Digital Commons Network^™

The Bean Field Quandary : Environmental Ethics In Emerson And Thoreau, Nicole Elaine Wittenburg

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This thesis discusses Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau and their oppositional environmental perspectives. Specifically, the analysis focuses on Emerson’s Nature, “Self-Reliance,” “The Transcendentalism” “Circles”, and “Hamatreya,” and Thoreau’s Walden and The Maine Woods. In these texts, Emerson conveys a predominantly anthropocentric viewpoint throughout his writings, while Thoreau’s view is ecocentric. In addition, both of their works contain contradictions regarding the environment. At times, Emerson speaks of nature as subservient to mankind but then shifts his tone to that of reverential awe for nature. Thoreau is conflicted by humanity’s impact on the environment, promoting vegetarianism but then renouncing farming. …

The Role Of Self-Interest As A Determining Factor Of Environmental Concerns, Eleftherios Papaioannou

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

While it may be quite evident that people perform environmentally harmful acts, the psychological origin of environmentally destructive behaviors and attitudes has been largely avoided and set-aside. This research offers an insight claiming that environmental concerns only exist when there is no self-interest. Self-interest was narrowed down to the self and the focus placed on the T . The study conducted was aimed at bringing about a correlational relationship between selfism and environmental concerns, with the hypothesis stating that a negative correlation should exist.

Scientific research has devised environmental concern measurements according to various ideas of what it is that …

Impacts Of Soil Heavy Metal Contamination On Methane Flux And The Primary Production Of Phragmites Australis, Adam G. Piombino

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Liberty State Park in Jersey City, NJ, a mixed landscape encompassing areas of freshwater wetlands, was the site of an abandoned train yard and contains several areas in which soil concentrations of As, Cr, Cu, Pb, V and Zn occur above ambient levels of New Jersey soil. Human population growth and expanding urbanization are both placing an increased amount of stress on wetland environments. Methane, a greenhouse gas is both produced and consumed by the respiration of microorganisms in the soil. The methane flux rate and direction might be impacted by soil metal contamination. This variation could have broad implications …

Mapping The River Kilometers Of Potential Daylighting Projects In Northeast New Jersey, Omoniyi Ayodeji Asaolu

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

A river offers many benefits to people who live near it, including transportation, a source of food, waste disposal, and water resources for consumption. Because of these advantages many great cities were built around rivers impacting rivers in many ways. While the effects of urban development on water quality have long been studied, this study measures how development has caused streams to disappear from the landscape. It was observed that some streams were buried due to negative impacts of urbanization. Public safety and flood control were some of the reasons these streams were buried, but with the advent of green …

Geochemical Analysis Of Long Island Sound Sediments, Jaroslaw W. Slusarczyk

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

As one of the largest estuarine systems in the northeastern United States, Long Island Sound (LIS) has been exposed to human activities for many centuries. Human settlement and population growth in the last 200 years has caused heavy pollution in LIS through inland and shore industrial and municipal releases. The geochemistry of one sediment core and numerous surface sediment samples were analyzed using environmental forensic techniques. This study employed use of pyrolysis gas chromatography/ mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) in conjunction with previously analyzed geochemical and radiometric data to study contamination sources and patterns though LIS. Geochemical analysis of samples was focused …

Environmental Magnetism Survey Of A Holocene Sedimentary Record From Barilari Bay, Western Antarctic Peninsula, Carl Joseph Natter Jr.

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Barilari Bay is located on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula (AP), opposite the former Larsen B Ice Shelf on the eastern Antarctic Peninsula. Barilari Bay was swath mapped during United States Antarctic Program cruise NBP10-01 as part of the Larsen Ice Shelf System, Antarctic (LARISSA) program. The bay consists of a series of five basins with water depths greater than 600 meters, from which a suite of kasten cores and jumbo piston cores was collected. Three cores, JPC-127, its trigger core TC- 127, and JKC 55 were collected from the outer portion of the Bay and recovered an …

Geochemical Analysis And Regional Correlations Bbetween Granitic Gneisses Of The Western Hudson Highlands, New York, Elyse Kirsten Peterson

