Browsing by Subject "Mississippi River"

Now showing 1 - 20 of 32
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    The Ability Of A Cyclic Sound On Its Own, And When Coupled With An Air Curtain, To Block Ten Species Of Fish Including Carp In A Laboratory Flume
    (2020-05) Feely, Jane
    There is a critical need to stop the upstream movement of invasive Asian carps in the Mississippi River. One strategy to stop this would be to install sensory deterrent systems in navigation locks. Because carps have excellent hearing, sound is being considered. My thesis examined the ability of sound and sound coupled with air to block a range of fish species, including four species of carp, in the laboratory. Responses to sound alone did not appear to be related to the possession of hearing specializations. In particular, silver and grass carp were relatively unaffected. Coupling this sound with an air curtain increased its efficacy at repelling all fish species and generally corresponded with the presence of hearing specializations. This laboratory study suggests that although a cyclic sound has little potential to block all carp species, coupling the sound to an air curtain has greater potential with little species-specificity.
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    Assessing the condition of Great Rivers using benthic and planktonic algal indicators
    (University of Minnesota Duluth, 2013) Reavie, Euan D
    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program embarked on a comprehensive survey of Great Rivers in order to provide tools the states need to better manage and protect these important national resources. This survey collected indicators intended to measure the health status of the Missouri, Mississippi, and Ohio Rivers. Measured parameters included indicators of water quality, sediments, algae, plants, insects, and fish. The Natural Resources Research Institute developed indicator tools from the algae, collected from hundreds of sites throughout the Great Rivers system. Indicators are now available to track ecological quality using periphytic and phytoplanktonic algal assemblages. These indicator approaches will support future monitoring and paleoecological programs, and be used to identify and verify reference locations in rivers. Algae are well-known to respond to stressors in rivers such as nutrient and salinity loading, siltation, and other factors affecting water clarity. We took a comprehensive approach to develop indicators (metrics and indices) for large river ecosystems using proven methods suitable for large rivers nationwide. A multi-tiered approach integrating landscape, biological communities, and chemical characteristics was applied to characterize sites.
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    Barge Movements on the Upper Mississippi River: Trends and Projections 1963-2002
    (1994-08) Fruin, Jerry; Halbach, Dan
    The volume of commodities moved by barge on the upper Mississippi River had nearly 50 years of uninterrupted growth after the completion of the locks and dams.and the nine foot channel system in the 1930s. This upward trend accelerated after towboats were switched from steam to diesel electric power in 1950s. Figure 1 shows the yearly total tonnage of barge shipments and receipts in the Twin Cities area for the 30 years from 1963-1992. Note, however, that volumes peaked in 1983 and 1984 and were followed by unprecedented declines in the late 80s. Annual movements in 1985 and later were sometimes less than 2/3 that of the peak. The remainder of this paper will review recent trends and identify contributing and/or confounding factors that should help answer these questions.
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    Bulletin No. 26. The History of the Upper Mississippi River in Late Wisconsin and Postglacial Time
    (Minnesota Geological Survey, 1935) Cooper, William S.
    This study in glacial geology is the work of a botanist who is a firm believer in what has been aptly termed "cross-fertilization of the sciences." It developed gradually from a beginning that was purely botanical. An area of ancient dunes close to Minneapolis supports a flora that is distinctive and of unusual interest. An ecological investigation begun here necessitated consideration of the dunes themselves. Steadily the field broadened in the manner familiar to every scientific worker. The dunes led back to their source in the outwash. A great glacial lake disclosed itself. Finally the various elements resolved themselves into a history. in which the Mississippi River plays the leading role. Concurrently the botanical field expanded until it covered the vegetation of both dunes and outwash. with particular emphasis upon its development during post-glacial time. The foundational geologic study is here presented: the botanical part is still unwritten.
