Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Climate Change And The Spread Of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, Courtney B. Reed

Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

Late Pleistocene Climate, Vegetation, And Fire History From A Southern Appalachian Bog, Whiteoak Bottoms, Nantahala National Forest, North Carolina, U.S.A., Mathew Stephen Boehm

Masters Theses

I examined loss-on-ignition, pollen, and charcoal evidence of climate, vegetation, and fire history at Whiteoak Bottoms (35º04’44”N, 83º31’50”W; 1032 m elevation), a peat-forming wetland located along the Nantahala River in western North Carolina. Previous research by J. McDonald and D. Leigh revealed that this wetland formed in a paleochannel of the Nantahala River between 15,000 and 14,000 cal yr BP. I obtained additional AMS radiocarbon dates, carried out high-resolution loss-on-ignition analysis, and examined pollen and microscopic charcoal assemblages in a 157-cm sediment core from the previous study. Radiocarbon dates and stratigraphic analyses indicate that much of the Holocene is missing …

Mapping Sustainability: City Of Fife Parks And Recreation, Tonya Elliott

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Sustainability is based on a simple principle: Everything that we need for our survival and well-being depends, either directly or indirectly, on our natural environment. Sustainability creates and maintains the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, that permits fulfilling the social, economic, and other requirements of present and future.

Inter-Species Interactions: Effects Of Spatial Proximity Of Breeding Burrowing Owls (Athene Cunicularia) And Mountain Plovers (Charadrius Montanus) On Mountain Plover Nest Success, Lindsey Messinger

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Predator-prey interactions are complex and direct interactions between predator-prey pairs are difficult to distinguish due to direct and indirect effects of additional predator-prey interactions. While most studies evaluating the impact of predators on prey concentrate on consumption (mortality of prey caused by a predator), there are a variety of interactions that take place between predators and prey that may not result in mortality. These in direct impacts of predation have been found to influence micro- and macro- habitat use, time allocation patterns, species distribution, population growth, and species interactions and can be just as strong or stronger than consumptive effects.

Diatoms In Castor Lake (North-Central Washington, Usa) – Proxies Of Climate And Hydrologic Variation, Kelly D. Hollingshead

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This research provides a high temporal resolution (1 sample / 2-3 years) record of hydrologic variation for the last 2,000 years using a lake sediment record from Castor Lake, a closed-basin system in Washington, USA. The core was dated using ¹³⁷Cs, ¹⁴C, and tephrochronology. Approximately 600 diatoms were identified and enumerated in 198 samples from a Castor Lake freeze core and Livingstone-piston core. A diatom-inference model for salinity was applied to reconstruct fossil diatom salinity. Diatom-inferred salinity for the last century tracked Palmer Drought Severity Index, indicating diatom community composition tracks effective moisture and can be used to …

Fire Regimes Of Lower-Elevation Forests In Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee, U.S.A., Lisa Battaile Laforest

Doctoral Dissertations

Disturbance is a natural part of any forest ecosystem. When disturbance regimes are altered, the forest stands will reflect those changes. Southern Appalachian xeric pine-oak woodlands are one forest type that has experienced such change, primarily in the form of fire suppression. The western side of Great Smoky Mountains National Park contains stands of large trees that escaped earlier intensive logging, show evidence of past fire, and provide an ideal setting for reconstructing stand histories. For three lower-elevation (ca. 500 m ASL) study sites, I used crossdated yellow pine tree-ring chronologies and records from cross-sections taken from living and dead …

Hydrologic Modeling To Examine Land Use Change Impacts (1970’S And 2005) On The Sediment Yield And Flow Regime In Cayuga Creek, Niagara County, New York, Kimly Reth

Multidisciplinary Studies Theses

This research aims to assess the water quality and the land use change impacts on sediment concentration and flow regime in Cayuga Creek, Niagara County, NY for two land use periods, 1970’s and 2005. The 1970’s land use, classified by the USGS, had a significant error. Therefore, the scenario of sediment yield and discharge level to land use change is more of a “what if” since the 1970’s land use was classified incorrectly. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT)was used to simulate flows and sediment concentrations for the two land use scenarios using the same rainfall data at the …

