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Eos Spheres, Vol. 1, Issue 1 (Winter 2002), University Of New Hampshire. Institute For The Study Of Earth, Oceans And Space

EOS Spheres

Newsletter of the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, at the University of New Hampshire.

Faculty Excellence, University Of New Hampshire

Faculty Excellence Awards

Each year, the University of New Hampshire selects a small number of its outstanding faculty for special recognition of their achievements in teaching, scholarship and service. Awards for Excellence in Teaching are given in each college and school, and university-wide awards recognize public service, research, teaching and engagement. This booklet details the year's award winners' accomplishments in short profiles with photographs and text.

Sense Of Place Among New England Organic Farmers And Commercial Fishermen: How Social Context Shapes Identity And Environmentally Responsible Behavior, Anneliese Marie Mueller

Doctoral Dissertations

Given the prominence of sense of place in new environmental education curricula, this study aims to strengthen the conceptual and empirical foundations of sense of place, and to determine how sense of place may be linked to environmentally responsible behavior. For this study, five commercial fishermen and five organic farmers from the New England Seacoast region participated in a series of in-depth phenomenological interviews and observations. The data was systematically coded in order to allow themes and categories to emerge. The results indicate that aspects of the existing conceptual framework of sense of place, such as place attachment, ecological knowledge, …

Improved Swellable Polymer Microspheres For Chemical Sensing, Necati Kaval

Doctoral Dissertations

Derivatized lightly crosslinked polymer microspheres that swell and shrink as a function of pH have been investigated to develop polymeric transduction elements for fiber optic sensors and other sensors. The microspheres were immobilized in hydrogels forming a membrane. The membranes look turbid because of the difference between the refractive index of hydrogel and the refractive index of microspheres. As the microspheres swell as a function of pH, their refractive index decreases approaching the refractive index of the hydrogel. As a result, the turbidity of the membrane decreases. The change in the turbidity of the membrane was monitored by a UV-Vis-NIR …

A Gender And Development (Gad) Implementation Evaluation: Testimonios Reveal The Successes, Challenges, And Unpredicted Results For Women's Equality And Community Sustainability, Melinda Salazar

Doctoral Dissertations

This is a case study of a Gender and Development implementation evaluation in several rural, Baha'i communities in Andean Bolivian. "Traditional Media as Change Agent," funded by UNIFEM (UN International Fund for Women) and implemented by BIC (Baha'i International Community), was an innovative, non-economic approach to change gender attitudes and behaviors by including men in a consultative process using traditional media. This study responded to criticism that GAD ignored the environment, was lodged squarely in Western economic development thought and Western feminist values, and lacked the voices of the women and men for whom development aims to benefit.

This study …

Annual Report For The Town Of Bedford, New Hampshire, For The Year Ending December 31, 2001., Bedford Town Representatives

Bedford, NH Annual Reports

This is an annual report containing vital statistics for a town/city in the state of New Hampshire.

Unh Seeks High School Students For February Noreaster Bowl, Sharon Keeler

Media Relations

No abstract provided.

Public Perceptions Of Genetically Engineered Foods: Playing God Or Trusting Science, Michael D. Mehta

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

The author considers whether levels of religiosity or scientism affect public perceptions of genetically engineered foods.

Over A Decade Of Comparative Risk Analysis: A Review Of The Human Health Rankings, David M. Konisky

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

The author reviews a method for undertaking a cross-project comparison of comparative risk analyses to understand which environmental problem areas have been cited most as often posing the severest risks.

