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Atmosphere, Environment, Society: The Typhoon Vulnerability Nexus In Early Twentieth-Century Hong Kong, Fiona Williamson

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

By looking at how typhoon risk was managed in early twentieth-century colonial Hong Kong, this article argues that bringing a historical lens to the discussion of the human-climate-environment nexus is an essential part of studies of resilience and vulnerability. It interprets physical evidence of the strength of a natural event against human factors, including structural and social vulnerabilities and governance. Investigating two of the deadliest typhoons to have hit Hong Kong's shores (1906 and 1937), this article notes that social vulnerabilities played a major part in turning the typhoon of 1937 into a worse disaster than 1906, despite advances in …

Water Current, Volume 55, No. 2, Summer 2023

Water Current Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Dynamic Fallowing In The Middle Rio Grande: A Look At The Environmental Water Leasing Program, Jared Wood

Water Resources Professional Project Reports

The Environmental Water Leasing Program (EWLP) is a federally-funded collaborative effort of the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation that has paid irrigators in the Middle Rio Grande to temporarily lease water rights and forgo their water use so that it may be used to provide environmental flows for the endangered Rio Grande Silvery Minnow. The program operates in a sometimes socially contentious context, in a region with an overallocated, legally constrained water system, to offer much needed water management flexibility. While dynamic fallowing payments for ecosystem services programs like the EWLP are common policy …

Groundwater Budgeting And Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment Of Water Supply At Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, Maximiliano Trujillo

Water Resources Professional Project Reports

Water resources management is becoming increasingly complex in the Middle Rio Grande Valley, where the negative impacts of climate change and growing demand for a fully allocated river put further strain on diminishing water supply. The precarity of future water availability emphasizes the importance of fully accounting for existing water rights allocations and understanding how ever changing social and ecological processes might hinder those rights from being fully realized. This study aimed at improving knowledge of the groundwater budget at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico by utilizing experimental methods of Darcy Flow analysis to estimate groundwater flow …

Irrigation And Innovation: Understanding Barriers To Innovative Actions To Manage Drought On Middle Rio Grande Farms, Eleanor C. Hasenbeck

Water Resources Professional Project Reports

The Rio Grande has irrigated agricultural land in central New Mexico since time immemorial. Today, agriculture in New Mexico’s Middle Rio Grande valley is adapting to an increasingly scarce water supply due to long-term drought and climate change (Dunbar et al., 2022). As supply is decreasing, demands are increasing because of several factors: an increase in evapotranspiration (Dunbar et al., 2022); population growth in the Middle Rio Grande valley (NM LFC, 2021); and legal obligations to provide water for endangered species and to Texas and Mexico (NM ISC, 2017). Agriculture is largest water use by sector in the Rio Grande …

Applications Of Environmental Dna (Edna) To Detect Subterranean And Aquatic Invasive Species: A Critical Review On The Challenges And Limitations Of Edna Metabarcoding, Sakib Tahmid Rishan, Richard Kline, Md Saydur Rahman

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

The world is struggling to solve a devastating biodiversity loss that not only affects the extinction of treasured species and irreplaceable genetic variation, but also jeopardizes the food production, health, and safety of people. All initiatives aimed to conserve biodiversity rely heavily on the monitoring of both species and populations to get accurate spatial patterns and overall population assessments. Conventional monitoring techniques, such as visual surveys and counting individuals, are problematic due to challenges in identifying cryptic species or immature life stages. Environmental DNA (eDNA) is a relatively new technology that has the potential to be a faster, non-invasive, and …

Cadmium And Salinity Stressor Antagonism On Vallisneria Neotropicalis, Christopher P. Mikolaitis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

Submerged macrophytes form the foundation of freshwater ecosystems. These organisms are sessile and are very susceptible to shifts in their environment. Heavy metals are of particular concern as they can be sequestered indefinitely in sediments and are readily taken up by rooted vegetation. In the presence of saltwater intrusions, these metals can interact with salt ions potentially changing their availability to submerged vegetation. In this study a freshwater macrophyte, Vallisneria neotropicalis, was used as a test species for interactive effects between Cd, a non-essential heavy metal, and salt stress. The metrics used to establish the individual as well as …

