Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2024, Environment and Natural Resources

Tile drainage is a widely used agricultural management practice, currently draining ~55.6 million acres of land in the US and expanding. Tile drainage has proved to increase crop yields at the expense of increased nutrient loading to surface waters. This nutrient loading is a major driver of harmful algal blooms (HAB), which costs the US millions of dollars annually and can be harmful to human health. Improvements to tile drainage systems are necessary to reduce nutrient loss and HABs, while maintaining agricultural productivity. This study aims to characterize the hydrologic response of automated drainage water management (ADWM) compared to manual drainage water management (MDWM) following precipitation events in terms of discharge amounts, time-to-peak flows and recession, and water level changes in the field and control structures. The study includes three paired-field sites in NW Ohio equipped with ADWM and MDWM, where water level logger data and manual measurements have been collected over an approximately one-year period. While MDWM has been found to improve crop yields and decrease nutrient loss compared to free drainage (FD), management of these systems is laborious, preventing greater adoption. ADWM, on the other hand, requires little labor and allows for the fine spatial and temporal control of water table depths, potentially further reducing discharge and nutrient loss. Since ADWM is an emerging practice, this is among the first paired-field studies to be conducted on ADWM and MDWM. Results indicate that ADWM can reduce discharge compared to MDWM by 8.8% to 89.5%. Recession analysis following precipitation events showed that ADWM can slow groundwater movement compared to MDWM. The potential impact of the study is to provide a non-labor-intensive way to reduce discharge and nutrient loads by retroactively installing ADWM to tile drainage systems.

Committee: Steven Lyon (Advisor); Manbir Rakkar (Committee Member); Vinayak Shedekar (Committee Member) Subjects: Agriculture; Environmental Science

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2020, Geological Sciences

This study focused on highlighting the connection between the physical, chemical, sedimentary, and microbial aspects of various acid mine drainage settings of contrasting chemistry. In addition, a comprehensive thesis model was suggested to explain the interconnected relationships of this data set. The first 30 meters were evaluated for Pine Run (Fe), Esco No. 40 (Fe and Al), York Clay No. 4 (Mn), and Sines No. 2 (Al) coal mines. The acidophilic microbial taxa evaluated were Thiothrix sp.(any), Gallionella ferruginea, and Leptothrix discophora. Through principal component analysis (PCA) and a Spearman correlation matrix (n=20) a number of correlations were found to describe our model. The results of this study indicate a strong relationship between distribution of total Fe, and SO4, in the sediment due to physics of flow. Statistical analyses suggest precipitation of Mn into the sediments could occur at the medium-coarse sand (0.5-0.99 mm) grain size fraction and Fe likely precipitates as a larger grain size fraction than this. Both Thiothrix and G. ferruginea taxa shared a positive correlation with velocity, and L. discophora shared a negative correlation to flow velocity. Variable flow conditions within the first 30-meters of the mine opening can alter distribution of precipitates to deposit medium to coarse sand grain size fractions, reoxygenate waters, and alter pH to create supersaturated conditions for the minerals 4 basaluminite, amorphous Fe(OH)3, gibbsite, barite, and goethite. Results from this study also indicate G. ferruginea is likely favored in Fe contaminated systems, L. discophora could be the more abundant in Mn and Al contaminated mines, and SO4 contaminated drainage favors Thiothrix. Geochemical modeling results agree with water quality tests and field observations for each site.

Committee: Dina López (Advisor); Gregory Nadon (Committee Member); Natalie Kruse Daniels (Committee Member); Kieth Milam (Committee Member) Subjects: Environmental Geology; Geology; Microbiology

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2017, Environmental Studies (Voinovich)

