The sole purpose of every form of visual representation is to make something look believable. Even among abstract or conceptual representation, the purpose is to create something that within the defined visual language the audience will consider believable and accepted. In the field of computer generated representation there are numerous visual languages that have been developed throughout the years, attempting to solve different visualization or artistic problems. This thesis presents an alternative light transfer model for participating media focused on the intuitive control of the illumination data and the artistic value of the resulting image. The purpose is not focused on accurately modeling lights physical behavior and its interaction with the surfaces and elements. My thesis describes an artistic approach which aims to offer an organic and intuitive control of the glow and temperature of the effects of participating media and direct the value and hues through the surfaces. The system described in the thesis approximates light transfer through a given volume by calculating light contribution in the volume with discreet sampling and subsequently gathering these values to determine the diffuse scattering contribution for the volume. I will also discuss the assumptions made to allow such approximations, as well as how the intuitive control offered by the approach and these approximations allow new forms or representation and artistic direction.

Ethanol is used as fuel in neat form in some countries (Brazil and India) or blended with gasoline (Europe, Canada and the United States). The benefits of ethanol use include octane enhancement, a cleaner environment and a secure renewable energy supply. BTEX compounds (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, m-xylene, p-xylene and o-xylene) are aromatic hydrocarbons present in gasoline. The fate of these compounds in the environment is of great health concern due to their carcinogenic (benzene) and toxic properties, and due to their high solubility in water compared to the other gasoline hydrocarbons. Ethanol present in gasoline may affect BTEX degradation, in an event of a spill into the subsurface environment. To address the effects of ethanol on subsurface microorganisms, microbial activity and growth in the presence of ethanol (concentrations ranging 0 to 70% v/v) were assessed. Microcosms studies showed that ethanol at concentration ranging 0. 5 to3% (v/v) enhanced microbial activity and did not interfere inmicrobial growth at 10oC temperature, when another source of carbon was present (glucose). Ethanol at 0. 5% concentration enhanced microbial activity over water soluble gasoline components and R2A medium combined. Both microbialactivity and growth were not detected at ethanol concentrations equal and above 5%. Biodegradation study was conducted, in which subsurface material and ground water were exposed to BTEX and ethanol at 0. 5 and 1. 5% (v/v) concentration. The controls had BTEX alone and ethanol alone, sterile and nutrient-free. Total BTEX degradation was observed whenever ethanol was absent. Ethanol and BTEX were simultaneously degraded, however in microcosms containing 0. 5% ethanol, BTEX degradation was slowed, compared to microcosms without ethanol. Competition for inorganic nutrients was the major problem in slowed BTEX degradation in the presence of ethanol. In microcosms where 1. 5% ethanol was present, BTEX compounds and ethanol degradation were not observed.

