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Advancing Depth-Storage-Discharge Modeling In Regional Hydrology, Fahad Alshehri

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents the development of an innovative approach to populating rating characteristics and supporting hydrologic modeling, designed to simplify complex real-world hydrological systems and accurately estimate their responses to rainfall, runoff, baseflow and evaporation stresses. The core of this research addresses the challenges inherent in characterizing hydrography elements in hydrologic modeling, particularly in regions lacking comprehensive stream reach survey data, flow and stage. This issue is pronounced in areas with extensive wetland hydrography, where traditional modeling requires intensive manual calibration, and course rating data that are often unavailable. To overcome these challenges, this study introduces a novel procedure that …

Dissolved Nitrogen Removal In Biochar Amended, High Permeability Media For Urban Stormwater Treatment, Mark Vicciardo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nutrient pollution in stormwater drives the eutrophication of inland and costal waterbodies which leads to sea grass retreat and the proliferation of harmful algal blooms (HAB). These anthropogenic effects destabilize ecosystems, and some HABs can pose direct human health risk. Bioretention, or the storage and controlled discharge of stormwater run-off in an ecologically engineered setting, is a potential solution to this problem. However, it relies heavily on the settling of particles as a nutrient removal mechanism, and thus struggles with pollutants, such as dissolved nitrogen, which is a particular problem in Florida where the geological prominence of phosphorus leaves nitrogen …

Bird Strike Hazard Assessment For The Tampa International Airport, Florida, Usa, Yakubu Ogwu Isah

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Managing wildlife at airports poses a challenge for ensuring safety for aviation traffic. Airports, with their surrounding habitats and infrastructure, serve as attractants for avian species. Threats created by these species have led managers to develop management techniques in and around airports (DeVault et al 2013). One approach is the use of geographic information systems (GIS) for analyzing avian strike data and airport bird surveys. Spatial analysis of strike data identifies species of threat by categorizing strike occurrence, species sizes, phase of flight, and risk of damage. In addition, GIS can be used to map hotspots of bird strikes. These …

Interrelationships Among Local Values Of Wet Bulb Globe Temperature, Heat Index, And Adjusted Temperature, Andrea Giraldo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Occupational heat stress significantly affects outdoor workers who face challenges due to increased heat exposure. Because of the prevalence of heat illness, it is important to measure heat stress for outdoor workers. Monitoring occupational heat stress most often relies on the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) measure. Heat Index (HI) is a widely used measure to account for air temperature and humidity. Adjusted Temperature (Tadj) considers air temperature, humidity and estimates radiant heat. There is interest in predicting WBGT from HI and HI from WBGT. This study builds on previous USF research by Bernard and Iheanacho and Irvin to evaluate …

The Effect Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On The Environmental Perceptions Of College Students, Sydney H. Kaylor

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this study, the environmental perception changes in college students during the COVID-19 pandemic were investigated. During the almost worldwide lockdown between March and December 2020, many students experienced dramatic changes in their socioeconomic life that have affected their well-being, ability to learn, and environmental perceptions. Students were sent home from college campuses, many businesses were shut down, and changes were seen in the environment throughout the world. The many industries and businesses that were shut down decreased the pollution that was in the atmosphere, in our water, and on the land. In many places, lockdown policies lead to improved …

Metatranscriptomic Insights Into The Interaction Between Microcystis Blooms And Hydrogen Peroxide, Taylor L. Hancock

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

For this dissertation I studied the interactions of hydrogen peroxide and cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cHABs) dominated by Microcystis in the Caloosahatchee River, FL. Specifically, I examined how taxonomic and functional succession relates to both natural hydrogen peroxide dynamics and hydrogen peroxide added to the environment as a cHAB treatment. Chapter 2 investigated how taxonomic succession and gene expression patterns relate to blooms and associated elevated hydrogen peroxide concentrations. The results showed that gene expressions related to cyanobacterial growth were positively correlated with hydrogen peroxide. The genes identified included enzymes capable of hydrogen peroxide generation which were expressed by blooming …

