Digital Commons Network^™

Applications Of Machine Learning In Enhancing Evaporation Estimation For Small Reservoirs: A Case Study In Semi-Arid South Texas, Syed Muhammad F Abdullah, Chu-Lin Cheng, Jude A. Benavides, Jungseok Ho, Rafael M. Almeida

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Small reservoirs in semi-arid regions experience substantial evaporative losses but are rarely monitored at daily scales. A multi-reservoir machine learning (ML) framework was developed to estimate daily open-water evaporation. Empirical models (Penman, Penman-Monteith, Priestley-Taylor, Bowen Ratio Energy Budget) andabenchmark combination method (Daily Lake Evaporation Model-DLEM) were compared against ML models. Predictors combined gridded meteorology (gridMET) with reservoir attributes (surface area, average depth, maximum depth, and fetch). ML models (Random Forest-RF, Decision Tree-DT, K-Nearest Neighbor-KNN, and Support Vector Regression-SVR) were trained on four reservoirs using data from 2018 to 2025. Results from ML models were further validated using both DLEM and …

Modelling The Temporal Dynamics Of Microsporidia Mb Prevalence In Anopheles Mosquitoes Under Environmental Variability, Charlène N. Mfangnia, Matteo Pedercini, Henri E. Tonnang, Jeremy K. Herren

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Releasing Microsporidia MB-positive mosquitoes is being investigated as a promising component of Integrated Vector Management (IVM) strategies for malaria control. In this study, we developed a System Dynamics model to replicate the observed interactions between humans, mosquitoes, the Plasmodium parasite, and the symbiont MB. The model accounts for the impact of environmental variables - such as humidity, rainfall, and temperature - on mosquitoes, Plasmodium, and MB, using exogenous inputs derived from daily climatic observations (rainfall, relative humidity, and temperature) recorded during the mosquito field surveys. We calibrate the model using data collected from Ahero in Kenya, available for 3 years …

Investigating The Effect Of Kcl Stress In Raphanus Sativus, Mason P. Oelke

ATU Scholars Symposium

Presented by Stephanie Nelms at the Arkansas INBRE Conference on November 7-8, 2025.

Presented by Mason Oelke at Arkansas Tech Scholar's Symposium on April 9th, 2026.

Potassium is an essential macronutrient for plant growth and development, yet excessive potassium fertilization can induce salt stress with detrimental consequences for crop productivity and nutritional quality. Despite its agricultural relevance, potassium chloride induced stress remains significantly understudied compared to classical sodium-based salinity. This thesis investigates the physiological, biochemical, and molecular responses of Raphanus sativus to KCl stress using an integrated approach that combines germination assays, mineral profiling, and gene expression analysis.

Radish seeds …

Prediction Of Future Mushroom Fruiting Success And Dispersion Based On Models Of Changing Surface Air Temperature In Oaxaca, Mexico, Frida Martinez

ATU Scholars Symposium

Mushrooms serve various purposes, including medicinal, culinary, and cultural significance for indigenous groups, as well as recreational and ecosystem services. Oaxaca, Mexico, is a hotspot for mushroom biodiversity including the following varieties: Amanita muscaria, Schizophyllum commune and Coprinellus disseminates. The purpose of this study is to determine if a changing Mean Surface Air Temperature will have an influence on these mushrooms. We obtained, analyzed, and compared historical and future climate data from the World Bank Group Climate Change Knowledge Portal to identify if any of the mushroom species would be impacted. The study revealed a general trend of warming Mean …

Grassland Bird Community Responses To Fire Management, Mason H. Dillard

ATU Scholars Symposium

Vegetation structure plays a major role in determining avian community makeup. Controlled burn frequency changes vegetation structure and consequently the makeup of avian communities. To examine this relationship, I surveyed breeding birds in grasslands and savannahs of the Ozark Mountains, Arkansas River Valley, and Northwest Arkansas. I created models to outline the relationship between these three factors (avian community, fire management, and vegetation structure.) I also examined surrounding land cover and patch size as potential variables that may impact avian community structures.

