This thesis includes twenty landscape paintings, primarily oil on canvas, inspired by a trip to the Hell's Canyon Country of the Snake River. The search for a personal idiom necessitated introspection, and the visual interpretation of the recalled experience required that formal issues of painting be synthesized to communicate the essential response to the landscape. The images progress from the depiction of deep space to compositions of the component parts of the landscape: trees, water, and rock.

Groundwater temperature data, collected at an alluvial terrace located on the Oregon shore of the Columbia River downstream from Bonneville Darn, was analyzed in order to characterize and formulate a conceptual model of the thermal data for the groundwater system in the terrace. There is concern that an unlined entrance channel for a new navigation lock, to be located down the middle of the terrace, will widen the range of temperatures in the fish hatchery-groundwater supply. The analysis of temperature behavior in the terrace supports the hydraulic observations derived from analysis of pump test data, but with greater definition of the more subtle behavior of the groundwater system not readily discernible in the pump test data. The thermal behavior of the terrace groundwater system is governed by: 1) the stratigraphy of the terrace, 2) its groundwater recharge characteristics, 3) thermal influence from the Columbia River, and 4) stress placed on the aquifer system due to pumping of fish hatchery wells located in the terrace.

Water waves generated by wind and ships; ebb tidal currents; water level fluctuations; and dredging impact sediment transport in shallow water of the lower Columbia River. Observations were made over a one-year period after sand dredged from the navigation channel was placed at three study sites in the Puget Island region, 46°15'N 123°25'W, Oregon and Washington. Sediment composition is fine to medium grained, low density dacitic volcanics with small percentages of pumice, heavy minerals, and basalt.

Fluvial adjustment to base level change has its roots in the fundamental concepts of geomorphology. This thesis explores the rate of erosion and sedimentation on the Colorado and Dirty Devil rivers and North Wash Creek under the current base level changes related to the drawdown conditions of Lake Powell. Through cross section and long profile resurveys, the current state of each system is captured and added to the historic record of sedimentation in Lake Powell. All three systems are generally forming narrow and deep incised channels driven by the rapid rate of base level fall. Cross sections that deviate from this are due to site-specific factors, such as channel armoring, the presence of local base levels, or bedrock canyon width in relation to active channel width. In all systems, sediment is being transported through the establishing fluvial regime and is deposited at or below the new base level. This has caused rapid downstream progradation of each delta front. The volume of sediment accumulation and erosion and rates through time are calculated for each system. Deposit volume is proportional to each systems drainage basin area, as are the rates and magnitudes of deposition and erosion. The percentage of sediment eroded versus deposited shows an inverse relationship, with North Wash eroding the greatest percentage of its delta. Field observations and repeat photography on the distribution, orientation, and activity of lateral slumping and mud cracks identify that thick beds of fine-grained and cohesive silts and clays are necessary for these features to form. These features act to destabilize sediment and, in the case of bank failure, deliver it directly to the channel.

Thesis (D.W.S.)--Institute for Worship Studies, 2005. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 150-157).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, 1987. / Includes 1 pamphlet attached to leaf 197 and 1 folded tract attached to leaf 204. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 131-137).

The Walla Walla basin lies in an arid region of Eastern Washington and Oregon. A large portion of the area is devoted to agricultural production, relying on irrigation water diverted from the Walla Walla River and underlying aquifers occurring within Quaternary and Mio-pliocene era gravel deposits, as well as a supplemental source from the Columbia River Basalt formation. Heavy water demand over summer months has resulted in a fully allocated surface water supply and significant drawdown in groundwater levels. The Walla Walla River also hosts two salmonid species listed as threatened under the endangered species act and entitled to federal protection. Specific questions have emerged regarding regional water supply as stakeholders work towards management strategies that meet water user demands, well also addressing concerns such as groundwater depletion and fish habitat. Currently, there are proposals aimed at increasing water use efficiency such as the lining of permeable canal beds and the expansion of a shallow aquifer recharge program. Effective implementation of such strategies, in part, relies on understanding the interactions between surface water and groundwater within this region. This project used the distributed hydrologic model, Integrated Water Flow Model (IWFM), for simulating surface and subsurface flows over a portion of the Walla Walla River basin spanning from Milton Freewater, Oregon to west of Touchet, Washington. This application of IWFM uses a grid with an average spacing of 100 x 100 meters over the 230 square kilometer model area. The model was developed and calibrated using data from 2007 through 2009, with 2010 data to be used as a data set for validation. Data collection has been a collaborative effort between a research team from Oregon State University and the Walla Walla Basin Watershed Council (WWBWC). This thesis provides explanation and documentation of model development. This includes details of data collection and processing for groundwater and surface water conditions, estimation of initial and boundary conditions, parameter calibration, model validation, and error analysis. Data sources include federal and state agencies, a gauge network managed by the WWBWC, and geologic research primarily performed by Kevin Lindsey of GSI Water Solutions with support of the WWBWC. Parameters have been independently determined from field measurements whenever possible. Otherwise they were estimated using established methods of hydrologic analysis, values drawn from previous regional studies, or the process of model calibration. Outputs include detailed hydrological budgets and hydrographs for groundwater and surface water gauges. The calibrated model has an overall correlation coefficient of 0.59 for groundwater and 0.63 for surface water. The standard deviation for groundwater is 3.2 meters at 62 well locations and surface water has a mean relative error of 22.3 percent at 34 gauges. This model intended as a tool for formulating water budgets for the basin under present conditions and making predictions of systemic responses to hypothetical water management scenarios. Scenarios of increased inputs into the Locher Road aquifer recharge site and conversion of irrigation district canals into pipelines are presented. / Graduation date: 2012

This research project focuses on the Walla Walla River Basin located on the east side of the states of Oregon and Washington, USA. With the support and collaboration of the Walla Walla Basin Watershed Council, this work embraces four research topics. The first topic includes the feasibility study of artificial aquifer recharge in the Walla Walla Basin. Through development and application of a regional hydrological model, a methodology for evaluating locations of artificial aquifer recharge is presented with a test case. The second research topic evaluates the recharge rates observed from pilot test studies of artificial aquifer recharge. Scale dependence of recharge rates should be considered when excessive induced groundwater mounding forms beneath the infiltrating basins. The third topic utilizes groundwater tracers and simulation models to evaluate the hydraulic connection of springs to infiltrating basins of artificial aquifer recharge. Finally, the fourth topic as a proof of a technique, utilizes distributed temperature sensing technology with a pair of black and white coated fiber optic cables to estimate the effective exposure to solar radiation over the Walla Walla River. / Graduation date: 2013

Graduation date: 1999

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 154-162).