Digital Commons Network^™

Cover Crops May Cause Winter Warming In Snow-Covered Regions, Danica L. Lombardozzi, Gordon B. Bonan

Faculty Publications

Cover crops, grown between cash crops when soil is fallow, are a management strategy that may help mitigate climate change. The biogeochemical effects of cover crops are well documented, as they provide numerous localized benefits to farmers. We test potential biogeophysical climate impacts of idealized cover crop scenarios by assuming that cover crops are planted offseason in all crop regions throughout North America. Our results suggest that planting cover crops increases wintertime temperature up to 3 °C in central North America by decreasing albedo in regions with variable snowpack. Cover crops with higher leaf area indices increase temperature more by …

Unh Announces First Members Of Its Alumni Entrepreneur Hall Of Fame, Erika Mantz

Media Relations

No abstract provided.

Flushing Time Versus Residence Time For The Great Bay Estuary, Kalle Matso

PREP Reports & Publications

The terms “flushing time” and “residence time” have cropped up often in discussions about water quality and eelgrass health in the Great Bay Estuary. Flushing time and residence time are not the same thing and should not be used interchangeably. Flushing time is defined as the time it takes to replace a certain water mass in a coastal system and is most often used as a general measurement of water exchange in an estuary used to relate water exchange from one estuary to another. The most recent estimates of flushing time (2013) for the Great Bay are between 2.5 and …

Unh: The Magazine Of The University Of New Hampshire, Fall 2018, Unh Magazine

UNH Magazine

No abstract provided.

Taking Credit: Case Study Of A Uv System To Expand Methods Of Virus Inactivation And To Quantify The Enhanced Public Health And Sustainability, Tyler Kane

Master's Theses and Capstones

Public water systems (PWSs) must provide 4-log virus inactivation to comply with EPA’s Surface Water Rule (LT2ESWTR) or Ground Water Rule (GWR), while also complying with the Disinfection Byproduct Rule (Stage 2 DBPR). A UV dose of 186 mJ/cm2 meets this inactivation requirement, but increases energy use, capital and operation costs, and causes technical challenges for validating UV performance. The result: many water systems resort to solely using chemical disinfectants, increasing their risk of disinfection byproduct (DBP) formation. This required UV dose is based off previous studies on the wavelength response adenovirus at 254nm, where traditional low pressure (LP) lamps …

A Hydrokinetic Energy Conversion System For Use At Bridges With The Memorial Bridge As A Case Study, Ian Gagnon

Master's Theses and Capstones

As a part of the Living Bridge Project on the Memorial Bridge between Portsmouth, NH and Kittery, ME a turbine deployment system for use at bridges was designed, built, and deployed. One of the purposes of the Living Bridge Project is to demonstrate that advantages to deploying hydrokinetic turbines at bridges exist. The expected advantages include 1) good hydrokinetic resources are likely to occur at bridges because bridges are typically built at constrictions where the flow tends to speed up, 2) existing bridge structures can be used as mooring points, 3) existing bridge permits can be leveraged to aid in …

Analysis Of Uncertainty In Underwater Multiview Reconstruction, Igor V. Kozlov

Master's Theses and Capstones

Multiview reconstruction, a method for creating 3D models from multiple images from different views, has been a popular topic of research in the eld of computer vision in the last two decades. Increased availability of high-quality cameras led to the development of advanced techniques and algorithms. However, little attention has been paid to multiview reconstruction in underwater conditions. Researchers in a wide variety of elds (e.g. marine biology, archaeology, and geology) could benefit from having 3D models of seafloor and underwater objects. Cameras, designed to operate in air, must be put in protective housings to work underwater. This affects the …

Optical Properties Of Laboratory Generated Aerosol: Complex Refractive Index Retrieval For Polystyrene Latex Spheres, And Extinction Enhancement Of Montmorillonite By Water Swelling, Tyler Galpin

Master's Theses and Capstones

Aerosol can alter climate through the interaction with solar radiation by absorbing and scattering solar radiation. Absorption and scattering are governed by complex refractive index (CRI) dependent on the chemical composition and wavelength, the physical properties of the aerosol such as size, and other atmospheric parameters such as relative humidity (RH). CRI is commonly reported as the real portion at a single wavelength, or is unknown, which introduces uncertainty when those values are used as input for climate models. Two optical interrogation techniques, Aerosol Extinction Differential Absorption Spectroscopy (AE-DOAS) and Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy (CRD), allow for controlled measurements of laboratory …

Investigations Of The Effects Of Reading Skill And Epistemological Beliefs On Learning In General Chemistry, And How Students Use Textbooks To Study, Rene Buell

