Aerosols are tiny particles that serve as nuclei for cloud droplet and ice crystal formation. Increases in aerosol concentration lead to clouds with smaller but more numerous droplets. Some recent studies have found evidence that ice crystal size in deep convective clouds is also reduced by elevated aerosol concentrations. In...
Cloud reflectivity is a function of cloud liquid water content and droplet number concentration. Since cloud droplets form around pre-existing aerosol particles, cloud droplet number concentration depends on the availability of particles that can serve as cloud condensation nuclei. Given constant liquid water amount, increased availability of cloud condensation nuclei...
The Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX) had as a primary objective
determining the radiative forcing due to anthropogenic aerosols over
climatologically significant space and time scales: the Indian Ocean during the
winter monsoon, January-March. During the winter monsoon, polluted, low-level
air from the Asian subcontinent blows over the Arabian Sea and...
Advanced Very-High Resolution Radiometer 4-km data were collected over the northeast Atlantic for May-August, 1995-1999. Aerosol optical depth was retrieved in cloud-free pixels. In pixels containing clouds from only single-layered, low-level systems, a retrieval scheme that accounts for partly-cloudy pixels was used to retrieve: cloud optical depth, droplet effective radius,...
Fine and coarse particles were collected for eight weeks during the
summer of 1991, at a coastal site (Yaquina Head) and a non-industrial site
(Corvallis) in Western Oregon to characterize the aerosol composition and
evaluate whether the sites are appropriate for sampling "background" marine
air. Concentrations of up to 11...
Ship tracks have proven to be an ideal laboratory for studying the response of marine
stratocumulus to an increase in aerosol pollution. Here the response of already
polluted marine stratocumulus to further pollution was examined by studying the
clouds where two ship tracks cross. 78 crossings of ship tracks were...
One kilometer Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) observations for Terra (morning) and Aqua (afternoon) satellites were used to follow the morning to afternoon evolution of marine stratocumulus clouds that were affected by ship stack exhaust. The observations covered the summer months of 2002-2003 and August 2007 for marine layers off...
The objective of this research was to determine the feasibility of using chitosan as a natural flocculant to control turbidity during in-stream construction work. A series of field tests in Oak Creek, Corvallis, OR were conducted in order to test the effectiveness for turbidity control and the environmental impacts of...
The release of marine debris into the oceans and seas is a global issue of growing concern. These materials are harmful to marine environments and can also transport non-native species to novel habitats. Non-native species floating on marine litter is one of the lesser known impacts associated with marine debris....
The purpose of this study was to determine the significant
variables influencing the damage levels sustained by the residual
stand after skyline thinning of coniferous stands. Damage levels were
measured in ten study areas in western Oregon that had received their
first commercial thinning.
For this post-logging study, 38 units...
The objective of this study was to determine the effect that
ration formulation has on volatilization of gases and offensiveness of
the odor associated with the wastes produced from Holstein replacement
heifers. Six separate experiments were conducted to study the
relationships between different variables on the release of hydrogen
sulfide,...
The use of terbacil for weed control was adapted by a high percentage
of Oregon peppermint growers soon after its introduction in
1967. To help clarify some of the implications of terbacil usage,
three studies were undertaken to collect information concerning (a)
the movement and build-up of terbacil in various...
This paper examines the environmental factors influencing
the die-off and transport of fecal coliform bacteria
present in wastes applied to the land surface. These factors
are examined specifically for dairy waste management systems
and the net effect each system has on runoff water quality.
A model is developed that considers...
Two small adjacent watersheds on the west-central edge of the
Willamette Valley of western Oregon were studied. Information was
gathered on existing conditions to determine the suitability of the two
watersheds for a paired-watershed study design.
A soil survey was conducted using slightly modified soil series
previously established for the...
Diclofop-methyl [me yl 2-(4-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy) phenoxy) propanoate] hydrolysis, degradation, and leaching were studied in field and laboratory experiments. Greater than 75% of the applied diclofop-methyl hydrolyzed to diclofop in 2 days at 4°C, the prevailing soil temperature during western Oregon winters. Degradation beyond the diclofop molecule, also an active herbicide, was...
Research has been completed which identifies qualitatively and
quantitatively the deposition, persistence and fate of polynuclear
aromatic hydrocarbons (PNAH) on burned clear-cut sites in Oregon.
Eight PNAH were identified and quantified in post-burn litter samples
taken from four slash-burned sites. Deposition of lower
molecular weight, 3-4 ring compounds was considerably...
