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Landscape Genomics Of The Tussock Cottongrass (Eriophorum Vaginatum) And The Dwarf Birch (Betula Nana) In North Central Alaska, Elizabeth Stunz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Global climate change has resulted in geographic range shifts of flora and fauna at a global scale. Extreme environments, like the Arctic, are seeing some of the most pronounced changes. This region covers 14% of the Earthâ??s land area, and while many arctic species are widespread, understanding ecotypic variation at the genomic level will be important for elucidating how range shifts will affect ecological processes. Increase in shrub cover is a major effect of ongoing climate change in arctic tundra ecosystems. The relative increases in abundance and cover of shrub species such as birch, willow, and alder (Betula, Salix, and …

Biological Hydrogen Gas Production From Food Waste As A Sustainable Fuel For Future Transportation, Pitiporn Asvapathanagul, Leanne Deocampo, Nicholas Banuelos

Mineta Transportation Institute

In the global search for the right alternative energy sources for a more sustainable future, hydrogen production has stood out as a strong contender. Hydrogen gas (H2) is well-known as one of the cleanest and most sustainable energy sources, one that mainly yields only water vapor as a byproduct. Additionally, H2 generates triple the amount of energy compared to hydrocarbon fuels. H2 can be synthesized from several technologies, but currently only 1% of H2 production is generated from biomass. Biological H2 production generated from anaerobic digestion is a fraction of the 1%. This study aims to enhance biological H2 production …

Effects Of Forest Restoration On The Recovery Of Dead Wood, Associated Arthropods, And Insect-Mediated Wood Decomposition, Estefania Fernandez Barrancos

Dissertations

Dead wood represents 8% of terrestrial carbon stocks and is an important source of habitat and food for decomposer and non-decomposer arthropods. However, anthropogenic disturbance reduces the amount of dead wood, putting at risk the presence of a habitat that is essential for many arthropods and other organisms that rely on it for food and shelter. Forest restoration aims to assist the recovery of ecosystems that have been damaged or destroyed and could be a means to recover both dead wood and its associated arthropod communities. This doctoral dissertation lies at the intersection of climate change, biodiversity loss and ecological …

Remedying Renewable Energy Research: Implementation Of Green Chemistry In Laboratories, Julia Mayes

Student Theses 2015-Present

One of the pillars of environmental studies is the analysis of the natural world and the research being done to rectify harmful human activity on it. Laboratory components in the fields of chemistry, biology, ecology, among others, are powerful tools for learning about the way our environment works and assessing how human activities harm it. More advanced laboratories conduct research in the pursuit of new technologies to mitigate anthropogenic climate change. Concurrently, this work yields large quantities of waste. While laboratories are inherently valuable to the field of environmental science, the waste created by them raises a question of net …

Global Atmospheric Change And Its Effect On Managed Grassland Systems, Andreas Lüscher, J. Fuhrer, P. C. D. Newton

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Key points

1. Increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration and a trend to warmer mean temperatures are the most reliable aspects of global atmospheric change. Projections of the extent of climate change and the frequency of extreme weather conditions remain uncertain.

2. Research has considerably reduced the uncertainty about effects of global atmospheric change on physiology of plants, productivity and species composition of plant communities.

3. Other factors (e.g. nutrient availability, soil type) and long-term adaptation of the ecosystem (e.g. nutrient cycling and sequestration) influence the response of plant communities to global atmospheric change. Generalisation is not possible with respect to the …

Marine Heatwaves In The Chesapeake Bay, Piero L. F. Mazzini, Cassia Pianca

VIMS Articles

Prolonged events of anomalously warm sea water temperature, or marine heatwaves (MHWs), have major detrimental effects to marine ecosystems and the world's economy. While frequency, duration and intensity of MHWs have been observed to increase in the global oceans, little is known about their potential occurrence and variability in estuarine systems due to limited data in these environments. In the present study we analyzed a novel data set with over three decades of continuous in situ temperature records to investigate MHWs in the largest and most productive estuary in the US: the Chesapeake Bay. MHWs occurred on average twice per …

Developing High-Resolution Meteorological Datasets To Assess The Short-Term Association Between Meteorological Factors And Green Space And Mental Disorders, Xinlei Deng

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Global climate change is linked to the frequency and intensity of local climate extremes such as heatwaves, cold spells, and flooding. Scientific evidence indicates that heatwaves and higher ambient temperature could increase the risk of hospital admission and emergency department (ED) visits for mental disorders (MDs). On the other hand, urban green space is considered a way to reduce heat island effects and provide comfort for area residents. However, there still exist huge research gaps. Except for temperature, few studies have examined how other meteorological factors (relative humidity (RH), solar radiation (SR), heat index (HI), and rainfall) are associated with …