Limited biological recovery in acid mine drainage (AMD) impacted streams may be due in part to a flushing response caused by rainfall events. While there is very little water required to react with sulfide minerals to form AMD, more is required to dissolve and transport the chemical products. Increased discharge allows for the transport of accumulated reaction products from mineral surfaces and mobilization of sediments from streambeds. The objective of this study was to investigate this flushing behavior in the heavily AMD impaired Hewett Fork Watershed by tracking the changes in water chemistry over the course of multiple rain events and seasonal flow regimes. Hewett Fork is located within Athens County, Ohio, and is currently treated by an active remediation system. This study utilized two auto-samplers, at two field sites along the same stream gradient of impairment, to allow for the collection of hourly water samples during selected storm events in spring, summer, and fall. The collected water samples were then analyzed for total concentrations of a large suit of metals, sulfate, acidity, and alkalinity. Results show how the geochemistry is changing within Hewett Fork during precipitation events. Analysis of these changes in water quality revealed response patterns of each monitored constituent allowing them to be grouped by their dominant response pattern. The constituents also displayed seasonal patterns that showed large flushing events in the spring and fall seasons. It remains unclear if these flushing events have limited the biological recovery in Hewett Fork. Further studies should be conducted to better understand the varied and complex responses of the geochemistry in AMD impacted watersheds during precipitation events to properly manage and treat this prolific non-point source pollution.

Committee: Natalie Kruse (Committee Chair); Dina Lopez (Committee Member); Kelly Johnson (Committee Member) Subjects: Environmental Geology; Environmental Management; Environmental Science; Environmental Studies; Geochemistry; Hydrologic Sciences; Hydrology; Water Resource Management

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2016, Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering

Subsurface drainage, while an important and necessary agricultural production practice in the Midwest, contributes significant loads nitrate (NO3) and soluble phosphorus (P) to surface waters. Controlled drainage is one management strategy which is recommended to reduce NO3 soluble P losses from subsurface drainage waters. Under climate change, the Midwest is expected to experience higher intensity rainfall events along with an increased chance of drought. The impact that these changes will have on subsurface hydrology is critical for ensuring agricultural resiliency to future climate. This research used multiple linear regression analysis to evaluate impacts of climate, field management, and landscape on NO3 and soluble P concentrations in subsurface drainage water in the Western Lake Erie Basin. Parameters significantly impacting NO3 concentrations included rainfall, fertilizer application rate & timing, Soil Test P, soil texture, season, drain spacing, site relief, tillage, temperature, crop, and drainage water management. The results of this study indicate that BMPs specifically targeted at reducing losses of fertilizer, soil matrix flow of NO3, and soluble P losses via preferential flow pathways will have the greatest impact on NO3 and soluble P concentrations. Controlled drainage significantly reduced seasonal accumulated subsurface discharge from 178 to 54.2 mm in winter, from 24.3 to 8.12 mm in summer, and from 155 to 115 mm in the critical discharge period. Controlled drainage significantly reduced NO3 load from 10.8 kg ha-1 to 3.64 kg ha-1 in winter, and from 1.28 kg ha-1 to 0.385 kg ha-1 in summer. Controlled drainage significantly reduced soluble P load from 0.042 kg ha-1 to 0.013 kg ha-1 in winter, 0.008 kg ha-1 to 0.003 kg ha-1 in summer, and from 0.039 kg ha-1 to 0.028 kg ha-1 in the critical discharge period (March through June). The highest reductions in discharge NO3 load and soluble P load through use of controlled drainage were observed during (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jay Martin (Advisor); Norman Fausey (Advisor); Larry C. Brown (Committee Member); Warren Dick (Committee Member) Subjects: Agricultural Engineering

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 1981, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2023, Environmental Studies (Voinovich)

Agricultural nutrient pollution is a significant cause of impairment in American surface waters. Wetland restoration projects in agricultural watersheds can provide an effective sink for excess nutrients and potentially improve downstream water quality. Ohio University has partnered with The Stream and Wetlands Foundation to conduct water quality monitoring during the restoration of Bloody Run Swamp, a wetland in a former agricultural field near Columbus, Ohio. This thesis serves as an analysis of the initial water quality impacts of this restoration project. The restoration of Bloody Run Swamp did not significantly impact total dissolved phosphorus, orthophosphate, TKN, or ammonia concentrations. In contrast, both nitrate/nitrate and total dissolved nitrogen concentration and loads were significantly reduced during construction. This may have been due to the dry weather during construction and the removal of drainage tiles from Bloody Run Swamp. Future water quality monitoring is needed to determine the long-term impacts of this restoration project.

