Digital Commons Network^™

Polymer Degradation And Their Environmental Impact, Addison Orr, Vanessa Gilbert

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

Synthetic polymer material usage has increased significantly within the last several decades due to their durability, resistance to mechanical wear, low density, and inexpensiveness. Despite these advantages, most synthetic polymers are not biodegradable and instead undergo slow degradation processes. The processes are multifaceted, involving physical, chemical, and biological mechanisms influenced by material properties and environmental conditions, such as soil, light, temperature, and moisture levels. As a result, the polymers break into microplastics and contaminate air, water, and soil, posing risks to human health and surrounding ecosystems. Additionally, polymer degradation can release harmful substances that disrupt food chains and can lead …

Understanding The Long-Term Patterns Of Change Of A Tidal Marsh In Mission Bay, San Diego, California, Carrie A. Shuster, Theresa Sinicrope Talley Ph.D., Drew Talley Ph.D., Zhi-Yong Yin Ph.D., Kellie Uyeda Ph.D.

Theses

Coastal marshes are among California’s most productive ecosystems and the most impacted, having been extensively modified by dredging, filling, and urban development. This thesis investigates over a century of change for a marsh in Northern Mission Bay, San Diego, California using ecological and spatial analyses.

Chapter 1 provides an overview of the environmental history and current land use of the Northern Mission Bay marsh, tracing changes from pre-contact Indigenous stewardship through colonial and modern urban development. It also introduces a restoration plant palette derived from historical and contemporary species occurrences, ecological functions, and documented cultural uses. By integrating ethnobotanical knowledge …

Secondary Water Saturation Of The Rock Mass And Quality Of Rocks In Active Mine Areas Bordering The Flooded Workings Of Closed Mines, Mirosława Bukowska

Journal of Sustainable Mining

The goal of this paper was to inspect the influence of capillary water saturation on the specific strain energy of sedimentary rocks. The relationships between the determined specific strain energies in an air-dried state and in a state of capillary water saturation for detrital rock were exponential, with a strong correlation among the variables. For silt, the relationships were described by a second-degree polynomial function, and the correlation was medium or weak. The relationships for kinetic and dissipated energy were described with a linear function. Pearson correlation coefficients indicated a strong correlation among the variables for detrital rock and a …

The Role Of Trauma-Informed Care In Supporting At-Risk Students In Alternative Education, Jar'mel D. Taylor Dr.

Transformations

Students with traumatic experiences commonly fail to meet educational goals and control their emotions while also losing their involvement in classes. Standard trauma-informed care practices remain absent from numerous alternative educational institutions, which leaves their teaching community without adequate support to help traumatized students effectively. The application of Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) strategies toward student outcomes requires investigation to develop effective educational approaches that enhance school success. The researcher used qualitative exploratory case study methodology to study TIC practices in alternative education for Black and Brown adolescent students (aged 12–18) in Washington, D.C. Semi-structured interviews and a focus group with 16 …

Dry After-Ripening Increases Germination Of Critically Imperilled Physaria Thamnophila (Zapata Bladderpod), Christopher A. Gabler, Jerald T. Garrett

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Effective endangered plant conservation and recovery require empirical knowledge of seed dormancy release and responses to post-collection handling, yet such information is lacking for many rare taxa. Physaria thamnophila (Zapata bladderpod; Brassicaceae), a critically imperilled (G1) species endemic to southern Texas, USA, is poorly studied, and basic questions regarding seed storage and germination remain unresolved. We evaluated the effects of short-term cool-storage duration (14–180 d), storage temperature (refrigeration vs. freezing), dry after-ripening and maternal plant identity on germination probability and timing in P. thamnophila. Dry after-ripening and increased cool-storage duration consistently increased germination and shortened germination time, whereas storage temperature …

Wavelet-Based Multiscale Analysis Of Cave Co₂ Concentration In Response To Short-Term High-Intensity Tourism Activities: Spatiotemporal Heterogeneity And Lag Characteristics, Mingda Cao, Wenwen Song, Yan Zhang, Jie Zhang, Zhiqiang Yao

