Search

This thesis is an ethnography of how places like mountain pastures (jailoos), hydro-electric dams and holy sites (mazars) matter in striving for a good life. Based on eighteen months of fieldwork in the Toktogul valley of Kyrgyzstan, this study contributes to theoretical questions in the anthropology of post-socialism, time, space, work and enjoyment. I use the term ‘moral geography’ to emphasize a spatial imaginary that is centred on ideas of ‘the good life’, both ethical and happy. This perspective captures an understanding of jailoos which connects food, health, wealth and beauty. In comparing attitudes towards a Soviet and post-Soviet dam, I reveal changes in the nature of the state, property and collective labour. People in Toktogul hold agentive places like mazars and non-personalized places like dams and jailoos apart, implying not one overarching philosophy of nature, but a world in which types of places have different gradations of object-ness and personhood. I show how people use forms of commemoration as a means of establishing connections between people, claims on land and aspirations of ‘becoming cultured’. I demonstrate how people draw on repertoires of epic or Soviet heroism and mobility in conceiving their life story and agency in shaping events. Different times and places such as ‘eternal’ jailoos and Soviet dams are often collapsed as people derive personal authority from connections to them. Analysing accounts of collectivization and privatization I argue that the Soviet period is often treated as a ‘second tradition’ used to judge the present. People also strive for ‘the good life’ through working practices that are closely linked to the Soviet experience, and yet differ from Marxist definitions of labour. The pervasively high value of work is fed from different, formally conflicting sources of moral authority such as Socialism, Islam and neo-liberal ideals of ‘entrepreneurship’. I discuss how parties, poetry and song bring together jakshylyk (goodness) as enjoyment and virtue. I show how song and poetry act as moral guides, how arman yearning is purposely enjoyed in Kyrgyz music and how it relates to nostalgia and nature imagery. The concept of ‘moral geography’ allows me to investigate how people strive for well-being, an investigation that is just as important as focusing on problem-solving and avoiding pain. It also allows an analysis of place and time that holds material interactions, moral ideals, economic and political dimensions in mind.

This study utilizes a recently acquired, high-resolution CHIRP seismic reflection dataset and a deepwater sediment core to analyze the recent stratigraphy of Jackson Lake (Wyoming, USA). The western shoreline of Jackson Lake is situated adjacent to the Teton fault, a down-to-the-east normal fault that produces the spectacular high topography of Grand Teton National Park. The sediments of Jackson Lake are underexplored and consequently, their value as indicators of hydroclimatic and tectonic changes is unknown. Here, the sedimentary fill of Jackson Lake is explored as a natural archive of environmental change, specifically in reference to the influence of human outlet engineering (dam installation) on the lake. This study developed new bathymetric, acoustic basement, isopach, and facies maps from seismic reflection profiles in order to illustrate the modern distribution of available accommodation, sedimentary depocenters, and features of the sublacustrine geomorphology. Major faults were mapped by identifying offset basement reflectors, and acoustic facies were characterized based on external geometry and internal characteristics of reflections. A major finding in the shallow seismic data were several prograding clinoforms; these features appear to reflect processes associated with lake level transgression due to installation of the dam, which resulted in the flooding of deltas. The northern axis of Jackson Lake displays high amplitude, parallel, semi-continuous lake floor reflections interpreted as flooded Snake River delta plain deposits, whereas low amplitude, continuous reflections in the basin center are interpreted to be hemipelagic lacustrine sediments. Evidence of glaciation is also present in the seismic dataset; mound-shaped acoustic geometries with limited penetration are interpreted as submerged drumlins or moraines. A short sediment core, dated with 210Pb, 137Cs, and 14C, serves as ground truth for the shallowest seismic reflectors in the basin’s primary depocenter, and provides initial insights into deepwater sedimentation rates. The geochronological data indicate that the core encompasses ~365 years from ~1654 to 2019 CE, and an acceleration in sediment accumulation may have resulted from dam installation. This research will help to guide future long sediment coring, which is needed in order to establish the long-term depositional history of the basin.

Water is an integral part of agricultural practices, with agriculture being the largest user of surface water in the United States. Agriculture's reliance on surface water is strengthening as climate change and growing populations are stressing irrigated croplands. This surface water is primarily stored by a complex network of dams, but despite our reliance on surface water for irrigation, we lack a spatially detailed record of irrigation dam command areas. Therefore, we assigned irrigation command areas to the approximately 1,100 large irrigation dams in the continental United States by combining a tiered assignment strategy with field level infrastructure and agricultural data. We showed that these large irrigation dam command areas are responsible for 10.7 million acres of cropland. This translates to approximately 13.3 billion dollars of crops annually that depend on these large irrigation dams for water. The high-resolution, crop specific assignment of these command areas allows for water scarcity assessments that can be used for better water management decisions to address the changing environmental conditions and public demand pressuring the nation's agriculture and water infrastructure.

This thesis centers on the Pathways Exploration Internship program at the Denver Art Museum (DAM) as an extension of a public commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) throughout the institution. Internships are a critical step for young professionals hoping to enter the museum field. While crucial, many factors hinder museums from reaching a more diverse pool of talent. This 12-week-long paid internship was altered in 2019 to focus on the EDI initiatives of DAM. Through the lens of social justice theory and the use of descriptive case study methodology, this study examines the transformation, success, shortcomings, and future of this particular internship program. The research hopes to show the importance of internship programs in relation to EDI efforts put forth by museums. Ultimately, the Pathways Exploration Internship program at the DAM is working towards these goals, but more transparency in this work would benefit the institution. It is my hope that this research will inspire museums to reevaluate how their internship programs are a critical steppingstone for many who wish to work in a museum.

The construction of dams and reservoirs is essential for various purposes, such as regulating fresh water supply, generating hydropower, and controlling floods. However, these structures can significantly affect river’s geomorphic processes, leading to various environmental disturbances. While avoiding dam construction is not always possible, it is crucial to document the effects of existing dams on upstream and downstream regions to understand their short term and long-term impact on river channel properties and their subsequent environment. In this study, we analyzed 21 dams constructed between 2000 and 2007 around the world using the Global Reservoir and Dam database (GRanD) and Global LOng-term river Width (GLOW) datasets. The study period was divided into two phases: pre-construction and post-construction, while excluding the dam construction period. This division allowed us to study the natural flow regime before dam construction and the altered flow regime after dam completion. To ensure data consistency and meaningful analysis, we focused on dams with a minimum of 12 years of available data during both pre- and post-construction phases. In our analysis, we examined the temporal variations in river widths before and after dam construction, considering both upstream and downstream reaches. By comparing these changes, we identified three distinct patterns of dam impacts on river widths: narrowing, stable and widening which were furthered termed as consistent or inconsistent based on their temporal nature. These findings enhance our understanding of how human-made physical structures, such as dams, can have dynamic and diverse effects on river morphology.

