Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Correlational Analysis Of Mammals And Residential Land Use: Amherst, Ma, Ella Gutkowski

Massachusetts GIS Day

Mammal diversity varies in different types of land uses. Residential land use oftentimes interferes with the natural occurrence of mammal species. This study conducts a correlational analysis using camera trap data from Excel and land use data in GIS to uncover whether humans have disrupted mammal occurrence in residential land use areas in Amherst, MA. Results reveal that human activity in residential land use areas in Amherst did not strongly influence the occurrence of these mammals.

Weather And Climate Research At The Kentucky Climate Center Based On Mesonet Observations, Brittany Pekara, Eric Rappin

Posters-at-the-Capitol

The Kentucky Mesonet is a great asset for the Commonwealth of Kentucky in a multitude of ways, from real-time storm monitoring to building a detailed climate record. A detailed climate record is essential as causality between observations and extreme weather can be identified, making it a great tool in an evolving climate system. The climate record being developed at the 75+ Kentucky Mesonet observation stations consists of approximately 75 indices that reflect frequency, extremes, range, duration, trends of precipitation, droughts, and extreme temperatures. Calculations are done for daily, weekly, monthly, seasonal, bi-annual, and annual aggregation periods. Tools will also be …

Developing A Practice In Remote Sensing For Next-Generation Human Rights Researchers, Theresa Harris, Jonathan Drake, Umesh K. Haritashya, Wumi Asubiaro Dada, Fredy Cumes

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

Remote sensing is increasingly recognized as an important tool for documenting human rights abuses. When used alongside interviews, case studies, surveys, forensic science, and other well-established research methods in human rights and humanitarian practice, remotely sensed data can effectively geolocate and establish chronologies for mass graves, forced displacement, destruction of cultural heritage sites, and other violations. But as a highly technical field of science that relies on ever-changing technologies, remote sensing and geospatial analysis are not readily accessible for human rights and humanitarian practitioners. The community of practice grew out of innovative work by practitioners at NGOs and specialized inter-governmental …

Mapping Of Non-Native Invasive Plant Species Using Remote Sensing And Gis: Assessment Of Human Impact On Kudzu (Pueraria Montana) Spread, Harshitkumar Godhasara

Scholars Week

Remote sensing methods provide tools to identify and map non-native plants. Biophysical characteristics of plants can be utilized to recognize and distinguish non-native invasive plants from other native plant species. Kudzu is an invasive plant, which causes economic loss and decreases biodiversity. Moreover, kudzu doubles emission of nitric oxide and increases ozone pollution. The impact of human activities on the spread of noxious plant species like kudzu can be assessed utilizing remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) tools. Kudzu spread in the USA was mapped using in situ data including the actual coordinates of kudzu sites. Geographic distribution of …

Corrosion Prevention On Aluminum Alloy, Andrea Brenner

Symposium of Student Scholars

Aluminum alloy (Al-alloy) is a widely used metal in construction, aerospace, aviation, and other necessary fields due to its lightweight and tweakable properties. However, corrosion is inevitable on metals and alloys, and that causes millions of dollars of revenue loss every year. Therefore, we propose to research fabricating coating to prevent corrosion on Al-alloy. This study uses an iron-based metal-organic framework (MOF) and polyurethane (PU) based composite coating to prevent corrosion on the Al-alloy. The makeup of the composite material is changed by varying the percentage of MOF. In addition, a binder is also used to enhance the homogenization between …

Georeferencing The Macconnell Aerial Photo Collection, Alex Heilmann, Matthew Martin, Camille Barchers, Forrest J. Bowlick, Rebecca M. Seifried

Massachusetts GIS Day

In the 1950s, Professor William P. MacConnell from the University of Massachusetts Forestry Department began working with his students to map the land cover in Massachusetts via the state’s earliest aerial photography program. These individual photographs are now part of the Special Collections and University Archives at the University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries, and although they have been digitized and made available online, they have not yet been georeferenced.

