Digital Commons Network^™

Pfas Mass Balance, Donovan Vitale

Honors Theses

First-generation, PFOS-dominant Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) concentrate of approximately 200 gallons was released to the sewer system from the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport on March 30, 2021. The AFFF release migrated to the Kalamazoo Water Reclamation Plant (KWRP), raising plant effluent above the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) PFOS water quality standard for a total of 46 days post-spill, although the influent concentrations exhibited sharp declines after only 7 days. By sampling influent, effluent, and biosolids daily, the only known long duration, high-frequency PFAS data set of an accidental AFFF release was generated. This study has …

Characterization Of Mumian And Host Rock In Al-Amerat Cave, Oman., Sara Alqamshouai

Honors Theses

Mumian is a sticky black-brown material found in the Mumian cave in Wadi Al Mayh, Al Amerat, Oman. Mumian has been used for centuries as traditional medicine by the local Omani people. Though commonly ingested orally to resolve a variety of common ailments, very little is known about the Mumian material in terms of its chemical composition. The principle aim of this study is to characterize the Mumian and the host rock in terms of the mineralogy and chemical characteristics using a variety of analytic instruments, including XRD, NMR, FT-IR, XRF, and UV- VIS. A secondary goal of this study …

Mercury Emissions From Iron Mining And Copper Mining In The Upper Peninsula, Michigan, Ahmed Al Rahbi

Honors Theses

The wealth in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan has been intimately linked with mining, particularly the extraction of iron and copper. Iron was deposited in the Upper Peninsula 1.9 billion years ago (Gogebic and Ranges, 2020), and copper deposits are believed to be 1.1 billion years old (Blakemore et al., 2016). In the Upper Peninsula, mercury occurs naturally in taconite (iron ore) as elemental mercury (Hg⁰), and within the copper ores as “Mercury copper amalgam” (CuHg). When elemental mercury is released from the ores, it oxidizes in the atmosphere to form inorganic mercury (Hg²⁺) (Risher, 2003; …

Determining The Depositional Environment Of Amherstburg Formation, Elizabeth Gaines

Honors Theses

The Amherstburg Formation is a unit that stretches from Ontario to Michigan and was deposited during the Devonian Period. The goal of this project was to determine the depositional environment of the Amherstburg Formation. Facies associations were defined based on observations from three cores in northern and southeastern Michigan and later grouped into facies associations. The four facies associations were reef rubble, lagoonal, lagoonal and reef-rubble, and lagoonal and peritidal environments. These environments were deposited as laterally adjacent environments along a ramp shelf in a humid tropical climate. Sea level was relatively high during the deposition of the Amherstburg Formation. …

Karst Sub-Basin Delineation Via Dye Trace Study Near Turnhole Bend, Mammoth Cave National Park, Jake Tholen

Honors Theses

Establishing watershed boundaries is a critical stage in understanding the local water cycle. Drainage basins are typically identified by topographic divides; water flows to successively lower locations along the most direct path available. The karst terrain in Mammoth Cave National Park, however, presents additional challenges in identifying the boundaries of these basins. Underground drainages in the form of caves or conduits often do not correspond with surface topography. These passages can redirect water far from the most immediate surface release.

A dye trace study is designed to identify flow paths from the surface to springs along the Green River. Three …

Influence Of Road Salt Deicers On Anaerobic Respiration And Metal Speciation In Soils, Danielle Dupuis

Honors Theses

Road salt deicers, especially NaCl and CaCl₂, are used throughout the world on paved areas during the winter. Previous studies suggest that road salt deicers can alter the biogeochemistry of sediment located near roadways and influence the mobility of heavy metals. The goal of this study is to investigate the influence of CaCl₂ on wetland soil biogeochemistry, especially trace metal speciation. Sediment cores were collected in the fall from a freshwater wetland near an urban kettle lake (Asylum Lake, Kalamazoo, MI) and incubated for 100 days in deionized water (control), 5 g/L of CaCl₂, or …