Despite efforts to mitigate and reduce contamination of surface water resources, water quality remains impaired in many places worldwide, primarily due to nonpoint source pollutants including agriculture and urbanization. These both introduce excess sediment and nutrients, various types of chemicals, and more to surface waters. The Scioto River in the Upper Scioto River Basin in central Ohio was studied to assess the influence of large-scale agriculture and urbanization/suburbanization on river geochemistry. The Scioto River has its headwaters in land dominated by row-crop agriculture, then flows through the expanding metropolitan Columbus area, then again through suburbs and agricultural land south of downtown Columbus. Additionally, the river is dammed in two places, providing another means of assessing how modification of natural river systems impacts river geochemistry. The Scioto River was sampled in five locations with varying degrees of surrounding agricultural and urban land use. Samples were collected weekly at three locations from February 2021 to August 2021, then monthly through December 2021. The other two locations were sampled monthly for the entire study period. Samples were analyzed for major ions, nutrients, select trace elements, and stable water isotopes. Results revealed that concentrations of many analytes were generally highest at the most upstream location, decreased until downtown Columbus, and increased at the location furthest downstream. Because much of the study area is underlain by carbonate bedrock, correlations with Ca and/or Mg were thought to indicate a primarily geogenic source of the solute. Elements with moderate to strong positive correlations with Ca and/or Mg included Na, HCO3, Cl, SO4 F, Br, Li, U, Ni, Rb, Mo, Ba, and Sr. Additionally, many of these elements had moderate to strong negative correlations with NO3+NO2, which is primarily from agricultural inputs. Further, log C – log Q relationships of these data revealed chemostasis or weak dilution of analytes that positively correlated with Ca/Mg, suggesting a geogenic source of these elements. In contrast, NO3+NO2 and Cu displayed slight mobilization behavior. Yields of Cu and NO3+NO2 decreased from upstream agricultural locations until downtown Columbus, where yields of both increased before decreasing at the location furthest downstream. This suggests an urban input of NO3+NO2 in addition to agricultural inputs upstream, and an influx of Cu from metropolitan Columbus, potentially from impermeable surface runoff that collects contamination from fossil fuel combustion and vehicle wear/emissions. Lastly, the influence of hydrologic modification from damming of the river was evident in these data. Correlations between elements were weakest at sample locations closest to the reservoirs, and log C – log Q relationships were closest to chemostatic at these locations for most analytes. These data reveal both urban and agricultural controls on the river’s chemistry that vary due to hydroclimatic conditions and surrounding land use. Frequent sampling of the Scioto River during relatively higher flows allowed for a more nuanced understanding of sources of solutes to the river. Continued water quality monitoring is imperative to maintain and protect water quality resources, especially as urban populations are predicted to grow significantly in the next century.

This thesis examines the 2018 failure of the Northern Tailings Storage Facility at Cadia Valley Operations, located in New South Wales, Australia. First, the importance of examining and understanding failure mechanisms and post failure kinematics is described. Within which we understand that in the current state of affairs it is exceedingly difficult, or nigh impossible to perform without the use of large strain analyses, which have yet to permeate into the industry to a significant degree. Second, the initial construction and state of the dam just prior to failure is defined, with the materials and their properties laid out and discussed in depth as well as our means of modeling their behavior. Third, we validate and discuss our results of the base model of the dam based on key topographic features from initial and post-failure field measurements. After validation, we examine the influences of each of the different materials on the runout, comparing final topographies of different simulations with the actual final topography observed. This study was a valuable method of validating the Material Point Method as a means of modeling large deformations, as well as demonstrating its powerful applications towards catastrophic disaster prevention. The study validates and provides a greater understanding of the event of the Cadia Tailings Storage Facility Failure, and presents a framework of steps to perform similar examination on future tailings dams as a means of providing risk management in the event of failure.

A large number of dams and hydropower plants have been built in mountain regions due to the rich water resources and high potential energy. As a consequence, flow regulation associated with dams has led to profound changes to the intertwined hydrologic, ecologic, and geomorphic functioning of rivers. Understanding the effect of dams on the interaction between hydrologic, ecologic, and geomorphic is critical for river management that aims to maximize a range of potential benefits. Therefore, my Ph.D. research proposed to investigate basic and applied scientific questions about two important disturbances caused by dams on mountain rivers: hydropeaking and reservoir sedimentation.Hydropeaking is defined as rapid variations in power production by hydroelectric plants as a consequence of varying electricity generation and fluctuations in demand in the electricity market. In Chapter 1, public hourly flow data in the state of California was used to reveal the diversity of hydropeaking flow. To process a large amount of data and extract their hydrologic features, an open-source algorithm, Hydropeaking Events Detection Algorithm, was developed. Integratedclustering analysis was applied and identified four underlying hydropeaking patterns.Chapters 2 and 3 moved beyond pure statistical analysis to mechanistic observation and modeling of hydro-morphologic interactions in dam-regulated mountain rivers. Both studies investigated hydraulic and sediment transport regimes upstream of two concrete-arch dams. Chapter 2 exploratively studied hydrologic controls associated with current flow operations in a small dam. A new supplementary reservoir sedimentation management strategy based on water transfer was proposed for small dams. Chapter 3 applies flow convergence routing theory backward to redistribute sediment erosion upstream of the dam. Topographic steering and flow convergence routing was found to be able to redistribute sediment erosion pattern and keep sediment away from the key structure.