Doctoral Dissertations

Understanding how student characteristics affect learning in chemistry can influence the pedagogical strategies employed by chemistry instructors. Previous studies have investigated the effects of characteristics including prior knowledge, math ability, and motivations on course performance. Student characteristics can also influence study strategies employed by students. Few studies, however, have focused on the role of language and reading comprehension skill on learning in chemistry, and fewer have investigated the levels of epistemological beliefs of general chemistry students. Three studies are presented in this dissertation. In the first study, the effects of prior knowledge and reading comprehension skill on learning from reading …

Unitarily Invariant Norms On Finite Von Neumann Algebras, Haihui Fan

Doctoral Dissertations

John von Neumann’s 1937 characterization of unitarily invariant norms on the n × n matrices in terms of symmetric gauge norms on Cn had a huge impact on linear algebra. In 2008 his results were extended to Ifactor von Neumann algebras by J. Fang, D. Hadwin, E. Nordgren and J. Shen. There already have been many important applications. The factor von Neumann algebras are the atomic building blocks from which every von Neumann algebra can be built. My work, which includes a new proof of the Ifactor case, extends von Neumann’s results to an arbitrary finite von Neumann algebra on …

The Effect Of Ionospheric Conductivity On Magnetospheric Dynamics, Benjamin Joseph Jensen

Doctoral Dissertations

The connection between ionospheric conductivity and the dynamics of the magnetosphere was investigated, using several methods to change the ionospheric conductivity and then study the resultant changes to the magnetosphere. Computer simulations of the Earth's geospace environment were utilized using OpenGGCM coupled with an ionosphere model CTIM and a ring current model RCM.

Three methods were used to modify ionospheric conductivity. The incoming particle precipitation was modified by several orders of magnitude $\alpha=.01,.1,1,10$, the ionospheric conductivity was increased or decreased by factors $\beta=.25, .5, 1, 2,$ and $4$, and for the last method differing values of $F_{10.7}$, $70,110, 150, 200,$ …

The Structure, Limits, And Drivers Of Daphnid Diversity, Richard Joseph Knecht

Master's Theses and Capstones

In 1961 Hutchinson proposed the “Paradox of the Plankton” questioning how sympatric planktonic species can coexist for long periods of time while seemingly avoiding the competitive exclusion principle. As this ‘paradox’ became a focus of inquiry, one researcher conducted a 2-year study (1961-1962; Tappa 1965) on Aziscohos Lake Daphnia to address the question. While the study did not solve the enigma, it provided a detailed record of the dynamics and interactions of six coexisting species. Aziscohos Lake and its zooplankton have not been studied since. This study revisits the ‘paradox of the plankton’ by establishing the dynamics of extant Daphnid …

Strength Of The Relationship Between Floods And Extreme Rainfall Events In The United States, Benjamin John Miller

Master's Theses and Capstones

The frequency and intensity of heavy rainfall events have increased throughout the United States over the past 100 years and are projected to continue to increase in the future (Karl et al., 2009; National Climate Assessment, 2014). Despite the consistent trends in precipitation, trends in flooding are not as clear due to additional complex flood generation mechanisms such as soil moisture and snowmelt as well as the impacts of land use change and watershed regulation and diversion (Berghuijs et al., 2016; Collins et al., 2014; Villarini et al., 2009; Vogel et al., 2011). This study evaluates the strength of the …

Learning Temporal Dynamics Of Human-Robot Interactions From Demonstrations, Estuardo Rene Carpio Mazariegos

Master's Theses and Capstones

The presence of robots in society is becoming increasingly common, triggering the need to learn reliable policies to automate human-robot interactions (HRI). Manually developing policies for HRI is particularly challenging due to the complexity introduced by the human component. The aim of this thesis is to explore the benefits of leveraging temporal reasoning to learn policies for HRIs from demonstrations. This thesis proposes and evaluates two distinct temporal reasoning approaches. The first one consists of a temporal-reasoning-based learning from demonstration (TR-LfD) framework that employs a variant of an Interval Temporal Bayesian Network to learn the temporal dynamics of an interaction. …

Investigation Of Surface Models And The Use Of A Smart Rock For Rockfall Modeling, Corinne R. Disenhof

Master's Theses and Capstones

Rockfall is a worldwide problem, claiming lives and causing damage to infrastructure. Common and well-studied in mountainous areas, it nevertheless poses hazards in less rugged terrain as well. In New Hampshire, major instances of rockfall occur infrequently, despite the well-publicized demise of the Old Man in the Mountain. To maintain this level of safety, the Department of Transportation monitors and remediates rock cuts along roadways to minimize the threat of rockfall. However, detailed assessments of rock slope stability, such as 3D structural and stability analyses and 2D rockfall runout modeling, are rare. A major limit on these analyses is the …

