Hannah Gray– Undergraduate– Spanish Literature & Wildlife Ecology
The Supplementation of Green Water in the European Alps to Mediate the Effects of Drought in Agricultural Practices
The European Alps, commonly referred to as the water towers of Europe, are the dominant source of water for numerous countries. The mountains range in a crescent shape from France to Slovenia, covering approximately 1,200 kilometers (km) and providing water to roughly 170 million inhabitants of lowland Europe. However, the European Alps have experienced several major drought events recorded from the early 1970s to current day. These droughts have led to increasing water shortages and have caused negative impacts to agricultural practices throughout the continent, leading to food insecurity and economic instability. The primary source of water used in European agriculture is blue water, or water from runoff that is retained in surface water reservoirs or groundwater. Droughts decrease blue water availability, which means water needs to be obtained from different sources. Suggested by Mastrotheodoro et al., the use of green water, or water that is stored in soil by means of evapotranspiration, is a promising solution to mediating the effects of drought in the European Alps. In this paper I examine the impacts of recent droughts and their effects on agriculture in the European Alps and how such effects can be mediated by both blue water and green water availability through the application of the agricultural water scarcity index (WSIAW). The WSIAW is an index that calculates the combined amount of blue and green water, which can be used to determine the viability of using green water to help supplement blue water use throughout south-central Europe.
Heaven Lane– Undergraduate- Environmental Science
Stream Dynamics and Erosion Associated with Logging in Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia
Logging, land clearing, and land conversion are considered to be some of the biggest threats to Borneo’s rainforests. Streams are particularly vulnerable to these land practices, especially the conversion of land into oil palm plantations, the main export commodity in the state. Forest quality at the riparian and catchment scale has diverse impacts on stream systems including changes in temperature, sediment yield, discharge, channel depth/width, and other water quality parameters. These impacts can lead to loss of biodiversity and increase the risk of downstream flooding. This paper will examine impacts that logging and conversion to oil palm has on streams in Sabah, Borneo and identify practices that have been developed to mitigate these impacts.
Briana Lewis – Undergraduate – Environmental & Resource Science
How is urbanization affecting erosional deposits and flowrates in the Las Vegas Wash, Nevada?
Urbanization has increased erosion in the Las Vegas Valley. Sun et al. (2013) examined data of erosional changes over time around the Valley and identified evidence of anthropogenic changes. Las Vegas only uses groundwater for approximately 10% of its water supply, with the remaining supply sourced from the Colorado River. Seven states in total rely on a percentage of water from the river as well. Las Vegas is only allotted about 2% of Colorado river water resources. To manage these limitations on access, Las Vegas treats and recycles wastewater, throughout the Las Vegas Wash, which will be the focus of this paper. This wash plays an important role in the local water supply. Increasing population has increased Las Vegas wastewater flowrates, causing channel erosion in the wash. Water is flowing quicker due to straightening of the channel and more incision, which in turn increases flowrates and erosion. This paper will focus on flowrates at the Las Vegas Wash in recent and previous years to determine how population increase may be producing erosion and the future availability of water for residents.
Wyatt Watson - Undergraduate - Environmental Engineering & Biology
The Impacts of Decreased Sediment Loads on the Lower Mekong River Basin
The Lancang-Mekong River is undergoing rapid alterations because of a post-1990 proliferation of dams on the tributaries as well as on the mainstem. Dams alter the sediment load of a river as water velocity is reduced causing sediment to settle in the lentic reservoir. The upper Mekong, known as the Lancang River, has been extensively dammed in China, which has reduced the river’s sediment load. In addition, the Lower Mekong River and its tributaries, which run through Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia, have many dams currently being constructed on the mainstem and tributaries and more are planned. Because these dams will store sediments from the headwaters, the sediment load reaching the delta will be further limited. In this paper I investigate the impacts these dams in the lower Mekong River Basin will have on the sediment loading of the river. Current calculations estimate the total sediment load being reduced by 51% from its historical capacity with the current dams and those under construction and under a situation where all proposed dams on the river are constructed, the sediment load has been estimated to be reduce by 96%. The implications to the basin include the potential for mobilizing downstream sediments, reducing the storage capacity of dams, and reducing the productivity of the lower basin fishery and estuary.