Many dams have been built along the Mae Khong River, bringing up many issues, including that of sustainable livelihood. Pak Mun Dam is one of the most controversial dams in Thailand, and its issues have continued to today. While many studies on dams have been conducted, this is the first quantitative study, using the Structural Equation Model to understand the eight dimensions of well-being. The survey on which this dissertation is based collected 250 pieces of data for the impacted community and 250 pieces of data for the non-impacted community of the Khong Jiam district in the Ubon Ratchathani province of Thailand. The eight dimensions of well-being are based on concepts and theories about achieving sustainable livelihoods. Within these eight dimensions, there are 24 out of 40 items that have a lower mean for the impacted community, in comparison to the non-impacted community, which is statistically significant. Based on the sustainable livelihood framework model, institutions (in this case, the government) play the role of providing strategies to increase well-being assets directly in terms of overall well-being and through dimensions of well-being. In this model, the government’s interventions are public services, quality of job training, and the satisfaction level for the Pak Mun Dam solution. The empirical results of the first order factors show that there are seven factors that are statistically included as first order factors with twenty items. These twenty items represent the factors of economics, community, environment, politics, working conditions, culture, and family. Second order factors were included in the structural model as independent variables in order to predict the dependent variable of overall well-being. Economic well-being and social well-being are statistically significant factors for predicting overall well-being; they can also be mediators of the model. The results from the structural model show that there is full mediation within this model, which means that the government’s impact on overall well-being can only be explained through increasing economic and social well-being. The satisfaction level of Pak Mun Dam’s government solution would impact overall well-being through the mediation of economic well-. The government’s quality of job training and the provision of government services would impact overall well-being through social well-being. In addition to the benefit of standardized estimates of economic and social well-being, the institutions can use the twenty items to help specify factors and provide better policy to maintain sustainable livelihoods based on their precise information. The marginal rate of substitution (MRS) result also shows the relationship between economic well-being and social well-being: local community residents would give up more of their economic well-being to gain more social well-being. This shows that their social well-being is a very important factor for their livelihoods. The study is significant for six reasons. First, it is the first quantitative study of the well-being of local residents impacted by the dam; it also provides more complete information and deeper understanding about each dimension of well-being. Second, this study is the first study that combines more dimensions of well-being based on SLF into a single study. Third, it has furthered the work of existing studies with SEM to SLF to investigate the impact of the dam. Fourth, it informs policymakers so that they can provide more suitable policies to achieve sustainable livelihoods. Fifth, the study also adds the MRS concept to understand local residents’ decision-making process on well-being, and it can be used to create the well-being index and trade-off analysis for SLF projects. Last, testing the important of institute with specific needs of local residents would be more efficient for SLF project.

Over the course of the nineteen and twentieth centuries, the Ohio River underwent an ecological transformation. This dissertation examines the various and competing visions for the Ohio River and how this transformation occurred through navigational and flood control engineering projects, extractive industries and pollution from expanding municipalities and industry. Its narrative begins in the early nineteenth century, when explorers and naturalists begin to explore the young United States’ Ohio Territory in the west. The 981-mile long river grew as a vital artery, as it allowed for movement from the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers in Pittsburgh to Cairo, Illinois, where the Ohio meets the Mississippi River. Settlement grew along the river’s banks, and the residents depended on the healthy river not only for transportation but as a clean water source as well. Hoping to earn profit, residents and business owners from outside the valley also sought to exploit the river’s resources, such as the freshwater mussels that lived in it. Industrial interests, such as that of coal, lobbied heavily to invest in infrastructural projects as well, from the removal of snags and dredging to permanent locks and dams, over the course of the nineteenth century. These programs, especially the creation of 52 locks and dams, resulted in the removal of habitats and a series of slack pools. With the arrival of railroads, though, the Ohio River began to lose its dominance and the visions for the Ohio River changed as a result. Increasingly, residents and businesses and demanded the federal government also invest in protection from river flooding, which grew in intensity and came to a head with the thousand-year 1937 flood, and pollution abatement programs. This resulted in further engineering of the river and the Ohio Valley with the creation of flood control structures that included levees and reservoirs in the twentieth century. It also led to the creation of a regional regulatory body, the Ohio River Valley Sanitation Commission in 1948. This involvement and hope for the remainder of the twentieth century is where the narrative ends.

Abstract: Quality control and construction methods for an oil sands overburden tailings dam in the Albertan Oil Sands can differ from these conventional construction methods due to two governing factors: A high overburden to ore ratio with a complex geology requiring significant waste management effort and a year-round aggressive construction schedule in a northern climate. Dyke 10 is a large earth-fill tailings dam, located at Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNRL)’s Horizon Oil Sands mine, approximately 80 km north of Fort McMurray, Alberta. This thesis synthesizes the experiences gained during the construction of Dyke 10 project to illustrate how construction and quality control methods used at an oil sands overburden tailings dam differ from conventional practice. A review of published literature was used to summarize the state of practice in the industry. A site visit, accompanied by interviews with CNRL construction personnel, compaction data, and limited associated reporting made available by CNRL was used to develop the findings of this thesis. The management of overburden waste requires a comprehensive understanding of the geological block model combined with collaborative mine planning and an effective dispatch system is necessary to manage the mobilization of up to 350,000 m3 of fill per day. Dyke 10 has been designed in a robust manner to accommodate a broad range of fill types comprised of overburden waste from the mine, thereby reducing the need for storage of overburden elsewhere. A combination of method and performance based specifications are used at Dyke 10. The method based controls and their management are built upon industry experience, then expanded upon with modern technology and equipment resulting greater rates of production. Empirical trials such as test fills are used to establish construction methodology and expected fill performance for year round construction. CNRL’s quality control and quality assurance methods have had to adapt to the rapid rate of construction, by establishing a controlled system that is consistent and repeatable. The predominant quality control approach used at Dyke 10 is the reliance on detailed and well documented observations by qualified personnel corroborated by periodic compaction density and index testing in manner that is representative of placed material. Quality control measures must adapt to the construction methods to satisfy that the evaluating criteria are representative and fit for function. While the quality control system applied at Dyke 10 has proven effective, a similar approach may not be applicable for dam construction on a smaller scale, or where design necessitates a narrow range of material controls.

Microplastic pollution is increasingly studied in freshwater systems due to concerns over the ubiquity of the small plastic particles and their potential effects on aquatic organisms. Still unknown is how in-stream characteristics and temporal variabilities may affect observed riverine microplastic concentrations. In this thesis I investigate dams’ influence on the spatial heterogeneity of microplastics, the affect that time of sampling (time of day and seasonal flow condition) has on the microplastic concentration measured, and whether upstream wastewater management strategies affect the patterns observed. I find that that dams act as a sink for microplastics, capturing significantly higher concentrations of microplastics in the reservoir behind them than is found in areas of settling upstream or downstream of them. My analysis also demonstrates that flow condition is a significant predictor of microplastic concentration at a given location while other measured parameters, including upstream wastewater management strategies, are not. By indicating that flow condition is an important control on measured concentration, this research improves future studies’ ability to interpret and properly apply the findings of existing riverine microplastic surveys. Additionally, by improving our understanding of how hydrologic conditions and the presence of in-stream barriers affect the transport of microplastics in rivers, this research helps to reduce uncertainty in models that attempt to quantify the magnitude of global microplastic pollution and the rate at which it grows.

