Digital Commons Network^™

Lessons From A Dominican Republic Field Study, Michael M. Gunter Jr.

Faculty Publications

Utilizing student-centered pedagogy, this case study explores an increasingly prominent and instructive addition to traditional academic coursework - the field study experience. This is particularly true in the arena of environmental education where students learn best by experiencing environmental problems first-hand and then interacting with those involved. From a teaching methods and styles perspective, then, this paper espouses a mix of experiential and active learning strategies. The central message of this essay, however, is curriculum-based, to report on an engaging two-week field trip to examine sustainable development in the Dominican Republic. From this report, the analysis highlights student feedback mechanisms, …

Climate Change Impact On Agriculture: Devils Lake Basin, Andrei Kirilenko

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Northern Great Plains is one of the most important agricultural regionsworldwide. This is also a region expected to be heavily impacted by climate change. Thisand two other papers in this session concentrate on studying climate change impacts onwater resources of the region, and on the impacts of these changes on agriculture. Themajor focus of our interest is Devils Lake watershed in North Dakota. The watershed islocated in the Northern Great Plains, the area where intensive agriculture has caused anextreme change in land use and land cover, followed by substantial water pollution. DevilsLake is an endorheic (terminal) lake, which makes it …

Meta-Modelling The European Environmental Information Space, Werner Pillmann, Karl-Heinz Simon

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

In this paper a conceptual Meta-Model is presented with the aim to structure environmental information, relevant for the environmental part of sustainable development. It is focused on crucial environmental information flows handled in the discipline of Environmental Informatics. The introduced structure is a conceptual systems dynamics type model which describes the natural environment (air, water, soil, climate etc.), the private sector (industry, trade, transport etc.) and households. It uses the input-output presentation where causeeffect chains and information feedback paths are considered. The Meta-Model brings together substantial information about environmental indicators from different areas and organizations, the knowledge about levels of …

Data Mining As Applied To The Socialsciences, Walter Morris

Cornerstone 3 Reports : Interdisciplinary Informatics

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Organochlorines On Human Endocrine System, Ratana Sapbamrer

Applied Environmental Research

Organochlorines are classified as persistent organic pollutants and endocrine disrupters. They were widely used for insect control and malaria vector control programs. Although most organochlorines were officially banned in many countries, high levels have been found in ecosystem and food chain. Because organochlorines act as endocrine disrupters and lipid soluble chemicals, it is difficult to excrete these environmental pollutants from the body, and consequently caused adverse effects on endocrine system in wildlife and humans. Epidemiological studies have suggested that exposure to organochlorines in adults linked with an increase incidence of reproductive tract abnormalities, decreased sperm quantities and qualities, and reproductive …

An Efficiency Test On Wave Energy Reduction Of Piled Breakwaters Using Physical Model, Ar-Sawin Intasupa, Winai Ouypornprasert, Payom Ratanamanee, Tanawat Jarupongsakul, Pramot Sojisuporn

Applied Environmental Research

The physical model at Hydraulic Engineering Laboratory Unit, Prince Songkhla University was used to test the efficiency of a triangular-concrete piled breakwater. Seven parameters; namely wave height, wave period, water depth, spacing between row, spacing between pile in the same row, angle of incident wave and orientation of pile's angle in the row were selected and each parameter was tested at 3 predefined values, namely low, medium and high values. The piled breakwater was composed of either one, two, three or four rows of piles. The best arrangement which could reduce the incident wave energy for up to 53 % …

Distribution Of Heavy Metals In Mangrove Sediment At The Tha Chin Estuary, Samut Sakhon Province, Thailand, Supaporn Buajan, Nathsuda Pumijumnong

Applied Environmental Research

The concentrations of selected heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn) at a depth of 0-30 cm sediments from 11 stations in a mangrove forest at Bang Ya Praeg, Tha Chin Estuary, Samut Sakhon Province, Thailand were examined. The ranges of heavy metals, in mg kg-1 dry weight (dw), were as follows: Cd (0.035 to 0.070), Cu (7.90 to 21.91), Pb (11.91 to 25.74) and Zn (55.99 to 75.05). The dry season (April 2009) had higher levels of heavy metals than the wet season (August 2009). Heavy metals in the study area had the following order of prevalence: Zn > Pb …

Agent Based Modelling Of Caribou Environmental Interactions In The Canadian Arctic, Glen Lesins, Kaz Higuchi

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Agent or individual based modelling (IBM) is recognized as an important tool in biological modelling for simulating animal behaviour and interactions with the environment at the level of the individual while maintaining a collective perspective. The method allows rules to be programmed for the interactions between like and unlike species, responses to geographic factors and impacts from human activities. By emphasizing the development of appropriate rules for the individual, one can avoid imposing ad hoc assumptions concerning the population as a whole and instead allow emergent phenomena to unfold at the larger scale. Here we report on preliminary results using …

