Digital Commons Network^™

Sociodemographic And Climatic Factors Shaping The Development Of Drought Policies In Major U.S. Cities, Riana S. Gayle

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In most parts of the world, drought is an inevitable and natural occurrence. However, as the climate continues to warm, and populations grow and expand, the negative impacts of this extreme weather event are predicted to become more pronounced. This leads many communities and stakeholders to question what is being done to prepare society for widespread drought? The following research determines different social and atmospheric characteristics that affect a city’s likelihood of having a drought policy in place.To do this, a thorough search was conducted at the city level to determine where drought policies are currently located in theU.S. The …

Multidecadal Variability In Climate Models And Observations, Alex Carl Oser

Theses and Dissertations

Climate change attribution and prediction using state-of-the-art models continue to garner an ever-growing focus amongst both the scientific community and public alike. Recent analyses showing discrepancies in the structure of modeled and observed decadal climate variability (DCV), therefore, have engendered efforts to not only diagnose the dynamics underpinning observed DCV, but also to characterize the behavior of DCV within climate models. In this thesis, we employ Multichannel Singular Spectrum Analysis (M-SSA) to show that while the DCV signal in observations is best described as a coherent oscillation with complex propagation across the globe, modeled DCV lacks this structure altogether. Specifically, …

Sexual Violence And The Institutional Integration Of First Year College Students., Ann Katherine James

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This purpose of this study is to explore the relationships among identity, sexual violence, reporting choices, perception of campus climate and institutional integration. Student affairs professionals and other educators are particularly concerned about the effects of sexual violence on college students because of the deleterious effects that such violence has on factors critical to student success. Research indicates that 1 in 5 students will experience actual or attempted sexual assault while in college (Fisher, 2000). Students with greater levels of social and academic integration have a greater commitment to their college or university and thus graduate at higher rates (Tinto, …

Holocene-Pleistocene Climate Variability Through Stalagmites, Sevag Mehterian

Open Access Dissertations

Understanding the changing climate of the past is the key to understanding the changing climate of the present. Historically, various geologic mediums have been used to unearth the mysteries of the ancient past. These include cores of sediment from deep within the oceans, ice cores from glaciers, skeletons of coral reefs, and stalagmites from inside caves. This dissertation aims to shed light on the climate of the past 300,000 years as recorded within the geochemistry of stalagmites from caves in the Bahamas and Iran. With oxygen and carbon stable isotope geochemistry, radiometric dating through Uranium and Thorium, and trace elemental …

The Effect Of Sub-Facet Scale Geometry On Vertical Facet Temperatures In Urban Street Canyons, Rainer V.J. Hilland

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Surface temperature plays a key role in many micro-scale urban processes. Walls comprise a significant percentage of the urban surface, yet are under-represented by many methods of thermal remote sensing and not considered in detail by micro-scale surface temperature mod- els. This thesis presents a novel method of mobile thermal observation performed in urban street canyons in London, ON that uses a thermal imager as well as a visual spectrum camera to provide dense spatial and temporal resolution of micro-scale wall temperature distributions. Images are manually classified by a series of nominal variables and the resulting data set discusses the …

Command Climate And Ethical Behavior: Perspectives From The Commandant's Of The Marine Corps, Brian Kerl

Dissertations

Marine Corps commanding officers today face challenges aggravated by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, strategic uncertainty, and societal changes that carry over to the military such as women serving in infantry roles and the use of social media. These challenges are exacerbated by the stressors unique to the military such as lengthy separations from loved ones and multiple relocation moves, which underscore the significance of command climate and its influence on ethical behavior. Importantly, the consequences of a command climate not focused on ethics may negatively affect combat readiness and warfighting effectiveness. To date, however, little scholarly work, if …

Perceptions Of Educators Regarding The Impact Nonprofits Have On Academically Unacceptable Schools In An Urban Louisiana Community: A Case Study, Frederic D. Washington