Teaching Population Health: Innovations In The Integration Of The Healthcare And Public Health Systems, Rosemary M. Caron, Anne M. Hewitt, Julie H. Carmalt, Edmond A. Hooker

Faculty Publications

Population health is a critical concept in healthcare delivery today. Many healthcare administrators are struggling to adapt their organization from fee-for-service to value delivery. Payers and patients expect healthcare leaders to understand how to deliver care under this new model. Health administration programs play a critical role in training future leaders of healthcare organizations to be adaptable and effective in this dynamic environment. The purpose of this research was to: (a) engage current educators of health administration students in a dialogue about the best practices of integrating the healthcare and public health systems; (b) identify the content and pedagogy for …

Pedagogy: How To Best Teach Population Health To Future Healthcare Leaders, Rosemary M. Caron, Edmond A. Hooker, Anne M. Hewitt, Julie H. Carmalt

Faculty Publications

Our healthcare system is moving from a fee-for-service reimbursement model to one that provides payment for improvements in three areas related to care: quality, coordination, and cost. Healthcare organizations must use a population health approach when delivering care under this new paradigm. Health administration programs play a critical role in training future leaders of healthcare organizations to be adaptable and effective in this dynamic environment. The purpose of this research was to: (1) engage health administration educators in a dialogue about population health and its relevance to healthcare administration education; (2) describe pedagogical methods appropriate for teaching population health skills …

Population Genetics And Male Social Behavior In The Australian Small Carpenter Bee, Ceratina Australensis, Robert L. Oppenheimer

Master's Theses and Capstones

Small carpenter bees (Xylocopinae: Ceratinini) in the genus Ceratina are a cosmopolitan group of stem nesting bees. All Ceratina show a degree of mutual tolerance for nestmates as they nest together in pre-dispersal assemblages and display extended maternal care. Many Ceratina also nest facultatively with multiple females per nest. Males usually disperse before the beginning of the reproductive season. Ceratina have emerged as model organisms to study the evolution of social behavior within the Hymenoptera (ants, bees and wasps). As hymenopteran sex is determined by the haplodiploid sex determination system wherein males are haploid and females are diploid, the result …

Broadband Acoustic Measurements Of A Controlled Seep With Multiple Gases For Verification Of Flux Estimates Through Bubble Dissolution And Target Strength Models, Kevin Michael Rychert

Master's Theses and Capstones

To verify existing models for conversion of acoustic target strength to estimates of the total volume of methane gas released from the seafloor through the water column, a synthetic seep system was designed and fabricated. This system creates individual bubbles of the sizes most commonly found in gaseous methane seeps, <1 to 5mm radii, which can be released at any interval at depths up to 200m. The synthetic seep system was deployed off the coast of New Hampshire adjacent to the Isles of Shoals to a depth of 55m. Acoustic backscatter from 16-24kHz was collected by steaming over the synthetic seep multiple times with a suite of broadband splitbeam sonar systems. Each iteration ensonified a predetermined and calibrated bubble size created by the system at depth. These data represent a direct field measurement which was used to test models describing bubble evolution and acoustic scattering during the ascent through the water column for bubbles of different sizes and gasses. Validating these models directly tests the ability of broadband sonar systems to estimate the transport of gas from the seabed to the ocean and atmosphere. Acoustic data from 2.35mm radii argon bubbles, and 2.45mm radii nitrogen bubbles are consistent with bubble evolution and target strength models which validates spherical approximations made in both the mass transfer and acoustic scattering assumptions. Based on the similar uncertainty values for these bubble sizes, these data add confidence to the claims of previous studies which use similar methods for methane flux approximations.

Finding Their Swing, Jody Record

UNH Today Archive

No abstract provided.

Responses Of Non-Native Earthworms To Experimental Eradication Of Garlic Mustard And Implications For Native Vegetation, Kristina A. Stinson, Serita D. Frey, M. R. Jackson, E. Coates-Connor, Mark A. Anthony, K. Martinez

Faculty Publications

Recent studies in invasion biology suggest that positive feedback among two or more introduced organisms facilitate establishment within a new range and drive changes in native plant communities. Here, we experimentally tested for relationships between native plants and two non-native organisms invading forest habitats in North America: garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata, Brassicaceae) and earthworms. In two forested sites, we compared understory vegetation and earthworm biomass in plots where garlic mustard was removed for three years, plots without garlic mustard invasion, and plots invaded by garlic mustard that was not removed. Earthworm biomass was highest in the plots with garlic mustard, …

Monica Chiu Named Interim Head Of Diversity, Community, Jody Record

UNH Today Archive

No abstract provided.