Karst bedrock conditions and deterioration of the lock and dam structures have resulted in significant leakage through, underneath, and around Lock and Dam No. 8 on the Kentucky River. During severe droughts, the water surface in Pool No. 8 has been observed to drop below the crest of the dam, resulting in water supply shortages and water quality issues for surrounding communities reliant on the pool. Presently, the primary purpose of Lock and Dam No. 8 is water supply. Pool No. 8 is currently where the cities of Nicholasville (Jessamine County, KY) and Lancaster (Garrard County, KY) draw their water. Due to the age and condition of the structures, and the criticality of the retained water supply, the project Owner commissioned a replacement dam to be built. One major component of the replacement dam was a foundation improvement program. The foundation improvement program was designed to address the karst bedrock conditions at the site. The foundation improvements included a secant pile cutoff wall and a double-row grout curtain. The grout curtain at Lock and Dam No. 8 was evaluated based on the metrics presently available.

Geophysical methods including Capacitively-Coupled Resistivity (CCR), Electrical Resistivity Tomography/Imaging (ERT/ERI), Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW) with Love and Rayleigh waves and a Full-Waveform Inversion (FWI) were performed on Kinion Lake Dam, an earth-filled embankment dam that has historically experienced significant seepage and internal erosion issues. Surveys were completed along the crest and downstream toe of the dam. Results from the surveys indicate that each method is capable of resolving the bedrock depth within 1-2 m of locations shown on previous drilling logs, though some discrepancies between the methods exist. A weathered bedrock layer is believed to have led to the different depths between the methods. Rayleigh wave MASW and FWI were determined to be most effective at determining bedrock depth at deeper bedrock locations (i.e., the dam crest) and Love wave MASW was the only viable seismic method at detecting bedrock for areas with thin soil layers and complex bedrock geometry (i.e., the dam toe). The CCR and ERI results were in general agreement in bedrock depth estimation except for a long region in the middle of the dam, which assuming temporal water level variation, is an area of potential internal erosion. Higher water levels when the CCR data was collected in the spring are believed to have resulted in lower resistivities, due to the presence of water, while lower summer water levels resulted in higher resistivities for the ERI results, suggesting that fines may have been eroded out of the interior of the dam over time. This indicates that both CCR and ERI provide consistent data and demonstrates the importance of resistivity monitoring or seasonal surveys for internal erosion detection. The use of these resistivity methods also successfully detected a potential seepage path along the downstream toe of the dam where large seeps occur during large precipitation events.

Cambodia’s recent past includes civil war (1970-1975), genocide (1975-1979), foreign occupation (1979-1989), and armed insurgency (1979-1998). After the existence of peace and political stability and a free market system, Cambodia’s economy has experienced modest economic growth, but potentially limited due to energy deficiencies. One of many measures to ensure energy supply is the proposed study of the Sambor Dam, the first and biggest mainstream dam which has ever been built along the Cambodia’s Mekong River if approved. My case study of the Sambor Project focuses four villages - two upstream and two downstream. Unlike the existing scholarly studies of hydropower dams in Cambodia and most cases around the world, this research mainly studies the dam projects that have been proposed as opposed to those completed or those under construction. Three interrelated issues are addressed in this study. Firstly, it addresses the daily lives of local residents along the Sambor’s Mekong River and their use of the river. To be more specific, the study provides analysis on socio-economic and cultural interaction of the four villages. Second, it examines how the Sambor Project will change their lives. Third, it provides the local residents’ reactions toward the dam, if officially approved.

Evaluation of the sources and cycles of water quality contaminants in watersheds is critical for effective surface water resource management. In particular, iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn), commonly found in rocks and sediments, have adverse impacts on water quality. However, controlling Fe and Mn in surface water systems is often complex and requires careful consideration of the hydrologic and biogeochemical factors that influence the speciation and mobility of these metals. This dissertation investigates the sources and cycles of Fe and Mn in surface waters designated for human use. Here, I present the findings from three field- and laboratory-based studies conducted at sites in western Virginia, United States. The first study examines the impacts of reservoir-derived and watershed-derived metals on water quality along the 180 km reach of the Roanoke River downgradient from Leesville Dam. The results from this study showed strong temporal influences on river water quality immediately downgradient of the dam, resulting from seasonal reservoir dynamics. Further downgradient in the Roanoke River, water quality was strongly tied to hydrologic conditions resulting from influences generated in the watershed. The second study investigated the effects of increasing dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations in the hypolimnion of stratified drinking water reservoir on Fe and Mn oxidation and removal. Results from a whole-ecosystem experiment showed that increasing DO concentrations through hypolimnetic oxygenation was effective for preventing the accumulation of soluble Fe in the water column. Although Mn oxidation increased under well-oxygenated conditions, soluble Mn still accumulated in the hypolimnion. Results from a laboratory experiment demonstrated that the oxidation of Mn was strongly tied to the activity of Mn oxidizing microbes. The third study examined the relative contribution of external and internal metal loadings to the exchange of metals between sediments and the water column and the source/sink behavior of a seasonally stratified reservoir under varying hydrologic conditions in the inflows and outflows and redox conditions in the reservoir hypolimnion. Results from this study showed that redox conditions strongly influenced the exchange of metals between the sediment and aqueous phase, but had little effect on the source/sink behavior of the reservoir, while external tributary loadings had little effect on internal redox cycles, but was a strong indicator for whether the reservoir behaved as a net metal source or sink. Overall, the findings from these studies exemplify the value of characterizing the hydrologic and biogeochemical drivers of Fe and Mn cycles for managing the water quality effects of these metals in surface water supplies.