In Spring 2021, our team (Alex and Matthew) began manually georeferencing the photos in ArcMap 10.8 software onto USGS 2019 color orthoimagery of Massachusetts available from MassGIS. Ideal ground control points …

Incorporating Chlorophyll-A Levels Into An Integral Projection Model Of Gizzard Shad (Dorosoma Cepedianum) In The Upper Mississippi River, Raquel Castromonte, Gregory J. Sandland, James Peirce

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Sources And Aftermaths Of Pipeline Related Leaks And Spills, Justin Smith

Symposium of Student Scholars

The escape of oil and other hazardous materials have been shown to pollute and destroy ecosystems. As an aspiring chemist, I am adamant about the secure handling and transportation of oil and other hazardous materials. In the past, researchers have concentrated on oil’s high viscosity. Oil’s high viscosity physically smothers wildlife, affecting their ability to continue critical functions such as respiration, feeding, and thermoregulation. My research focuses on the source of these oil spills, as well as natural gas leaks, for the purpose of risk assessment. In addition, I compare recovery efforts based on the cause of the leak/spill, the …

Do Environmental Toxins Predict Violent Crimes?, Tyler Stahl

Symposium of Student Scholars

Do chemical pollutants that persistent in the environment and bioaccumulate in the body affect human health and behavior? Could these Persistent, Bioaccumulative, and Toxic (PBT) chemicals play a role in the cause of violent crimes due to deterioration of mental and cognitive functions? In the past, Mercury, a PBT chemical, has been shown in salmon to be associated with aggression. Could similar aggression occur in humans exposed to mercury through a toxic spill? Two sources of data are utilized in this analysis. The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Annual Toxic Release Inventory publishes data on toxic releases into the environment and …

The Impacts Of Mid-Holocene Warming On Water Quality In A Southwestern Ontario Kettle Pond, Morgan E. Peicheff

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

No abstract provided.

The Right To Repair: (Re)Building A Better Future, Jumana Labib

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

The goal of this research project was to take a multi-faceted, interdisciplinary approach to research and examine the Right to Repair movement’s progress, current repair practices, impediments, and imperatives, and the various large-scale implications (environmental, economic, social, etc.) stemming from diminished consumer freedom as a result of increased corporate greed and lack of governmental regulations with regards to repair and the environment. This poster exhibits the highlights of my general research project on the Right to Repair movement over the course of this four month internship, and aims to disseminate information about the movement to the wider public in an …

Tracing Hydrogen In The Cucumis Sativus Plant Using Stable Isotopes, John Diemert

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

No abstract provided.

Stable Hydrogen Isotopes Of Aquatic-Emergent Versus Terrestrial Insects In Southern Ontario, Celina Y. Tang

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Aquatic-emergent insects are vectors of both contaminants and nutrients, linking the aquatic system to the terrestrial system. Aquatic-emergent insects are high in omega-3 fatty acids that benefit terrestrial aerial insectivores, such as bats and birds. With aerial insectivores on a decline, a contributing factor could be a decrease in the quality of insects. We collected insects from lakeshore and inland locations in Southern Ontario. Insects sampled included bees, wasps, ants, beetles, caddisflies, craneflies, dragonflies, marchflies, mayflies, midges, other flies, and true bugs. Insects’ wings and powdered bodies were then analyzed for stable hydrogen isotopes (d²H) in order …

A Comparative Study Of Various Strategies Used For The Mitigation Of Global Warming, Adnan Adnan, Sikandar Khan

Thriving Through Climate Change and Pandemic 2021

The global temperature has risen yearly by a bit more than 1 degree Celsius during the industrial revolution. Many experts believe that if current greenhouse gas emissions continue, the planet will become hotter, ocean level will rise and climatic conditions will change excessively. Temperatures are expected to rise faster in the coming decades than they have in the previous 10,000 years, according to some scientists. Greenhouse gases are thought to be the most important factor causing climate change. CO2 is by far the most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas, with concentration in the atmosphere rising by more than 80% between 1970 …

Session 3: Access To Financial Services - The Promise (And Challenges) Of Fintech, Joseph M. Vincent, Chris Adams, Lucinda Fazio, Roberta Hollinshead, Sumit Mallick, Sands Mckinley, Jonice Gray Tucker, Tonita Webb

SITIE Symposiums

For many Americans, the American Dream is a dream deferred. Recently, there has been an explosion in demand for diversity, equity, and inclusion in financial services. This has coincided with an explosion of a different kind related to delivering financial services through innovations in technology, otherwise known as FinTech. We have seen a plethora of FinTech applications on our smartphones, ranging from online lending to remote deposit making. While these applications provide potential opportunities to level the playing field for those whose dream has been deferred, there remain challenges.

