Analysis of Stream Runoff Trends in the Blue Ridge and Piedmont of Southeastern United States

The purpose of the study was to examine the temporal trends of three monthly variables: stream runoff, rainfall and air temperature and to find out if any correlation exists between rainfall and stream runoff in the Blue Ridge and Piedmont provinces of the southeast United States. Trend significance was determined using the non-parametric Mann-Kendall test on a monthly and annual basis. GIS analysis was used to find and integrate the urban and non-urban stream gauging, rainfall and temperature stations in the study area. The Mann-Kendall test showed a statistically insignificant temporal trend for all three variables. The correlation of 0.4 was observed for runoff and rainfall, which showed that these two parameters are moderately correlated

Land Cover Change Impacts on Multidecadal Streamflow in Metropolitan Atlanta GA, USA

Urbanization has been associated with the degradation of streams, and a consequence of forest to urban land transition is a change in streamflow. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to examine the impacts of land-cover change in ten different watersheds in the rapidly urbanizing Atlanta, GA USA metropolitan area. Streamflow and precipitation data for a 30-year period (1986-2016) were analyzed in conjunction with land cover data from 1992, 2001, and 2011. Big Creek and Suwanee Creek experienced the most urbanization and increases (20%) in streamflow and runoff, and high flow (\u3e95th percentile of flow) days doubled and increased 85%, respectively. Precipitation-adjusted streamflow for Peachtree Creek and Flint River decreased about 17%. Runoff ratios for South River were the highest among all watersheds, even the Etowah River, which remained moderately forested and had the most precipitation and slope

Sewer Overflows and the Vector Mosquito Proximity to Human West Nile Virus Infections

DeKalb and Fulton Counties, which share the metropolitan Atlanta area, have seen an increase in West Nile infected vector mosquitoes; the increase is associated with close proximity to combined sewer overflow facilities. Despite completion of the remediation system in 2008, the mosquito population testing positive for West Nile virus has increased each year from 2010 through 2012. Guided by the Geographical Information System framework and using spatial analysis and regression analyses, this study described and quantified the relationship between sewer system overflows and amplification of vector mosquitoes; an additional goal was to investigate their proximity to human cases of West Nile VIrus (WNV) infections. Comparing the prominence of all WNV vectors revealed how different mosquito species occupy the area. The Culex species was not detected in adult surveillance in 2012; however, the infection rate of mosquito pools increased by 15% and the human infection more than doubled. The influence of sewer system overflows became pronounced when this study analysis also identified that a proportion of West Nile-virus positive mosquito pools was significantly higher in approximately 58% of trap sites within 1 km of sewer overflow events and 30% over 1 km distance from sewer overflow events. Thus, the research contributes to shared information both in support of previous findings and considering novel sources that contribute to the proliferation of WNV. This research can help reduce the rate of WNV infection and decrease the resources needed to protect the public

Journal of South Carolina Water Resources Volume 2, Issue 1

In our day-to-day work, ‘managing messes’ seems like an apt description of how we react to what needs to be done. I started this note last July when South Carolina was in the midst of a mild yet potentially deepening drought. The early October storm turned things upside down, disrupting the state, leading to the deaths of a dozen people, and producing damage estimated to be in the billions of dollars. As of November 10, Charleston has recorded 71 inches of rain and should surpass the record yearly rainfall of 73 inches, set in 1964. As we work on recovery amid continued wet conditions, fortunately the state of the state of water planning is improving, thanks to efforts by the Department of Natural Resources and multiple partners. The Division of Land, Water, and Conservation at DNR has been tasked with building on existing knowledge from its multiple partners and collaborators to develop a State Water Plan (http://www. dnr.sc.gov/water/waterplan/surfacewater.html) that will take into account surface water availability for the eight major river basins in the state. This large task requires collaboration across multiple groups and integrating data at a wide range of scales. With this guidance, local municipalities and state agencies across disciplines will be armed with information to plan for a rapidly-growing population and to make data-based management decisions that balance economic needs with the protection of our water resources. As Jeff Allen of the South Carolina Water Resources Center describes in the Foreword, large collaborations like this are challenging but sorely needed in order to inform stakeholders. The articles chosen for our second volume address the environmental and economic value of our water resources, from understanding the changing river flows, the water quality threats in the different river basins, and how climate and weather patterns influence water availability across river basins from the individual ecosystem to regional scales of influence. Because South Carolina and the Southeast U.S. is blessed with rich resources - natural, social, historical, and cultural - we hope this second volume of articles will be informative to water resource scientists, managers, academics, and other stakeholders. Fortunately, water is not something South Carolinians take for granted. Because we have such a strong connection to nature, our waters are something with which we all have a vested interest in

