Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Environmental Sciences

Montclair State University

2011

Articles 1 - 11 of 11

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

The Vinylguaiacol/Indole Or Vgi ("Veggie") Ratio: Assessing Relative Contributions Of Terrestrial And Aquatic Organic Matter To Sediments, Michael A. Kruge, Kevin K. Olsen, Jaroslaw W. Slusarczyk, Elaine Gomez Sep 2011

The Vinylguaiacol/Indole Or Vgi ("Veggie") Ratio: Assessing Relative Contributions Of Terrestrial And Aquatic Organic Matter To Sediments, Michael A. Kruge, Kevin K. Olsen, Jaroslaw W. Slusarczyk, Elaine Gomez

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

In studies of the organic matter (OM) fraction of marine, estuarine, fluvial, or lacustrine sediments, one of the most fundamental distinctions to be made is that between terrestrial and aquatic OM. To supplement the parameters commonly used for this purpose (e.g., C/N and stable isotope ratios), we proposed the Vinylguaiacol/Indole or VGI ("Veggie") ratio, defined as [vinylguaiacol / (indole + vinylguaiacol)] using data produced by analytical pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry of dried, homogenized sediment samples [1]. The ratio employs the peak areas of these two compounds on the mass chromatograms of their molecular ions (m/z 150 and 117, respectively). Major pyrolysis …

Go to article

Effects Of Weathering On Aromatic Compounds In Beach Tars From The Deepwater Horizon Disaster, Gulf Of Mexico Coast, Usa, Michael A. Kruge Sep 2011

Effects Of Weathering On Aromatic Compounds In Beach Tars From The Deepwater Horizon Disaster, Gulf Of Mexico Coast, Usa, Michael A. Kruge

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Operators aboard the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform lost control of the Macondo No. 1 well about 90 km southwest of the Louisiana coast on April 20, 2010, leading to a catastrophic release of ca. 550 Gg of crude oil over the next 86 days [1]. Oil from the spill soon found its way to nearby coastal areas, leaving tarry deposits on beaches and marshes. Oil was reported on the beach at Gulf Shores, Alabama (180 km northeast of the well) on June 5 and the relatively fresh sample discussed herein (GSA) was collected that same day. Oil reached the beach …

Go to article

Socioeconomic Impacts Of Climate Change On Rural Communities In The United States, Pankaj Lal, Janaki Alavalapati, D. Evan Mercer Aug 2011

Socioeconomic Impacts Of Climate Change On Rural Communities In The United States, Pankaj Lal, Janaki Alavalapati, D. Evan Mercer

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Go to article

Environmental Magnetism Survey Of A Holocene Sedimentary Record From Barilari Bay, Western Antarctic Peninsula, Carl Joseph Natter Jr. Aug 2011

Environmental Magnetism Survey Of A Holocene Sedimentary Record From Barilari Bay, Western Antarctic Peninsula, Carl Joseph Natter Jr.

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Barilari Bay is located on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula (AP), opposite the former Larsen B Ice Shelf on the eastern Antarctic Peninsula. Barilari Bay was swath mapped during United States Antarctic Program cruise NBP10-01 as part of the Larsen Ice Shelf System, Antarctic (LARISSA) program. The bay consists of a series of five basins with water depths greater than 600 meters, from which a suite of kasten cores and jumbo piston cores was collected. Three cores, JPC-127, its trigger core TC- 127, and JKC 55 were collected from the outer portion of the Bay and recovered an …

Go to article

Mapping The River Kilometers Of Potential Daylighting Projects In Northeast New Jersey, Omoniyi Ayodeji Asaolu Aug 2011

Mapping The River Kilometers Of Potential Daylighting Projects In Northeast New Jersey, Omoniyi Ayodeji Asaolu

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

A river offers many benefits to people who live near it, including transportation, a source of food, waste disposal, and water resources for consumption. Because of these advantages many great cities were built around rivers impacting rivers in many ways. While the effects of urban development on water quality have long been studied, this study measures how development has caused streams to disappear from the landscape. It was observed that some streams were buried due to negative impacts of urbanization. Public safety and flood control were some of the reasons these streams were buried, but with the advent of green …

Go to article

Geochemical Analysis Of Long Island Sound Sediments, Jaroslaw W. Slusarczyk Aug 2011

Geochemical Analysis Of Long Island Sound Sediments, Jaroslaw W. Slusarczyk

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

As one of the largest estuarine systems in the northeastern United States, Long Island Sound (LIS) has been exposed to human activities for many centuries. Human settlement and population growth in the last 200 years has caused heavy pollution in LIS through inland and shore industrial and municipal releases. The geochemistry of one sediment core and numerous surface sediment samples were analyzed using environmental forensic techniques. This study employed use of pyrolysis gas chromatography/ mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) in conjunction with previously analyzed geochemical and radiometric data to study contamination sources and patterns though LIS. Geochemical analysis of samples was focused …

