Environmental Engineering Commons^™

The Tidal Prism, Viable Eelgrass Habitat, And The Effects Of Sea Level Rise In Morro Bay, Kaden A. Caliendo

Master's Theses

The tidal prism, or the volume of water exchanged from the sea to an estuary from mean low to mean high tide, influences system hydrodynamics and ecological functioning. Since 1884, the tidal prism in Morro Bay, California has been estimated to be decreasing over time due to sedimentation from upstream practices. What is the current tidal prism in Morro Bay and how will that change with sea level rise? How will eelgrass respond to rising sea levels?

For this study, inexpensive tidal gauges were deployed at four locations in Morro Bay from March to August 2023 to measure spatially varying …

High-Energy Storm Events And Their Impacts On Carbon Storage In Tidal Wetlands Of South Carolina, Gavin Gleasman

All Dissertations

Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentrations have been increasing at an accelerating rate for the past two centuries, profoundly impacting global climate change. Atmospheric CO₂ concentrations are influenced by the global carbon cycle through physical and biogeochemical pathways. Tidal wetland environments play a vital role in the global carbon cycle by offsetting atmospheric CO₂ concentrations through their natural physiochemical processes of high autotrophic productivity, allochthonous organic matter deposition, anoxic soils, and continuous accretion which promotes carbon sequestration with long-term storage at the land-ocean margin. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and United States Global Change Research …

A Hybrid Lateral Flow Sand Filter Wastewater Treatment System: An Evaluation On The Treatment And Disposal Capabilities Of A Modified Sand Filter, Harry Mccaskill Iv

<strong> Theses and Dissertations </strong>

Decentralized wastewater treatment exists primarily in suburban and rural areas where centralized treatment is not an option. Traditional on-site treatment systems usually include the use of a septic tank and a drain field. This orthodox method works well when implemented into environments that are accommodating for the infiltration of effluents, and thus allowing for soil treatment. Unfortunately, there are some circumstances that prevent traditional systems from working such as impermeable soil conditions. The Wastewater Treatment System analyzed in this thesis was created to overcome such inhospitable environments. More specifically, this system is catered towards the rural residences of The Alabama …

Using Modflow To Assess Groundwater Storage Enhancement Via A Floodplain Infiltration Basin, Lindsay Henning

All Master's Theses

Delaying groundwater discharge into rivers until it is critically needed during baseflow conditions provides promise for lowering elevated stream temperatures and improving habitat for aquatic species. Increasing groundwater storage may accomplish this in locations where excess spring runoff can be captured and allowed to infiltrate into the subsurface for later beneficial use, a process known as Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR). Here, MAR via an infiltration basin is considered at a site along the Teanaway River in central Washington State. The effects of simulated ephemeral ponds of sizes varying from 554 m³ to 2430 m³ (0.449 acre-feet to 1.97 …

Application Of A 14c-Assay To Assess Methanotrophic Biodegradation Of Tce In Low Ph Groundwater, Evan Groome

All Theses

Current biological strategies for remediating trichloroethylene (TCE) in low pH aquifers (i.e., pH14C-TCE assay was developed to determine pseudo first-order rate constants for the degradation of TCE in microcosms containing soil and groundwater from the Boeing Michigan Aeronautical Research Center (BOMARC) superfund site, where the pH ranges from 4.1 to 4.9. The ¹⁴C-TCE assay was also adapted to calculate soil-normalized rate constants for data from this site, as well as data that Szwast²¹ collected from the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC). In addition to natural attenuation, biostimulation through amendments of methane and nutrients were also assessed. This treatment …

Reactive Iron Mineral Coatings In Redox Transition Zones Of A Site With Historical Contamination: Abiotic Attenuation, Xin Yin