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The Byram Intrusive Suite granite gneisses of the New Jersey Highlands are believed to be similar in chemical composition as well as age to the Storm King hornblende granite gneisses of the Hudson Highlands of New York (Drake et al., 1991, Ratcliffe and Aleinikoff, 2001; Volkert et ah, 2010). The goal of this project is to determine the geochemical continuity between the Byram Intrusive Suite of the NJ Highlands and the Storm King granite gniesses, located near Bear Mountain, NY. Thirtytwo samples of granitic gneisses with similar field relations and textures to the Byram and Storm King granite gneisses were …

Determining Middle Miocene Through Pliocene Changes In Provenance And Basal Ice Conditions Through Sedimentological Analyses Of Subglacial Diamictites In And-2a, Ross Sea, Antarctica, Melissa Anne Hansen

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Prior to the mid-Miocene the Antarctic ice sheet is believed to have been very dynamic with periods of expansion and contraction (Naish et ah, 2001). Previous studies have suggested that the ice sheet changed from a wet-based temperate ice-sheet to a drybased polar ice sheet at ca. 14 Ma (Lewis et al., 2007). Utilizing a sediment core obtained through the Antarctic Geological Drilling (ANDRILL) program, changes in the flow configurations and conditions in the basal ice were documented across the middle Miocene climate transition. Glaciers eroded bedrock from the Transantarctic Mountains and deposited sediments into the embayment mixing with materials …

Petrology And Geochemistry Of The Pompton Pink Granite, New Jersey Highlands, Ian Phillip Johnson

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The Pompton Pink Granite is a small (~1 km²), post-orogenic granitoid body located in the New Jersey Highlands. It is a mildly peraluminous (ASI or aluminum saturation index, A/CNK = molar Al₂O₃ / (CaO + Na₂O + K₂O) > 1.0) pluton composed of microcline, microperthite, quartz, oligoclase, epidote, biotite, and magnetite and is classified as a granite based on its mineral and geochemical composition using standard IUGS classification schemes. The Pompton Pink Granite shows similar major-element geochemistry to other A-type granitoids found in the New Jersey Highlands, but its trace­ element geochemistry distinguishes it from these other …

Stimulating Students’ Interest In And Curiosity About Nature Through Frequent And Brief Trips Outdoors, Joanne Claire Kornoelje

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This study considers whether frequent and brief trips outdoors can affect students’ interest in and curiosity about nature. Recent research shows that people - and children in specific - are not spending as much time outdoors as in previous generations. This has raised concerns that today’s children will be less likely to champion environmental issues as adults, due to their lack of connection to the environment that surrounds and supports them.

I took my five sixth-grade science classes outdoors eleven times for ten-minute field trips during the 2009-10 school year. Using inquiry-based instruction, the initial trips were focused observation. Subsequent …

Simulation Of Contaminant Transport From Solid Domestic Waste Disposal Sites In The Warri Deltaic Plain Sands, Warri-Effurun, Nigeria, Charles Onoriode Usiaphre

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Protecting the groundwater resource in the Warri Deltaic Plain sand from the impact of anthropogenic contamination requires an understanding and knowledge of groundwater flow paths, transport processes and the source of contamination. This study was carried out to find out contaminant transport from solid domestic waste sites to the groundwater. The U.S. Geological Survey three-dimensional finite-difference code, MODFLOW, was used to simulate the groundwater flow. The flow pattern reveals predominantly downward flow, with major horizontal motion towards towns around Ekurede Urhobo and Ekurede Itsekiri in Warri. Simulation of advective contaminant transport using MODPATE1 for particle tracking indicates local movement of …

Rock Magnetic And Remanence Properties Of Both Synthetic Martian Basaltic Intrusions And Dropstones Along The East Antarctic Margin, To Aid In The Understanding Of The Carriers Of Crustal Magnetic Anomalies, David Michael Cuomo Jr.

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This thesis examines potential carriers of magnetic anomalies found in remote areas where direct sampling is impossible. The areas examined are the southern hemisphere of Mars and the East Antarctic Margin. We examine the rock magnetic and remanence properties of synthetic Mars basalts and Antarctic dropstones, to predict the type and intensity of anomaly they would produce.

