Digital Commons Network^™

Revised Draft Final Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Insufficiently Reclaimed Sites Josephine Shaft (Bres No. 37) Remedial Action Work Plan (Rawp), Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Beyond The Survey: Performance Assessments For Higher-Order Sustainability Literacy In Higher Education, Gregory Vincent Massara, Courtney B. Ryan, Mary Ellen Mallia

Educational Policy & Leadership Other Graduate Student Scholarship

Purpose This study explores how a performance-based assessment measures students’ higher-order sustainability competencies in ways that multiple-choice or scaled-survey tools, common ways to assess sustainability literacy, may not.

Design/Methodology/Approach This exploratory case study created a performance task for a first-year honors writing and critical inquiry course. Students (n=9) analyzed a scenario across environmental, social, and economic domains. A rubric measured students’ abilities to address all three domains and articulate a feasible and balanced solution supported by credible evidence.

Findings Students demonstrated proficiency in defining the three sustainability domains but tended to struggle to balance them. Choosing scenarios in familiar local …

Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit Final Butte Hill Revegetation Specifications, Mike Mcanulty

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Quantifying Global Internal Displacement Risk At The Hazard-Vulnerability-Conflict Nexus, Wenzhao Li, Surendra Maharjan, Rejoice Thomas, Hesham Morgan, Ali Elgendy, Susan Mikhail, Hesham El-Askary

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

This study introduces a novel, diagnostic hazard-specific displacement risk index that integrates high-resolution hazard data with social vulnerability metrics and historical displacement records, uncovering overlooked compound risks in conflict areas and links between environmental stress and instability. Our methodology combines historical displacement records with environmental, demographic, and socioeconomic indicators to identify high-risk regions and quantify interactions between hazards and conflict across six major hazard types. Results reveal floods as the primary displacement driver, particularly in South Asia (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan) and Sub-Saharan Africa (Nigeria, Ethiopia), where dense populations in flood-prone areas intersect with low socioeconomic resilience. Droughts disproportionately impact arid …

Advancing Environmental Justice Through Chemical Education: Perspective From New Orleans’ Water And Air Quality Challenges, Ja’Lynn Keller, Sita Aggarwal, Rami A. Al-Horani, Morewell Gasseller, Navneet Goyal

Faculty and Staff Publications

New Orleans, Louisiana, faces profound environmental vulnerabilities arising from the convergence of industrial pollution, urban runoff, and climate change–driven weather events. This paper examines systemic challenges affecting water and air quality in the region, with particular focus on low-income and marginalized communities disproportionately burdened by environmental degradation. Drawing on educational and community-based monitoring initiatives at Xavier University of Louisiana and Southeastern Louisiana University, we highlight the integration of student learning with real-time data collection of contaminants such as fecal coliforms, heavy metals, hydrocarbons, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina revealed significant fecal contamination in sediment layers, …

Survival Politics On A Working Waterfront: Rules Change Faster Than Prices In The South Texas Shrimp Fishery, Owen Temby, Anthony R. Lima

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

In 2024–2025, the U.S. and Texas governments raced to save Gulf shrimp. Texas passed a truth-in labeling law for food service in restaurants. Federal agencies added antidumping and countervailing duty orders and new tariffs. This case follows Brownsville and Port Isabel, where dock prices slid while boats and crews aged. We frame the response as survival politics: urgent and improvised moves to keep a livelihood going even when imports set the price. Using legislative hearings, agency notices, local reporting, and port records, we show that rules reset faster than prices. Inventories, contracts, and supplier substitution delay any lift at the …

Speleoco: An Open, Low-Cost Arduino Co₂ Datalogger For Cave Microclimate Monitoring, Christos Pennos, Dimitrios Christaras

