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Articles 1 - 21 of 21
Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Pharmaceuticals And Personal Care Products In Pacific Northwest Coastal Ecosystems: Spatial Variation, Organism Effects, And Consumer Perspectives, Amy Lynne Ehrhart
Pharmaceuticals And Personal Care Products In Pacific Northwest Coastal Ecosystems: Spatial Variation, Organism Effects, And Consumer Perspectives, Amy Lynne Ehrhart
Dissertations and Theses
Anthropogenic pollution poses a threat to marine organisms and ecosystems worldwide. Common chemical pollutants that enter the marine environment include legacy contaminants, which are well known and heavily regulated or banned pollutants, and emerging contaminants, which are more recently recognized as pollutants and often lack regulatory limits for their use and discharge. Wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent is a major source of various contaminants of concern, particularly pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) that are not fully removed during treatment. PPCPs exist at low concentrations in the environment and may have unknown and subtle effects on marine life. Data gaps …
Wildfire Risk Assessment For A Municipal Watershed In Western Oregon, Usa: Methods For Projecting The Impact Of Mid-21st Century Climate Change On Wildfire Hazard, Andy Mcevoy
Dissertations and Theses
In the western United States, climate change is projected to lead to significant changes in regional wildfire regimes. Historically, forests west of the Cascade crest in Oregon and Washington, USA (westside) have been characterized by low-frequency wildfire events, but climate change projections indicate that wildfire could become a more common disturbance, altering ecological processes and impairing ecosystem services like surface water quality and quantity. Wildfire risk assessments based on simulation models have been used in high frequency fire regimes to evaluate contemporary and future risk, but present unique challenges in westside forests because characteristic low annual burn probabilities result in …
Investigating Dose-Dependent, Multi-Generational, And Strain-Specific Effects Of 17Α-Ethynylestradiol Exposure In Zebrafish (Danio Rerio), Decatur Mitochondria Foster
Investigating Dose-Dependent, Multi-Generational, And Strain-Specific Effects Of 17Α-Ethynylestradiol Exposure In Zebrafish (Danio Rerio), Decatur Mitochondria Foster
Dissertations and Theses
Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) pose a threat to biodiversity at the individual, population, and ecosystem level, as they can interfere with processes that are responsible for regulating metabolism, development, behavior, and reproduction in living organisms. 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2) is a synthetic estrogen and EDC utilized in pharmaceutical and livestock industries, and contaminates waterways worldwide. This research explores the effects of dose-dependent and multi-generational exposure of EE2 in three strains of zebrafish. High dose (10-25 ng/L EE2) exposure led to complete reproductive failure, as well as significantly decreased survival and growth. A period in clean water (depuration) after exposure allowed for some …
Microplastics In Pacific Northwest Bivalves: Ecological Prevalence, Harvester-Consumer Exposure, And Aquarium Exhibit Outcomes, Britta Rahel Baechler
Microplastics In Pacific Northwest Bivalves: Ecological Prevalence, Harvester-Consumer Exposure, And Aquarium Exhibit Outcomes, Britta Rahel Baechler
Dissertations and Theses
Up to 23 million metric tons of mismanaged plastics enter the global ocean annually. Microplastics (MPs;<5mm) degrading. MPs leak into the environment and now pervade every corner of the earth, with implications for animal, plant, ecosystem and human health. It is important to understand localized environmental MP prevalence, distribution and organismal uptake in order to determine the extent of MP pollution, and ultimately unlock solution sets to reduce transmission of MPs into the natural world. In Chapter 2, I quantified MP types, concentrations, anatomical burdens, geographic distribution, and temporal differences in Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) and Pacific razor clams (Siliqua patula) from 15 coastal sites in Oregon. Both of these species are integral to culture, economy, gastronomy and food security along the United States West Coast. In Chapter 3, I quantified MPs in Pacific razor clams collected from 8 Olympic Coast, Washington sites, administered questionnaires to recreational razor clammers and subsequently estimated annual MP exposure of those Olympic Coast razor clam harvester-consumers surveyed. In Chapter 4, I designed and installed an educational ocean plastic …
Determinants Of Green Purchase Intentions Of Saudi Consumers, Amani Mohammed Kaadoor
Determinants Of Green Purchase Intentions Of Saudi Consumers, Amani Mohammed Kaadoor
Dissertations and Theses
