Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Kayapo Media Making: Building On-Site Capacity, Kaitlin Harris

Engagement & Service-Learning Summit

No abstract provided.

Storm Damage - Murphy's Law, Dale Sedler, Mark Bailey

Purdue Road School

Examination of a disastrous event that required 4 coinciding occurrences happening that individually would likely have resulted in minor or no damage.

Storm Damage - Floating Culverts, Dale Sedler, Mark Bailey

Purdue Road School

A review of buoyancy issues culverts experience due to blockage. Includes discussion of blockage due to floating debris and issues with multiple culverts. Provides information on characteristics that help to determine if a culvert has "floated."

Seasonal And Dilution Rate Impacts On Nannochloropsis Oceanica Productivity In Algae Raceway Ponds, Garrett Dameron Murawsky

Master's Theses

Biomass growth of the alga Nannochloropsis oceanica, cultivated outdoors in six pilot-scale raceway ponds, was monitored over the course of 1.5 years, at two different dilution regimes each season, to establish the effects on algal biomass productivity and concentration of dilution rate, pond water temperature, and solar radiation. The 4.5-m² ponds were located in a mild, mid-latitude, coastal region (central California). Experimental conditions were operated in duplicates or triplicates with a consistent artificial seawater medium, pond depth, pH range, paddle wheel mixing speed, and replete nutrient conditions for the duration of the study. Two cultivation regimes were used …

Thawing Out: The Role Of The Arctic Council Service In A Melting Arctic, Taylor J. Enos

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

With the changing natural and political climate of the Arctic, conflicts over resource extraction and navigation will become inevitable. Empowering an intergovernmental institution like the Arctic Council Service may be the only solution. This paper analyzes the importance and history of the Arctic as a political environment, which is prone to abuse in the very near future at the hands of Russia and the United States.

Cal Poly On-Site Water Treatment Project Proposal, Tanner Wingo

Biomedical Engineering

This report is based off of a competition hosted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): the 2015 Campus RainWorks Challenge. Student teams were encouraged to design an infrastructure that could manage storm water, benefit campus life, and promote sustainability. The report summarizes the engineering aspects that support the competition submittal. The design is to treat campus wastewater on-site and to a suitable level for either reuse or discharge into Brizzolara Creek.

Barometer Rising: The Cartagena Protocol On Biosafety As A Model For Holistic International Regulation Of Ocean Fertilization Projects And Other Forms Of Geoengineering, Matthew Hubbard

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Modeling Food Security, Energy, And Climate And Cultural Impacts Of A Process: The Case Study Of Shea Butter In Sub-Saharan Africa, Colleen Claire Naughton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Millions of people in the world, particularly women and people in sub-Saharan Africa, suffer from hunger and poverty. Three of the major 2015-2030 United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to eliminate hunger through food security and sustainable agriculture, eradicate poverty, and achieve gender equality through women’s empowerment. Shea trees and their associated fruit and butter can play a major role in each of these three SDGs for women and their families throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Shea trees are located over a wide expanse stretching more than 5,000 kilometers across over eighteen countries in sub-Saharan Africa. These trees produce fruit that …

A Five-Year Performance Review Of Field-Scale, Slow-Release Permanganate Candles With Recommendations For Second-Generation Improvements, Mark Christenson, Ann Kambhu, James Reece, Steve D. Comfort, Laurie Brunner

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

In 2009, we identified a TCE plume at an abandoned landfill that was located in a low permeable siltyclay aquifer. To treat the TCE, we manufactured slow-release potassium permanganate cylinders (oxidant candles) that had diameters of either 5.1 or 7.6 cm and were 91.4 cm long. In 2010, we compared two methods of candle installation by inserting equal masses of the oxidant candles (7.6-cm vs 5.1-cm dia). The 5.1-cm dia candles were inserted with direct-push rods while the 7.6-cm candles were housed in screens and lowered into 10 permanent wells. Since installation, the 7.6-cm oxidant candles have been refurbished approximately …