Mapping, Intensities And Future Prediction Of Land Use/Land Cover Dynamics Using Google Earth Engine And Ca- Artificial Neural Network Model, Maysoon A.A. Osman, Elfatih M. Abdel-Rahman, Joshua Orungo Onono, Lydia A. Olaka, Muna M. Elhag, Marian Adan, Henri E.Z. Tonnang

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Mapping of land use/ land cover (LULC) dynamics has gained significant attention in the past decades. This is due to the role played by LULC change in assessing climate, various ecosystem functions, natural resource activities and livelihoods in general. In Gedaref landscape of Eastern Sudan, there is limited or no knowledge of LULC structure and size, degree of change, transition, intensity and future outlook. Therefore, the aims of the current study were to (1) evaluate LULC changes in the Gedaref state, Sudan for the past thirty years (1988–2018) using Landsat imageries and the random forest classifier, (2) determine the underlying …

Institute For Global Health And Development : Issue 5 - July 2023, Institute For Global Health And Development

IGHD Newsletters

• Research Highlights
• Key Publications
• IGHD in the News
• Webinars, Academics & Conferences
• ‘Choice’ Programme - Technical Advisory Group
• Welcome New Team Members
• Mark your Calendars: Upcoming Event
• Congratulations Team IGHD
• Collaborate With Us

Decreased Moderate To Vigorous Physical Activity Levels In Children With Asthma Are Associated With Increased Traffic-Related Air Pollutants, Juan Aguilera, Soyoung Jeon, Amit U. Raysoni, Wen-Whai Li, Leah D. Whigham

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

People with asthma, particularly young children, are more adversely aected by trac emissions-and regular exercise reduces asthma symptoms and improves lung function. We studied the relationship between air pollution and objectively measured physical activity in children with asthma who were attending a school near a freeway. We continuously monitored air pollutants-PM2.5, PM10, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and ozone (O3)-at the school for 10 weeks and measured physical activity levels via accelerometry in children (n = 12, ages 6-12 years). Concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, and NO2 were negatively associated with moderate to vigorous physical activity (PM2.5 and PM10: p < .001; NO2: p = …

Life Cycle Assessment Of Calcium Oxide Pretreatment Of Corn Stover With Carbon Dioxide Neutralization For Ethanol Production, Jikai Zhao, Danyi Feng, Juhee Lee

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

This work used life-cycle assessment (LCA) to determine the environmental and human health impacts of four ethanol production scenarios (S1: CaO pretreatment + H2SO4 neutralization + C6 yeast fermentation; S2: CaO pretreatment + CO2 neutralization + C6 yeast fermentation; S3: CaO pretreatment + H2SO4 neutralization + C6/C5 yeast fermentation; and S4: CaO pretreatment + CO2 neutralization + C6/C5 yeast fermentation), with the functional unit being 1 kg of 95 % ethanol. The LCA results showed that the total ozone depletion, global warming potential, smog, acidification, eutrophication, and ecotoxicity values were comparable when CO2 or H2SO4 were used to adjust the …

Current Vehicle Fleet Inventory And Future Implementation Of A Centralized Electric Fleet At Portland State University, Dane Kovaleski

Environmental Science and Management Professional Master's Project Reports

As the effects of climate change continue to impact the world, many institutions have developed climate action goals to reduce their effects on the environment. Portland State University (PSU) has committed to an 80% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2040. A part of this commitment must include looking at the contributions of transportation on campus to reduce carbon emissions. According to a greenhouse gas emissions report done by the Campus Planning and Sustainability Office in 2016, transportation contributed to 12% of total greenhouse gas emissions on campus.

This project aims to evaluate the management …

Pursue Sustainability, Stay Paranoid In A Post-Covid World, Ho Kwon Ping, Havovi Joshi

Asian Management Insights

Ho Kwon Ping, Founder and Executive Chairman of Banyan Tree Holdings, speaks to Havovi Joshi about making sure sustainability is more than just a buzzword, his optimism regarding Asia’s growth in the future, and the need for youths to think differently about their careers.