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

This qualitative case study explored the perceptions of educators regarding the impact nonprofit sanctioned programs and services have on schools rated as failing, or academically unacceptable by the Louisiana Department of Education during the 2014-2015, 2015-2016, and 2016-2017 school years. The schools represented in this study are in an urban Louisiana community, serving grades K-8. Each of the schools represented in this study partnered with at least four nonprofit agencies that provide services in after school enrichment, community learning centers, fight diversion programs for students, mini grant programs for teachers, and sex respect/teenage pregnancy prevention for middle school campuses. This …

Engelmann Spruce Survival And Regeneration After An Epidemic Spruce Beetle Outbreak On The Markagunt Plateau In Southern Utah, Jessika M. Pettit

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Bark beetle outbreaks are becoming more intense and severe when coupled with the effects of climate change. Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii) is one such species facing large-scale, epidemic spruce beetle outbreaks. Large-scale disturbances, such as beetle outbreaks, have major consequences for the future success of the ecosystem, thus highlighting the importance of understanding what promotes amplified outbreaks as well as their effects on future seedling establishment. Our research focused on two parts of a large-scale beetle outbreak: the mortality of spruce trees and the subsequent regeneration of seedlings. Our first study examined the timing of spruce mortality during …

A Study Of The Effect On Organizational Factors On Job Satisfaction Of Geriatric Practitioners Between Millennials And Older Generations, Peter (Minsuk) Jang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this paper is to recognize and improve the understanding of social workers’ job satisfaction in the geriatric area. Low job satisfaction makes social workers want to move their field and change their career. The research is the conceptual model of the moderating effect of patient engagement. The hypothesis is that the organizational factors of this model (climate, workplace, pay, supervision) lead to low job satisfaction for social workers and the generation gap between Millennials and older generations will result in different job satisfaction. The assumption was that among the factors (climate, workplace, pay, supervision), salary has the …

Using Passive Acoustics To Infer Spawning Behavior And Phenology: A Case Study Of Haddock On Georges Bank, Elizabeth Mcdonald

Theses - ALL

Climate change has the potential to impact many aspects of an organism’s biology, including phenology, the timing of important biological events. The timing of reproduction and spawning events for commercially important fish species is a critically important area of research for fisheries management. Haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) are commercially important as well as sound-producing, which allows for monitoring via non-invasive passive acoustics. This study presents an application of passive acoustic monitoring to a multi-year dataset to increase understanding of haddock sound production, as well as trends in spawning phenology and behavior. An automatic acoustic detector was able to identify haddock calls …

An Empirical Analysis Of Climatic, Geographic, And Cultural Determinants Of International Tourism, Ethan Straus

Honors Theses

Each year, billions of people visit different countries all around the world. For many of those countries, tourism is their primary industry, leading to millions of jobs and dollars in revenue. It is expected that by 2020 total International Tourism Receipts will reach 2 trillion US dollars annually. Currently, tourism employs an estimated 200 million people around the world. With the continued progression of climate change, the tourism industry is facing a newfound threat. Global temperatures and the seal level are both expected to rise significantly by the end of the century. Additionally, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has …

Sweden's Great Escape: Industrialization And The Changing Productivity Cost Of Winter, Charlotte Taylor, Jesse Anttila-Hughes

Master's Theses

We combine a paleoclimate reconstruction of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)- a key determinant of Scandinavian winter intensity- with four centuries of historical production data from Sweden, to examine the changing influence of climate variability on production over time. We find the colder, drier winters associated with the negative phase of the NAO led to reduced economic production for much of Swedish history, and that this relationship changed with development: during industrialization, Sweden underwent a transition from ‘level’ effects, where harsh winters lowered average incomes, to ‘growth’ effects, where it reduced growth in improving living standards. Post-industrialization, neither ‘level’ nor …

Holocene Climate Evolution Of Continental Western Eurasia Constrained By Stable-Isotope And Cation Geochemistry Of U-Th-Dated Speleothems And Meteogenic Travertine, Jonathan Lloyd Baker