Accurate quantification of ecosystem change is essential for effective environmental management. However, the selection of meaningful indicators of impacts to ecosystems and of benefits from restoration is not standardized. In this dissertation I investigate 1) the applicability of using sediment reduction as an indicator of the cumulative impacts of dams in the Mekong River basin; 2) review and evaluate the meaningfulness of common river restoration evaluation metrics such as macroinvertebrate diversity and richness in habitat heterogeneity projects, and 3) demonstrate the usefulness of prey availability as an indicator of restoration success in riparian restoration projects along the lower Colorado River. 1) The Mekong River, largely undeveloped prior to 1990, is undergoing rapid dam construction. Seven dams are under construction on the mainstem in China and 133 are proposed for the Lower Mekong River and tributaries. The question is what cumulative effect will these dams have on sediment movement in the watershed. There was a lack of data on sediment yields in some portions of the basin so we delineated nine distinct geomorphic regions, for which we estimated sediment yields based on geomorphic characteristics, tectonic history, and the limited sediment transport data available. We then applied the 3W model to calculate cumulative sediment trapping by these dams, accounting for changing trap efficiency over time and multiple dams on a single river system. Under a ‘‘definite future’’ scenario of 38 dams (built or under construction), cumulative sediment reduction to the Delta would be 51 percent. Under full build-out of all planned dams, cumulative sediment trapping will be 96 percent. That is, once in-channel stored sediment is exhausted, only 4% of the predam sediment load would be expected to reach the Delta. We then combined geomorphic assessments of the Mekong channel and delta with the 3W model’s results of sediment trapping to forecast geomorphic change. We expect the biggest changes to occur along alluvial reaches, though stripping of thin sediment deposits in bedrock reaches may also have significant consequences for benthic invertebrates, fishes, and other aquatic organisms dependent on the presence of alluvium in the channel. If all dams are built as proposed, the resulting 96% reduction in sediment supply would have profound consequences on productivity of the river and persistence of the delta landform itself and suggests that strategies to pass sediment through/around dams should be explored to reduce the magnitude and consequences of downstream sediment starvation. In this first case, we use sediment reduction as an indicator of watershed impairment. Though many complexities (e.g. oil, gas, and groundwater withdrawals, routing of sediment through deltas) influence coastal erosion, we found sediment reduction to be a meaningful worldwide indicator. We compiled sediment data from 24 worldwide deltas and results indicate a positive relationship of sediment reductions to deltas resulting in decreased rates of aggradation. In particular, sediment reductions of more than 80% are consistent in almost complete cessation in aggradation rates. The full-build scenario of Mekong dam building would result in 96% reduction in sediment delivery and we would then expect an almost complete cessation in sediment deposition in the delta.2) In a search for accountability, the effectiveness of many large restoration programs has been evaluated using standard such as acres or length of stream restored per dollar, but this was recognized to be inadequate. Another common restoration metric is based on the common goal of enhancing ecosystems by creating more complex and varied habitats. Although widely implemented, there is little understanding of the success to date of such projects. There is also little agreement on the best approaches and metrics for quantifying success. We reviewed the methods of 26 peer-reviewed evaluation studies and investigated the influence of study design on evaluation results. Of the 26 studies, many did not implement rigorous study designs. For example, only 46% of the studies used quantitative measures of habitat, 62% included only one year of post-project monitoring, 46% used zero or one control (unrestored) sites, and 62% did not include reference (best potential ecological condition) sites. Studies that used more rigorous designs (e.g. sampled more years, measured habitat quantitatively) were more likely to find increased ecosystem diversity and richness in response to heterogeneity enhancement. More fundamentally, all studies used macroinvertebrate diversity and/or richness as the measure of ecological success. We question the logic of assuming that reach-scale diversity or richness is useful as a universal measure of ecosystem integrity. Monitoring and evaluation should first establish hypotheses and conceptual models based on watershed perturbations and set specific milestones towards a sustainable, dynamic, and healthy ecosystem. Restoration targets should be defined based on regional, historical, and analytical reference conditions and by conducting manipulative experiments that can help predict ecosystem responses to restoration actions. It is important to understand if habitat heterogeneity projects are succeeding, but it is not yet possible to draw general conclusions. Metrics to evaluate performance of stream restoration projects need more rigor and should be tied to project specific goals. Generic metrics may yield misleading results. 3) Below Hoover Dam, riparian vegetation along the Colorado River was extensively cleared for agriculture. Thus, large areas of habitat were lost to clearing. Moreover, the functions of the ecosystem were compromised as the connections of the river to its floodplain were severed by levees, flow reduction by dams and diversions, channel incision, and groundwater pumping. Subsequently, native species declined, including the southwestern willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) that nests along rivers in dense riparian thickets. The Lower Colorado River Multi Species Conservation Program (MSCP) was established in 2005 to re-create habitat for 26 species including the flycatcher, but the benefits of these restoration sites for target species have not been quantified. Many MSCP projects have involved extensive plantings of willow (Salix exigua, S. gooddingii] and cottonwood [Populus fremontii) on high terraces disconnected from the river by levees. MSCP projects goals are specified as acres of habitat, but to support functioning food webs, riparian ecosystems in arid regions require a subsidy of aquatic insects. We documented prey availability for the southwestern willow flycatcher in constructed habitats as an indicator of their potential to support the species. The number of aquatic insects, proportion of aquatic insects, total number of insects, and number of insect orders all decreased with distance from the river, and the decrease occurred within the first 100 meters from the river. The MSCP cottonwood-willow plantation (more than 500 m from the river) at Cibola National Wildlife Refuge had 86% fewer total insects (p=0.055), 97% fewer aquatic insects (p=.032), and only half as many insect orders (p=0.015) as sites adjacent to the river. In the plantation, only 16% of the insects were aquatic vs. 59% aquatic at the river’s edge (p=.063). Our results suggest that restoration success (and the recovery of southwestern willow flycatcher) may be limited by prey availability and that future riparian plantings should be concentrated along the river or tributary channels. Southwestern willow flycatchers have not been nesting in MSCP plantations. Thus the metric of “acres restored” is inadequate to capture ecosystem function. More meaningful metrics would identify potential limitations in ecosystems (such as prey availability) so that habitat suitability and functionality can be assessed and adaptively managed. Together, the chapters of this dissertation highlight different approaches and considerations for the quantification of ecosystem impacts and restoration success. The field of ecosystem quantification is still far from adopting universally appropriate indicators of change, but this dissertation seeks to highlight problems in current approaches, and to demonstrate useful models and approaches.

