Digital Commons Network^™

The Spectral Ocean Color Imager (Spoc) – An Adjustable Multispectral Imager, David L. Cotten, Nicholas Neel, Deepak Mishra, Marguerite Madden, Caleb Adams, Susanne Ullrich, Adrian Burd, Malcolm Adams, Kaitlyn Summey, Casper Versteeg, Jackson Parker, Fred Beyette

Small Satellite Conference

SPOC (SPectral Ocean Color) is a 3U small satellite mission that will use an adjustable multispectral imager to map sensitive coastal regions and off coast water quality of Georgia and beyond. SPOC is being developed by the University of Georgia’s (UGA) Small Satellite Research Laboratory (SSRL) through NASA’s Undergraduate Student Instrument Project (USIP). UGA is working with Cloudland Instruments to develop a small scale (< 1000 >cm3) multispectral imager, ranging from 400-850nm, for Earth science applications which will fly as part of the NASA CubeSat Launch Initiative.

The project is UGA’s first satellite mission and is built by a team of …

Ant Diversity Patterns Across Tropical Elevation Gradients: Effects Of Sampling Method And Subcommunity, John T. Longino, Michael G. Branstetter, Philip S. Ward

All PIRU Publications

Local diversity may be influenced by niche assembly processes involving competition for limited resources, or by niche conservatism and the length of time clades have had to diversify. Mid‐elevation peaks in ant diversity on wet forest elevational gradients are most consistent with niche conservatism effects. However, it is possible that subsets of the ant community vary in the degree to which niche assembly processes are important, and this may be revealed by sampling methods that bias toward particular subsets. A previous study of ant‐elevation patterns in Middle American wet forest relied on Winkler sampling, a method that samples much of …

Explorations And Collaborations On Two Under-Recognized Native American Food Crops: Southwest Peach (Prunus Persica) And Navajo Spinach (Cleome Serrulata), Reagan C. Wytsalucy

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Agricultural production among the Native American populations of the Southwest declined significantly during the twentieth century. Corn, beans and squash, the three most recognized traditional food crops, remains widespread, but knowledge regarding the traditional management of these crops was lost. The loss of traditional knowledge for Southwest Indigenous Nations was more pronounced for the Southwest peach (Prunus persica) and Navajo spinach (Cleome serrulata Pursh). The Navajo, Hopi, and Zuni Nations are all seeking to increase the availability of traditional crops for their original uses, such as for food and wool dye. In order to revitalize traditional agriculture …

Towards Conjunctive Management Of Surface Water And Groundwater In The Mediterranean, Matthew Lagod

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

One of the fundamental principles of integrated water resources management is the interconnected nature of water in the hydrological cycle, including the interactions between surface water and groundwater. Although scientists have long recognized these interactions, in many cases they are not reflected in natural resources policies and management practices. As a result, the allocation of water resources by public authorities may not be optimal, and may furthermore lead to long-term degradation of water resources and the ecosystems they sustain. In response to this and to growing pressure on water resources from increasing human populations, water experts have developed a body …

Adapting Environmental Ethics And Behaviors: Toward A Posthuman Rhetoric Of Community Engagement, Beth J. Shirley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

What persuades people one way or another to accept or deny climate change? More importantly, what persuades people to act on, ignore, or even be defiant of climate change? We would like to think that people are motivated when they hear the science explained clearly and when they are presented with a clear understanding of how their actions have a lasting impact. Yet the science on climate change has been made clear for some time, and doubt in climate change science is rampant (at least in the United States).

This dissertation seeks to answer these questions and develop a new …

How Virtual Reality Impacts The Landscape Architecture Design Process At Various Scales, Drew M. Hill

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In the field of landscape architecture, the use of virtual reality (VR) is increasing as a tool for visualization and presentation in the late stages of the design process. Many of the benefits that make VR valuable in the later stages of the design process suggest that VR may also be valuable when used in earlier stages such as analysis and concept development. However, existing research does not provide a detailed study of design within VR during those early stages. Recent advancements in technology allow the potential to bring significant changes in the way that design-related professionals collaborate and design. …

Urban Alaskan Moose: An Analysis Of Factors Associated With Moose-Vehicle Collisions, Lucian R. Mcdonald

