Digital Commons Network^™

Peptide Bonds Affect The Formation Of Haloacetamides, An Emerging Class Of N-Dbps In Drinking Water: Free Amino Acids Versus Oligopeptides, Wen Hai Chu, Xin Li, Naiyun Gao, Yang Deng, Daqiang Yin, Dongmei Li, Tengfei Chu

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Haloacetamides (HAcAms), an emerging class of nitrogenous disinfection by-products (N-DBPs) of health concern, have been frequently identified in drinking waters. It has long been appreciated that free amino acids (AAs), accounting for a small fraction of the dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) pool, can form dichloroacetamide (DCAcAm) during chlorination. However, the information regarding the impacts of combined AAs, which contribute to the greatest identifiable DON portion in natural waters, is limited. In this study, we compared the formation of HAcAms from free AAs (tyrosine [Tyr] and alanine [Ala]) and combined AAs (Tyr-Ala, Ala-Tyr, Tyr-Tyr-Tyr, Ala-Ala-Ala), and found that HAcAm formation from …

Study On The Accumulated Temperature Distribution Model Of Snowmelt Flood Magnitude From The Perspective Of Ecological Environmental Protection Of Mountain Areas, Yang Liu, Xian Yong Meng, Zhi Hui Liu, Danlin Yu

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Mountain flood that causes landslide and other geological disasters can damage the fragile ecological environment in mountain areas. In this paper, threshold and distribution model of accumulated temperature based on snowmelt flood magnitude are designed in mountainous watershed. Meanwhile, input data for this model make use of ample reliable data that include remote sensing and so on. In detail, this model simulates the average watershed temperature by using the meteorologic re-analysis data of the National Center for Atmospheric Research and calculates the average snow depth by using hyperspectral remote sensing data. In addition, the model related data comprise long-term observation …

A Topographic And Lithologic Analysis Of The Kittatinny Ridge And Their Implications For Appalachian Erosional History, David Carl Sharpe

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The eastern-most ridge of the Appalachian Mountains, Kittatinny Ridge, extends from New York State south to West Virginia. The ridge is composed of erosion-resistant quartzite conglomerate throughout (Shawangunk Formation, Tuscarora Formation) underlain by sandstone, siltstone, slate and shale (Martinsburg Formation, Juniata Formation). The relatively consistent lithology of the Kittatinny Ridge makes it ideal for analyzing how variations in climate, glacial history and other topographic influences have impacted long-term erosion along the ridge. This project analyzed the lithologic consistency and topography of the Kittatinny Ridge at different locations and what geomorphological implications the results might have. Rock samples of the Shawangunk …

Biogeochemical Studies Of Metal Uptake And Transportation In Plants On An Urban Brownfield, Yu Qian

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Soil metal contamination has been a concern due to the potential ecological and human health risks. In order to assist with the management and sustainable restoration of vegetated metal contaminated land, this dissertation targets at understanding the biogeochemical processes that control the assimilation of metals by plants on urban costal brownfield soils. The dissertation includes: i) micro-scale measurement of metal spatial distribution and speciation using synchrotron techniques to investigate the mechanism of metal uptake and translocation in roots based on the association between metal localizations in plant roots, ii) study on the biogeochemical factors that control plant metal assimilation efficiency …

Changes In Tall Shrub Abundance On The North Slope Of Alaska, 2000-2010, Rocio Raquel Duchesne-Onoro

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The observed greening of Arctic vegetation and the expansion of shrubs in the last few decades has likely had profound implications for the tundra ecosystem, including feedbacks to climate. Uncertainty surrounding the magnitude, direction, and implications of this vegetation shift calls for monitoring of vegetation structural parameters, such as fractional cover of shrubs. Due to the extent of the North Slope of Alaska and its extreme environments, remote sensing may be the most suitable tool to produce wall-to-wall fractional shrub cover maps for the entire region, however, most regional maps have relied on vegetation indices or needed many years worth …

Laser Vision: Lidar As A Transformative Tool To Advance Critical Zone Science, N. F. Glenn

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Observation and quantification of the Earth’s surface is undergoing a revolutionary change due to the increased spatial resolution and extent afforded by light detection and ranging (lidar) technology. As a consequence, lidar-derived information has led to fundamental discoveries within the individual disciplines of geomorphology, hydrology, and ecology. These disciplines form the cornerstones of critical zone (CZ) science, where researchers study how interactions among the geosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere shape and maintain the “zone of life”, which extends from the top of unweathered bedrock to the top of the vegetation canopy. Fundamental to CZ science is the development of transdisciplinary theories …