Committee: Natalie Kruse Daniels (Advisor); Gregory Springer (Committee Member); Morgan Vis (Committee Member) Subjects: Agriculture; Aquatic Sciences; Biology; Earth; Ecology; Environmental Engineering; Environmental Management; Environmental Science; Environmental Studies; Geomorphology; Hydrologic Sciences; Hydrology; Limnology; Water Resource Management

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2022, Civil Engineering

Acid mine drainage (AMD) and the associated mine land sediments are a valuable source of rare earth elements (REEs) and critical minerals with concentrations of REEs in AMD often orders of magnitude higher than those in river water and seawater. Recovering REEs while cleaning up AMD provides the potential to offset the cost of reclamation. In this study, we are evaluating the REE content and distribution in the sediments associated with two AMD locations in SE Ohio that exhibit high REE content. The study sites, ‘Flint Run' and ‘Howard-Williams Lake', are complex sites with multiple past remediations and reclamation attempts that continue to produce AMD with REE concentrations up to 0.9 mg/L and 1.9 mg/L, respectively. Soil cores were collected from the two sites using an auger and split-spoon sampler. Samples were collected at approximately five-foot increments and trace element and REE concentrations were analyzed on digested samples using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. The mineralogy of the sediments was analyzed with a high-resolution X-Ray diffractometer. Our results show the layers of fill used to reclaim the sites were not uniform spatially or with depth and were comprised of a mixture of silty clay, underclay, coal refuse, shale, and sandstone. Samples identified as being associated with coal (i.e., clay with coal fines and coal refuse), regardless of the depth measured, had higher REE concentrations (up to 437.9 ppm total REE) in comparison to the other compositional layers studies (~36 ppm total REE). Samples associated with coal had concentrations ranging from 4.2-126 ppm for Ce to 4.5-52.6 ppm for Nd. These layers also exhibited elevated concentrations of Fe and Al. At water pH values of 5.1-6.6, REEs were expected to precipitate with Fe and Al minerals into the sediment, which was consistent with the pH value of water collected during sample collection at Howard-Williams Lake. Statistical analysis and XRD results indicate that (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: John Lenhart (Advisor); Chin-Min Cheng (Committee Member); Tarunjit Butalia (Committee Member); Allison MacKay (Committee Member) Subjects: Civil Engineering; Environmental Engineering; Geological

MS, Kent State University, 2018, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Earth Sciences

The surface mining of coal leaves behind an abundance of surface waste material called coal mine spoil. Prior to the enactment of the Clean Water Act in 1972 and the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, mine spoils and their associated mines were often left abandoned after production ceased. Active and abandoned mines are primary producers of acidic and sulfur-rich wastewater in the United States and it is estimated that it will cost $32-$72 billion dollars to remediate waters impacted by acid mine drainage (AMD). Once exposed to the surface, pyrite within these mine waste soils will begin to oxidize, releasing metals and acidity which can leach into nearby surface and groundwater systems. This work explores the efficacy of applying lime slurry, a potential low-cost approach, to coal mine spoil in order to determine mineralogical and geochemical factors controlling neutralization of acidity and sequestration of dissolved metals. Joint field and laboratory studies were conducted in order to determine the chemical and physical interactions that take place between a lime-slurry and coal mine spoil- and AMD impacted soils. The field portion of this study consisted of monitoring the changes in near surface water and solid phase composition of two coal spoil-dominated hillslopes which were treated with lime slurry. Parallel laboratory column experiments simulated rainwater passing through treated and untreated mine spoil in a controlled setting. Changes in solid phase composition during treatment were determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF). Porewater composition was determined by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES), Ion Chromatography (IC), and Total Organic Carbon (TOC). The results from the field pilot project are ambiguous and difficult to separate from natural processes. Porewater composition showed little response of pH or electrical conductivity (EC) to lime treatment, in contrast porewater an (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: David Singer (Advisor); Elizabeth Herndon (Committee Member); Jeremy Williams (Committee Member) Subjects: Environmental Geology; Geochemistry; Geology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1971, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Engineering