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

As human populations continue to grow and encroach into wildlife habitats, instances of human-wildlife conflict are on the rise. Increasing numbers of reported wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVCs) provide tangible evidence of anthropogenic impacts on wildlife as well as increasing threats to human health and safety. Increasing WVCs are of particular concern, especially those involving large-bodied ungulates such as moose (Alces spp.), because of the increased risk of property damage, personal injuries, and human fatalities. Motorists directly involved in a WVC are at risk of injury or mortality, but other motorists are also put at risk due to road obstructions and traffic …

The Influence Of Measurement Scale And Uncertainty On Interpretations Of River Migration, Mitchell R. Donovan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Environmental scientists increasingly use remotely-sensed images to measure how rivers develop over time and respond to upstream changes in environmental drivers such as land use, urbanization, deforestation and agricultural practices. These measurements are subject to uncertainty that can bias conclusions. The first step towards accurate interpretation of river channel change is properly quantifying and accounting for uncertainty involved in measuring changes in river morphology. In Chapter 2 we develop a comprehensive framework for quantifying uncertainty in measurements of river change derived from aerial images. The framework builds upon previous uncertainty research by describing best practices and context-specific strategies, comparing each …

Development And Validation Of An Agricultural Literacy Instrument Using The National Agricultural Literacy Outcomes, M. Rose Judd-Murray

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was conducted to develop a standardized agricultural literacy assessment using the National Agricultural Literacy Outcomes (NALOs) as benchmarks. The need for such an assessment was born out of previous research, which found that despite numerous programs dedicated to improving agricultural literacy, many students and adults remain at low or very low levels of literacy. Low literacy levels lead to negative associations with the production and processing of food, clothing, and shelter, as well as misinformed public perceptions and policies. Agricultural literacy researchers recognized that the development of a standardized assessment for post-12^th grade, or equivalent, could unify …

Interval-Valued Kriging Models With Applications In Design Ground Snow Load Prediction, Brennan L. Bean

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

One critical consideration in the design of buildings constructed in the western United States is the weight of settled snow on the roof of the structure. Engineers are tasked with selecting a design snow load that ensures that the building is safe and reliable, without making the construction overly expensive. Western states use historical snow records at weather stations scattered throughout the region to estimate appropriate design snow loads. Various mapping techniques are then used to predict design snow loads between the weather stations. Each state uses different mapping techniques to create their snow load requirements, yet these different techniques …

The Vulnerability Of Littoral Structures Under Multiyear Drought Conditions, Jenna M. Keeton

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Climate change is associated with altered environmental conditions and shifting mosaics of suitable habitats for organisms. Climate change in the form of drought can shift important lake shoreline habitats downslope, altering the lakes chemistry and habitat availability. Additionally, negative biological consequences can occur after a loss of submerged habitat along shorelines, hereafter littoral habitat. The objective of this study is to evaluate whether littoral habitat is lost (cobble, coarse woody habitat (fallen trees; CWH), and aquatic vegetation) under drought conditions across the United States. I used the National Lakes Assessment physical habitat data collected in summer 2012, when 75% of …

Trout Habitat In An Altered Gravel-Bed River With An Augmented Flow Regime, Jacob B. Stout

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Diamond Fork River, and it’s tributary Sixth Water Creek, has been highly altered in terms of shape, function, and ecologicaly due to large, trans-basin flows additions to the system for irrigation starting in the early 1900s. Flows were exceptionally large for 80 years, after which they were reduced in 2004. Larger than natural flows during the low flow season were then added to the river in an effort to improve ecosystem health and recreational fishing opportunities. Since the prescription additional flow during low flow seasons, the river channel has undergone further change, most noticeably in the form of narrowing. …

Educational Policies Committee Program Proposal, College Of Science, July 17 , 2019 - Climate Adaptation Science, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

Utah State University requests approval to restructure Climate Adaptation Science (CAS) effective Fall 2019.