I will outline the role fire management plays in determining the makeup of breeding bird communities in grasslands, …

Use Of Basal Tree Cavities By Sylvilagus Aquaticus In Central Arkansas, Heath R. Williams

ATU Scholars Symposium

Basal tree cavities are hollow structures at the base of tree trunks utilized by many wildlife species, including small mammals, furbearers, and bats. Dumyahn and Zollner (2010) demonstrated that swamp rabbits (Sylvilagus aquaticus) use basal tree cavities and speculated that they may be used for thermoregulation at the northern limits of their geographic range or as alternative escape routes. To further investigate swamp rabbit use of basal tree cavities, we placed camera traps approximately 1 m from the entrance of the cavities (n = 43) in various Wildlife Management Areas in central Arkansas. Along with control sites without cavities (n=25), …

2024 Bpsou Stormwater Evaluation And Maintenance Report Annual Stormwater Report For Bpsou Stormwater Structures, Butte-Silver Bow Department Of Reclamation And Environmental Services

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Ski Industry Professionals In New Hampshire Are Worried About Climate Change, Jacklyn Tracy, Elizabeth Burakowski

Carsey Publications

In this brief, authors Jacklyn Tracy and Elizabeth Burakowski report the results of an online survey conducted in June 2025 with New Hampshire ski industry professionals to gain insight into how they perceive climate change. Understanding the perspectives on climate change is an important first step in working to preserve a vital industry to the state as temperatures rise and winters shorten. The results of the survey revealed that the majority of New Hampshire ski industry professionals are concerned about the effects of global warming on the ski industry in the state and believe more should be done to address …

2024 Bpsou Stormwater Evaluation And Maintenance Report Annual Stormwater Report For Bpsou Stormwater Structures, Butte-Silver Bow Department Of Reclamation And Environmental Services

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

2024 Bpsou Stormwater Evaluation And Maintenance Report Annual Stormwater Report For Bpsou Stormwater Structures, Butte-Silver Bow Department Of Reclamation And Environmental Services

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

2022 Bpsou Stormwater Evaluation And Maintenance Report Annual Stormwater Report For Bpsou Stormwater Structures, Butte-Silver Bow Department Of Reclamation And Environmental Services

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

2023 Bpsou Stormwater Evaluation And Maintenance Report Annual Stormwater Report For Bpsou Stormwater Structures, Butte-Silver Bow Department Of Reclamation And Environmental Services

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

2023 Bpsou Stormwater Evaluation And Maintenance Report Annual Stormwater Report For Bpsou Stormwater Structures, Butte-Silver Bow Department Of Reclamation And Environmental Services

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

2022 Bpsou Stormwater Evaluation And Maintenance Report Annual Stormwater Report For Bpsou Stormwater Structures, Butte-Silver Bow Department Of Reclamation And Environmental Services

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

2023 Bpsou Stormwater Evaluation And Maintenance Report Annual Stormwater Report For Bpsou Stormwater Structures, Butte-Silver Bow Department Of Reclamation And Environmental Services

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Artificial Intelligence Assisted Evaluation Of Fungicide Efficacy In Acorn Squash, Olivia Grace Daniels

ASPIRE 2026

Powdery Mildew is a common fungus that infects a multitude of plants. This project will be working with Podosphaera Xanthii, the fungal pathogen that causes powdery mildew in cucurbits. Cucurbitaceae is a plant family that includes squash, pumpkins, melons and watermelons. Powdery mildew ends up significantly reducing the plants yield and infection causes an economic loss for growers which poses a great threat to the farmer’s lively hood. Powdery mildew is also extremely contagious and spreads rapidly to nearby plants. It can be absolutely decimating to populations. So there has been a push to find methods to control the spread …

Unequal Recovery: Climate Gentrification And The Marginalization Of Southern Urban Communities In Disaster Relief, Ryan Simone Anderson '26

Honor Scholar Theses

Increases in the severity and frequency of natural disasters in the United States have highlighted the vast inequalities that low-income communities must be prepared to face and rapidly recover from. In the Southern US, this dilemma is prevalent, with a higher risk of flooding, hurricanes, and tornadoes due to increased exposure to natural disasters and climate-related events. These climate-induced issues have revealed a connection between environmental risks and socio-economic vulnerability. Climate gentrification occurs when lower-income communities are displaced to hazardous or vulnerable areas, while wealthier communities relocate to safer, more protected areas. Well-documented, large-scale disasters such as Hurricane Katrina (2005) …