Archaeology at Ashe Ferry: Late Woodland and Middle Mississippian Period Occupations in the Lower Catawba River Valley, York County, South Carolina

Research Report No. 36, Research Laboratories of Archaeology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Reports in this series discuss the findings of archaeological excavations and research projects undertaken by the RLA between 1984 and present

STREAMFLOW TRENDS AND DROUGHT IN THE SOUTH ATLANTIC, U.S.: IMPLICATIONS FOR WATER MANAGEMENT AND WATER TRANSFERS

The South Atlantic has recently experienced region-wide droughts. There is concern that water scarcity may become more common or prevalent due to a warming climate. Problems associated with water scarcity are compounded by under-developed water allocation policy in the historically water abundant South Atlantic. This dissertation examined the potential causes of water scarcity related to changes in average streamflow from 1934-2005, 1934-1969 (Mid-20th Century) and 1970-2005 (Late-20th Century). Second, the contribution of climate versus anthropogenic drivers of change in mean annual streamflow in the Late 20th Century was evaluated using Budyko curves. Third, hydrologic drought was characterized in the South Atlantic and changes in drought characteristics were assessed over multiple time periods. Fourth, water interconnections, which form an important component of water infrastructure and water management, were assessed for the potential to transfer water from a drought free to a drought stricken area. Results showed that streamflow abruptly shifted from a drier regime in the Mid-20th Century to a wetter regime in the Late-20th Century with trends of significantly decreasing streamflow since 1970. Climate contributed to increased streamflow during the Late-20th Century throughout the South Atlantic; whereas human factors varied between basins and either amplified or decreased the climate change effect on streamflow. Human impacts were equivalent to or exceeded climate impacts in some basins. Seventy-one percent of drought events were shorter than 6 months with a recurrence interval of 6 years. Less than 7% of droughts were longer than one year, yet these longer duration droughts resulted in region-wide water scarcity. There were few significant temporal trends in drought characteristics over the studied time periods. The short interconnection distances (median=11.6 km) rarely extended beyond the spatial extent of multi-year droughts; interconnected water systems were simultaneously in drought 98±3% of the time from 2000-2008. Water managers face many challenges with a steadily growing demand and fluctuating long-term and short-term water supply needs that can be partially met through interconnections. Decision-making will benefit from monitoring changes in climate, human activities, and streamflow, as well as continually assessing the ability of current water infrastructure to perform under normal and adverse conditions.Doctor of Philosoph

How a monitoring dataset, an adaptive management framework, and ecological comparisons of selected fish groups can guide conservation

Master of ScienceDepartment of BiologyMartha E. MatherFreshwater habitats are amongst the most threatened systems globally, and stream and river biodiversity is extremely vulnerable to human and climate impacts. A challenge for research and management professionals seeking to conserve native, freshwater biodiversity is how to develop a process that links past and present data to guide future data collection, restoration actions, and management decisions. The purpose of this research is to illustrate how an adaptive management framework, applied to monitoring data for carefully chosen groups of fish, can guide conservation planning. Chapter 1 develops my team’s adaptive management framework and illustrates the use of the framework for one stable, native Kansas fish species. Chapter 2 demonstrates how the framework can be used to analyze monitoring data for three native Kansas fish species (two common and one uncommon). Our framework is comprised of an iterative 10-step cycle within which we embedded a 6-step, statistical subloop. Each iteration of this framework prioritizes a tractable question, identifies focused taxa and scales, uses a directed literature review to provide context, wrangles appropriate fish-relevant habitat variables, and applies data cleaning procedures. Then weight of evidence is accumulated by combining many visualization tools (i.e., fish maps, proportional resource maps, prediction maps, ridgeline plots, box plots, histograms, pie plots), multiple logistic regression, and probability plots. The final step of the 1st iteration identifies data gaps and testable predictions for future field sampling that will be analyzed in the 2nd iteration. In a proof of concept, my team compared data analysis of two common fish [Emerald Shiner (Notropis atherinoides), Central Stoneroller (Campostoma anomalum)] and one uncommon fish [Plains Minnow (Hybognathus placitus), Kansas threatened]. Data analysis of combined fish taxa, chosen based on a thoughtful, multi-criteria decision tree, enhanced conservation insights. Our multiple logistic regression models consistently identified priority regressors. Our weight of evidence approach clarified ambiguous regression trends. Prediction maps, paired with visualization tools, identified promising sites for future Plains Minnow restoration. Our approach proposes a continually evolving series of structured interactions among researcher-manager teams to accumulate actionable knowledge through a process of shared question identification, data analysis, and discussion of next steps. Monitoring data, research data, and data tests of management outcomes all have value for applied problem solving. However, if different types of data and different datasets are not connected and coordinated, opportunities for conservation success are lost. Our framework and proof of concept show a way to make these connections. This framework is an example of an implementable, adaptive management approach that can compare distributional patterns of thoughtfully chosen fish taxa to aid restoration efforts of threatened, freshwater systems

