Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Structure And Interaction Energies Of Kr Atoms Adsorbed On Graphitic Amorphous Carbon, Sang -Joon Lee

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The physisorption of Kr on graphitic amorphous carbon (g-C) has been investigated using a statistical approach. The interaction energy calculation process (i) established a structural model of g-C and (ii) determined the adsorbate-adsorbate and the adsorbate-substrate interaction potentials on g-C.

The structural model of g-C was divided into three regions. For the interaction potential between a Kr atom and a carbon atom the short and medium range order of g-C was described with a discrete medium model based on three ring clusters using ring statistics from Beeman's continuous random network C1120 model of g-C. For the intermediate distance region, Beeman's …

Late Quaternary Glacial Geology, Shoreline Morphology, And Tephrochronology Of The Lliamna/Naknek/Brooks Lake Area, Southwestern Alaska, Karen B. Stilwell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study focuses on the late-Wisconsin Brooks Lake glaciation, lake-level fluctuations, and volcanic deposits in the lliamna/Naknek/Brooks Lake area on the northern Alaska Peninsula, southwestern Alaska. The Brooks Lake glaciation consists of five stades, from youngest to oldest: Kvichak, Iliamna, Newhalen, Iliuk, and Ukak. This thesis reassigns the type Mak Hill moraine to a pre-late-Wisconsin glaciation, and considers the moraine enclosing Naknek Lake an early-late-Wisconsin deposit correlative to either the Kvichak stade, lliamna stade, or both. The presence in the Iliamna Lake valley, and the absence in the Naknek Lake valley of a two-fold earliest-late-Wisconsin Kvichak/Iliamna glacial sequence suggest that …

Groundwater And Surface-Water Interactions Along Lower Medano Creek, Great Sand Dunes National Monument, Colorado, Gregg L. Hadlock

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The objectives of this investigation are as follows: 1) review the existing hydrogeologic data for the San Luis Valley, the Great Sand Dunes Monument, and Medano Creek; 2) review the surface-water data that have been collected on Medano Creek; 3) collect or review previously collected water-level data obtained in the area of lower Medano Creek and correlate them with the surface-water data; 4) conduct constant-head permeameter tests on sand samples collected near the ground surface along lower Medano Creek; 5) produce a conceptual model of lower Medano Creek; and 6) produce a numerical model of lower Medano Creek that will …

Winter Habitat Selection By American Marten (Martes Americana) In Newfoundland: Why Old Growth?, Gary S. Drew

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Although the American marten (Martes americana) generally is recognized as an obligate late-seral species, the factors dictating this association are poorly understood. Martens were studied in Newfoundland, Yellowstone National Park, and in a captive setting. As expected, use of habitat types was not proportional to availability P < 0.001). Defoliated and late-seral conifer stands were used more than expected, while all other types indicated expected or less than expected use. Habitat selection by martens was detectable at spatial scales greater than 80 m (P < 0.001).

Newfoundland martens were radio-collared and monitored for diet activity during the winters of 1990 and 1991. A regression of the percent active fixes on temperature had a negative slope (b = -4.45, P = 0.084, n = 12), indicating that martens did not minimize their exposure to low temperatures. A log-linear model suggested …

Evaluation Of Lake Fertilization As A Tool To Assist In The Recovery Of The Snake River Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus Nerka), Howard P. Gross

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

I analyzed lake fertilization (with nitrogen and phosphorus) as a tool to assist in the recovery of the Snake River sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) in the oligotrophic Sawtooth Valley Lakes in southcentral Idaho. These analyses involved monitoring, manipulating, and modelling several aspects of the lakes' primary producer, nutrient, and light parameters.

In Pettit Lake, I evaluated the effects of metalimnetic and epilimnetic fertilization in 330-m³ mesocosms. The metalimnetic treatment was equal to or more effective than the epilimnetic treatment in increasing chlorophyll a, phytoplankton biovolume, and primary productivity, yet caused smaller changes in periphyton growth and …

Parameter Estimation By Conditional Coding, Taylor Duersch

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Conditional coding is an application of Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods for sampling from conditional distributions. It is applied here to the problem of estimating the parameters of a computer-simulated pattern of fractures in an isomorphic, homotropic material under plane strain. We investigate the theory and procedures of conditional coding and show the viability of the technique by its application.

Behavioral Characteristics Affect Habitat Selection Of Domestic Ruminants, Cody B. Scott

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

I evaluated some of the factors affecting livestock distribution by conducting experimental (Chapters II and III) and observational (Chapter IV) studies. In Chapter II, I described the effect of locations of familiar foods and social interactions on choice of feeding location by lambs. Lambs were exposed to a pasture as subgroups of strangers and companions with different dietary habits (i.e., three lambs that preferred milo with three lambs that preferred wheat). Milo was placed on one end and wheat on the other, about 100 m apart. Strangers typically fed in different locations, reflecting dietary preferences. Conversely, companions fed in both …

Disease And Habitat Change As Factors Associated With Mourning Dove Population Decline, William D. Ostrand

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The western mourning dove (Zenaida macroura) population has been declining since 1966. Data collected in 1951-52, in Fillmore, Utah, provided us a baseline for comparison with our study in the same area. Our approach was to determine whether a local population decline had occurred since the original data were collected, assess if trichomoniasis has impacted the local population, determine if changes in habitat structure affect foraging site selection, quantify changes in habitat, identify which habitats doves preferred, ascertain whether doves had responded to habitat change by changing food habits, and assess if changes in habitat were responsible in …

Competitive Interactions Between Two Closely Related Rhizomatous And Caespitose Perennial Grasses Under Varying Conditions, L. David Humphrey

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Biomass, tiller numbers, flowering, and genet survival were accessed for the rhizomatous Elymus lanceolatus ssp. lanceolatus and caespitose E. l. ssp. wawawaiensis growing in mixtures with a range of densities of each taxon. Models of aboveground biomass of each taxon as a function of mixed densities were used to calculate competition indices. Tiller numbers and biomass of ssp. lanceolatus were higher than those of the caespitose taxon in the first year, but declined in the second year, while biomass and tiller numbers of ssp. wawawaiensis changed little. All tillers of ssp. wawawaiensis emerged in autumn; tillers of ssp. …

Analysis Of Perched Groundwater Bodies Beneath The Radioactive Waste Management Complex At The Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Alan V. Jones

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The migration of radionuclides and volatile chemicals through a thick sequence of unsaturated basalts and sedimentary interbeds has been documented in the Subsurface Disposal Area (SDA) at the Radioactive Waste Management Complex (RWMC) of the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL). The three mechanisms by which this migration may have occurred are seasonal infiltration from the ground surface within the SDA; flood events in 1962, 1969, and 1982; and the lateral movement of water from the spreading areas located nearby. It is currently thought that the contaminants migrated through the unsaturated sediments and basalt flows during the three flood events.

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The Quaternary Geology Of The Eastern Side Of The Greys River Valley And The Neotectonics Of The Greys River Fault In Western Wyoming, L. C. Allen Jones

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Greys River fault is the easternmost active normal fault associated with Basin and Range extension in the lntermountain seismic belt. It is a north-south trending normal fault, located in the Sevier-age fold and thrust belt of western Wyoming, and bounds the west side of the Wyoming Range. The fault is at least 54 km long, and juxtaposes Permo-Pennsylvanian Wells Formation against various Triassic formations. Throw ranges from 100-1000 m. Seismic reflection data suggest that the Greys River fault is a listric normal fault that soles into the Darby thrust at depth. The fault offsets late Quaternary deposits on the …