The biodiversity value of a wetland is linked not only to its position in the landscape relative to other wetlands, but also to its habitat characteristics. I monitored amphibian species richness among 12 small, isolated, and undisturbed wetlands (which occur on lands permitted for phosphate mining) in central Florida during the 2005 and 2006 breeding seasons. I used seven habitat and landscape variables to characterize the environments of the wetlands and generalized linear models to determine which of these variables had the greatest influence on the occurrence of seven amphibian species (Anaxyrus terrestris, Gastrophryne carolinensis, Hyla gratiosa, Lithobates capito, L. catesbeianus, L. grylio, and Pseudacris nigrita verrucosa). Significant models for each species incorporated six of the seven habitat and landscape variables: distance to permanent water (2 spp.), distance to nearest wetland (3 spp.), vegetation heterogeneity (2 spp.), hydroperiod (2 spp.), presence/absence of fish (1 sp.), and distance to canopy cover (1 sp.). I suggest that source/sink metapopulation and patchy population dynamics in a given year are affected in part by environmental variables of ephemeral wetlands as they affect individual amphibian species. I suggest that a diversity of environmental conditions among wetlands produces the greatest amphibian biodiversity in this system, and that conservation and restoration efforts should emphasize environmental heterogeneity.

In this thesis the influence of existing vegetation, the distance from the north border of the spoil heap, animal grazing, terrain bumpiness, and soil pH on the distribution and rooting of European Beech (Fagus sylvatica) at spoil heap Velká podkrušnohorská výsypka (50ř14'09 N, 12ř39'05 E) was examined. To accomplish this, beech seedlings within chosen areas overgrown by spontaneous succession or alder restoration were mapped using GPS. A rooting position on the wave-like terrain was recorded for a proportion of the total number of seedlings. Soil pH was also measured on the wave-like terrain. The majority of seedlings (183) were found at the succession sites; only one seedling was found in the alder restoration site. The GLM analysis proved significantly more seedlings in succession sites compared to alder restoration sites (p = 0.0169) and the negative dependence on distance from the north border of the heap (p < 0.0001). Within the wave-like terrain, 46% of seedlings were growing on the north slopes. In 2009, small seedlings were planted into the fresh restoration site and the adjacent succession site, in both cases inside the fencing and outside of it. The seedlings were growing significantly better in the succession site compared to the restoration site, and they were growing better inside the...

During recent years both Sweden and the rest of Europe have experienced periods of drought as a consequence of hot summers with low levels of precipitation. For villages provided with drinking water from water plants with groundwater as raw water source droughts can lead to considerable problems if the groundwater reservoir would be affected. One Swedish village which is provided with drinking water from a groundwater drinking plant and which has faced problems regarding their drinking water production is Hurva, located outside of Eslöv in Scania and with a population of almost 400 people. The problem has been periods of water shortage in the drinking water system. The solution to this problem has consisted in filling up the water reservoir in the drinking water system with drinking water delivered in trucks. This is not considered a sustainable solution to the problem and a transmission pipe connecting Hurva to the regional drinking water system has been suggested. This project is written in collaboration with VA SYD, the joint municipal authority in Hurva, and consisted of two main objectives. The first objective was to examine the possibilities of implementation of a circular wastewater system in Hurva from a process technical and health and safety point of view. The second objective was to estimate the waterbalance in the system to make sure that there was enough water for a circular water system. According to the calculations regarding the waterbalance estimation there has been enough water in the system every month of the period January 2018-December 2019 with exception for June 2018 which was a month with extreme droughts in Sweden. The results indicates that there is a risk for water shortage in the system although this is probably not the case for months with normal conditions. Two possible treatment chains was designed, based on the requirement that they should have the capacity to treat the wastewater from Hurva WWTP into drinking water quality. The first chain, treatment chain 1 consisted of ultrafiltration, reversed osmosis, granular activated carbon, pH/hardness adjustment and UV treatment. The second chain, treatment chain 2, consisted of ultrafiltration, ozonation, granular activated carbon and UV treatment. / Under de senaste åren har både Sverige och övriga Europa upplevt perioder av torka till följd av varma somrar med lite nederbörd. För byar som förses av dricksvatten från vattenverk med grundvatten som råvattenkälla kan torka leda till stora problem om grundvattenreservoaren blir påverkad. En by som förses med dricksvatten från ett grundvattenverk och som stött på problem gällande dricksvattenproduktionen under de senaste åren är Hurva, som är beläget utanför Eslöv i Skåne och har en befolkning på strax under 400 personer. Problemen har bestått i att det inte alltid funnits tillräckligt mycket vatten i grundvattenmagasinet. Vid dessa tillfällen har lösningen varit att fylla på drickvattenreservoaren med dricksvatten transporterat i lastbilar från ett annat vattenverk. Detta anses inte som en hållbar lösning och ett förslag har lagts fram om att koppla på Hurva till det regionala dricksvattennätet med hjälp av en överföringsledning. Detta projekt har utförts i samarbete med VA SYD, som är VA-huvudman i Hurva. Projektets syfte var att undersöka möjligheterna till att implementera ett cirkulärt dricksvattsystem med avloppsvatten som primär råvattenkälla i Hurva utifrån två huvudaspekter. Den första delen av projektet handlade om att beräkna vattenbalansen i systemet för att underöka om det finns tillräckligt med vatten. I den andra delen undersöktes möjligheterna till att implementera ett cirkulärt vattenverk i Hurva utifrån processtekniska aspekter samt hälso- och säkerhetsaspekter. Enligt beräkningar av vattenbalans har det funnits tillräckligt mycket vatten i systemet för alla månader mellan januari 2018 och december 2019 med undantag för juni 2018, vilket var ett extremt torrt år i Sverige. Utifrån resultaten kan slutsatsen dras att under normala år har det funnits tillräckligt mycket vatten för att kunna implementera ett cirkulärt dricksvattensystem men att det föreligger en viss risk för vattenbrist i torra perioder. Två möjliga vattenverk, i rapporen kallade treatment chain 1 och treatment chain 2, togs fram. Båda verken designades för att uppfylla kravet om att ha kapacitet att rena avloppsvattnet från Huvas reningsverk till dricksvattenkvalitet. Treatment chain 1 bestod av följande 5 behandlingssteg: ulftrafiltrering, omvänd osmos, granulärt aktivt kol, hårdhet+pH justering och UV disinfektion. För treatment chain 2 valdes följande 4 behandlingssteg: ulftrafiltrering, ozonering, granulärt aktivt kol och UV disinfektion.

