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2019

Environmental Science

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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Lead In Tap Water Of Public Schools Near Dayton, Ohio, Baylee Stark Jan 2019

Lead In Tap Water Of Public Schools Near Dayton, Ohio, Baylee Stark

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Lead (Pb) is a human-health concern, especially with regard to exposures of children. Lead contaminated drinking water is a primary route of exposure for children; however, water sampling for Pb is voluntary in schools with a public water supply. This study examined Pb in tap water from public schools around Dayton, OH. Schools were selected to span a range of ages (construction year) and community socioeconomic status. Of the 28 schools contacted, seven responded "affirmatively" to sampling, two responded "negatively", and 19 did not respond. None of the schools that were sampled had Pb concentrations exceeding the U.S. EPA guidelines …


Implication Of Inorganic Nitrogen And Phosphorous Species As A Cause Of A Harmful Algal Bloom Event In Caesar Creek Lake, Ohio And Its Tributaries, Baxter Jeffrey Foskuhl Jan 2019

Implication Of Inorganic Nitrogen And Phosphorous Species As A Cause Of A Harmful Algal Bloom Event In Caesar Creek Lake, Ohio And Its Tributaries, Baxter Jeffrey Foskuhl

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Agricultural runoff poses a threat to the Wilmington, Ohio municipal water supply and its source waters. A harmful algal bloom (HAB) was documented in June 2019 in Caesar Creek Lake, Waynesville, Ohio. This study seeks to establish baseline nutrient concentrations in Caesar Creek Lake (Warren County, Ohio) and its tributaries, and to identify potential non-point sources of excess nitrogen and phosphorous that contributed to the HAB event. In collaboration with the Wilmington Water Department, dissolved inorganic nitrogen DIN-[N] (sum of NH3-[N], NH4+-[N], NO2--[N], NO3--[N] concentrations), dissolved phosphorous DP-[P], particulate phosphorous PP-[P], total phosphorous TP-[P] (total sum of DP-[P] and PP-[P] …


Vegetation Sensitivity During The Mid-Holocene Warming In Western Ohio, Kristin Kopera Jan 2019

Vegetation Sensitivity During The Mid-Holocene Warming In Western Ohio, Kristin Kopera

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There has been a growing interest in prairie reconstruction in western Ohio, yet there are few recent academic sources supporting the claim that prairies appeared in western Ohio during the mid-Holocene. The hypsithermal was the warmest and driest part of the Holocene and occurred from 8,000-4,000 years ago in the Midwest. During the hypsithermal, the Prairie Peninsula appeared from Minnesota to eastern Ohio. If prairie did appear in Ohio, it occurred during the mid-Holocene hypsithermal. The goal of this study was to determine if western Ohio experienced a prairie period during the hypsithermal using pollen as a proxy for past …


Ammonium Cycling And Nitrifier Community Composition In Eutrophic Waters Affected By Cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Blooms, Justyna J. Hampel Jan 2019

Ammonium Cycling And Nitrifier Community Composition In Eutrophic Waters Affected By Cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Blooms, Justyna J. Hampel

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Non-point source nitrogen (N) from agriculture is a main driver of eutrophication in aquatic systems, which often manifests as toxin producing cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs). Non-N2 fixing cyanobacteria, such as Microcystis, thrive on chemically reduced N forms (e.g., ammonium (NH4+) and urea) used as the main N form in fertilizer. NH4+ turnover rates are important components of the aquatic N cycle in eutrophic lakes affected by cyanoHABs. Regeneration of NH4+ can contribute to the internal cycling of NH4+, which can sustain cyanoHABs when external loads are low. Additionally, NH4+ uptake by cyanobacteria competes directly with nitrification, another important pathway …