Grain and Virtual Water Storage Capacity in the United States

AbstractThe problems caused by the interaction between slopes and hydrologic environment in traffic civil engineering are very serious in the granite residual soil area of China, especially in Guangdong Province. Against the background of two heavy rainfall events occurring during a short period due to a typhoon making landfall twice or even two typhoons consecutively making landfall, laboratory model tests were carried out on the hydrological effects of the granite residual soil slope considering three vegetation types under artificial rainfall. The variation in slope surface runoff, soil moisture content and rain seepage over time was recorded during the tests. The results indicate that surface vegetation first effectively reduces the splash erosion impact of rainwater on slopes and then influences the slope hydrological effect through rainwater forms adjustment. (1) The exposed slope has weak resistance to two consecutive heavy rains, the degree of slope scouring and soil erosion damage will increase greatly during the second rainfall. (2) The multiple hindrances of the stem leaf of Zoysia japonica plays a leading role in regulating the hydrological effect of slope, the root system has little effect on the permeability and water storage capacity of slope soil, but improves the erosion resistance of it. (3) Both the stem leaf and root system of Nephrolepis cordifolia have important roles on the hydrological effect. The stem leaf can stabilize the infiltration of rainwater, and successfully inhibit the surface runoff under continuous secondary heavy rainfall. The root system significantly enhances the water storage capacity of the slope, and greatly increases the permeability of the slope soil in the second rainfall, which is totally different from that of the exposed and Zoysia japonica slopes. (4) Zoysia is a suitable vegetation species in terms of slope protection because of its comprehensive slope protection effect. Nephrolepis cordifolia should be cautiously planted as slope protection vegetation. Only on slopes with no stability issues should Nephrolepis cordifolia be considered to preserve soil and water.

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Risk and Impact Assessment of Dams in the Contiguous United States Using the 2018 National Inventory of Dams Database

Water ◽

10.3390/w13081066 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (8) ◽

pp. 1066

Author(s):

Junho Song ◽

Madden Sciubba ◽

Jonghun Kam

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Storage Capacity ◽

The United States ◽

Economic Benefits ◽

Spatiotemporal Patterns ◽

Dam Failure ◽

Environmental Damage ◽

Hazard Potential ◽

Significant Potential ◽

National Inventory

Aging water infrastructure in the United States (U.S.) is a growing concern. In the U.S., over 90,000 dams were registered in the 2018 National Inventory of Dams (NID) database, and their average age was 57 years old. Here, we aim to assess spatiotemporal patterns of the growth of artificial water storage of the existing dams and their hazard potential and potential economic benefit. In this study, we use more than 70,000 NID-registered dams to assess the cumulative hazard potential of dam failure in terms of the total number and the cumulative maximum storage of dams over the 12 National Weather Service River Forecast Center (RFC) regions. In addition, we also estimate potential economic benefits of the existing dams based on their cumulative storage capacity. Results show that the ratios of the cumulative storage capacity to the long-term averaged precipitation range from 8% (Mid-Atlantic) to 50% (Colorado), indicating the significant anthropogenic contribution to the land surface water budget. We also find that the cumulative storage capacity of the dams with high (probable loss of human life is if the dam fails) and significant (potential economic loss and environmental damage with no probable casualty) hazard potential ranges from 50% (North Central) to 98% (Missouri and Colorado) of the total storage capacity within the corresponding region. Surprisingly, 43% of the dams with either high or significant potential hazards have no Emergency Action Plan. Potential economic benefits from the existing dams range from $0.7 billion (Mid Atlantic) to $15.4 billion (West Gulf). Spatiotemporal patterns of hazard potential and economic benefits from the NID-registered dams indicate a need for the development of region-specific preparation, emergency, and recovery plans for dam failure. This study provides an insight about how big data, such as the NID database, can provide actionable information for community resilience toward a safer and more sustainable environment.

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Urban water storage capacity inferred from observed evapotranspiration recession

10.1002/essoar.10506466.2 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Harro Joseph Jongen ◽

Gert-Jan Steeneveld ◽

Jason Beringer ◽

Andreas Christen ◽

Krzysztof Fortuniak ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Storage Capacity ◽

Water Storage ◽

Urban Water ◽

Water Storage Capacity

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Urban water storage capacity inferred from observed evapotranspiration recession

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-2765 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Harro Jongen ◽

Gert-Jan Steeneveld ◽

Jason Beringer ◽

Krzysztof Fortuniak ◽

Jinkyu Hong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Storage Capacity ◽

