Improving the Accuracy for the Long-Term Hydrologic Impact Assessment (L-THIA) Model

Urbanization increases runoff by changing land use types from less impervious to impervious covers. Improving the accuracy of a runoff assessment model, the Long-Term Hydrologic Impact Assessment (L-THIA) Model, can help us to better evaluate the potential uses of Low Impact Development (LID) practices aimed at reducing runoff, as well as to identify appropriate runoff and water quality mitigation methods. Several versions of the model have been built over time, and inconsistencies have been introduced between the models. To improve the accuracy and consistency of the model, the equations and parameters (primarily curve numbers in the case of this model) were reviewed and documented. Two methods were pursued to conduct this work. First, curve numbers used in the current L-THIA model and related papers were identified and summarized. Second, the spreadsheet and code of this model were reviewed to correct the logic in the L-THIA model. A new Curve Number spreadsheet was built to summarize the curve numbers with clear descriptions. The values of the curve numbers remained the same in the model. Improved logic in combining curve numbers has been added to the model, while errors in code in the model have been fixed. In conclusion, the accuracy and consistency of the L-THIA model were improved by validating the curve numbers and better defining the code logic. Tests are needed to examine the updated version of the L-THIA model

The EQIP GIS, Web-based Decision Program

Working together, NRCS and Purdue University staff developed a GIS, web-based EQIP decision program. Landowners and NRCS personnel enter required EQIP information via a mapping service. Other subroutines store the information for use by NRCS in ranking and funding EQIP applications that receive the highest scores subject to budget constraints.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Rough Cilicia Archaeological Survey: Report of the 2011 Season, Part One

The 2011 season of the Rough Cilicia Archaeological Survey Project was conducted between July 21 and August 12 2011. The research agenda of the 2011 was to investigate the degraded character of highland cedar forests in the Taşeli Plateau in the Taurus Mts behind Gazipaşa (Antalya Province, Gazipaşa District, Taseli Plateau). We worked in the Taseli plateau highland region from July 25 to Aug. 5, collecting tree, pollen, and carbon samples of the highland forest; we then relocated to the Baysal Hotel in Gazipaşa to conduct archaeological survey in the midlands (mesogeia) between Aug. 6 and 12. We explain the procedures and the results of both phases of the survey in two parts. This section (Part One) will address the deforestation research of the 2011 Survey; Part Two will address the finds of the 2011 Pedestrian Survey. As the mid-range theory Rough Cilicia highland survey has been investigating the possibility that resource depletion played a role in population collapse at the end of the Roman era. Throughout antiquity the forests of these mountains were praised for their lofty conifer trees, particularly cedar trees whose rot-resistant properties made them desirable for shipbuilding. By the beginning of the 20th century, this forest was essentially exhausted. While scholars agree that human activity played a determining role in deforestation, the timing and pace of pre-modern forest utilization is poorly understood. Our paleoenvironmental work this season embraced two related strategies, dendrochronological investigation of the surviving highland forest, and geomorphic trench excavations of alluvial deposits along river basins, carbon and pollen analysis of soil samples. To conduct the highland survey we positioned ourselves at a rental house at Gökgözlük Yayla for approximately 10 days. During that time we conducted geomorphic trench sampling of cedar and pollen residue at the altitude representing the natural habitat of the highland forest (1500 to 1800 m elevation)

The EQIP GIS, Web-based Decision Program

Working together, NRCS and Purdue University staff developed a GIS, web-based EQIP decision program. Landowners and NRCS personnel enter required EQIP information via a mapping service. Other subroutines store the information for use by NRCS in ranking and funding EQIP applications that receive the highest scores subject to budget constraints

The archaeology of deforestation in south coastal Turkey

The Rough Cilicia Archaeological Survey Project investigates landscape transformation as a component to its regional survey of ancient Rough Cilicia (south coastal Turkey opposite Cyprus). Rough Cilicia was celebrated during antiquity for pristine cedar forests that stood between 1500 and 1800 m in altitude along the slopes of the Taurus Mountains. Today along the front range of the Taurus Mountains this forest is completely denuded or otherwise replanted with recent growth in the past 80 years. We employ paleoenvironmental analysis of relic cedar forests in the Taurus Mountains to construct a timeline of anthropogenic disturbances associated with population growth over time and thereby assess the sustainability of ancient forestry practices. To obtain these data, the team recovers pollen and carbon samples from geomorphologic trenches excavated in the cedar zone, tree ring data from dendrochronological survey of the existing forest, and archaeological data from remains of ancient highland settlements. Preliminary results indicate that current perspectives about the timing of deforestation in this region are flawed and that the initial deforestation coincided with regional site abandonment and population decline at the end of antiquity