Thermal stream loadings from both natural and anthropogenic sources have significant relevance with respect to ecosystem health and water resources management, particularly in the context of future climate change. In recent years, there has been an increase in field-based research directed towards characterizing thermal energy transport exchange processes that occur at the surface water/groundwater interface of streams. In spite of this effort, relatively little work has been performed to simulate these exchanges and elucidate their roles in mediating surface water temperatures and to simultaneously take into account all the pertinent hydrological, meteorological and surface/variably-saturated subsurface processes. To address this issue, HydroGeoSphere, a fully-integrated surface/subsurface flow and transport model, was enhanced to include fully-integrated thermal energy transport. HydroGeoSphere can simulate water flow, evapotranspiration, and advective-dispersive heat and solute transport over the 2D land surface and water flow and heat and solute transport in 3D subsurface variably-saturated conditions. In this work, the new thermal capabilities of HydroGeoSphere are tested and verified by comparing HydroGeoSphere simulation results to those from a previous subsurface thermal groundwater injection study, and also by simulating an example of atmospheric thermal energy exchange. A proof of concept simulation is also presented which illustrates the ability of HydroGeoSphere to simulate fully-integrated surface/subsurface thermal energy transport. High-resolution 3D numerical simulations of a well-characterized reach of the Pine River in Ontario, Canada are also presented to demonstrate steady-state thermal energy transport in an atmosphere-groundwater-surface water system. The HydroGeoSphere simulation successfully matched the spatial variations in the thermal patterns observed in the river bed, the surface water and the groundwater. Transient simulations of the high-resolution Pine River domain are also presented. Diurnal atmospheric conditions were incorporated to illustrate the importance of fluctuations in atmospheric parameters on the entire hydrologic regime. The diurnal atmospheric input fluxes were found to not only change the temperatures of the surface and subsurface throughout the cycle, but also the magnitude and direction of the transfer of thermal energy between the surface and subsurface. Precipitation events were also simulated for the Pine River domain using three different rainfall rates. The surface temperatures responded quickly to the rainfall events, whereas the subsurface temperatures were slower to respond in regions where infiltration was not significant. A thermal energy signal from the precipitation event was evident in the subsurface, and dissipated once the rainfall ceased. This indicates that temperature can potentially be used as a tracer for hydrograph separation. The potential of a thermal energy tracer for hydrograph separation was investigated using HydroGeoSphere simulations of the Borden rainfall-runoff experiment. These results matched both measured and previous simulation results using a bromide tracer. The hydrograph separation results from the thermal energy tracer were sensitive to temperature conditions in the subsurface, although this sensitivity reduced considerably when the precipitation event and subsurface temperatures were significantly different. The contribution of each atmospheric component to thermal energy transport was investigated using the Pine River and Borden examples. Each atmospheric component was individually neglected from the simulation of both sites to investigate their impact on thermal energy transport. The results show that longwave radiation dominates the atmospheric inputs for the Borden example, whereas shortwave radiation dominates in the Pine River example. This indicates that the atmospheric contributions to the thermal energy distribution are site-specific and cannot be generalized. In addition, these results indicate that the atmospheric contributions should not be ignored; measuring atmospheric data in the field is an important component in developing an accurate thermal energy transport model. The addition of thermal energy transport to HydroGeoSphere provides a valuable tool for investigating the impact of anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic changes to the atmospheric and hydrological thermal energy system. This computational framework can be used to provide quantitative guidance towards establishing the conditions needed to maintain a healthy ecosystem.

Riparian zones (RZ) are known to act as buffers, reducing the transfer of potentially harmful nutrients from agricultural fields to surface water bodies. However, many of the same processes in the subsurface that help to reduce this nutrient loading, may also be leading to greenhouse gas (GHG) production and emissions from these areas. Agricultural riparian zones in Southern Ontario are often characterized by a sloped topography, with the highest topographic position being closest to the field edge, decreasing towards an adjacent stream or other surface water body. This topographic variability, combined with lateral chemical inputs from both upland areas and the stream, is expected to cause variable hydrochemical environments throughout the RZ, which may therefore lead to variable N2O dynamics between upland, mid-riparian and lowland areas. The objectives of this study were to examine these spatial trends in N2O production and resulting emissions, as related to the hydrochemical environment in these three distinct zones. Objectives were achieved by instrumenting 6 sites across two transects running perpendicular from the agricultural field edge, towards the stream edge, analyzing for subsurface N2O, moisture and temperature, groundwater NO3, NH4, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), dissolved oxygen, and surface fluxes of N2O. Subsurface N2O concentrations and ground water nutrient concentrations displayed distinct spatial and temporal/seasonal trends in the three positions across the RZ, however N2O fluxes across the soil-atmosphere interface did not display strong or consistent spatial trends. There was a disconnect between the subsurface variables and the fluxes at the surface, in that N2O emissions did not reflect the N2O concentrations produced in the shallow soil profile (150 cm deep), nor were they significantly related to the geochemical environment at each position. The lack of visible spatial trends in N2O fluxes may have been due to an “oxic blanket” effect which may divide the surface from the subsurface soil profile. As N2O fluxes in this study (-0.28 to 1.3 nmol m-2 s-1) were within the range observed at other, similar study sites, the oxic blanket doesn’t appear to impede concentrations of N2O reaching the soil-atmosphere interface. This may suggest that the N2O released as a flux was being produced in the very shallow soil profile (0 – 5 cm), above the soil gas profile arrays installed at this site. Subsurface concentrations of N2O were fairly high at certain depths and times, which was not reflected in the fluxes. This may have resulted from nitrifier denitrification reducing N2O to N2 before it reached the surface, in aerobic zones above the water table. Another potential reason for the lack of connection between subsurface processes and surface emissions was the high heterogeneity observed across the RZ, which may have overshadowed potential differences between positions. Physical soil properties like porosity and bulk density across the RZ also potentially impacted the N2O movement through the soil profile, resulting in similar fluxes among positions, and over time. The missing connection between subsurface N2O concentrations, ground water nutrients, and the surface fluxes was not a hypothesized result, and requires further research and analysis for a better understanding of the production and consequent movement of N2O.