Much of the research on how and why consumers engage in pro-environmental consumption has occurred in the wealthy countries of the West, where green markets are increasingly well established. Research in other economic and cultural context is sparse and points to large regional differences that cause some researchers to call key theoretical foundations, such as the Theory of Planned Behavior, into question. In response, this study investigates the factors that predict green purchase intention for food and personal care products in Saudi Arabia, a wealthy country with a rapidly growing population, severe environmental challenges, and a nascent green consumer market …
Indoor Air Quality Impacts Of A Woodstove Exchange Program In Washington County, Oregon, Matthew Forrest Survilo
Indoor Air Quality Impacts Of A Woodstove Exchange Program In Washington County, Oregon, Matthew Forrest Survilo
Dissertations and Theses
More than six million people in the United States use wood stoves as their primary heat source. Wood stoves emit air pollutants that may impact health, e.g., wood combustion products are associated with premature death and aggravation of pulmonary and cardiovascular conditions. There are few studies investigating the efficacy of wood stove exchange programs (WSEPs) as a method to improve indoor air quality (IAQ). In partnership with Washington County Department of Health and Human Services we conducted an air quality study to measure the impact of a WSEP on indoor and neighborhood levels of wood combustion products. Twenty households engaged …
Waste Management In The Global South: An Inquiry On The Patterns Of Plastic And Waste Material Flows In Colombo, Sri Lanka, Katie Ann Conlon
Waste Management In The Global South: An Inquiry On The Patterns Of Plastic And Waste Material Flows In Colombo, Sri Lanka, Katie Ann Conlon
Dissertations and Theses
Global plastic production continues to increase at an exponential pace, and global waste projections show waste generation rising by 70% by 2050. Plastic waste connects to all social processes, especially within the context of urbanization and development; urban planning and land management; GHG emissions; labor; social equity; public health; rural-to-urban migration; increasing population; increasing consumption; climate change; etc. The focus of this dissertation is an analysis of waste management practices in Sri Lanka using a grounded theory based methodology, with a goal to better understand the social and ecological impacts of plastic waste in Sri Lanka. This research fills a …
A Seasonal Study Of Ecoroof Metal And Nutrient Dynamics And Associated Drivers In An Ecoroof On A Commercial Building In North Portland Oregon, Alex Vijay Bans
A Seasonal Study Of Ecoroof Metal And Nutrient Dynamics And Associated Drivers In An Ecoroof On A Commercial Building In North Portland Oregon, Alex Vijay Bans
Dissertations and Theses
Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI), specifically ecoroofs, is increasingly seen as an effective stormwater management tool in urban planning strategies. However, the literature suggests that ecoroofs can be sources of certain metals and nutrients. The goal of our study was to address two research questions: 1) How does ecoroof runoff compare to conventional roof runoff chemically: do ecoroofs retain certain chemicals and leach others? and 2) what are the roof characteristics and environmental variables that affect runoff quality? For 10 months, runoff events from an ecoroof were compared to those of a conventional roof; water samples were collected with autosamplers, and …
Mechanics Of Canopy Turbulence, Hawwa Falih Kadum
Mechanics Of Canopy Turbulence, Hawwa Falih Kadum
Dissertations and Theses
Large canopies interact with the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) and alter transport of matter, energy, and momentum in accordance to their morphology. Canopy structure influence on turbulent processes can be utilized to achieve favorable interactions. Wind farm and forest canopies spatial arrangement is investigated in this work. Momentum fluxes investigated in a horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT) array showed the existence of gusts of wind transported both from ABL above the canopy and the unperturbed flow below the canopy through sweep and ejection events. A new wind farm arrangement in which clusters of vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT) are collocated …
Understanding Institutional, Social, And Ecological Systems Influencing Climate Change Adaptation And Water Governance In Wine Regions: A Comparative Case Study Of Oregon's Willamette Valley, Usa And Tasmania, Australia, Erin Upton
Dissertations and Theses
My research examines how water management decisions create opportunities or barriers to climate change adaptation in wine regions. Water is a critical resource for economic and environmental sustainability in wine grape growing regions. Climate uncertainty presents considerable risk and vulnerability to freshwater resources in wine producing regions where needs for access to water will increase with more frequent climate extremes. Climate adaptation in the wine industry is a complex problem that requires multi-disciplinary approaches. This research aims to strengthen the interface between water governance and technological and viticulture adaptation approaches. Water resources are shared across regions by stakeholders with varied …