Dumping drilling mud from offshore drilling rigs into the
ocean could have a negative impact on the marine environment. Due
to this possible impact, the Offshore Operators Committee (OOC) has
deemed it necessary to predict the fate of drilling mud discharged
into the ocean. Through the funding of OOC and...
This report examines environmental factors influencing the die-off and transport of fecal coliform bacteria present in wastes applied to the land surface. These factors are examined specifically for dairy waste management systems and the net effect each system has on runoff water quality. A model is developed that considers the...
An experimental protocol to determine the effects of temperature and light on the dissipation of xenobiotic substances in pesticide deposits is presented. A factorial design laboratory experiment is used to develop isothermal models of the dissipation of compounds over time in authentic pesticide deposits on excised leaves arid glass microscope...
Stream buffer strips are an important tool for protecting the stream environment. This research documents the losses from 40 stream buffer strips, in the Western Cascades of Oregon, established 1 to 15 years before the study. Predictive equations are developed
which identify the major reasons for buffer strip losses. Losses...
Logging on skid trails restricted to 10 percent or less of the harvested stand can reduce the area of compacted soil by at least two-thirds, In a comparative study, productivity of Douglas-fir logs per hour was just as great In an area with designated trails as In an adjacent area...
Federal legislation requires that governmental programs be evaluated on a wide set of criteria to provide policymakers with information on the achievement or lack of achievement of goals and/or objectives. A methodology to identify and quantify measures of achievement is described. In addition, the methodology is designed to facilitate the...
The hydrophobicity of soils of the Deschutes National Forest was
studied. The soils are Cindery Typic Cryorthents, formed in cinders
and ash from Mt. Mazama. Ponderosa pine is the dominant overstory
vegetation. Of particular interest was the effect of prescribed
burning on hydrophobicity. Fire has been shown to cause a...
Groundwater contamination on irrigated land is of concern in this nation
and around the world. In order to reduce the potential of groundwater
contamination by agricultural practices such as irrigation, fertilizer and pesticide
application, vadose-zone monitoring and sampling are needed. The main
objective of this study was to evaluate impacts...
Groundwater at Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Field Research Center (FRC) is contaminated with U(VI) and Tc(VII), has pH values as low as 3.3, and nitrate concentrations as high as 120 mM. The objective of this research was to determine if in-situ bio-immobilization is a viable treatment alternative for this water....
With the increased recognition of moss as a secondary forest product has come an increased concern for the ecological ramifications of moss harvest. Three issues of primary concern are (1) characterizing the epiphyte communities impacted by harvest, (2) assessing the host preferences of these epiphytes, and (3) describing the availability...
Intragravel organic loading and intragravel dissolved oxygen were studied to determine the relationship between timber harvesting adjacent to first-, second-, and third-order streams and intragravel water quality. Twenty watersheds in the central Coast Range of western Oregon were studied of which five were undisturbed, nine were partially harvested, and six...
Amounts of natural debris in small headwater streams under old growth
stands of Douglas-fir vary from 6 1/2 tons per 100 ft. of stream
to 26 tons per 100 ft. of stream, depending on terrain and timber
characteristics and sequence in the natural accumulation-flushing
cycle. Approximately 10% of the weight...
Copper migration from treated wood has created concerns within the
environmental community because of the potential effects of this heavy
metal on aquatic organisms. Migration can be limited, to some extent, by
more controlled treatments and by post-treatment processing, but these
actions cannot completely overcome the problem. An alternative approach...
As the demands for forest products increase, additional timber harvesting operations can be expected on steep mountainous terrain, The resulting disruption of natural slope stability by man's disturbances (roadbuilding, logging and vegetative manipulation, etc.) may also accelerate mass movement processes in this terrain. Swanston (1969) defines mass movement as ".,...
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous contaminants formed from the incomplete combustion of organic material. These contaminants are of concern because of their widespread presence in the environment and toxic properties. In addition, PAHs encompass a class of diverse compounds with varying physicochemical properties and exist in the environment as...
Concern about heavy metal pollution has increased during the
past decade in which studies have shown that heavy metals are accumulating
in the environment and that these metals, in excess, are
toxic to organisms, including man. Because of this concern, scientists
have suggested the use of indigenous organisms as monitors...
Seasonal trends in water table level and soil moisture
for four plant community types within an irrigated eastern
Oregon riparian zone were described. Aboveground biomass,
species composition, litter, percent bareground and percent
basal cover of key plant species and life forms were measured.
The relationship between water table levels and...
Plastic waste in the oceans is now recognized as a serious threat to marine life and a pollution problem with economic consequences for mariners and coastal states. Annex V of MARPOL, effective December 1988, is an international treaty which prohibits signatory nations from disposing of any plastic material into the...
