Other Earth Sciences Commons^™

Qgis Approach To Extract Fluvial Terraces For Archaeological Purposes Using Remote Sensing Data, Lia Duarte, Alberto Gomes, Ana Cláudia Teodoro, Sérgio Monteiro-Rodrigues

Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) Conference Proceedings

Fluvial terraces, normally defining flattened surfaces are significant geomorphic features that explains the presence of rivers at high altitudes and constitute the remains of the old river along the valley. In Iberia, many of these terraces preserve Paleolithic artifacts and document the presence of the first human communities. Nowadays, the increasing use of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) provides the opportunity to analyze and test different approaches to study these geomorphological features. According to the literature, several algorithms from open source GIS software have been used, such as Geographic Resources Analysis Support System (GRASS) GIS. In the recent versions ...

Review Of Curbing Catastrophe: Natural Hazards And Risk Reduction In The Modern World, Kira H. Hamman

Numeracy

Timothy H. Dixon. 2017. Curbing Catastrophe: Natural Hazards and Risk Reduction in the Modern World. (New York, NY: Cambridge University Press) 300 pp. ISBN 978-1108113663.

In Curbing Catastrophe, Timothy H. Dixon explores commonalities among natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina, the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, and the meltdown at Fukushima. He identifies communication failure between scientists and policy makers as a major culprit in the devastation that results from such events and offers strategies for improving that communication. He includes optional in-depth scientific and quantitative examinations of the events and the resulting devastation, making the book appropriate for use in teaching ...

Desalination Concentrate Disposal: Ecological Effects And Sustainable Solutions, Ryan Hanley

Global Honors Theses

Freshwater availability is a growing global concern, and desalination is often presented as the solution, but from this important technology comes issues of toxic waste. Ecosystems are delicate areas that contain species adapted to that specific location, and any chemical or physical changes can disrupt the fitness of species. The concentrate byproduct waste from desalination plants is toxic to species if the concentrate is not compatible with the receiving water body. A critical review of scientific articles, industry-leading books, conversations with industry experts, and information from the American Membrane Technology Association conference was used to analyze the current knowledge. Species ...

Radical Social Ecology As Deep Pragmatism: A Call To The Abolition Of Systemic Dissonance And The Minimization Of Entropic Chaos, Arielle Brender

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper aims to shed light on the dissonance caused by the superimposition of Dominant Human Systems on Natural Systems. I highlight the synthetic nature of Dominant Human Systems as egoic and linguistic phenomenon manufactured by a mere portion of the human population, which renders them inherently oppressive unto peoples and landscapes whose wisdom were barred from the design process. In pursuing a radical pragmatic approach to mending the simultaneous oppression and destruction of the human being and the earth, I highlight the necessity of minimizing entropic chaos caused by excess energy expenditure, an essential feature of systems that aim ...

Characterization Of Ground Deformation Associated With Shallow Groundwater Processes Using Satellite Radar Interferometry, Xie Hu

Earth Sciences Theses and Dissertations

Shallow groundwater processes maylead to ground deformation and even geohazards. With the features of day-and-night accessibility and large-scale coverage, time-series interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) has proven a useful tool for mapping the deformation over various landscapes at cm to mm level with weekly to monthly updates. However, it has limitations such as, decorrelation,atmospheric artifacts, topographic errors, andunwrapping errors, in particular for the hilly, vegetated, and complicated deformation patterns. In this dissertation, I focus on characterizing the ground deformation over landslides, aquifer systems, and mine tailings impoundment, using the designed advanced time-series InSAR strategy, as well as theinterdisciplinary knowledge ...

Assessing The Reliability Of The Benthic Mg/Ca–Temperature Proxy: A Uvigerina Core-Top Study From New Zealand, Cassandre R. Stirpe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sediment cores from New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty and the Chatham Rise in the Southwest Pacific were sampled to establish a regional Mg/Ca–temperature calibration for the benthic foraminifer Uvigerina peregrina. Comparison of foraminiferal Mg/Ca from core-top sediments to local bottom water temperatures reveals a Mg/Ca–temperature relationship broadly consistent with previously published calibrations. In addition to bottom water temperatures, other environmental parameters are examined for possible influence on the Mg/Ca of foraminiferal calcite. Elderfield et al. (2006) proposed that such parameters may exert an influence at colder temperatures, particularly below temperatures of ~3oC (e ...

Climate Sensitivity And Potential Vulnerability Of Guatemalan Fir (Abies Guatemalensis) Forests In Totonicapán, Guatemala, Talia G. Anderson, Daniel Griffin, Kevin Anchukaitis, Diego Pons, Matthew Taylor

Journal of Latin American Geography

Despite continued forest loss and extensive demand for wood products throughout Guatemala, the locally managed and protected forests of Totonicapán remain some of the most intact within the country. Here, we study the growth rings of Guatemalan fir (Pinaceae; Abies guatemalensis Rehder; pinabete) at Totonicapán to assess environmental influences on tree growth and the potential vulnerability of these forests to climate change in the western highlands. We find that late summer and dry season precipitation are critical drivers in annual ring-width variability and that tree growth responds negatively to warm sea surface temperature anomalies in the eastern tropical Pacific. Considering ...

Adam J. Liska: Curriculum Vitae, Adam Liska

Adam Liska Papers

Associate Professor, George Dempster Smith Chair of Industrial Ecology, Departments of Biological Systems Engineering and Agronomy & Horticulture, University of Nebraska-Lincoln 236 L.W. Chase Hall, Lincoln, NE 68583-0726, Ph: (402) 472-8744, e-mail: aliska2@unl.edu

Ph.D. 2003 Biology (magna cum laude), Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology & Genetics, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany

Ranking Matthiessen State Park Trails By Hazard Rather Than Difficulty, Levi S. Gambill, Danielle N. Conrad, Joshua A. Woodard, Max Reams

Student Scholarship - Geology

Matthiessen State Park offers differing perspectives of the geology of the area, from the stunning views of bluffs and floodplain of the Vermilion River to the deep, winding canyons of the park’s Dells Area. A numerical system was used to rank the severity of hazards along the various park trails similar to the work of Ross, who pioneered the ranking of trails by hazard, specifically for Starved Rock State Park. Ross showed that ranking trails by hazard may be more useful for visitors than simply ranking trails by degree of difficulty. Ranking of trails for Matthiessen State Park proved ...

An Assessment Of Atmospheric And Meteorological Factors Regulating Red Sea Phytoplankton Growth, Wenzhao Li, Hesham El-Askary, Mohamed A. Qurban, Emmanouil Proestakis, Michael J. Garay, Olga V. Kalishnikova, Vassilis Amiridis, Antonis Gkikas, Eleni Marinou, Thomas Piechota, K. P. Manikandan

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

This study considers the various factors that regulate nutrients supply in the Red Sea. Multi-sensor observation and reanalysis datasets are used to examine the relationships among dust deposition, sea surface temperature (SST), and wind speed, as they may contribute to anomalous phytoplankton blooms, through time-series and correlation analyses. A positive correlation was found at 0–3 months lag between chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) anomalies and dust anomalies over the Red Sea regions. Dust deposition process was further examined with dust aerosols’ vertical distribution using satellite lidar data. Conversely, a negative correlation was found at 0–3 months lag between SST ...

Assessing Land Deformation And Sea Encroachment In The Nile Delta, Egypt, Esayas Gebremichael

Research and Creative Activities Poster Day

Persistent scatterer interferometric analyses were conducted on a stack of 84 Envisat ASAR scenes spanning 7 years (2004 to 2010) over the entire Nile Delta of Egypt and surroundings to monitor the ongoing spatial and temporal land deformation, identify the factors controlling the deformation, and model the interplay between sea level rise and land subsidence to identify areas and populations threatened by sea encroachment by the end of the 21st century. Findings include: (1) general patterns of subsidence in the northern delta, near-steady (none) subsidence in the southern delta, separated by a previously mapped flexure zone undergoing uplift; (2) high ...

A Comparison Of The Diel Cycle Of Modeled And Measured Latent Heat Flux During The Warm Season In A Colorado Subalpine Forest, Sean P. Burns, Sean C. Swenson, William R. Wieder, David M. Lawrence, Gordon B. Bonan, John F. Knowles, Peter D. Blanken

University Libraries Open Access Fund Supported Publications

Precipitation changes the physiological characteristics of an ecosystem. Because land-surface models are often used to project changes in the hydrological cycle, modeling the effect of precipitation on the latent heat flux E is an important aspect of land-surface models. Here we contrast conditionally sampled diel composites of the eddy-covariance fluxes from the Niwot Ridge Subalpine Forest AmeriFlux tower with the Community Land Model (CLM, version 4.5). With respect to measured E during the warm season: for the day following above-average precipitation, E was enhanced at midday by ≈40 W m−2 (relative to dry conditions), and nocturnal E increased ...

Extreme Precipitation Events, Impacts, Trends And Projections For Indiana, Sam Lashley

Purdue Road School

The National Weather Service is working with core partners to build a Weather Ready Nation for present and future generations by taking advanced action against the devastating impacts of extreme weather events, including extreme precipitation and flooding. One way in which this can be accomplished is by studying trends in historical weather data and applying what we learn to future mitigation efforts. The goal is to gain a better understanding of the magnitude and impacts that future extreme precipitation events may have on local infrastructure.