Dissertations

Reactive iron mineral coatings are found throughout reduction-oxidation (redox) transition zones and play a significant role in contaminant transformation processes. In this study, an 18.3-meter core is collected, subsampled, and preserved under anoxic conditions to maintain its original redox state. Screening analyses are conducted at sampling increments of 5.08 cm in depth for the following: elemental concentrations with X-ray fluorescence (XRF), sediment pH, sediment oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), total volatile organic carbon (TVOC) in the sample headspace, and abundant bacteria (16S rRNA sequencing). Using the Fe and S gradients correlated with microbial data, five RTZs are delineated. To characterize iron mineral …

Application Of Artificial Intelligence For Co2 Storage In Saline Aquifer (Smart Proxy For Snap-Shot In Time), Marwan Mohammed Alnuaimi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technology have grown in popularity. Smart Proxy Models (SPM) are AI/ML based data-driven models which have proven to be quite crucial in petroleum engineering domain with abundant data, or operations in which large surface/ subsurface volume of data is generated. Climate change mitigation is one application of such technology to simulate and monitor CO2 injection into underground formations.

The goal of the SPM developed in this study is to replicate the results (in terms of pressure and saturation outputs) of the numerical reservoir simulation model (CMG) for CO2 injection into …

Effects Of Nitrate On Arsenic Mobilization During Aquifer Storage And Recovery, Hania Hawasli

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Aquifer storage and recovery technology is used to sustain water resources and to prevent saltwater intrusion. The injected water can come from various resources, including treated wastewater. In pilot ASR studies in the Tampa Bay region, researchers found high As concentrations in the recovered water from the oxidation of the arsenopyrite that is embedded in the aquifers. The presence of dissolved O2 in the injected water is a major factor in the arsenopyrite oxidation during ASR, however the effects of NO3- on the arsenopyrite has not been studied yet. This is an important knowledge gap because injected water may contain …

Mapping Michigan's Historic Coastlines, Ryan A. Williams

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This five-year project, sponsored by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, is working to map how Michigan’s Great Lakes shorelines have changed over the past 80+ years. Products of this project include publicly available digital, georeferenced, historic aerial photography datasets, as well as map layers depicting the locations of historic shorelines and bluff lines from 1938, 1980, 2009, 2016, 2018, and 2020. Additional products include bluff retreat risk areas, shoreline rate of change map layers, and tools to assist in the development of future Coastal Vulnerability Index projects for the Great Lakes. All products are available as …

Characterizing Reactive Iron Mineral Coatings And Their Roles In Natural Attenuation At A Site With Historical Contamination, Han Hua

Dissertations

Reactive iron mineral coatings in redox transition zones play an important role in contaminant attenuation. These mineral coatings include poorly crystalline to crystalline iron sulfides, carbonates, and oxyhydroxides, and are a signature of the biogeochemical processes occurring. To better understand these processes, reactive iron mineral coatings are characterized in an 18-m Anaerobic Core collected from a contaminated industrial site. This study targets redox transition zones uncovered in the core. A suite of complementary analyses is applied to distinguish the surface coating mineralogy using X-ray Diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) with energy dispersive X-ray analyzer (EDX). In …

Assessing Grassed Waterway Implementation Using Acpf And Swat Models, Kirsten Schaefer

MSU Graduate Theses

Agriculture is the most significant contributor of nonpoint source pollutants in US waterways, with sediment being the most prevalent cause of impairments. Sediment loss mitigation occurs through Best Management Practices (BMPs), such as grassed waterways. Federal and state agencies incentivize the implementation of BMPs through cost-share programs for farmers. The investment of public funds has increased pressure to demonstrate the effectiveness and value of individual projects, necessitating the development of strategies for prioritizing projects based on the sensitivity of sites to sediment erosion and optimal locations for implementation. This study has three primary objectives: (i) document existing locations of grassed …

Effects Of Reservoir Conditions And Trace Co-Contaminant Gases On Geological Carbon Sequestration, Ram Kumar