The Effects Of Co2, Climate And Land-Use On Terrestrial Carbon Balance, 1920-1992: An Analysis With Four Process-Based Ecosystem Models, A. David Mcguire, Stephen Sitch, J. S. Clein, R. J. Dargaville, Gerd Esser, J. Foley, Martin Heimann, Fortunat Joos, J. Kaplan, David W. Kicklighter, R. A. Meier, Jerry M. Melillo, Berrien Moore Iii, I. Colin Prentice, N. Ramankutty, T. Reichenau, Annette L. Schloss, H. Tian, L. J. Williams, Uwe Wittenberg

All Materials

The concurrent effects of increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration, climate variability, and cropland establishment and abandonment on terrestrial carbon storage between 1920 and 1992 were assessed using a standard simulation protocol with four process-based terrestrial biosphere models. Over the long-term(1920–1992), the simulations yielded a time history of terrestrial uptake that is consistent (within the uncertainty) with a long-term analysis based on ice core and atmospheric CO2 data. Up to 1958, three of four analyses indicated a net release of carbon from terrestrial ecosystems to the atmosphere caused by cropland establishment. After 1958, all analyses indicate a net uptake of carbon by …

Annual Report Of The Town Officers Of Swanzey, New Hampshire For The Year Ending December 31, 2000., Swanzey Town Representatives

Swanzey, NH Annual Reports

This is an annual report containing vital statistics for a town/city in the state of New Hampshire.

Detection Of Giardia Lamblia And Cryptosporidium Parvum In The Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea Virginica) Harvested From The Great Bay Estuary, Kim Marie Stowell

Doctoral Dissertations

The Great Bay Estuarine system is being impacted by point source and nonpoint source pollution that affect shellfish quality. Many outbreaks of human gastroenteritis are potentially caused by the consumption of raw or undercooked oysters in which the protozoan pathogens, Giardia lamblia and Cryptosporidium parvum are present. The development of a rapid and sensitive technique to detect infectious protozoa in oysters is a necessity.

Immunofluorescence has been employed as a technique for the detection of these organisms in drinking water. Cross reactivity with algae and the production of false positive results limits the usefulness of this technique in environmental studies. …

The New Hampshire, Vol. 89 [90], No. 49 (Apr. 18, 2000), The New Hampshire

The New Hampshire Print Edition

An independent student produced newspaper from the University of New Hampshire. This volume was printed as 89, but it is the 90th volume in the series. This was corrected in pencil.

Satellite Observation Of El Niño Effects On Amazon Forest Phenology And Productivity, Gregory P. Asner, Alan R. Townsend, Rob Braswell

Earth Sciences

Climate variability may affect the functioning of Amazon moist tropical forests, and recent modeling analyses suggest that the carbon dynamics of the region vary interannually in response to precipitation and temperature anomalies. However, due to persistent orbital and atmospheric artifacts in the satellite record, remote sensing observations have not provided quantitative evidence that climate variation affects Amazon forest phenology or productivity. We developed a method to minimize and quantify non-biological artifacts in NOAA AVHRR satellite data, providing a record of estimated forest phenological variation from 1982–1993. The seasonal NDVI amplitude (a proxy for phenology) increased throughout much of the basin …

The New Hampshire, Vol. 89 [90], No. 42 (Mar. 24, 2000), The New Hampshire

The New Hampshire Print Edition

An independent student produced newspaper from the University of New Hampshire. This volume was printed as 89, but it is the 90th volume in the series. This was corrected in pencil.

The Precautionary Principle In Australia: Policy, Law & Potential Precautionary Eias, Warwick Gullett

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Dr. Gullet argues that environmental impact assessments are a logical vehicle for factoring the precautionary principle into large-project-approval processes.

Annual Reports Of The Town Officers Of Wilton, Nh For The Year Ending December 31, 1999. Wilton-Lyndeborough Cooperative & Wilton School District For The Year Ending June 30, 1999., Wilton Town Representatives

Wilton, NH Annual Reports

This is an annual report containing vital statistics for a town/city in the state of New Hampshire.