The anomalies measured within the Martian crust are entirely remanent magnetization and are remarkably orders of magnitude stronger than the strongest terrestrial anomaly. Two basalt compositions denoted M-type and T-type, deemed relevant to the crust of Mars, were synthesized to examine contrasts in …

Talus Slope Processes In The Appalachian : An Analysis Of Rock Size And Shape On The Shawangunk Ridge, Northwestern New Jersey, Muhammad Hamidul Haque

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Sphericity, hardness, roundness, and size of talus boulders were analyzed to understand the mass wasting process on the Shawangunk Ridge in northwestern New Jersey. Similar studies have been conducted in other localities (e.g., Lassen Peak, California and Spitsbergen, Sweden) but few works were carried out in the eastern United States, particularly in the Appalachian region. During the Pleistocene, ice sheets advanced in North America, and glacial and periglacial (soil and rock affected by ice) environments existed throughout the Appalachians. Although the periglacial climate is not present in this region right now, rock falls are still active where weak joints are …

Characterization Of Contaminant And Biomass-Derived Organic Matter In Sediments From The Lower Passaic River, New Jersey, Usa, Nicole Michelle Bujalski

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The lower Passaic River has been heavily contaminated during the twentieth century due to the industrial activity within its watershed. The geochemistry of four deep cores was explored using an environmental forensics approach. Pyrolysis gaschromatography/ mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) and grain size analysis was performed in conjunction with radiometric analysis to understand the sediment and contaminant transport patterns. The distinctive molecular finger prints were identified by employing chromatogram fingerprints, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon distribution, principal component analysis, and chemostratigraphy. Radiometric analysis and observations of chlorinated contaminant patterns allowed for average sample depths to be correlated to approximate ages. Additionally three distinct zones …

Ice Sheet Dynamics Of The Past 17 Myr In Southern Mcmurdo Sound, Antarctica: A Heavy Mineral Analysis, Daniel William Hauptvogel

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The ANtarctic Geologie DRILLing program (ANDRILL) drilled a sediment core from a sea ice platform in the Ross Sea in southern McMurdo Sound (SMS), Antarctica, in late 2007. The core site is located just to the east of the Transantarctic Mountains (TAM) along the western margin of a half graben and is a site of heavy sedimentation from the TAM, the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS), the McMurdo Volcanic Group (MVG), and the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) and Ross Ice Shelf. The upper 650 m of the core were analyzed for heavy minerals in order to interpret ice sheet …

Holocene History Of The East Antarctic Ice Sheet Environmental Magnetic Record From Mac. Robertson Land, Kenneth R. Kacperowski Jr.

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

A 24-m jumbo-piston core containing a 14 ka Holocene-Late Pleistocene sedimentary record was collected from Mac.Robertson Land during United States Antarctic Program cruise NBP01-01. This study uses environmental magnetism to trace the Holocene history of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS), which is generally thought of as stable since it is grounded above sea level. Magnetic analyses are used to identify periods of terrigenous sedimentation from the EAIS, for example ice rafted debris layers or meltwater pulses. Terrigenous material contains magnetic minerals, which we expect to stand out from the dominantly biosiliceous sediment deposited along the East Antarctic Margin. Magnetic …

Monitoring Protocol For Two New Jersey Ponds With Littoral Zone Vegetative Restoration, Michael Wilson

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Restoration projects are becoming more frequent and commonplace because of increased regulations on development to replace lost ecosystems. Many of these projects have marginal success and rarely achieve the desired results. The mistakes and oversights are sometimes in the planning stages, but more often are made during the installation, primarily due to improper horticultural technique, poor monitoring, education, or lack of follow-up maintenance. Wetland restoration is even more difficult, due to the variable hydrologic patterns and reliance on environmental conditions. The most difficult type of wetland plant to establish is the emergent aquatic that typically grows in water up to …

Ridge Subduction Volcanism In The Zeballos Complex, Southern Patagonian Andes, Michael Joseph Dasilva

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The Zeballos Complex (47.0°S, 71.4°W) lies on the western side of Meseta del Lago Buenos Aires (MLBA) in the southern Andean backarc region, southeast of the Chile Triple Junction and east of ridge collision that occurred at 6 Ma. The Zeballos Complex is a bimodal, alkaline volcanic complex consisting of multiple lava flows, dikes, volcanic necks, and sub-volcanic intrusives that range from basalt to trachybasalt (47-50% SiO₂; 5-7% Na₂O+K₂O; 3-7% MgO) to highly differentiated trachyandesite, trachydacite, and trachyte (58-65% SiO₂; 8-12% Na₂O+K₂O). Intermediate compositions are relatively rare, but …

Stratigraphy And Geochemistry Of Squantum Tillite, Boston Bay Group : Using Field Log And Icp Analysis, Efe Junior Erukanure

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The Squantum Tillite has been studied in order to ascertain its depositional history. The Squantum Tillite is part of the Neoproterozoic Boston Bay Group, located in the Boston Basin. Researchers have proposed contradicting hypotheses about the origin of the rocks in the area for over a century. While some believe that the rocks were deposited by glaciers along a prograding submarine margin, others believe the rocks are of volcanic or tectonic origin. Many scientists are inclined to believe the rocks are of tectonic origin because the Squantum Tillite is located in a tectonic Basin (the Boston Basin).

