Nashville-Basin Tornadoes: Using Storm Types To Elucidate The Local Climatology And Forecasting Challenges,
2022
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Nashville-Basin Tornadoes: Using Storm Types To Elucidate The Local Climatology And Forecasting Challenges, Morgan Steckler, Kelsey Ellis
Pursuit - The Journal of Undergraduate Research at The University of Tennessee
Early 3 March 2020 was a devastating night for many middle Tennessee residents. A strong EF-3 tornado tore through Nashville at 65 mph, and another EF-4 killed 18 in Baxter and Cookeville alone. Residents of the Southeastern United States are particularly vulnerable to tornadoes. This study aims to better understand local forecasting challenges by looking at the types of storms that produce tornadoes. Storm types, also known as convective modes, divide tornado-producing storms into categories by length, shape, multiplicity, and intensity. Distinguishing storms by these modes allows for a broader understanding of their occurrences and impacts. This study specifically evaluates …
Local And State Climate Initiatives In Louisiana Since 2005: Content And Thematic Analyses,
2022
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College
Local And State Climate Initiatives In Louisiana Since 2005: Content And Thematic Analyses, Jessie F. Parrott
LSU Master's Theses
Louisiana is uniquely exposed to severe weather because of its geography and climate. Louisiana’s extreme weather is exacerbated by anthropogenic climate change, which will worsen in the future. The risks its population and environment are exposed to has generated several policies and planning documents, nine of which are analyzed in this thesis. Three plans are from the state level, three are from the parish level, and three are from the urban (New Orleans) level. These planning documents pose various adaptation and mitigation actions to ameliorate and address multiple climate issues. These actions utilize specific mitigation strategies. The content and thematic …
National Food Security, Immigration Reform, And The Importance Of Worker Engagement In Agricultural Guestworker Debates,
2022
Syracuse University
National Food Security, Immigration Reform, And The Importance Of Worker Engagement In Agricultural Guestworker Debates, Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern
Food Studies - All Scholarship
This article looks at the United States’ federal H-2A Temporary Agricultural Visa Program and reforms proposed by the Farm Workforce Modernization Act. In this policy analysis, we draw on media content analysis and qualitative interviews to compare the viewpoints of farmers, workers, grower and worker advocacy groups, intermediary agents, and politicians. We find that perspectives on the program are dependent upon actors’ level of direct interaction with workers. Moderate-sized farmers and regionally based worker advocacy groups tend to be the most concerned with day-to-day program operations and fair working conditions. In contrast, national-level advocacy groups, intermediary agents, and politicians are …
Climate Disasters, Mass Violence, And Human Mobility In South Sudan: Through A Gender Lens,
2022
Georgetown University
Climate Disasters, Mass Violence, And Human Mobility In South Sudan: Through A Gender Lens, Marisa O. Ensor
Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal
This article examines the links between gender, mass violence, climate change, and displacement in South Sudan. I argue for risk-informed gender-sensitive strategies that incorporate local capacities and sources of resilience. When civil war engulfed South Sudan again in 2013, egregious human rights violations, including sexual and gender-based violence, were perpetrated with near complete impunity. As the national army was divided along Dinka-Nuer ethnic lines, soldiers from each faction turned against each other in a deadly pattern of revenge and counter-revenge attacks that soon spread across the national territory. Inter-communal conflicts also intensified, often centering on competition over land for pasture, …
Air Quality And Vehicular Emissions: Evaluating Vehicular Emission Contributions To And Distribution Of Ambient Particulate Matter Pollution With Low-Cost Sensors In Richmond, Virginia,
2022
University of Richmond
Air Quality And Vehicular Emissions: Evaluating Vehicular Emission Contributions To And Distribution Of Ambient Particulate Matter Pollution With Low-Cost Sensors In Richmond, Virginia, Morgan Malstead
Environmental Studies Senior Seminar Projects
