Every year floods are responsible of a significant number of human losses, many of which could be avoided with a broader implementation of flood forecasting systems. Nevertheless, there are still some technological and economic limitations that impede the creation of these systems in many parts of the world. At the core of many flood forecasting systems is a hydrologic model that transforms the weather forecast into a flow forecast. Using real-time modeling for potential floods poses a series of problems: if the model is complex, the computational power required can be significant, and consequently expensive, and if the model is simple enough to run on regular computers in the time allotted, it is likely that the results will not be accurate enough to be useful. I propose the development of a standardized method for using pre-computed scenarios as an alternative to real-time flood modeling. I explain how pre-computing has been used on other realms in the past, and how it is beginning to be implemented in different branches of hydrology, the prediction coastal flooding due to storms or tsunamis being one of the most developed. My research has focused on answering the questions that arise during the design stage of a flood forecasting system not only for rain or snow driven floods, but also by anthropogenic-produced floods. I analyze the number of parameters and their granularity to be used to create the scenarios, the accuracy of the results, different strategies to implement the systems, etc. Finally, I present some test-cases of the application of the method, and assess their results.

Globalization is a rapidly increasing trend in many industries, including civil engineering. This paper defines the skills engineers will need in an increasingly international industry. It also describes an engineering study abroad program designed to teach some of those skills to students and presents a survey used as an assessment tool to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. The program, called Mexico Engineering Study Abroad (MESA), is taught at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, UT. MESA is a project-based extended field trip format class that couples hydrologic modeling with cultural awareness as students work together with Mexican students on water resources modeling projects in Mexico. The aforementioned survey shows that MESA affects a positive change in the student development and importance of global engineering skills such as leadership, teamwork, cultural sensitivity, and language. The importance of these skills in the workplace was also measured. The data shows that MESA is effective at developing global engineering skills in students. The data also suggest that other schools could use MESA as a model for their own efforts to prepare students for a more global industry. They show that non-technical skills can be measured and the results used to improve the course and the assessment methods. In particular, the MESA course could be improved by involving more faculty and increasing parity between the BYU and Mexican experiences in the course. The survey can be improved by conducting pre-class and post-class surveys instead of just one post-class survey. A special effort should be made to develop symmetry of experience for Mexican and BYU students, including extending the survey to the Mexican students.

The goal of hydrologic models is to accurately predict a future event of a given magnitude. Historic data are often used to calibrate models to increase their ability to forecast accurately. The GSSHA model is a distributed model that uses physical parameters and physics based computations to compute water flow from cell to cell based on a 2 dimensional grid. The goal of calibration is to obtain good estimates for the actual parameters of the watershed. These parameters should then transfer to other storm events of different magnitudes more easily than an empirical model. In conducting this research three watersheds were selected in different parts of the United States and the required data were collected to develop and run single event hydrologic models. The WMS software was used to preprocess digital spatial data for model creation before calibrating them with the GSSHA model. A calibrated HEC-HMS model was also developed for each watershed for comparative purposes. Establishing GSSHA's usability in routine hydrologic modeling is the primary objective of this research. This has been accomplished by developing guidelines for GSSHA calibrations, assisted by WMS, testing model accuracy in the calibration and verification phases, and comparing results with HEC-HMS, a model widely accepted for routine hydrologic modeling. As a result of this research, the WMS interface has become well equipped to set up and run GSSHA model calibrations. The focus has been on single event, or routine hydrologic model simulations, but continuous simulation calibrations, an important strength of GSSHA, can also be developed. Each of the model simulations in the study calibrated well in terms of matching peak and volume. However, the verification for two out of the three watersheds used in the study was less than ideal. The results of this research indicate that the physical factors, which GSSHA should represent well, are particularly sensitive for single event storms. The use of calibration of single events is therefore difficult in some cases and may not be recommended. Further research could be done to establish guidelines for situations (e.g. watershed conditions, storm type, etc.) where single event calibration is plausible.