Ecosystem Evapotranspiration: Challenges In Measurements, Estimates, And Modeling, D.M. Amatya, Suat Irmak, P. Gowda, G. Sun, J.E. Nettles, K.R. Douglas-Mankin

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Evapotranspiration (ET) processes at the leaf to landscape scales in multiple land uses have important controls and feed backs for local, regional, and global climate and water resource systems. Innovative methods, tools, and technologies for improved understanding and quantification of ET and crop water use are critical for adapting more effective management strategies to cope with increasing demand for freshwater resources under global climate change. This article introduces an ASABE Special Collection of 12 articles on ET monitoring and modeling research for multiple land uses and scales. The collection focuses on recent advances in four critical topical areas: (1) reference …

Glucocorticoid Cell Priming Enhances Transfection Outcomes In Adult Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Abby M. Kelly, Sarah A. Plautz, Janos Zempleni, Angela K. Pannier

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) are one of the most widely researched stem cell types with broad applications from basic research to therapeutics, the majority of which require introduction of exogenous DNA. However, safety and scalability issues hinder viral delivery, while poor efficiency hinders nonviral gene delivery, particularly to hMSCs. Here, we present the use of a pharmacologic agent (glucocorticoid) to overcome barriers to hMSC DNA transfer to enhance transfection using three common nonviral vectors. Glucocorticoid priming significantly enhances transfection in hMSCs, demonstrated by a 3-fold increase in efficiency, 4–15-fold increase in transgene expression, and prolonged transgene expression when compared …

Evaluating A Microbial Water Quality Prediction Model For Beach Management Under The Revised Eu Bathing Water Directive, Zeinab Bedri, Aisling Corkery, John O'Sullivan, Louise Deering, Katalin Demeter, Wim Meijer, Gregory O'Hare, Bartholomew Masterson

Articles

The revised Bathing Water Directive (2006/7/EC) requires EU member states to minimise the risk to public health from faecal pollution at bathing waters through improved monitoring and management approaches. While increasingly sophisticated measurement methods (such as microbial source tracking) assist in the management of bathing water resources, the use of deterministic predictive models for this purpose, while having the potential to provide decision making support, remains less common.

This study explores an integrated, deterministic catchment-coastal hydro-environmental model as a decision-making tool for beach management which, based on advance predictions of bathing water quality, can inform beach managers on appropriate management …

Methane Emissions As Energy Reservoir: Context, Scope, Causes And Mitigation Strategies, Xiaoli Chai, David J. Tonjes, Devinder Mahajan

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

Methane (CH4) is now considered a bridge fuel between present fossil (carbon) economy and desired renewables and this energy molecule is projected to play an important role in the global energy mix well beyond 2035. The atmospheric warming potential of CH4 is 28-36 times, when averaged over a 100-year period, that of carbon dioxide (CO2) and this necessitates a close scrutiny of global CH4 emissions inventory. As the second most abundant greenhouse gas (GHG), the annual global CH4 emissions were 645 million metric tons (MMT), accounting for 14.3% of the global anthropogenic GHG emissions. Of this, five key anthropogenic sources: …

Recent Morphodynamic Evolution Of The Largest Uninhibited Island In The Yangtze (Changjiang) Estuary During 1998-2014: Influence Of The Anthropogenic Interference, Wen Wei, Xuefei Mei, Zhijun Dai, Zhenghong Tang

Community and Regional Planning Program: Faculty Scholarly and Creative Activity

Estuarine geomorphology worldwide has greatly changed in the Anthropocene due to intensive human inferences in river basin and within estuary, which has received increasing global concerns. Here, recent morphodynamic evolution of Jiuduan Shoal (JDS), the largest uninhabited island in the Yangtze (Changjiang) Estuary, and associated controlling factors were analyzed based on unique high-resolution seasonal-surveyed bathymetric data during 1998–2014. It can be indicated that JDS presents novel 12 and 48 months fluctuations though significant accretion was detected on high flats above −2 m. Meanwhile, morphodynamic evolution of JDS during 1998–2014 was divided into three stages: significant siltation on land-ward half of …

2016 Nebraska Water Monitoring Programs Report, Marty Link, Ryan Chapman

Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality: Reports

The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) is charged with monitoring, assessing, and to the extent possible, managing the state’s water resources. The purpose of this work is to protect and maintain high quality water and encourage or execute activities to improve poor water quality. Monitoring is done on nearly 17,000 miles of flowing rivers and streams, more than 134,000 acres of surface water in lakes and reservoirs, as well as the vast storage of groundwater in Nebraska’s aquifers.

