Digital Commons Network^™

Public Preferences For Renewable Energy Options: A Choice Experiment In Rwanda, Sydney Oluoch, Pankaj Lal, Andres Susaeta, Rodrigue Mugabo, Michel Masozera, Jackline Aridi

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Rwanda has seen impressive economic growth in the past few years resulting from policy driven initiatives. However, one of the key challenges to economic development in Rwanda has been the provision of reliable and cost-effective energy. As a result, the country has planned to expand its renewable energy portfolio to meet its energy demand and mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Meeting these goals requires a robust policy framework that considers the perspective of the public. Moreso, for women who have been disproportionately affected by climate change especially in developing countries. Gender equality is a key for the Rwanda strategy as …

More Crops, Less Drops? Agriculture And Climate Interactions Via Soils, Sonali Shukla Mcdermid

Sustainability Seminar Series

There is an increasing focus on reducing agricultural GHG emissions, while also facilitating cropping systems’ adaptation to climate change. Much of this combined agriculture mitigation and adaptation work centers on managed soils’ carbon and nutrient processes, and interactions with water. I will present two on-going projects evaluating agricultural soil-water-crop interactions and discuss implications for climate mitigation and/or adaptation. I will first describe new, on-going work using an integrated climate-crop modeling framework to Asia. Preliminary results suggest that while specific combinations of management options, including conservation water and soil management, can provide mitigation and adaptation benefits, several trade-offs may exist between …

The Sustainable Prescription: Benefits Of Green Roof Implementation For Urban Hospitals, Aprelle C. O'Hara, Amelia Christine Miller, Hailey Spinks, Alexandria Seifert, Tirzah Mills, Amy R. Tuininga

PSEG Institute for Sustainability Studies Publications

If worldwide healthcare was a country, it would be the fifth largest emitter of greenhouse gases on the planet. The increase in global temperatures, combined with the negative impacts of urbanization, has made it more important than ever to introduce green spaces where possible. With climate change worsening, human health, both physically and mentally is on decline, making the effects of climate change especially pressing to the stability of healthcare systems. In order to mitigate the lasting impacts of climate change on healthcare facilities, a holistic solution is needed. Access to green space in hospitals has been shown to reduce …

An Investigation Of Social Ecological Barriers To And Facilitators Of Wic Farmers Market Nutrition Program Voucher Redemption, Renata Blumberg, Emily Fowler, Yeon Bai, Pankaj Lal, Alyssa Smolen, Ilana Dubrovsky

Department of Nutrition and Food Studies Scholarship and Creative Works

In the United States, many communities lack sufficient access to fresh produce. To improve access to fresh fruits and vegetables, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides eligible participants vouchers through the Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) that can be redeemed directly from farmers at markets or farm stands. However, FMNP voucher redemption rates in New Jersey remain lower than those in neighboring states. This article used the social ecological model to examine differences between FMNP participants who redeem vouchers (Redeemers) and those who do not (non-Redeemers) in the areas of: produce procurement practices and …

New Black Carbon Isotopes From The Eastern Tethys And Earth System Modeling During The Petm, Maurizia De Palma

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM; ca. 56Ma) is a time when global temperatures greatly increased due to rapid carbon emissions. The event is marked by a negative carbon isotope excursion (CIE) that is observed in both marine and terrestrial records. However, the amount, rate, and source of the emitted carbon remains highly debated. This study investigates the response of the eastern Tethys, an understudied subtropical shallow marine environment, and assesses the climatic impacts during the PETM. An Earth system model of intermediate complexity (cGENIE) ran six “double-inversion” experiments with δ¹¹B and δ¹³C_carb forced onto the …

Assessing Potential Of Dual Use Solar Development In New Jersey Preserved Farmlands, Gary Ryan Chapman

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The dual use of farmland and the incorporation of solar energy has the potential to maximize the net returns per acre and utilization capabilities. Land is one of the most vital and nonrenewable resources that is often solely used for one purpose. This study focuses on analyzing three objectives: 1) To explore the potential of Agrivoltaic Farming (dual use) on preserved farmland in New Jersey. 2) To estimate the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) of New Jersey’s dual use potential. 3) To generate sensitivity analyses of dual use solar and farm production in New Jersey. This study analyzed New Jersey’s …

A Study On Wind Farms In New Jersey : Life Cycle Assessment And Acceptance Of Wind Farms By The Tourists, Nawal Shoaib