Empirically based lumped hydrologic models have an extensive track record of use where as physically based, multi-dimensional distributed models are evolving for various engineering applications. Despite the availability of high resolution data, better computational resources and robust numerical methods, the usage of distributed models is still limited. The purpose of this research is to establish the credibility and usability of distributed hydrologic modeling tools of the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in order to promote the extended use of distributed models. Two of the USACE models were used as the modeling tools for the study, with Gridded Surface and Subsurface Hydrologic Analysis (GSSHA) representing a distributed and with Hydrologic Engineering Center-Hydrologic Modeling System (HEC-HMS) representing a lumped model. Watershed Modeling System (WMS) was used as the pre- and post-processing tool. The credibility of distributed models has been established by validating that the distributed models are efficient in solving complex hydrologic problems. The distributed and lumped models in HEC-HMS were compared. Similarly, the capabilities of GSSHA and lumped models in HEC-HMS in simulating land use change scenario were compared. The results of these studies were published in peer-reviewed journals. Similarly, the usability of the distributed models was studied taking GSSHA-WMS modeling as a test case. Some of the major issues in GSSHA-modeling using WMS interface were investigated and solutions were proposed to solve such issues. Personal experience with GSSHA and feedback from the students in a graduate class (CE531) and from participants in the USACE GSSHA training course were used to identify such roadblocks. The project being partly funded by the USACE Engineering Research and Development Center (ERDC) and partly by Aquaveo LLC, the research was motivated in improving GSSHA modeling using the WMS interface.

The demand and collection of hydrometeorological data is growing to support hydrologic and hydraulic analyses, and other studies. These data can amount to extensive information that requires sound data management to enable efficient storage, access, and use. While much of the globe is using technology to efficiently collect and store hydrometeorological data, other parts, such as developing countries, are unable to do so. This thesis presents an assessment of available river observations data in Latin American countries in Central America and the Caribbean. The assessment analyzes 1) access to available data, 2) spatial density of data, and 3) the temporal extents of data. This assessment determines that there are sections of the study area that constitute a drought of data or have limited data available.Furthermore, the development of an internationalized HydroServer Lite, a lite-weight web-based application for database and data management, is undertaken. A pilot program of the translated system in Spanish is established with an agency in each of the following countries: Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. The internationalized version of HydroServer Lite promises to be a useful tool for these groups. While full implementation is currently underway, benefits include improved database management, access to data, and connectivity to global groups seeking to aid developing countries with hydrometeorological data.

No description available.

Forest harvesting has been shown to cause various changes in water quantity and water quality parameters, highlighting the need for comprehensive forest practice rules. Studies show a myriad of impacts to ecosystems as a result of watershed level changes, such as forest harvesting. Being able to better understand the impact that forest harvesting can have on stream temperature is especially critical in locations where federally threatened or endangered fish species are located. The overall goal of this research project is to assess responses in stream temperature to various riparian and forest harvest treatments in a maritime, mountainous environment. The results of this study aim to inform decision makers with additional information pertaining to the effects of forest harvest on water temperature. Modeling is done as a part of the third Caspar Creek Paired Experimental Watershed study. Located in Mendocino County, the site provides a place for California researchers and decision makers to learn about the cumulative watershed effects of forest management operations on peak flows, sediment production, anadromous fish, macro-invertebrate communities, nutrient cycling and more. Historic data was used to calibrate the Distributed Hydrology Soil Vegetation Model (DHSVM) and River Basin Model (RBM) to measured stream temperatures in the South Fork of Caspar Creek (SFC) for hydrologic years 2010-2016. Critical summer time periods, when temperatures are highest and flows are low, are the primary concern for this work. The key modeling scenarios evaluated were (1) varying percentages of Watercourse and Lake Protection Zones (WLPZ) canopy cover, (2) the 2018-2019 SFC forest harvest and (3) an experimental design converting dominant riparian vegetation along 300-yard stream reaches. Modeling results showed that stream temperatures begin to rise above third-growth conditions when canopy cover is reduced to 25% and 0% retention levels. Larger increases in Maximum Weekly Maximum Temperature (MWMT) values, compared to Maximum Weekly Average Temperature (MWAT) values, were seen across all scenarios. There was essentially no difference between altering buffer areas along only class I streams, compared to along all stream classes. At the 0% canopy retention, MWMT values consistently rose above recommended thermal limits for Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and state regulations prohibiting more than a 5 degree F increase in waters. Clearcutting the entire watershed produced less of an effect than simulations clearing on only the riparian area, suggesting that groundwater inflows act to mitigate stream temperature rises in the SFC. The 2018-2019 harvest showed a relatively consistent increase in MWAT values (avg. 0.11 degree C) and more varied increases in MWMT values (avg. 0.32 degree C). Simulations converting dominant riparian vegetation by clearing could not be considered conclusive due to sensitivity analyses suggesting potentially unrealistic tracking of downstream temperatures. Additional sensitivity analyses suggest that tree height and the monthly extinction coefficient (a function of Leaf Area Index) are most influential on stream temperature changes in SFC. This is consistent with other modeling studies and suggests stream temperature management focus on tall, dense buffers as opposed to wider buffer widths.

