Digital Commons Network^™

Profit-Maximizing Responses To Climate Change In Commodity Agriculture: Does Adaptation Matter?, Sajeev Erangu Purath Mohankumar

Open Access Theses

Accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has led to rising temperatures, and is expected to lead to a change in climate. Crop yields are vulnerable to these changes. Adaptation is expected to be key to combating climate change impacts, but the effectiveness of adaptation strategies is not well understood. Hence, there is a need to assess the impacts of climate change on agriculture and devise profitable adaptation strategies to combat its effects. This study uses historical and three projected climate data sets to simulate yields using the crop model Daycent, empirical relationships between weather and agronomic variables that influence …

Water Quality Monitoring Protocol For Wadeable Streams And Rivers In The Northern Great Plains Network, Standard Operating Procedures Version 1.0, Marcia H. Wilson, Stephen K. Wilson

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

The Water Quality Monitoring Protocol includes two parts: a Narrative and the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). The Water Quality Monitoring Protocol Narrative Version 1.0 describes a general overview of the status of water resources throughout the parks in the National Park Service’s Northern Great Plains Network (NGPN), the objectives, the field methods, and the sampling design selected for this long-term monitoring program. This report includes the detailed SOPs for the NGPN’s Water Quality Monitoring Protocol. All water quality monitoring is conducted by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) through Interagency Agreements. The USGS North Dakota Water Science Center …

Land Rights Among Subsistence Farmers: An Examination Of Madagascar’S Land Reform And Prevailing Systems Of Land Tenure In Betafo, Taylor Crowl

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In Madagascar, legal systems of land tenure have been inaccessible for the vast majority of the rural population. This has stranded millions of subsistence farmers in a sense of insecurity, as they lack legal rights for the property that they have farmed for generations. Madagascar’s land reform, launched in 2005, attempted to change these exclusionary tenure practices. This reform —known as the Plan National Foncier—created land certificates and local land offices in an attempt to make legal land tenure financially, geographically, and logistically accessible to the local population. This study discusses the successes, failures, and unforeseen consequences of Madagascar’s land …

The Mechanical And Social Feasibility Of Using Biogas To Fuel An Essential Oil Distillation Unit In The Rural Commune Of Ankarimbelo, Madagascar, Hannah Nesser

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The rural commune of Ankarimbelo is located on the edge of the Ikongo Rainforest Corridor in southeastern Madagascar. The commune’s remote location, an increasing population, and the prohibition of farming in the rainforest corridor have contributed to extreme poverty. In an attempt to mitigate these effects, the Malagasy NGO Ny Tanintsika has implemented an essential oils distillation plant as an alternative livelihood project. While the project may provide needed income to local populations, thereby diverting destructive agriculture practices such as tavy, or slash-and-burn agriculture, the distillation of essential oils still requires that firewood be burned. Over the course of …

Mitigating Climate-Induced Migration In Rural Morocco: Improving Sustainable Development To Address Socio-Economic And Environmental Causes Of Migration, Jesse Meisenhelter

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Morocco unique geography has made the country vulnerable to climate-induced migration (CIM) for three reasons. First, Moroccois located in a region identified as the highest vulnerability to climate change (IPCC, 2014). Second, Morocco’s economy remains dependent on natural resources due to a history of neo-liberal development and agriculture policies (Davis, 2006). These policies’ failure to diversify and develop the economy in rural regions has made Morocco the most geographically inequitable country in the MENA region (World Bank). Lastly, located just 14 km from Spain, Morocco has a 50-year history of migrating to Europe for work and opportunity (Eddouada, 2014). This …

No More Hidden Secrets: Human Rights Violations And Remote Sensing, Tommy O'Connell, Stephen Young

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

Aim: This study used both high resolution and medium resolution satellite imagery to test three semi-automated remote sensing methods, in an attempt to identify useful tools to support eye-witness testimony and reports on human rights violations. As huts are routinely burned down during attacks on a village, particularly in Sudan, the number of huts and villages burned can be used to corroborate on-the-ground reports.