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

New Jersey has taken steps to and aims to be carbon neutral by 2030. In order to achieve that a part of its Energy Master Plan focuses on building the wind energy sector. First part of this thesis presents a life cycle assessment on a hypothetical offshore wind farm 15 miles from the coast of New Jersey and compares the benefits of recycling the offshore wind farm at the end of its 20-year life cycle. The results indicated that 1) floating turbines cause less emissions than fixed turbines 2) recycling rotor will have a negative impact of 17% on the …

Determining The Feasibility Of A Sponge City Design On Montclair State University Campus, Megan Elizabeth Barron

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

In this project I examine the sponge city concept as a Low Impact Development (LID) approach to mitigating the adverse impact of stormwater runoff. LID techniques incorporate Green Infrastructure (GI) practices, which minimize the adverse impact of contemporary urban areas. Specifically, I am examining LID on the Montclair State University (MSU) campus within the context of stormwater runoff.

The Quad and the Quarry, two areas on the MSU campus, were selected for both their topographic depressions for containing runoff and for their built environment with large buildings and parking lots, an urban design feature that increase runoff. A 1/9 arc-second …

Gender Roles In Natural Resource Use In Madagascar, Sarahana Shrestha

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Understanding the role that gender plays in natural resource use is crucial for effective conservation efforts. While Madagascar is a priority for international conservation due to its high levels of endemism and unsustainable natural resource use, there is little information on how gender roles affect forest product use. This study uses over seven years of data on gender roles within the extraction, use, and sale of natural forest and marine resources near Madagascar’s largest national park to inform future conservation strategies. We found that gender significantly affects how one uses natural resources in Madagascar. Men were primarily responsible for the …

Arsenic : Risk, Exposure, Policy And Management, Nadia Binte Jamil

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Arsenic (As) contamination in drinking water is a global concern. About 150 million people from 70 countries in the world are at risk to health hazards associated with As contamination. In this study, we compared four As mitigation approaches practiced in Bangladesh and their costs. Our results show that intervention that is associated with the lowest cost of exposure reduction is testing and switching ($3/person), followed by intermediate wells ($28/person), deep tube wells ($143/person), and piped water supply system ($158/person). We then prioritized affected villages to reduce exposure and facilitate mitigation using three criteria: weighted exposure (mean As concentration x …

Changes In Demographic Factors’ Influence On Regional Productivity Growth: Empirical Evidence From China, 2000–2010, Xiaoxi Wang, Yaojun Zhang, Danlin Yu, Xiwei Wu, Ding Li

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Improving total factor productivity is an important way for China’s economy to avoid the middle income trap. Demographic changes are believed to have significant impacts on productivity growth. Using the census and socioeconomic data of 358 prefecture cities in mainland China, this paper analyzes the changes in the global and local spatial dependence of total factor productivity. We then employ spatial regression methods to investigate the role of changes in population factors in productivity growth in 2000 and 2010. We draw three observations from the analysis. First, population density plays an important role in both years. There is an inverted …

Reykjanes Mantle Convection And Climate: Crustal Objectives, Ross E. Parnell-Turner, Anne R. Briais, Leah J. Levay, Ying Cui, Anita Di Chiara, Justin P. Dodd, Deborah E. Eason, Sarah A. Friedman, Katharina E. Hochmuth, Boris T. Karatsolis, Danielle E. Leblanc, Melody R. Lindsay, David D. Mcnamara, Sevasti E. Modestou, Bramley Murton, Suzanne B. O’Connell, Gabriel T. Pasquet, Paul N. Pearson, Sheng Ping Qian, Yair Rosenthal, Sara Satolli, Jose M. Cuevas, Jamie L. Shamrock, Takuma Suzuki, Saalim M. Syed, Nicholas J. White, Alexandra Yang Yang

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The five primary sites proposed for International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 395, which was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, were cored during IODP Expedition 395C. The Expedition 395C operations, shipboard measurements, and sampling were adjusted to account for the absence of a sailing science party. The Expedition 395/395C objectives are (1) to investigate temporal variations in ocean crust generation at the Reykjanes Ridge and test hypotheses for the influence of Iceland mantle plume fluctuations on these processes, (2) to analyze sedimentation rates at the Björn and Gardar contourite drifts, as proxies for Cenozoic variations of North Atlantic deepwater …