Excessive nutrient concentrations from a different point and non-point sources are the main cause of water impairment in the United States. Appropriate management practices, according to the source and quantity of pollutions, need to be implemented to control excessive nutrient influx in the water body. Various types of hydrological and water quality models with diverse function, capability and degree of complexity are employed to quantify watershed hydrologic processes and nutrient pollution. Multiple models can be applied to a watershed but the suitable model must be selected based on watershed type and simulation need. Two watershed-scale models, Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and Hydrologic Simulation Program-Fortran (HSPF) were chosen for this study to simulate runoff, sediment yield, and nutrient load from the Big Sunflower River Watershed (BSRW) of Mississippi. The objectives of this study are to access the nutrient sources within the watershed, determine the appropriate model to quantify them, develop and evaluate model considering spatial and temporal variations in input data, and evaluate the effectiveness of different Best Management Practices (BMPs) on surface runoff, sediment yield and nutrient load at watershed scale. This study has identified a potential source of nutrients in BSRW and provided a suitable BMP for its management. Similarly, the study found both SWAT and HSPF were efficient in the simulation of streamflow, sediment yield and nutrient load, where SWAT was more efficient during simulation streamflow and sediment yield. Likewise, the study established that both water-quantity and water-quality are sensitive to the change in LULC data layers and thus, seasonal LULC data applied to SWAT will better explain variation in hydrology and water quality as compared to the annual cropland data layer. Moreover, the study showed that well managed vegetative filter strip was very efficient in reducing sediment yield, TN, and TP at both field and watershed scale among different BMPs evaluated at field and watershed scale. This study will be beneficial in developing efficient nutrient management strategy at field and watershed scale, selecting appropriate model and input according to the need and type of watershed, and providing further research opportunities to the scientific community.