Comparative Evaluation Of Aluminum Sulfate And Ferric Sulfate-Induced Coagulations As Pretreatment Of Microfiltration For Treatment Of Surface Water, Yali Song, Bingzhi Dong, Naiyun Gao, Yang Deng

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Two coagulants, aluminum sulfate and ferric chloride, were tested to reduce natural organic matter (NOM) as a pretreatment prior to polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) microfiltration (MF) membranes for potable water treatment. The results showed that the two coagulants exhibited different treatment performance in NOM removal. Molecular weight (MW) distributions of NOM in the tested surface raw water were concentrated at 3–5 kDa and approximately 0.2 kDa. Regardless of the coagulant species and dosages, the removal of 0.2 kDa NOM molecules was limited. In contrast, NOM at 3–5 kDa were readily removed with increasing coagulant dosages. In particular, aluminum sulfate favorably removed …

Agenda: Innovations In Managing Western Water: New Approaches For Balancing Environmental, Social, And Economic Outcomes, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Many aspects of western water allocation and management are the product of independent and uncoordinated actions, several occurring a century or more ago. However, in this modern era of water scarcity, it is increasingly acknowledged that more coordinated and deliberate decision-making is necessary for effectively balancing environmental, social, and economic objectives. In recent years, a variety of forums, processes, and tools have emerged to better manage the connections between regions, sectors, and publics linked by shared water systems. In this event, we explore the cutting edge efforts, the latest points of contention, and the opportunities for further progress.

Slides: Moffat Collection System Project, Travis Bray

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Travis Bray, Project Manager, Moffat Collection System Project, Denver Water

45 slides

Investigating The Paleoecological Consequences Of Supercontinent Breakup: Sponges Clean Up In The Early Jurassic, Frank Corsetti, Kathleen Ritterbush, David Bottjer, Sarah Greene, Yadira Ibarra, Joyce Yager, A. Joshua West, William Berelson, Silvia Rosas, Thorsten Becker, Naomi Levine, Sean Loyd, Rowan Martindale, Victoria Petryshyn, Nathan Carroll, Elizabeth Petsios, Olivia Piazza, Carlie Pietsch, Jessica Stellmann, Jeffrey Thompson, Kirstin Washington, Dylan Wilmeth

Faculty Publications

The continued release of fossil fuel carbon into the atmosphere today means it is imperative to understand Earth system response to CO2 rise, and the geologic record offers unique opportunities to investigate such behavior. Stomatal and paleosol proxies demonstrate a large change in atmospheric pCO2 across the Triassic-Jurassic (T-J) transition, concomitant with the eruption and emplacement of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP) and the splitting of Pangea. As one of the “big 5” mass extinctions—when the so-called modern fauna was particularly hard hit—we know the biosphere was severely affected during this time, but the details are relatively poorly understood, …

Threshold Behavior Of A Marine‐Based Sector Of The East Antarctic Ice Sheet In Response To Early Pliocene Ocean Warming, Melissa A. Hansen, Sandra Passchier, Boo‐Keun Khim, Buhan Song, Trevor Williams

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

We investigate the stability of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) on the Wilkes Land continental margin, Antarctica, utilizing a high‐resolution record of ice‐rafted debris (IRD) mass accumulation rates (MAR) from Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Site U1359. The relationship between orbital variations in the IRD record and climate drivers was evaluated to capture changes in the dynamics of a marine‐based ice sheet in response to early Pliocene warming. Three IRD MAR excursions were observed and confirmed via scanning electron microscope microtextural analysis of sand grains. Time series analysis of the IRD MAR reveals obliquity‐paced expansions of the ice sheet to …

An Assessment Of New Jersey Trout Production Systems : A Movement Towards Sustainability, Luke J. Diglio

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

New Jersey supports reproducing populations of three lotic salmonids. Only Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) are native and until approximately 100 years ago, were found in abundance throughout the northern part of the state. Presently, native populations have been documented in 115 streams or stream sections and declines are thought to be in response to anthropogenically originated environmental stressors. To evaluate the deterioration extent and assess numbers of breeding non-native Brown Trout (Salmo trutta) and Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), comparisons are made between sets of historical (1968-1977) and modern (2001-2010) young-of-the-year presence/absence and abundance data …