Spatial Statistical Approaches To Water Quality Modelling, Janardan Mainali
Spatial Statistical Approaches To Water Quality Modelling, Janardan Mainali
Dissertations and Theses
This dissertation aims to advance the existing knowledge related to spatial modeling of water quality by exploring and introducing innovative approaches to different spatial conceptualizations for water quality modeling and incorporating upstream-downstream relations in geographically weighted regression. By carrying out a systematic literature review of four different classes of spatial models in Chapter One, this dissertation identifies the following major research gaps: lack of incorporation of multiscale processes, not enough emphasis on spatial weights matrices, and unavailability of upstream-downstream relationships in geographically weighted regressions. Chapters Two and Three were designed to address these gaps in the literature. In Chapter Two, …
Long Term Changes To The Lower Columbia River Estuary (Lcre) Hydrodynamics And Salinity Patterns, Aqeel Al-Bahadily
Long Term Changes To The Lower Columbia River Estuary (Lcre) Hydrodynamics And Salinity Patterns, Aqeel Al-Bahadily
Dissertations and Theses
Changing the morphological and hydrological conditions of an estuary can affect the estuarine hydrodynamics. The hydrograph of the Lower Columbia River Estuary (LCRE) and its bathymetry have been altered significantly over the past 150 years, such that the spring-freshet has decreased by 40-50% while winter flow has increased by 50%. In addition, the inlet width has been narrowed from 9.7 to 3.2km by the construction of jetties, and the controlling depth of the navigation channel has been deepened from 6 to 13m by continuous dredging. Also, ~70% of the shallow water habitat has been lost due to diking and wetland …
Collaboration And Evaluation In Urban Sustainability And Resilience Transformations: The Keys To A Just Transition?, Liliana Elizabeth Caughman
Collaboration And Evaluation In Urban Sustainability And Resilience Transformations: The Keys To A Just Transition?, Liliana Elizabeth Caughman
Dissertations and Theses
Climate has changed and will continue changing; city populations are swelling as urbanization continues to accelerate; extreme environmental events like heat waves and floods are becoming more severe and more common; and the climate justice movement is rapidly gaining momentum. It in this context that municipal governments find themselves urgently seeking solutions to transition cities from extractive, vulnerable, and unjust to sustainable, resilient, and equitable. The task is complex and will require systemic transformations across interconnected social, environmental, and economic infrastructures. Emerging theories regarding how to govern such massive changes suggest Transition Management strategies and the values of a just …
Unpacking The Process And Outcomes Of Ethical Markets: A Focus On Certified B Corporations, Renée Bogin Curtis
Unpacking The Process And Outcomes Of Ethical Markets: A Focus On Certified B Corporations, Renée Bogin Curtis
Dissertations and Theses
The growth in conscious consumption presents an opportunity to 1) better understand the potential outcomes of ethical market practices as a community-advocacy tool and 2) to consider potential policy considerations. The marketplace has increasingly become an arena for social action. This leads to the question of how can markets facilitate ethical business practices and community benefits? The recent rise of social benefit corporations warrants an evaluation of the outcomes of ethically-driven markets. Using a comparative research design and qualitative interview methods, this study examines certified Benefit Corporations (B Corps) in two selected cities: Philadelphia and Portland. Through interviews with B …
Tending The Fire: Wildfire Risk Management At The Interface, Cody Randolph Evers
Tending The Fire: Wildfire Risk Management At The Interface, Cody Randolph Evers
Dissertations and Theses
Escalating loss from wildfire in the American West has made clear the need to rethink wildfire risk, including how such risks result from the unique interaction of social and natural dynamics within the wildland urban interface. Unfortunately, techniques for studying these interactions remain limited. The intent of this research is to address this gap. In each of four chapters, I examine different aspects of wildfire risk management through a coupled human-natural lens. I document how wildfire activity has shifted over three decades across forest and shrubland systems in the western US and connect these changes to the simultaneous growth in …
Before And After The Storm: Interactions Between Tree-Fall Canopy Gaps, Plant Phenology, And Frugivorous Lemurs In Masoala National Park, Madagascar, Monica Sue Mogilewsky
Before And After The Storm: Interactions Between Tree-Fall Canopy Gaps, Plant Phenology, And Frugivorous Lemurs In Masoala National Park, Madagascar, Monica Sue Mogilewsky
Dissertations and Theses