Hazardous air quality prematurely kills millions of people a year and exacerbates underlying health issues for millions more. Unsafe levels of particulate matter are typically associated with newly industrialized and developing countries, however, this is a misconception, especially when considering ambient air pollutants in densely packed urban areas. According to the Airbeam and Purple Air data collected on 07/15/2021, Richmond, Virginia has good air quality with the vast majority of values falling below the United States Environmental Protection Agency annual PM2.5 standard of 12 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m3). Vehicular emissions may not account for a large percentage of PM2.5 …
Disorientations,
2022
Washington University in St. Louis
Disorientations, Noah Greene-Lowe
MFA in Visual Art
The materials that make up the ordinary and mundane in the United States also reinforce and normalize a white spatial imaginary. Conventions of mapping, imaging of land and landscape, and elements of the built environment continue to orient us in a logic of space as property. In my sculptural work, I employ strategies of disorientation and creative repair, or reconstruction, to unsettle the spatial practices of whiteness and structures of power embedded in the mundane, the familiar, and the domestic. I consider the planned cohousing community where I grew up as an influence on my work, and my whiteness. By …
Using Lidar To Estimate Carbon Sequestration Of Evergreen Trees At Eastern Washington University (Ewu) Campus, Cheney, Washington,
2022
Eastern Washington University
Using Lidar To Estimate Carbon Sequestration Of Evergreen Trees At Eastern Washington University (Ewu) Campus, Cheney, Washington, Kristy A. Snyder
2022 Symposium
EWU contains a variety of deciduous and evergreen trees across its campus, providing several benefits. However, no comprehensive record exists of the total number, location, species, or ages of these trees. This knowledge can inform facilities of proper care for individual trees and can be used to estimate carbon sequestration on campus. Traditional on-the-ground methods for assessing trees require tree cores or clinometers, making trees susceptible to pests or disease and leading to inaccurate results. Remote sensing using lidar data is a noninvasive, more precise method to measure tree height and subsequently assess tree age. This poster explores using point …
What Can We See From The Road? Applications Of A Cumulative Viewshed Analysis On A Us State Highway Network,
2022
Central Washington University
What Can We See From The Road? Applications Of A Cumulative Viewshed Analysis On A Us State Highway Network, Sterling D. Quinn
Geography Faculty Scholarship
In many parts of the world, motorized travel is one of the most common ways that people interact with their regional landscape. This study investigates how travelers' understandings of place might be influenced by what landforms they can see from a vehicle. It uses a cumulative viewshed analysis on the Washington State (United States) highway network to determine which physical landscape features are most frequently visible or obscured from the road. Adapting ideas from Kevin Lynch's The Image of the City, I propose spatial data processing methods to derive landmarks, edges, and districts that could most contribute to the mental …
The Demotechnic Index Of Nations, 1980-2018,
2022
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
The Demotechnic Index Of Nations, 1980-2018, Camden Rainwater
Geosciences Undergraduate Honors Theses
The Demotechnic Index (DI) is a non-dimensional metric that is the scalar multiple of energy consumption over and above that required for mere subsistence of a national population. Thus, the DI is a measure of energy efficiency that scales a country’s industrial energy consumption (called the total technological energy) and the energy required to meet the metabolic demand of the population (called the total metabolic energy). The DI was created by scientist John Vallentyne in 1982, refined in 1994, but never gained popularity or wide use as a sustainability metric. The objective of this thesis was to re-evaluate the DI …
Analysis Of Gentrification And Green Spaces In East Austin, Texas,
2022
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Analysis Of Gentrification And Green Spaces In East Austin, Texas, Carly Fordyce
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Gentrification, the urban process that results from uneven development within cities, can cause unjust displacement of traditional, low-income residents in residential neighborhoods, and inequitable access to community services and benefits. Because of the negative social impacts that gentrification can have, many local governments and agencies have been known to attempt to mitigate changes by initiating different types of planning policies. Such policies usually apply changes in housing or zoning rules to enable lower-income residents to have access to housing and community amenities in the area. Another aspect resulting from gentrification that local government will try to rectify is low access …
