Digital Commons Network^™

Using Gis To Model Bike Routes In Waterville And Bike Storage Facilities At Colby College, Corin S. Balan

Atlas of Maine

This project focuses on establishing a bike route and storage facility system at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. This is in part prompted by the USGBC requirement for the Leed v4 sustainability certification.

Determining Potential Risk Areas For Minnesota Water Features, Mariel R. Ferragamo

Atlas of Maine

There are many important water features in Minnesota, but some are under potential threat due to the increase in agricultural pollution of air and groundwater, and infiltration of aquatic invasive species (AIS) (Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, 2018). This study analyzes these risk factors and the existing biodiversity of Minnesota’s water sources to identify potential high risk water features. Using a model that is scaled from 0-24 (low to high risk) it was discovered that over 95% of all water features have some level of threat regarding their natural state, while 15% are at a high risk of invasive species infiltration …

Identifying Lyme Disease Risk In Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, And Vermont, Isa Berzansky, Keller C. Leet-Otley

Atlas of Maine

Lyme disease is a tick-borne zoonosis that infects upwards of 26,000 people annually, making it the most common vector-borne disease in the United States (CDC 2017). The etiologic agent of Lyme disease is Borrelia burgdorferi, which relies on the deer tick, Ixodes scapularis, to complete its complex life cycle (CDC 2015). An increasing global temperature may have implications for incidence of Lyme disease (Ogden 2014). We examined ecological and epidemiological factors that influence Ixodes scapularis to create a model of Lyme disease risk in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. We included the average number of days above …

Atlas Of Maine: Water Bodies And Pesticide And Fertilizer Use In Maine, Rachel L. Benway

Atlas of Maine

This Atlas of Maine map displays the location of natural bodies of water - vernal pools, lakes, and ponds, and shows the relative amount of pesticide and fertilizer use on the farms in each county. By combining these sets of data, I hope to illustrate where aquatic freshwater ecosystems could have a higher potential for negative impacts resulting from run-off of these pesticides and fertilizers. The water bodies are dark blue and the vernal pools are indicated by lighter blue dots. The level of pesticide use in each county is indicated by a graduated color ramp of 6 classes, where …

Modeling Salmon Habitats In Penobscot River, Maine, Curtis Zhuang

Atlas of Maine

This study uses the existent salmon data in 2016 to try to find the factors that impact habitat choices in the Penobsoct River area of Maine.

Wind Turbine Siting In Maine, Blaise Foley

Atlas of Maine

The State of Maine has considerable potential for renewable wind energy, and represents the greatest amount of current wind power in New England (U.S Wind Industry, 2017). Creating a statewide wind turbine siting map could help government officials, private landowners, and land surveyors better understand wind turbine potential, and allow further analysis of particular areas.

Using Gps Data To Map And Model Colby Student Public Transit Efficiency, Madeline Partridge, Mara V. Mcdonough

Atlas of Maine

The goal of this project is to determine inefficiencies in the current transportation system that could be used to improve how students and faculty living in the Downtown Dorm, as well as the rest of the campus community, are able to access transportation. Key locations in Waterville were identified by mapping Jitney and Shuttle GPS data. We created a route including all frequently visited locations from both vehicles identified from the GPS data.

Waste Reduction In Public School Cafeterias Through Sorting And Diversion: An Analysis Of Three Southern Maine Schools, Jeremy P. Ravenelle

Honors Theses

Solid waste is a serious environmental problem in the modern world. School cafeterias are one source of food and packaging waste that must be dealt with. Reducing the amount of cafeteria waste disposed of as trash through source reduction, recycling, and composting can not only improve environmental outcomes but also teach students about sustainability and save schools money. Social practice theory provides some factors that may be helpful to examine school cafeteria waste reduction programs. Using these factors, this thesis first examines school waste reduction programs in articles from academic databases, and then in three case study elementary schools in …

Presence And Potential Sources Of Pharmaceutical And Personal Care Product Chemicals In Messalonskee Lake, Alyssa T. Kullberg

Honors Theses

Pharmaceuticals and personal care product chemicals (PPCPs) represent a large group of contaminants that are mostly not regulated in surface or drinking water and whose presence and environmental and health impacts are poorly understood. We investigated the presence and potential sources of 18 PPCPs in Messalonskee Lake. We collected samples four times over the summer of 2017 at 13 sites around the lake. Samples were tested for PPCPs using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. We detected five out of the 18 PPCPs we tested for at the ng/L level: caffeine, 1,7-dimethylxanthine, acetaminophen, sulfachloropyridazine, and amphetamine. PPCPs showed a significant positive correlation …