The Role Of Muslim Women In Nigeria’S Socioeconomic Development Through The Implementation Of The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Faqiat Afolake Adeaga

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research explores the often underestimated yet pivotal role of Muslim women in propelling socio-economic development in Nigeria, specifically focusing on the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The primary research question seeks to comprehend the transformative impact of faith-based women-led NGOs, including Ansar-ud- Deen, Nawair-ud-Deen, FOMWAN, and NASFAT, on Muslim women's empowerment and their contribution to SDG1 (extreme poverty), SDG3 (health), SDG4 (education), and SDG5 (gender equality) in Nigeria. Simultaneously, the secondary research question explores successful strategies employed by these organizations in empowering Muslim women, with a keen focus on potential areas for improvement. Incorporating research …

Integration Of Algae And Biomass Processes To Synthesize Renewable Bioproducts For The Circular Economy, Jessica Martin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Rapid population growth and global industrialization have substantially heightened the demand for fossil-based fuels and products in various sectors of the global economy, including energy production, transportation fuels, and as raw materials for petrochemicals. The intense consumption of fossil fuels has caused immense environmental impacts, especially pertaining to carbon dioxide emissions. Shifting to renewable feedstocks (raw materials) is expected to reduce these emissions by lowering the carbon footprint of fuels and products compared to traditional fossil-derived alternatives. This transition aligns with the goal of creating a sustainable and circular economy, emphasizing efficient resource use, and reducing waste generation through recycling …

Booker Creek: Wet Season Water Quality Trends In A Florida Urban Stream, Alexandra M. Shostak

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Booker Creek, a 1.9-mile stream with a 4.9-mi2 watershed, flows southeast through highly urbanized St. Petersburg, Florida, and empties into Bayboro Harbor, which connects with Tampa Bay. This study collected and analyzed water quality data for several parameters (TN, TP, nitrate-nitrite, ammonia, orthophosphate, chl-a, fecal coliform, dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity, temperature, and salinity) every two weeks, at four different sites, during the 2022 wet season to characterize the current state and geographic variability of Booker Creek. Current creek sampling regimes, though consistent, do not sample at multiple sites along the creek. Urban streams do not display uniform water quality along …

Labile Dissolved Nickel (Ni) Concentrations In The North Pacific, Calyn M. Crawford

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nickel (Ni) is an important micronutrient for phytoplankton and bacteria that serves as a required co-factor in several metalloenzymes. Despite these known biological uses, total dissolved Ni concentrations remain elevated in global surface waters, in contrast to the surface depletion commonly observed for macronutrients and other nutrient-type trace elements. A prevailing hypothesis for the muted depletion of dissolved Ni concentrations in surface waters is that dissolved Ni in seawater is not in a bioavailable form. The chemical lability of Ni in seawater provides insight into Ni speciation and bioavailability, but few measurements have been made in the open ocean to …

Tree Planting As An Adaptive Management Tool For Climate Change In Morocco, Stephanie J. Robinson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The practice of planting fruit trees to combat climate change impacts in Morocco has been growing in popularity with support from the Moroccan government and non-profit organizations. Although it is often considered a successful adaptive management tool, tree planting initiatives (TPIs) in arid lands have not been thoroughly analyzed, their management is unstandardized, and these initiatives can cause harm when trees are planted in areas that cannot support them. To implement tree planting better these TPIs need to find areas where the trees they are introducing have the best chance of survival without negatively impacting the surrounding ecosystem and human …

Use Of Silica Dust And Lunar Simulants For Assessing Lunar Regolith Exposure, Layzamarie Irizarry-Colon

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The utilization of the lunar regolith holds immense potential for future space exploration, but the potential health risks associated with lunar regolith are a significant concern. This literature review seeks to critically assess the use of silica and lunar simulants standards and permissible exposure limits (PELs) to evaluate the adverse health effects of lunar regolith. The literature review covers an extensive analysis of existing research, health risks, toxicological properties, and physical and chemical composition associated with silica, lunar simulants, and lunar regolith by using three main sources: regulations, scholarly articles, and Kennedy Space Center (KSC) discussion. This comprehensive analysis forms …

