A Biological Inventory and General Assessment of Eastern Nebraska Saline Wetlands in Lancaster and Southern Saunders Counties

A recent inventory of Lancaster and southern Saunders counties identified 133 saline wetlands and 99 potential saline wetlands. The wetlands ranged from 0.4 ha (1 ac) to over 80 ha (200 ac). Information was gathered on the quality, threats, vulnerability, restoration feasibility, and water source of each wetland. Saline wetlands in Lancaster and southern Saunders counties have undergone extensive degradation through commercial, residential, and agricultural development. Recommendations for preservation of saline and potential saline wetlands are given

Intra‐clinothem variability in sedimentary texture and process regime recorded down slope profiles

Shelf‐margin clinothem successions can archive process interactions at the shelf to slope transition, and their architecture provides constraints on the interplay of factors that control basin‐margin evolution. However, detailed textural analysis and facies distributions from shelf to slope transitions remain poorly documented. This study uses quantitative grain‐size and sorting data from coeval shelf and slope deposits of a single clinothem that crops out along a 5 km long, dip‐parallel transect of the Eocene Sobrarbe Deltaic Complex (Ainsa Basin, south‐central Pyrenees, Spain). Systematic sampling of sandstone beds tied to measured sections has captured vertical and basinward changes in sedimentary texture and facies distributions at an intra‐clinothem scale. Two types of hyperpycnal flow‐related slope deposits, both rich in mica and terrestrial organic matter, are differentiated according to grain size, sorting and bed geometry: (i) sustained hyperpycnal flow deposits, which are physically linked to coarse channelized sediments in the shelf setting and which deposit sand down the complete slope profile; (ii) episodic hyperpycnal flow deposits, which are disconnected from, and incise into, shelf sands and which are associated with sediment bypass of the proximal slope and coarse‐grained sand deposition on the medial and distal slope. Both types of hyperpycnites are interbedded with relatively homogenous, organic‐free and mica‐free, well‐sorted, very fine‐grained sandstones, which are interpreted to be remobilized from wave‐dominated shelf environments; these wave‐dominated deposits are found only on the proximal and medial slope. Coarse‐grained sediment bypass into the deeper‐water slope settings is therefore dominated by episodic hyperpycnal flows, whilst sustained hyperpycnal flows and turbidity currents remobilizing wave‐dominated shelf deposits are responsible for the full range of grain sizes in the proximal and medial slope, thus facilitating clinoform progradation. This novel dataset highlights previously undocumented intra‐clinothem variability related to updip changes in the shelf process‐regime, which is therefore a key factor controlling downdip architecture and resulting sedimentary texture

Wood Duck Nesting Boxes

The Wood Duck (Aix sponsa), Nebraska\u27s only tree nesting duck, has four major requirements for breeding habitat. These requirements a r e food, cover, water, and suitable nest cavities which govern the distribution of breeding wood ducks in Nebraska. Without any one of these four requirements, wood ducks would not be able to maintain a breeding population. Very little is known about the spring food requirements of nesting wood ducks, and only the most general comments can be made. It is known t h a t protein requirements for both the hen and ducklings are high. Pairs, especially hens, and ducklings feed extensively on both flying and aquatic insects, with plants such as duck weed and coontail also being utilized

Review of \u3ci\u3eNorthern Prairie Wetlands\u3c/i\u3e, Arnold van der Valk, Editor

This book provides an exceptionally thorough technical review of the ecology of both shallow and deepwater wetland systems within the prairie pothole region of the United States and Canada and the Sandhills region of Nebraska. The book developed from a regional wetland symposium sponsored by the National Wetlands Technical Council in 1985. It has been written to serve both wetland ecologists and managers, as well as people with a professional interest in northern prairie wetlands who may have but a limited background in wetland ecology. The book consists of 11 chapters that address key wetland components such as hydrology, water chemistry, vegetation, waterfowl, mammals, fish, and food chain support with primary focus on the prairie pothole region. One chapter addresses the overall water and wetland resources of the Nebraska Sandhills. This impressive list of subjects could only have been improved with a chapter on the values northern prairie wetlands provide to shorebirds and wading birds

Nebraska Wetlands Priority Plan

Table of Contents: Introduction Methods Results .S ite 1: Rainwater Basin Wetland Complex Results - Site 2: Platte River Wetland Complex .B ig Bend Reach Results - Site 3: Nebraska Sandhills Wetland Complex Results - Site 4: Eastern Nebraska Saline Wetland Results - Site 5: Missoun. Ri.v er Wetland Complex Results - Site 6: Lower North Platte River Wetland Complex Priority Assessment of Wetland Sites Review, Revision and Definitions References Appendices Emergency Wetlands Resources Act of 1986 Agencies and Organizations Reviewing The Nebraska Wetlands Priority Plan Criteria For Identifying Wetlands Of International Importance And Guidelines on Their Use Rainwater Basin Wetlands Eligible For LWCF Acquisition Platte River-Big Bend Reach Wetlands Eligible For LWCF Acquisition Sandhill Wetlands Eligible For LWCF Acquisition Eastern Saline Wetlands Eligible For LWCF AcquisitionMissouri River Wetlands Eligible For LWCF Acquisition North Platte River. Lower Reach Wetlands Eligible For LWCF Acquisitio

Developing Quadruple Bonds as a Motif for Energy Storage and Action Research as a Teaching Assistant

The enduring intrigue of quadruple bonds among chemists stretches from E. Peligot's initial synthesis of Cr2(OAc)4 in 1844 to F.A. Cotton's identification of Re≣Re quadruple bonding in 1964, to modern chemistries still being developed. These systems feature a diverse yet tunable coordination environment, which offers fascinating reactive properties and unique electrochemistry. Given the landmark electrochemical properties, complexes with quadruple bonds are promising candidates for energy storage applications. Energy storage is an increasingly important topic as renewable energy generation (primarily wind and solar) becomes ubiquitous. The electrification of our energy grid, transport systems, and personal lives requires substantially more research into energy storage and battery systems, as daily energy demands increase globally. My research focuses on the applications of quadruple bonds in energy storage, where we have found this diverse motif can be used in multiple battery systems. Primarily, quadruply bonded dimolybdenum complexes improve lithium metal anode (LMA) performance by developing an improved solid electrolyte interphase (SEI). We identified these complexes are stable at LMAs in lithium metal batteries (LMBs) and hypothesize that they act as a secondary barrier to prevent further electrolyte decomposition and improve lithium plating. Furthermore, we have tested dimolybdenum complexes for use in redox flow batteries. Toward this goal, we achieved orders of magnitude improvements in the solubility of dimolybdenum complexes through ligand design and found that certain ligands provide long-term stability through solution phase redox cycling experiments. Beyond the lab, I conducted chemical education research. In this work, I identified a computational chemistry laboratory, a Walsh diagram lab, with which students struggled and sought to improve lab curriculums through collaborative action research (CAR). I conducted two iterative CAR cycles and will discuss the data in this thesis

A Implementation Plan for the Rainwater Basin Joint Venture

Nebraska\u27s Rainwater Basin (RWB) wetland area is identified by the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP) as a waterfowl habitat area of major concern in North America. The Rainwater Basin area is recognized as the focal point of a spring migration corridor used by millions of ducks and geese annually (Figure 1). This migration corridor is shaped like an hourglass, with the Rainwater Basin and Central Platte River located at the constriction