Session 2: Access To Health And Health Services Panel - The Covid-19 Experience, Annette Clark, Wendy Chalres, Dan Laster, Anna Santos Rutschman, Madhavi Sunder, Margret Chon

SITIE Symposiums

COVID-19 has had a massive impact on the U.S. and the world regarding health care and health care access. Improving access has been the topic of scholarship for many years. It took the COVID- 19 pandemic to bring these issues to the forefront of public discussion. Inequities in public health access, not only domestically but globally, have become apparent in the light of COVID-19. This expert panel addresses the inequities of vaccines worldwide and the concept of vaccine sharing programs. It also explores the role that intellectual property plays in these equity issues and some of the risks inherent in …

Session 1: Access To Legal Services - The Role Of Innovation And Technology, Steven Bender, Stacy Butler, Anna Carpenter, Michael Cherry, Sands Mckinley, Kimball Dean Parker, Miguel Willis

SITIE Symposiums

This expert panel is addressing access to justice problems. People without access to lawyers and legal services suffer in many ways not limited to divorce, domestic violence, and educational roadblocks. This panel will ask what lawyers can do to help, in what ways can technology help or replace lawyers in the delivery of legal and non-legal services. It will also explore different legal services being offered by individuals who do not have a JD, online firms, and developing technology in a law firm owed subsidiary. There are six panelists who are broken into two categories: (1) the innovation and delivery …

Opening Session, Annette Clark, Steven Bender

SITIE Symposiums

This year's conference focuses on the social good, highlighting three access barriers fundamental in law and society - access to legal services (and more generally, justice), access to health and health care during the COVID-19 pandemic, and access to financial services for the unbanked or underbanked.

Scan Of The Advantage Of Using Biofuels, Ethanol, Ana Carla Bueno

Symposium of Student Scholars

The environment is the big sink where all the human waste produced is deposited, mainly the pollutant gases from cars. It is inevitable not to contaminate drinking water, air, and all other ecosystems on the planet, and it was from these concerns that scientists began to develop alternative ways to mitigate the side effects of pollution. Currently, there are many strategies to soften the emission of pollutant gases into the atmosphere, and the biggest competitor of traditional fossil fuel is biofuels. The big challenge in the production of this type of fuel is the competition with the conventional fossil fuel, …

Methane Discharge At High Northern Latitudes: Past And Present, Marta E. Torres

Sustainability Seminar Series

Climate is intimately tied to Earth’s hydro- and cryo-spheres. To understand the consequences that predicted global warming can have on biogeochemical cycling and mass inventories in the Arctic Ocean, I will present results on two study sites: the Svalbard margin and the Chuchki sea, that provide information on present-day methane discharge and evidence for the likelihood that groundwater flow during the Early Holocene Thermal Maximum (EHTM). I will review how data collected in the water column and shallow sediment can be used to constrain sources, transport, transformation and timing of methane fluxes, including the potential role of gas hydrate dissociation. …

How Can Collaborative Engagement Improve Water Quality? An On-The-Ground Perspective From The Musconetcong River, Alan R. Hunt

Sustainability Seminar Series

Partnerships are instrumental to improving water quality, especially difficult challenges like addressing non-point source pollution. Hear how over a thirty year timespan local residents worked to improve water quality, first through protecting the Musconetcong River as a National Wild and Scenic River, and then using that status to work collaboratively with federal and state agencies, non-governmental organizations, and local land owners to reduce pollution from farms and remove abandoned dams.

Compound Extreme Events, Radley Horton

Sustainability Seminar Series

There is a growing realization among scientists and decision makers that extreme events should not be considered in isolation. Compound events of three types will be described: 1) multivariate (e.g. heat plus humidity), 2) sequential (e.g. a heat wave after a tropical cyclone), and 3) concurrent (e.g. simultaneous temperature extremes in multiple regions). Research results will be presented for these compound extremes. More research is needed on correlations and physical mechanisms that can link seemingly independent extreme events. This research is especially urgent now, since climate change may shift the correlation structures of extreme events, and because compound extreme events …

Media Analysis Of Coverage Of Environmental Issues In The Midst Of A Pandemic, Alexandria N. Miller, Lucia A. Bolles

Thinking Matters Symposium

This research aimed to answer the question “has the coronavirus impacted the print media’s coverage of important environmental issues?” The research analyzed 2 different print newspapers - The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal - to determine if there was a change in coverage of environmental news as the coronavirus spread in the US. Data for stories published in the first four days of every month from March through September was compiled for 2019 and 2020. Our findings showed a 78.85% decrease in coverage of environmental issues between 2019 and 2020 when stories related to the coronavirus pandemic …

Consumer Food Waste Behaviors In Relation To Open Date Label Misinterpretation, Daniel Hutchings, Elisabeth Seliga, Anya O'Meara, Anna Blank

