Earth Sciences Commons^™

Projected Trends In Climate Extremes In The Passaic River Basin Based On Bias-Corrected And Spatially Downscaled Global Climate Model Simulations, Archana Prasad

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Global Climate Models (GCMs) are increasingly becoming useful tools for predicting future climatic changes. These GCMs typically employ large spatial scales while municipalities may experience varied impacts at the local level. By downscaling and bias-correcting GCM outputs, more accurate predictions concerning specific regions can be made. The Multivariate Adaptive Constructed Analogs (MACA) models provide daily precipitation and temperature information for point localities by modifying coarse resolution data from GCMs to a higher spatial resolution. In this study, trends in climate extremes over the Passaic River Basin (PRB) between 1981-2005 are estimated based on three MACA models (bcc-csm1-1m, CCSM4, and MRI-CGCM3). …

Outbreak And Extinction Dynamics In Stochastic Populations, Garrett T. Nieddu

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Each piece of work herein examines nonlinear population dynamics using methods from deterministic dynamical systems, stochastic processes and statistical mechanics. This dissertation is the compilation of three independent – but related – pieces of work: the first investigates an isolated population that is capable of maintaining multiple carrying capacities; the second project examines a stochastic Ebola model with a zoonotic disease reservoir; and the third looks at a basic disease-invasion model to characterize outbreak vulnerability and the connectedness of supposedly separate populations.

Each of these three chapters explore the interplay between interconnected systems, without explicitly modeling the elements that are …

Bridging Gaps Between Conservation Action And Policy On Small Island Developing States – Case Analog Of The Republic Of Mauritius, Pricila Iranah

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Mauritius, a small island state in the Indian Ocean, is a biodiversity hotspot with highly threatened forest ecosystems. It is also a country where environmental and conservation programs have been successful in the past. However, the issue of funding has received relatively less attention and national park systems are chronically underfunded. As part of assessing the potential for local funding, we assessed the demand for forest recreation. Recreation in forest ecosystems is one of the cornerstones of modern nature-based tourism. Tourism is increasingly a favored tool to promote conservation of natural forests, especially in developing countries where conservation financing can …

Economic And Environmental Assessment Of Advanced Biofuels : Adoption Under Uncertainty, Farmer Willingness, And Land Use Implications, Pralhad Burli

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The production of biofuels offers the prospect of enhancing a country’s energy security by limiting petroleum imports and supporting domestic economic activity by bolstering agricultural and allied sectors. Additionally, advanced biofuels can reduce the reliance on food-grain based first generation ethanol, replace a part of our fossil fuel consumption, and potentially reduce environmental impacts through greenhouse gas emission reductions. However, the cellulosic biofuel industry has not developed as anticipated due to slow advancements in the technology for converting feedstock to fuel, improvements in vehicular efficiency, which has muted fuel demand, and lack of an assured year-round supply of feedstock that …