Field logging was …

Geochemical And Petrographic Signatures From Marie Byrd Land And Larsen-B Ice Shelf Sediments : Implications For Provenance Tracing, Cathleen Lauren Dale

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The goal of this study is to trace ice rafted debris in the Southern Ocean back to its most probable terrestrial source from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS), East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS), or the Antarctic Peninsula Ice Cap (APIC) in order to identify past ice sheet collapses in the geologic record. The bedrock in these areas have characteristic petrographic and geochemical signatures that are preserved in glacially transported and deposited sediment. These signatures may allow us to identify ice rafted debris and fine-grained sediment that originate from these three areas, which have undergone recent ice shelf retreat and …

Paleoenvironment And Paleoclimate Of Coastal East Antarctica During The Middle Miocene : Particle Size Results Of The Andrill Southern Mcmurdo Sound Project, Candice Joy Falk

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The ANDRILL Southern McMurdo Sound (SMS) Project was carried out in December of 2007 by an international interdisciplinary team. The AND-2A core recovered the most complete Neogene stratigraphic record from Antarctica, spanning the past 20.2 million years. Analyzing particle size distributions of samples throughout the core can determine environmental conditions of the past, such as the advance or retreat of glaciers and the rise and fall of sea level. Over 300 samples were taken at approximately 3 m intervals from the 1138.54 m AND-2A core. Samples were processed and analyzed using a Malvern Instruments Mastersizer 2000, laser diffractometer which has …

A Sedimentary Investigation Of Lineation Patterns Found In The Pinelands Of New Jersey, Jennifer Lynn Lapoma

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Late Pleistocene (-15,000 years ago) geomorphic processes in the Pinelands of southern New Jersey were investigated after odd lineations were found on an Electromagnetic Induction (EMI) survey during the construction of a runway expansion at Lakehurst Naval Air Engineering Station. These lineations roughly matched up with alternating high and low albedo lineations identified on a 1931 aerial photomosaic approximately 17 kilometer (km) south of Lakehurst Navy Base in Davensport Branch, New Jersey. These lineations were initially hypothesized to be relicts from strong katabic winds flowing off the Laurentide Ice Sheet that would have been capable of winnowing magnetic sands from …

The Analysis Of The Natural Attenuation Of Chlorinated Solvents In Groundwater At The Former Westinghouse Site In Bloomfield, New Jersey, Deborah J. Katchen

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Data for a contaminated site in Bloomfield, New Jersey were gathered from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), in order to evaluate the hydrogeological conditions at the site. In particular, the data were analyzed to determine whether: 1) the site is still significantly contaminated, 2) natural attenuation is occurring at the site, and 3) natural attenuation will completely remediate the site in a reasonable period of time. The occurrence and distribution of Trichloroethene (TCE) and its daughter products, Dichloroethene (cis 1,2 DCE) and Vinyl Chloride (VC) show that the site is still contaminated.

It was observed that the …

A Habitat Suitability Index Model For Black Bear Living Within The Kittatinny Mountain Range In New Jersey, Brett Callanan

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Throughout the past decade, an increase in urbanization and the population of black bear (Ursus americanus) in New Jersey have caused an overlap of bear habitat and areas of residential and commercial development (Eriksen 1999). Consequently, the close proximity of humans to black bear has resulted in a variety of conflicts (Carr and Burguess 2003). Strategies traditionally used to regulate the numbers and interactions with bear, such as capture and relocation, euthanization, and the utilization of game hunts can be limited by their efficiency and predictability of results. New tools are needed to address the issues of habitat loss, bear …

A Preliminary Benthic Invertebrate Study Of Jun Jaegyu Volcano : An Undersea Volcano In Antarctic Sound, Antarctica, Gina QuiñOnes