Characterization Of Uv-Quenching Dissolved Organic Matter In Landfill Leachate, Alicja Trzopek

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Discharge of landfill leachate to publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) is a common and preferred practice in the United States. Namely, the leachate is mixed with municipal wastewater prior to traditional secondary wastewater treatment, including physical screening, primary settling, aerobic biological degradation, secondary settling and disinfection. Recently, ultraviolet (UV) light has been increasingly applied as a disinfection method at POTWs as an alternative for traditional chlorination, because the latter can produce unwanted disinfection byproducts. However, high strength dissolved organic matter (DOM) in leachate significantly increase the UV absorbing properties of the mixed wastewater at POTWs and decrease the disinfection efficiency …

Assessing And Mapping Vulnerability And Risk Perceptions To Groundwater Arsenic Contamination : Towards Developing Sustainable Arsenic Mitigation Models, Sushant Kumar Singh

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This study focuses on the arsenic-affected rural communities in Bihar located within the mid-Gangetic Plain in India. A random stratified sampling method is applied to survey 340 households in three villages (Suarmarwa, Rampur Diara, and Bhawani Tola), through a structured questionnaire. A reliable arsenic field testing kit is used to analyze the drinking water sources in the field, followed by a confirmatory test of a subset of water samples through Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry. The study has two major goals: 1) Develop sustainable arsenic-mitigation models; and 2) Create a “composite vulnerability index,” and present the information as a map for use …

Assessing The Flood Mitigation Potential Of Water Resource Reservoirs, Matthew M. Del Ciello

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The ability of drinking water reservoirs to retain a large amount of runoff during a storm event may allow them to be used as flood mitigation infrastructure. These types of reservoirs are not typically considered for flood mitigation because they are primarily thought of as a resource for drinking water, irrigation, or recreation. Flood mitigation is a secondary or tertiary use. But conscripting them for flood mitigation creates a flexible water resource system and may provide a simpler and more inexpensive solution to flooding than alternative methods since nothing new would need to be constructed.

The process of determining the …

The Relationship Between Extracellular Enzyme Activities, Heavy Metals And Particle Size In Soil, Diane Frances Hagmann

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The overall goal of this research is to investigate the relationship between nutrient cycling and heavy metals in soil. Extracellular enzyme activities were measured as a representation of nutrient cycling in soils collected from a heavy-metal contaminated area where four study sites lie along a gradient of increasing metal load. The site, which was previously a rail yard, is located in Liberty State Park (LSP) in Jersey City, NJ that was closed to the public about 40 years ago and remains closed. My hypothesis is that heavy metal contamination impacts the microbial communities in the soil and therefore the extent …

Deep Groundwater And Potential Subsurface Habitats Beneath An Antarctic Dry Valley, J. A. Mikucki, E. Auken, S. Tulaczyk, R. A. Virginia, C. Schamper, K. I. Sørensen, P. T. Doran, H. Dugan, N Foley

Dartmouth Scholarship

The occurrence of groundwater in Antarctica, particularly in the ice-free regions and along the coastal margins is poorly understood. Here we use an airborne transient electromagnetic (AEM) sensor to produce extensive imagery of resistivity beneath Taylor Valley. Regional- scale zones of low subsurface resistivity were detected that are inconsistent with the high resistivity of glacier ice or dry permafrost in this region. We interpret these results as an indication that liquid, with sufficiently high solute content, exists at temperatures well below freezing and considered within the range suitable for microbial life. These inferred brines are widespread within permafrost and extend …

Early Miocene Antarctic Glacial History: New Insights From Heavy Mineral Analysis From Andrill And–2a Drill Core Sediments, Francesco Iacoviello, Giovanna Giorgetti, Isabella Turbanti Memmi, Sandra Passchier

ANDRILL Research and Publications

The present study deals with heavy mineral analysis of late Early Miocene marine sediments recovered in the McMurdo Sound region (Ross Sea, Antarctica) during the ANDRILL— SMS Project in 2007. The main objective is to investigate how heavy mineral assemblages reflect different source rocks and hence different provenance areas. These data contribute to a better understanding of East Antarctica ice dynamics in the Ross Sea sector during the Early Miocene (17.6–20.2 Ma), a time of long-term global warming and sea level rise. The AND-2A drill core recovered several stratigraphic intervals that span from Early Miocene to Pleistocene and it collected …