Modelling The Environment Using Graphs With Behaviour: Do You Speak Ocelet?, P. Degenne, A. Ait Lahcen, O. Cure, R. Forax, D. Parigot, D. Lo Seen

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Environmental modelling often implies defining elements that relate and interact with each other, in a system that evolves with time. Ocelet is a domain specific environmental modelling language that was designed around a limited set of key concepts chosen to help modellers focus on their model, while leaving the implementation to an automatic code generation phase. Here, we focus more specifically on a concept called Relation in Ocelet that allows to build graphs that describe which elements of the model interact, and how. It is designed to be used in combination with two other main concepts: Entities (elements of the …

Modelling Governance Structures And Climate Change Policy Communications On Community Resilience In The Canadian Arctic, Rachel A. Hirsch

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The Government of Canada recognizes that climate change is now unavoidablemaking it imperative to help Northern Canadians adapt. There is evidence of adaptive capacityas local communities are forced to adjust; however, these adaptive strategies tend to be reactiveand localized in nature. There is therefore an increasing need to develop integrated regionalclimate change policies. I argue that an ecological health approach based on complexitymodelling can inform climate change policy in the Canadian arctic. I propose a two-phaseinstitutional mapping procedure in order to identify and understand multiple stakeholderperspectives or ways of knowing about climate change resilience. A key problem is tounderstand how …

Using 3pg+ To Simulate Longterm Growth And Transpiration In Eucalyptus Regnans Forests, Paul Feikema, Jim Morris, Craig Beverly, Patrick N. J. Lane, Tom Baker

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The amount of water derived from forested water supply catchments depends largely on forest evapotranspiration, which in turn depends on forest age and structure. There is increasing interest to predict the effects of forest disturbance (e.g. fire) and management (e.g. thinning) on streamflow. One approach is to incorporate present knowledge of water use into process-based models that simultaneously predict water use and growth of forests. We take 3PG+, an enhanced version of the 3PG forest growth model with a daily multi-layered water balance, and validate it for multi-species Eucalyptus regnans forests. The model has to date been applied to single-species …

Modelling The Environment Using Graphs With Behaviour: Do You Speak Ocelet?, P. Degenne, A. Ait Lahcen, O. Cure, R. Forax, D. Parigot, D. Lo Seen

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Environmental modelling often implies defining elements that relate and interact with each other, in a system that evolves with time. Ocelet is a domain specific environmental modelling language that was designed around a limited set of key concepts chosen to help modellers focus on their model, while leaving the implementation to an automatic code generation phase. Here, we focus more specifically on a concept called Relation in Ocelet that allows to build graphs that describe which elements of the model interact, and how. It is designed to be used in combination with two other main concepts: Entities (elements of the …

Using Nvidia Gpu For Modelling The Lagrangian Particle Dispersion In The Atmosphere, Jiye Zeng, Tsuneo Matsunaga, Hitoshi Mukai

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

A Lagrangian particle dispersion model computes trajectories for a large number of particles and is often used for describing the transport and diffusion of tracers in the atmosphere. In a typical application, computing the position changes of particles is the bottleneck that controls the total execution time. Such a model presents a good case for investigating the use of NVIDIA’s Graphic Processor Unit or GPU. We developed a Lagrangian particle dispersion model based on FLEXPART to take the advantage of the GPU’s parallel computing power. Preliminary tests show that using a GPU can improve the performance by as much as …

Modelling Governance Structures And Climate Change Policy Communications On Community Resilience In The Canadian Arctic, Rachel A. Hirsch

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The Government of Canada recognizes that climate change is now unavoidablemaking it imperative to help Northern Canadians adapt. There is evidence of adaptive capacityas local communities are forced to adjust; however, these adaptive strategies tend to be reactiveand localized in nature. There is therefore an increasing need to develop integrated regionalclimate change policies. I argue that an ecological health approach based on complexitymodelling can inform climate change policy in the Canadian arctic. I propose a two-phaseinstitutional mapping procedure in order to identify and understand multiple stakeholderperspectives or ways of knowing about climate change resilience. A key problem is tounderstand how …

Using 3pg+ To Simulate Longterm Growth And Transpiration In Eucalyptus Regnans Forests, Paul Feikema, Jim Morris, Craig Beverly, Patrick N. J. Lane, Tom Baker