Go to article

Determining Middle Miocene Through Pliocene Changes In Provenance And Basal Ice Conditions Through Sedimentological Analyses Of Subglacial Diamictites In And-2a, Ross Sea, Antarctica, Melissa Anne Hansen May 2011

Determining Middle Miocene Through Pliocene Changes In Provenance And Basal Ice Conditions Through Sedimentological Analyses Of Subglacial Diamictites In And-2a, Ross Sea, Antarctica, Melissa Anne Hansen

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Prior to the mid-Miocene the Antarctic ice sheet is believed to have been very dynamic with periods of expansion and contraction (Naish et ah, 2001). Previous studies have suggested that the ice sheet changed from a wet-based temperate ice-sheet to a drybased polar ice sheet at ca. 14 Ma (Lewis et al., 2007). Utilizing a sediment core obtained through the Antarctic Geological Drilling (ANDRILL) program, changes in the flow configurations and conditions in the basal ice were documented across the middle Miocene climate transition. Glaciers eroded bedrock from the Transantarctic Mountains and deposited sediments into the embayment mixing with materials …

Go to article

Geochemical Analysis And Regional Correlations Bbetween Granitic Gneisses Of The Western Hudson Highlands, New York, Elyse Kirsten Peterson May 2011

Geochemical Analysis And Regional Correlations Bbetween Granitic Gneisses Of The Western Hudson Highlands, New York, Elyse Kirsten Peterson

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The Byram Intrusive Suite granite gneisses of the New Jersey Highlands are believed to be similar in chemical composition as well as age to the Storm King hornblende granite gneisses of the Hudson Highlands of New York (Drake et al., 1991, Ratcliffe and Aleinikoff, 2001; Volkert et ah, 2010). The goal of this project is to determine the geochemical continuity between the Byram Intrusive Suite of the NJ Highlands and the Storm King granite gniesses, located near Bear Mountain, NY. Thirtytwo samples of granitic gneisses with similar field relations and textures to the Byram and Storm King granite gneisses were …

Go to article

Socio-Economic Impacts Of Climate Change On Rural United States, Pankaj Lal, Janaki Alavalapati, Evan Mercer May 2011

Socio-Economic Impacts Of Climate Change On Rural United States, Pankaj Lal, Janaki Alavalapati, Evan Mercer

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Directly or indirectly, positively or negatively, climate change will affect all sectors and regions of the United States. The impacts, however, will not be homogenous across regions, sectors, population groups or time. The literature specifically related to how climate change will affect rural communities, their resilience, and adaptive capacity in the United States (U.S.) is scarce. This article bridges this knowledge gap through an extensive review of the current state of knowledge to make inferences about the rural communities vulnerability to climate change based on Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) scenarios. Our analysis shows that rural communities tend to …

Go to article

Variations In Concentrations And Compositions Of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (Pahs) In Coals Related To The Coal Rank And Origin, Susanne Laumann, Vesna Micic Batka, Michael A. Kruge, Christine Achten, Reinhard Sachsenhofer, Jan Schwarzbauer, Thilo Hofmann Jan 2011

Variations In Concentrations And Compositions Of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (Pahs) In Coals Related To The Coal Rank And Origin, Susanne Laumann, Vesna Micic Batka, Michael A. Kruge, Christine Achten, Reinhard Sachsenhofer, Jan Schwarzbauer, Thilo Hofmann

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The release of unburnt coal particles and associated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) may cause adverse impacts on the environment. This study assessed variations in the concentration and composition of PAHs in a set of fifty coal samples from eleven coal basins worldwide. The maximum PAH concentrations at high volatile bituminous rank were recorded in samples from a single basin. Considering the entire sample, the highest PAH concentrations were in fact found outside of this rank range, suggesting that the maceral composition and thus the coal's origin also influenced PAH concentrations. The examination of the PAH compositions revealed that alkylated 2-3 …

Go to article

Urban Environmental Pollution 2010: Trace Metal Dispersion In Soil From Auto-Mechanic Village To Urban Residential Areas In Owerri, Nigeria, Michael A. Nwachukwu, Huan Feng, Jude Alinnor Jan 2011

Urban Environmental Pollution 2010: Trace Metal Dispersion In Soil From Auto-Mechanic Village To Urban Residential Areas In Owerri, Nigeria, Michael A. Nwachukwu, Huan Feng, Jude Alinnor

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Due to poor waste management in mechanic villages (MVs), average metal concentration (mgkg-1) is Pb 1162±572; Mn 864±531; Cu 385±202; Fe 49259±4770; Cd 20±13; Zn 824±190; and Ni 40±35, causing ecological and public health risks in parts of Nigeria. Average metal dispersion (mgkg-1/m) from MVs to residential areas was estimated at 9.2 for Pb; 6.7 for Mn; 6.1 for Zn; 1.5 for Cu; 197 for Fe; 0.3 for Ni; and 0.04 for Cd. This represents a mobility order of Fe>Pb>Mn>Zn>Cu>Ni>Cd, and a pollution order of Pb>Ni>Mn>Zn>Fe>Cu>Cd. MV advantages …

Go to article