The Identification And Application Of Generalizable Spatial Patterns Of Human-Wildlife Conflict, Vivian F. Hawkinson

Honors Theses

Many human-wildlife conflict studies focus on one location or one individual species or taxonomic group; fewer comparative studies analyze patterns of conflict across species and regions. As a result, numerous studies report similar conclusions across diverse cases of human-wildlife conflict. I found 133 scholarly articles published between 1975 and 2017 referencing distance from a protected area boundary as a variable associated with human-wildlife conflict. I identified three generalizable patterns of human-wildlife conflict that appear across taxonomic groups and geographic locations. The family Felidae had the highest maximum average conflict distance and furthest distance from a protected area that conflict was …

Stable Bromine Isotope Signature Of Bromoform From Enzymatic And Abiotic Formation Pathways And Its Application In Identifying Sources Of Environmental Bromoform In The Damariscotta River, Chengyang Wang

Honors Theses

Bromoform is a major source of atmospheric bromine. Most bromoform is produced by marine organisms including macroalgae and phytoplankton, using the enzyme bromoperoxidase (BPO). Bromoform can also be a byproduct of industrial processes such as water disinfection. Identifying sources of environmental bromoform is still a challenge. A novel technique of using quadrupole mass spectrometry coupled to a gas chromatography (GCqMS) was developed and optimized for Br isotope analyses. The study shows that GCqMS in single ion monitoring (SIM) mode can measure 81Br with precision of around ±0.7‰ (60pmol bromoform injected). This study aims to investigate stable Br isotopes of bromoform …

Media

Colby Magazine

No abstract provided.

Nature And Nurture: Planner And Architect Mina Amundsen Sees Connections As She Oversees Colby's Growth, Sue Repko

Colby Magazine

Since her childhood in India, Minakshi "Mina" M. Amundsen, assistant vice president for facilities and campus planning, has always been curious about the interconnectedness of the natural world, the built environment, and the humans who navigate both. That fascination with connections has informed her work at Colby in myriad ways.

Common Ground: Nick Pattison '18 And William "Brownie" Brown, 101, Forge A Close Friendship In "Just Passing The Time", Gerry Boyle

Colby Magazine

It was lunchtime at a nursing home in Waterville, and Nick Pattison '18 had brought a feast: homemade venison sausage, pancakes, and cubes of cantaloupe, served on paper plates. Pattison's friend, William "Brownie" Brown, 101, sat in his easy chair as Pattison poured fresh maple syrup.

"Thank you, kind chef," Brownie said, then turned to a visitor and said in a slow stage whisper, "Right out of the blue he'll come barging in."

Every Sunday for more than a year and a half, Pattison has been "barging in" at Lakewood Continuing Care Center, where Brownie lives.

The Colby Echo (2017-09-21), Colby College

The Colby Echo

Published by the students of Colby College since 1877, The Colby Echo is the weekly, editorially independent student-run newspaper of Colby College in Waterville, Maine. Published monthly, 1877-1886; semi-monthly, 1886-1897; and weekly, during the academic year, 1898-present.

The Long-Term Effect Of State Renewable Energy Incentive Programs, Fred Bower

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

Abstract: Renewable energy is praised for its environmental benefits and long run energy savings, however, for the average consumer, the up-front cost of this infrastructure deters investment. On the Federal and state level, incentive programs have been implemented to break down these initial barriers and give easier access to renewable energy. Studies have shown that these incentive programs have been successful at the consumer level (Crago, 2014). What policy makers and government officials should maybe be more concerned with though, is the long-term effect of these programs. This paper will analyze the long-term effect of renewable energy incentive programs beyond …

Nudging Neighbors: Analyzing Peer Effects Of The Lakesmart Program In The Belgrade Lakes, George A. Voigt

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

Peer effects are an increasingly studied field in economics, and can have large impacts at a local level. In this research we seek to identify whether there is an impact of early adopters on their neighbors to become adopters. The scope for this study is the LakeSmart program that operate in Maine. Specifically we are focusing on the Belgrade lakes, and analyzing data from 2005 to present in addition with a survey of demographic characteristics conducted in 2011. Results suggest that the impact of a neighbor on the likelihood of a household to be LakeSmart certified is statistically significant and …

The Colby Echo (2017-05-18), Colby College

The Colby Echo

Published by the students of Colby College since 1877, The Colby Echo is the weekly, editorially independent student-run newspaper of Colby College in Waterville, Maine. Published monthly, 1877-1886; semi-monthly, 1886-1897; and weekly, during the academic year, 1898-present.

