the research area soil contains apparently excessive heavy metals, and there exists significant differences of different elements’ integrated intensity in soil, the content declines in sequence from Cd, Zn, Pb to Cu. The four heavy metals’ contents in sewage irrigation region soil vary greatly from that in non-sewage irrigation region soil(Prepairing effects on Xi’an sewage irrigation region soil are Raphanus sativus, Ottelia acuminate and Brassica chinensis, in that order. Different crop tissues differ in the accumulation of heavy metal, the order according as roots, stem and leaves, fruits. Therefore, based on differences of various crops on heavy metals’ absorption and translocation, appropriate crops should be scientifically planted in heavy metal contaminated area soil.

Mechanisms affecting the transition from shallow to deep convection over land: Inferences from observations collected at the ARM Southern Great Plains site

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Y.; Klein, S. A.

2009-12-01

11 years of summertime observations at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility Southern Great Plains (SGP) site are used to investigate mechanisms controlling the transition from shallow to deep convection over land. A more humid environment above the boundary layer favors the occurrence of late-afternoon heavy precipitation events. The higher moisture content is brought by wind from south. Greater boundary layer inhomogeneity in moist static energy (MSE) is correlated to larger rain rates at the initial stage of precipitation. MSE inhomogeneity is attributed to both moisture and temperature fields, and is correlated with westerly winds. In an examination of afternoon rain statistics, higher relative humidity above the boundary layer is correlated to an earlier onset and longer duration of precipitation, while greater boundary layer inhomogeneity and atmospheric instability are positively correlated to the total rain amount and the maximum rain rate. On balance, these observations favor theories for the transition that involve a moist free troposphere and boundary layer heterogeneity in preference to those that involve convective available potential energy or convective inhibition. Thus the evidence presented here supports the current emphasis in the modeling community on the entraining nature of convection and the role of boundary layer cold pools in triggering new convection.

Changing Land Use from Cotton to Bioenergy Crops in the Southern Great Plains: Implications on Carbon and Water Vapor Fluxes

Science.gov (United States)

Rajan, N.; Sharma, S.

2016-12-01

We are facing an unprecedented challenge in securing America's energy future. To address this challenge, increased biofuel crop production is needed. Although first-generation biofuels like corn ethanol are available, second-generation biofuels are gaining importance because they don't directly compete with food production. Second-generation biofuels are made from the by-products of intensive agriculture or from less-intensive agriculture on more marginal lands. The Southwestern U.S. Cotton Belt can play a significant role in this effort through a change from more conventional crops (like continuous cotton) to second-generation biofuel feedstocks (biomass sorghum and perennial grasses). While we believe there would be environmental benefits associated with this change in land use, their exact nature and magnitude have not been investigated for this region. The overall goal of the proposed study was to investigate the water and carbon (C) fluxes associated with the change in agricultural land use to biofuels-dominated cropping systems in the semi-arid Southwestern U.S. Cotton Belt region. Eddy covariance flux towers were established at selected producer fields (cotton, perennial grasses and biomass sorghum) in the Southern Great Plains region. The fluxes of carbon dioxide, water vapor and sensible heat between the surface and the atmosphere will be measured throughout the year. The results have demonstrated that the dynamics of C and water vapor fluxes for these agroecosystems were strongly affected by environmental variables, management factors, and crop phenology. Detailed results will be presented at the meeting.

Impacts of Irrigation on the Heat Fluxes and Near-Surface Temperature in an Inland Irrigation Area of Northern China

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Li Jiang

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Irrigated agriculture has the potential to alter regional to global climate significantly. We investigate how irrigation will affect regional climate in the future in an inland irrigation area of northern China, focusing on its effects on heat fluxes and near-surface temperature. Using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF model, we compare simulations among three land cover scenarios: the control scenario (CON, the irrigation scenario (IRR, and the irrigated cropland expansion scenario (ICE. Our results show that the surface energy budgets and temperature are sensitive to changes in the extent and spatial pattern of irrigated land. Conversion to irrigated agriculture at the contemporary scale leads to an increase in annual mean latent heat fluxes of 12.10 W m−2, a decrease in annual mean sensible heat fluxes of 8.85 W m−2, and a decrease in annual mean temperature of 1.3 °C across the study region. Further expansion of irrigated land increases annual mean latent heat fluxes by 18.08 W m−2, decreases annual mean sensible heat fluxes by 12.31 W m−2, and decreases annual mean temperature by 1.7 °C. Our simulated effects of irrigation show that changes in land use management such as irrigation can be an important component of climate change and need to be considered together with greenhouse forcing in climate change assessments.