International Journal of Speleology

High-intensity tourism activities can cause a significant increase in cave air CO₂ concentration, thereby affecting the cave micro-environment and secondary carbonate deposition. During the 2023 National Day Golden Week, high-frequency continuous monitoring of cave air CO₂ partial pressure (PCO_2(A)) and visitor numbers was conducted in Dawang Cave, Anhui Province. Wavelet transform and cross-correlation analyses were used to reveal the multi-scale response characteristics of CO₂ concentration to tourism activities. The results show that: (1) PCO_2(A) exhibited clear diurnal variations (higher during the day, lower at night) and decreased spatially with enhanced ventilation, controlled jointly by …

Investigation Of Yy Production Methods For Invasive Channel Catfish Ictalurus Punctatus Population Management, Andrew M. Wisniewski

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Aquatic invasive species are one of the leading causes of native fish declines in the Southwestern United States. Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus were introduced into the Colorado River Basin, including the San Juan River, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah for fishery enhancement during the 20th century. This introduction has contributed to the decline of native species and despite intensive mechanical removal efforts, the Channel Catfish population has persisted in the San Juan River. The Trojan Sex Chromosome approach is a promising eradication strategy that proposes the production and release of Trojan sex chromosome carriers (YY) to skew a targeted population’s …

Mono Gold: An Informal Account Of The Geology, Production, And History Of Mono County Gold And Silver Mining Districts, D. D. Trent

Eastern Sierra History Journal

Mono Gold explores the mining production, technology, and history of the Eastern Sierra, with a special focus on Mono County. Author Dee Trent, a geologist, spent decades visiting, researching, and photographing each of the mining operations discussed in this book-length monograph.

Temperature And Salinity Effects On The Physiology Of Bullfrog Tadpoles (Lithobates Catesbeianus) From A Suburban Temperate Wetland, Angela Brown

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

One of the most robust amphibians is the American Bullfrog, Lithobates catesbeianus, which is a widespread species that is invasive worldwide, and is broadly tolerant of a range of environmental conditions. Despite this tolerance, survival and performance of adult L. catesbeianus can be negatively affected by increasing temperatures and salinity resulting from anthropogenic impacts, such as climate change and road salts. This study focuses on the effects of acute salinity exposure (mimicking road salt influx into a pond) on L. catesbeianus tadpoles at different larval stages. Increased salinity was predicted to negatively affect two physiological performance measures. Critical maximum temperature …

Understanding And Predicting Precipitation Characteristics In The United States Through Machine Learning, Numerical Modeling And Measurements, Cody Luther Ratterman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Precipitation is one of the most important yet uncertain variables in the climate system. It varies dramatically in terms of timing, accumulation, rate, and phase, depending on location, season, circulation patterns, and atmospheric conditions. Precipitation forecasts, especially snowfall, are essential to supporting drought mitigation and water management in the Intermountain West. Because rainfall and snowfall lead to opposite effects on snowpack, accurately partitioning rain and snow is important to estimate snowpack levels, winter recreation, mountain ecosystems and runoff. The research findings in this dissertation have advanced the understanding and prediction of precipitation and snowpack in the U.S. by addressing the …

Book Review: Radioactive Dixie: A Nuclear History Of The American South, Will Jones

Georgia Library Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Advancing Sdg 9 Through Ai-Powered Waste Diversion, Ally Murphy

Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

No abstract provided.

Assessing Ecological Integrity Of Streams Across The Western U.S., Jennifer L. Courtwright

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Large-scale assessments of stream health (ecological integrity) are required by policies such as the U.S. Clean Water Act and provide critical information needed to properly manage public lands. Our ability to quantify the ecological condition of streams in the western U.S. and identify the causes of degraded conditions has previously been impeded by a lack of standardized large-scale datasets, high natural temporal and spatial variability of ecological attributes, and poor-quality land use data. I compiled large-scale monitoring datasets and built models to predict the values of ecological attributes (metrics) at a given site in the absence of human impacts. In …

Human-Centered Electric Vehicle Adoption Framework For Smart Mobility: Modeling Perceived Range And Charging Anxiety As A Psychological Barrier, Fatemeh Nazari, Abolfazl (Kouros) Mohammadian, Thomas Stephens

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Electric vehicles (EVs) offer a transformative pathway toward reducing the environmental, economic, and health-related externalities of internal combustion engine vehicles in urban settings. Despite substantial advances in battery technology, charging infrastructure expansion, and supportive policy incentives, EV penetration remains limited which poses challenges for smart and sustainable mobility planning. A critical yet insufficiently modeled barrier to adoption lies in the psychological perceptions surrounding electric driving range and charging reliability, which is commonly framed as “range anxiety,” but more broadly reflecting perceived range and charging anxiety. To address this gap, this study introduces a latent psychological construct capturing individuals’ perceived range …

