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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Human Impact On Planetary Temperature And Glacial Volume: Extending A Toy Climate Model To A New Millennium, Samantha Secor, Jennifer Switkes
Human Impact On Planetary Temperature And Glacial Volume: Extending A Toy Climate Model To A New Millennium, Samantha Secor, Jennifer Switkes
CODEE Journal
Starting with a toy climate model from the literature, we employ a system of two nonlinear differential equations to model the reciprocal effects of the average temperature and the percentage of glacial volume on Earth. In the literature, this model is used to demonstrate the potential for a stable periodic orbit over a long time span in the form of an attracting limit cycle. In the roughly twenty five years since this model appeared in the literature, the effects of global warming and human-impacted climate change have become much more well known and apparent. We demonstrate modification of initial conditions …
Examining Soil Microbial Diversity In Transition Zones Between Corn Fields And Restored Prairie In The Upper Midwest, Anna M. Burns
Examining Soil Microbial Diversity In Transition Zones Between Corn Fields And Restored Prairie In The Upper Midwest, Anna M. Burns
Scripps Senior Theses
Prairies were once the largest ecosystem in North America, but agriculture and settlement has destroyed up to 99% of their pre-colonization extent. Prairie restorations are a strategy to recover the biodiversity and carbon sequestration functions of these grasslands, but typically occur in isolated strips between agricultural fields. My thesis analyzes how effective prairie restorations in the Liberty Prairie (northeastern Illinois) are at recovering the diversity of the prairie soil microbiome, focusing on verrucomicrobia abundance, alpha diversity, and soil physical characteristics.
Power In Numbers: An Abundance Of Small Corals Responsible For Storing Over Half Of The Carbon Stored By All Alaskan Primnoa Pacifica Deep-Sea Corals, Sylvie Alexander
Power In Numbers: An Abundance Of Small Corals Responsible For Storing Over Half Of The Carbon Stored By All Alaskan Primnoa Pacifica Deep-Sea Corals, Sylvie Alexander
Scripps Senior Theses
Gorgonian deep-sea corals (DSCs) are biologically linked to ocean carbon cycling converting ocean carbon to gorgonin and calcite in their skeletons. As such, gorgonian DSCs likely accumulate and store carbon in their skeleton throughout their lifespans, acting as carbon sinks on historic timescales. Yet, DSC carbon storage hasn’t been investigated to date. This study evaluates gorgonian DSC carbon storage capacity through an evaluation of the carbon stored by Alaskan Primnoa pacifica corals. The development of a model relating coral height to biomass in specimens with this data available was used to determine biomass values in a suite of Alaskan P. …
Footprints On The Prairie: Examining The Interlocking Land Histories Of The Liberty Prairie Reserve, Illinois, Anna M. Burns
Footprints On The Prairie: Examining The Interlocking Land Histories Of The Liberty Prairie Reserve, Illinois, Anna M. Burns
Scripps Senior Theses
This thesis begins with the local history of the Liberty Prairie, the land where I conducted the ecological field-work that I later discuss in my second thesis on soil microbiome diversity (“Examining Soil Microbial Diversity in Transition Zones Between Corn Fields and Restored Prairie in the Upper Midwest"). I examine the Indigenous histories of the land, and the conflicts between the Bodwéwadmi and Euro-American settlers that resulted in the land being farmed for cattle, corn, and soy for over a hundred and fifty years. I then take a step back and analyze the broader historical contexts of Midwestern Corn Belt …