Low pH zones in portions of the overburden at the Dave Johnston Coal Field, Converse County, Wyoming are the subject of this study. The low pH zones are restricted to limonite stained sandstones which grade downdip into normal pH gray sandstones. Changes in color, clay mineralogy, cementation and feldspar surface textures are noted between the two sandstone units. These changes appear to be the result of post depositional alteration that was responsible for oxidation of pyrite and chlorite, dissoluion of calcite, and the etching of feldspar grains. The parameters for the diagenesis fit those of uranium roll front models proposed for the Powder River Basin. The alteration appears responsible for the low pH values reported in the yellow sandstone. Research by the North Dakota Geological Survey on similar problems associated with lignite mines in North Dakota suggests reclamation procedures for dealing with these potentially hazardous overburden spoils.

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In this dissertation I study the benefits that machine learning can bring to problems of Sustainable Development in the field of hydrology. Specifically, in Chapter 1 I investigate how predictable groundwater depletion is across India and to what extent we can learn from the model’s predictions about underlying drivers. In Chapter 2, I joined a competition to predict the amount of water in snow in the western United States using satellite imagery and convolutional neural networks. Lastly, in Chapter 3 I examine how cloud cover impacts the machine learning model’s predictions and explore how cloudiness impacts the successes and limitation of the popular uncertainty quantification method known as Monte Carlo dropout. Food production in many parts of the world relies on groundwater resources. In many regions, groundwater levels are declining due to a combination of anthropogenic abstraction, localized meteorological and geological characteristics, and climate change. Groundwater in India is characteristic of this global trend, with an agricultural sector that is highly dependent on groundwater and increasingly threatened by abstraction far in excess of recharge. The complexity of inputs makes groundwater depletion highly heterogeneous across space and time. However, modeling this heterogeneity has thus far proven difficult. In Chapter 1 using random forest models and high-resolution feature importance methods, we demonstrate a recent shift in the predictors of groundwater depletion in India and show an improved ability to make predictions at the district-level across seasons. We find that, as groundwater depletion begins to accelerate across India, deep-well irrigation use becomes 250% more important from 1996-2014, becoming the most important predictor of depletion in the majority of districts in northern and central India. At the same time, even many of the districts that show gains in groundwater levels show an increasing importance of deep irrigation. Analysis shows widespread decreases in crop yields per unit of irrigation over our time period, suggesting decreasing marginal returns for the largely increasing quantities of groundwater irrigation used. Because anthropogenic and natural drivers of groundwater recharge are highly localized, understanding the relationship between multiple variables across space and time is inferentially challenging, yet extremely important. Our granular, district-focused models of groundwater depletion rates can inform decision-making across diverse hydrological conditions and water use needs across space, time, and groups of constituents. In Chapter 2 I reflect on competing in the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s snow water equivalent prediction competition (Snowcast Showdown). This project was a joint effort with Isabella Smythe and we ended the competition scoring roughly 45th out of over 1000 teams on the public leaderboard. In this chapter I outline our approach and discuss the competition format, model building, and examine alternative approaches taken by other competitors. Similarly I consider the success and limitations of our own satellite-based approach and consider future improvements to iterate upon our model. In Chapter 3 I study the black-box deep learning model built on MODIS imagery to estimate snow water equivalent (SWE) made for the competition discussed in Chapter 2. Specifically, I here investigate a major component of uncertainty in my remotely-sensed images: cloud cover which completely disrupts viewing of the surface in the visible spectrum. To understand the impact of cloud-driven missingness, I document how and where clouds occur in the dataset. I then use Monte Carlo dropout - a popular method of quantifying uncertainty in deep learning models - to learn how well the method captures the aleatoric errors unique to remote sensing with cloud cover. Next, I investigate how the underlying filters of the convolutional neural network appear using the guided backprop technique and draw conclusions regarding what features in the images the model was using to make its predictions. Lastly, I investigate what forms of validation best estimated the true generalization error in Chapter 2 using ordinary least squares (OLS) and the elastic-net technique. These three chapters show that machine learning has an important place in the future of hydrology, however the tools that it brings are still difficult to interpret. Moreover, future work is still needed to bring these predictive advancements to scientific standards of understanding. This said, the increases to accuracy brought by the new techniques can currently make a difference to people’s lives who will face greater water scarcity as climate change accelerates.