Ethanol is used as fuel in neat form in some countries (Brazil and India) or blended with gasoline (Europe, Canada and the United States). The benefits of ethanol use include octane enhancement, a cleaner environment and a secure renewable energy supply. BTEX compounds (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, m-xylene, p-xylene and o-xylene) are aromatic hydrocarbons present in gasoline. The fate of these compounds in the environment is of great health concern due to their carcinogenic (benzene) and toxic properties, and due to their high solubility in water compared to the other gasoline hydrocarbons. Ethanol present in gasoline may affect BTEX degradation, in an event of a spill into the subsurface environment. To address the effects of ethanol on subsurface microorganisms, microbial activity and growth in the presence of ethanol (concentrations ranging 0 to 70% v/v) were assessed. Microcosms studies showed that ethanol at concentration ranging 0. 5 to3% (v/v) enhanced microbial activity and did not interfere inmicrobial growth at 10oC temperature, when another source of carbon was present (glucose). Ethanol at 0. 5% concentration enhanced microbial activity over water soluble gasoline components and R2A medium combined. Both microbialactivity and growth were not detected at ethanol concentrations equal and above 5%. Biodegradation study was conducted, in which subsurface material and ground water were exposed to BTEX and ethanol at 0. 5 and 1. 5% (v/v) concentration. The controls had BTEX alone and ethanol alone, sterile and nutrient-free. Total BTEX degradation was observed whenever ethanol was absent. Ethanol and BTEX were simultaneously degraded, however in microcosms containing 0. 5% ethanol, BTEX degradation was slowed, compared to microcosms without ethanol. Competition for inorganic nutrients was the major problem in slowed BTEX degradation in the presence of ethanol. In microcosms where 1. 5% ethanol was present, BTEX compounds and ethanol degradation were not observed.

Thermal stream loadings from both natural and anthropogenic sources have significant relevance with respect to ecosystem health and water resources management, particularly in the context of future climate change. In recent years, there has been an increase in field-based research directed towards characterizing thermal energy transport exchange processes that occur at the surface water/groundwater interface of streams. In spite of this effort, relatively little work has been performed to simulate these exchanges and elucidate their roles in mediating surface water temperatures and to simultaneously take into account all the pertinent hydrological, meteorological and surface/variably-saturated subsurface processes. To address this issue, HydroGeoSphere, a fully-integrated surface/subsurface flow and transport model, was enhanced to include fully-integrated thermal energy transport. HydroGeoSphere can simulate water flow, evapotranspiration, and advective-dispersive heat and solute transport over the 2D land surface and water flow and heat and solute transport in 3D subsurface variably-saturated conditions. In this work, the new thermal capabilities of HydroGeoSphere are tested and verified by comparing HydroGeoSphere simulation results to those from a previous subsurface thermal groundwater injection study, and also by simulating an example of atmospheric thermal energy exchange. A proof of concept simulation is also presented which illustrates the ability of HydroGeoSphere to simulate fully-integrated surface/subsurface thermal energy transport. High-resolution 3D numerical simulations of a well-characterized reach of the Pine River in Ontario, Canada are also presented to demonstrate steady-state thermal energy transport in an atmosphere-groundwater-surface water system. The HydroGeoSphere simulation successfully matched the spatial variations in the thermal patterns observed in the river bed, the surface water and the groundwater. Transient simulations of the high-resolution Pine River domain are also presented. Diurnal atmospheric conditions were incorporated to illustrate the importance of fluctuations in atmospheric parameters on the entire hydrologic regime. The diurnal atmospheric input fluxes were found to not only change the temperatures of the surface and subsurface throughout the cycle, but also the magnitude and direction of the transfer of thermal energy between the surface and subsurface. Precipitation events were also simulated for the Pine River domain using three different rainfall rates. The surface temperatures responded quickly to the rainfall events, whereas the subsurface temperatures were slower to respond in regions where infiltration was not significant. A thermal energy signal from the precipitation event was evident in the subsurface, and dissipated once the rainfall ceased. This indicates that temperature can potentially be used as a tracer for hydrograph separation. The potential of a thermal energy tracer for hydrograph separation was investigated using HydroGeoSphere simulations of the Borden rainfall-runoff experiment. These results matched both measured and previous simulation results using a bromide tracer. The hydrograph separation results from the thermal energy tracer were sensitive to temperature conditions in the subsurface, although this sensitivity reduced considerably when the precipitation event and subsurface temperatures were significantly different. The contribution of each atmospheric component to thermal energy transport was investigated using the Pine River and Borden examples. Each atmospheric component was individually neglected from the simulation of both sites to investigate their impact on thermal energy transport. The results show that longwave radiation dominates the atmospheric inputs for the Borden example, whereas shortwave radiation dominates in the Pine River example. This indicates that the atmospheric contributions to the thermal energy distribution are site-specific and cannot be generalized. In addition, these results indicate that the atmospheric contributions should not be ignored; measuring atmospheric data in the field is an important component in developing an accurate thermal energy transport model. The addition of thermal energy transport to HydroGeoSphere provides a valuable tool for investigating the impact of anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic changes to the atmospheric and hydrological thermal energy system. This computational framework can be used to provide quantitative guidance towards establishing the conditions needed to maintain a healthy ecosystem.