Draft Final Quarterly Operations And Maintenance Report Butte Treatment Lagoon System – First Quarter 2023, Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Lipophilic Wood Extractives’ Contamination Of Water Bodies In The Vicinity Of Pulp And Paper Mill, Southern Tanzania, Shija Charles, Kessy F. Kilulya, Julius Mbuna

Tanzania Journal of Science

This paper reports on the levels of fatty acids and selected sterols in effluents and nearby water bodies at Mufindi Paper Mill (MPM), southern Tanzania. Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) was used for sample extraction, and analysis was performed using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometer (GC-MS). Fatty acids ranging from C11:0 to C25:0 were detected, with saturated fatty acids (SFA) being more abundant than unsaturated fatty acids (USFA). As for selected sterols, β-sitosterol and stigmastanol were more abundant than campesterol. The mean levels of SFA, USFA, β-sitosterol, stigmastanol, and campesterol (µg/L) were 538.28, 125.94, 1065.44, 1178.01, and 66.76, respectively, for untreated effluents, and …

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 …

Approval Page - Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit Residential Metals Abatement Program - Field Sampling Plan - Goldhill Lutheran Church And United Congregational - Indoor Dust, Nikia Greene, Daryl Reed, Eric Hassler

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Final 2023 Residential Metals Abatement Program (Rmap) Copper/Emmett Park Soil Remedial Action Work Plan (Rawp), Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Final Rmap Park Soil Sampling Field Sampling Plan (Fsp) Submittal #9 [Covering Centerville Skating Rink, Belmont Senior Citizens Center, High Altitude Skating Rink, Missoula Gulch Ballfield Play Area, Mac Facilities, Butte Family Ymca, Church Of Christ, And Montana Tech South Campus], Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Butte Reduction Works (Brw) Phase Iii Quality Assurance Project Plan (Qapp) Request For Change Brw-2023-03, Josh Bryson

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Evaluating The Impacts Of The Transition From Open-Pit To Underground Mining On Sustainable Development Indexes, Naser Badakhshan, Kourosh Shahriar, Sajjad Afraei, Ezzeddin Bakhtavar

Journal of Sustainable Mining

Sustainable development is about creating a balance between development and environment, and it consists of three essential principles: environment, society, and economy. Today, one of the most important challenges in deep open pit mines is the transition from open pit to underground, which has positive and negative impacts on sustainable development indexes. In order to reduce these adverse impacts, the impact of various parts of the transition operation on these indexes should be evaluated and corrective and preventive measures should be implemented. In this study, using a hybrid semi-quantitative approach, the effects of the transition in the Songun copper mine …

Convergence And Transdisciplinary Teaching In Quantitative Biology, Robert Mayes, Joseph Dauer, David Owens

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The United States National Science and Technology Council has made a call for improving STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education at the convergence of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The National Science Foundation (NSF) views convergence as the merging of ideas, approaches, and technologies from widely diverse fields of knowledge to stimulate innovation and discovery. Teaching convergency requires moving to the transdisciplinary level of integration where there is deep integration of skills, disciplines, and knowledge to solve a challenging real-world problem. Here we present a summary on convergence and transdisciplinary teaching. We then provide examples of convergence and transdisciplinary …

Monitoring Personal Exposure To Air Quality Gradients While Biking On An Elevated Urban Trail, Gavin D. Salas

DePaul Discoveries

Air pollution is a major global health concern, specifically as it relates to the human exposome. The EPA criteria pollutants, including particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO₂), and NO_x can have severe impacts on respiratory and cardiovascular health, particularly in populations with chronic illnesses such as asthma, those facing economic hardships and individuals who frequently spend time outdoors, such as bicyclists and runners. To understand the impact of air pollution on human health, it is essential to assess personal exposure. This study aimed to investigate personal exposure to air pollution levels while biking along …

An Analysis Of Lichen Presence On Quercus And Non-Quercus In Chicagoland Area, Shelby Johnson