Madagascar is one of Earth's top biodiversity hotspots, with 80% of life on the island considered endemic. Among the endemic species are lemurs, a diverse group of non-human primates. Unfortunately, Madagascar's diversity, including lemurs, is threatened by habitat degradation and loss. Despite intense anthropogenic pressure over the past 50 years, scientists have not detected any lemur extinctions during this period. Some researchers have proposed that lemurs' adaptations to natural disturbances have provided these taxa resiliency against anthropogenic disturbances. Certainly, Madagascar experiences an extreme disturbance regime: the island experiences an average of over three cyclones a year. These cyclones create numerous, …
Modeling Spatiotemporal Patterns Of Pm2.5 At The Sub-Neighborhood Scale Using Low-Cost Sensor Networks, Philip Jeffrey Orlando
Modeling Spatiotemporal Patterns Of Pm2.5 At The Sub-Neighborhood Scale Using Low-Cost Sensor Networks, Philip Jeffrey Orlando
Dissertations and Theses
Epidemiological research has demonstrated an adverse relationship between fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and human health. While PM2.5 continues to pose a significant global health risk, there is still the need to further characterize exposures at the intra-urban scale. Land use regression is a statistical modeling technique which is used to predict air pollution concentrations at high resolution from a limited number of monitoring sites. However, the existing regulatory monitoring networks are typically not dense enough to apply these techniques. We explored the potential of using low-cost PM2.5 sensor networks to overcome the limitations of the existing …
Adapting To Extreme Heat: Social, Atmospheric, And Infrastructure Impacts Of Air Conditioning In Megacities - The Case Of New York City, Harold Gamarro
Adapting To Extreme Heat: Social, Atmospheric, And Infrastructure Impacts Of Air Conditioning In Megacities - The Case Of New York City, Harold Gamarro
Dissertations and Theses
Extreme heat events are becoming more frequent and intense in most large cities. Built-up surfaces also limit cooling mechanisms, leading to warmer conditions in cities, a phenomenon called the Urban Heat Island (UHI). This presents major challenges to reduce adverse health effects of hot weather, particularly in vulnerable populations like the elderly and low-income communities. Here we explore the overall impacts of increasing air conditioning (AC) system adoption in residences as an adaptive measure to reduce human health risks under heat waves, with New York City (NYC) as a case study. This study uses AC adoption data from the 2017 …
Ecosystem Health In Guánica Bay And La Parguera, Puerto Rico: Remote Sensing Of Ocean Color And Metal Analysis Of Coral Tissue And Surficial Sediments, Jahnelle Howe
Dissertations and Theses
Guánica Bay is an estuary located in southwest Puerto Rico, with a coral reef ecosystem at its periphery. This ecosystem is affected by sediments, nutrients, and contaminants from the watershed through the Bay and into the offshore water. This project evaluates Guánica Bay and La Parguera coastal areas through remote sensing and chemical analysis to assess coastal ecosystem health. The concentration of metals in two coral species and their associated surface sediments was were analyzed by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and Direct Mercury Analyzer (DMA- 80). Ocean color remote sensing was used to estimate nutrient inputs and phytoplankton biomass through chlorophyll- …
Macro - And Microstructure Evaluation And Field Applications Of Concrete With Recycled Glass Pozzolan, Marija Krstic
Macro - And Microstructure Evaluation And Field Applications Of Concrete With Recycled Glass Pozzolan, Marija Krstic
Dissertations and Theses
Concrete is the most used material in the world, second only to water. Conventional concrete is produced with Portland cement (PC). The production of cement is an energy intensive operation that has raised significant environmental concerns, since one ton of cement generates an equal ton of CO2. In the USA about 90 million tons of cement are used annually, with 3 million tons used in New York. Most contemporary concrete applications for buildings and infrastructure use high-performance concrete (HPC) mixtures which are produced by replacing a percentage of cement with supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs), consisting mainly of fly-ash …
Toward Closing The Urban Surface Energy Balance Using Satellite Remote Sensing, Joshua Hrisko
Toward Closing The Urban Surface Energy Balance Using Satellite Remote Sensing, Joshua Hrisko
Dissertations and Theses
The energy exchanges at the Earth’s surface are responsible for many of the processes that govern weather, climate, human health, and energy use. This exchange, commonly known as the surface energy balance (SEB), determines the near-surface thermodynamic state by partitioning the available energy into surface fluxes. The net all-wave radiation is often the primary energy source, while the heat storage and sensible and latent heat fluxes account for the majority of energy distributed elsewhere. While the SEB of various natural environments(trees, crops, soils) has been well-observed and modeled, the urban surface energy balance remains elusive. This is due to the …