Riparian zones (RZ) are known to act as buffers, reducing the transfer of potentially harmful nutrients from agricultural fields to surface water bodies. However, many of the same processes in the subsurface that help to reduce this nutrient loading, may also be leading to greenhouse gas (GHG) production and emissions from these areas. Agricultural riparian zones in Southern Ontario are often characterized by a sloped topography, with the highest topographic position being closest to the field edge, decreasing towards an adjacent stream or other surface water body. This topographic variability, combined with lateral chemical inputs from both upland areas and the stream, is expected to cause variable hydrochemical environments throughout the RZ, which may therefore lead to variable N2O dynamics between upland, mid-riparian and lowland areas. The objectives of this study were to examine these spatial trends in N2O production and resulting emissions, as related to the hydrochemical environment in these three distinct zones. Objectives were achieved by instrumenting 6 sites across two transects running perpendicular from the agricultural field edge, towards the stream edge, analyzing for subsurface N2O, moisture and temperature, groundwater NO3, NH4, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), dissolved oxygen, and surface fluxes of N2O. Subsurface N2O concentrations and ground water nutrient concentrations displayed distinct spatial and temporal/seasonal trends in the three positions across the RZ, however N2O fluxes across the soil-atmosphere interface did not display strong or consistent spatial trends. There was a disconnect between the subsurface variables and the fluxes at the surface, in that N2O emissions did not reflect the N2O concentrations produced in the shallow soil profile (150 cm deep), nor were they significantly related to the geochemical environment at each position. The lack of visible spatial trends in N2O fluxes may have been due to an “oxic blanket” effect which may divide the surface from the subsurface soil profile. As N2O fluxes in this study (-0.28 to 1.3 nmol m-2 s-1) were within the range observed at other, similar study sites, the oxic blanket doesn’t appear to impede concentrations of N2O reaching the soil-atmosphere interface. This may suggest that the N2O released as a flux was being produced in the very shallow soil profile (0 – 5 cm), above the soil gas profile arrays installed at this site. Subsurface concentrations of N2O were fairly high at certain depths and times, which was not reflected in the fluxes. This may have resulted from nitrifier denitrification reducing N2O to N2 before it reached the surface, in aerobic zones above the water table. Another potential reason for the lack of connection between subsurface processes and surface emissions was the high heterogeneity observed across the RZ, which may have overshadowed potential differences between positions. Physical soil properties like porosity and bulk density across the RZ also potentially impacted the N2O movement through the soil profile, resulting in similar fluxes among positions, and over time. The missing connection between subsurface N2O concentrations, ground water nutrients, and the surface fluxes was not a hypothesized result, and requires further research and analysis for a better understanding of the production and consequent movement of N2O.