Prediction Of Pasture Condition In The Kimberley Rangelands Of Western Australia Using Simple Classification Tree Models, Ben Nestor, Kath Ryan, Charles Martin, Philip Thomas, Chris Hetherington, Matthew Fletcher, Robert Sudmeyer, Karyn Reeves

Natural Resources Research Articles

Pasture condition assessments assist pastoralists, regulators, and policy makers in making informed decisions around livestock production and the preservation of natural resources in the Kimberley rangelands of Western Australia (WA). Reliable qualitative assessments of pasture condition require assessors with extensive expertise, which means frequent and reproducible assessments can be difficult to achieve. To develop a quantitative approach that can complement existing qualitative assessment approaches in the Kimberley, we investigated the use of simple classification tree models to predict pasture condition using assessment data from the Western Australian Rangeland Monitoring System (WARMS). Quantitative traits were derived from WARMS observation data for …

Greenhouse Gas Flux Response In Biochar- And Compost-Amended Lawn Soils Under Simulated Water Saturation Conditions, Angel Salinas, Chu-Lin Cheng, Engil Pereira, Rafael M. Almeida, James Jihoon Kang

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Understanding greenhouse gas emission dynamics in lawn soils is important for improving climate change mitigation strategies in urban and suburban landscapes. In this greenhouse mesocosm study, carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes were measured from 12 turfgrass soil columns arranged in an unreplicated, completely randomized 4 × 3 factorial design. Four amendment treatments (biochar, compost, bio-com [1:1 volume ratio of biochar and compost], and unamended control) were combined with three water-table conditions (full saturation, half saturation, and unsaturated), with a single column representing each treatment combination. Columns were irrigated at 1 cm day−1 for 24 days, …

Climate-Driven Degradation And Lifecycle Reliability Of Building-Integrated Photovoltaic Systems: Integration Challenges And Deployment Pathways, Mohammad Nur-E-Alam, Mohammad Khairul Basher, Mohammad Tariqul Islam, Mongi Amami, Rajesh Haldhar, M. Khalid Hossain

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) are becoming a more popular source of renewable energy. It is an on-site renewable energy source within buildings but has limited growth due mainly to lifespan issues throughout the entire life cycle from manufacturing to design, installation, electrical integration, operation, and end of life. This paper reviews the climate-driven deterioration mechanisms of BIPV, including thermal cycling, moisture ingress, atmospheric pollutants, wind loads, etc. They relate these climate-driven deterioration mechanisms to BIPV performance deterioration, energy yield reductions, safety concerns related to energy loss, and long-term reliability of BIPV systems across all parts of the BIPV life cycle. Through …

Optimizing Urban Forestry Through Green Infrastructure: Tree Health And Water Retention In Ciudad Juarez Rain Gardens, Tomas Rogelio Lizarraga Ruiz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Urban green spaces (UGS) in arid regions face significant challenges due to water scarcity and extreme thermal demand. This study evaluates the efficacy of Nature Based Solutions (NBS), rain gardens and median strips, in enhancing the physiological resilience of urban trees in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Using a comparative framework, the research monitored a native evergreen (Dermatophyllum secundiflorum) and an introduced deciduous species (Morus sp.) across six planting treatments. Statistical analysis reveals that green infrastructure (GI) acts as a critical physiological accelerant. Trees situated within rain gardens and medians significantly outperformed those in restricted pot and sidewalk settings, maintaining higher stomatal …

Transnational Indigenous Environmental Justice: A Distant Comparative Study Of Nepali And U.S. Environmental Policies And Counter-Archives In Technical Communication, Shankar Paudel

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation investigates how institutional communication, state bureaucracy, and Indigenous sovereignty intersect within Rhetoric and Writing Studies (RWS) and Technical and Professional Communication (TPC). Current TPC research increasingly focuses on social justice; however, the field still lacks ethical frameworks to deal with the complicated dynamics of transnational Indigenous Environmental Justice Communication (IEJC). This study addresses this gap by examining how two distinct Indigenous communities - the Tharus of Chitwan, Nepal, and the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Tigua Indians of El Paso, Texas - communicatively navigate, contest, and resist state environmental policies.

