Ogallala Aquifer

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/44/Ogallala_saturated_thickness_1997-sattk97-v2.svg/300px-Ogallala_saturated_thickness_1997-sattk97-v2.svg.png

Spanning a total of 174,000 square miles from the southern border of South Dakota to northern Texas, the Ogallala Aquifer is one of the largest aquifers in the world. Beginning roughly 150 miles east of the Rocky Mountains, the Ogallala aquifer spreads across most of Nebraska—this certainly plays a role in why it’s so damn humid during the summer.

By definition, an aquifer is “a rock layer that is permeable to the flow of groundwater…” An aquifer is either confined or unconfined. The Ogallala, or High Plains Aquifer, is considered unconfined as it has a permeable layer of rock above the water table and an impermeable layer of bedrock underneath. A confined aquifer has is similar except for it also has a near impermeable layer of rock amongst the permeable.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/Aquifer_en.svg/400px-Aquifer_en.svg.png

The Ogallala Aquifer was formed from the till (permeable sediment) left behind from retreating glaciers that receded the Rocky Mountains 10 million years ago. Due to natural weathering and erosion, the Rocky Mountains no longer replenish the aquifer, so it must rely on merely snow and rainfall, which is not too much in the semiarid climate. The Aquifer was discovered and tapped in 1911 and has since supplied the region (especially Nebraska as it has roughly two-thirds of the total volume) with water for commercial, residential and agricultural uses. As farming being one of the regions largest industries, it accounts for 94 percent of the Ogallala Aquifers groundwater use.

Result of Center Pivot Sprinkler Irrigation

http://web.mit.edu/12.000/www/m2012/finalwebsite/images/groundwater3.jpg

Because the Ogallala Aquifer has such an impact on the economy and the geography of the region, steps are being taken to slow the rate of depletion. In the 1940’s, large-scale irrigation began and since then, water levels in Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas had fallen more than 100 feet by the 1980s. Since then, the Aquifer’s water usage has dropped to an approximate 3 feet per year. With that in mind, I believe that in 1,000 years, the Ogallala Aquifer will be near tapped. By the year 3013, Nebraska will be a very coveted location for farmland, commercial livestock amongst other commercial industries. When considering the Saturated Thickness map (above), I believe that the dryer parts of the Aquifer will be dry, which will in turn result in those areas being similar to more even more arid regions. Because of the thickness in saturation, Nebraska might even be called an oasis (by a chuckling redneck).
In 10,000 years, I believe that a similar trend will have followed due to human consumption and simply running out of resources on a global scale (If Stephen Hawking says we have to go, I'm going to listen). With evidence that the largest aquifer and other natural resources are diminishing, there is no doubt that our current standard of living will remain the same. In regards to physical geographic characteristics of Nebraska, I believe that the state will have immensely dry weather that will be unable to have a healthy soil resulting in a desert landscape. This will probably happen by way of dust storms that occur because there won't be any plant roots to hold down the topsoil.  There will be hullaballoos all across the Midwest covering everything in sand. Hopefully we will be looking at Nebraska through cameras in space.

http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/Oc-Po/Ogallala-Aquifer.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/18/ogallala-aquifer-drought_n_2902037.html

http://geography.about.com/od/physicalgeography/a/aquifers.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogallala_Aquifer 

Unpredictable Nebraska Weather

Ah, Nebraska—such a wonderful place to sit outside with a cold beverage at dusk while watching the sunset (for only about nine days a year). As is true with other states in the Great Plains, Nebraska’s weather is quite unpredictable and interesting as the state experiences everything from sub-zero to 100+ degree temperatures, floods, droughts and snow storms that leave evidence of their existence for weeks.

The unpredictability of Nebraska weather is caused by many different elements, including wind patterns and physical geography.

Wind Patterns during a June, 2009 Storm
http://extremeinstability.com/wx101.htm

The wind patterns pictured above show black lines representative of surface winds coming from the West and the South and the white lines indicate winds at 18,000 feet. There are two elements that cause Nebraska (or anyplace) to have wind: pressure gradients and the Coriolis Effect. Pressure gradients affect air as it moves from high to low-pressure areas—measured in isobars. As the Great Plains cover a range with steep pressure gradients, the wind is faster (the gradients become steep when the are spread affected strongly in a short amount of space. The Coriolis Effect is essentially taking the Earth’s spin into account when establishing the direction of the wind. As air moves towards higher-pressure areas, Northern air is drawn South towards the Equator.

Example of Coriolis Effect
http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/Ce-Cr/Climate-and-the-Ocean.html#b

The collision of cold, Northern air and moist, warm air from the Gulf of Mexico is not the only reason for Nebraska’s unpredictable weather—the general flatness of Nebraska also plays a roll. Whereas here in Denver, the Rocky Mountains prevent Arctic or Gulf air masses from going West, they also provide a predictable cloud location as warm air moves up the mountains and settles. As Eastern Nebraska sits at 1,000 feet above sea level and the West can rise to over 4,000 feet above sea level, the gradual slope causes no blatant predictable storm locations.

http://www.lincolnweather.org/Forecast-Challenges-in-Nebraska.html

http://outdoornebraska.ne.gov/blogs/2012/11/weather-geek/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contour_line#Barometric_pressure

Chimney Rock

Just outside of Bayard, Nebraska on Highway 92, stands Chimney Rock. Chimney Rock was a recognizable landmark for many pioneers when traveling on the Oregon, Mormon and California trails. Prior to the pioneers heading West, Native Americans called the rock ‘Elk Penis’ for its earlier curved appearance… Aside from its historical presence, it is one of the areas tallest rock formations, standing just approximately 286 feet.

1841

1993

1902

http://www.nebraskahistory.org/sites/rock/moreinfo.htm

Because Chimney Rock towers over the Nebraska landscape, it is a prime subject of weathering and proof of erosion—additionally, as it stands alone from its neighboring rock formations, Wildcat Hills and Scotts Bluffs, it has been subject to physical weathering and its deterioration has been easily noted.

When viewing Chimney Rock from the Southwest, it is evident that it was formed by standing through erosion and weathering from much larger bluffs. Although it still stands being apart from the bluffs, it is quite soft being composed of Brule clay interleaved with volcanic ash and sandstone. The erosion of weathering has come into effect by ways of debris flows and general earthly creep that have left colluvium or loose sediment in between the bluffs and Chimney Rock. The rock’s cylindrical base is evidence of this type of weathering.

Detail of Joints

http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/family/family-vacations-in-nebraska5.htm

Chimney Rock has many large joints or deep cracks in the rock that are most likely caused by multiple types of physical weathering including frost weathering and general wetting and drying. In the very cold winter months, parts of the rock will freeze and melt during the day, causing liquid to seep deep into the joints, then later freeze and expand. As further soil erosion happens, these joints will undoubtedly run further down the rock. These weaknesses will make Chimney Rock’s encounters with lightning (which is quite common) much more devastating.

http://www.nebraskahistory.org/sites/rock/moreinfo.htm

http://www.nebraskahistory.org/publish/markers/texts/chimney_rock2.htmhttp://www4.uwsp.edu/geo/projects/geoweb/participants/dutch/vtrips/ScottsBluff.HTM