DePaul Discoveries

Both anthropogenic change and the spread of invasive species have led to changes in urban and forest tree diversity. Oak rust, acute oak decline, and emerald ash borer have all had a detrimental effect on tree species in the Chicagoland area. Quercus species are well known habitats for lichen species including Physcia millegrana, Physcia stellaris, Punctelia rudecta, Flavoparmelia caperata, Xanthomendosa, and Candeleria concolor. Due to the decrease in the traditional Quercus habitats for lichen and the increase in nonnative and nontraditional tree species being introduced, particularly in cities, this study aimed to compare the number and diversity of …

Calculating And Comparing Bioaccessible Lead Concentrations In Soils From The Garfield Ridge, West Elsdon, And Lakeview Community Areas Using A Pbet And A Mehlich-3 Digestion Method, Emma Sznewajs

DePaul Discoveries

Lead exposure through soil poses potential health risks to those in areas with higher soil-Pb levels, specifically urban areas. The soil-lead concentrations recommended by the EPA are based on measurement of total lead concentration, yet only a percentage of the total lead can actually be absorbed into the body. The percentage of lead in soil that can be absorbed into the blood through ingestion is reffered to as bioaccessible lead and can be a more accurate way of measuring potential dangers of lead in soils. This study measured the amount of bioaccessible lead in the community areas of West Elsdon, …

Particulate Matter Emissions From Prescribed Burns In The Chicagoland Area, Katherine Petralia

DePaul Discoveries

Prescribed burns are a land management tool currently used to aid in fire mitigation and promotion of plant growth of desired species and reduction of undesired species, which are often invasive species. Currently there is public stigma surrounding prescribed burns which limits their use in certain parts of the US. There are also particular challenges of conducting prescribed burns in urban and suburban areas. A better understanding of prescribed burns and their impact on atmospheric chemistry and air quality can allow for better communication with the public about their positive impacts and also acknowledge and quantify any potential drawbacks. This …

Understanding The Effect Of Ranching On Quercus Brandegeei Recruitment In The Sierra La Laguna Biosphere Reserve, Xavier O. Espinoza

DePaul Discoveries

In this study, we attempt to deepen our understanding of the mechanisms responsible for Quercus brandegeei’s observed lack of regeneration by identifying which animal species (wild and domesticated) most frequently were observed eating, passing by, or searching for seeds and seedlings. We established 10 paired plots (10 enclosed and 10 immediately outside enclosures) and positioned one motion-activated camera in each plot to observe animal visitations to Quercus brandegeei individuals over the course of several months (October 2019 – March 2020). No seeds and seedlings survived outside of enclosed areas at the end of the study based on their absence. Very …

Approval Letter For The Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Draft Final Residential Metals Abatement Program (Rmap) Park Field Sampling Plan (Fsp) Submittal #9 [Covering Centerville Skating Rink, Belmont Senior Citizens Center, High Altitude Skating Rink, Missoula Gulch Ballfield Play Area, Mac Facilities, Butte Family Ymca, Church Of Christ, And Montana Tech South Campus] (Dated June 22, 2023), Nikia Greene

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Re: Approval Letter For The Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Draft Final Residential Metals Abatement Program (Rmap) Park Field Sampling Plan (Fsp) Submittal #9 [Covering Centerville Skating Rink, Belmont Senior Citizens Center, High Altitude Skating Rink, Missoula Gulch Ballfield Play Area, Mac Facilities, Butte Family Ymca, Church Of Christ, And Montana Tech South Campus] (Dated June 22, 2023), Nikia Greene

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Applications Of Uavs In Mine Industry: A Scoping Review, Dang Tuyet Minh, Nguyen Ba Dung

Journal of Sustainable Mining

In recent years, a variety of technologies have improved mining operations. One of them is the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), the emerging technology that has been changing the mining process, boosting mining safety and productivity. The main purpose of this paper is to review the applications of UAVs in the mining industry based on the results of 113 research papers over the past twelve years, from 2010 to May 2022. The potential applications of UAVs in the mining industry are broad. Based on the paper identified, eight categories are used to classify UAV applications in the mining sector. The reviewed …