Methods: Three remote sensing methods (Supervised Classification, Change Detection, and Feature Extraction) were performed on imagery from both before the attacks in February 2006 and after the attacks to examine any useful trends that could be …

The Effects Of Simulated Spermophilus Franklinii Burrowing On Prairie Soil Invertebrate Communities, Nicholas G. Brown

All Student Theses and Dissertations

Burrowing of subterranean mammals can have ecological effects on overlying vegetation, invertebrate communities, and surrounding soil characteristics. Franklin’s ground squirrel (Spermophilus franklinii) is a declining, tunneling mammal species previously found throughout Central Illinois. Preference for natural tallgrass prairie habitat with loose soil marks Illinois as the southern extreme of their range. Through urbanization and agricultural practices this species’ population numbers have declined dramatically in southern and central Illinois. This study looks at the effects simulated Franklin’s ground squirrel burrows have on soil invertebrate composition, abundance, and diversity by comparing effects of the presence/exclusion of burrows, animals, and their …

Science Identity Transformations Through Place-Based Teaching And Learning In The Natural World, Amy Defelice

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation includes three main components related through a sociocultural lens of identity transformation. The first component describes the Field Studies program for ninth grade students at Brooklyn Academy of Science and the Environment (BASE High School), and explores how outdoor settings and place-based pedagogies can be used to enhance urban students' science identities. Student researchers took digital photographs of their Field Studies experiences and met in cogenerative dialogues with me, their teacher, where we shared our reflections. The second component explains students' experiences and reactions to a week-long place-based geoscience program held over spring break at Prospect Park. This …

First Record Of The Tropical House Gecko Hemidactylus Mabouia (Moreau De Jonnès, 1818) In Texas, Alejandro Fierro-Cabo, August Rentfro

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Invasions of the tropical house gecko Hemidactylus mabouia (Moreau de Jonnes, 1818) in the tropical Americas are well documented. While this gecko has been reported as well established and expanding its range in Florida, here we document the first record in the United States outside of this state. We detected a small reproducing population in Cameron County, Brownsville, Texas. We expect a rapid colonization of buildings by this species in southern Texas. We consider that this potential invasion poses novel obstacles to the continued presence of the earlier invasive Mediterranean gecko Hemidactylus turcicus (Linnaeus, 1758) across Texas

Loess As A Quaternary Paleoenvironmental Indicator, Daniel R. Muhs, M. A. Prins, B. Machalett

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Loess (aeolian silt) is widespread in Eurasia and the Americas. Paleowind direction and wind strength can be reconstructed from spatial and temporal trends of loess thickness and particle size. Fossil land snails in loess can reveal much about past climate and vegetation.

Loess is aeolian sediment that is dominated by silt-sized particles. Unlike either coarser dune sand or finer-grained, long-rangetransported dust, loess is relatively poorly sorted, reflecting a combination of transport processes, including saltation, low suspension, and high suspension. Loess can be readily identified in the field; deposits range in thickness from a few centimeters to many tens of meters, …

The Effect Of Income On Health After Hurricane Katrina, Jang Wook Lee

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

There is a large literature that documents a positive correlation between income and a variety of measures of good health. This correlation may reflect causality in both directions and may also reflect omitted "third variables" that are positively related to income and health. In my dissertation, I employ an exogenous negative shock to income due to a natural disaster to estimate the true causal impact of income on health. The shock I will use is Hurricane Katrina, which severely damaged counties in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana in August 2005. I use these treatment counties and a variety of alternative sets …

Planetary Improvement: Discourses And Practices Of Green Capitalism In The Cleantech Space, Jesse Adam Goldstein

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

There is money to be made in saving the planet. A whole host of actors, such as investors, entrepreneurs, engineers, and policy makers have mobilized around our ecological problems, seeking to innovate new `green' and `clean' technologies that can serve a rapidly changing environment. The presumption that such technologies are both necessary and necessarily profitable anchors visions of a `green' capitalism that can and must be brought into existence.

However, just as free markets have never been all that free, why should we presume that green capitalism would be all that green? Instead of attempting to arbit whether or not …

Water Conservation To Reduce Wet Weather Pollution Loads To The Gowanus Canal, Brooklyn, Ny, Suzanne Carol Stempel

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Public participation plays an important role in wet weather pollution management. However, the effects of participation programs on local water quality are often difficult to quantify. This project aims to quantify the potential effects of a community based, non-structural, BMP aimed at controlling inputs to combined sewage systems by encouraging residents to reduce their water use during rain events. A household could participate by reducing the amount of water they use for flushing toilets, washing dishes, taking showers, etc. during rain events; thereby reducing stress on the system during the time of highest demand. The Gowanus Canal sewershed in Brooklyn, …

Predicting The Impact Of Climate Change On Regional And Seasonal Abundance Of The Mealybug Phenacoccus Solenopsis Tinsley (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) Using Temperature-Driven Phenology Model Linked To Gis, Babasaheb B. Fand, Henri E.Z. Tonnang, Mahesh Kumar, Santanu K. Bal, Naveen P. Singh, D. V.K.N. Rao, Ankush L. Kamble, Dhananjay D. Nangare, Paramjit S. Minhas