Co And Cr Adsorption On Maghemite, Quartz, And Maghemite-Quartz Mixtures, Amy Troy

Honors Theses

In aquifers and other natural systems, single mineral systems are rare. Solids are commonly heterogeneous, containing multiple minerals, and mineral interactions are expected. Mineral interactions such as formation of coatings and physical blocking of adsorption sites have the potential to significantly change the adsorption of ions onto solids. To investigate such interactions, batch experiments using Co(II) or Cr(VI) were conducted to compare adsorption edges of these sorbates on pure and mixed mineral systems. Specifically, sorption of 10^-5 or 10^-6 M Co(II) and Cr(VI) was measured as a function of pH, with a background electrolyte concentration of 0.01 M …

The Effects Of Eutrophication And Salinization On Methane Production In Urban And Rural Lakes, Rebecca Kiekhaefer

Honors Theses

Asylum lake is an urban lake in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The lake is located near the intersection of two major roadways which are heavily salted during the winter. Wintergreen lake is a rural lake that is on the property of the Kellogg Biological Station in Augusta, Michigan. The lake is surrounded by the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary and is relatively isolated from major roadways. Both lakes are eutrophic, Asylum lake because of high salinity and lack of turnover (Macleod, et aI., 2011) and Wintergreen lake because of high nutrient inputs (Threlkeld, 1979). Previous work suggests that road salt deicers can change the …

The Effects Of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (Pcbs) On Nerve Growth Factor (Ngf) In The Developing Frog, Xenopus Laevis, Cari Delong

Honors Theses

Polychlorinated biphenyls are ubiquitous, persistent environmental contaminants that cause a variety of adverse health effects wildlife and humans. PCBs are the major contaminant in the Kalamazoo River Superfund Site, in which the Environmental Institute is funded to study. Projects at the Environmental Institute are focused on developing molecular biotechnology tools that will improve environmental risk assessment. Previous acute studies involved the exposure of developing tadpoles, Xenopus laevis to PCBs through aquarium water in order to measure gene expression. Nerve growth factor (NGF) gene expression showed changes in these previous studies. NGF is a neurotrophic factor that regulates the growth and …

Improving The Campus Sustainability Assessment Process, Andrew Nixon

Honors Theses

The human enterprise is rapidly overwhelming the Earth’s ecological systems and draining its natural resources. According to Vitousek et al., as much as one-half of the planet’s land surface has been transformed by human activity; more than half of the world’s available fresh water is used by humans; and a quarter of the planet’s bird species have been driven to extinction by human activity (Vitousek et al, 1997). These and many other negative trends pose catastrophic implications for the future of our species and for the planet’s other inhabitants.

Gravity Modeling Of A Patch Reef In Allegan County, Michigan, Mei Leng Wong

Honors Theses

The study of the Diamond Springs oil field in Allegan County focuses on the use of gravity to delineate individual reef buildups. The Diamond Springs oil field is a small patch reef located in northern Allegan County, Michigan. The reef, which is approximately 1400 feet deep, is located within the Middle Devonian Traverse Limestone and was deposited in an open shelf, carbonate platform and lagoonal environment. The reef covers an area of approximately one square mile and has a vertical relief of 30 to 80 feet. These porous reef materials are commonly buried by muds or evaporites resulting in ideal …

The Schmidt Site: A Geologic Report, Julie Stein

Honors Theses

The Schmidt Site (20 SA 192) is located in Saginaw County, south of the Cass River and just east of the Grand Trunk Railroad in the NE 1/4, sec. 19, T 11 N, R 4 E, of the Bridgeport Township (figs. 1, 2, 3). The area is a remnant of a glacial lake bottom. There is very little local relief. Higher elevation exists to the north that is called the Port Huron Moraine and to the southeast, the Juniata, Owosso and Flint Moraines. All of these systems are associated with the last advance of ice, namely the Valders Advance (fig. …