Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Natural Resources Management and Policy
Critical Review of Polyphosphate and Polyphosphate Accumulating Organisms for Agricultural Water Quality Management
Published: 2018-12-04
Subjects: Agriculture, Biogeochemistry, Earth Sciences, Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology Life Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Life Sciences, Microbiology, Natural Resources Management and Policy, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Soil Science, Water Resource Management
Despite ongoing management efforts, phosphorus (P) loading from agricultural landscapes continues to impair water quality. Wastewater treatment research has enhanced our knowledge of microbial mechanisms influencing P cycling, especially regarding microbes known as polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs) that store P as polyphosphate (polyP) under oxic conditions and release P under anoxic [...]
Rapid and accurate estimates of streamflow depletion caused by groundwater pumping using analytical depletion functions
Published: 2018-11-12
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Civil Engineering, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Hydrology, Natural Resources Management and Policy, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Water Resource Management
Reductions in streamflow due to groundwater pumping (‘streamflow depletion’) can negatively impact water users and aquatic ecosystems but are challenging to estimate due to the time and expertise required to develop numerical models often used for water management. Here, we develop analytical depletion functions, which are simpler approaches consisting of (i) stream proximity criteria which [...]
Vulnerability of Louisiana’s coastal wetlands to present-day rates of relative sea-level rise
Published: 2018-10-01
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Environmental Monitoring, Environmental Sciences, Geology, Geomorphology, Hydrology, Natural Resources Management and Policy, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Risk Analysis, Sedimentology, Soil Science, Stratigraphy, Sustainability
Coastal Louisiana has lost about 5,000km2 of wetlands over the past century and concern exists whether remaining wetlands will persist while facing some of the world’s highest rates of relative sea-level rise (RSLR). Here we analyse an unprecedented data set derived from 274 rod surface-elevation table-marker horizon stations, to determine present-day surface-elevation change, vertical accretion [...]
Wind tunnel tests inform Ammophila planting spacing for dune management
Published: 2018-09-24
Subjects: Biology, Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Geology, Geomorphology, Life Sciences, Natural Resources Management and Policy, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Sedimentology
Coastal dunes are invaluable natural resources that bu er upland areas. Vegetation is key in dune development and stabilization. Dunes form with sufficient wind, sand source, and obstruction; plants are the ideal obstruction. Storms o en erode foredunes and coastal managers replant vegetation to re-establish the necessary obstruction for sand accretion and dune growth. We used a wind tunnel to [...]
Historical trajectories of disaster risk in Dominica
Published: 2018-07-13
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Natural Resources Management and Policy, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Soil Science, Tectonics and Structure, Water Resource Management
The calamitous consequences of Hurricane Maria (2017) for the Caribbean island of Dominica highlighted the acute and increasing susceptibility of the region to hazard events. Despite the increasing international attention given to disaster risk reduction, recovery from hazard events can be especially lengthy and difficult for Small Island Developing States. In this paper we build on existing [...]
Variability of Net Radiation on Snow-Covered Forest Floor for a Range of Vegetation Densities along a Latitudinal Transect
Published: 2018-04-30
Subjects: Environmental Sciences, Natural Resources Management and Policy, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Net radiation reaching the forest floor is influenced by vegetation density. Previous studies have confirmed that in mid-latitude conifer forests in Greenville, ME (45.5°N), net radiation decreases and then subsequently increases with increasing vegetation density, for clear sky conditions. This leads to existence of a net radiation minimum at an intermediate vegetation density. With increasing [...]
The role of glacier retreat for Swiss hydropower production
Published: 2017-12-22
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Glaciology, Hydrology, Natural Resource Economics, Natural Resources Management and Policy, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Sustainability, Water Resource Management
High elevation or high latitude hydropower production (HP) strongly relies on water resources that are influenced by glacier melt and are thus highly sensitive to climate warming. Despite of the wide-spread glacier retreat since the development of HP infrastructure in the 20th century, little quantitative information is available about the role of glacier mass loss for HP. We provide the first [...]
Estimating geological CO2 storage security to deliver on climate mitigation
Published: 2017-12-04
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Natural Resources Management and Policy, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) can help nations meet their Paris CO2 reduction commitments cost-effectively. However, lack of confidence in geologic CO2 storage security remains a barrier to CCS implementation. Here we present a numerical program that calculates CO2 storage security and leakage to the atmosphere over 10,000 years. This combines quantitative estimates of geological subsurface [...]
A dimensionless statistical analysis of logjam form and process
Published: 2017-11-01
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Geomorphology, Hydrology, Natural Resources Management and Policy, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Sedimentology, Water Resource Management
Large wood in rivers and logjams are linked to the presence of varied riverine morphologies and increased abundance and diversity of aquatic biota. Current research into the ecohydrological, morphological and geochemical effects of logjams is restricted by difficulties in comparing findings between river systems. The problem is exacerbated by a lack of standardised metrics for recording and [...]