Shelley And The Nature Of Nonviolence, William James Stroup

Doctoral Dissertations

This is a study of the English Romantic poet and essayist Percy Bysshe Shelley's conception of the role and function of humans in the natural world, and of his influence on later reformers. Shelley's long poems Queen Mab, Laon and Cythna, and Prometheus Unbound are discussed as a trilogy where his themes of political nonviolence and protoecological awareness became integrated; also discussed at length are Mont Blanc, The Mask of Anarchy, and The Triumph of Life. The legacy of Shelley's poetry and ideas is discussed through two key figures who met in the 1880s: the now obscure Shelleyan and animal …

Disturbance Indicators For Time Series Reconstruction And Marine Ecosystem Health Impact Assessment, Benjamin Harrison Sherman

Doctoral Dissertations

A systematic reconstruction of Multiple Marine Ecological Disturbances (MMEDs) involving disease occurrence, morbidity and mortality events has been undertaken so that a taxonomy of globally distributed marine disturbance types can be better quantified and common forcing factors identified. Combined disturbance data include indices of morbidity, mortality and disease events affecting humans, marine invertebrates, flora and wildlife populations. In the search for the best disturbance indicators of ecosystem change, the unifying solution for joining data from disparate fields is to organize data into space/time/topic hierarchies that permit convergence of data due to shared and appropriate scaling. The scale of the data …

Net Ecosystem Productivity And Its Uncertainty In A Diverse Boreal Peatland, Jill L. Bubier, Steve Frolking, P Crill, Ernst Linder

Earth Sciences

Net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of CO₂ was measured in four peatlands along plant community, hydrologic, and water chemistry gradients from bog to rich fen in a diverse peatland complex near Thompson, Manitoba, as part of the Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study (BOREAS). A simple model for estimating growing season net ecosystem productivity (NEP) using continuous measurements of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), and peat temperature was constructed with weekly chamber measurements of NEE from May to October 1996. The model explained 79–83% of the variation in NEE across the four sites. Model estimation and parameter uncertainty calculations were performed using nonlinear regression …

Pollution Prevention: Factors Behind Toxic Release Reduction In The U.S. Paper Industry, John P. Tiefenbacher, William D. Solecki

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Drs. Tiefenbacher and Solecki analyze the factors associated with, and influential in, the reduction of toxic releases in the U.S. paper industry.

The New Hampshire, Vol. 88 [89], No. 46 (April 16, 1999), The New Hampshire

The New Hampshire Print Edition

An independent student produced newspaper from the University of New Hampshire. This volume was printed as 88, but it is the 89th volume in the series. This was corrected in pencil.

Environmental Risk And The Traditional Sector Approach: Market Efficiency At The Core Of Environmental Law, John Martin Gillroy

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Professor Gillroy provides an in-depth discussion on the evolution of environmental law and the proposition that market efficiency has been, and still is, at its core.

The Role Of Trust In The North Blackforest: An Evaluation Of A Citizen Panel Project, Ragnar E. Löfstedt

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Dr. Löfstedt explores the effectiveness of a public participation project conducted in Germany, designed to involve citizens in the siting of municipal waste disposal plants.

The Long-Term Effects Of Disturbance On Nitrogen Cycling And Loss In The White Mountains, New Hampshire, Christine Lynn Goodale

Doctoral Dissertations

Theories of nitrogen retention suggest that N cycling and loss should increase with ecosystem successional age and with chronic N deposition over time (N saturation). These factors both affect northeastern U.S. forests, most of which receive elevated rates of N deposition and have experienced past disturbances by wind, logging, fire, or agriculture. This work examined the long-term (80--110 year) effects of land-use history on nitrogen cycling and loss in the White Mountains, New Hampshire. Historical land-use maps were used to identify a network of watersheds and plots containing burned, logged, or old-growth forests. Nitrate-N fluxes from old-growth watersheds exceeded those …

Controls On Spatial And Temporal Variability In Nitrous Oxide Fluxes Across A Tropical Rainforest Ecosystem In The Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico, Claire Patricia Mcswiney

Doctoral Dissertations

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a trace gas that contributes to the greenhouse effect and participates in the reactions that destroy stratospheric ozone. Soil microbial processes are significant producers of this trace gas, particularly in tropical areas, which are considered major sources in the global N2O budget. Nitrous oxide fluxes to the atmosphere are variable in space and time. In this study, spatial and temporal variability in surface N2O fluxes were assessed as well as the major environmental controls on N2O production for a tropical rainforest watershed in northeastern Puerto Rico. A static chamber technique was used to assess surface fluxes …

Designing An Analytic Deliberative Process For Environmental Health Policy Making In The U.S. Nuclear Weapons Complex, Seth Tuler, Thomas Webler

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Using a National Research Council Report as a centerpiece, Drs. Tuler and Webler evaluate the effectiveness of a conceptual approach to risk policy-making.