Water Storage ◽

Urban Water ◽

Natural Forests ◽

Local Climate ◽

Water Storage Capacity ◽

Vegetation Fraction ◽

Local Climate Zones ◽

Order Of Magnitude ◽

Neighborhood Scale

<p>The amount and dynamics of urban water storage play an important role in mitigating urban flooding and heat. Assessment of the capacity of cities to store water remains challenging due to the extreme heterogeneity of the urban surface. Evapotranspiration (ET) recession after rainfall events during the period without precipitation, over which the amount of stored water gradually decreases, can provide insight on the water storage capacity of urban surfaces. Assuming ET is the only outgoing flux, the water storage capacity can be estimated based on the timescale and intercept of its recession. In this paper, we test the proposed approach to estimate the water storage capacity at neighborhood scale with latent heat flux data collected by eddy covariance flux towers in eleven contrasting urban sites with different local climate zones, vegetation cover and characteristics and background climates (Amsterdam, Arnhem, Basel, Berlin, Helsinki, &#321;&#243;d&#378;, Melbourne, Mexico City, Seoul, Singapore, Vancouver). Water storage capacities ranging between 1 and 12 mm were found. These values correspond to e-folding timescales lasting from 2 to 10 days, which translate to half-lives of 1.5 to 7 days. We find ET at the start of a drydown to be positively related to vegetation fraction, and long timescales and large storage capacities to be associated with higher vegetation fractions. According to our results, urban water storage capacity is at least one order of magnitude smaller than the known water storage capacity in natural forests and grassland.</p>

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A spatially detailed blue water footprint of the United States economy

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences ◽

10.5194/hess-22-3007-2018 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 22 (5) ◽

pp. 3007-3032 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Richard R. Rushforth ◽

Benjamin L. Ruddell

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Water Use ◽

Water Footprint ◽

Virtual Water ◽

The United States ◽

Energy Information Administration ◽

Blue Water ◽

Consumptive Use ◽

The Us ◽

Per Capita

Abstract. This paper quantifies and maps a spatially detailed and economically complete blue water footprint for the United States, utilizing the National Water Economy Database version 1.1 (NWED). NWED utilizes multiple mesoscale (county-level) federal data resources from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), the US Department of Transportation (USDOT), the US Department of Energy (USDOE), and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to quantify water use, economic trade, and commodity flows to construct this water footprint. Results corroborate previous studies in both the magnitude of the US water footprint (F) and in the observed pattern of virtual water flows. Four virtual water accounting scenarios were developed with minimum (Min), median (Med), and maximum (Max) consumptive use scenarios and a withdrawal-based scenario. The median water footprint (FCUMed) of the US is 181 966 Mm3 (FWithdrawal: 400 844 Mm3; FCUMax: 222 144 Mm3; FCUMin: 61 117 Mm3) and the median per capita water footprint (FCUMed′) of the US is 589 m3 per capita (FWithdrawal′: 1298 m3 per capita; FCUMax′: 720 m3 per capita; FCUMin′: 198 m3 per capita). The US hydroeconomic network is centered on cities. Approximately 58 % of US water consumption is for direct and indirect use by cities. Further, the water footprint of agriculture and livestock is 93 % of the total US blue water footprint, and is dominated by irrigated agriculture in the western US. The water footprint of the industrial, domestic, and power economic sectors is centered on population centers, while the water footprint of the mining sector is highly dependent on the location of mineral resources. Owing to uncertainty in consumptive use coefficients alone, the mesoscale blue water footprint uncertainty ranges from 63 to over 99 % depending on location. Harmonized region-specific, economic-sector-specific consumption coefficients are necessary to reduce water footprint uncertainties and to better understand the human economy's water use impact on the hydrosphere.

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Storage capacity and water use in the 21 water-resource regions of the United States geological survey

International Journal of Production Economics ◽

10.1016/s0925-5273(02)00295-5 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 81-82 ◽

pp. 1-12 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Andrew Stern

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Water Use ◽

Water Resource ◽

Storage Capacity ◽

The United States ◽

Geological Survey ◽

United States Geological Survey

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Does Mixing Tree Species Affect Water Storage Capacity of the Forest Floor? Laboratory Test of Pine-Oak and Fir-Beech Litter Layers

Forests ◽

10.3390/f12121674 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (12) ◽

pp. 1674

Author(s):

Anna Ilek ◽

Małgorzata Szostek ◽

Anna Mikołajczyk ◽

Marta Rajtar

Keyword(s):

Physical Properties ◽

Bulk Density ◽

Tree Species ◽

Forest Floor ◽

Storage Capacity ◽

Water Storage ◽

Pine Needles ◽

Litter Layer ◽

Water Storage Capacity ◽

Organic Debris

During the last decade, tree species mixing has been widely supported as a silvicultural approach to reduce drought stress. However, little is known on the influence of tree species mixing on physical properties and the water storage capacity of forest soils (including the forest floor). Thus, the study aimed to analyze the effect of mixing pine needles and oak leaves and mixing fir needles and beech leaves on hydro-physical properties of the litter layer during laboratory tests. We used fir-beech and pine-oak litter containing various shares of conifer needles (i.e., 0, 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 and 100%) to determine the influence of the needle admixture on bulk density, total porosity, macroporosity, water storage capacity, the amount of water stored in pores between organic debris and the degree of saturation of mixed litter compared to broadleaf litter (oak or beech). We found that the admixture of fir needles increased the bulk density of litter from 7.9% with a 5% share of needles to 55.5% with a 50% share (compared to pure beech litter), while the share of pine needles < 40% caused a decrease in bulk density by an average of 3.0–11.0% (compared to pure oak litter). Pine needles decreased the water storage capacity of litter by about 13–14% with the share of needles up to 10% and on average by 28% with the 40 and 50% shares of pine needles in the litter layer. Both conifer admixtures reduced the amount of water stored in the pores between organic debris (pine needles more than fir needles).

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