Comparing Design Ground Snow Load Prediction In Utah And Idaho, Brennan L. Bean, Marc Maguire, Yan Sun

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications

Snow loads in the western United States are largely undefined due to complex geography and climates, leaving the individual states to publish detailed studies for their region, usually through the local Structural Engineers Association (SEAs). These associations are typically made up of engineers not formally trained to develop or evaluate spatial statistical methods for their regions and there is little guidance from ASCE 7. Furthermore, little has been written to compare the independently developed design ground snow load prediction methods used by various western states. This paper addresses this topic by comparing the accuracy of a variety of spatial methods …

Do Genetic Differences Explain The Ability Of An Alkaline Shrub To Grow In Both Uplands And Wetlands?, Carol A. Rowe, Paul G. Wolf, Robert W. Lichvar

Biology Faculty Publications

The hydrophyte Allenrolfea occidentalis (S. Watson) Kuntze (iodinebush) is a halophytic shrub of the arid southwest that is listed as a facultative wetland species on the National Wetland Plant List. This rating means that the species is usually a hydrophyte but occasionally is found in uplands. We tested for genetic (ecotypic) differences between plants sampled from wetlands versus uplands. We used the technique of genotyping by sequencing to generate data from 132 plants from 30 locations representing both wetland and upland occurrences for over 1300 loci. Analyses indicated that the strongest genetic signal is from differences in geographic distribution: samples …

Contributions Of Fire Refugia To Resilient Ponderosa Pine And Dry Mixed‐Conifer Forest Landscapes, Jonathan D. Coop, Timothy J. Delory, William M. Downing, Sandra L. Haire, Meg A. Krawchuk, Carol Miller, Marc-André Parisien, Ryan B. Walker

Biology Faculty Publications

Altered fire regimes can drive major and enduring compositional shifts or losses of forest ecosystems. In western North America, ponderosa pine and dry mixed‐conifer forest types appear increasingly vulnerable to uncharacteristically extensive, high‐severity wildfire. However, unburned or only lightly impacted forest stands that persist within burn mosaics—termed fire refugia—may serve as tree seed sources and promote landscape recovery. We sampled tree regeneration along gradients of fire refugia proximity and density at 686 sites within the perimeters of 12 large wildfires that occurred between 2000 and 2005 in the interior western United States. We used generalized linear mixed‐effects models to elucidate …

The Interaction Of Phylogeny And Community Structure: Linking The Community Composition And Trait Evolution Of Clades, William D. Pearse, Pierre Legendre, Pedro R. Peres-Neto, T. Jonathan Davies

Ecology Center Publications

Aim

Community phylogenetic studies use information about the evolutionary relationships of species to understand the ecological processes of community assembly. A central premise of the field is that the evolution of species maps onto ecological patterns, and phylogeny reveals something more than species traits alone about the ecological mechanisms structuring communities, such as environmental filtering, competition, and facilitation. We argue, therefore, that there is a need for better understanding and modelling of the interaction of phylogeny with species traits and community composition.

Innovation

We outline a new approach that identifies clades that are ecophylogenetically clustered or overdispersed and assesses whether …

Twenty-Three Unsolved Problems In Hydrology (Uph) – A Community Perspective, Günter Blöschl, Marc F.P. Bierkens, Antonio Chambel, Christophe Cudennec, Georgia Destouni, Aldo Fiori, James W. Kirchner, Jeffrey J. Mcdonnell, Hubert H.G. Savenije, Murugesu Sivapalan, Christine Stumpp, Elena Toth, Elena Volpi, Gemma Carr, David G. Tarboton, Et. Al

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper is the outcome of a community initiative to identify major unsolved scientific problems in hydrology motivated by a need for stronger harmonisation of research efforts. The procedure involved a public consultation through online media, followed by two workshops through which a large number of potential science questions were collated, prioritised, and synthesised. In spite of the diversity of the participants (230 scientists in total), the process revealed much about community priorities and the state of our science: a preference for continuity in research questions rather than radical departures or redirections from past and current work. Questions remain focused …

Estimating Historical Forest Density From Land‐Survey Data: A Response To Baker And Williams (2018), Carrie R. Levine, Charles V. Cogbill, Brandon M. Collins, Andrew J. Larson, James A. Lutz, Malcolm P. North, Christina M. Restaino, Hugh D. Safford, Scott L. Stephens, John J. Battles

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

In the Western United States, historical forest conditions are used to inform land management and ecosystem restoration goals (North et al. 2009, Stephens et al. 2016). This interest is based on the premise that historical forests were resilient to ecological disturbances (Keane et al. 2018). Researchers throughout the United States have used the General Land Office (GLO) surveys of the late 19th and early 20th centuries to estimate historical forest conditions (Bourdo 1956, Schulte and Mladenoff 2001, Cogbill et al. 2002, Paciorek et al. 2016). These surveys were conducted throughout the United States …