Response Of Inland Lakes To Climate Change Across The Tibetan Plateau Investigated Using Landsat And Icesat Data, Zewen Liu

Masters Theses

The Tibetan Plateau experienced tremendous climate change during the past four decades. Due to the large size, widely distribution of cryosphere, and diverse landforms, different parts of the plateau may experience different climate and cryosphere changing patterns. The changes of inland lakes within the plateau are important indicators of climate change as these lakes are fed by precipitation, permafrost degradation, and glacier melting that are all sensitive to climate change. To examine the spatial and temporal differences of lake variations across the Tibetan Plateau, Landsat images and ICESat/GLAS altimetry data were used to extract the changes in surface areas of …

Sustainable Agriculture, Charlene Mills

Social Sciences

This paper is about sustainable agriculture and how we can strive to achieve it. It discusses what is wrong with our food system today and how we can go about changing that. It incorporates Geography and Anthropology while discussing different issues around the world.

Reducing The Enviromental Impact Of Horse Keeping, Amanda R. Shere

Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

An Integrated Approach For Developing Adaptation Strategies In Climate Planning: A Case Study Of Vulnerability In Dukes County, Massachusetts, Jonathan Pollak

Master's Theses

Climate Action Plans (CAP’s) are recent innovations in policy that have been catalyzed by a need to adjust the relationship between human activity and the Earth’s climate system. CAP’s often are composed of methods to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in addition to adaptation strategies. Research indicates, however, that many plans focus on mitigation strategies while adaptation policies related to predicted changes caused by climate change are often overlooked. This thesis presents an integrative framework for locating areas that are in need of adaptation strategies through a GIS based decision support system that visualizes vulnerability. It is operationalized through an empirical …

Plastic Bags: Hazards And Mitigation, Jessica Sutton, Brittany Turner

Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

Arsenic Contamination In Groundwater In Vietnam: An Overview And Analysis Of The Historical, Cultural, Economic, And Political Parameters In The Success Of Various Mitigation Options, Thuy M. Ly

Pomona Senior Theses

Although arsenic is naturally present in the environment, 99% of human exposure to arsenic is through ingestion. Throughout history, arsenic is known as “the king of poisons”; it is mutagenic, carcinogenic, and teratogenic. Even in smaller concentrations, it accumulates in the body and takes decades before any physical symptoms of arsenic poisoning shows. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the safe concentration of arsenic in drinking water is 10 µg/L. However, this limit is often times ignored until it is decades too late and people begin showing symptoms of having been poisoned.

This is the current situation for Vietnam, …

Assessment Of Land Use Suitability Based On Water Erosion Susceptibility In Medium-Sized Urban Areas Of The Metropolitan Region Of Santiago, Central Chile, Roberto Fernandez

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Urban areas constitute complex spatial entities where biophysical and socioeconomic environments interact through processes that determine the distribution of land use in the territory. Given Chile's variety of landscapes, water erosion, and mass movement, and rapid expansion of its medium-sized cities, straightforward techniques for assessment of land use suitability are essential. Through evaluation of water erosion susceptibility, it is possible to efficiently determine suitability of land use in medium-sized cities and their adjacent environments. The adaptation and application of the Erosion Response Units (ERU) concept (Märker et al., 2001) in the cities of Colina and Melipilla, Metropolitan Region of …

Landscape History In The G.K. Warren Missouri River Maps, Graham Alan Callaway

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In 1855 and 1856, military surveyor Gouverneur K. Warren and his assistants produced what was at the time the most accurate map ever made of the Missouri River. This series of highly detailed sketch maps records numerous cultural features and an extraordinary level of environmental detail, making it an invaluable resource for research on the history of the region. This paper represents the first attempt to comprehensively interpret the content of these maps, identifying the features recorded where possible and assessing the probability of archaeological preservation of those not previously known. A subset of the recorded environmental data, from roughly …