A long-term study of aerosol–cloud interactions and their radiative effect at the Southern Great Plains using ground-based measurements

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E. T. Sena

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Empirical estimates of the microphysical response of cloud droplet size distribution to aerosol perturbations are commonly used to constrain aerosol–cloud interactions in climate models. Instead of empirical microphysical estimates, here macroscopic variables are analyzed to address the influence of aerosol particles and meteorological descriptors on instantaneous cloud albedo and the radiative effect of shallow liquid water clouds. Long-term ground-based measurements from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM program over the Southern Great Plains are used. A broad statistical analysis was performed on 14 years of coincident measurements of low clouds, aerosol, and meteorological properties. Two cases representing conflicting results regarding the relationship between the aerosol and the cloud radiative effect were selected and studied in greater detail. Microphysical estimates are shown to be very uncertain and to depend strongly on the methodology, retrieval technique and averaging scale. For this continental site, the results indicate that the influence of the aerosol on the shallow cloud radiative effect and albedo is weak and that macroscopic cloud properties and dynamics play a much larger role in determining the instantaneous cloud radiative effect compared to microphysical effects. On a daily basis, aerosol shows no correlation with cloud radiative properties (correlation = −0.01 ± 0.03, whereas the liquid water path shows a clear signal (correlation = 0.56 ± 0.02.

Agriculture Irrigation and Water Use

OpenAIRE

Bajwa, Rajinder S.; Crosswhite, William M.; Hostetler, John E.; Wright, Olivia W.; United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service

1992-01-01

The 17 Western States, plus Arkansas, Florida, and Louisiana, account for 91 percent of all U.S. irrigated acreage, with the Western States alone contributing over 85 percent. This report integrates data on the distribution, characteristics, uses, and management of water resources from a wide variety of data sources. The report includes charts and tables on water use in irrigation; farm data comparing selected characteristics of irrigated and nonirrigated farms; and data on water applicatio...

Online decision support system for surface irrigation management

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Wenchao; Cui, Yuanlai

2017-04-01

Irrigation has played an important role in agricultural production. Irrigation decision support system is developed for irrigation water management, which can raise irrigation efficiency with few added engineering services. An online irrigation decision support system (OIDSS), in consist of in-field sensors and central computer system, is designed for surface irrigation management in large irrigation district. Many functions have acquired in OIDSS, such as data acquisition and detection, real-time irrigation forecast, water allocation decision and irrigation information management. The OIDSS contains four parts: Data acquisition terminals, Web server, Client browser and Communication system. Data acquisition terminals are designed to measure paddy water level, soil water content in dry land, ponds water level, underground water level, and canals water level. A web server is responsible for collecting meteorological data, weather forecast data, the real-time field data, and manager's feedback data. Water allocation decisions are made in the web server. Client browser is responsible for friendly displaying, interacting with managers, and collecting managers' irrigation intention. Communication system includes internet and the GPRS network used by monitoring stations. The OIDSS's model is based on water balance approach for both lowland paddy and upland crops. Considering basic database of different crops water demands in the whole growth stages and irrigation system engineering information, the OIDSS can make efficient decision of water allocation with the help of real-time field water detection and weather forecast. This system uses technical methods to reduce requirements of user's specialized knowledge and can also take user's managerial experience into account. As the system is developed by the Browser/Server model, it is possible to make full use of the internet resources, to facilitate users at any place where internet exists. The OIDSS has been applied in

Colonic irrigation for defecation disorders after dynamic graciloplasty.

Science.gov (United States)

Koch, Sacha M; Uludağ, Ozenç; El Naggar, Kadri; van Gemert, Wim G; Baeten, Cor G

2008-02-01

Dynamic graciloplasty (DGP) improves anal continence and quality of life for most patients. However, in some patients, DGP fails and fecal incontinence is unsolved or only partially improved. Constipation is also a significant problem after DGP, occurring in 13-90%. Colonic irrigation can be considered as an additional or salvage treatment for defecation disorders after unsuccessful or partially successful DGP. In this study, the effectiveness of colonic irrigation for the treatment of persistent fecal incontinence and/or constipation after DGP is investigated. Patients with defecation disorders after DGP visiting the outpatient clinic of the University Hospital Maastricht were selected for colonic irrigation as additional therapy or salvage therapy in the period between January 1999 and June 2003. The Biotrol(R) Irrimatic pump or the irrigation bag was used for colonic irrigation. Relevant physical and medical history was collected. The patients were asked to fill out a detailed questionnaire about colonic irrigation. Forty-six patients were included in the study with a mean age of 59.3 +/- 12.4 years (80% female). On average, the patients started the irrigation 21.39 +/- 38.77 months after the DGP. Eight patients started irrigation before the DGP. Fifty-two percent of the patients used the irrigation as additional therapy for fecal incontinence, 24% for constipation, and 24% for both. Irrigation was usually performed in the morning. The mean frequency of irrigation was 0.90 +/- 0.40 times per day. The mean amount of water used for the irrigation was 2.27 +/- 1.75 l with a mean duration of 39 +/- 23 min. Four patients performed antegrade irrigation through a colostomy or appendicostomy, with good results. Overall, 81% of the patients were satisfied with the irrigation. Thirty-seven percent of the patients with fecal incontinence reached (pseudo-)continence, and in 30% of the patients, the constipation completely resolved. Side effects of the irrigation were