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Reliable reconstructions of global and regional climate during the Holocene (11,700 years ago to present) are vital to constraining the natural range of climate variability and testing state-of-the-art models, which seek to forecast the near- and long-term impact of anthropogenic greenhouse forcing. Much of continental Eurasia is still underrepresented, however, in geological proxy reconstructions of Holocene climate variability, and the vast majority of paleoclimate data only reflect conditions during peak summer months (JJA) or the growing season. The paucity of winter proxy data has therefore been cited as a possible explanation for the current mismatch between geological proxy-based and climate-model …

A Speleothem Record Of Climate Variability In Southwestern North America During Marine Isotope Stage 3, Justin G. Peinado

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

During Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS-3) of the last glacial period, there were rapid transitions between warm and cold climates referred to as Dansgaard-Oeschgerr (DO) events. In Southwestern North America (SWNA), two speleothem paleoclimate records document changes in moisture source delivery in response to DO-events during MIS-3, but do not address potential changes in effective moisture for the region. In this study, we introduce a new high-resolution speleothem paleoclimate record from Carlsbad Cavern in the Guadalupe Mountains. The speleothem, sample BC-5, grew continuously from 46-31 kya during the latter half of MIS-3, based on U-Th dating. We also tied stable …

Papine Market: Culture, Climate, Resource, Denique Lindsay

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Markets maintain a setting for communities to make a living as well as provide daily life essentials. It is an act common in the culture and economy of places all around the globe. In the Caribbeans Greater Antilles it has prevailed historically as a necessary operation for the regions inhabitants. But many of the present day market settings, like that which is found on the island of Jamaica, have promoted unhealthy and uninviting environment for the market in habitants and for the surrounding contexts. One in particular has played a very important role in my family’s daily life, Papine Market …

Using Landlab, A Fine Scale Biogeography Model, To Measure The Sustainability Of Semi-Arid Vegetation In A Changing Climate, Lucy Gelb

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The distribution of vegetation in water-limited ecosystems is a product of complex and nonlinear interactions between climatic forcings (e.g., precipitation, temperature, solar radiation) and the underlying geomorphic template, which includes topography, geology, and soils. Changes in climate, particularly in precipitation and temperature, can dramatically alter the organization of vegetation. This is especially true in ecotones such as our area of study: the semi-arid transition between Great Basin shrub-steppe ecosystems and the coniferous forests of the Northern Rockies. Understanding and predicting how the spatial composition of terrestrial vegetation communities will change in these ecosystems is critical to predicting important future landscape …

Geostatistical Analysis Of Potential Sinkhole Risk: Examining Spatial And Temporal Climate Relationships In Tennessee And Florida, Kimberly Blazzard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sinkholes are a significant hazard for the southeastern United States. Although differences in climate are known to affect karst environments differently, quantitative analyses correlating sinkhole formation with climate variables is lacking. A temporal linear regression for Florida sinkholes and two modeled regressions for Tennessee sinkholes were produced: a general linearized logistic regression and a MaxEnt derived species distribution model. Temporal results showed highly significant correlations with precipitation, teleconnection patterns, temperature, and CO₂, while spatial results showed highly significant correlations with precipitation, wind speed, solar radiation, and maximum temperature. Regression results indicated that some sinkhole formation variability could be …

Spatial Patterns Of Precipitation Trends In The Continental United States, 1950-2016, Shayne O'Brien

Master's Theses

Identifying trends in aspects of meteorology is becoming increasingly important to understanding how climate can be expected to change, and how those affected may plan contingencies. Analyzing spatial patterns of precipitation trends allows for associations to be discovered to better understand regional climatology. For this study, daily precipitation data were collected from The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Global Historical Climate Network (GHCN) at stations across the continental United States, with selection based on distance from each other within a state, as well as percent completeness of observation data. Two stations per state were selected, with some exceptions for …