Effects Of Foliar Application Of Zno Nanoparticles On Lentil Production, Stress Level And Nutritional Seed Quality Under Field Conditions, Marek Kolenčík, Dávid Ernst, Matej Komár, Martin Urík, Martin Šebesta, Ľuba Ďurišová, Marek Bujdoš, Ivan Černý, Juraj Chlpík, Martin Juriga, Ramakanth Illa, Yu Qian, Huan Feng, Gabriela Kratošová, Karla Čech Barabaszová, Ladislav Ducsay, Elena Aydın

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Nanotechnology offers new opportunities for the development of novel materials and strategies that improve technology and industry. This applies especially to agriculture, and our previous field studies have indicated that zinc oxide nanoparticles provide promising nano-fertilizer dispersion in sustainable agriculture. However, little is known about the precise ZnO-NP effects on legumes. Herein, 1 mg·L⁻¹ ZnO-NP spray was dispersed on lentil plants to establish the direct NP effects on lentil production, seed nutritional quality, and stress response under field conditions. Although ZnO-NP exposure positively affected yield, thousand-seed weight and the number of pods per plant, there was no statistically significant …

University Authors 2021-2022, Montclair State University, Harry A. Sprague Library

University Authors

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Climate Change, Human Activity, And Water Management Interventions On Environmental And Socio-Economic Outcomes In The Mekong Delta Region, Huynh Truong Gia Nguyen

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The Vietnam Mekong Delta (VMD) is the southernmost part of the Mekong River watershed basin and plays a critical role in Vietnam’s socio-economic and ecological wellbeing. Because of both climate change and anthropogenic activities, such as hydropower dam construction and overwhelming water extraction, the area has recently experienced severe droughts, changing rainfall patterns, and decreasing water resources, collectively heightening disaster risks. Understanding the interactions among these evolving factors is key to preserving resources in the VMD and similarly afflicted regions. Therefore, this dissertation included three objectives. The first objective was to estimate potential impacts of changes in the available water …

Distributed Energy Resources : An Assessment Of New Jersey’S Clean Energy Future, Mary Elizabeth Kenny

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The demand for renewable energy in New Jersey will continue to grow as economic opportunities and community support drive development. The effective integration of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) will transform energy production, storage, and use. To achieve sustainable energy production, the current reliance on fossil fuels must be reduced and replaced with less carbon-intensive energy sources that optimize the electric grid. DERs help pioneer the path to a clean energy transition where the implementation of new renewable energy projects will diversify New Jersey’s energy portfolio and provide a more resilient, equitable, and independent energy source. This thesis investigates different perspectives …

Felsic Volcanism As A Factor Driving The End-Permian Mass Extinction, Hua Zhang, Feifei Zhang, Jiu Bin Chen, Douglas H. Erwin, Drew D. Syverson, Pei Ni, Michael Rampino, Zhe Chi, Yao Feng Cai, Lei Xiang, Wei Qiang Li, Sheng Ao Liu, Ru Cheng Wang, Xiang Dong Wang, Zhuo Feng, Hou Min Li, Ting Zhang, Hong Ming Cai, Wang Zheng, Ying Cui, Xiang Kun Zhu, Zeng Qian Hou, Fu Yuan Wu, Yi Gang Xu, Noah Planavsky, Shu Zhong Shen

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The Siberian Traps large igneous province (STLIP) is commonly invoked as the primary driver of global environmental changes that triggered the end-Permian mass extinction (EPME). Here, we explore the contributions of coeval felsic volcanism to end-Permian environmental changes. We report evidence of extreme Cu enrichment in the EPME interval in South China. The enrichment is associated with an increase in the light Cu isotope, melt inclusions rich in copper and sulfides, and Hg concentration spikes. The Cu and Hg elemental and isotopic signatures can be linked to S-rich vapor produced by felsic volcanism. We use these previously unknown geochemical data …

Complementary Development Between China And Sub-Sahara Africa: Examining China’S Mining Investment Strategies In Africa, Xiaoliang Wang, Danlin Yu, Chunhua Yuan

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

China’s recent national and international regional development strategies emphasize both the deepening of the domestic market and the exploration of new markets and resource suppliers to support China’s industrialization. The cooperation with, and investment in, Africa has become an integrated part of China’s international regional development strategy. Investment in Africa is often the result of a decision process that requires balance among local complex political, economic, social, and geological conditions. Proper decision support analysis is the key for success or failure of complementary development. Based on location theories, the current study analyzes China’s mining investment in Africa and derives a …