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The amount of water derived from forested water supply catchments depends largely on forest evapotranspiration, which in turn depends on forest age and structure. There is increasing interest to predict the effects of forest disturbance (e.g. fire) and management (e.g. thinning) on streamflow. One approach is to incorporate present knowledge of water use into process-based models that simultaneously predict water use and growth of forests. We take 3PG+, an enhanced version of the 3PG forest growth model with a daily multi-layered water balance, and validate it for multi-species Eucalyptus regnans forests. The model has to date been applied to single-species …

Climate Change Impact On Agriculture: Devils Lake Basin, Andrei Kirilenko

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Northern Great Plains is one of the most important agricultural regionsworldwide. This is also a region expected to be heavily impacted by climate change. Thisand two other papers in this session concentrate on studying climate change impacts onwater resources of the region, and on the impacts of these changes on agriculture. Themajor focus of our interest is Devils Lake watershed in North Dakota. The watershed islocated in the Northern Great Plains, the area where intensive agriculture has caused anextreme change in land use and land cover, followed by substantial water pollution. DevilsLake is an endorheic (terminal) lake, which makes it …

Formalizing Knowledge On International Environmental Regimes For Integrated Assessment Modeling, M. De Vos, P. Janssen, S. Frantzi, P. Pattberg, A. Petersen, F. Biermann, M. Kok

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

International environmental regimes are considered key factors in dealing with global environmental problems. It is important to understand if and how these regimes are effective in solving or improving global environmental problems. In this paper we present a multidisciplinary approach to formalize knowledge on the effectiveness of environmental regimes. We constructed a conceptual framework to enhance systematic analysis of conditions that influence regime effectiveness and implemented this into a computer model using fuzzy logic reasoning. We applied the model in a preliminary analysis of two environmental regimes, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate …

A Scientific Workflow Tool For Biosphere Modelling: Carbon Sink Archives, G. A. Alexandrov, T. Matsunaga

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Scientific workflows in the field of biosphere modelling include assessment of the state of the art in modelling global biogeochemical cycles. The process of assessment consists of the following steps: collecting model outputs, performing model inter-comparison study, writing summary for policymakers, formulating an agenda for further research. Here, we present a web-based service that automates the entire process.

Modelling Urban Land Use Change Using Geographically Weighted Regression And The Implications For Sustainable Environmental Planning, Noresah Mohd Shariff, Sanjay Gairola, Anita Talib

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

In this study we applied Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) approach to model urban landuse changes in Penang Island from 1990 to 2005, covering the period during which the Island has experiencedtremendous urban growth due to in migration from adjacent areas. Land use change has potential impacts on thephysical and social environment. We identified spatial variables describing environment, physical and socioeconomicfactors which are hypothesized to influence the change in the land use in the study area. An ordinaryleast squares regression (OLS) model is applied to the variables followed by a GWR model and the results arecompared. The results show that the …

Formalizing Knowledge On International Environmental Regimes For Integrated Assessment Modeling, M. De Vos, P. Janssen, S. Frantzi, P. Pattberg, A. Petersen, F. Biermann, M. Kok

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

International environmental regimes are considered key factors in dealing with global environmental problems. It is important to understand if and how these regimes are effective in solving or improving global environmental problems. In this paper we present a multidisciplinary approach to formalize knowledge on the effectiveness of environmental regimes. We constructed a conceptual framework to enhance systematic analysis of conditions that influence regime effectiveness and implemented this into a computer model using fuzzy logic reasoning. We applied the model in a preliminary analysis of two environmental regimes, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate …

Modelling Needs Assessment For Social Adaptation To Climate Change In Siberia, G. A. Alexandrov, G. Inoue, T. Matsunaga

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Despite the common expectation that climate change may make Siberia a warm heaven, this would not be good for local people. Surprisingly the people of Siberia do rely on the winter cold. Warming may be a serious challenge here. Climate change threatens Siberian forests, lakes and permafrost. In the region where landscapes are unstable this implies the risks of losing the traditional means of subsistence, at least for a while. Social adaptation to climate change is becoming an urgent issue, as the first signs of warming are becoming noticeable to local people. This article reports an attempt to explore the …

Agent Based Modelling Of Caribou Environmental Interactions In The Canadian Arctic, Glen Lesins, Kaz Higuchi

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Agent or individual based modelling (IBM) is recognized as an important tool in biological modelling for simulating animal behaviour and interactions with the environment at the level of the individual while maintaining a collective perspective. The method allows rules to be programmed for the interactions between like and unlike species, responses to geographic factors and impacts from human activities. By emphasizing the development of appropriate rules for the individual, one can avoid imposing ad hoc assumptions concerning the population as a whole and instead allow emergent phenomena to unfold at the larger scale. Here we report on preliminary results using …

A Scientific Workflow Tool For Biosphere Modelling: Carbon Sink Archives, G. A. Alexandrov, T. Matsunaga

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Scientific workflows in the field of biosphere modelling include assessment of the state of the art in modelling global biogeochemical cycles. The process of assessment consists of the following steps: collecting model outputs, performing model inter-comparison study, writing summary for policymakers, formulating an agenda for further research. Here, we present a web-based service that automates the entire process.