Transforming Trees, Transcending Binaries: Gender In Augustan Poetry,
2022
College of the Holy Cross
Transforming Trees, Transcending Binaries: Gender In Augustan Poetry, Kendall Swanson
College Honors Program
Humans have been inextricably linked to nature since before the rule of Emperor Augustus in Ancient Rome. Nature feeds humans, it gives people the tools to build a society. Because of this relationship, it is no surprise that authors, both ancient and modern, incorporate various themes of the natural world into their works. Additionally, nature appears linked to human conceptions of gender, as seen in literature and real-world experience. According to the United Nations, one goal to accomplish in order to achieve sustainable development is gender equality in all countries. Gender and nature work together: when inequality exists, environmental degradation …
“And They Wrote It All Down As The Progress Of Man”: Relationships Between Environment, Extractive Industries, And Appalachian Agency,
2022
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
“And They Wrote It All Down As The Progress Of Man”: Relationships Between Environment, Extractive Industries, And Appalachian Agency, Emma V. Kelly
Masters Theses
The landscape of Central Appalachia has shaped and been shaped by its residents for thousands of years. The advent of industrialized extractive industries greatly shifted the nature and the extent of these processes, with capitalistic domination being asserted over the environment. While this shift towards industrialization was a widespread phenomenon, it undertook a unique trajectory within Appalachia, a region which occupies a distinct position within the national perspective. Although geographically established by the Appalachian Regional Commission, Appalachia is more than a politically defined set of counties: It is an incredibly diverse sociocultural region that exists on varying planes of marginalization …
Our Air: Determining Ideal Locations For Tree Planting In Richmond, Va In Order To Deter Inequalities In Temperature,
2022
University of Richmond
Our Air: Determining Ideal Locations For Tree Planting In Richmond, Va In Order To Deter Inequalities In Temperature, Nina Vanatta
Environmental Studies Senior Seminar Projects
With the ever increasing effects of climate change, it is pertinent that an effective, efficient, and economic solution be reached in order to mitigate the extremity of urban heat islands. Since heat can contribute to a variety of health problems, it is very important that the unequal distribution of heat be minimized in order to promote the equal well-being within a city. One substantial and popular method of doing so is through the planting of trees, as there is research done to show that they reduce air pollution on top of reducing overall surface temperatures. This paper explores how and …
Down The Drain: Stormwater Management Effects On The Quality Of The Westhampton Lake,
2022
University of Richmond
Down The Drain: Stormwater Management Effects On The Quality Of The Westhampton Lake, Indya Woodfolk
Environmental Studies Senior Seminar Projects
This paper examines incidents of illicit discharges on the University of Richmond campus as outlined by the City of Richmond's MS4 permit. Illicit discharges contaminate the Westhampton Lake by flowing from our storm drains directly into the Westhampton Lake. I detected incidents of illicit discharges by performing visual inspections as guided by numerous scholarly articles. The visual inspections were done with a special consideration of land use on campus. Along with the visual inspections, I inspected the storm drains during a dry weather event to find whether there was any flow during this period. In this study, I found several …
The Green Passport Program: Proposing A Study Abroad Program To Encourage Sustainable Behavior And Offset Emissions,
2022
University of Richmond
The Green Passport Program: Proposing A Study Abroad Program To Encourage Sustainable Behavior And Offset Emissions, Suraya Souidi
Environmental Studies Senior Seminar Projects
The University of Richmond has a goal to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, and in order to do this, carbon offsets are likely a necessary component to implement in lieu of adequate technology to abate the usage of carbon from behaviors such as travel. The scope of this proposal focuses on the Office of International Education and study abroad travel, which accounts for a large amount of emissions in the University’s portfolio. The purpose of this study was to propose a program to the Office of International Education which oriented students towards sustainability while they engaged in a study abroad …
