Soil, Environmental and Atmospheric Sciences presentations (MU)
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Presentations produced by and relating to the Department of Soil, Environmental and Atmospheric Science.
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Item Climate, climate change and hurricanes(2006) Lupo, Anthony R., 1966-Associate professor in the Department of Soil, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia, Anthony R. Lupo, delivered this powerpoint presentation on climatology, climate change, and hurricanes, as part of the Saturday Morning Science lecture series.Item Drought in the Midwest(Department of Soil, Environmental and Atmospheric Sciences, 2006-06) Lupo, Anthony R., 1966-Slide presentation by Anthony R. Lupo concerning the midwestern US drought of summer 2005. Presented at the George Marshal Institute at the National Press Club 27 June 2005.Item Environmental Implications of Increased Bioenergy Production on Midwest Soil Landscapes [abstract](2009) Kitchen, Newell R.; Sudduth, Kenneth A., 1958-; Sadler, Edward John; Kremer, R. J. (Robert J.); Baffaut, Claire; University of Missouri (System); Missouri Energy Summit (2009 : University of Missouri--Columbia)Prairie soil landscapes encompass over 16 million acres in Missouri and surrounding states. Much of this area has been degraded by erosion but is still used for grain production. Erosion has caused variable topsoil depth within fields which in turn has resulted in greater within-field variability of crop yield, magnified the drought-prone nature of these soils, and lowered the overall soil productivity and ecosystem function. In recent years, pressure on these sensitive soils has risen due to higher demand for grain production, in part for ethanol and biodiesel. In some areas, highly erodible fields which were historically managed as CRP and pasture are being turned into grain crop acres. Thus as new and fluctuating feed and bioenergy markets develop, land management practices will also shift, resulting in changes in soil and water quality of watersheds. This presentation will explore the likely environmental implications of different types of bioenergy production on the soil resource. Further, the positive benefits of potential changes in land use will be in explored. For example, one alternative for sensitive soils is production of perennial grass as a feedstock for coal co-burning plants and for potential future use in cellulosic ethanol production. Perennial grass yields are likely to be less variable than grain yields, both year-to-year and within fields, primarily because of greater resistance to drought. Grass production systems also provide environmental services not obtained from annual grain crops. We will also discuss our work on developing ways to target the most appropriate places in the landscape for grain or perennial production so as to enhance ecosystem services and improve soil and water quality.Item Studies of Missouri Wind Power Potential Using Tall Tower Observations [abstract](2009) Fox, Neil I. (Neil Ian); University of Missouri (System); Missouri Energy Summit (2009 : University of Missouri--Columbia)Since 2006 The University of Missouri has conducted wind observations on tall towers at eleven sites around the State. The research is aimed at directly measuring the winds at heights at which utility scale wind turbines operate. These heights, between 50 m and 150 m above ground level, are not commonly subject to direct observation, so this effort has produced a unique data set with which it is possible to investigate the characteristics of the wind power resource in Missouri. Some of the data collected has already been used by developers in planning the construction of wind farms in northwest Missouri. This presentation will show the complexity involved in assessing the wind power resource and the care required in planning an energy portfolio for which wind is a component, particularly in an area of complex topography and meteorology such as Missouri. The common wind parameters used to indicate an area's suitability for wind farm development are usually observed up to a height of 50 m and then extrapolated to the heights covered by the span of the turbine blades. However, the observations taken during this project show that the wind shear parameter used is very variable with height and this increases the uncertainty in the wind resource derived from measurements at lower levels. As wind is an intermittent resource understanding the nature of the atmospheric processes that create this intermittency is critical. Primary among these processes in the Central US is the role of the low-level jet. Part of this work has focused on how the low-level jet impacts the frequency distributions of wind speed and shear at turbine levels. The conclusion is that the jet increases not only the wind power potential of an area, but also the variability of the wind and the difficulty in accurately assessing the resource.