The Occurrence And Control Of Waterborne Viruses In Drinking Water Treatment: A Review, Li Chen, Yang Deng, Shengkun Dong, Hong Wang, Pan Li, Huaiyu Zhang, Wenhai Chu

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

As the coronavirus disease 2019 continues to spread globally, its culprit, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 has been brought under scrutiny. In addition to inhalation transmission, the possible fecal-oral viral transmission via water/wastewater has also been brought under the spotlight, necessitating a timely global review on the current knowledge about waterborne viruses in drinking water treatment system – the very barrier that intercepts waterborne pathogens to terminal water users. In this article we reviewed the occurrence, concentration methods, and control strategies, also, treatment performance on waterborne viruses during drinking water treatment were summarized. Additionally, we emphasized the potential …

Massive And Rapid Predominantly Volcanic Co2 Emission During The End-Permian Mass Extinction, Ying Cui, Mingsong Li, Elsbeth E. Van Soelen, Francien Peterse, Wolfram M. Kürschner

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The end-Permian mass extinction event (∼252 Mya) is associated with one of the largest global carbon cycle perturbations in the Phanerozoic and is thought to be triggered by the Siberian Traps volcanism. Sizable carbon isotope excursions (CIEs) have been found at numerous sites around the world, suggesting massive quantities of ¹³C-depleted CO2 input into the ocean and atmosphere system. The exact magnitude and cause of the CIEs, the pace of CO2 emission, and the total quantity of CO2, however, remain poorly known. Here, we quantify the CO2 emission in an Earth system model based on new compound-specific carbon isotope …

Quartz Grain Microtextures Illuminate Pliocene Periglacial Sand Fluxes On The Antarctic Continental Margin, Sandra Passchier, Melissa A. Hansen, Jessica Rosenberg

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

On high-latitude continental margins sediment is supplied from land to the deep sea through a variety of processes, including iceberg and sea-ice rafting, and bottom current transport. The accurate reconstruction of sediment fluxes from these sources through time is important in palaeoclimate reconstructions. The goal of this study was to assess a shift in the intensity of glacial processes, iceberg and sea-ice rafting during the Pliocene through an investigation of coarse sediment deposited at the AND-2A site in the Ross Sea and at International Ocean Discovery Program Site U1359 on the Antarctic continental rise. Terrigenous particle-size distributions and suites of …

A Geo-Economic Framework For Dune Construction And Long-Term Coastal Resiliency In New Jersey, Jesse Charles Kolodin

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Following the extensive coastal impacts (i.e., storm surges) caused by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the State of New Jersey chose to install large-scale engineered berm-dune structures as their main coastal resiliency strategy. Initially, the project was entirely funded with federal emergency relief funds, but will require state and local beachfront communities to pay a percentage costshare for future renourishment projects. The thesis specifically focuses on three adjacent beachfront communities within the barrier island stretch of Long Beach Island, NJ (i.e., Beach Haven, Long Beach Township, and Ship Bottom), all of which had been provided engineered dunes in 2016. Following installation, …

Understanding Combined Sewer Overflow (Cso) And Green Infrastructure Interaction In New Jersey : An Economic Analysis, Taylor J. Wieczerak

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

New Jersey, as a coastal area, has historically struggled with a variety of problems stemming from stormwater runoff, which have only grown more prevalent and harmful as urbanization and climate change have taken their toll. One such issue that has emerged in recent years is the prevalence of combined sewer overflows (CSOs). These sewer systems are common in urban areas in the United States and abroad, and increased urbanization has them not only obsolete but a persistent danger, as their discharges can contaminate waterways and affect human health. While municipalities across the United States are beginning to move towards mitigating …

Coastal Onlap/Offlap Amplification Due To Organic Sediment Accumulation And Degradation : Implications For Sea Level Reconstruction, Norjmaa Khosbaatar

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Coastal-plain depositional systems such as fluvial deltas are archives of past external (allogenic) forcing, such as sea-level variations, and their evolution can be described by two geomorphic boundaries: the alluvial-basement transition or upstream boundary, and the shoreline or downstream boundary. Patterns of landward/seaward migration of the shoreline (i.e., transgression/regression) and the alluvial basement transition (i.e., coastal onlap/offlap) in the rock record are often used for reconstruction of past sea-level changes. Theories for stratigraphic interpretation, however, need to be adapted to deal with internal (autogenic) processes that could play a significant role, but are to date largely unexplored. In particular, in-situ …