Organizing And Communicating Health: A Culture-Centered And Necrocapitalist Inquiry Of Groundwater Contamination In Rural West Bengal, Parameswari Mukherjee

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As a discursive point of praxis, this dissertation project seeks to record knowledge from below around the overlaps between health, water and health interventions emerging from rural communities located in North 24 Parganas and Purulia in West Bengal that are disproportionately impacted by water-insecurity. My dissertation also documents how multiple-stakeholders such as local NGOs, international NGOs, non-profits, and donor agencies organize access to safe water and health interventions for the water-insecure communities located in North 24 Parganas and Purulia. The integration of the CCA and necrocapitalism afford theoretical and methodological guidance in this dissertation to help document the localocentric stories …

Exploratory Data-Driven Models For Water Quality: A Case Study For Tampa Bay Water, Sandra Sekyere

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Water, a crucial resource for sustaining life, covers approximately 70% of the earth's surface. Nonetheless, the quality of water is deteriorating rapidly due to the rapid growth of urban areas and industries, which is a worrying trend causing harm to human health and the ecosystem. Water quality forecasting has a key role in water resources management by enabling effective pollution control, ecosystem monitoring, and decision-making.

Previously, traditional statistical models were used to forecast water quality, but they were unable to examine the non-linear relationships between water quality parameters, and they assumed that all datasets were distributed normally. This study uses …

Analysis Of Ostds Failure Potential Due To Sea-Level Rise And Other Inundation Factors: An Integrated Geo-Spatial Analysis, Alec Colarusso

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While many aspects of climate change are well-studied, the vulnerability of Onsite Sewage Treatment and Disposal Systems (OSTDS) to sea-level rise (SLR) has not been thoroughly examined despite the potentially significant environmental impacts, including nutrient and pathogen loading. Research gaps include the need to determine the suitability of models to predict groundwater inundation due to SLR and the consequent impact on OSTDS. As such, this study aims to compare Bathtub/hydrostatic and physics-based/MODFLOW/3D numerical modeling methods of simulating groundwater inundation from SLR to identify OSTDS vulnerability to failure due to a reduction in the height of the vadose zone (saturation or …

Characteristics And Hydraulic Behavior Of Adsorptive Media For Use In Permeable Reactive Barriers, Shelby Rocha

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Cargill ditch is located on the property of Se7en Wetlands, a 1600-ac treatment wetland system in Lakeland, Polk County, Florida. The Se7en Wetlands property was previously utilized for phosphate mining prior to the construction of the system. Nonpoint nutrient sources derived from remnants of abandoned phosphate mines – known as “legacy phosphorus” – become mobilized by stormwater runoff and impair surface water bodies by promoting harmful algal blooms (HABs). Thus, the Cargill ditch likely conveys nutrient rich flow resulting from legacy phosphorus and is thought to be one contributing factor in the occurrence of HABs within the treatment wetland …

Predicting Groundwater Spring Locations From Topographic And Climatic Data Using Maxent Modeling, Ayten Ece Koc

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The World Resources Institute reveals that 17 countries face extremely high levels of water stress. Moreover, with increasing population and industrialization, the gap between water supply and demand increases day by day around the world. Groundwater is a key freshwater source, and springs are important resources as they enable to access groundwater. Therefore, it is crucial to monitor, protect, and manage groundwater springs. The first step in spring management is to recognize and define freshwater resources and to determine the locations of groundwater springs that serve as natural discharge points. Traditionally, field studies have been employed to determine the locations …

Prepare For, Respond To, Recover, And Learn From Disasters: Using Data-Driven Methods To Model And Understand Disaster Resilience, Jinwen Xu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Community resilience reflects the ability of human communities to prepare for, respond to, recover, and learn from disastrous events. Community resilience carries different meanings in different phases of disaster management (i.e., preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation). With the emergence of new geospatial data sources, human activities now can be captured through social media, mobile signals, and nighttime illuminations, which makes it possible to describe the conditions among various communities before, during, and after disasters. Therefore, this dissertation explored the use of different types of geospatial data sources (social media, nighttime light remote sensing, land-use data, and census survey data) during …