Irrigation Water Management in Latin America Manejo del Agua de Riego en Sudamérica

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Aureo S de Oliveira

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Latin American countries show a great potential for expanding their irrigated areas. Irrigation is important for strengthening local and regional economy and for enhancing food security. The present paper aimed at providing a brief review on key aspects of irrigation management in Latin America. Poor irrigation management can have great impact on crop production and on environment while good management reduces the waste of soil and water and help farmers maximizing their profits. It was found that additional research is needed to allow a better understanding of crop water requirements under Latin American conditions as well as to provide farmers with local derived information for irrigation scheduling. The advantages of deficit irrigation practices and the present and future opportunities with the application of remote sensing tools for water management were also considered. It is clear that due to the importance of irrigated agriculture, collaborative work among Latin American researchers and institutions is of paramount importance to face the challenges imposed by a growing population, environment degradation, and competition in the global market.Los países sudamericanos tienen un gran potencial para aumentar sus áreas regadas. El riego es importante para fortalecer las economías locales y regionales y para mejorar la seguridad alimentaria. Esta revisión tiene por objeto proporcionar un resumen de los aspectos más importantes del manejo del riego en Sudamérica. Un manejo pobre del riego puede tener un alto impacto en la producción de cultivos y en el ambiente, en tanto que un buen manejo reduce las pérdidas de suelo y agua, y ayuda a los productores a maximizar sus ingresos. Se encontró que se requiere investigación adicional que permita una mejor comprensión de los requerimientos de agua de los cultivos en las condiciones sudamericanas, y también para proporcionar a los agricultores información local que permita hacer programaci

Using hydraulic modeling to simulate human interactions with water resources in an Omani irrigation system

Science.gov (United States)

Xanthopoulou, Themis; Ertsen, Maurits; Düring, Bleda; Kolen, Jan

2017-04-01

In the dry Southern Oman, more than a thousand years ago, a large water system that connected the mountain mass with the coastal region was constructed. Its length (up to 30 km) and the fact that the coastal region has a rich groundwater aquifer create confusion as to why the system was initially built. Nonetheless, it was abandoned a couple of centuries later only to be partially revived by small farming communities in the 17th to 18th century. The focus of our research is one of the irrigation systems that used the water conveyed from the large water system. Not much is known about these small irrigation systems functioning in the Wadi Al Jizzi of the greater Sohar region. There are no written records and we can only make guesses about the way the systems were managed based on ethnographical studies and the traditional Omani techniques. On the other hand, the good preservation state of the canals offers a great opportunity for hydraulic reconstruction of irrigation events. More than that, the material remains suggest and at the same time limit the ways in which humans interacted with the system and the water resources of the region. All irrigation activities and some daily activities had to be realized through the canal system and only if the canal system permits it these actions would have been feasible. We created a conceptual model of irrigation that includes the human agent and feedback mechanisms through hydraulics and then we simulated irrigation events using the Sobek software. Scenarios and sensibility analysis were used to address the unknown aspects of the system. Our research yielded insights about the way the farming community interacted with the larger water system, the levels of co-ordination and co-operation required for successful irrigation and the predisposition of conflict and power relations.

49 CFR 229.64 - Plain bearings.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Plain bearings. 229.64 Section 229.64 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION....64 Plain bearings. A plain bearing box shall contain visible free oil and may not be cracked to the...

The Impact of Regular and Periodic Irrigation on the Fertility and Productivity of an Ordinary Chernozem of the Azov Irrigation System

Science.gov (United States)

Shchedrin, V. N.

2016-02-01

The effect of regular and periodic irrigation on the fertility and productivity of an ordinary chernozem cultivated under different conditions within the same cereal-fodder crop rotation is discussed. The investigation object is located in the area of the Azov irrigation system on the second terrace of the Don River in Rostov oblast. Irrigation water for the system is taken from the Veselovsk water reservoir. Its salinity is 1.7-2.1 g/dm3, and the salt composition is sulfate-sodium. The field experiments were performed in 2006-2013 on three experimental plots. Two of them were regularly irrigated; the third plot was periodically irrigated with alternation of 2-year-long periods with and without irrigation. Our study proved that periodic irrigation could be applied in the chernozemic zone. This new irrigation mode contributes to the preservation of the natural soil-forming process and stops the development of unfavorable processes typical of the lands irrigated with water of inadequate quality. In eight years of cultivation of the ordinary chernozem with periodic irrigation, the soil humus content increased by 10% (from 3.80 to 4.15%), and the yield reached 66.0 t/ha of fodder units. This was 9% higher than the yield obtained upon regular irrigation without agroameliorative measures and 12% lower than the yield upon regular irrigation in combination with soil-protective measures. Our data suggest that periodic irrigation is promising for the chernozemic zone, because it ensures lower water loads and preservation of the irrigated chernozems.