<p> Proposed theories concerning the nature and mode of formation of limestone scallops are examined. Some progress is made toward a purely theoretical understanding. Scallop formation is simulated by generation on blocks of Plaster of Paris in a laboratory flume under known and controlled conditions and the relationships between the resulting features, the generating conditions and the base material examined. Field Evidence both confirms these relationships and reveals other unsuspected factors. The similarity between these features and others found on ablating snow surfaces is investigated and the same laws found to apply. </p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Bog turtles (Glyptemys muhlenbergii) are a small freshwater turtle ranging east of the Appalachian Mountains from New York to Georgia, in small, patchily distributed (<10ha) groundwater fed wetlands. Despite their name, these wetlands are more appropriately identified as seep meadows or fens owing to their reliance on groundwater, with bogs being typified by precipitation as the major hydrologic input. Groundwater inputs are not only important in taxonomically classifying wetland type, but also contribute in important ways to bog turtle natural history. Bog turtles ectothermically regulate body temperature by utilizing thermally buffered groundwater inputs during seasonal extremes. Perennially saturated wetland areas disrupt the establishment of facultative wetland vegetation or woody vegetation that may induce wetland succession, maintaining adequate bog turtle habitat. Further, groundwater input mechanistically contributes to microtopographic variation, providing viable nesting locations. Hydrologic studies pertaining to these wetland habitats has been limited in scope, and often attempts to define hydrologic regimes by use of a centrally placed monitoring well. Several studies that have comprehensively monitored these seep meadow wetlands show hydrologic regime variability at intrasite scales. In this thesis, I sought to confirm the spatially variable nature of hydrologic regimes in bog turtle wetlands. Finding that hydrologic conditions were location-dependent, I then tested whether a seep to non-seep hydrologic gradient, or the defining physical components therein, explained variation in bog turtle population density across a wetland. In Chapter II, I observed wetland conditions in summer extremes to categorize wetland areas based on surface saturation into seep, always wet, and sometimes wet locations. I placed multiple water level monitoring wells within these categories at six bog turtle wetlands and used observed water level data to test for spatial hydrologic variability at within- and across-site scales, finding that hydrologic regime can vary at short distances (<10m), and that alike categorized wells differed in groundwater inputs across-sites. I then used observed water level monitoring data during the growing season to test initial observer-based classifications. These classifications were then reorganized using the amount of time water remained near the soil surface, the degree of fluctuation that water level experienced, and differences in thermal exchange with ambient air temperature and thermally buffered groundwater input. I created a method to delineate spatially variable hydrologic regimes based on groundwater discharge by using several seep-associated features. Soil water temperature, depth to resistive soil layer, and specific conductivity were tested for sampling applicability across seasonal extremes, and for co-occurrence in constrained ordination with spatially explanatory covariates. I found that spatial gradients for relative measures of each seep-associated feature were largely consistent across seasons and that all seep-associated features were more often correlated than any other spatial arrangement. Constrained ordination model results were visualized to depict the seep to non-seep hydrologic gradients found within these wetlands. These gradients were then tested against observed water level data for their predictive capability, finding mixed results across seasons and that hydrologic gradients as modeled could likely be improved with additional explanatory information. Depending on where groundwater is entering a wetland, habitat conditions might vary for bog turtles. Seep areas create perennially saturated or mucky soil conditions, with locations further from groundwater discharge experiencing total or some degree of drying out in the growing season. Bog turtle habitat associations recorded in literature suggest that bog turtles are typically found in or near these soft mud or open water areas. Constant groundwater input near these seeps also leads to rivulet formation. Cool, gently flowing water weaves between hummocks of vegetation near these locations, creating pathways for easy movement, elevated platforms for turtles to bask, and muddy substrates to which turtles can retreat to. Because of the habit conditions afforded by these seep areas, I hypothesized that turtle density might be higher with seep occurrence as influenced by the underlying wetland hydrologic gradient. In Chapter III, I tested whether bog turtle population density was a function of hydrologic features across seep to non-seep gradients, relative soil water temperatures, the depth of substrate above a consolidated soil layer, and relative soil moisture conditions. In the summer of 2022, I trapped at six bog turtle wetlands and tracked 24 bog turtles with radiotelemetry. I used a spatially explicit capture mark recapture framework to estimate density and used data developed for hydrologic datasets in Chapter II to examine density associations. Bog turtle density relationships to hydrologic covariates varied across wetlands and supports the view that bog turtles in their active season are not particularly sensitive to specific hydrologic regime conditions, but rather utilize the entirety of wetland conditions. / Master of Science / Bog turtles (Glyptemys muhlenbergii) are a small freshwater turtle ranging east of the Appalachian Mountains from New York to Georgia, in small, patchily distributed (<10ha) groundwater-fed seep meadows and fens. Groundwater inputs create these wetlands and conditions necessary for bog turtle survival. Hydrologic studies in these wetland types are limited but hint towards a reliance on groundwater input as contributing to hydrologic regimes that are locationally dependent. In this thesis, I sought to confirm the spatially variable nature of hydrologic conditions in these wetlands by focusing on ground water entry points and testing whether seeps, or associated seep characteristics, influenced bog turtle population density across a wetland. In Chapter II, I used water level monitoring wells to establish that hydrologic regimes in bog turtle wetlands are spatially variable and characterized these regimes by the resulting saturated to dry surface conditions. I then selected wetland features hypothesized to be associated with groundwater discharge locations and provided evidence that these features occur together and are seasonally constant. These features were then used to delineate hydrologic gradients and tested for whether they could predict conditions observed in water level monitoring. Hydrologic gradients drawn from seep to non-seep locations had limited ability to predict observed hydrologic regimes. Ground water seeps are considered to contain necessary habitat conditions for bog turtles as thermal and predatory refugia, a mechanistic disturbance favoring herbaceous vegetation over woody vegetation, and provide processes that establish microtopographic variation favorable to bog turtle nesting behavior. In Chapter III, I used delineated gradients from the preceding chapter to assess underlying hydrologic conditions that explain where turtles are more likely to be found within their habitat, and whether these associations were shared across bog turtle populations. Bog turtle density across wetlands differed by hydrologic-associated features, and findings suggest that site-wide variability in conditions is the more important aspect of bog turtle wetlands than a specific hydrologic regime.