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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Trace Metal Contamination In Urban Soils: A Field To Laboratory Methodological Framework For Characterization And Education, Sandra Leighanne Walser
Trace Metal Contamination In Urban Soils: A Field To Laboratory Methodological Framework For Characterization And Education, Sandra Leighanne Walser
Graduate College Dissertations and Theses
Urban soils around the world have been found to possess elevated concentrations of toxic trace metals such as As, Cd, Cu, Pb, Mn, Hg, Zn known to pose human health risks. Tightening environmental legislation and further elucidation of the detrimental health impacts from trace metals has necessitated more efficient means of contamination assessment, as well as greater public awareness. Within this thesis, I sought to develop an array of tools to holistically approach the socially relevant environmental challenges derived from heavy metal soil contamination. These tools consist in providing means to simplify Pb, Zn and Cu analysis in-situ, develop strategies …
Shaping Soil: Examining Relationships Between Agriculture And Climate Change, Lindsay Barbieri
Shaping Soil: Examining Relationships Between Agriculture And Climate Change, Lindsay Barbieri
Graduate College Dissertations and Theses
As the ripple-effects of a changing climate shape our planet, understanding relationships between agriculture and climate change is critical. With agricultural practices shaping soils on over a third of the earth’s land surface, the soils and lands where food is produced are integral grounds for examining these relationships. While not all humans practice agriculture in similar or damaging ways, nevertheless, dominant agricultural practices are displacing beings and ecosystems and perturbing global nutrient cycles across the planet. These entwined imbalances of dominance and nutrients result in flows of excess nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon that are responsible for nearly three-fourths of the …
Investigating Spatial And Temporal Variability Of Environmental And Biological Controls On Riparian Soil Denitrification, Brittany Victoria Lancellotti
Investigating Spatial And Temporal Variability Of Environmental And Biological Controls On Riparian Soil Denitrification, Brittany Victoria Lancellotti
Graduate College Dissertations and Theses
Soil denitrification is a critical component of nitrogen (N) cycling on Earth. It is a microbially-mediated process that removes N from soils by reducing nitrate (NO3-), a highly bioavailable molecule and significant contributor to eutrophication, to gaseous forms of N (N2 or N2O). Riparian areas, which are located at the interface between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, are areas of elevated denitrification rates, as they frequently exhibit favorable conditions for this process. Denitrification provides a critical ecosystem service by reducing N inputs to streams and rivers. However, this process is highly variable in time and space, making it difficult to predict …