This project aimed to provide the client, the Huron River Watershed Council (HRWC), with a framework for assessing flow alteration and its impact on the biological community of the Huron River. Within the watershed, analyses on annual, monthly, daily and sub-daily hydrological data, precipitation, land cover change, and fish and benthic invertebrate communities were conducted. Most hydrologic parameters concerning flow volume demonstrated an upward or non-changing pattern for the most recent 100 years. The base flow gradually increased, while the reversal number gradually decreased, suggesting a more stable flow regime. In terms of daily and sub-daily flow regime, the largest flashiness was demonstrated by the gauge near Ann Arbor, which could be the result of dam regulation in the upstream region. A strong correlation was found between precipitation and flow discharge. Both precipitation and flow discharge showed a similar increasing trend, while the runoff coefficient did not change significantly over time. This result implies that the increase in precipitation is a major driver of flow increase. With the current climate change trend, more water is expected in the river. Furthermore, increased impervious land in the watershed has resulted in more runoff from rainfall events and led to higher flashiness in the river. The corresponding increase of fine substrate and pollutants has also had a negative impact on stream habitats for benthic macroinvertebrates. At sample sites along the river, fish preferences (e.g. water temperature, stream size, substrate type, etc.) defined two guilds: riverine and impoundment. In impoundment environments, a high percentage of the sample taxa were: game fish, tolerant species, substrate generalists, piscivores and had preferences for larger rivers and slow current velocity. Conversely, in riverine environments, a high percentage of the sample taxa were: darters, intolerant species, insectivores, and had preferences for rock or gravel substrate and wider range of current velocities. Along the Huron River main stem, a habitat suitability model was used to predict expected fish communities at a given site and then compared to sampled fish communities. Fish communities around Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti were found to not be representative of model communities for the river type, temperature, and size. Present fish communities preferred a flow range with a significantly higher upper bound. An Adverse Resource Impact occurs in Ann Arbor at a low flow of around 45 cfs and in Ypsilanti at around 51 cfs. This serves as the critical low flow value for management purposes. Ann Arbor has the highest amount of historic ARI occurrences throughout the Huron River indicating that it is necessary to prioritize dam operations associated with this site.

A robust and efficient numerical tool has been developed to evaluate the behaviour of earth and rockfill dams during seismic loading and to determine the associated deformations. Realistic behaviour of earth materials can be simulated if the plastic response of the soil and rockfill is appropriately considered. This has been achieved by employing a bounding surface plasticity constitutive model in a large deformation finite difference analysis. A novel mapping rule has been introduced in this work to improve the efficiency and applicability of the model in simulation of complex stress paths, which are usually encountered in soil during highly variable seismic loading. The constitutive model has also been extended to include the behaviour of rockfills and highly crushable materials. To resolve the problems associated with the effects of overshooting in the solution of boundary value problems, a new concept has been introduced in this work and successfully implemented in the solution algorithm in order to avoid spurious unloading/reloading stress paths and their associated hardening effects. The validity of the proposed models and the efficiency of the numerical tool have been demonstrated through simulation of a series of triaxial laboratory tests as well as a number of case studies on a range of monotonic and cyclic loadings. These cases include settlement of a foundation, liquefaction of loose to medium granular soils in two centrifuge tests, and failure of the lower San Fernando Dam during the 1971 earthquake. The predicted behaviours were compared with either laboratory test data or field measurements and reasonable agreements were obtained in all cases. The numerical tool has been used to simulate the deformations of modern earth dams during earthquakes. The seismic behaviour of earthfill and rockfill dams has been simulated under a wide range of frequency contents. The reliability of the simplified methods, which are widely used in industry for seismic analysis of earth dams, has also been investigated and shown that these methods are not conservative for all cases, as widely presumed, and factors such as tuning ratio affects the reliability of the results of the simplified methods.

Dam-influenced streambank morphology has not been studied extensively in rivers in deglaciated landscapes with high densities of colonial-era milldams. Fluvial restoration in the eastern U.S. often focuses on understanding pre-Colonial floodplain processes. Recent work by Walter and Merritts (2008a) in the Piedmont of the U.S. mid-Atlantic region suggests milldams significantly impact sedimentation by creating surfaces composed of post-dam legacy sediment that are often abandoned by the river and function as fill terraces. I analyze channel morphology and sedimentation patterns upstream of two breached dams on the Sheepscot River in mid-coastal Maine using lidar digital elevation models, historical aerial photographs, radiocarbon dating, and hydraulic modeling. In the past several decades, observable channel morphologic changes occurred at the two study sites: Maxcy's Mills dam (built in 1809, it was 2-m high and breached in the late 1950s), and at Head Tide dam (built in the 1760s, it is 4-m high and was partially breached in 1952). The Sheepscot River has a native population of Atlantic salmon, which is a federally listed endangered species. Understanding the existence and transport of legacy sediment has become an important component of habitat restoration efforts in the region. The goal of this investigation is to determine the extent and morphologic function of legacy sediment in order to better understand how historical dam sites affect channel morphology and sediment transport in a post-glacial, low-gradient river system. Field and remote sensing analyses indicate that surfaces (up to 2.65 m high) composed of mud and sand function as floodplains 1 km upstream from Head Tide dam and surfaces 90 cm high continue 2.5 km upstream from Maxcy's Mills. Analysis of seven radiocarbon dates from pieces of tree bark sampled from the stratigraphy (58-187 cm below the surface) of the two study sites suggest up to 1.8 m of sediment upstream of the two study sites was deposited within the past 300 years and is therefore a legacy of the dams. Quantification of the total volume of stored legacy sediment is on the same scale as volumes observed in the mid-Atlantic Piedmont region, leading to the conclusion that post-glacial rivers in northern New England store milldam sediment in similar fashion to streams analyzed in the Walter and Merritts (2008a) study.