The Greenprint: Nevada’S Environmental Literacy Plan, Part 1, Education About The Environment

Education about the Environment

President Obama’s “Blueprint for Reform” includes environmental education in part because research has demonstrated significant benefits from environmental education, including impacting student test scores in science, reading, math, and social studies. Additionally, studies have shown that environmental education can reduce discipline problems, increase attendance, and develop leadership and other social skills. Other important benefits include increased engagement, motivation, and enthusiasm for learning. The National Science Board of the National Science Foundation recognizes the importance of environmental education to student learning in their 2000 report, Environmental Science and Engineering for the 21st Century.

The need for environmental literacy arises from the …

Hrc Enews — 2010 Summer, Megan K. Svarz

Publications (HRC)

This issue contains staff accomplishments and announcements, event listings, and a "new faces" listing for new staff, affiliates, and researchers.

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 …

River Sediment Sampling Methods: Causeway Building And Removal, Dillon Dittmer

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Abstract The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) suspect that causeways have a negative impact on river ecology both when installed and when removed. The Nebraska Department of Roads routinely uses causeways as a tool in the construction and repair of bridges. Although research has not been conducted on the impact of causeway building and removal data has been collected about the impact of dams, causeways, etc. on estuaries. This data is considered subjective and authors often cite sampling methods as a source of error. Currently there are no widely used handheld sampling methods that …

Prognosis For Ecosystem Recovery Following Rodent Eradication And Seabird Restoration In An Island Archipelago, Holly P. Jones

Faculty Articles, Papers, and Other Scholarship

Invasive species are widespread and can have devastating effects on biota, especially insular biota. Invasive species eradications are increasingly employed to promote island recovery to preinvasion states. However, it remains unclear if additional restoration actions may be required on islands that were once heavily reliant on seabird guano for ecosystem functions. Active seabird augmentation has been suggested as necessary to exact ecosystem recovery on contemporary timescales in some cases. I use two experiments on offshore islands in Cook Strait, New Zealand, to test the hypothesis that seabird restoration will restore island ecosystem functioning following invasive rodent removal. The first is …

Richmond Law Magazine: Summer 2010

Richmond Law Magazine

Features:

Veterans on a Mission

Healing in Rwanda

Equally Insured?

Driven to Serve

Relationship Of The Quantity Of Blood Lead Levels And The Knowledge, Work Practice, And Attitude Of Workers In A Recycling Battery Factory In Nakhonsawan Province, Santi Keadthongthawee, Piyalamporn Havanond

Applied Environmental Research

This research was a cross-sectional study. The purpose was to study relationship between knowledge, work practice and attitude of workers toward quantity of lead in their blood. The study took place during January-December 2008 in a recycling battery factory in Nakhonsawan Province by means of purposive sampling. Relevant data were gathered by structured questionnaire which was tested for reliability by means of Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Analysis of the relationship was performed via Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficient. The statistical significance was considered when p < 0.05. The results of the study of total 72 workers were as followings: average score of knowledge was 12.8 out of 15 with the SD of 1.6, max score of 15 and min score of 9; average behavior score of workers was 12.9 out of 15 with SD of 1.3, max score of 15 and min score of 9; average score on attitude was 22.7 out of 30 with SD of 0.94, max score 25 and min score of 21. Hence, majority of them were in good knowledge (86.1 %) and had good work practice (93.1 %). As well, all workers (100 %) had good attitude. Significant (p < 0.05) relationship between levels of lead in blood and behavior of workers was found. The workers with high quantity of lead in their blood stream took more precaution on their work practice. This might be the fact that they knew that lead in blood could naturally be released by mechanism of body. Furthermore, the condition could be improved if they do not obtain further lead. On the other aspect, the relationship between age and level of lead in blood is also significant (p < 0.001). The workers with older age had more quantity of lead in blood than young workers. However, there was no relationship among quantity of lead in blood toward attitude or knowledge of the workers. From the study, it is suggested that annual blood test and physical examination of all workers should be implemented. Furthermore, it should emphasize on the campaign of good work practice. Especially, smoking during working hour must be strictly prohibited, since the protection mask has to be taken off and open the chance of taking the lead in.