Problem Solvers, Tracey Bentley

UNH Today Archive

No abstract provided.

Sediment Characteristics And Methane Ebullition In Three Subarctic Lakes, Martin Wik, Joel E. Johnson, Patrick M. Crill, Joel P. Destasio, Lance Erickson, Madison J. Halloran, Maria Florencia Fahnestock, Maurice K. Crawford, Stephen C. Phillips, Ruth K. Varner

Faculty Publications

Ebullition (bubbling) from climate‐sensitive northern lakes remains an unconstrained source of atmospheric methane (CH4). Although the focus of many recent studies, ebullition is rarely linked to the physical characteristics of lakes. In this study we analyze the sediments of subarctic postglacial lakes and investigate how sediment properties relate to the large spatial variation in CH4 bubble flux, quantified over multiple years using bubble traps. The results show that the sediments from our lakes are rich in total organic carbon, containing 37 kg/m3 on average. This number is roughly 40% higher than the average for yedoma deposits, which have been identified …

Litter Identity Affects Assimilation Of Carbon And Nitrogen By A Shredding Caddisfly, Adam C. Siders, Zacchaeus G. Compson, Bruce A. Hungate, Paul Dijkstra, George W. Koch, Adam S. Wymore, A. Stuart Grandy, Jane C. Marks

Faculty Publications

Ecologists often equate litter quality with decomposition rate. In soil and sediments, litter that is rapidly decomposed by microbes often has low concentrations of tannin and lignin and low C:N ratios. Do these same traits also favor element transfer to higher trophic levels in streams, where many insects depend on litter as their primary food source? We test the hypothesis that slow decomposition rates promote element transfer from litter to insects, whereas rapid decomposition favors microbes. We measured carbon and nitrogen fluxes from four plant species to a leaf-shredding caddisfly using isotopically labeled litter. Caddisflies assimilated a higher percentage of …

Modelling Competencies For Computing Education Beyond 2020: A Research Based Approach To Defining Competencies In The Computing Disciplines, Stephen Thomas Frezza, Mats Daniels, Arnold N. Pears, Asa Cajander, Viggo Kann, Amanpreet Kapoor, Roger Mcdermott, Anne Kahtrin Peters, Mihaela Sabin, Charles Robert Wallace

Applied Engineering and Sciences Scholarship

How might the content and outcomes of tertiary education programmes be described and analysed in order to understand how they are structured and function? To address this question we develop a framework for modelling graduate competencies linked to tertiary degree programmes in the computing disciplines. While the focus of our work is computing the framework is applicable to education more broadly.

The work presented here draws upon the pioneering curricular document for information technology (IT2017), curricular competency frameworks, other related documents such as the software engineering competency model (SWECOM), the Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA), current research in …

Granite State College Undergraduate 2018-2019 Catalog, Granite State College

Granite State College Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Granite State College Graduate Studies 2018-2019 Catalog, Granite State College

Granite State College Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Acquisition Planning: A Process For Contract Support And Timely Budget Execution, David Devoy

M. S. in Management

The purpose of this action research project is to develop acquisition policy and procedures for the New Hampshire Army National Guard to decrease acquisition risk and increase budget execution. Contracting data collected reveals that 47% of acquisitions occurred during the last four months of the fiscal year 2017. Internal and external factors will be analyzed to determine an appropriate course of action and implementation plan. The project will enlist subject matter experts from across the National Guard. The end state is to ensure customers are supported through timely execution of contracts and efficient use of resources.

Minerals In The Rhizosphere: Overlooked Mediators Of Soil Nitrogen Availability To Plants And Microbes, Andrea Jilling, Marco Keiluweit, Alexandra R. Contosta, Serita D. Frey, Joshua Schimel, Jorg Schnecker, Richard G. Smith, Lisa Tiemann, A. Stuart Grandy

Faculty Publications

Despite decades of research progress, ecologists are still debating which pools and fluxes provide nitrogen (N) to plants and soil microbes across different ecosystems. Depolymerization of soil organic N is recognized as the rate-limiting step in the production of bioavailable N, and it is generally assumed that detrital N is the main source. However, in many mineral soils, detrital polymers constitute a minor fraction of total soil organic N. The majority of organic N is associated with clay-sized particles where physicochemical interactions may limit the accessibility of N-containing compounds. Although mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM) has historically been considered a critical, …