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1971, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Engineering

Master of Arts, University of Toledo, 2014, Geography

Since the first European settlers arrived in Northwest Ohio in the 1800s, methods have been devised to drain The Great Black Swamp and turn it into farmland. Agricultural field tiles, buried three to four feet below the surface are the most common method used for drainage. Records of where those tiles have been installed are not complete, so methods have been devised to identify their location using satellite imagery which, given the right conditions, will show variations in soil moisture above the tiles. This thesis analyzes an automated method to identify the tile locations from aerial imagery, using an Object Based Image Analysis (OBIA) software called eCognition. Results were obtained that strongly correlated with results obtained from hand-digitizing tile locations, ranging from 53% to 78% agreement. However, attempting to use an unmodified version of the ruleset from one field to analyze a different field was only successful for one out of five fields. For the other fields, the time spent selecting new samples and adjusting the parameters was often the same amount of time, and occasionally more, than the time it took to draw the tiles by hand.

Committee: Kevin P Czajkowski PhD (Committee Chair); Patrick Lawrence PhD (Committee Member); Richard Becker PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Agriculture; Geography

MS, University of Cincinnati, 2007, Engineering : Civil Engineering

This Thesis presents an investigation of the subsurface drainage features of the test pavement at the United States (U.S.) Route 50 joint sealant experiment near Athens, Ohio. The pavement incorporates a 4-in. thick open-graded base, whose design is assessed using the software DRIP 2.0, distributed by the Federal Highway Administration. It is found that the specified base thickness and permeability combination do not meet federal guidelines, evidently because no design calculations had been performed prior to construction. A field inspection of the test pavement drainage features revealed that these had received very scant to no maintenance. Drainage outlets were unmarked, overgrown by vegetation, difficult to find or sometimes missing, often clogged and occasionally damaged. A literature review indicated that such problems are endemic in many states and point to an under appreciation of proper drainage in concrete pavements. A review of the structural performance of the test pavement found no obvious correlation with the condition of a variety of sealant treatments applied during the experiment.

Committee: Dr. Anastasios Ioannides (Advisor) Subjects: Engineering, Civil

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2004, Soil Science

Drainage from abandoned coal mines has resulted in severe water quality problems. The oxidation of sulfide minerals in coal and associated rocks releases iron-rich, acidic solutions that damage vegetation and aquatic ecosystems. The objective of this study was to characterize the sediment column of an established compost wetland constructed for the treatment of acid mine drainage to gain insight into biogeochemical processes that might impact treatment efficiency. To do this, mineralogy and geochemical stability of ochreous sediments were examined, spatial and seasonal trends in porewater chemistry were measured, and bacterial community composition profiled. The mineralogical composition of the ochre portion of the sediment column was a mixture of schwertmannite [Fe8O8(OH)4.8(SO4)1.6] and goethite (a-FeOOH). Initial drainage conditions favored the precipitation of schwertmannite, which transformed at a rate of 10-30 mol/m3/yr to goethite. The sulfide minerals, pyrite (FeS2) and greigite (Fe3S4), were identified along with magnetite (Fe3O4) in the compost layer of the sediment. Vertical gradients in porewater chemistry were similar throughout the wetland system and, with the exception of dissolved sulfide concentration, no consistent seasonal trends were detected. Dissolved sulfide was elevated in the compost relative to the ochre and in June compared to February. Porewater pH ranged from 3 to 7 and increased with depth; whereas, the Eh ranged from 110 to 750 mV and decreased with depth. Both pH and Eh changed abruptly near the interface between the ochre and compost layers. Dissolved Fe occurred primarily as Fe(II) and peaked within the interface region. Concentrations of other major elements (Al, Ca, K, Mg, Mn, and Na) in the pore waters showed some variation between cells and sampling dates, but vertical gradients generally reflected wetland stratigraphy. Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis (T-RFLP) of 16S rRNA genes was used to profile bact (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jerry Bigham (Advisor) Subjects:

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 1974, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 1978, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 1962, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 1971, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 1966, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 1975, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 1983, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: