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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Hydrogeologic Heterogeneity Identification: Using Inverse Modeling Of Synthetic Borehole Temperatures To Predict Groundwater Flux, Kevin Heintz Dec 2022

Hydrogeologic Heterogeneity Identification: Using Inverse Modeling Of Synthetic Borehole Temperatures To Predict Groundwater Flux, Kevin Heintz

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Heat has been effectively used as a groundwater tracer for decades, and high-resolution temperature data can better identify and quantify discrete flow zones. Refinements to the numerical modeling of advective heat transfer in borehole temperature sensing deployments can improve understanding of dynamic hydrogeologic systems. In my thesis, I develop a novel two-dimensional coupled radial groundwater flow and heat transfer numerical model that considers intra-borehole vertical flow. To test the performance of this model, I used finite element analysis to generate synthetic data sets consisting of prescribed variable flow fields and resulting borehole temperatures. I input synthetic temperatures into the two-dimensional …


Conjunctive Management For Groundwater-Surface Water Resources: Numerical Modeling And Potential Assessment Of Managed Aquifer Recharge (Mar) At Lower Rio Grande Valley In South Texas, Dwight Zedric Q. Capus Dec 2022

Conjunctive Management For Groundwater-Surface Water Resources: Numerical Modeling And Potential Assessment Of Managed Aquifer Recharge (Mar) At Lower Rio Grande Valley In South Texas, Dwight Zedric Q. Capus

Theses and Dissertations

Texas is well known to frequent floods and droughts, and yet has mounting concerns in very imbalanced water availability and water demands from growth in population and economical activities. Capturing and storing water is essential to long-term and climate-smart management of the “already-scarce” water resources. This study aimed to apply numerical modeling to evaluate potentials and impacts of Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) to regional groundwater systems in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. Using Visual MODFLOW Flex 3D package, different scenarios were simulated for groundwater flow patterns and storage capacities. Water injections tested ranged between 7.30x105 ft3 to 3.65x109 ft3 , …


The Analysis Of Relationships Between Lightning Strikes And Particulate Matter 2.5 Utilizing Statistical And Numerical Modeling Methods Applied To The 2020 Wildfire Season, Megan Schiede May 2022

The Analysis Of Relationships Between Lightning Strikes And Particulate Matter 2.5 Utilizing Statistical And Numerical Modeling Methods Applied To The 2020 Wildfire Season, Megan Schiede

Atmospheric & Environmental Sciences

Throughout 2020, ambient air pollution was reduced as a result from limiting anthropogenic activities to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Not all air pollution is created the same as measurements of particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) were generally unaffected by this reduction due to PM2.5s source from wildfires. Despite influences from COVID-19 lockdowns, rises in PM2.5 concentrations can be attributed to the anomalously active wildfire season of 2020. As climate change progresses, these extraordinarily active seasons can be classified as the “new normal”; thus, comprehension of such events are vital. Given the ability of lightning to naturally cause wildfires, there exists …


The Impact Of Sea-Level Rise In Numerically Modeled Landfalling Hurricanes: Katrina And The Gulf Coast., Serenity Nadirah Mercuri May 2022

The Impact Of Sea-Level Rise In Numerically Modeled Landfalling Hurricanes: Katrina And The Gulf Coast., Serenity Nadirah Mercuri

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With climate change, landfalling hurricanes become an increasing threat to coastal regions. However, the interactions between the coastal landscape and landfalling hurricanes are often overlooked when addressing sea-level rise outside of inundation and independent of sea surface temperature. This study analyzed the potential impacts regarding structure and intensity as a result of sea-level rise in the Gulf of Mexico using the WRF-ARW numerical model coupled with a 1D ocean model. Analysis showed that 10 m windspeed from landfall forward was higher in modified coastlines, and minimum sea-level pressure post-landfall was consistently lower for modified runs where storms maintain a higher …


Influence Of Bedrock Erodibility On Orogen Evolution In Collisional Systems And Implications For Geodynamic Models, Stephanie Ann Sparks Jan 2022

Influence Of Bedrock Erodibility On Orogen Evolution In Collisional Systems And Implications For Geodynamic Models, Stephanie Ann Sparks

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

Theoretical and numerical geodynamic models of continental collisional systems often involve, either explicitly or implicitly, a necessary yet complicated dependence between tectonics and erosion; however, the exact nature of these relationships remains elusive and controversial. In such models for the Himalayan-Tibetan (H-T) collisional orogen, surface processes are theorized or in some cases required to play an essential role in modulating critical processes active in the evolution of that system. To investigate, at least to first order. these interactions between climate and tectonics, we generate a simplified landscape evolution model of an actively uplifting orogenic wedge acted upon by surface processes. …


Syn- To Post-Orogenic Evolution Of Collisional Mountain Systems: Investigating The Potential For Crustal Flow Using Thermochronology And Numerical Models, Brandon Spencer Jan 2022

Syn- To Post-Orogenic Evolution Of Collisional Mountain Systems: Investigating The Potential For Crustal Flow Using Thermochronology And Numerical Models, Brandon Spencer

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

This dissertation is composed of three distinct manuscripts which collectively investigate processes that contribute to the late evolution of collisional mountain systems —specifically, the ancient Appalachian-Caledonian system. In the first paper, 40Ar/39Ar thermochronological data are used to constrain the timing of exhumation of the Scandian orogenic wedge of northern Scotland. Muscovite and amphibole samples yield dates of ca. 420-411 Ma, consistent with cooling after peak orogenesis. During this cooling phase, dates from both systems in individual thrust sheets show an increase in cooling rate in the later stage of exhumation; in the orogenic core, the cooling rate …