Research and public concern of poly and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) as environmental contaminants has increased significantly due to the increasing number of reports of their detection in humans and wildlife. PFASs have a number of commercial applications including surfactants, coatings, polymers, and levelers, which are used on consumer products like...
Impact by an idealized shipping container on a column were observed for tsunami flow in a large-scale wave flume modeled at the O.H. Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory at Oregon State University. Two specimen types, aluminum and acrylic, were tested; and each specimen was tested in two orientations, longitudinal and transverse....
The use of municipal refuse (RDF) as fuels has
received widespread attention for reason of its energy
equivalence and the increasing lack of available landfill
sites. The principal obstacle to the construction of combustion
facilities is that RDF produces toxic compounds,
including heavy metals and such organic compounds as PCDD...
The effects of deforestation and biomass burning in tropical dry forests (TDF) remain a little studied phenomenon. We quantified total aboveground biomass (TAGB), carbon and nutrient (N,S,Ca,P,K) loss under two separate fire severity scenarios; one early when the fuels were higher in moisture content, one later when the slash fuels...
Biomass burning associated with deforestation and land use in the Amazon, greatly contributes to emissions as well as depletion of elemental pools. We identified deforestation and pasture formation and quantified resultant burning emissions and terrestrial aboveground elemental pool losses during a period of early colonization in the vicinity of Jamari,...
This report is largely concerned with the toxicity of Sevin (carbaryl) and Dursban (chlorpyrifos) on aquatic organisms. "The general objective of this research is to investigate the effects of various pesticides, which might be expected or are known to occur in estuaries, on the larval and adult stages of estuarine...
Declared out of print April 2010. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog
As the growth in demand for sustainable manufacturing continues, companies must begin to make conscious design decisions with regard to the sustainability of their products. This means balancing economics of production with environmental and social performance. Thus, design and manufacturing engineers must consider economic, environmental, and social aspects simultaneously when...
The purpose of this research study was to describe and improve understanding of the meaning of institutionalized sustainability and the role that a college president plays in institutionalizing sustainability on a community college campus. The following questions guided the research: (a) What does it mean to have sustainability “institutionalized” at...
In the residential sector, wood is the predominant construction material. In the commercial sector and in mid‐rise construction, the use of wood is limited because of a multitude of reasons, including building code restrictions, the perception of wood as a structural material, fire code requirements, and lack of knowledge and...
In this thesis, in order to understand why Buddhists in Southeast Asia protect rainforests and to establish a solid foundation for Buddhist environmental ethic, my first two tasks are to draw a clear picture regarding two major environmental concepts--nature and anthropocentrism--in Buddhism and to defend the claims that the Buddhist...
he purpose of this project was to develop a scale to measure sustainable apparel consumption. This study used concept analysis to identify attributes of sustainable apparel consumption. Within an academic online database, a search for articles containing "sustainable consumption" in their titles was performed. Within each article, the attributes associated...
Current best management practices (BMPs) for stormwater treatment are not able to adequately remove heavy metals to levels which do not adversely affect aquatic life. Copper is commonly found in highway stormwater runoff, with the primary source being brake pad wear. Copper is of particular concern due to inhibitory effects...
Sediment along the western end of the Newport North Marina Jetty is free of contaminants such as metals, PAHs, pesticides, PCBs, phenols and TBT. According to guidelines developed to implement the CWA and MPRSA, the sediment is acceptable for both in-water and upland disposal.
Oregon State University conducted a series of laboratory experiments to measure and quantify the near-field wave effects caused within arrays of Wave Energy Converters (WEC). As the waves and WECs interact, the WECs generate radiated waves; these effects vary with the location within the array. Analyzing the near-field waves will...
During spring and early summer hydropower projects are often forced to spill water through their spillways due to increased river flows of the runoff season. Flows which are directed through spillways--instead of through turbines--contain a substantial amount of energy. Stemming from the high energy content, spillway flows entrain air at...
Copper is the most common ingredient in waterborne preservatives and provides excellent activity against most fungi and insects. However, issues associated with copper migration from treated wood have created increasing concerns about potential risks to non-target organisms in surrounding environments, especially those in sensitive aquatic environments. Various Best Management Practices...
Three isolates of Escherichia coli were labeled by their resistance
to sodium azide and, separately, to novobiocin, nalidix acid, and tetracycline.
The strains exhibited a high degree of persistence in the soil
environment and were recoverable on strain specific media at levels
within the 95% confidence interval of the numbers...