Role Of Vegetation And Environmental Characteristics On Slope Stability In Northwest Arkansas, Michael Maguigan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Slope failure continues to pose risks to society because knowledge of environmental factors and their interactions are unclear and possibly misunderstood. This misunderstanding leads to generalizations about slope failure susceptibility mapping, despite knowing that slope failures are likely the result of an extensively complex set of interactions among a number of environmental, edaphic, and geomorphic characteristics. Therefore a series of experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of slope, soil texture, vegetation cover, bedrock permeability, and compaction,. A wooden flume with a slope face 1 m wide by 1.5 m long with a 10 cm toe was constructed to contain …

Reconstruction Of Fire History In The National Key Deer Refuge, Monroe County, Florida, U.S.A.: The Palmetto Pond Macroscopic Charcoal Record, Desiree Lynn Kocis

Masters Theses

The pine rocklands in the Lower Florida Keys are considered endangered because of rises in sea level, urbanization, and human impacts on the natural fire regime. Macroscopic charcoal in a sediment core recovered from Palmetto Pond (24°41’45.15”N, 81°19’43.84”W) in 2010 was examined in contiguous 1-cm intervals to reconstruct Late Holocene fire history. Palmetto Pond is a shallow freshwater solution hole located within the pine rocklands of No Name Key in Monroe County, Florida. Radiocarbon dating of plant material at 247 cm depth in the Palmetto Pond profile indicates the sediment record extends back to ca. 4500 cal yr BP. Charcoal …

Spatial Discrepancies Between Nhdplus And Lidar-Derived Stream Networks, Nicole Marie Samu

Masters Theses

Many organizations demand that current water resource issues necessitate improved stream network mapping for more accurate and reliable watershed analysis and modeling results, which can ultimately enable better management and policy decisions. Stream network data from the National Hydrography Dataset Plus (NHDPlus) and derived from Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) are each widely accepted to be of superior quality compared to many other conventional datasets. Each dataset indicates potential to improve a wide range of water resource applications; NHDPlus for its high spatial accuracy and functionality, and LIDAR-derived networks for their high resolutions. NHDPlus is publicly available and widely used; …

Changes In The Hydrological Regime In The Upper Bow And Upper Athabasca Watersheds During The 20th Century, Heather A. Haines

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis examines 20^th century regime changes for the headwaters of the Bow (1911-2005) and Athabasca (1971-2005) Rivers. Changes in precipitation and temperature associated with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation dominate the Bow streamflow record. Higher snowfall, lower mean temperatures, and greater annual discharges occur during the “cool” PDO phase (1947-1976) with lower snowfall, higher mean temperatures, and lower annual discharges during the “warm” (1925-1946, 1977-2005) phases. Any long-term linear trends in the Bow record are masked by these multidecadal trends. The Athabasca record is too short to compare to the PDO but available data show patterns similar to the …

Prospects For An International Charter "Space And Major Disaster" Remote Sensing Response To Drought Disasters - An Anhui, China Case Study, Joseph Burkhead

Masters Theses

Remote sensing is often leveraged during the response phase of disaster management to improve the situational awareness of decision-makers. The International Charter "Space and Major Disaster" (Charter) provides remote sensing support to non-spacefaring nations facing disasters such as earthquakes, floods and tsunamis. However, the Charter has never activated for a major drought disaster. Since droughts affect over half of the nearly 3 billion people that suffer from natural disasters annually, this study seeks to determine whether satellite remote sensing can be effectively employed according to the intent, capabilities, and limitations of the Charter to benefit officials responding to a major …

Accuracy Of Boulder County’S Gis Parcel Mapping: An Examination Of Gis Cadastral Mapping Compared To Land Surveys, Kayce D. Wohlman