First Outdoor Characterisation Of A Pv Powered Suspended Particle Device Switchable Glazing, Aritra Ghosh, Brian Norton, Aidan Duffy

Articles

Suspended particle device (SPD) switchable glazing is a candidate intervention to adaptively control solar heat gain. A high voltage low alternating current (AC) to operate a large area SPD applications, can be provided by a photovoltaic (PV) array. The first outdoor characterisation of side-by-side comparison of PV-powered SPD glazing has been conducted. Using an inverter to convert direct current (DC) power from PV to AC a 40 Wp PV device continuously powered a 0.07 W SPD glazing. High inverter power losses were found due to high PV inverter sizing ratio, inverter high self-consumption, and low solar radiation. Low sizing ratio …

State-Of-The-Art Review Of Cathodic Protection For Reinforced Concrete Structures, Aimee Byrne, Niall Holmes, Brian Norton

Articles

Cathodic protection (CP) limits the corrosion of a metal surface by making it the cathode of an electrochemical cell. This can be achieved either by using a more active sacrificial anode to create a driving current, or by using inert anodes and impressing a current onto the cathode surface using an external direct current (DC) source. Impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP) is preferred where widespread protection is required, particularly in reinforced concrete structures. ICCP needs a constant DC power supply that is usually provided through a grid connection or independent generators. This paper presents the currently available CP systems for …

Water Quality Evaluation Of Tire Derived Aggregate, Richela K. Maeda

Projects

The primary objective of this study is to investigate the rate that potential water quality contaminants leach from tire-derived aggregate (TDA) as a function of time. A laboratory and field experiment is conducted to provide insight into both controlled and field settings. The laboratory portion of this study also provides a basis for evaluating the effect that alternating periods of wet and dry weather have on the potential water quality impacts of the leachate as compared to the worst-case operating condition, when TDA is constantly submerged (i.e., when placed below the permanent groundwater table). The field experiment is used to …

Drivers Of Food Wastage And Their Implications For Sustainable Policy Development, Krista L. Thyberg, David J. Tonjes

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

There has been growing interest in establishing food waste prevention and recovery programs throughout the world. The drive to target food waste stems from increasing concerns about resource conservation, food security, food waste’s environmental and economic costs, and a general trend in the waste management industry to transition to more sustainable practices. Here the drivers of residential, institutional, and commercial food waste generation in developed countries, particularly in the U.S., are explored. The impacts of food system modernization on food waste generation are examined, particularly impacts related to food system industrialization, urbanization, globalization, and economic growth. Socio-demographic, cultural, political, and …

Reviews And Syntheses: Ocean Acidification And Its Potential Impacts On Marine Ecosystems, Khan M.G. Mostofa, Cong-Qiang Liu, Weidong Zhai, Marco Minella, David Vione, Kunshan Gao, Daisuke Minakata, Et.Al

Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering Publications

Ocean acidification, a complex phenomenon that lowers seawater pH, is the net outcome of several contributions. They include the dissolution of increasing atmospheric CO2 that adds up with dissolved inorganic carbon (dissolved CO2, H2CO3, HCO3−, and CO32−) generated upon mineralization of primary producers (PP) and dissolved organic matter (DOM). The aquatic processes leading to inorganic carbon are substantially affected by increased DOM and nutrients via terrestrial runoff, acidic rainfall, increased PP and algal blooms, nitrification, denitrification, sulfate reduction, global warming (GW), and by atmospheric CO2 itself through enhanced photosynthesis. They are consecutively associated with enhanced ocean acidification, hypoxia in acidified …