Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Assessing Multi-Annual Phytoplankton Community Compositions And Biomass Across Tidal Creek And Open Water Estuarine Habitats In South Carolina, Shannon Elizabeth Powers

Theses and Dissertations

The urbanization of coastal environments in recent decades has caused an accelerating increase in nutrient-rich runoff from the landscape. The presence of these excess nutrients in the aquatic environment can result in degradation of water quality and harmful algal blooms. In South Carolina (SC), coastal development continues to threaten the resiliency of salt marsh estuaries, especially in combination with other stressors like climate change and sea level rise. Estuaries are important nurseries and habitats for fisheries and ecotourism. The South Carolina Estuarine and Coastal Assessment Program (SCECAP) is an ongoing monitoring program that assesses the habitat condition along the coast …

Differentiating Pleistocene Alloformations In The South Carolina Coastal Plain Through Lithologic, Textural, Mineralogical, And Cluster Analyses, Charles Andrew Wykel

Theses and Dissertations

Currently, there is no textural or mineralogic basis for identifying and differentiating Pleistocene strand deposits in the South Carolina (SC) Lower Coastal Plain (LCP). Historically, geologic mapping of the SC coastal plain uses geomorphologic and biostratigraphic techniques for identifying and mapping LCP surficial strand deposits. While useful, both approaches have problems. The aim of this study is to develop a cost-effective approach to differentiate and identify strand deposits of different Pleistocene alloformations occurring in the SC LCP. To accomplish this task, four strand samples were taken from the Ten Mile Hill, the Ladson, and Wicomico alloformations in Horry County, SC. …

Land, Racial Formations, And Power: Exploring The Network Of Power Relationships During Climate Change Planning In Coastal South Carolina, Teresa Norman

Theses and Dissertations

Climate change projections for the coastline of South Carolina predict that by mid-century there will be around 1.2 feet of sea level rise, and potentially up to 4 feet of rise by 2100. Additionally, climate change is linked to intensified hurricanes, a hazard for the South Carolina coastline every year. Both of these scenarios result in increases in the regularity and severity of coastal flooding, making the threat of permanent or temporary displacement (relocation) from coastal lands a reality. This is a particularly pressing matter for African American communities already made vulnerable by the long history of racial discrimination in …

Time Series Analysis Of Weather Data In South Carolina, Geophrey Odero

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis discusses time series analysis of weather data in South Carolina for the last fifteen years (January 2003 to December 2017) for Columbia, Greenville and North Myrtle Beach. The first part presents a brief overview of different variables that are used in the analysis. That is, temperature, dew point, humidity and sea level pressure. A short discussion of time series data is also introduced. The second part is about modeling the variables. The models of choice are presented, fitted and model diagnostics is carried out. In the third part, we discuss background on climates of the cities and model …

3-D Potential Field Inversion Camp Clubhouse Crossroads Mafic Intrusive Pluton, Coastal Plain, South Carolina, Kubra Sibel Albayrak

Theses and Dissertations

The Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP) at the Triassic-Jurassic boundary, is the largest known igneous province in the world. However, the geometry and volume of CAMP intrusives under the Coastal Plain of the southeastern United States are poorly known. Under the Coastal Plain sediments of Georgia and South Carolina, the “J” seismic reflector was predicted to be produced by a CAMP lava flow. Recent studies of seismic and well data have shown that the “J” reflector is an unconformity and only locally a CAMP lava flow. In the Clubhouse Crossroads area of South Carolina, seismic reflection, seismic refraction, and well …

Spatio-Temporal Analysis Of Precipitation And Flood Data From South Carolina, Haigang Liu

Theses and Dissertations

Spatio-temporal data are everywhere: we encounter them on TV, in newspapers, on computer screens, on tablets, and on plain paper maps. As a result, researchers in di- verse areas are increasingly faced with the task of modeling geographically-referenced and temporally-correlated data. In this dissertation, we propose two different spa- tiotemporal models to capture the behavior of rainfall and flood data in the state of South Carolina.

Both models are built using a Bayesian hierarchical framework, which involves specifying the true underlying process in the first level and the spatio-temporal ran- dom effect in the second level of the hierarchy. The …

The South Carolina Safety Belt Study: Large-Scale Location Sampling, Stephanie Jones

Theses and Dissertations

The South Carolina Safety Belt Study is a statewide survey completed yearly to assess the prevalence of safety belt usage on of South Carolina roads through observations from different locations across the state. Every five years the sites for observation are resampled. This thesis breaks down the most recent sampling done for the years of 2018 through 2022. Both the methodology of large scale location sampling and the mathematical idea behind the strategy employed are covered. Further, three different software packages were utilized: R, SAS, and ArcGIS. The steps that were taken and the written function code run for each …

Classifying The Woody Vegetation Community Of Wade Ponds In Colleton County, South Carolina, Wade Biltoft

Theses and Dissertations

Wetland habitats are some of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world, varying in both physical and biological characteristics. Geographically isolated wetlands are particularly important to the landscape due to their role in the hydrological cycle and as local centers for biodiversity. In parts of the coastal plain of South Carolina, there are geographically isolated wetlands found in concentrated groups with distinctive size, shape, and distribution. Despite their unique appearance and distribution, these wetlands have been scarcely researched or investigated. This project seeks to explore the plant communities that are contained within these ponds in order to understand their composition …

Impacts Of Drainage Systems On Stormwater Hydrology: Rocky Branch Watershed, Columbia, South Carolina, Logan Ress

Theses and Dissertations

The effects of urbanization and associated land use changes, specifically increases in impervious surfaces, have long been the focal point of urban hydrologic research. However, studies and calculations that consider impervious surfaces alone do not encompass all factors that influence urban hydrologic response. Artificial structures such as storm sewer (SS) systems and road networks increase rates of stormwater conveyance, yet these artificial networks are rarely considered in computations of drainage densities and associated hydrologic alterations. This study examines several hydrologically relevant descriptors that can be used to better understand the impact of urbanization on small watersheds. Rainfall and stormflow data …

A Botanical Survey Of Native And Non-Native Species Along The Three Rivers Greenway In Columbia, South Carolina, Rebecca L. Givens

Theses and Dissertations

Baseline surveys are important tools in establishing the present flora located within an area for future monitoring. In addition, knowledge of invasive species presence is essential to help maintain native ecosystem biodiversity. This study aimed to establish a baseline inventory of plant species found along a portion of the Three Rivers Greenway in Columbia, South Carolina, and to create a comprehensive list of native and invasive plant species within this area. In addition, a geographic information system (GIS) was employed to show the spread of a particular known invasive plant species, Hedera helix within the area. Specimens were collected in …

Drought Indices In Decision-Making Process Of Drought Management, Ekaterina Negodyaeva Altman

Theses and Dissertations

Drought indices are one of the most important elements of an effective drought monitoring and early warning system. They help to characterize drought and guide appropriate responses to reduce drought impacts. Drought indicators are more useful than raw data in decision-making process, even though each index has specific use and limited by its strengths and weaknesses. The literature review showed the evaluation of drought conditions by decision-makers as an important issue, but so far no research has been done to understand how decision-makers use diverse and often conflicting values of drought indices to make drought declarations. This research studies how …