Willow Creek Dam is located in a unique region on the boundary of a confined aquifer, where artesian conditions exist. Recently, groundwater levels have exceeded the elevation of the downstream berm well above anticipated piezometric elevations. It was presumed from limited evidence that these high piezometric levels resulted from pressure in the aquifer rather than from seepage out of the reservoir. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the relative contributions of the reservoir and the regional groundwater to observed piezometric levels and how these levels affect seepage exit gradients and slope stability of the dam. Comparing the head levels in shallow and deep piezometers at the dam, the seepage is shown to originate from the regional aquifer and to flow upwards. The head in the groundwater exceeds the reservoir elevation, and the reservoir elevation has little influence on local phreatic elevations. The largest annual fluctuations in the groundwater levels result from local irrigation pumping. Influences of irrigation wells were quantified using a well influence statistic derived for this study. This statistic was found to be the best predictor of variation in groundwater elevations at the dam. Using a finite element analysis program, it was shown that the regional aquifer provides all the flow into the relief well system and solely contributes to the exit gradients long the downstream toe. Flow rates in the dam’s 27 pressure relief wells were found to be less than the flow rates when the reservoir was first filled, even though piezometer levels are much higher now. This points to a need to redevelop the pressure relief wells. Resulting higher relief well flow will decrease the piezometric levels at the dam and will result in reduced exit gradients. Local and global slope stability was not found to be in jeopardy with local seepage failure occurring well before stability failures. Advisor: John R. Rohde

Levees are a significant part of the United States flood protection infrastructure. It is estimated that over 100,000 miles of levees exist in the United States. Most of these levees were designed many years ago to protect farmland and rural areas. As growth continues in the United States, many of these levees are now protecting homes and other important structures. The American Society of Civil Engineers gave the levees in the United States a grade of D- in 2009. To bring flood protection up to modern standards there requires adequate methods of evaluating levees with respect to seepage, erosion, piping and slope instability. Transient seepage analyses provide an effective method of evaluating seepage through levees and its potentially destabilizing effects. Floods against levees usually last for days or weeks. In response to a flood, pore pressures within the levee will change from negative (suction) to positive as the phreatic surface progresses through the levee. These changes can be calculated by finite element transient seepage analyses. In order for the transient seepage analysis to be valid, appropriate soil properties and initial conditions must be used. The research investigation described here provides simple and practical methods for estimating the initial conditions and soil properties required for transient seepage analyses, and illustrates their use through a number of examples.

Herman Sörgel devised a plan, beginning in 1927, to usher in a new era of peace and prosperity for the whole of Europe. Atlantropa was his answer to the perceived threats that the European people faced from international competition, overpopulation, and lack of resources. The plan would have resulted in the lowering of the Mediterranean Sea and the ultimate creation of one continent comprised of the former Europe and Africa. Though the plan was never implemented, it poses a fascinating model through which historians may reconsider the time period between the end of the First and Second World Wars. This thesis examines some historical socio-political movements through the lens of Sörgel’s megaproject. Original publications from Herman Sörgel himself as well as those of two notable Atlantropa scholars, Alexander Gall and Wolfgang Voigt, explain in great detail the technical and sociological aspects of the plan. Additionally, theories from Jeffrey Herf, Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi, and Dina Brandt aid in the understanding of the man who attempted to engineer Europe out of crisis. The following analysis reveals the difficulty in placing Herman Sörgel into any singular political or social movement in his time. Though he espoused some of the same rhetoric as that of the National Socialists and pan-European movements alike, he failed to conform to any particular group. The unwavering obsession with his project consumed all of Sörgel’s energies until his death in 1952. Though all-but-forgotten, the project offers an uncommon means by which to view a tumultuous time in Europe.

Dams have been built around the world for various uses since the beginning of civilization. Lately, many more modern dams do not serve their original purpose and/or are in need of repair or removal. Due to the drastic altering of the river-scape that dams have created, removing dams is also a high disturbance event. Unfortunately there have been few studies documenting the impacts of dam removal. This study focuses on the removal of a low-head dam in Southeast Michigan and the impacts the removal has the macroinvertebrate communities at 3 sites upstream and 1 site downstream. Qualitative samples were collected, then using the Hilsenoff Biotic Index paired t-tests were conducted. The results show a significant, slight increase in HBI score occurred after the dam removal, as well as an increase in the average EPT Richness and % EPT Species Composition. These findings are similar to other studies in that macroinvertebrate communities improved quickly after dam removal, leading to the conclusion of increased water quality.

This dissertation uses a case study of the recently proposed dam on the Mary River at Traveston Crossing in South-East Queensland to consider how individuals can become empowered to effect change in the environmental decision-making processes of the state through citizen action in the public sphere. The theoretical framework chosen to guide the analysis is an adaptation of Judith Butler’s theory of performativity (1997) that I refer to as political performativity. I also draw on social movement theory and media theory to examine how the processes of performativity help explain the practices involved in the public sphere actions taken to stop the Queensland Government’s proposed dam. The case study demonstrates that the initial speech acts of the state government’s announcement, and the way in which these were carried out, impacted on the life worlds of people involved. The protesters’ actions were not only symbolic of their struggle but also part of the creation of an alternative life world vastly different to that imposed upon them through the various speech acts of the Queensland Government. Lessons for the future include the development of more conscious strategies for activists in public sphere actions. Potential research resulting from this study includes a closer examination of the relationship between speech acts, emotions and public sphere action. The usefulness of political performativity in understanding emotions, public sphere action and power may better be served through participatory research methodologies. Further research directions are outlined.

This thesis recounts the origins of the dam and reservoir built by the Army Corps of Engineers in the late 1940s and early 1950s on the Savannah River, near Clarks Hill, South Carolina, and explores the experiences of people required to sell property and move to make way for the reservoir. To build the Clarks Hill hydropower project, the Corps acquired more than 140,000 acres on both sides of the river in Georgia and South Carolina, with about half that acreage flooded to create the reservoir. The history of people who had owned the land before the Corps, and in some cases lived on it, has receded from the awareness of many people, to the point that the lake seems more like a natural feature than a product of large-scale engineering. That underlying history receded further when Congress changed the name of the project from Clarks Hill to the J. Strom Thurmond Dam and Lake in 1987, in that Thurmond did not symbolize the specific residents and landscape impacted by the dam. Using several oral-history interviews conducted by the author, and drawing on the written record as well, this thesis seeks to reclaim a space in the story of the project for the people it dispossessed of land and homes. The power of the federal government effectively limited the options for people who otherwise would have kept their land. But they had stronger connections to the land and found more value in it than supporters of the dam explicitly recognized, in the arguments they made for the project and in early assessments of the reservoir basin. More people lived within the zone of land acquisition, they were a more diverse group, they felt stronger connections to the land and saw more potential in it for the future. It was not such a used-up, vacant, and valueless landscape.