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

This research outlines land surveying in the State of Colorado and discusses the formation of parcel maps in the state. GIS continues to grow in various industries and government entities since it is able to best streamline copious amounts of geospatial information. Following suit, County Assessor Offices throughout the country have benefited from the use of a GIS to organize their data. The cost, implementation and maintenance of a GIS is a costly endeavor however it benefits both the County, State and the general public. County Assessor Office GIS systems have directly influenced the field of Land Surveying both positively …

The Detection Of Forest Structures In The Monongahela National Forest Using Lidar, Dominique Norman

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The mapping of structural elements of a forest is important for forestry management to provide a baseline for old and new-growth trees while providing height strata for a stand. These activities are important for the overall monitoring process which aids in the understanding of anthropogenic and natural disturbances. Height information recorded for each discrete point is key for the creation of canopy height, canopy surface, and canopy cover models. The aim of this study is to assess if LiDAR can be used to determine forest structures. Small footprint, leaf-off LiDAR data were obtained for the Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia. …

Making Lives, Changing A Landscape: An Environmental History Of The Tualatin Valley, Washington County, Oregon, Camille A. Cope

Geography Masters Research Papers

Sheltered by mountains on all sides, the 724-square mile Tualatin Valley has been home to successive groups of people who have shaped the landscape based on their needs, tools, and ideas about the human relationship to nature. Thousands of years of indigenous burning practices and cultivation of native plants, followed by two centuries of European-American fur trapping, agriculture, logging, and urbanization have created the Tualatin Valley landscape of today. Understanding how a history of changing land use has affected the region is integral to building an environmentally sustainable future.

The Environmental And Cultural Effects On The Conquest Of Mexico, Tristan Siegel

Senior Projects Spring 2012

In this work I examine the environment and cultural attitudes of Mesoamericans, specifically the Mexica (Atzec), and how these factors played a role in the Conquest of Mexico by Hernan Cortes. I begin by examining Mesoamerican agriculture, lithic technology, and metallurgy. I conclude by examining how these factors played out in the Conquest.

Potential Wolverine Habitat Vs. Winter Recreation. Conflict In Colorado!, Paul Quigley

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

The Global list of endangered species of flora and fauna is growing, with the most highly specialized species often at ‘critically endangered’ status. Managing these populations effectively involves numerous and varied organizations, conflicting motivations, arbitrary anthropogenic boundaries and often most importantly, data compilation and management. We are seeing many more reintroductions of locally extirpated species back into habitats of historical prevalence – and as extreme a method of conservation as this is, there is still a need for more extreme methods. High profile and highly specialized endangered species are often managed in a ‘crisis’ mode, where complex behaviors and interactions …

Systematics, Biogeography And Leaf Anatomy And Architecture Of Bursera Subgen. Bursera (Burseraceae) In The Greater Antilles And The Bahamas, María Cristina Martínez-Habibe

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation presents a comprehensive study on the origin and evolutionary relationships of the species of Bursera in Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica and the Bahamas. The goals of the first chapter were to test monophyly of the group, revisit a recent transfer of two species of Bursera to Commiphora, and place recently discovered mainland species using the reconstructed phylogenies. Additionally, divergence estimations using fossils were used as independent tests of several hypotheses regarding the arrival of the modern biota to the Greater Antilles and Bahamas (GAB). I conclude that all endemic taxonomic entities of the genus in this region belong …

Streamflow Analysis And A Comparison Of Hydrologic Metrics In Urban Streams, Matthew Lawton Wood

Dissertations and Theses

This study investigates the hydrologic effects of urbanization in two Portland, Oregon streams through a comparison of three hydrologic metrics. Hydrologic metrics used in this study are the mean annual runoff ratio (Qa), mean seasonal runoff ratio (Qw and Qd), and the fraction of time that streamflow exceeds the mean streamflow during the year (TQmean). Additionally, the relative change in streamflow in response to storm events was examined for two watersheds. For this investigation urban development is represented by two urbanization metrics: percent impervious and road density. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to evaluate the relationship between the hydrologic …