An Analysis Of The Oil Pollution Act Of 1990: Regulatory Calibration In Anticipation Of 21st Century Environmental Disasters, Jessica S. Thornton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

After federal the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90) was promulgated in response to the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska, it helped restructure the nation’s environmental response capabilities and modernize the commercial shipping industry to effectively decrease environmental shipping disasters. However, in the 33 years since OPA 90’s inception, the oil and gas industry has transformed, especially in the offshore realm, as industry adopts new drilling technologies to gain access to deeper and heretofore untapped maritime environments. Though there have been two catastrophic offshore drilling accidents since the turn of the 21st century, OPA 90 remains categorically unchanged, …

Land Use/Land Cover Uncertainty Analysis Using Hydrological Modeling In The Northern Watershed Of Lake Okeechobee, Andres Lora Santos

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Over the past 150 years, Florida has undergone a major land-form transformation, transitioning from a natural to a primarily built environment. The state's population has grown exponentially, from less than 50,000 residents in the 1850s to approximately 22 million residents today. This population growth has led to significant changes in land use, including urbanization, mining, and agriculture. This trend is expected to continue, with projections indicating an increase in urbanization across the state. 2070 land use/land cover projections were used as input for the Watershed Assessment Model (WAM) to analyze the potential impact of these changes on flow, total nitrogen …

Data-Driven State Estimation For Improved Wide Area Situational Awareness In Smart Grids, Md Jakir Hossain

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Wide area situational awareness (WASA) in smart grids includes automatic monitoring, perception and detection of anomalies in these systems. The goal of WASA is to make smart grids aware of their physical and operational state for more effective operational decisions and control. As such, tracking the system's state or state estimation is one of the key objectives of WASA. The extensive integration of cyber elements into smart grids, such as large deployment of various monitoring and measurement devices, provides new opportunities to improve WASA. However, the tight coupling of power grids with cyber components introduces vulnerabilities to cyber and physical …

Quantifying A 21-Year Surface Water And Groundwater Interaction In A Ridge And Valley Lake Environment Using A Highly Constrained Modeling Approach, Richard T. Bowers Jr.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Karst lakes are ubiquitous in ridge terrain settings in limestone aquifer coastal plain environments. In west-central Florida, these lakes are frequently connected to the Upper Floridan aquifer and have unique aquifer recharge characteristics. They have been selectively studied because they commonly have no or very limited surface water discharge and limited drainage areas, have appreciable surface water and groundwater interaction and leak to the deep aquifer. An innovative modeling approach was developed to collectively understand and more precisely quantify this vertical leakage, both from a lake-specific and regional water budget standpoint, for a 21-year study period (2000-2020). A unique, calibrated …

Surviving A Broken System: Synergies Between Solidarity Economies And Sustainable Development Goals, Julie Beach

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Capitalism has created problems including wealth polarization, rapid depletion of natural resources, and pervasive systemic societal issues. Hard work is not enough to solve the unequal distribution and barriers preventing access to necessities. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were created to remedy the harsh reality of global inequities and negative environmental impacts by working towards a more just and equitable future for all. Solidarity Economies (SE) offer an alternative framework to achieve these goals.

This research used multiple qualitative methods to investigate the synergies between SE and SDGs in a growing urban environment. St. Petersburg, FL struggles with affordable housing, food …

Sports And Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Building A Better Framework For Sustainable Sports Operations, Austin Anahory

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes the approach to sustainability of American soccer leagues and provides a Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory of the Tampa Bay Rowdies. Sustainability and climate change are rising concerns for most industries, especially the sports industry as it will face many immediate and long term impacts. To address these issues, a sustainability analysis was done of each USL Championship team to assess prominence of sustainability topics from their website. To conduct the GHG inventory, the GHG Protocol was followed and resulted in assessing Scope 1, 2, and 3 of the given soccer team. Assumptions were used to estimate missing …