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Jun Jaegyu volcano, an Antarctic submarine volcano, was dredged in May 2004 for sediment and marine macroinvertebrates. The objectives of this study were to examine the benthic assemblages and biodiversity present on the newly discovered volcano. The volcano is located on the continental shelf of the northeastern Antarctic Peninsula, where recent changes in surface temperature and ice shelf stability have been observed. This volcano was swath-mapped during cruise 01 -07 of the Research Vessel-Ice Breaker Nathaniel B. Palmer. The volcano was studied using a SCUD video camera and a dredge along the flanks and crest. Results indicate a seafloor surface …

An Analysis Of Trap And Translocation Of White-Tailed Deer (Odocoleus Virginianus) Within The Enclosed Park Area Of Duke Farms, Hillsborough, New Jersey, December 2000 To March 2003, Christopher D. Aquila

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Translocation to manage overabundant wildlife populations, (in particularly Odocoileus spp.), is generally viewed as an acceptable method of wildlife removal where more aggressive methods (i.e. hunting, sharp shooting) are not considered viable options, in heavily developed urban areas and residential subdivisions.

From December 2000 to March 2003,1 conducted a large scale White-tailed Deer 0Odocoileus virginianus) translocation study on a 259 ha (640 acres) site at Duke Farms m Hillsborough, New Jersey, a location with high public visitation, over 100 employees, and a significant building infrastructure. Subsequently at the time of the study, the site was not conducive to any of …

Ecology Of The Plankton Of Lakes Wapalanne And Ocquittunk In Sussex County, New Jersey, Malgorzata Barbara Drazek-Falah

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The diversity of planktonic organisms was studied for seven months in Lake Wapalanne and Lake Ocquittunk (Stokes State Forest), Sussex County, New Jersey. Relative abundance and species diversity were studied as well as water quality including parameters: temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, conductivity and depth of lakes. The data of seasonal changes in abundance of organisms and water quality was compared between both lakes.

Three stations were set up along the straight line on Lake Wapalanne, buoyed by diatometers, which were used for diatom collection. There were also three stations located along the sides of Lake Ocquittunk arbitrary picked. Plankton samples …

Effects Of Pre- And Post-Trip Activities Associated With A Residential Environmental Education Experience At The New Jersey School Of Conservation On Students’ Attitudes Toward The Environment, Lisa Cavern

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Scholars of both general education and environmental education (EE) have suggested using targeted activities before and after field experiences may increase the assimilation of desired concepts by students (Ballantyne & Packer, 1996; Bogner, 1998; Dettmann- Easler & Pease, 1999; Flavell, 1979; Knapp & Poff, 2001; Marzano, Gaddy, & Dean, 2000). A search of the EE literature using the ERIC database for the years 1967-present found two studies that explored the use of additional activities to prepare for or reinforce concepts from zoo and garden programs (Farmer & Wott, 1995; Gutierrez de White & Jacobson, 1994), but none related to residential …

Quantifying Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition As A Nonpoint Source Pollution And Its Potential Effects On The Mullica River-Great Bay Ecosystem, Jennifer Haag

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

To characterize atmospheric nitrogen deposition and its potential impact on the Mullica River-Great Bay Estuary, atmospheric sampling was conducted at Rutgers University Marine Field Station in Tuckerton, New Jersey from March 2004 to March 2005. A total of 52 precipitation samples were collected on an event basis using a MIC wet-only automatic precipitation sampler. A total of 23 aerosol samples were also taken during this period of time with a high-volume aerosol sampler. Chemical analysis was performed using a Dionex Ion Chromatograph to determine the concentrations of nitrate and ammonium in precipitation and associated with aerosols. Nitrate concentrations for precipitation …

Environmental Restoration : The Catalyst Of A City's Successful Revitalization, A Potential Application Example, City Of Camden, New Jersey, Maria Del Rocio Bosch Clark

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This thesis aims to concisely emphasize and demonstrate the importance of the connection between urban and natural environments, towards fostering a strong and healthy quality of life for its citizens.

The notion of applying an integrated comprehensive approach to city planning and environmental restoration (such as brownfields redevelopment) is lacking throughout many communities. On the other hand, "success stories" exist around the world that link a comprehensive city plan and environmental restoration to their successes. These attestations of accomplishments demonstrate that regardless of the geographical or economic circumstances, this thesis concept might be applied.

This thesis concept is simplified by …