Sandag’S Regional Climate Action Planning, San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative, Brenda Castruita

San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) is the regional planning agency responsible for transportation planning, public transit development, and environmental planning in the San Diego metropolitan area.1 Beyond these focus areas, SANDAG aims to promote sustainable growth, enhance mobility, and improve the quality of life of local citizens through comprehensive planning and collaboration with local governments, communities, and various partners. SANDAG is governed by a Board of Directors made up of elected officials from each of the region's local city councils and County Board of Supervisors. In addition to developing plans for how people and goods will move …

Monitoring Koyna Dam Displacements Using Persistent Scatterer Interferometry, Sara Zouriq, Gehan Hamdy, Amr Fawzy, Rejoice Thomas, Hesham El-Askary, Eehab Khalil, Mohamed Elsayad, Tarik El-Salawaky

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Monitoring dam stability is critical to ensure structural safety and operational reliability. This study integrates Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) based on Sentinel-1 SAR imagery (2020–2023) with Finite Element Method (FEM) simulations to assess the behavior of the Koyna Dam in India. PSI detected crest displacements between −1.0 and −1.8 mm yr−1, while FEM simulations predicted a maximum vertical displacement of approximately −3.2 mm at the crest. Although these results represent different quantities (time-averaged displacement rates versus peak static displacement), both approaches indicate millimeter-scale deformation and a consistent pattern of settlement at the dam crest, supporting the interpretation of hydrologically driven …

Morphology, Phylogeny And Distribution Of Scaeurgus (Cephalopoda: Octopoda) In Southeast Pacific Seamounts, Sergio A. Carrasco, Christian M. Ibáñez, Andrea I. Varela, Jan M. Tapia-Guerra, Erin E. Easton, Javier Sellanes

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Octopuses of the genus Scaeurgus inhabit upper bathyal benthic habitats and are composed of five recognized species. In this study, we conducted morphological and molecular phylogenetic analyses of two individuals of Scaeurgus and provided additional field observations of the genus in seamounts of the Nazca and Salas y Gómez ridges (southeast Pacific Ocean) over the last six years. Specifically, two specimens of Scaeurgus were collected at 234 m depth in 2019 during the EPIC oceanographic cruise onboard the R/V Mirai (JAMSTEC, Japan), and five other specimens were video recorded at depths between 210 and 340 m during three oceanographic expeditions …

Assessing Environmental Changes Before And After The 2018 Kilauea Eruption In Leilani Estates, Hawaii, Rokeya Akter Liza

Scholars Week

The 2018 Kilauea eruption in Hawaii significantly impacted the natural landscape, especially in the Leilani Estates region. The aim of this study was to analyze and compare the environmental conditions of before and after eruption by applying remote sensing techniques. Landsat 8 satellite imagery was used for two different time periods as before the eruption (February 2018) and after the eruption (March 2019). ERDAS Imagine was used to process these images to evaluate the changes in vegetation and land cover. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was calculated for both pre- and post-eruption images to evaluate vegetation changes. Higher NDVI …

Monitoring Of Dissolved Calcium Levels In Creeks, Embayment, And Kentucky Lake Waters In Western Kentucky, Majeda Dalloul

Scholars Week

In order to reduce the economic and ecological impacts of aquatic alien species, studies are warranted across major taxonomic groups, geographic regions, and habitat types. This study addressed the dissolved calcium levels in Kentucky Lake and their implications for one of the top-ranked invasive species, the zebra mussel, and its colonization.  Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) are well known for their “biofouling” capabilities, costing billions of dollars (for northeastern and midwestern states) in their removal from industrial, public, and power plant water supply lines. Calcium is one of the essential elements that contribute to the growth and reproduction of zebra …

Re: Comment Letter For Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit Draft Leak Detection Monitoring Plan (Dated February 2026), Emma Rott

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

A Method To Accelerate Rock Breakage With Soundless Chemical Demolition Agents, Patrick A. Darko, Hani S. Mitri

Journal of Sustainable Mining

Soundless chemical demolition agents (SCDA) are recognized as a safe and sustainable alternative for rock breakage, with the potential to reduce reliance on explosives in mining. However, their mechanical performance is considerably hampered in the extreme cold climate, with slow or no rock fracturing observed. To overcome this deficiency, two methods were developed in recent studies by 1) electric heating the SCDA borehole with high-temperature wire, and 2) increasing the SCDA mixing water temperature. Good results were obtained with both methods. This paper explores the merits of a hybrid approach combining the two methods to further enhance the SCDA efficiency …

