Environmental Data, GIS, Soils, Water, and Stormwater Management: Key Concepts for Students

What is metadata?

Data about the data

What major elements should be included in metadata for geospatial data?

Form, Scale, Accuracy & Precision, Coverage, Completeness, Age, Confidentiality, Maintenance, Paper trail to sources, Appropriateness, Communication

What US agency produces the standard 7.5' topographic maps?

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

What does contour interval show?

Elevation change

What does closely spaced contour lines indicate?

Steep elevation

What does widely spaced contour lines indicate?

Little elevation change

What is the primary remote sensing system used for the National Land Cover Database?

Landsat Satellite (5,7,8,9)

What is the spatial resolution of the NLCD data?

30m

What is the purpose of the USDA-NAIP program?

To acquire aerial imagery during agricultural growing seasons and make it available within a year

What is vector data? Give examples.

Data represented as points, lines, and polygons (e.g., manholes, roads, watersheds)

What is raster data? Give examples.

Data represented in grid cells/pixels (e.g., imagery, elevation)

What spectral bands are needed for a False-Color Composite?

Near-Infrared (NIR), Red, and Green

What is a DEM?

Digital Elevation Model, a 3D representation of the Earth's bare terrain surface

What are common derivatives of DEMs?

Slope and Aspect

Where can geospatial data for Kentucky be accessed?

KyGovMaps Open Data Portal and the KyGeoNet

What primary overlay operations can be performed in a GIS?

Clip, Intersect, Union, Identify

Who is considered the Father of GIS?

Dr. Roger Tomlinson

What are important land use properties of soils?

Wetland Soils, Erosion Potential, Bearing Strength

Which horizon of a typical soil profile is primarily organic matter?

Top soil

What are the 3 basic components of the soil texture triangle?

Sand, silt, clay

What type of soil is used to contain waste in a landfill?

Clay

Define permeability.

The quality of soil that allows liquids or gases to pass through

What is liquefaction?

When loose sand and silt behave like a liquid during an earthquake

How do soils affect septic systems?

Soil drainability impacts the efficiency and safety of septic systems

What federal agency maps and manages soils?

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)

Name types of erosion that occur on soils.

Rainsplash, Sheet, Rill and Gully, Stream and Channel

What are major urban soil problems?

Soil stabilization, Runoff control, Sediment control

What is the USLE (or RUSLE) used for?

To predict long-term soil erosion rates caused by rainfall and runoff

What is nonpoint source pollution (NPS)?

Widespread water contamination that does not originate from a single, distinct location.

What does a hydrograph show?

The rate of flow (discharge) or water level (stage) of a river or stream past a specific point over a period of time.

What is lag time in hydrology?

The time delay between the center of mass of effective rainfall and the resulting peak discharge of a river.

How does urbanization affect hydrographs?

It decreases lag time and increases discharge.

What are five characteristics of a watershed that affect rainfall to discharge relationship?

Soil type, land cover, slope, channel length, and ponding.

List four detrimental effects of land development on streams.

Downstream flooding, contaminated water, diminished baseflow and recharge, damage to creeks and streams through erosion.

What was the original goal of the Clean Water Act of 1972?

To achieve fishable and swimmable water.

What is the purpose of the EPA 319 program?

To provide grants to states, territories, and tribes to control pollution from diffuse sources.

What does it mean to have a stream listed in the state's 303(d) Report?

The waterbody does not meet applicable water quality standards and is not expected to meet them in the near future.

What three factors does infiltration rate depend on?

Soil texture and structure, initial soil moisture content, vegetation cover and land use.

What are the major impacts of flooding and droughts on land use planning?

Flooding is the most common and costly natural disaster in the US, affecting properties in and out of high-risk flood zones.

Describe the five components of Stormwater Management.

1. Integrating stormwater quantity control and flood damage mitigation. 2. Integrating water quality nonpoint and point source permitting. 3. Restoring streams and watersheds. 4. Incorporating onsite stormwater controls in sustainable community design. 5. Institutionalizing stormwater management.

What is the purpose of the TMDL program?

To identify, restore, and protect polluted or impaired waterbodies.

What is the TMDL equation?

TMDL = WLA + LA + MOS, where WLA is wasteload allocation, LA is load allocation, and MOS is margin of safety.

What are the six Designated Uses for evaluating stream health in Kentucky?

Swimming, boating, drinking, animals living in the water, safety of eating the animals, outstanding state resource water.

What is the major goal of Low Impact Development (LID)?

To maintain predeveloped runoff volume and time of concentration.

What is a Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4)?

A system of publicly-owned conveyances that discharge to surface waters.

What does Phase II of the MS4 program require?

Small MS4s in urban and outside urban areas to obtain NPDES permit coverage for their stormwater discharges.

List three onsite Storm Control Measures (SCM) to keep rainwater out of storm drains.

Rain barrels, rain gardens, green roofs.

What is an aquifer?

Any subsurface material that holds a relatively large quantity of groundwater and can transmit that water readily.

How is a 'Cone of Depression' created?

It is created around a well that is drawn down due to over pumping.

How can changes from a rural to urban landscape affect groundwater resources?

Increase runoff from impervious surfaces and create new paths for contamination.

Describe karst geology and its effects on groundwater.

Karst geology is characterized by soluble bedrock like limestone, leading to sinkholes and high susceptibility to contamination.

List four major sources of groundwater contamination from land use.

Septic systems, leaking underground storage tanks, surface runoff, contamination from landfills and lagoons.

What is the legal basis for Groundwater Protection Plans in Kentucky?

Division of Water: 401 KAR 5:037.

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