Digital Commons Network^™

Water Needs And Recovery Pathways For The Great Salt Lake, David Tarboton, Sarah Null, Bethany Neilson

Spring Runoff Conference

Main Points 

• Levels of GSL inherently fluctuate because of variability in precipitation and temperature that drive inflow and evaporation 
• Reductions in inflows due to water use are superimposed on this variability 
• Consistent delivery of conserved water offers the opportunity to shift the range of lake levels upwards reducing the occurrence of serious adverse effects and increasing the potential for healthy lake levels 
• Adding 250 thousand-acre ft/year reduces the occurrence of serious adverse effects from 61% to 28% over the long term 
• Adding 800 thousand-acre ft/year shifts the mean of variable lake levels to the lower end of the healthy lake …

Microplastics As Physical Hubs Amplifying Antiobiotic Resistance Under Mixed-Contaminant Selection In Wastewater Systems, Liyuan Hou

Spring Runoff Conference

Microplastics (MPs) are tiny plastic particles within the range of (0.1 mm to 5 mm) in size

Characteristics And Mechanisms Of The Adsorption Of Shales For Ba2+ In Fracturing Fluids, Xie Chenyang, Liu Bo, Zhang Yuting, Zhu Fang

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objectives and Methods Large-scale hydraulic fracturing represents a key technology for shale gas exploitation. However, engineering practices indicate that the flowback rates of fracturing fluids are low and vary significantly across different blocks. Furthermore, some components in fracturing fluids may cause groundwater contamination. To explore the adsorption characteristics and mechanisms of Ba²⁺ within fracturing fluids in shale reservoirs, this study investigated four typical types of samples, including shale and three shale samples with different compositions, from the Longmaxi Formation in the Changning Block, southern Sichuan Basin. Systematic experiments were conducted on the adsorption of shales with different mineral …

Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit Diggings East Final 95% Remedial Design Package Submittal, Josh Bryson

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Silver Bow Creek Conservation Area (Sbcca) – Revised 95% Programmatic Technical Specifications Submittal, Josh Bryson

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Great Salt Lake Basin Integrated Plan – Longterm Actions, Jake M. Serago

Spring Runoff Conference

GSL’s water level is in long-term decline. Water users face shortages and challenges. Increased temperatures, greater precipitation extremes and population changes are stressing water supplies in the basin. 84% of Utah residents think the Government is accountable for resolving issues facing GSL.

Re: Approval Letter For The Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Draft Final Rock Creek Cattle Company Borrow Submittal #2 (Dated February 4, 2026), Molly Roby

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

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.

Draft Final Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Insufficiently Reclaimed Sites Bres No. 30 – Atlantic 1 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.

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 …

Re: Comment Letter For The Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Draft 2023 Stormwater Evaluation And Maintenance Report (Dated February 27, 2026), Emma Rott

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Construction Of Emerging Contaminants Risk Governance System, Cheng Li, Mingcheng Wang, Chunlei Li

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Emerging contaminants pose considerable risks to the ecological environment, human health, and social safety. The establishment of an emerging contaminants risk governance system constitutes a crucial component of the national ecological security strategy and the ecological civilization framework in the new era. When examined through the lens of the holistic view of national security and guided by the ecological civilization philosophy of the new era, China’s current efforts in managing emerging contaminants reveal several shortcomings—including a fragmented and incomplete risk management system, as well as preliminary stages in chemical environmental management policies and related technologies. Therefore, grounded in national conditions …

Re: Comment Letter For The Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Draft 2022 Stormwater Evaluation And Maintenance Report (Dated February 27, 2026), Emma Rott

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Re: Comment Letter For The Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Draft 2024 Stormwater Evaluation And Maintenance Report (Dated February 27, 2026), Emma Rott

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Thermal Inequities In Public Parks And Open Spaces In Los Angeles Determined By Remote Sensing, Ashley Agatep, Joshua B. Fisher, Kainani Tacazon, Ambar Rivera, Rossmery Zayas, Reginald Archer, Juan Carlos Ruiz Malagon, Jason A. Douglas