Estuarine wetlands and salt marshes are fundamentally driven by variations in freshwater inflow. In semi-arid salt marshes, such as the Nueces River Delta, TX, the stochastic nature of freshwater inflow events exposes resident organisms to a wide range of environmental conditions. In this study, we investigate (1) the relative importance of environmental variables on porewater salinity and (2) determination of freshwater inflow needs based on the response of emergent plants to salinity variations. Porewater salinity variations were tracked on a continuous basis with deployed conductivity sensors and on a synoptic basis with soil water extracts. We found that spatial patterns of porewater salinity were characterized by a high degree of variability in creekbank areas (23.8 ± 7.68) relative to interior marsh areas (44.2 ± 3.4). Our observations were used to test a simple model capable of predicting porewater salinities based on environmental variables. Both empirical measurements and model simulations indicated that semiannual tides play a critical role in controlling porewater flushing from precipitation and freshwater inflow events. Estimation of freshwater inflow needs for the Nueces Delta proceeded in two steps. First, we examined the response of three common emergent plants species (Borrichia frutescens, Spartina alterniflora, and Salicornia virginica) to variations in salinity. The abundance of one species in particular (S. alterniflora) was tightly coupled to salinity variations whereby salinities exceeding 25 ± 5 resulted in dramatic declines in coverage. Next, the relationship between freshwater inflow and porewater salinity was examined with respect to the salinity “tolerance” of S. alterniflora. Estimated inflow needs based on maintenance of substantial (> 20%) S. alterniflora coverage was comparable to both previous inflow needs estimates and mean annual inflows observed over the course of the study. The results of this study suggest that S. alterniflora abundance provides a reliable indicator of overall estuarine hydrological condition in the Nueces Delta. / text

A computer simulation model, LINKFLOW, has been developed to simulate the movement of water during various water table management practices, such as subsurface drainage, controlled drainage and subirrigation. Water movement is simulated to, or from, a buried tile drainage system through a heterogeneous and anisotropic soil to a zone of water extraction by plant roots and the atmosphere. The computer package links a newly-developed one-dimensional unsaturated ground water flow model to a three-dimensional saturated water flow model that was modified for the linkage and for simulating water flow under different water table management systems and varying climatic conditions. The movement of water is determined for a region of the field and the model can show the effectiveness of a water table management scheme to meet moisture conditions for crop growth for a wide range of soil, topographical, drain layout and weather conditions. LINKFLOW was validated and verified with measurements on subsurface drainage, controlled drainage and subirrigation systems in a corn field in southwestern Quebec. The model provides a powerful tool for the design and evaluation of water table management systems, and it can assist in developing control strategies for efficient management of water resources. LINKFLOW is unique among soil water models for the following features: (1) it can be used to simulate with varying topography; (2) it determines 3-D flows from drains in a heterogeneous, anisotropic soil; (3) it presents results in tabular format, contour map format, or 3-D surface format; and (4) it contains software routines for automated control in subirrigation. The formation of the conceptual model, numerical relations, methods of solution, validation, field verification and examples are presented.

A major challenge facing agriculture is to improve water use and minimize environmental impact while increasing productivity levels. This study, carried out in Winkler, Manitoba, tested four water management treatments: no drainage and no irrigation (NDNI as control), no drainage with overhead irrigation (NDIR), free drainage with overhead irrigation (FDIR), and controlled drainage with subirrigation (CDSI). Each treatment was replicated in three plots during two growing seasons in 2010 and 2011. The monitored variables included soil moisture content, water table depth variation, drainage outflow volume and quality, weather parameters, and agronomic indices. In 2010, yields were 8.48 (NDNI), 10.36 (NDIR), 10.10 (FDIR), and 9.22(CDSI) Mg ha-1 with only the mean yield difference for the NDIR and the CDSI treatments being statistically significant (p = 0.014). In 2011, yields were 9.25 (NDNI), 10.47 (NDIR), 11.28 (FDIR), and 9.49 (CDSI) Mg ha-1 with no statistically significant differences in yield. In 2010, the exports of NO3-N (138 kg ha-1), PO4-P (0.6 kg ha-1) and salts (2.34 Mg ha-1) from the FDIR treatment were significantly larger (p <0.05) than exports from CDSI, which were 0.07 kg ha-1, 0.08 kg ha-1, and 0.41 Mg ha-1, respectively. In 2011, the exports of NO3-N (36 kg ha-1), PO4-P (0.27 kg ha-1), and salts (1.1 Mg ha-1) from FDIR were significantly larger (p < 0.05) than the exports from CDSI which were 10 kg ha-1, 0.08 kg ha-1, and 0.39 Mg ha-1, respectively. These results indicate that irrigation was the main factor driving corn yields under the conditions prevailing in the Canadian Prairies, while subsurface drainage had a beneficial impact when the beginning of the season was wet. Also, this study showed the advantage of controlled drainage over free drainage in reducing the nutrients and salt exports.