Thinking Matters Symposium

In the United States, the legal framework for product date labeling is minimal and varies across states. Manufacturers have the discretion to use any date label that they deem appropriate, and this lack of uniformity leaves room for misinterpretation by both retailers and consumers. Previous studies have examined consumer misinterpretation of date labels and how this lack of knowledge correlates to food waste behaviors. This study was aimed at understanding how consumers apply their knowledge about date labels to make decisions about purchasing and discarding food. The research was conducted via an intercept survey outside of a grocery store to …

The Potential Of Carbon Capture Through Mineral Weathering, Noah Planavsky

Sustainability Seminar Series

Noah Planavsky is an Associate Professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. He joined the faculty in 2012 after doing graduate work at University of California, Riverside. He is an isotope geochemist that works on environmental change in Earth’s past, present, and future. His work combines field studies, analytical chemistry, and geochemical modeling. He has worked extensively on atmospheric evolution—with a particular focus on changes in oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations. Current projects focus on changes in ocean oxygen levels and on the potential for carbon capture through enhanced mineral weathering in marine and terrestrial environments.

041— Fiber Decomposition And Pretreatment Analysis Of Cannabis Sativa L.: Hemp, Dina Bu, Jessica Roggie, Sarah Schmidlin, Barnabas Gikonyo

GREAT Day Posters

Hemp is a subspecies of Cannabis sativa L. along with marijuana, yet the two differ in chemical constituent levels of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). Hemp contains 0.3% THC, compared to marijuana 17.1%, allowing it to be a safe and compelling biomass for investigation. The refined products of hemp are vast due to its fast-growing properties; therefore various commercial industries have included refined hemp in biofuels, biodegradable plastics, textiles, dietary supplements, paper, clothing, and much more. Construction and manufacturing applications have also been seen to include hemp to strengthen their composite products. The high-yielding, sustainable, and environmentally friendly qualities …

200— Chemical Analysis Of Slag From Standish, Ny, Maria Leonard, Dori Farthing

GREAT Day Posters

From 1883 to 1907, magnetite was smelted in Standish, NY. During this time, a large amount of slag, a byproduct of smelting, was created. The slag is now in a pile that covers ~13 acres in the northeastern region of the Adirondacks. The slag at the site has been classified into 6 broad types based on their physical properties. Exemplars of select types were crushed and analyzed by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF). Both major elements and trace element data was collected for these samples. The XRF results indicate that all Standish slag is dominated by SiO2, CaO, and Fe2O3(t) regardless …

006— Pretreatment And Fiber Content Analysis Of Cannabis Sativa, Dina Bu, Jessica Roggie, Sarah Schmidlin, Barnabas Gikonyo

GREAT Day Posters

Cannabis sativa commonly known as hemp is one of the fastest-growing plants whose refined products have immense commercial value. Various products include refined hemp such as: biofuels, biodegradable plastics, textiles, dietary supplements, paper, clothing, and much more. Hemp fibers are also used in construction and manufacturing applications by strengthening their composite products. Hemp is a high yielding, sustainable, and environmentally friendly crop due to its various qualities, and has the potential to yield valuable raw materials for a great number of applications. Our research evaluates the pretreatment of hemp as well as the comparative analysis of the fiber content thereof. …

219— Using Dendrochronology For Place-Based K-12 Paleoclimate Lessons, Grace Raffa

GREAT Day Posters

Dendrochronology focuses on using trees as archives of past climatic changes for a given region. This project focuses on creating a paleoclimate-centered accessible learning experience for K-12 teachers that integrates local climate proxies in the classroom creating place-based experiences connecting students to the effects of climate change. Four tree species: Beech, Sugar Maple, Black Locust, and Hop Hornbeam, were collected from a local glacially-formed hill (from the Last Glacial Maximum) in Geneseo, NY. These trees died and were removed in August 2020, dried for 6+ months, and sanded (40-800 grit) until rings were visible. Annual growth rings were counted from …

The Effect Of Changing Substrate On Arctic Aquatic Invertebrates Abundance, Tom Dolman

Michael D. Wilson Symposium

Climate change is directly affecting tundra ecosystems in northern regions, and warming temperatures have caused discontinuous permafrost and thawing sediments across the region. This project investigates how increasing erosion and the foraging patterns of migratory snow geese may degrade habitat for aquatic invertebrates in the upper Mast River, located in Wapusk National Park, Manitoba, Canada. In the past two decades, many of the important species of aquatic invertebrates have shown declines. Declining invertebrate populations are predicted to affect aquatic ecosystems and decrease the resources available to shorebirds and waterfowl, which breed and migrate through this area.