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

The mealybug Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) is a highly invasive and polyphagous pest of global incidence. The fundamental hypothesis of the present study was that the temperature variations due to global climate change may affect seriously the future distribution and abundance of P. solenopsis, which might further aggravate the crop yield losses. We employed a temperature-based phenology model of P. solenopsis in a geographic information system for mapping population growth potentials of P. solenopsis. The three risk indices viz., establishment risk index, generation index and activity index were computed using interpolated temperature data from worldclim database for current (2000) …

The Sea Level Rise Inundation Tool, Molly Mitchell

September 19, 2014: Comparing Flooding and Sea Level Rise Risk Assessment Tools

No abstract provided.

Utilizing Remote Sensing To Detect Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Properties, Amanda Kristedja

e-Research: A Journal of Undergraduate Work

This paper focuses on the detection of oil spills using satellite information. ��For this research project, the focus will be primarily on the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, which is the largest accidental oil spill. In order to detect an oil spill, the chlorophyll a content must be observed with data from the SeaWiFs at 9km and the MODIS-aqua at 9km and 4km. There is conflicting evidence of whether or not chlorophyll a concentration is positively correlated with the presence of an oil spill. This will be further investigated in the experiment. Also, by utilizing the MODIS instrument aboard the terra …

Degradation Of Protective Glove Materials Exposed To Commercial Products: A Comparative Study Of Tensile Strength And Gravimetric Analyses, Todd B. Pelham

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Current glove guides attempt to assist in recommending which type of glove is appropriate for handling chemicals; however, they include information on less than 1% of the 89 million chemical products available today.

This study offers a solution by testing five durable polymer materials against 50 chemicals, using two rapid chemical degradation assessment techniques. The first technique involves gravimetric analysis of the weight change following constant immersion against the chemical mixture. The second method uses tensile strength to assess molecular changes in the polymer structure.

This study is focused on addressing three issues of concern. First, this study examines …

Aboriginal Maple Syrup Values Summary, Annette Chrétien, Brenda Murphy, Charles Restoule, Melanie Smits

Contemporary Studies

This report examines the values associated with maple syrup practices in Aboriginal contexts. It is based on fifteen interviews conducted with Aboriginal people who have knowledge of maple syrup practices in Ontario. The interviewees included both First Nations and Metis people.

Aboriginal Maple Syrup Values Report, Annette Chrétien

Contemporary Studies

This report examines the values associated with maple syrup practices in Aboriginal contexts. It is based on fifteen interviews conducted with Aboriginal people who have knowledge of maple syrup practices in Ontario. The interviewees included both First Nations and Metis people.

Research On The Variation Of Ice Condition In The Key Areas Of The Arctic Northwest Passage, Wei Jiang

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.

Analysis On The Issue Of Ship Sewage In Terms Of Pollution, Discharge And Reception In The Minjiang Inland Port With Countermeasures, Binsong Zheng

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of The Factors Which Affect The Safe Sailing Of The Ships, Yijia Wang

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.

Peak Electric Load Relief In Northern Manhattan: An Exploratory Data Analysis, Hildegaard D. Link, José Pillich, Yehuda L. Klein

Publications and Research

The aphorism “Think globally, act locally,” attributed to René Dubos, reflects the vision that the solution to global environmental problems must begin with efforts within our communities. PlaNYC 2030, the New York City sustainability plan, is the starting point for this study. Results include (a) a case study based on the City College of New York (CCNY) energy audit, in which we model the impacts of green roofs on campus energy demand and (b) a case study of energy use at the neighborhood scale. We find that reducing the urban heat island effect can reduce building cooling requirements, peak electricity …

Seasonal And Elevational Variations Of Black Carbon And Dust In Snow And Ice In The Solu-Khumbu, Nepal And Estimated Radiative Forcings, Susan Kaspari, T. H. Painter, M. Gysel, S. M. Skiles, M. Schwikowski

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

Black carbon (BC) and dust deposited on snow and glacier surfaces can reduce the surface albedo, accelerate snow and ice melt, and trigger albedo feedback. Assessing BC and dust concentrations in snow and ice in the Himalaya is of interest because this region borders large BC and dust sources, and seasonal snow and glacier ice in this region are an important source of water resources. Snow and ice samples were collected from crevasse profiles and snow pits at elevations between 5400 and 6400 m a.s.l. from Mera glacier located in the Solu-Khumbu region of Nepal during spring and fall 2009, …