Media

Colby Magazine

No abstract provided.

From The Editor (Editor's Note), Gerry Boyle

Colby Magazine

No abstract provided.

Why A Dorm Room Is Like A Climate Treaty, Mariam Khan

Colby Magazine

Nathan Chan shows how economic principles are at play in our everyday lives.

Riding The Silk Road, Ayaz Achakzai

Colby Magazine

As development approaches, a mountain trek is an opportunity to contemplate what lies in its path.

Full Issue

Colby Magazine

No abstract provided.

The Colby Echo (2017-03-09), Colby College

The Colby Echo

Published by the students of Colby College since 1877, The Colby Echo is the weekly, editorially independent student-run newspaper of Colby College in Waterville, Maine. Published monthly, 1877-1886; semi-monthly, 1886-1897; and weekly, during the academic year, 1898-present.

Atlas Of Maine: Coastal Maine Shellfish Aquaculture And Fishery Sites, Eric Walton

Atlas of Maine

This is a map of the locations of shellfish aquaculture and fishery within the state of Maine. The sites of the shellfish fishery are only for American oysters and blue mussels, but the aquaculture sites are for all shellfish aquaculture not distinguished by species.

Atlas Of Maine: Change In Population From 2000 To 2010, Dawon Lee

Atlas of Maine

This atlas of Maine depicts the change in population from 2000 to 2010. The population difference for over 500 towns of Maine was computed. The change in township population ranged from -967 to 2240 people. Green indicates a decrease in population, and red indicates an increase in population. An adjusted equal interval was used to encompass the entire range and to clearly classify the breaks in population change. The map also outlines major cities, railroad, routes, highways, and counties.

Metadata includes the Minor Civil Divisions/ Census County Division – Census 2000 and the Minor Civil Divisions/ Census County Division – …

Atlas Of Maine: Overlap Of Lobster Fisheries And Atlantic Right Whale Habitat In The Gulf Of Maine, Caroline Winslow

Atlas of Maine

This map depicts the critical habitat areas for Atlantic Large Whales and North Atlantic Right Whales, as well as the critical fishery zones of lobster fisheries in the Gulf of Maine. The areas of dark blue represent the critical habitats and regulated waters implemented for the protection of the North Atlantic Right and Atlantic Large Whales. These critical zones for whales are overlapped by the lobster gear areas. Additionally, the inset map of the Maine coastline shows the waters exempt from the minimum traps per trawl requirement, and waters exempt from the Maine state American Lobster Permits. The existence of …

Atlas Of Maine: The Surficial Geology Of Mount Desert Island, Maine, Alyson Churchill

Atlas of Maine

My map, titled Surficial Geology of Mount Desert Island, Maine, depicts the surficial geology recorded on Mount Desert Island, as well as measurements of the geologic attitude of various features, and the locations of dikes, faults, and linear glacial features. Different lithologies are distinguished by various hues and saturations, with a solid line marking known or certain contacts and a dotted line marking approximate contacts. Geologic attitude variables that are represented include the strike and dip of beds, strike of vertical beds, strike and dip of foliation, strike of vertical foliation, strike and dip of flow layering, strike of …

Atlas Of Maine: Maine State Senate Voting Districts & Median Household Income, Emily Geske

Atlas of Maine

This map highlights regions in Maine that vote Democratic and Republican as well as shows the income distribution throughout the state by county. In addition, it displays the relationship between County median household income and the percentage of votes that a Republican Maine State Senate candidate received in the 2014 election. ArcGIS was used to create this map incorporating GIS layers from the Maine Office of GIS and used data from Ballotpedia to create additional layers. The map uses the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83) and the Universal Transverse Mercator Zone 19N projection.

Developing A Brownfield Index In Vermont, Andrew Fumarola

Atlas of Maine

There are 165 brownfield sites in the state of Vermont. This map aims to show a newly devised brownfield index for each town in the state, using information such as water sources and brownfield proximity and density.