International Journal of Speleology

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) dynamics in caves are critical for karst processes, speleothem growth and dissolution, microclimate regulation, and caver safety. In cave atmospheres, CO₂ commonly derives from soil respiration, epikarst degassing, microbial activity, and, in tectonically active regions, deep-seated fault-related emissions. Fault-related CO₂ degassing may also track tectonic activity. However, continuous monitoring remains limited due to the cost and inflexibility of commercial instruments. Here we present an open-source, low-cost Arduino-based CO₂ datalogger designed for cave applications. The logger integrates a COZIR NDIR CO₂ sensor, a DS1337 real-time clock, microSD storage, and power-gating for extended deployment in humid environments. Firmware and …

Draft Final Phase I Pre-Design Investigation Evaluation Report Blacktail Creek Riparian Actions Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit Of The Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site Silver Bow County, Montana, Hydrogeologic, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Draft Intermediate (60%) Remedial Design Report Blacktail Creek Riparian Actions Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit Of The Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site Silver Bow County, Montana, Hydrogeologic, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Draft Final Remedial Design Work Plan Blacktail Creek Riparian Actions Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit Of The Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site Silver Bow County, Montana, Hydrogeologic, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Monthly Progress Report Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit Consent Decree Partial Remedial Design/Remedial Action And Operation And Maintenance, Josh Bryson

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Co-Electrospinning Polyacrylonitrile (Pan) / Polymer Of Intrinsic Microporosity-1 (Pim-1) For Electrochemical-Based Sensor For Pyridine Detection And Absorption, Samar A. Salim

Nanotechnology Research Centre

The electrospinning of the polymer of intrinsic microporosity-1 (PIM-1) poses challenges due to its limited solubility and tendency to form bead-like structures at high concentrations. This work details the synthesis and analysis of electrospun composite fibers made from polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and PIM-1 for electrochemical applications. The data analysis confirmed the successful incorporation of PIM-1 into the PAN matrix. The fiber characteristics were significantly influenced by PIM-1 loading (1–10%), resulting in fiber diameters ranging from 0.8 to 1.7 μm. A 10% concentration of PIM-1 results in the formation of macropores with diameters ranging from 0.5 to 1.7 μm. Optical analysis using …

Using Ensemble Disagreement To Stabilize Conformal Prediction Under Distribution Shift, Patrick D. Murphy

Master's Theses

Semantic segmentation of eelgrass from drone imagery is crucial for coastal habitat monitoring, restoration, and management, as these habitats continue to see rapid changes due to climate change and human influence. However, the reliability of generalizing a deployed classification model relies on both high-accuracy segmentation as well as robust uncertainty quantification that holds up when conditions change over years or locations. Conformal prediction (CP) is a method that converts a classifier's output into prediction sets with a guaranteed average coverage level for in-distribution data. However, the “vanilla” conformal score can often under-cover in hard or out-of-distribution (OOD) regions under drift. …

Evaluating Carbon Risk And Benefit Under Improved Forest Management Prescriptions In A California Mixed Conifer Stand, Jonathan A. Garcia

Master's Theses

Improved forest management (IFM) prioritizes carbon accumulation through practices such as extended rotations and retention harvesting. These management strategies, increase fuel loads and elevate the potential fire intensity, may offset the benefits of carbon sequestration. Additionally, IFMs use spatially complex silvicultural treatments that may introduce prediction errors into the simulation processes used for long-term projections, and carbon accounting.

We evaluated the extent to which calibration in the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) reduces error in aboveground carbon stock predictions and tested whether modeling approaches and calibration influence the magnitude and direction of basal area increment (BAI) prediction error using generalized mixed-effects …

A Critical Review Of Statistical, Signal Processing And Machine Learning Methods For Continuous And High-Frequency Water Quality Data Improvement, A.T. Badrudeen, D. Sahoo, Calvin Sawyer, Jeremy Pike, R.D. Haramel

Publications

In the digital water world, high-frequency water quality monitoring from sensors is crucial for capturing rapid changes, especially during storm events or discharge fluctuations, in which important signals can occur at sub-hourly intervals. These signals are represented in a time series and can sometimes be irregular, noisy, and prone to missing values or errors due to buried conditions, sediment interference, and signal loss. The fine resolution of reporting also increases the risk of sensor errors and data loss, necessitating effective correction methods to ensure the accuracy and usability of the data. This literature review investigates the current state of time …