Geese Management At The University Of Richmond,
2022
University of Richmond
Geese Management At The University Of Richmond, Virginia Mead
Environmental Studies Senior Seminar Projects
Geese are a nuisance in all fifty states and particularly at the University of Richmond. For the most part, Canada Geese, Branta canadensis, have effectively stopped migrating which has led them to be a problem for the surrounding ecosystem (Handwerk, 2021). The university has taken some preliminary steps to discourage geese from inhabiting our campus, but none have proven to be effective in the long run. To answer the question of how to deter geese from hanging out on campus, I assessed various geese management practices with the intention that the university could potentially adopt one of the practices. Our …
Sharing Air: A Review And Application Of Effective Methods Of Communicating Temperature Data,
2022
University of Richmond
Sharing Air: A Review And Application Of Effective Methods Of Communicating Temperature Data, Claire A. King
Environmental Studies Senior Seminar Projects
One’s residence should not determine an individual’s health or lifespan. Further, if the environment where someone lives is detrimental to one’s health, that information ought to be shared with him or her. Surface heat exposure poses dangers to human health, and surface temperature is influenced by surrounding environmental factors. Surface temperature and related environmental data should be shared with communities in formats that best meet local needs. It is a matter of environmental and health justice. On July 15, 2021, a team of citizen scientists united under the Virginia Heat Watch project to collect surface temperature data in ten localities …
Red Wolf Reintroduction: Land Ownership And Protection Status Analysis,
2022
University of Richmond
Red Wolf Reintroduction: Land Ownership And Protection Status Analysis, Anna Frisbie
Environmental Studies Senior Seminar Projects
Red wolves (Canis rufus) are critically endangered, and currently the only wild population exists in northeast NC (“Red Wolf,” FWS, n.d.). Here, I use geospatial analysis to investigate the potential for another wild population to establish in the Delmarva Peninsula. I consider land ownership and protection status because these factors influence local public support (Nie, 2001; Naughton-Treves et al., 2003; Berger-Tal et al., 2020), as well as reintroduction success (Carroll et al., 2003; Wolf & Ripple, 2018). I compare the ownership and protection status of land in the Delmarva Peninsula to that in the Albemarle Peninsula, where the red wolf …
Testing The Waters: An Analysis Of Recent Nutrient Levels In Westhampton Lake And Their Implications For Water Quality Management,
2022
University of Richmond
Testing The Waters: An Analysis Of Recent Nutrient Levels In Westhampton Lake And Their Implications For Water Quality Management, Taylor Coleman
Environmental Studies Senior Seminar Projects
This investigation was undertaken to understand recent nutrient levels of Westhampton Lake and determine the implications of its water quality relative to the sustenance of aquatic life on campus at the University of Richmond. Nutrient data was obtained from the documentation of ongoing monthly sampling by a research team from Virginia Commonwealth University and consisted in the evaluation of total nitrogen, total phosphorus, ammonia, nitrogen oxides, chlorides, and the bacteria, Escherichia coli between November 20, 2018, and December 9, 2021. Analysis of each individual nutrient included the comparison of its minimum, maximum, and mean level relative to recommended criteria provided …
Unfair: Investigating The Links Between Richmond’S Air Quality Issues And Environmental Racism,
2022
University of Richmond
Unfair: Investigating The Links Between Richmond’S Air Quality Issues And Environmental Racism, Charles Miller
Environmental Studies Senior Seminar Projects
With breathable air being a resource inequitably distributed among populations based on race and socioeconomic status, this study’s objective was to analyze heat and air quality distributions in Richmond, Virginia and provide recommendations for minimizing its effects throughout the city. Richmond provided an ideal subject for this analysis as it has a lengthy history of racial segregation and discrimination and is one of the worst ranking cities for Asthma sufferers. Background was given on environmental racism as a means of systemic disproportionate pollution distribution to minorities, urban air pollution( via Fine Particulate Matter/PM 2.5) and the historical housing segregation process …
