Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Assessment Of Impacts To Hydroclimatology And River Operations Due To Climate Change Over The Colorado River Basin, William Paul Miller

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation investigated the impacts of climate change to the hydroclimatology and river and reservoir management operations within the Colorado River Basin. Preliminary research indicated observed warming trends throughout the Colorado River Basin and corresponding seasonal trends to the magnitude and timing of runoff in the Colorado River Basin. Subsequent research investigated the changing character of precipitation and corresponding impacts to streamflow over the Colorado River Basin. Analysis of snowpack telemetry (SNOTEL) stations over the American West and Colorado River Basin indicated decreasing trends in annual snowpack, often at least at the 95% confidence interval. A shorter snowpack season was …

Modeling Phosphate Adsorption For South Carolina Soils, Jesse Cannon

All Theses

Eroded sediment and the pollutants it transports are problems in water bodies in South Carolina (SC) and the United States as a whole. Current regulations and engineering practice attempt to remedy this problem by trapping sediment according to settling velocity, and thus, particle size. However, relatively little is known about most eroded soils. In most cases, little experimental data are available to describe a soil's ability to adsorb a pollutant of interest. More-effective design tools are necessary if design engineers and regulators are to be successful in reducing the amount of sediment and sediment-bound pollutants in water bodies. This study …

Biodegradation And Bioremediation Of Hexachlorocyclohexane Isomers, Chlorinated Ethenes, Chlorinated Benzenes And Benzene, Vijaikrishnah Elango

All Dissertations

ABSTRACT
Groundwater at an industrial site is contaminated with γ -hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) and α-HCH (i.e., lindane) (0.3-0.5 ppm). Other contaminants in the 1-15 ppm range include 1,2,4-trichlorobenezene (TCB), 1,2-dichlorobenzene (DCB), 1,3-DCB, 1,4-DCB, chlorobenzene (CB), benzene, trichloroethene (TCE) and cis-1,2-dichloroethene (cDCE). The aquifer consists of a shallow layer of soil over fractured dolomite, where most of the contaminant mass resides. The objective of this study was to compare 1) anaerobic reductive dechlorination of the polychlorinated contaminants, followed by aerobic biodegradation of the daughter products (mainly DCBs, CB, and benzene); and 2) aerobic biodegradation of α- and γ-HCH, TCB, DCBs, CB and …

Remotely Sensed Data Assimilation Technique To Develop Machine Learning Models For Use In Water Management, Bushra Zaman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Increasing population and water conflicts are making water management one of the most important issues of the present world. It has become absolutely necessary to find ways to manage water more efficiently. Technological advancement has introduced various techniques for data acquisition and analysis, and these tools can be used to address some of the critical issues that challenge water resource management. This research used learning machine techniques and information acquired through remote sensing, to solve problems related to soil moisture estimation and crop identification on large spatial scales. In this dissertation, solutions were proposed in three problem areas that can …

Data Collection And Analysis Methods For Two-Zone Temperature And Solute Model Parameter Estimation And Corroboration, Quinten Glen Bingham

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Water temperature directly affects biological and chemical processes of fresh water ecosystems. Elevated instream temperatures are commonplace in the Virgin River of southwestern Utah during summer due to a hot desert climate and high water demands that result in low stream flows. This is of concern since the Virgin River is home to two endangered species, the Virgin River Chub (Gila seminuda) and Woundfin (Plagopterus argentissimus). Efforts to model instream temperatures within the Virgin River have been undertaken to help mitigate elevated instream temperatures including the development of a two-zone temperature and solute (TZTS) model. This model was developed to …

Changes In Hybrid Poplar Endophytic Microbial Diversity In Response To Trichloroethylene Exposure, Jared S. Ervin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Remediation of trichloroethylene (TCE) is a major priority for many contaminated sites all over the industrialized world including Hill Air Force Base, UT (HAFB). Phytoremediation as part of a cleanup strategy is an appealing option, and trees at HAFB have been studied to this end. Trees have also been used to delineate groundwater plumes because the passive uptake of organic contaminants by trees generally results in a direct relationship between tree and groundwater TCE concentrations if the trees are using the contaminated groundwater. However, the concentrations of plant-produced TCE metabolites can vary greatly. It was hypothesized that the endophytic microbial …

Comparison Of Agricultural Area Source Ammonia Gas Concentration And Flux Measurements, Emyrei Reese