Asphalt and concrete reclamation machines are used to cut roadways when a repair is required. The performance of these machines can affect the quality of road repairs, and cost/profitability for both contractors and governments. We believe that several performance characteristics in reclamation machines are governed by the placement and pattern of cutting picks on the cutter head. Previous studies, focused on mining and excavation applications, have shown strong correlation between placement and wear. The following study employs a screening experiment (observational study) to find significant contributors to tool wear, in applications of asphalt milling or reclamation. We have found that picks fail by two primary modes: tip breakage, and body abrasive wear. Results indicate that the circumferential spacing of a bit, relative to neighboring bits, has the strongest effect on tip breakage. We have also shown that bit skew angle has a large positive effect on body abrasive wear.

The purpose of this research was to determine the effect of full-depth reclamation (FDR) on the strength and durability of aggregate base layers in a coordinated approach involving both field and laboratory testing. Field comparisons between the pre-reclamation neat base and post-reclamation blended base were supplemented with laboratory experiments conducted to determine the effects of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) content, compaction effort, and heating on the strength and durability of roadways reconstructed using FDR with a portable asphalt recycling machine (PARM). Also, the effect of reclamation on the spatial uniformity of the pavement structures was explored by comparing variability in the pre- and post-reclamation material properties. Test sites in Orem, Utah; San Marcos, Texas; and South Jordan, Utah, were selected for this research. The results of field testing indicate that the FDR process significantly increased the stiffness and/or strength of the base material at two of the test locations and did not significantly change the third base material. An evaluation of spatial variability indicated that the FDR process produced equivalent or lower spatial variability with respect to both base modulus and California bearing ratio (CBR) values at one site, while the other two sites exhibited equivalent or higher spatial variability after FDR. The results of laboratory testing for all three locations indicate that specimens compacted using the modified Proctor method exhibit significantly higher CBR values and dry densities than specimens compacted using the standard Proctor method. Also, the CBR values for specimens tested in the dry condition were significantly higher than those obtained from specimens tested at optimum moisture content. These results demonstrate the value of achieving a high level of compaction during construction and preventing water ingress into the pavement over time. The blended material exhibited a significantly lower CBR value than that of the neat material at only one location; the addition of RAP to materials at the other locations did not significantly change the CBR values of those materials. In the tube suction test (TST), most of the specimens were classified as marginally or highly moisture-susceptible, and the effect of RAP on the dielectric value in the TST was of no practical importance. The use of PARMs in the FDR process is an acceptable, economical, and environmentally friendly approach to reconstruction of flexible pavements. To ensure satisfactory performance of FDR projects, engineers and managers should carefully follow recommended guidelines for project selection, pavement testing, material characterization, design, construction, and quality assurance testing.

The objective of this research was to analyze the strength and deformation characteristics of a cement-treated base (CTB) constructed using full-depth reclamation, microcracked, and then surfaced with a single chip seal. In this field study, strength characteristics of the CTB layer were determined at the time of construction, and then both strength and deformation characteristics were evaluated after 9 months of low-volume, heavy truck traffic. After 9 months, observed distresses included transverse cracking, rutting, and chip seal joint failure. The loss of the chip seal was caused by poor chip seal construction practices and not a deficiency in the CTB layer. The importance of the role of the chip seal as a wearing course was made evident by these failures since the exposed CTB often exhibited material loss. The average ride qualities in and out of the wheel path were in the fair ride category; the roughness was not likely caused by trafficking but probably resulted from construction or climatic factors. Structural testing performed after 9 months of service indicated that the CTB stiffness and modulus were greater than the values measured after microcracking at the time of construction, indicating continued strength gain. However, trafficking over the 9-month period had caused significantly lower stiffnesses measured in the wheel paths than between the wheel paths. The average unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of the cores tested at 9 months was not significantly different than the average UCS of the field-compacted specimens tested at 6 weeks. Based on the observed performance of the CTB and chip seal evaluated in this research, recommendations for improved CTB performance include the use of a thicker and/or stiffer CTB layer, ensuring a smooth CTB surface during construction, and application of a double chip seal or equivalent.