In a vast majority of cases, seepage barriers increase the reliability of dams. However, it is important to recognize that seepage barriers often drastically increase hydraulic gradients around the boundaries of the barrier, and through any windows or defects in the barrier. The result is increased water pressures and hydraulic gradients behind and around the barrier. These increased pressures and gradients have potential to provide the catalyst for initiation of several modes of internal erosion that were either unlikely or less likely without the seepage barrier. As a consequence, seepage barriers give rise to the potential for additional mechanisms of internal erosion and piping in the dam and the foundation. Mechanisms of erosion and piping that are uniquely related to seepage barriers have been investigated through review of measured performance of existing dams, and through analytical studies. A compendium of 30 case studies of dams that have had seepage barriers in place for over 10 years has been assembled, and observations and insights garnered from these case studies were compiled. Finite element seepage and deformation analyses have been performed to provide better understanding of the performance of seepage barriers and the mechanisms that affect their performance. Based on the findings from the case studies and analyses, potential failure modes specific to dams with seepage barriers were identified, and the sequences of events required for the propagation of these failure modes were developed. The observations and insights acquired in this study were distilled into conclusions regarding the long-term performance of dams with seepage barriers. The information derived from this study will be useful in 1) assessing the potential for internal erosion and piping developing in dams with seepage barriers, 2) designing to minimize that possibility, and 3) assessing the risks associated with these mechanisms of erosion and piping. It is envisioned that the results of this study will provide dam owners and engineers with a better understanding of the issues involved with dams having seepage barriers and that this understanding will lead to improved practices in assessing, designing, and monitoring of dam seepage barriers. In addition, by improving the means by which seepage barriers can be assessed and designed, it is hoped that the confidence level that dam engineers have with regard to properly designed seepage barriers will be increased, and that properly designed seepage barriers can be viewed as safe and viable alternatives for mitigation of seepage problems.

This thesis discusses the specific effects of single sourcing methodologies on the role of the technical communicator, his or her job responsibilities, qualifications, collaboration with coworkers, employee and employer expectations, and the effects on career progression. The methodologies discussed included all types of single sourcing methods for technical documentation (such as XML-based), advanced and non-advanced Content Management Systems (CMS), and Digital Asset Management (DAM) systems. Other topics explored are an overview of single sourcing for technical documentation, a comparison of the "craftsman model" to the current trend of single sourcing and structured content, specific effects on technical communicators such as role changes, the effects of incorporating XML into a technical communicator's daily work environment, and the effects of other emerging technologies such as advanced CMS and DAM systems on technical communicators. General findings include that the practice of single sourcing, whether a positive or negative development, has continued and likely will continue to increase in technical communication groups within organizations. Single sourcing, especially for dynamic, customized content is also increasing because of the current marketplace, but works best via the use of a CMS and other systems used by large organizations. Single sourcing is also best implemented after extensive strategic planning and training of employees. Many technical communicators will have to accept new roles and positions, the direction of which is greatly impacted by the extent of their skills. Recommendations are made for additional research on the effects of single sourcing implementation on the technical communicator, and how to adapt to changes. Additional research is also needed on XML, DITA (Darwinian Information Typing Architecture), and DAM systems, all related specifically to technical communication.

Artificial destratification equipment was installed in Lake Samsonvale in October 1995 to reduce the biomass of potentially toxic cyanobacteria in the reservoir. This study was undertaken to investigate the effects of the destratifier on the limnological processes occurring in the lake and to determine if operation of the destratifier has been effective at reducing the summer populations of Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii and Microcystis aeruginosa. The study showed that artificial destratification of Lake Samsonvale has been successful at reducing the surface to bottom thermal gradient and increasing dissolved oxygen concentrations at depth. While the destratifier has not resulted in the lake becoming completely 'mixed' during summer, it has weakened resistance to mixing from meteorological events, which has led to a reduction in mean concentrations of total and dissolved phosphorus during summer. Although not conclusive, it is likely that the influence of the destratifier is restricted to a narrow radial distance around the bubbleplumes during periods of strong stability, so internal loading may continue to provide a substantial source of nutrients for cyanobacterial growth, particularly in regions of the lake less influenced by the destratifier. The results for cyanobacteria are less encouraging. Despite the reduction in concentrations of dissolved phosphorus, the destratifier has not been effective at reducing summer populations of C. raciborskii and M. aeruginosa. On the contrary, there is evidence to suggest that populations have actually increased which could have serious operational consequences for the lake by mixing the previously buoyant cyanobacteria to the level of the water off-take. The growth season for C. raciborskii has been extended by up to 3 months and population onset now occurs during spring. This increase in spring populations could be a result of significantly greater baseline populations during winter, or the earlier germination of akinetes as a result of increased sediment temperatures. The seasonal successional relationship between C. raciborskii and M. aeruginosa appears to have shifted from one of alternating dominance between the two species to one of co-existence under conditions of intermediate disturbance. It was concluded that although the continued operation of the destratifier may prove useful to minimise water treatment costs through reducing internal loading of dissolved constituents, it has not been successful in achieving its original objective of controlling cyanobacterial populations in the lake.

Downstream passage of outmigrating juvenile salmon (migrants) at hydropower dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers has, generally, not been entirely successful. To date, research in the region has generated considerable, but often inconclusive, results as to the factors influencing observed migrant guidance and passage. This dissertation synthesizes existing fisheries and sensory biology literature together with fundamentals of fluid mechanics and river hydrogeomorphology to develop a theoretically rigorous hypothesis of observed migrant movement behavior at Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River, Washington USA (chapter 1). The hypothesis, the Strain-Velocity-Pressure (SVP) Hypothesis, is supported by existing 3-D acoustic-tag telemetry data, multi-beam hydroacoustic passage data, 3-D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling, and 3-D spatially­ explicit, time-varying virtual fish simulation that outputs model results in similar form to data collected by field instrumentation.

Current spatiotemporal modeling techniques used to understand and predict ecosystem processes can often be categorized into one of two distinct modeling frameworks. Eulerian frameworks are often used to balance changes and fluxes of mass and energy and usually used in the simulation of physicochemical regimes. Lagrangian frameworks are often used to simulate the movement and/ or behavior of individuals, groups of individuals, or populations. The use of different frameworks has created a disconnect between the modeling capabilities of physiochemical modelers (usually engineers) and biological population modelers (usually biologists). I describe a modeling framework, the Coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian Hybrid (CEL Hybrid) Ecological Modeling System, which couples the two frameworks into a comprehensive, unified framework for simulation of ecological processes. The CEL Hybrid modeling framework provides the means to simulate the spatiotemporal population processes, particularly movement dynamics, of higher trophic level species in aquatic environments.