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Urban heat island (UHI) effects are amplified by disparities in community-level cooling infrastructure—such as urban public parks and open spaces (PPOS)—with the most severe impacts occurring in communities that lack sufficient city-wide cooling resources. We found that the underserved community of South Los Angeles, as compared to their neighboring West Los Angeles counterparts, suffers a double burden of inequitable (1) access to and (2) absence of cooling materials and surfaces within these spaces, resulting in significantly hotter temperatures. Identifying these inequities requires high-resolution temporal and spatial mapping of surface temperatures, which has been previously limited. In this community-based participatory research …

Community-Led Climate Vulnerability Assessment In Alviso, Ca, Addie Chappelle, Grace Falci, Gigi Jones, Alex Crouse

Environmental Studies and Sciences Senior Capstone

Located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay, Alviso is a historically underrepresented community facing disproportionate impacts of climate change. San José has directly contributed to Alviso’s infrastructure instability, particularly after its controversial 1967 annexation, which excluded Alviso residents from municipal planning processes. Alviso currently ranks in the upper quartile statewide for environmental burden with high exposure to hazardous waste, linguistic isolation, impaired waterways, and solid waste facilities. Our study produced a Community-Led Climate Vulnerability Assessment that centers resident knowledge and integrates it with environmental data to support equitable climate planning. We used a participatory, co-production research approach that …

Re: Comment Letter For The 2020 Through 2024 Surface Water Compliance Evaluation Technical Memorandums Silver Bow Creek Area Npl Site, Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Consent Decree-Civil Action No. Cv89-039-Bu-She (Dated February 3, 2026), Emma Rott

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Re: Conditional Approval Letter For The Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Butte Treatment Lagoons (Btl) Groundwater Treatment System Quarterly Operation And Maintenance Report – Quarter 3 2025 (Dated December 23, 2025), Emma Rott

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Re: Approval Letter For The Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) 2022 Draft Final Insufficiently Reclaimed Sites Sampling: Bres No. 16 Site Evaluation Summary Report, Molly Roby

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

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 …

Re: Conditional Approval Letter For The Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit Draft Final 2022 Insufficiently Reclaimed Sites Sampling: Bres No. 50 – Zelia Site Evaluation Summary Report, Molly Roby

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Water Sources And Livelihood Choices Among Pastoralist Households In Monduli District, Tanzania, Fredrick Alleni Mfinanga, Jacqueline Temba, Monica F. Timbuka

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

This paper investigates the association between types of water sources for livestock and livelihood choices of pastoralist households in semi-arid areas of Monduli District, Tanzania. Specifically, it aims to examine the influence of the types of water sources for livestock on livelihood diversification of pastoralist households. Using a mixed research methods approach, the data were collected from 367 households through three methods: surveys, interviews, and focus group discussions. The quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics such as frequencies and counts, and inferential statistics, Chi-square tests and correlation, while the qualitative data were analysed using content analysis. The findings revealed …

Constraints To Adopting Locally Based Innovation Systems In Adapting To Climate Change Impacts In Serengeti District, Tanzania, Donald Mwiturubani

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Smallholder farmers in rural Tanzania depend mainly on rain-fed agriculture, which makes them vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. This paper is based on a study conducted in Burunga and Musati villages in Serengeti District, Tanzania. The study employed a mixed methods approach; combining qualitative and quantitative methods. It involved 154 participants and employed household surveys, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions as data collection methods. The findings suggest that smallholder farmers in the study area are aware of climate change and do, indeed, develop, adopt, and use locally-based innovation systems that avert or minimise its impacts. Smallholder …

Ecomusicological Representation Of Climate Change And Environmental Sustainability In Selected Bongo Fleva Lyrics In Tanzania, Auson N. Wincheslaus

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

This article critically explores how Bongo Fleva’s lyrics engage with environmental themes; and the interrelationship between nature and culture in the context of the Anthropocene. The data were purposively sampled from YouTube via content analysis, from which 50 Bongo Fleva songs were listened to, and only 10 environmentally-themed songs were analysed. Then, the selected songs were subjected to transcription (from oral to written form), translation (from Kiswahili into English), and close reading and textual analysis. The close reading of the selected songs focused on the employed aesthetic and rhetorical strategies, such as anthropomorphism, symbolism, antithesis, apocalyptic tones, solastalgia, rhetorical questions, …

Re: Approval Letter For The Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit - Draft Final 2022 Insufficiently Reclaimed Sites Sampling: Bres No. 96 – Washoe Dump Site Evaluation Summary Report, Molly Roby

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

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.