Grounded in decolonial Distant Comparativism, Mestiza Consciousness, Rhetoric of …

From Screening To Risk: Assessment Of Potentially Toxic Elements In Children's Toys Along The El Paso, Tx, U.S.A.-Ciudad Juarez, Chih, Mex Border Region, Jesus Rodriguez-Loya

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Children are uniquely vulnerable to potentially toxic elements (PTEs), absorbing them more readily than adults and encountering them through the hand-to-mouth behaviors of early childhood. Exposure carries element-specific consequences: lead (Pb) impairs cognitive development with no established safe threshold; cadmium (Cd) damages the kidneys and reduces bone mineralization; arsenic (As) is a recognized carcinogen and developmental neurotoxicant; hexavalent chromium (Cr) is carcinogenic and induces allergic dermatitis; nickel (Ni) is the leading cause of allergic contact dermatitis in children; and excess zinc (Zn) disrupts copper absorption and causes gastrointestinal distress. Toys are a distinctive source of such exposure, yet none had …

Machine Learning For Predictive Energy And Emissions Modeling Of Vehicles And Power Grids In The United States, S M Tanvir Faysal Alam Chowdhoury

Dissertations

The environmental benefits of electric vehicle (EV) adoption depend on more than replacing internal combustion engine vehicles with electric powertrains. EV adoption reshapes electricity demand, interacts with regional generation mixes, and influences travel behavior and congestion, creating a coupled transportation-energy system in which vehicle and power-plant emissions must be evaluated together. This dissertation develops machine-learning frameworks for predicting energy consumption and emissions from vehicles and power grids under rising EV adoption. The first component forecasts grid emissions from EV charging. Using simulation data from NREL's Cambium database, a Prophet-based time-series framework predicts carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane emission rates …

Evaluating Fish Assemblages At An Early-Stage Living Shoreline Project In Lake Pontchartrain, Collin Glaser

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Living shorelines are an increasingly popular restoration approach for reducing erosion while improving habitat quality. The Bucktown Living Shoreline Project is a large-scale restoration effort along the southern shore of Lake Pontchartrain aimed at enhancing coastal resilience and restoring historic marsh habitat. This thesis evaluated early fish assemblage response to the Bucktown Living Shoreline Project over one year and placed those assemblages within the broader historical context of Lake Pontchartrain. Monthly sampling was conducted at the living shoreline and an adjacent riprap control site using seines, cast nets, and minnow traps. Fish assemblage structure was not significantly different between sites. …

A Comparison Of Ahdrift And Pitfall Traps For Surveying Small Vertebrates, Gabrielle Risko

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Understanding species occupancy is necessary to inform wildlife management and conservation decisions. To minimize the invasiveness of occupancy studies, some wildlife researchers have deployed game cameras to detect the presence of small vertebrates instead of utilizing stressful traditional live-capture methods. The Adapted Hunt Drift Fence Technique (AHDriFT) is an increasingly popular method for modifying and deploying camera traps to detect small vertebrates; however, no studies have directly compared AHDriFT to traditional pitfall traps operating at the exact same time, even though both are deployed along drift fences to capture small vertebrates. I compared these two methods (pitfall trapping and AHDriFT …

Performance Of The Denitrification-Decomposition Model In Simulating Agronomic Properties And N2o Emissions Under Smallholder Climate-Smart Farming Systems, Esphorn Kibet, Collins M. Musafiri, Milka Kiboi, Onesmus K. Ng'etich, David K. Kosgei, Abdirahman Zeila, Franklin Mairura, Felix K. Ngetich

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

The DeNitrification-DeComposition (DNDC) model is a crucial tool for estimating soil greenhouse gas fluxes and understanding soil-plant interactions. This study evaluates the performance of the DNDC model in simulating soil temperature, moisture, crop yield, and nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes across different land utilization types in Western Kenya. The land utilization types included: i) agroforestry M (agroforestry with Markhamia lutea, ii) sole sorghum, iii) agroforestry L (agroforestry with Leucaena leucocephala), iv) sole maize, and v) grazing Land, each replicated thrice. Fertilizer and manure were applied as part of the management practices, with manure applied at 2t ha⁻¹. Soil greenhouse …

Examples And Evaluation Of Sustainability Research With Tribes, Aaron M. Canter, Sharon Hausam