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study was conducted in order to compare and evaluate a variety of ammonia (NH3) measurement techniques for determination of ambient gas phase concentration and evaluation of system fluxes. This was accomplished by measuring NH3 emitted from area sources within two dairies, one located in south-central Idaho and another in central California. The measurement techniques utilized included: an array of passive diffusion samplers, a single annular denuder system, a single or paired Fourier transform infrared spectrometer(s) (FTIR), a paired (upwind and downwind) set of differential optical absorption spectrometers (DOAS), and a portable wind tunnel in conjunction with a chemiluminescence monitor. …

Fundamentals Of Operation Of The Induced Bed Reactor (Ibr) Anaerobic Digester, Jacob Shaun Dustin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Induced Bed Reactor (IBR) was developed at Utah State University to apply high-rate anaerobic digestion techniques to high solids content substrates. This technology has been successfully implemented at full-scale multiple installations in the United States and Canada as a waste treatment and energy production technology, but the physical processes necessary to further optimize the system were not well understood. Bench scale IBRs were operated as anaerobic digesters at 35°, 45°, and 55° C under three organic loading rates and three corresponding hydraulic retention times. Reactor performance was monitored at steady state for residence time distribution and substrate reduction. The …

Determination Of Material Emission Signatures By Ptr-Ms And Their Correlations With Odor Assessments By Human Subjects, Kwanghoon Han

Kwanghoon Han

The objectives of this study were to determine volatile organic compound (VOC) emission signatures of nine typical building materials by using proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) and to explore the correlation between the PTR-MS measurements and the measurements of acceptability by human subjects. VOC emissions from each material were measured in a 50-l small-scale chamber. Chamber air was sampled by PTR-MS to determine emission signatures. Sorbent tube sampling and TD-GC/MS analysis were also performed to identify the major VOCs emitted and to compare the resulting data with the PTR-MS emission signatures. The data on the acceptability of air quality assessed …

Escalamiento De Dispersión De Contaminantes En La Ciudad De México, Francisco J. Valdes-Parada, J. Ruben Varela-Ham

Francisco J. Valdes-Parada

En días hábiles, la actividad vehicular más intensa en calles y avenidas de la ciudad de México se inicia a las 6:00 hs y se prolonga por aproximadamente 3 ó 4 horas. En ese periodo, la capa de mezclado permanece relativamente quieta y expuesta a recibir una carga importante de contaminantes producto de emisiones vehiculares. En esas condiciones de ausencia de movimientos atmosféricos verticales y horizontales, y de intensa actividad contaminante, adquieren importancia los procesos de dispersión que ocurren en la horizontal y a nivel del suelo.

En este trabajo se lleva a cabo un proceso de promediado de las …

Polarization Of Galvanic Point Anodes For Corrosion Prevention In Reinforced Concrete, Margareth Dugarte

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The polarization performance of two types of commercial galvanic point anodes for protection of reinforced steel around patch repairs was investigated. Experiments included measurement of the polarization history of the anode under constant current impressed by galvanostatic circuits and in reinforced concrete slabs. The tests revealed, for both types of anodes, a potential-current function (PF) indicating relatively little anodic polarization from an open circuit potential at low current levels, followed by an abrupt increase in potential as the current approached an apparent terminal value. Aging of the anodes was manifested by a continually decreasing current output in the concrete tests, …

Integral Formulation For The Solution Of Closure Problems In Upscaling Processes, Francisco J. Valdes-Parada

Francisco J. Valdes-Parada

The derivation of transport models at macroscopic scales can be carried out using upscaling techniques such as the method of volume averaging. This upscaling technique consists on averaging the transport equations that describe phenomena at the microscale. The result is the so-called eective medium models, which are expressed in terms of eective coecients that can be computed from the solution of the corresponding closure problems. In this work, we present an integral formulation based on Green's functions to carry out the formal solution of closure problems. This methodology not only provides a physical interpretation of the closure variables, but it …

A Comparison Of Biocolloid And Colloid Transport In Single Saturated Rock Fractures, Junlei Qu

Sarah E Dickson

No abstract provided.