Habitat Fragmenta-On In The Sebago Lake Watershed, Jared Lank

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

The goal of this research was to evaluate the extent of land use change occurring in the Sebago lake watershed of southern Maine. The primary data set used was Landsat 7 Near Infrared satellite imagery of the region which was analyzed with ESRI’s ArcGIS soQware. Data was clipped to the Portland Water District’s sub watershed shape file and analyzed with the soQware’s image analysis ‘difference’ tool which calculates the differences in pixel values between to raster datasets. The 2013 Landsat reclassifica-on was compared to 1987, 1995 and 2009 reclassifica-ons. NOAA’s Habitat Priority Planner plugin tool was also u-lized in order …

Existential Avalanche The Lived Experience Of Climate Change In Dolpo And Mustang, Nepal, Keegan Mcchesney

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Himalayan communities stand precariously in an era of phenomenological uncertainty. Climate change is merely a lens through which we may observe and begin to understand such localized modern complexities. The people of the Tarap Valley in Dolpo, Nepal have experienced an increase in avalanches, snow leopard attacks and unpredictable precipitation patterns in recent years. In upper Mustang, Nepal, people have endured the harshest winter in generations and suffered from reduced water access. Environmental, climatic and weather related changes in both Himalayan districts have severely impacted traditional livelihoods and led some to adopt modern means of adaptation. Despite the scientific evidence …

Great South Bay, Long Island, New York Summer Water Quality Monitoring Program, Cercom, Molloy University, John Tanacredi Ph.D., Sixto E. Portilla

CERCOM Reports

The Center for Environmental Research and Coastal Oceans Monitoring (CERCOM) visits 15 locations in Great South Bay to monitor for dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, salinity, clarity, total and fecal coliforms and temperature. This monitoring program has been conducted for the past 13 years. These parameters are critical in determining long-term water quality conditions in Long Island estuaries. Methodologies for monitoring parameters are provided by the Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater 20th Edition (1998). Criteria for determining water quality conditions in marine eco-systems are based on the type of contact (uses) people have with the water system. …

Pyrolysis-Gc-Ms For The Rapid Environmental Forensic Screening Of Contaminated Brownfield Soil, Azucena Lara-Gonzalo, Michael A. Kruge, I Lores, B Gutiérrez, José Luis Gallego

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

An abandoned chemical plant in Asturias (Spain) was studied using a multi-faceted molecular fingerprinting approach, demonstrating that it is possible to: (1) carefully unravel tangled evidence resulting from multiple pollution sources, and (2) recognize major contaminants largely ignored by conventional analyses. This methodology employed a battery of GC-MS analyses of liquid chromatographic fractions of soil extracts, plus the pyrolysis products of the soil extract's asphaltene fraction and the whole soil itself. In this example, coal tar distillation and the subsequent production of naphthalene, phenols and polymer resins are responsible for most of the soil contamination. Styrene, naphthalene, indene, and their …

Anthropogenic Controls On Overwash Deposition: Evidence And Consequences, Laura Rogers, Laura Moore, Evan Goldstein, Christopher Hein, Jorge Lorenzo Trueba, Andrew Ashton

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Accelerated sea level rise and the potential for an increase in frequency of the most intense hurricanes due to climate change threaten the vitality and habitability of barrier islands by lowering their relative elevation and altering frequency of overwash. High-density development may further increase island vulnerability by restricting delivery of overwash to the subaerial island. We analyzed pre-Hurricane Sandy and post-Hurricane Sandy (2012) lidar surveys of the New Jersey coast to assess human influence on barrier overwash, comparing natural environments to two developed environments (commercial and residential) using shore-perpendicular topographic profiles. The volumes of overwash delivered to residential and commercial …

Geology In Environmental Management, Michael A. Kruge

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

From the geological perspective, the two overriding environmental management concerns are the destructive impact of hazardous natural events on human health and property and the deleterious impact of human activity on the natural environment. The knowledge derived from the geological sciences serves as the basis for a more enlightened approach to the reduction of unnecessary risk involved in the siting and construction of buildings and transportation networks, as well as the extraction of natural resources and waste management. Armed with such knowledge along with political sensitivity, environmental managers will have opportunities for positive social impact in negotiating the challenges as …