From The Cradle To The Grave: How The Embryonic Environment Shapes Responses To Climate Throughout The Life Cycle, Michael A. Carlo

All Theses

With rapidly warming climates, biologists are challenged to predict organismal responses to environmental variation, changes in biodiversity, and shifts in species distributions. In many cases, organismal responses differ across life stages that exhibit differences in physiological tolerances, habitat requirements, and resource allocations strategies. For instance, mobile life stages can alter behavior in response to changes in the thermal environment, whereas immobile life stages are often vulnerable to warming temperatures due to behavioral constraints and the limited microclimatic conditions experienced over small spatial extents (e.g., an embryo in an egg). Unfavorable developmental conditions can reduce growth, alter developmental rates, and increase …

Assessment Of Potential Changes In Crop Yields In The Central United States Under Climate Change Regimes, Neil Matthews-Pennanen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Climate change is one of the great challenges facing agriculture in the 21^st century. The goal of this study was to produce projections of crop yields for the central United States in the 2030s, 2060s, and 2090s based on the relationship between weather and yield from historical crop yields from 1980 to 2010. These projections were made across 16 states in the US, from Louisiana in the south to Minnesota in the north. They include projections for maize, soybeans, cotton, spring wheat, and winter wheat.

Simulated weather variables based on three climate scenarios were used to project future crop …

1300 Years Of Snowpack Change For The Sangre De Cristo Mountian Range, Michael Thornton

Master's Theses

New Mexico is heavily dependent on hydrologic inputs along high elevation sites where much of the cool-season precipitation accumulates as snowpack in the lower Southern Rocky Mountains. Snowpack runoff from the Sangre de Cristo (SDC) range provides critical headwater resources for the two major rivers that run through New Mexico and by extension the greater population. Yet, over the past four decades snowpack data from high and mid-elevation sites exhibit a linear trend of declining snowpack in conjunction with earlier seasonal melting. Due to the importance of these cool-season inputs for the region, a decline in montane runoff availability is …

The Impact Of Mindfulness Practices On Classroom Climate And Perceived Teacher Stress, Erin Kathryn Hebert

LSU Master's Theses

BACKGROUND: Teaching has been identified as the most stressful profession in the human service industry (Greenberg, Brown, & Abenavoli, 2016). Elevated teacher stress can affect teacher well-being and burnout, as well as, classroom climate and student outcomes. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this research study was to assess whether mindfulness practices can increase positive classroom climate and decrease perceived stress in early childhood teachers. METHOD: Participating teachers were selected based on results of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS; Cohen, Kamarck, & Mermelstein, 1983). Data were collected on the positive and negative climate objectives from the Classroom Assessment Scoring System …

Determinants Of Household Water Use In The City Of Kalamazoo, Michigan: The Role Of Climate And Socioeconomic Factors, Danielle Molenaar

Masters Theses

Located in the Great Lakes Watershed, the City of Kalamazoo can be considered “water rich”. Therefore, the area has been absent from water use studies. Water use studies are beneficial in all locations; as they can aid city planners, water resource managers, and utility companies. This study examines how household monthly water use in the City of Kalamazoo is impacted by both climate and socioeconomic variables over the period 2006-2016. Household level data were aggregated into census tracts to obtain monthly tract averages for the eleven-year period. Ordinary least squares regression (OLS) was used to determine which variables impact the …

Quantifying Permafrost Extent, Condition, And Degradation Rates At Department Of Defense Installations In The Arctic, Christopher A.J. Edlund

Theses and Dissertations

The DoD is planning over $500M in military construction on Eielson Air Force Base (AFB) within the next three years. This construction program will expand the footprint of facilities and change parts of the storm water management scheme, which may have second order effects on the underlying permafrost layer. These changes in permafrost will drive engineering decision making at local and regional levels, and help shape the overall strategy for military readiness in the Arctic. Little site-specific knowledge exists on the human caused effects to permafrost at this location. In 2016, the permafrost degradation rates at Eielson AFB were modeled …