Sustainable Portland: Implementation Series 3, New England Environmental Finance Center

Climate Change

This report is the third in a series of efforts by students at the Muskie School of Public Service, Community Planning and Development Master’s program, in a core class called “Sustainable Communities.” In this course students seek to understand principles of sustainability and how efforts to implement Sustainability programs can become more successful. The report assembles term papers students completed on particular efforts by municipalities, universities, and other groups to achieve sustainability goals. Students worked on each project in a service learning format with real world clients. They were asked to fashion their papers around lessons learned by other organizations …

The Impacts Of Emergency Vehicle Signal Preemption On Urban Traffic Speed, Hualiang (Harry) Teng, Valerian Kwigizile, Gang Xie, Mohamed S. Kaseko, A. Reed Gibby

Civil & Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Publications

We used GPS data from paratransit vehicles to evaluate the impact of emergency vehicles on urban traffic speeds. The results indicate that speed variance is significantly higher during emergency preemption and the mean speeds of traffic flowing in the same direction as the emergency vehicle and on crossing streets are lower during preemption than during normal conditions. Regression results indicate that traffic on major arterials and traffic in the opposite direction of the emergency vehicle tend to have higher speed during signal preemption. Signal preemption during peak periods and duration of preemption had a significant negative impact on traffic speeds. …

Input-Output Analysis Of Irish Construction Sector Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Adolf Acquaye, Aidan Duffy

Articles

Ireland is committed to limiting its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 113% of 1990 levels over the period 2008-12 and to 84% of 2005 levels by 2020 under the Kyoto Agreement and the EU’s ’20 20’ by 2020 respectively. National policies have targeted many industry sectors but have failed to directly tackle GHG emissions associated with construction activity. This paper estimates energy and GHG emissions intensities of the Irish construction sector and subsectors and estimates its contribution to Irish national emissions. This information is used to identify and assess the impacts of policy measures which would result in a reduction …

The Influence Of Mechanical Circulation On Water Column Stability And Dissolved Oxygen In Stratified Lakes, Paal Engebrigtsen

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Surface circulators have been used in wastewater and industrial lagoons for many years, but only recently have they been designed for lakes and reservoirs as a water quality management tool. Their relatively low capital investment and operational costs make them an attractive chemical free option for ameliorating the symptoms of eutrophication. Little research has been conducted on their effectiveness in impacting water quality. Today many lake managers are waiting for independent research on surface circulators' performance before installing such systems.

The Occoquan Reservoir was the primary site for a study conducted to examine the influence of surface circulation on water …

Conference Proceedings 3rd International Scientific Conference On “Energy Systems With It” At Alvsjö Fair In Association With Energitinget March 16-17 2010, Dr. Erik Dahlquist, Dr. Jenny Palm

Dr. Erik Dahlquist

2010 “The Energiting” is performed for the 12th time. The International Scientific conference is arranged for the 3rd time. The organisers are Swedish Energy Agency, Mälardalen University and the Research School for Energy Systems with LiU, KTH, UU and CTH. The first topic will be “Energy systems” covering use of renewable energy sources, energy conversion and process efficiency improvement with new technologies, as well as societal aspects of the introduction of new technologies. The second topic is “Energy and IT”. This covers energy and load management, interaction between production, distribution and “consumption”, usage of data for decision support and control, …

Mercury In The Environment: Field Studies From Tampa, Bolivia, And Guyana, Joniqua A'Ja Howard

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Tampa (US), Guyana (SA), and Bolivia (SA), are geographically, socially, economically, and politically unique which make them ideal sites to study issues of mercury and sustainability. Mercury’s innate ability to bioaccumulate and biomagnify in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems poses a severe threat to both human and environmental health. The most vulnerable populations affected by mercury consumption include coastal communities, children, women of child-bearing age, the indigenous poor and persons with high environmental/occupational exposure factors. Communities in the regions of Florida, Bolivia, and Guyana whose diets are high in fish and are environmentally/occupationally exposed to mercury may be at a higher …

Proteomic Analysis Of Ethene-Enriched Groundwater Microcosms From A Vinyl Chloride-Contaminated Site, Adina S. Chuang, Yang Oh Jin, Laura S. Schmidt, Yalan Li, Samuel Fogel, Donna Smoler, Timothy E. Mattes

Adina Howe

Contamination of groundwater with vinyl chloride (VC), a known human carcinogen, is a common environmental problem at plastics manufacturing, dry cleaning, and military sites. At many sites, there is the potential to cleanup VC groundwater plumes with aerobic VC-oxidizing microorganisms (e.g., methanotrophs, etheneotrophs, and VC-assimilating bacteria). Environmental biotechnologies that reveal the presence and activity of VC-oxidizing bacteria in contaminated groundwater samples would provide valuable lines of evidence that bioremediation of VC is occurring at a site. We applied targeted shotgun mass spectrometry-based proteomic methods to ethene-enriched groundwater microcosms from a VC-contaminated site. Polypeptides from the enzymes alkene monooxygenase (EtnC) and …