Wetchimp-Wsl: Intercomparison Of Wetland Methane Emissions Models Over West Siberia, T. J. Bohn, J. R. Melton, A. Ito, T. Kleinen, R. Spahni, B. D. Stocker, B. Zhang, X. Zhu, R. Schroeder, M. V. Glagolev, S. Maksyutov, V. Brovkin, G. Chen, S. N. Denisov, A. V. Eliseev, A. Gallego-Sala, K. C. Mcdonald, M. A. Rawlins, W. J. Riley, Z. M. Subin, H. Tian, Q. Zhuang, J. O. Kaplan

Publications and Research

Wetlands are the world’s largest natural source of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. The strong sensitivity of methane emissions to environmental factors such as soil temperature and moisture has led to concerns about potential positive feedbacks to climate change. This risk is particularly relevant at high latitudes, which have experienced pronounced warming and where thawing permafrost could potentially liberate large amounts of labile carbon over the next 100 years. However, global models disagree as to the magnitude and spatial distribution of emissions, due to uncertainties in wetland area and emissions per unit area and a scarcity of in situ observations. …

Impacts Of Anthropogenic Watershed Activity On The Sedimentary Record Of Dams From The Midwestern United States: A Case Study From Michigan And Indiana, Jenna Hage-Hassan

Wayne State University Theses

Large-scale watershed land use changes, including urbanization, have resulted in accelerated soil erosion and sediment accumulation rates, which in turn have posed a threat to the longevity and productivity of a majority of the aging dams in the mid-western United States. In this study, we collected and analyzed 3 sediment cores each from two dams from the Mid-western United States: Webber Dam in Michigan and Goshen Pond Dam in Indiana. Cores were analyzed for 137Cs and 210Pb to establish chronology, as well as concentrations and isotopic composition of organic carbon and nitrogen to investigate the land use changes as preserved …

Dune And Coastal Evolution In Isla Salamanca National Park, Colombia, Juan Felipe Gómez

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This project analyzes natural variables influencing the coastal and dune evolution in Isla Salamanca National Park (ISNP), a biosphere reserve and Ramsar site located in Colombia, on the Caribbean coast. Since at least the early 1950s, the park has been affected by eroding trends along most of the shoreline. Particularly, most modern dunes are located close to the coastline, forming scarped dunes regularly affected by storm wave-action.

The trends through time of rain, bathymetry and coastline changes during the last six decades were studied through statistical analysis, mapping of landscape features, and satellite images and historical aerial photograph …

On The Uncertainty Of Sea-Ice Isostasy, Cathleen Geiger, Peter Wadhams, Hans-Reinhard Müller, Jacqueline Richter-Menge

Dartmouth Scholarship

During late winter 2007, coincident measurements of sea ice were collected using various sensors at an ice camp in the Beaufort Sea, Canadian Arctic. Analysis of the archived data provides new insight into sea-ice isostasy and its related R-factor through case studies at three scales using different combinations of snow and ice thickness components. At the smallest scale (<1 m; point scale), isostasy is not expected, so we calculate a residual and define this as �� (‘zjey’) to describe vertical displacement due to deformation. From 1 to 10 m length scales, we explore traditional isostasy and identify a specific sequence of thickness calculations which minimize freeboard and elevation uncertainty. An effective solution exists when the R-factor is allowed to vary: ranging from 2 to 12, with mean of 5.17, mode of 5.88 and skewed distribution. At regional scales, underwater, airborne and spaceborne platforms are always missing thickness variables from either above or below sea level. For such situations, realistic agreement is found by applying small-scale skewed ranges for the R-factor. These findings encourage a broader isostasy solution as a function of potential energy and length scale. Overall, results add insight to data collection strategies and metadata characteristics of different thickness products.

Integrating Geoscience Into Undergraduate Education About Environment, Society, And Sustainability Using Place-Based Learning: Three Examples, David Gosselin, Steven Burian, Tim Lutz, Julie Maxson

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

From water to energy, and from climate change to natural hazards, the geosciences (marine, Earth, and atmospheric science) have an important role to play in addressing a wide range of societal issues, with particular relevance to how humans can live sustainably on Earth. Although arguably important to developing solutions for many societal issues, more often than not, students have limited exposure to the geosciences in high school or college. To address this geoscience literacy problem, the Interdisciplinary Teaching of Geoscience for a Sustainable Future (InTeGrate) Talent Expansion Center has engaged members of the geoscience community and their colleagues in allied …

Front Matter [Preface And List Of Contributors], National Organizing Committee, International Grassland Congress

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

No abstract provided.