@article{kurki-fox_doll_line_baldwin_klondike_fox_2022, title={Estimating Changes in Peak Flow and Associated Reductions in Flooding Resulting from Implementing Natural Infrastructure in the Neuse River Basin, North Carolina, USA}, volume={14}, ISSN={["2073-4441"]}, url={https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/14/9/1479}, DOI={10.3390/w14091479}, abstractNote={As the frequency of more intense storms increases and concerns grow regarding the use of dams and levees, the focus has shifted to natural infrastructure (NI) for flood mitigation. NI has shown some success at small scales; however, little work has been carried out at the large watershed scale during extreme events. Three NI measures (afforestation, water farming, and flood control wetlands) were evaluated in the Neuse River Basin of eastern North Carolina. Detailed geospatial opportunity and hydrologic modeling of the measures were conducted in three subwatersheds of the basin and results were extrapolated to other subwatersheds. NI opportunity was greater and associated modeled peak flow reductions were larger for two subwatersheds located in the lower portion of the basin, where there is less development and flatter land slopes. Peak flow reductions varied spatially depending on the type and placement of NI combined with the hydraulic and morphologic characteristics of the stream network. Extrapolation of reductions to other subwatersheds produced a 4.4% reduction in peak flow for the 100 year storm at the outlet of the river basin in Kinston as a result of water farming on 1.1%, wetlands controlling runoff from 5.7%, and afforestation of 8.4% of the river basin.}, number={9}, journal={WATER}, author={Kurki-Fox, J. Jack and Doll, Barbara A. and Line, Daniel E. and Baldwin, Madalyn E. and Klondike, Travis M. and Fox, Andrew A.}, year={2022}, month={May} } @article{baldwin_fox_klondike_hovis_shear_joca_hester_cubbage_2022, title={Geospatial Analysis and Land Suitability for “FloodWise” Practices: Nature-Based Solutions for Flood Mitigation in Eastern, Rural North Carolina}, volume={11}, ISSN={2073-445X}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/land11091504}, DOI={10.3390/land11091504}, abstractNote={As the global climate continues to change, extreme weather events such as hurricanes and heavy rainfall are becoming more frequent. Subsequently, flooding and standing water disrupt and negatively impact many communities. The use of nature-based solutions (NBS) is an innovative and sustainable approach to flood mitigation. Geospatial research and applications have developed rapidly to identify and map broad regions in the world, as well as specific locations for NBS. We conducted a geospatial analysis in ArcGIS Pro to identify areas where NBS, referred to as “FloodWise” practices in this study, could be sited in the North Carolina Coastal Plain to strategically reduce flooding and provide water quality and habitat improvement. The study provides a spatially explicit application of integrated remote sensing, scientific and professional knowledge, and extant databases to screen diverse variables and identify potential specific NBS opportunities and sites. The practices modeled in this study are wetland restoration, afforestation, agroforestry, “water farming” (which uses a combination of dry dams and berms), and stream restoration. Maps of specific areas and tracts in the county for the NBS practices in Robeson County, North Carolina were developed based on the land ownership size, biophysical characteristics, current land uses, and water management opportunities. Land suitability locations revealed in these maps can be used in future resilience planning initiatives to reduce floodwaters on North Carolina’s rural landscapes. The geospatial analysis methodologies employed in this study can be followed to model NBS locations for flood reduction and water storage opportunities in other counties in Eastern North Carolina or other regions with similar topographies and land-type characteristics.}, number={9}, journal={Land}, publisher={MDPI AG}, author={Baldwin, Madalyn and Fox, Andrew and Klondike, Travis and Hovis, Meredith and Shear, Theodore and Joca, Lauren and Hester, Megan and Cubbage, Frederick}, year={2022}, month={Sep}, pages={1504} } @article{kurki-fox_doll_line_baldwin_klondike_fox_2022, title={The flood reduction and water quality impacts of watershed-scale natural infrastructure implementation in North Carolina, USA}, volume={181}, ISSN={["1872-6992"]}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2022.106696}, DOI={10.1016/j.ecoleng.2022.106696}, abstractNote={Natural infrastructure as a mitigation measure for flooding has received increased attention following recent extreme rainfall and flood events in North Carolina. While natural infrastructure (e.g., wetlands, floodplain expansion, reforestation, etc.) has been shown to reduce runoff and mitigate peak flows, it is difficult to predict the aggregate impacts of widespread implementation at the watershed scale for a given location. The primary objectives of this study were to identify suitable areas for natural infrastructure implementation on the landscape to reduce flooding and to use the Soil & Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model to simulate the flood reduction and water quality impacts for three subwatersheds (~150 sq. km each) of the Neuse River Basin. Model results indicated that substantial localized annual maximum flow reduction (up to 30–40%) was possible, mostly correlated to the area of natural infrastructure implementation in the subbasin, but flood reduction benefits declined at the subwatershed-scale (1–16%). On a per hectare basis, wetlands sized and designed strategically for flood control had a greater impact on peak flow reduction than reforestation. The implementation of reforestation and flood control wetlands produced substantial nutrient and sediment load reductions, which also correlated with the area of natural infrastructure implementation. Total nitrogen load reduction ranged from 6 to 18% and total phosphorus load reductions from 4 to 17% for the most intensive implementation of wetlands restoration and reforestation. Sediment load reductions ranged from 16 to 30%. The results of this study illustrate that while flood reduction benefits can be realized at local scales (i.e., subbasin), a substantial area would need to be converted to natural infrastructure to provide flood reduction benefits at the watershed scale.