Sediments are the major compartment in aquatic environments for many materials of toxic or nutrient concern. The lack of knowledge of the phase associations of toxic metals in sediments is the largest deficiency in our understanding of the environmental hazard posed by metal contamination. This study examined the sedimentary partitioning...
Documentation of the side effects of pesticides on
arthropod natural enemies has expanded rapidly since the
1950's as part of an increase in non-target side effects
literature. Most reviews have been based on empirical
analysis of selected literature. The SELCTV database was
developed to make a larger information base accessible...
The causes of the global biodiversity crisis are varied and complex. Anthropogenic threats may act in isolation, or interact additively or synergistically with each other or with natural stressors to affect sensitive taxa. The recent emergence of many infectious diseases in wildlife has brought attention to the role of disease...
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects
that free ranging cattle have on water quality in semi-arid
environments. There were three specific objectives:
1) To determine the concentration and distribution of
cattle feces in meadows, riparian zones, and the
associated uplands. 2) To determine the fecal deposition...
The Quotient Method (QM) is used by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) in ecological risk assessments of pesticides for nontarget organisms. The QM requires several assumptions regarding exposure and hazards of pesticides to wildlife; several of these assumptions have not been tested. During 1997-99, I conducted three experiments...
A spreadsheet-based transport model was developed in Microsoft Excel™ as part of a six-year National Cooperative Highway Research Program project conducted at Oregon State University. The model simulated the leaching, transport, removal, and retardation processes that occur in the surface and subsurface pathways of the near highway environment. For all...
The pages of this Continuing Education Book contain the papers presented on the Oregon State University campus, March 22-24, 1971 at which time several hundred individuals gathered to learn the requirements for the Oregon Public Employee "Special Applicator" license test. The purpose of this Short Course on Pesticides, Pest Control...
The water storage and transport of logs is commonplace in the Pacific Northwest. The affect of this activity on water quality was the subject of a comprehensive study reported earlier by this investigator (1). Pollutional impacts studied included the character and quantity of leachate from floating logs; quantification of bark...
Interest in accounting for environmental impacts of products, processes, and systems during the design phase is increasing. Numerous studies have undertaken investigations for reducing environmental impacts across the product life cycle. Efforts have also been launched to quantify such impacts more accurately. Life cycle energy consumption and carbon footprint are...
A field study was conducted to determine the applicability of multivariate
geostatistical methods to the problem of estimating and simulating pesticide
concentrations in groundwater from measured concentrations of nitrate and pesticide,
when pesticide is undersampled. Prior to this study, no published attempt had been made
to apply multivariate geostatistics to...
What should be done with dredge spoils? "This report discusses two clam beds that were inadvertently established by dredge spoils and suggests the type and magnitude of study I think is needed to determine the feasibility of creating new clam beds with dredge spoils." Includes maps of Yaquina Bay, and...
Describes an investigation of a dam at a millpond near the village of Chitwood, Oregon. The dam was on Haxel Creek, a tributary of Thornton Creek, a tributary of the Yaquina River. Includes a hand-drawn map of the area.
Food habits and levels of organochlorine compounds, lead, and mercury in resident and wintering bald eagles were studied in southcentral Oregon and California, 1979-83. Food habits were assessed by examination of castings from winter communal roosts, identification of 2938 prey items found at nest sites and foraging areas, and observations...
Published January 1994. Reprinted April 2007. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog
This thesis investigates the dynamic efficiency of emission standards and
Pigouvian taxes in the regulation of pollution where research and development (R&D)
and the technology level are endogenous. A key element of the analysis is a comparison
of the efficiency between instances in which the regulator can and cannot commnit...
Your groundwater is at higher risk of contamination from excess nitrogen fertilizer if you have soils that drain quickly, such as river loam, coastal sand, or volcanic deposits.
Ground-based skidding may cause unacceptable damage to woodland soils when owners make no attempt to minimize the area covered with skid trails. As much as 40 percent of the area may be covered with skid trails during a single entry if you do not plan and mark them in advance.
"There is growing interest in odor and gaseous emissions from livestock operations because of concern about global warming and enforcement of the Clean Air Act. This bulletin provides and evaluates best management practices for the control of ammonia lost to the air on dairy farms. Benefits are based on an...
The effect of snag retention on clearcuts on breeding bird populations was evaluated in the Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) dominated forest in central coastal Oregon. Diurnal bird species on 14 clearcut sites (< 4 years old) were censused during two breeding seasons. On clearcuts containing high numbers of snags, cavity-nesting birds...