Evidence For A Highly Dynamic West Antarctic Ice Sheet During The Pliocene, Karsten Gohl, Gabriele Uenzelmann-Neben, Johanna Gille-Petzoldt, Claus Dieter Hillenbrand, Johann P. Klages, Steven M. Bohaty, Sandra Passchier, Thomas Frederichs, Julia S. Wellner, Rachel Lamb, German Leitchenkov, A. Klaus, D. Kulhanek, T. Bauersachs, M. Courtillat, E. Cowan, M. De Lira Mota, M. Esteves, J. Fegyveresi, L. Gao, A. Halberstadt, K. Horikawa, M. Iwai, J. Kim, T. King, M. Penkrot, J. Prebble, W. Rahaman, B. Reinardy, J. Renaudie, D. Robinson, R. Scherer, C. Siddoway

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Major ice loss in the Amundsen Sea sector of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) is hypothesized to have triggered ice sheet collapses during past warm periods such as those in the Pliocene. International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 379 recovered continuous late Miocene to Holocene sediments from a sediment drift on the continental rise, allowing assessment of sedimentation processes in response to climate cycles and trends since the late Miocene. Via seismic correlation to the shelf, we interpret massive prograding sequences that extended the outer shelf by 80 km during the Pliocene through frequent advances of grounded ice. Buried …

How Can Collaborative Engagement Improve Water Quality? An On-The-Ground Perspective From The Musconetcong River, Alan R. Hunt

Sustainability Seminar Series

Partnerships are instrumental to improving water quality, especially difficult challenges like addressing non-point source pollution. Hear how over a thirty year timespan local residents worked to improve water quality, first through protecting the Musconetcong River as a National Wild and Scenic River, and then using that status to work collaboratively with federal and state agencies, non-governmental organizations, and local land owners to reduce pollution from farms and remove abandoned dams.

Effects Of Differing Environmental Conditions On Bacteriophage Jenika, Gerard Nasser

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The dynamic role of bacteriophage in different environmental areas poses important questions about viral interactions with and control of bacteria. Bacteriophage play a vital role in the evolutionary track of bacteria. The evolutionary role of bacteriophage is affected by lysogenic conversion, transduction, mediated gene transfer, and the exertion of selective pressures. The objective of this research was to determine if there were changes in growth of the bacterial host Mycobacterium smegmatis and its bacteriophage Jenika given isolated changes in environmental conditions. Growth of the host, M. smegmatis, was documented using changes in optical density and growth of one of its …

Effect Of Abiotic Factors On Enzyme Activity In Brownfield Soils, Diane Hagmann

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Several factors can influence soil function, including biotic and abiotic. Biotic factors are those that are living, like microorganisms. Abiotic factors are those that are non-living, and include heavy metals, organic contaminants, pH, and nutrients. Liberty State Park in Jersey City (N.J., U.S.A), is a 100-ha brownfield was once a major rail yard that was restricted public access in 1969. The site without any intervention of humans grew a forest. The primary objective of this dissertation is to understand the impacts of both inorganic and organic contaminants on soil function in addition to provide strategies that can override the negative …

Impact Of Covid-19 On Residential Waste Streams Of Montclair Township, Jeanne Huguette Perrine

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The COVID-19 pandemic has been found to have numerous impacts on day-to-day life, everywhere around the globe. One important sector which is particularly being affected is the waste management sector. Reports from the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) showed possible variations in the source and volume of solid waste generated due to the enforcement of lockdown by the authorities to contain the coronavirus outbreak (Kulkarni & Anantharama, 2020). Food waste specifically is one of the most discussed topics in the world nowadays. About one-third of the food produced for humans ends up in the trash (Nusaka, 2020). It …

Upstream Propagation Of Sea-Level Signals In Fluvio-Deltaic Environments : Time-Lags, And The Dynamics Of The Fluvial Surface, Madeline Pianta Kollegger

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The sedimentary record of fluvio-deltaic environments holds clues to past climate and sea level change. Although theories for stratigraphic interpretation generally rely upon the assumption that the fluvial surface responds uniformly to sea level changes, recent theoretical work suggests that changes in the relief and concavity of the fluvial surface can influence the propagation of sea level information upstream, and result in geologically long-lived lags in the system response. We test this theoretical result using measurements from an evolving experimental delta subject to sea-level cycles. As predicted by the theoretical results, during sea-level fall the relief increases and the fluvial …