Trophic Structure And Mercury Bioaccumulation In Walleye And Yellow Perch In The Upper And Lower Red Lake Basins, Marissa Pribyl

Biology Graduate Theses

Mercury is a persistent global contaminant that biomagnifies through aquatic food webs, with dietary and environmental factors serving as the primary drivers of accumulation in fishes. Trophic structure and methylmercury dynamics in Walleye (ogaa; Sander vitreus) and Yellow Perch (asaawens; Perca flavescens) were investigated in the Upper and Lower Red Lake basins in Red Lake, Minnesota, during 2024-2025. Diets of Walleye and Yellow Perch were assessed through stomach dissections, and tissue samples from both species were analyzed for total mercury concentrations. Additional analyses included shiners (gigoozens; Notropis spp., Hudsonius spp.) along with a variety of freshwater fish and …

Re: Conditional Approval Letter For The Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Revised Butte Hill Revegetation Specifications (Dated August 15, 2025), Molly Roby

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

2022 Bpsou Stormwater Evaluation And Maintenance Report Annual Stormwater Report For Bpsou Stormwater Structures, Butte-Silver Bow Department Of Reclamation And Environmental Services

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Tle-Unet-Based Image Segmentation And Feature Extraction Of Water-Cooling-Induced Complex Cracks In High-Temperature Rock Masses, Fu Tianyu, Hu Mangu, Zhang Xiaojun, Yang Xiaobin, Lyu Fu, Lyu Xiangfeng, Peng Lei

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objective and Method Water cooling-induced macroscopic surface cracks in high-temperature rock masses are characterized by fine scales, pronounced length variations, and severe class imbalance in images, posing significant challenges for image segmentation. To address these challenges, this study proposed TLE-UNet, a semantic segmentation network for rock crack images. First, through thermal treatment and uniaxial compression tests of granite specimens, crack images under varying temperatures were acquired. Then, using a self-developed Lite Edge Fusion module, high-resolution shallow features were finely aligned with deep semantic features at varying scales. Furthermore, edge detection and channel-attention mechanisms were combined to enhance crack boundary perception. …

A Gaussian Process Regression-Based Denoising Method For Transient Electromagnetic Signals, Wang Peng, Shi Jiaxing, Lu Kai, Hu Jinru, Wen Guangyuan, Zhai Haojie

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objective The transient electromagnetic (TEM) method serves as a primary geophysical technique for groundwater detection in coalfields at present, with the detection results directly influencing the implementation of water hazard prevention and control in coal mines. Since it is difficult to avoid electromagnetic interference sources such as power lines during data acquisition, TEM signals are prone to be contaminated by electromagnetic noise. Given that primary denoising techniques such as wavelet transform and empirical mode decomposition (EMD) are yet to be further improved, this study developed a novel Gaussian process regression (GPR)-based denoising method for TEM signals. Methods First, time alignment …

A Probabilistic Deep Learning Framework For Retrieving Chlorophyll-A From Hyperspectral Imagery: Integrating Channel Attention And Mixture Density Networks, Wenzhao Li, Surendra Maharjan, Rejoice Thomas, Junde Chen, Hesham Morgan, Michael J. Garay, Olga V. Kalashnikova, Shahryar Fazli, Charles Ichoku, Hesham El-Askary

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Accurate monitoring of Chlorophyll-a (Chla) is critical for assessing aquatic ecosystem health, yet ecological complexity often leads to ambiguous spectral signatures in satellite data. Traditional deterministic models assume a one-to-one mapping between spectra and pigments, often failing to capture these high-dimensional analytical challenges. In this study, we propose a novel deep learning architecture, the Channel Attention-Mixture Density Network (CA-MDN), to retrieve Chla from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) hyperspectral mission. The CA-MDN integrates an attention mechanism to dynamically select ecologically relevant spectral bands and employs a probabilistic output layer to quantify …