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    Caring Too Much is a Start. MFA Thesis University of Minnesota, Department of Art
    (University of Minnesota, Department of Art, 2018-05) Limerick, Reb L
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    Connect [Fall 2014]
    (University of Minnesota: College of Education and Human Development, 2014-08) University of Minnesota: College of Education and Human Development
    Launched! Seven new alumni talk about their undergraduate experience. The rivers that connect us: A writer, an artist, and a family social scientist join forces to connect communities along the Mekong and Mississippi rivers. The death of the death penalty? A study by social work professors in Texas and Minnesota is the first to look at the penalty’s effect on murder victims’ families.
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    Environment and the River: Maps of the Mississippi.
    (Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, University of Minnesota, 1991) Craig, William J.; Anderson, William S.
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    Estimation of community oxygen production and demand in the Mississippi river at St. Paul, Minnesota, by use of a dissolved oxygen routing model
    (1983-02) Stefan, Heinz G.; Toso, Joel W.; Rodney, Mark W.
    Dissolved oxygen production and consumption in two reaches of the Upper Mississippi River at St. Paul were determined from diel1 dissolved oxygen measurements by a routing method. One reach was above the Metro Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) outlet, the other below it. Dissolved oxygen, water temperature, and river flow were measured by the USGS on July 13--14 and August 10-11, 1982. Weather data (wind and solar radiation) were collected simultaneously by the authors. The numerical dissolved oxygen routing model (DORM) developed for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with data from the Monticello Ecological Research Station (MERS) was adapted to the much larger Mississippi River system.
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    Increasing understanding of floodplain forest dynamics, 2018-2020, Upper Mississippi River
    (2021-12-03) Reuling, Laura F; Van Appledorn, Molly; Meier, Andrew R; Nielsen, Daniel; Windmuller-Campione, Marcella A; lreuling@umn.edu; Reuling, Laura F; University of Minnesota Silva Lab
    This forest inventory dataset was collected from 2018-2020 in floodplain forests along the Upper Mississippi River (MN, WI, and IA). It includes tree and species level information on overstory trees, tree regeneration, understory plant communities, and coarse woody debris at twelve study sites (108 total plots). These data were used to understand floodplain forest dynamics and inform forest management for these systems.
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    Living with the Mississippi
    (River Life, University of Minnesota, 2014) Hines, Rachel; Nunnally, Patrick D.
    “Living with the Mississippi” is a blog series that examines the history of the river flats communities and what it means to almost literally live on the Mississippi River. Follow along to learn more about life on the Mississippi prior to luxury condos and clean river water, before the riverfront was considered a desirable place to live.
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    Mississippi National River and Recreation Area Sustainability Framework
    (Minneapolis: Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, 2011) Blitzer, Mary; Esmaeili, Raya; Guetter, Paula; Malecha, Matt; McDonnell, Craig; Weiswerda, Linden
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    Mixing of the Metro Wastewater Treatment Plant effluent with the Mississippi River below St. Paul
    (1982-11) Stefan, Heinz G.
    As a result of this study the following description of the Metro Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) effluent zone in the Mississippi River below St. Paul can be given: • The shape and the size of the mixing zone changes with season. Only summer conditions were analyzed specifically. • The longest mixing zone can be expected in fall or spring when the mixing is controlled by transverse spreading under neutrally buoyant conditions. Such conditions may also exist at very high flows during other seasons. o Between June and August the Metro WWTP effluent plunges below the water surface before reaching the end of the diverging outlet channel. The process also occurs in May and ends sometime in September. The effluent water therefore enters the Mississippi River as a submerged flow (underflow). Water temperatures and higher dissolved solids content in the effluent relative to the oncoming Mississippi River water are the cause of the plunging phenomenon and the underflow. • The river becomes vertically stratified below the outlet due to the sinking of the effluent into the deepest part of the river main channel. • The spread of the effluent underflow across the river bottom during June, July and August appears essentially completed within 0.3 miles or less from the outlet, the actual distance depending on river flow rate. An analysis of the initial transverse spreading process (nearfield) has not been .made.· • The most appropriate model for the summer Metro WWTP effluent mixing zone is therefore a model which considers the plunging, transverse underflow and vertical mixing in the river.