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Evaluation Of Dredged Sediments As A Partial Replacement For Fine Aggregate In Mortar And Concrete, Ashish Gautam

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

The feasibility of using dredged sediment from the Mobile River as a partial replacement for fine aggregate in mortar and concrete was investigated through a series of laboratory characterization and performance evaluation. Three dredged sediment samples (A, B and C) were initially examined, and Sample A was selected for further evaluation due to its closer resemblance to natural fine aggregate. This sample exhibited lower moisture content, higher sand equivalent values, higher specific gravity, and lower absorption. Mortar mixtures with 0, 10, 20, 30, 50, 75 and 100% dredged sediment replacement showed decreasing workability as the replacement level increased. The 20% …

Indigenous Community Research Opportunities, Sharon Hausam, Aaron M. Canter

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 …

Opportunities For Leadership In Indigenous And Tribally Engaged Research At The University Of New Mexico, 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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Drought And Diet Breadth: Does Insect Specialization Influence Herbivory When Plants Are Under Stress?, Jakob Palmer

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Climate change will alter precipitation worldwide, causing more frequent and severe drought events worldwide. Drought affects many ecological processes, including plant-herbivore interactions, which are critical to biodiversity and ecosystem health. A variety of plant characteristics can influence herbivory – such as how hairy, nutritious, or toxic a leaf is – and drought has been shown to alter many of these traits. Unique characteristics of herbivore species are also important: herbivores can either feed on a variety of plants (generalists) or a group of closely related plants (specialists). Specialists can cope with traits of the plants they eat, while generalists are …

Integrating Hydrology And Human Water Footprints: A Case Study Of The Great Salt Lake Basin, Rachel Lynne Seeley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Global demand for water is outrunning supply, and how we account for water is part of the problem. Many water management frameworks are based solely on how much physical water moves through rivers, aquifers, and other water bodies, missing the water that is embedded in food and other products a region produces and exports. This study developed a new, generalizable water accounting framework that incorporates this “hidden water,” known as virtual water, into water management and applied the framework in the Great Salt Lake Basin.

The Great Salt Lake is shrinking, and an often-overlooked driver of the lake’s decline is …

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 …

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, …

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 …

Sludge-To-Sod: Sustainability In Action At Bull Creek Water Treatment Plant, Ava Baker

Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

No abstract provided.

Protecting Wetlands In Georgetown County, Sophia Harrison

Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

No abstract provided.

Synthesis And Characterization Of Carbon Quantum Dots And Gold Nanoparticles For Norovirus Biosensing Applications In Water Systems, Breanne Evans

Master's Theses

Rapid, reliable detection of viral pathogens remains a significant challenge across water-treatment and environmental monitoring systems, including drinking-water, wastewater, water reuse, and environmental surveillance applications. Waterborne viral contamination can pose substantial public-health risks, making early detection essential for protecting water quality and responding quickly to treatment failures or contamination events. Direct potable reuse (DPR) is one particularly demanding example because it requires continuous verification of treatment performance and the broader need for rapid virus monitoring extends across many water-treatment and environmental surveillance applications. Norovirus is a priority target because of its widespread occurrence in wastewater, environmental persistence, and exceptionally low …

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 …

Final Insufficiently Reclaimed Sites Quality Assurance Project Plan (Qapp), Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Final Unreclaimed Sites Quality Assurance Project Plan (Qapp), Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

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 …

2026 Final Unreclaimed Sites Quality Assurance Project Plan (Qapp), Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

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 …

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 …

Sources Of Energy Production In Mountain West States, 2026, Kahlen Coss, Yash Kalla, Kian Parikh, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Environment

This fact sheet presents data on electricity generation and energy sources in March 2026 for five Mountain West states: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. Each state's share of total U.S. electricity production and its generation by source (coal, hydroelectricity, natural gas, nuclear, solar, and wind) are included. The Choose Energy report, "Electricity Generation by State," includes data on all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

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 …

Information Theory Analysis Of Water Vapor Stable Isotopes From The Sail Campaign, Matthew John Rybecky

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Understanding the processes that control water vapor isotopic composition in mountain environ- ments is essential for interpreting isotope records and predicting water resource responses to cli- mate change. This thesis applies information theory to continuous, high-resolution water vapor stable isotope measurements from the Surface Atmosphere Integrated Field Laboratory (SAIL) campaign in the East River watershed of Colorado’s Upper Gunnison Basin, spanning the winter- to-spring transition of 2022–2023. The analysis employs Shannon entropy, mutual information, transfer entropy, and joint transfer en- tropy (JTE) to quantify how environmental variables, including surface meteorology, radiation, tur- bulent fluxes, and ERA5 reanalysis products, transfer information …

Gradients Of Abandonment, William Tatman

Geography ETDs

As urban-rural disparities drive depopulation in rural areas worldwide, local strategies emerge as pathways for resilience. Research on Ojika, a Japanese island that has lost 75% of its population since the 1960s, reveals an Abandonment Gradient: a nuanced pattern of disuse adapted to modern polycrises. Extending the concept of "lying fallow" to homes and infrastructure, this thesis focuses on abandonment practices that reflect complex realities of labor, capital, and climate uncertainty. Rather than viewing depopulating communities as passive victims of out-migration, this paper argues they are critical sites for generating crisis response. Communally crafted attitudes toward unused space and more-than-human …

Wildfire Impacts On Fluvial Hydrology From Watershed To National Scales, Paige G. Tunby

Civil Engineering ETDs

Wildfires alter the water quantity and quality in downstream river networks. Fires promote biodiversity, maintain habitat, and provide many ecosystem services in a fire-adapted landscape. However, changes in the natural fire regimes can alter ecosystem function and threaten the water security of impacted downstream communities. The magnitude, timing, and persistence of these impacts are difficult to predict due to the lack of high-resolution datasets with adequate coverage to evaluate spatiotemporal trends after a fire. This dissertation moves us beyond the status quo to evaluate post-fire fluvial responses across scales, from the event-scale impacts after the Hermit’s Peak-Calf Canyon wildfire in …

Final 2022 Unreclaimed Sites Sampling: Ur-07 Site Evaluation Summary Report, Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

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 …

How Forest Structure And Climate Influence Snowpack For Water Resources In The Southwestern United States, Lindsey L. Rotche

Geography ETDs

Climate change, declining snowpack, and increasing wildfire risk have profound impacts on water availability in the southwestern United States. Because the southwestern United States is a global hotspot for freshwater vulnerability, and snowpack provides much of the region’s freshwater, understanding how climate and forest structure influence snowpack dynamics is increasingly important. In this dissertation I aim to better understand and communicate these dynamics through empirical data collection and the development of a simple vegetation driven temperature-index snow model: SNOW-17(VEG). I then implement the model at a watershed scale using remotely sensed imagery to create vegetation zones and climate simulations to …