Modern environmental monitoring and modeling requires a good global
grid system for survey sampling and accurate, spatially complete data
collection of relevant environmental phenomena. A prime requirement for the
global grid system is that the global sampling grids be regular and equal in area
and have minimal shape distortion. None...
Abstract Watershed-scale fate/transport modeling of contaminants is a tool that scientists and land managers can use to assess pesticide contamination to stream systems. The Catchment Modeling Framework (CMF) is a catchment-scale fate/transport modeling tool. It was developed to help scientists and land managers assess the effects of possible land-use decisions...
This work describes the modeling framework and initial results for CLAWS (Coupled
Landscape And Water System), a physically-based, spatially-distributed hydrologicgeomorphic model that has been coupled with a vegetation dynamics simulation. Spatial variability of topography, soil, vegetation, and climate drive a hydrology module that calculates the water budget at given time...
An experimental environmental uptake model was developed for the purpose
of estimating the final harvest concentration of contaminant following an acute
accidental release of radiocesium onto an eastern Oregon winter wheat crop. The
system was developed using the PATHWAY environmental uptake model as
presented by Whicker and Kirchner (1987) for...
In 1993 The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality developed a Cross-media Comparative Risk Assessment model to address certain regulatory concerns. Due to budget constraints the model was never beta tested. Now in 1995, the X-media project has been reopened, and the model revised, and tested. Specific revisions include: 1) Upgrade...
This investigation was motivated by the introduction of the new
nearest neighbour analyses which reportedly provided a better control
of soil gradients than conventional experimental methods.
Three nearest neighbour analyses and six other analyses were
compared with the completely randomized design or the randomized
complete block design in reducing the...
Low levels of copper have been shown to impair the olfactory system of threatened and
endangered (T&E) salmon, decreasing their predator avoidance behavior and likely
increasing mortality. However, only dissolved copper (dissCu) present as the cupric ion
(Cu2+) and weakly complexed species are truly bioavailable. Previous studies indicate the
vast...
Energy use and greenhouse gas emissions are on the forefront of planning policy in the world today. In the U.S., the transportation sector accounts for 50 percent of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the most of any single sector. State and local levels of government have been very proactive in the...
The U.S Pacific Northwest contains a wide variety of ecosystems, all subject to relatively dry summers and wet winters. As has been shown with paleoclimatic and paleoecological data, the region is vulnerable to changes in climate. We assessed the sensitivities of vegetation distributions, carbon stocks, and fire regimes to 21st...
The Elliott State Forest, located in the Coast Range of Oregon, is currently revising their Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). Many of the constraints in the HCP are spatial, requiring identification of specific parcels in order to limit activity along habitat reserves, limit harvest opening size, and to coordinate activities within...
Like other species interactions in ecological systems, host-pathogen interactions are influenced by environmental factors, landscape characteristics and the broader community context. My thesis explores the potential influences of food-web interactions (Chapter 2), climate change (Chapter 3), landscape structure and host movement patterns (Chapter 4), and the combined influences of local...
Coastal foredunes protect lives, infrastructure, and ecosystems during severe winter storms. In the U.S. Pacific Northwest (PNW), coastal foredune geomorphology is determined by both physical and ecological mechanisms. Before the 1900's, the native plant Elymus mollis was the dominant dune grass and dune morphology was largely determined by sediment supply...
For the west coast of North America, from northern California to southern Washington, a habitat suitability prediction framework was developed to support wave energy device siting. Concern that wave energy devices may impact the seafloor and benthos has renewed research interest in the distribution of marine benthic invertebrates and factors...
Multiobjective Decision Making (MODM) has been
suggested for the solution of complicated decision
problems. Decision analysis in numerous areas, including
industrial energy and environmental planning, necessarily
requires consideration of multiple conflicting
objectives. MODM has been successfully applied to
a number of these problems of this type. Moreover, it
has the...
This dissertation is a collection of three manuscripts that serve to fill the knowledge gaps and advance methods of detecting the effects of contemporary forest harvesting in experimental catchment studies. While there is a preponderance of studies evaluating the environmental effects of forest harvesting in the western United States, few...
The decision to bury high level nuclear wastes in deep geological formations
led to the study of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation as one of three possible sites for
the first nuclear waste repository in the United States. To adequately evaluate the
environmental impact of siting nuclear waste repositories in basalt...
This thesis presents the results of an investigation into the interactions between the present-day South Cascade Glacier and the former Mauna Kea ice cap at short (annual to centennial) and long (millennial and multimillennial) time scales. To quantify the response of South Cascade Glacier to atmospheric conditions, a surface energy...
Surface water quality is a growing concern in the Willamette River Basin and elsewhere. The region's growing population is dependent on the availability of clean water for drinking water, irrigation, wastewater dilution, and wildlife habitat. Watershed management to produce economic goods and environmental services requires an understanding of basic hydrologic...
Temperature is a key factor for salmonid health and is an important restoration metric on the Middle Fork of the John Day River in northeast Oregon. In the past century, dredge mining, deforestation, and overgrazing have degraded stream habitat and resulted in greater daytime stream temperatures in the region. Recent...
Marine systems undergo changes in community composition over time as a result of a variety of environmental and anthropogenic factors. Understanding these community changes and the factors that drive them is critical for ecosystem management of marine resources. The Gulf of Alaska (GOA) is a large marine ecosystem that includes...