Research Status And Development Trend Of Acidification And Permeability Improvement Technology For Low-Permeability Coal Seam, Shaochuan Chen, Yun Lei, Fuchao Tian, Jie Kang

Journal of Sustainable Mining

Low-permeability coal seams in China are often characterized by mineral-clogged pore-fracture systems, severely limiting coalbed methane (CBM) extraction efficiency. Acidification technology, which involves injecting acidic solutions into coal seams to dissolve minerals and enhance permeability, has emerged as a promising approach. This paper systematically reviews the mechanisms, laboratory findings, and field applications of acidification technology for permeability enhancement in low-permeability coal seams. Key findings include significant improvements in pore connectivity, reductions in gas adsorption capacity, and enhanced gas extraction rates post-acidification. Field tests demonstrate that acid fracturing can increase gas extraction volume by 4-7 times. The study also identifies current …

Improving Energy Reliability In Mining Areas Through Modelling And Control Of Resonance Phenomena In Solar-Integrated Power Systems, Yurii Papaika, Gennadiy Pivnyak, Maksim Malyshko, Yuliya Pazynich, Natalia Howaniec, Adam Smolinski

Journal of Sustainable Mining

This study addresses the emergency and operational transient processes that arise when integrating large-scale solar power plants (SPPs) into electrical load nodes, particularly under conditions of limited power system capacity. With the increasing penetration of distributed generation in Ukraine's energy landscape, challenges related to electromagnetic compatibility and harmonic resonance are becoming more prominent. The research builds upon the foundational work of leading Ukrainian scientific schools and focuses on the specific resonance phenomena observed during the operation of solar inverters in medium-voltage networks, especially in regions with high industrial and mining Energy demand. A novel algorithm is proposed for determining the …

Feasibility Study Of Barite Sourcing From Sediments Emerging Due To Treatment Of Waste Water From Coal Mining, Hubert Makuła, Zbigniew Bzowski, Bogusław Michalik

Journal of Sustainable Mining

The accumulation of mine water in settling ponds, which is discharged due to coal mining, allows them to be cleaned out of suspension, and it is the reason for the accumulation of hundreds of thousands of tons of sediments. One interesting mineral enclosed in these sediments is barite, which is considered in the EU as a critical raw material, but it also contains radium originating from formation water.

The effective barite separation and its beneficiation could constitute a win-win solution because then it would be possible to obtain the valuable radium concentrate for further processing, e.g., in nuclear medicine, and …

Wettability Evaluation Via Contact Angle And Data Mining For Enhanced Oil Recovery, Syasya Wadihah Md. Ja’Afar, Bashir Busahmin

Journal of Sustainable Mining

The oil industry has used many enhanced oil recovery (EOR) strategies to increase crude oil production from reservoirs, particularly as production begins to fall. With a significant quantity of hydrocarbon reserves still existing in the reservoirs, improved oil recovery techniques have the potential to increase oil production, with wettability alteration playing a significant role. To date, there has been no comprehensive investigation of wettability in Brunei's sandstone reservoir. The goal of this research is to determine wettability by contact angle measurement and data mining approaches based on the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) algorithm. …

Re: Conditional Approval Letter For Revised Clark Tailings Consolidated Waste Management Area (Ctcwma) Site Investigation Data Summary Report 2024 And Response To Epa Comment Letter (Dated February 24, 2026), Emma Rott

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Navigating Sustainable Burial In Southern Nevada, Kristen Gibson

Calvert Undergraduate Research Awards

Navigating Sustainable Burial in Southern Nevada investigates the accessibility of environmentally conscious end-of-life options for individuals throughout the region. Sustainable burial practices, including green burial, water cremation, and natural organic reduction, provide alternatives to traditional burial and cremation methods. Research was conducted through an analysis of Nevada statutes, local reporting, funeral service resources, and public discussions related to sustainable burial. The research revealed that although Nevada expanded legal recognition of sustainable burial by legalizing natural organic reduction, public access to clear information and available services remains limited. These findings informed the creation of a choose-your-own-adventure booklet designed to translate legal …