Satellites, Urban Heat, And Environmental Justice: Community As The Bridge Between Analysis And Action, Joshua B. Fisher, Ambar Rivera, Ava Cison, Ashley Agatep, Kainani Tacazon, Sophia Spiegleman, Alison Mckenery, Rio E. Fisher, Reginald Archer, Jason A. Douglas

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Heat waves are increasing in frequency, intensity, magnitude, and duration, causing a disproportionate impact on marginalized communities exposed to urban heat islands. Newly emerging spaceborne thermal sensing instruments, such as ECOSTRESS and Hydrosat, now have the capabilities to measure urban surface temperatures accurately at the block level (< 100 m) and with enough frequency to capture transient heat waves (daily to subweekly). Such data are critical for monitoring and informing policy and mitigation efforts, such as resurfacing, green space, cooling stations, and medical mobilization. These serve to advance environmental justice and reduce health risks—and deaths—among the most vulnerable: minority, low-income, elderly, those with physical- and mental-health preconditions, unhoused, children, and outdoor workers. While scientists have increasingly used satellite data to quantify urban heat islands and risks to communities, there remains a significant gap in action resulting from such analyses—a figurative and literal “valley of death.” Reviewing over 500 scientific publications, we identify a critical lack of engagement with the communities being analyzed (10.9%; n = 58); yet, community engagement is key to bridging such analysis with subsequent action. Here, we demonstrate how participatory community engagement directly with data and analysis leads to increased policy changes and mitigation efforts. Our framework has immediate implications for how scientists may augment their work and thought processes to achieve …

Re: Comment Letter For The Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) 2026 Revised Draft Final Backfill And Cover Soil Quality Assurance Project Plan (Qapp) (Dated January 5, 2026), Molly Roby

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

The Future Of West African Cacao Farming, Kathryn Lesniewski

CAFE Symposium 2026

This poster covers the detrimental impact climate change has had on the West African cacao farming industry. It also covers long and short term solutions to climate change, and how the global chocolate market has been impacted by climate change.

Time And Water, Sheila Nayar

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Time and Water (2026), directed by Sara Dosa.

Response To Agency Comments Re: Comment Letter For The 2023 Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Groundwater Compliance Evaluation (Dated March 10, 2025) Received May 7, 2025, Josh Bryson

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Majority Of Utahns Support Keeping Bears Ears National Monument As Originally Designated, Michaelann Nelson

Utah People and Environment Poll (UPEP)

Bears Ears National Monument in Southeastern Utah was established in 2016 by President Obama after a coalition of Native American petitioned for its designation. In 2017, during his first administration, President Trump reduced the size of the monument by 85%. It was subsequently restored to the original boundaries in 2021 by President Biden. In 2022, the Utah Legislature provided $5 million in funding for the Attorney General’s office to challenge the Bears Ears National Monument designation, and the State of Utah filed a lawsuit in August 2022 challenging the designation (1).

Final 2022 Unreclaimed Sites Sampling: Ur-22 Site Evaluation Summary Report, Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

New Asymptotics Applied To Functional Coefficient Regression And Climate Sensitivity Analysis, Qiying Wang, Peter C. B. Phillips, Ying Wang

Research Collection School Of Economics

A general asymptotic theory is established for sample cross moments of nonstationary time series, allowing for long-range dependence and local unit roots. The theory provides a substantial extension of earlier results on nonparametric regression that include near-cointegrated nonparametric regression as well as spurious nonparametric regression. Many new models are covered by the limit theory, among which are functional coefficient regressions in which both regressors and the functional covariate are nonstationary. Simulations show finite sample performance matching well with the asymptotic theory and having broad relevance to applications, while revealing how dual nonstationarity in regressors and covariates raises sensitivity to bandwidth …

Final 2022 Unreclaimed Sites Sampling: Ur-20 Site Evaluation Summary Report, Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.