Faculty Publications

This is a working paper produced as part of National Science Foundation project #2115169, “Transforming Rural-Urban Systems: Trajectories for Sustainability in the Intermountain West,” known as the “Intermountain West Transformation Network” (TN), led by the University of New Mexico with institutional partners at three additional universities in New Mexico, two in Arizona, and one each in Utah, Colorado, and Washington. The TN’s Indigenous and Tribal engagement was supported through a contract with Dr. Sharon Hausam, additional work by Aaron M. Canter, coordination with Dr. Lani Tsinnajinnie, and an Advisory Committee on Indigenous Information Needs primarily comprised of Indigenous representatives in …

A Community Planning Approach To Green Infrastructure And Hazard Mitigation, Kara Salazar, Daniel Walker, Carrie Mckillip

Journal of Extension

As communities seek to increase their resilience to climate change and natural hazards, integrating mitigation and adaptation solutions into local planning has become essential. Purdue Extension, the University of Illinois Extension, and Illinois–Indiana Sea Grant developed a program, funded by the Extension Disaster Education Network, which supports community-based updates to hazard mitigation and resilience planning, with an emphasis on green infrastructure. This paper highlights the lessons we learned after implementing the program in Hancock County, Illinois, and LaPorte, Indiana, and the toolkit we created, which provides engagement and education techniques, planning processes, and other resources to Extension professionals working in …

Public Responses About Air Quality In The World’S Ten Most Populous Countries, Noah Lim, Alessandro Del Ponte, Lina Ang, Wei Jie Seow

Political Science Faculty Articles and Research

Understanding how people view and react to outdoor air quality is crucial to effectively managing and responding to air pollution, which is a major threat to global public health. Using a quota sample of 10,618 respondents from 1,372 localities across the world’s ten most populous countries (Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Indonesia, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, and the United States), we assessed the association between exposure to fine particulate matter with diameter ≤ 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5) and people’s knowledge, attitudes, perceptions, practices, and concern about air quality. Overall, we find an inverse association between air pollution exposure and knowledge about air …

Governance, Culture, And Law: The Expanding Scope Of Environmental Science And Sustainable Development Research, Ahyaudin Sodri, Herdis Herdiansyah

Journal of Environmental Science and Sustainable Development

Environmental science emerged as a discipline based on physical measurements, such as soil pollutant levels (Ailijiang et al., 2022), ecological restoration (Yue et al., 2026), city surface temperature (Shafizadeh-Moghadam et al., 2025), and microbial density in air samples (Hayleeyesus & Manaye, 2014). However, its objects of study increasingly extend beyond the confines of the laboratory. Questions that were once sufficiently answered with measurement data now require answers through draft laws, Constitutional Court decisions, financial reports of mining companies, and even traditional ritual discourses governing community access to forests. In other words, environmental …

Environmental Dna For Endangered Freshwater Mussel Monitoring: A Review On Global Synthesis Of Edna Methods, Challenges, And Innovative Strategies, Mizanur Rahman, Md. Saydur Rahman, Richard J. Kline

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Freshwater mussels (family Unionidae) are among the most endangered aquatic species worldwide, making effective monitoring vital for their conservation. Traditional surveys are laborious, time-consuming, and often miss rare or low-density populations. Environmental DNA (eDNA) is a highly sensitive, non-invasive approach for freshwater mussel detection and monitoring; however, uncertainties in ecological interpretation continue to limit its broader application in freshwater biodiversity monitoring. We conducted a systematic review of 49 peer-reviewed studies, identified through an extensive literature search, to assess temporal research trends, methodological advancements, ecological contexts, and regulatory readiness of freshwater mussel eDNA monitoring. Findings show that freshwater mussel eDNA research …

Understanding The Long-Run Effect Of Historical Redlining Practices, Yujian Lu

Geography ETDs

Historical redlining practices initiated by Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) in the 1930s have produced enduring persistent socioeconomic and environmental disparities in U.S. cities. This dissertation examines their long-term impacts on social vulnerability, urban flood risk, along with public discourse about redlining practices. Results indicate that neighborhoods with HOLC grade A (greenlined) exhibit the lowest overall social vulnerability, while those graded D (redlined) face the highest across U.S. cities. In Chicago, associations between redlining practices and flood risk disparities are stronger than in Los Angeles, reflecting place-specific characteristics among environmental, socioeconomic, and demographic factors shaping flood risk disparities in long …