The Slow Displacement Of Smallholder Farming Families: Land, Hunger, And Labor Migration In Nicaragua And Guatemala, Lindsey Carte, Birgit Schmook, Claudia Radel, Richard Johnson

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

Smallholders worldwide continue to experience processes of displacement from their lands under neoliberal political-economic governance. This displacement is often experienced as “slow”, driven by decades of agricultural policies and land governance regimes that favor input-intensive agricultural and natural resource extraction and export projects at the expense of traditional agrarian practices, markets, and producers. Smallholders struggle to remain viable in the face of these forces, yet they often experience hunger. To persist on the land, often on small parcels, families supplement and finance farm production with family members engaging in labor migration, a form of displacement. Outcomes, however, are uneven and …

Attendance Trends Threaten Future Operations Of America’S State Park Systems, Jordan Smith, Emily J. Wilkins, Yu-Fai Leung

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

This research examines how the operating expenditures of America’s state park systems will be affected by a continued growth in attendance consistent with observed trends as well as potential climate futures. We construct a longitudinal panel dataset (1984–2017) describing the operations and characteristics of all 50 state park systems. These data are analyzed with a time-varying stochastic frontier model. Estimates from the model are used to forecast operating expenditures to midcentury under four different scenarios. The first scenario assumes annual attendance within each state park system will continue to grow (or decline) at the same average annual rate that it …

Assessing The Utility Of Conserving Evolutionary History, Caroline M. Tucker, Tracy Aze, Marc W. Cadotte, Juan L. Cantalapiedra, Chelsea Chisholm, Sandra Díaz, Richard Grenyer, Danwei Huang, Florent Mazel, William D. Pearse, Matthew W. Pennell, Marten Winter, Arne O. Mooers

Ecology Center Publications

It is often claimed that conserving evolutionary history is more efficient than species‐based approaches for capturing the attributes of biodiversity that benefit people. This claim underpins academic analyses and recommendations about the distribution and prioritization of species and areas for conservation, but evolutionary history is rarely considered in practical conservation activities. One impediment to implementation is that arguments related to the human‐centric benefits of evolutionary history are often vague and the underlying mechanisms poorly explored. Herein we identify the arguments linking the prioritization of evolutionary history with benefits to people, and for each we explicate the purported mechanism, and evaluate …

Outreach In Archaeology With Agent-Based Modeling: Part 3 Of 3, Stefani Crabtree, Kathryn Harris, Benjamin Davies, Iza Romanowska

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

A major challenge facing archaeologists is communicating our research to the public. Thankfully, new computational tools have enabled the testing and visualization of complex ideas in an easily packageable format. In this article we illustrate not only how agent-based modeling provides a platform for communicating complex ideas, but also how these game-like computer models can be explored and manipulated by members of the public therefore increasing their engagement in archaeological explanations. We suggest that these new digital tools serve as an excellent aid for education on the importance of archaeological sites and artifacts. To illustrate the above we walk the …

Combining Geographic Information Systems And Agent-Based Models In Archaeology: Part 2 Of 3, Benjamin Davies, Iza Romanowska, Kathryn Harris, Stefani Crabtree

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

Archaeologists are using spatial data in increasingly sophisticated analyses and invoking more explicit considerations of space in their interpretations. Geographic information systems (GIS) have become standard technology for professional archaeologists in the collection and management of spatial data. Many calls have been made to develop and adapt digital geospatial technologies for interpretation and understanding past social dynamics, but this has been limited to some extent by the static nature of map-oriented GIS approaches. Here, we illustrate how coupling GIS with agent-based modeling (ABM) can assist with more dynamic explorations of past uses of space and geospatial phenomena.