Inscribing Interaction: Middle Woodland Monumentality in the Appalachian Summit, 100 BC -- AD 400.

During the Middle Woodland period (ca. 300 B.C. – A.D. 500), indigenous people across eastern North America participated – to varying degrees – in long distance networks of material and ideological exchange. This study examines the relationship between these interregional interactions and the emergence monumental architecture among groups of seasonally sedentary, egalitarian hunter-gatherer-gardeners in western North Carolina’s Appalachian Summit. Using the results of multi-method geophysical survey, targeted excavation, radiocarbon dating, and analyses of museum collections and newly excavated materials, I argue that the record of geometric enclosure and platform mound construction and use at the Garden Creek site points to a complex and shifting history of interregional interaction and local response. These findings underscore how social relationships and identities at multiple scales structure local historical trajectories among complex hunter-gatherers, and encourage the further development of theories of culture contact in pre-Columbian contexts.PhDAnthropologyUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107046/1/apwright_1.pd

Proceedings of the Third Caldwell Conference, St. Catherines Island, Georgia, May 9-11, 2008

341 p. : ill. (some col.), maps (some col.) ; 26 cm. "Issued June 23, 2010." Includes bibliographical references (p. 303-341).The late Archaic of the American Southeast is typically described as a time of population growth, innovative developments in subsistence strategies, and increased social complexity. Although it is difficult to generalize, many early Woodland communities are characterized as relatively small scale, fairly mobile foragers organized into unranked or minimally ranked lineages and clans. Early Woodland groups also seem to be more socially isolated than their late Archaic predecessors, with a decline in regional exchange networks. The papers in this volume were presented at a conference entitled "What Happened in the Late Archaic?" which was co-sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History and the St. Catherines Island Foundation and held on St. Catherines Island (Georgia), May 9-11, 2008. The Third Caldwell Conference invited the participants to engage the appropriate archaeological data from the American Southeast, specifically addressing the nature of change during the late Archaic-early Woodland transition. This volume consists of a dozen substantive papers, followed by three discussant contributions. TABLE OF CONTENTS: Trend, tradition, and transition at the end of the Archaic / Tristram R. Kidder -- "Nothing but the river's flood" : late Archaic diaspora or disengagement in the lower Mississippi Valley and southeastern North America / Jon L. Gibson -- The two rings of St. Catherines Island : some preliminary results from the St. Catherines and McQueen shell rings / Matthew C. Sanger and David Hurst Thomas -- Two late Archaic period shell rings, St. Simon's Island, Georgia / Rochelle A. Marrinan -- The Archaic above Choctawhatchee Bay : hydrodynamics, adaptation, and abandonment / Rebecca Saunders -- Prehistoric landscapes of complexity : Archaic and Woodland period shell works, shell rings, and tree islands of the Everglades, South Florida / Margo Schwadron -- Shell rings and other settlement features as indicators of cultural continuity between the late Archaic and Woodland periods of coastal Florida / Michael Russo -- "What happened to the southeastern Archaic?" : a perspective from St. Catherines Island / David Hurst Thomas -- Leaving the rings : shell ring abandonment and the end of the late Archaic / Matthew C. Sanger -- The rhythms of space-time and the making of monuments and places during the Archaic / Victor D. Thompson -- Getting from the late Archaic to early Woodland in three middle valleys (those being the Savannah, St. Johns, and Tennessee) / Kenneth E. Sassaman -- Late Archaic? : what the hell happened to the middle Archaic? / Joe Saunders -- Thoughts on the late Archaic-early Woodland transition on the Georgia and South Carolina coasts / Chester B. DePratter -- Mounds, middens, and rapid climate change during the Archaic-Woodland transition in the southeastern United States / William H. Marquardt -- The end of the southeastern Archaic : regional interaction and archaeological interpretation / David G. Anderson