Coupling 210Pb And 14C To Constrain Carbon Burial Efficiency Of Blue Carbon Ecosystems, Tynisha R. Martin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Blue carbon ecosystems cover a small global area but have the potential to sequester large amounts of organic carbon (OC) from the coastal ocean in the sediment. Organic carbon is continually remineralized and exported in the dissolved form, which is currently only poorly accounted for in blue carbon budgets. Constraining carbon cycling in blue carbon systems is complicated by the range of carbon sources and sinks in the system and high export rates from the system. By coupling 14C and 210Pb chronometers to ascertain the amount of primary production stored within peat, it is possible to study carbon transport through …

Assessing The Human-Health Risk Of Exposure To Pathogens From Beach Sands, Javier Federico Gallard-Góngora

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Fecal contamination at recreational beaches impacts the health of beachgoers, through the introduction of disease-causing microorganisms, and the well-being of communities dependent on income from recreational beach activities. Beach ecosystems are also impacted by sewage through the introduction of nutrients that can cause abnormal increases in autochthonous microorganisms which can impact the population of larger organisms in the ecosystem. Fecal contamination is introduced into sand via untreated sewage, direct deposition of human feces into sand, runoff, and deposition of animal feces into sand. The introduction of fecal contamination into sand exposes individuals to pathogens (disease causing microorganisms) which can result …

Antibiotic-Resistant Escherichia Coli And EnterococcusSpp. In Sand And Water At Tampa Bay Beaches, Jennifer K. Sabater

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As antibiotic resistance in the environment continues to rise there is an increased concern that infections may become harder to treat as bacteria acquire genes for multidrug resistance. Recreational beach waters in the Tampa Bay area are routinely monitored by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for the presence of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) such as Escherichia coli and enterococci. Exceedances of beach action values (BAV) 235 CFU/100 mL (E. coli) and 70 CFU/100 mL (enterococci) indicate the presence of fecal contamination which is associated with an increased risk of disease for beachgoers. Antibiotic-resistant E. coli and Enterococcus spp. have …

Assessing Environmental Sensitivity In San Diego County, California, For Bird Species Of Special Concern, Eda Okan Kilic

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

It is widely recognized that desertification constitutes one of the biggest environmental problems on Earth. Desertification negatively impacts the future of humans and other living things all over the globe. Therefore, the assessment of desertification is essential to both monitor and combat desertification. A number of models are routinely applied to assess desertification. The MEDALUS model is one of the most popular approaches, identifying desertification risk based on an environmentally sensitive area index (ESAI) that integrates climate, vegetation, soils, groundwater, and socio-economic factors to obtain an overall rating. The goal of this study was to measure the potential impacts of …

Integration Of Sustainability Into Higher Education Policies: A Case Study Of The University Of South Florida, Mehmet Z. Apaydin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sustainability and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are not new notions for higher education institutions (HEIs). However, well-organized efforts to make campuses "sustainable" are not common, and the efforts are modest compared to the institutional capabilities. This thesis, a case study of the University of South Florida (USF), was designed to explore how sustainability values and SDGs are incorporated into higher education policies. To accomplish this, the study employed a mixed method design that includes a literature review, an overview of policies and implementations, document content analysis, a program and course inventory, a keyword analysis, and semi-structured interviews. …

Isotopic Study Of The Waters From The Sulphur Springs Catchment, Tampa, Florida, Esra Zengin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A stable isotope study was carried out using precipitation, spring water, groundwater well sample, and a seawater sample during the wet season in the Sulphur Springs watershed in Tampa, Florida. Studies that track long term isotopic variation over wet seasons are limited in the region. To fill this knowledge gap, this study aims to quantify the contributions of precipitation and diffuse sources to discharge in Sulphur Springs. A three-component mixing model was applied using δ18O and δ2H values to determine different source water contributions to spring water discharge. The three-component mixing model calculations suggest spring water consists mainly of diffuse …