Predicted Effects Of Gypsy Moth Defoliation And Climate Change On Forest Carbon Dynamics In The New Jersey Pine Barrens, Alec M. Kretchun, Robert M. Scheller, Melissa S. Lucash, Kenneth L. Clark, John Hom, Steve Van Tuyl

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Disturbance regimes within temperate forests can significantly impact carbon cycling. Additionally, projected climate change in combination with multiple, interacting disturbance effects may disrupt the capacity of forests to act as carbon sinks at large spatial and temporal scales. We used a spatially explicit forest succession and disturbance model, LANDIS-II, to model the effects of climate change, gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar L.) defoliation, and wildfire on the C dynamics of the forests of the New Jersey Pine Barrens over the next century. Climate scenarios were simulated using current climate conditions (baseline), as well as a high emissions scenario (HadCM3 A2 …

Potential Stormwater Runoff Reductions By Incorporating Low Impact Development: Rocky Branch Watershed, Columbia, Sc, Brett Sexton

Theses and Dissertations

Urbanization and increasing population are primary sources of water degradation, increased flood risks, and channel morphological instability. Impervious surface areas increase with urbanization and result in decreased infiltration capactities, increased stormwater runoff, and more rapid stormwater delivery, which in turn increase flood magnitudes and frequencies. Low impact development (LID) can provide volumetric detention storage to reduce flooding. This thesis reviews types of LID, their attributes and limitations, and examines how effectively they can abstract storm runoff volumes, reduce peak discharge, and delay stormwater arrival times for relatively frequent storm events in the Rocky Branch Watershed (RBW).

The RBW is 50% …

An Analysis Of Vegetation Recovery Following Dam Removal At Hemlock Recreation Site, Washington, Greer Stewart Ramsey

Dissertations and Theses

Dam removals are becoming increasingly common as dams reach their life expectancy and face costly upgrades associated with relicensing. Though removal is often viewed as a success in terms of ecological restoration, it also represents a major disturbance to an area. Previous research has shown that native species do not survive as well at these disturbed sites, and invasive species often dominate. This study examines the vegetation response in the drained reservoir area after the removal of Hemlock Dam on Trout Creek, a tributary to the Wind River in southern Washington. Transects were established and quadrats were sampled to determine …

The Power Plant Mapping Student Project, Kelsey Tayne, Tom Oda

STAR Program Research Presentations

The Power Plant Mapping Student Project: Bringing Citizen Science to Schools

Kelsey Tayne¹, Tom Oda²

¹STEM Teacher and Researcher (STAR) Fellow, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA 94132

²NOAA ESRL, Global Monitoring Division, Boulder, CO 80303

Emissions inventory (EI) is a conventional tool to monitor changes in anthropogenic emissions and can visually show geographical patterns of emission changes. The EI community is aware of significant errors in the geographical locations of point sources, including power plants. The Power Plant Mapping Student Project (PPMSP) is a platform designed for students in 4^th through 12 …

Analysis Of Semi-Distributed And Global Hydrological Models In The Central Tropical Basins Of The Gulf Of Mexico To The Effects Of Extreme Hydrometeorological Phenomena, Sara Patricia Ibarra Zavaleta, Mariana Castañeda González, Rabindranarth Romero López, Eduardo Castillog Onzalez, Alberto Brando Báez Camarena, Annie Poulin, Mathias Glaus, Robert Hausler

International Conference on Hydroinformatics

In the last years extreme hydrometeorological phenomena have increased in number and intensity affecting the inhabitants of various regions, an example of these effects are the central basins of the Gulf of Mexico (CBGM) that they have been affected by 55.2% with floods and especially the state of Veracruz (1999-2013), leaving economic, social and environmental losses. Mexico currently lacks sufficient hydrological studies for the measurement of volumes in rivers, since is convenient to create a hydrological model (HM) suited to the quality and quantity of the geographic and climatic information that is reliable and affordable. Therefore this research compares the …

Minimum Data Requirements For Integrating Urban Development And Urban Water Infrastructure Models, Christian Mikovits, Michael Mair, Wolfgang Rauch, Manfred Kleidorfer

International Conference on Hydroinformatics

Data quality and availability is a common problem in many modelling studies dealing with regional, spatially distributed case studies. This is true for both, urban development models and urban water management models. As current research in urban water management more and more tries to benefit from an integrated view of the performance of water networks in the context of dynamically growing and shrinking cities, this problem of data scarcity increases. Having different applications with different levels of details available, the question arises which data (and which temporal and spatial resolution) is really necessary to be collected in a modeling study …