This presentation will review extreme rainfall and flooding events that have occurred across Indiana along ...

Visualization For Spatial Comprehension, Gabriel Judkins

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

Mapping and understanding spatial data are fundamental necessities for geographers, yet challenging for many students (Rapp et al. 2007)

Persistence Of Stream Restoration With Large Wood, Redwood National And State Parks, California, Diedra L. Rodriguez

Theses and projects

The conservation and recovery of anadromous salmonids (Oncorhynchus sp.) depend on stream restoration and protection of freshwater habitats. In-stream large wood dictates channel morphology, increases retention of terrestrial inputs such as organic matter, nutrients and sediment, and enhances the quality of fish habitat. Historic land use/land cover changes have resulted in aquatic systems devoid of large wood. Restoration by placement of large wood jams is intended to restore physical and biological processes. An important question for scientists and restoration managers, in addition to the initial effectiveness of restoration, is the persistence and fate of large wood installations. In this ...

Fight And Air Exposure Times Of Caught And Released Salmonids From The South Fork Snake River, Curtis J. Roth, Daniel J. Schill, Michael C. Quist

USGS Staff -- Published Research

Catch-and-release regulations are among the most common types of fishing regulations. In recent years, concerns have arisen regarding the exposure of fish to air during catch-and-release angling. The purpose of our study was to quantify the length of time angled fish were exposed to air by anglers in a typical catch-and-release fishery and relate it to the lengths of time reported to produce negative effects. In total, 312 individual anglers were observed on the South Fork Snake River, Idaho, from May through August 2016. Fight time varied from 1.1 s to 230.0 s, and average fight time was ...

Vegetation Responses To Sagebrush-Reduction Treatments Measured By Satellites, Aaron N. Johnston, Erik A. Beever, Jerod A. Merkle, Geneva Chong

USGS Staff -- Published Research

Time series of vegetative indices derived from satellite imagery constitute tools to measure ecological effects of natural and management-induced disturbances to ecosystems. Over the past century, sagebrush-reduction treatments have been applied widely throughout western North America to increase herbaceous vegetation for livestock and wildlife. We used indices from satellite imagery to 1) quantify effects of prescribed-fire, herbicide, and mechanical treatments on vegetative cover, productivity, and phenology, and 2) describe how vegetation changed over time following these treatments. We hypothesized that treatments would increase herbaceous cover and accordingly shift phenologies towards those typical of grass-dominated systems. We expected prescribed burns would ...

Modeling Landscape Evolution Of The Tweed Caldera Drainage Basin Under Different Climatic Scenarios Through The 26th Century, Kyle Manley

Undergraduate Honors Theses

As anthropogenic forcing continues to rapidly change worldwide climate, consequential landscape impacts will continue to coincide. In this study, a landscape evolution model called Badllands (BAsin anD LANscape DynamicS) is utilized to project if and how the landscape of the Tweed Caldera catchment, in Eastern Australia, dynamically reacts to shifts in the local climate. Different climatic scenarios were modeled over the next five centuries. In order to model practical scenarios, local climate projections were taken from the Australian government and the IPCC in the form of four representative concentration pathways (2.6, 4.5, 6.0 & 8.5). Another three ...

Addressing Climate Change Through A New Lens: A Case Study Of The Sangamner Region Of Western India, Keyle Horton

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Sangamner region of western India is a developing economy that is expected to experience serious societal consequences due to 21st century anthropogenic climate change. Environmental stress is expected to have major impacts on the industry upon which this society is based: agriculture. In order to understand the impacts of climate change on the region, this thesis reviewed the past climate variability by combining the data collected from institutional and natural archives covering the years 1831-1889. The institutional archives, although less accurate than modern instrumental data, mainly focused on the harsh environmental conditions that occur in the region. This data ...

Structural Analysis Of The Northwest Wind Mountain Quadrangle, New Mexico: Proterozoic Shearing To Cenozoic Brittle Faulting In The Burro Mountains, Jensen Kohl Angelloz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Preliminary investigation of the Bullard Peak metamorphic series (BPMS) in the northwestern Wind Mountain quadrangle within the Burro Mountains of southwestern New Mexico suggests a possible previously unidentified shear zone, prompting detailed (1:12,000) geologic mapping and collection of structural data. The study area has a complex tectonic history, including 1) ~1.65 Ga metamorphism during accretion of the Mazatzal terrane to Laurentia’s southern margin; 2) ~1.4 Ga intrusion of Granite and Rhyolite Province granitoids; 3) significant uplift during the formation of the Ancestral Rockies (~300 Ma) and the Rocky Mountains (~70-50 Ma); and 4) inversion tectonics ...