Pmc Turbo: Studying Gravity Wave And Instability Dynamics In The Summer Mesosphere Using Polar Mesospheric Cloud Imaging And Profiling From A Stratospheric Balloon, David C. Fritts, Amber D. Miller, C. Bjorn Kjellstrand, Christopher Geach, Bifford P. Williams, Bernd Kaifler, Natalie Kaifler, Glenn Jones, Markus Rapp, Michele Limon, Jason Reimuller, Ling Wang, Shaul Hanany, Sonja Gisinger, Yucheng Zhao, Gunter Stober, Cora E. Randall

All Physics Faculty Publications

The Polar Mesospheric Cloud Turbulence (PMC Turbo) experiment was designed to observe and quantify the dynamics of small‐scale gravity waves (GWs) and instabilities leading to turbulence in the upper mesosphere during polar summer using instruments aboard a stratospheric balloon. The PMC Turbo scientific payload comprised seven high‐resolution cameras and a Rayleigh lidar. Overlapping wide and narrow camera field of views from the balloon altitude of ~38 km enabled resolution of features extending from ~20 m to ~100 km at the PMC layer altitude of ~82 km. The Rayleigh lidar provided profiles of temperature below the PMC altitudes and of the …

Climatology And Change Of Extreme Precipitation Events In Taiwan Based On Weather Types, Yi-Chao Wu, Shih-Yu (Simon) Wang, Yi-Chiang Yu, Chu-Ying Kung, An-Hsiang Wang, Sebastian A. Los, Wan-Ru Huang

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Taiwan's most significant natural hazards are caused by hydrological extremes resulting from excessive precipitation. The threat of extreme precipitation is posed by several different types of weather patterns that affect Taiwan. This study examined the bi‐decadal changes in rainfall by defining an extreme precipitation occurrence (EPO) for a range of event durations from 1 to 24 hr. Three major weather types affecting EPO in Taiwan were identified from 1993 to 2015: the front type consisting of either a frontal zone or convective systems developing with an apparent Meiyu cloudband, diurnal rainfall events when no apparent synoptic features are present, and …

Additional Thoughts On Rigor In Wildlife Science: Unappreciated Impediments, John A. Bissonette

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Traditionally, most scientists accepted reductionist and mechanistic approaches as the rigorous way to do science. Sells et al. (2018) recently raised the argument about reliability in wildlife science. Chamberlin (1890), Platt (1964), Romesburg (1981, 1991, 2009), and Williams (1997) were rightly referenced as very influential papers. My intention in this letter is not to refute the essence of the Sells et al. (2018) commentary but to add seldom addressed but important aspects that influence the attainment of rigor and certainty in wildlife studies. The elements of …

Burn Severity And Fire History In The Northwestern Canadian Boreal Forest: Drivers And Ecological Outcomes, Ellen Whitman

Aspen Bibliography

Wildfire is the dominant stand-renewing disturbance in the northwestern Canadian boreal forest. Fires burn extensive areas in Canada, disturbing an average of 1.96 Mha yr−1, primarily in the boreal zone. Fires generally occur every ~30 – > 200 years in this region, due in part to a lack of fuel that allows young stands to resist reburning. Boreal understory plants and trees are adapted to stand-renewing wildfire through mechanisms such as serotiny, seed banking, and resprouting from roots and rhizomes of top-killed individuals. Such adaptations confer resilience to boreal forests, and post-fire vegetation communities generally resemble the pre-fire ones, following a …

River Hydrology, Morphology, And Dynamics In An Intensively Managed, Transient Landscape, Sara Ann Kelly

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Rivers create beautiful patterns and provide drinking water to millions. However an alarming number of rivers in the US and globally are threatened by excess sediment and nutrients. Agricultural rivers draining erodible soils are particularly vulnerable. Rivers of southern Minnesota provide a unique opportunity to study water and sediment dynamics in a naturally vulnerable system. Sediment reduction strategies are needed to ensure biological integrity and adequate water quality. Here, I address the questions: 1) have climate, land use practices, or both affected streamflows in Midwest agricultural rivers?, 2) which streamflows set the rate of river bluff erosion?, and 3) how …

N: A Sea Monster Of A Research Project, Adrian Jay Thomson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Ever since time and the world began, dwarves have always fought cranes. Ever since ships set out on the northern sea, great sea monsters have risen to prey upon them. Such are the basics of life in medieval and Renaissance Scandinavia, Iceland, Scotland and Greenland, as detailed by Olaus Magnus' Description of the Northern Peoples (1555), its sea monster-heavy map, the Carta Marina (1539), and Abraham Ortelius' later map of Iceland, Islandia (1590).

I first learned of Olaus and Ortelius in the summer of 2013, and while drawing my own version of their sea monster maps a thought hit me: …