}, journal={ECOLOGICAL ENGINEERING}, publisher={Elsevier BV}, author={Kurki-Fox, Jack and Doll, Barbara A. and Line, Daniel E. and Baldwin, Madalyn E. and Klondike, Travis M. and Fox, Andrew A.}, year={2022}, month={Aug} } @article{cashman_fox_savage_wakker_krishnarao_benjamin_richter_ashley_jenkins_lockman_et al._2021, title={Molecular Gas within the Milky Way's Nuclear Wind}, volume={923}, ISSN={["2041-8213"]}, DOI={10.3847/2041-8213/ac3cbc}, abstractNote={Abstract We report the first direct detection of molecular hydrogen associated with the Galactic nuclear wind. The Far-Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer spectrum of LS 4825, a B1 Ib–II star at l, b = 1.67°,−6.63° lying d = 9.9 − 0.8 + 1.4 kpc from the Sun, ∼1 kpc below the Galactic plane near the Galactic center, shows two high-velocity H2 components at v LSR = −79 and −108 km s−1. In contrast, the FUSE spectrum of the nearby (∼0.6° away) foreground star HD 167402 at d = 4.9 − 0.7 + 0.8 kpc reveals no H2 absorption at these velocities. Over 60 lines of H2 from rotational levels J = 0 to 5 are identified in the high-velocity clouds. For the v LSR = −79 km s−1 cloud we measure total log N(H2) ≥ 16.75 cm−2, molecular fraction f H 2 ≥ 0.8%, and T 01 ≥ 97 and T 25 ≤ 439 K for the ground- and excited-state rotational excitation temperatures. At v LSR = −108 km s−1, we measure log N(H2) = 16.13 ± 0.10 cm−2, f H 2 ≥ 0.5%, and T 01 = 77 − 18 + 34 and T 25 = 1092 − 117 + 149 K, for which the excited-state ortho- to para-H2 is 1.0 − 0.1 + 0.3 , much less than the equilibrium value of 3 expected for gas at this temperature. This nonequilibrium ratio suggests that the −108 km s−1 cloud has been recently excited and has not yet had time to equilibrate. As the LS 4825 sight line passes close by a tilted section of the Galactic disk, we propose that we are probing a boundary region where the nuclear wind is removing gas from the disk.}, number={1}, journal={ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERS}, author={Cashman, Frances H. and Fox, Andrew J. and Savage, Blair D. and Wakker, Bart P. and Krishnarao, Dhanesh and Benjamin, Robert A. and Richter, Philipp and Ashley, Trisha and Jenkins, Edward B. and Lockman, Felix J. and et al.}, year={2021}, month={Dec} } @article{hovis_hollinger_cubbage_shear_doll_kurki-fox_line_fox_baldwin_klondike_et al._2021, title={Natural Infrastructure Practices as Potential Flood Storage and Reduction for Farms and Rural Communities in the North Carolina Coastal Plain}, volume={13}, ISSN={2071-1050}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su13169309}, DOI={10.3390/su13169309}, abstractNote={Increased global temperatures resulting from anthropogenically induced climate changes have increased the frequency and severity of adverse weather events, including extreme rainfall events, floods, and droughts. In recent years, nature-based solutions (NBS) have been proposed to retain storm runoff temporarily and mitigate flood damages. These practices may help rural farm and forest lands to store runoff and reduce flooding on farms and downstream communities and could be incorporated into a conservation program to provide payments for these efforts, which would supplement traditional farm incomes. Despite their potential, there have been very few methodical assessments and detailed summaries of NBS to date. We identified and summarized potential flood reduction practices for the Coastal Plain of North Carolina. These include agricultural practices of (1) cover cropping/no-till farming; (2) hardpan breakup; (3) pine or (4) hardwood afforestation, and (5) agroforestry; establishing the wetland and stream practices of (6) grass and sedge wetlands and earthen retention structures, (7) forest wetland banks, and (8) stream channel restoration; and establishing new structural solutions of (9) dry dams and berms (water farming) and (10) tile drainage and water retention. These practices offer different water holding and storage capacities and costs. A mixture of practices at the farm and landscape level can be implemented for floodwater retention and attenuation and damage reduction, as well as for providing additional farm and forest ecosystem services.}, number={16}, journal={Sustainability}, publisher={MDPI AG}, author={Hovis, Meredith and Hollinger, Joseph Chris and Cubbage, Frederick and Shear, Theodore and Doll, Barbara and Kurki-Fox, J. Jack and Line, Daniel and Fox, Andrew and Baldwin, Madalyn and Klondike, Travis and et al.}, year={2021}, month={Aug}, pages={9309} } @article{cizek_fox_2015, title={STORMWATER NATURE POCKETS: A CASE FOR USING GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE TO CREATE ENGAGING CHILDHOOD SPACES}, volume={10}, ISSN={["1943-4618"]}, DOI={10.3992/jgb.10.3.14}, abstractNote={INTRODUCTION Urban areas require stormwater management. Recently there has been a movement towards more nature-based, green infrastructure approaches for managing stormwater. These systems have also demonstrated additional ecosystem benefits much needed in urban areas. At the same time, decades of research support the need for access to nature for healthy childhood development. Designing and locating nature-based stormwater systems where children frequent renders systems as multi-functional spaces, providing synergetic opportunities, which benefit individuals and communities. Challenges to integrating these spaces include safety, cost, and management, all of which can be overcome by smart and appropriate design. Such design requires collaboration between different skillsets and stakeholders through some minimal, but essential changes in the consultation and design process. Ultimately, integrating nature-based stormwater practices into children's outdoor spaces will provide economic, environmental, and soc...}, number={3}, journal={JOURNAL OF GREEN BUILDING}, author={Cizek, Adrienne and Fox, Andrew}, year={2015}, pages={14–27} }