Seasonal Patterns And Controls On Net Ecosystem Co2 Exchange In A Boreal Peatland Complex, Jill L. Bubier, Patrick M. Crill, Tim R. Moore, Kathleen Savage, Ruth K. Varner

Faculty Publications

We measured seasonal patterns of net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of CO2 in a diverse peatland complex underlain by discontinuous permafrost in northern Manitoba, Canada, as part of the Boreal Ecosystems Atmosphere Study (BOREAS). Study sites spanned the full range of peatland trophic and moisture gradients found in boreal environments from bog (pH 3.9) to rich fen (pH 7.2). During midseason (July‐August, 1996), highest rates of NEE and respiration followed the trophic sequence of bog (5.4 to −3.9 μmol CO2 m−2 s−1) < poor fen (6.3 to −6.5 μmol CO2 m−2 s−1) < intermediate fen (10.5 to −7.8 μmol CO2 m−2 s−1) < rich fen (14.9 to −8.7 μmol CO2m−2 s−1). The sequence changed during spring (May‐June) and fall (September‐October) when ericaceous shrub (e.g., Chamaedaphne calyculata) bogs and sedge (Carex spp.) communities in poor to intermediate fens had higher maximum CO2 fixation rates than deciduous shrub‐dominated (Salix spp. and Betula spp.) rich fens. Timing of snowmelt and differential rates of peat surface thaw in microtopographic hummocks and hollows controlled the onset of carbon uptake in spring. Maximum photosynthesis and respiration were closely correlated throughout the growing season with a ratio of approximately 1/3 ecosystem respiration to maximum carbon uptake at all sites across the trophic gradient. Soil temperatures above the water table and timing of surface thaw and freeze‐up in the spring and fall were more important to net CO2 exchange than deep soil warming. This close coupling of maximum CO2 uptake and respiration to easily measurable variables, such as trophic status, peat temperature, and water table, will improve models of wetland carbon exchange. Although trophic status, aboveground net primary productivity, and surface temperatures were more important than water level in predicting respiration on a daily basis, the mean position of the water table was a good predictor (r2 = 0.63) of mean respiration rates across the range of plant community and moisture gradients. Q10 values ranged from 3.0 to 4.1 from bog to rich fen, but when normalized by above ground vascular plant biomass, the Q10 for all sites was 3.3.

Measuring And Modeling Northeastern Forest Ecosystem Response To Environmental Stresses, Jennifer Caroline Jenkins

Doctoral Dissertations

Because forest responses to CO$\sb2$ fertilization and associated climate change are likely to be extremely complex, numerical models representing forest response to an integrated set of future conditions can be useful predictive tools. I compared predictions of forest net primary productivity (NPP) made by two ecosystem process models (PnET-II and TEM 4.0) using different climate scenarios, spatial resolutions, and methods of representing land cover and soils. Decreasing spatial resolution did not appreciably change NPP estimates. Input datasets, particularly climate, land cover, and soil water holding capacity, were important sources of variability in NPP estimates. These datasets interacted with model structures …

Turning To Earth: Paths To An Ecological Practice, Florence Marina Schauffler

Doctoral Dissertations

In highly developed countries like the United States, conventional approaches to environmental change emphasize systemic measures such as policies and regulations. Yet many intractable environmental problems appear to be rooted in the perspectives and practices of individual citizens. Efforts to restore 'outer ecology' may depend, therefore, on transforming 'inner ecology'--the constellation of spiritual and moral values that guide action. This dissertation examines the inner dimensions of ecological change, demonstrating how individuals redefine their relation to earth through a process of 'ecological conversion.'.

In assessing the dynamics of conversion, this work relies primarily on the testimony of six 20th-century American writers: …