Struggling To Survive: Addressing The Graduation Rate Of Cal Poly's Black Men, Malcolm Saleem Mills

Social Sciences

This research project examines and addresses the 2012 6-year graduation rate of Cal Poly’s Black men. Given President Armstrong’s 2022 vision for Cal Poly to be an: “Enriching, inclusive environment where every student, faculty and staff member is valued”; “Create a rich culture of diversity and inclusivity that supports and celebrates the similarities and differences of every individual on campus”; and “Enhances student success,” there is a startling lack of research addressing this demographic of students. A review of the literature highlights the issue of Black male graduation rates in higher education on a broader scale and examines the impact …

A Quantitative Analysis Of The Effects Of Climate On Subjective Wellbeing, Lucas E. Myers

UVM Patrick Leahy Honors College Senior Theses

This study aimed to better understand how climatic factors such as temperature and precipitation may be linked to human happiness as judged by self-reported wellbeing. Climate has been shown to influence wellbeing, and with climate change set to drastically alter conditions in which we live, understanding these relationships are vital. Based on the findings of Rehdanz and Maddison (2005), a variety of economic, demographic, and climate data for U.S. states between 2010 and 2016 were examined using a stepwise regression analysis to develop models for two different measures of wellbeing, the Gallup State of American Wellbeing Survey and the Measure …

Relationships Between Climate And Growth Of Quercus Rubra, Pinus Strobus, And Tsuga Canadensis In Northern Vermont, Kristen Ann Switzer

UVM Patrick Leahy Honors College Senior Theses

The impacts of climate change on global ecosystems are becoming increasingly clear. Research consistently shows increasing global temperatures are affecting biodiversity, vegetation dynamics, oceans, and important environmental processes. This study examines how climate has influenced tree growth in northern Vermont over the last 100 years for three tree species, Quercus rubra, Pinus strobus, and Tsuga canadensis, in an attempt to understand how these species might respond to expected future shifts in temperature and precipitation. Increment tree cores for these species were collected in Jericho Research Forest and response function analysis was used to examine how temperature and precipitation patterns …

Successful Climate Change Strategies In Corporate Farming In North America, Deann Renee Reaves

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The impact of climate change on agriculture is evident in changing growing seasons, crop yield, crop quality, and even complete crop losses. Changing climate conditions negatively affect the profitability of agricultural organizations. This study was a single descriptive case of one agricultural corporation in the western United States. The purpose was to identify and explore successful climate change-based sustainability strategies. The conceptual framework for this study was legitimacy theory. The data collection methods consisted of a semistructured interview of a corporate exectutive and obtaining corporate documents, including the annual report from the company's website. Data were analyzed using content analysis …

Climate Modeling, Outgoing Longwave Radiation, And Tropical Cyclone Forecasting, Thomas Rechtman

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Climate modeling and tropical cyclone forecasting are two significant is- sues that are continuously being improved upon for more accurate weather forecasting and preparedness. In this thesis, we have studied three climate models and formulated a new model with a view to determine the outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) budget at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) as ob- served by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) satellite based Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR). In 2006, Karnauskas proposed the African meridional OLR as an Atlantic hur- ricane predictor, the relation was further proven in 2016 by Karnauskas and Li …

Agricultural Intensification In The Midwest: Impacts On Regional Surface Humidity, Andrew Hill

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

An overwhelming majority of anthropogenic climate change studies have placed emphasis on biogeochemical agents, chiefly carbon dioxide emissions, which operate on a global scale. Fewer studies focus on biophysical factors such as land use/ land cover which operate on a regional or local scale. The impact from biophysical factors will continue to be reinforced with a growing human population and expanding resource demands. Of these factors, agricultural land use represents one of the largest, most extensive, and vital land use allocations.

The U.S. Midwest, dominated by rain-fed corn and soybean agriculture, is a key agricultural region which is lacking in …