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Geological carbon sequestration in a saline formation is a promising technology for large-scale carbon dioxide (CO2) mitigation. Several factors such as temperature, pressure, salinity, hydraulic conductivity, and mineralogy of a formation affect the CO2 sequestration in saline formations. These factors can vary widely depending upon the type of formation or the degree of heterogeneity within a formation. In addition to these properties of the repositories, the CO2-rich flue gas streams captured from point sources often contains small amounts of impurities such as sulfur oxides (SOx) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), which may have serious implications on the chemistry of the repositories …

An Overview Of Smartwater Management System: Strategic Potential In Bangladesh, Muhammad Qumrul Hassan, Mir F. Karim, Nazrul I. Khandaker, Jowaher Raza

Publications and Research

Water loss management is becoming an increasingly important as supplies are stressed by population growth or water scarcity. A SmartWater system ensures optimum consumption and prediction of future water use. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries due to global climate change considering its rapid urbanization, inequitable land use, low income and greater reliance on climate sensitive sectors, particularly agriculture. Agricultural lands used for cropping and livestock rearing are more susceptible to degradation than non-agricultural lands. Most farmers irrigate through flooding, losing up to 75% of water to evaporation and creating a substantial drawdown of much needed water for …

Evaluation Of The Erodibility Of Soft Clays And The Influence Of Biopolymers, Pamela Judge

Doctoral Dissertations

Erosion of silts and clays is less well understood than erosion of sands. Further, current and anticipated climate change impacts along coastlines compel consideration of new approaches to coastal protection measures; seawalls and breakwaters designs now include natural and nature-based measures. The first research topic consists of the Adaptive Gradients Framework which was a theoretically-informed facilitation tool. The framework was intended to aid a collaborative and interdisciplinary decision-making process to encourage inclusion of natural and nature-based measures in coastal protection planning and design. This research is the culmination of a series of workshops and fieldtrips executed by the Sustainable Adaptive …

Geophysical Delineation Of Megaporosity And Fluid Migration Pathways For Geohazard Characterization Within The Delaware Basin, Culberson County, Texas, Jonathan David Woodard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Differential dissolution of gypsum karst within the Delaware Basin poses a significant threat to infrastructure that society depends on. The study area is located in Culberson County, Texas and traverses a distance of approximately 54 kilometers along RM 652 within the Gypsum Plain which is situated on the northern margin of the Chihuahua Desert and includes outcrops of Castile and Rustler strata that host karst geohazards. Regions of karst geohazard potential have been physically surveyed proximal to the study area in evaporites throughout the Castile Formation outcrop; minimal hazards, in comparison to the Castile Formation, have been documented in …

Hydrologic Response Caused By Wetland Expansion At Huntley Meadows Park In Hybla Valley, Virginia, Stephen Fraser Stone

OES Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this study was to understand the effects of wetland expansion across a watershed. The 2013 restoration and expansion of the wetlands at Huntley Meadows Park (Fairfax County, VA) performed by Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc. provided the opportunity to study this process. The 630 ha park contains more than 364 ha of freshwater emergent and freshwater forested wetlands. The restoration and expansion project used a subsurface vinyl-piling dam that impedes groundwater flow leaving the wetland, thus expanding the existing pond and the surrounding wetland.

This study used a network of more than twenty monitoring instruments making observations …

Phytoforensics: Applications In Vapor Intrusion Assessment, Jordan Lee Wilson

Doctoral Dissertations

"Vapor intrusion (VI) occurs when contaminants in the vapor phase migrate in the shallow subsurface and enter buildings through cracks, seams, and gaps and has been recognized as a serious human-health threat as occupants are exposed to potentially harmful concentrations over long periods of time. The VI pathway has recently (2017) been identified as a primary exposure pathway and implemented into the Hazard Ranking System for inclusion on the Nation Priorities List. However, assessing VI and human exposure is not simple and current methods are time-, cost-, and labor-intensive; intrusive; and temporally and spatially variability. Trees are ideal candidates for …

Characterization And Delineation Of Karst Geohazards Along Rm652 Using Electrical Resistivity Tomography, Culberson County, Texas, Adam F. Majzoub

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Delaware Basin of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico is the major western subdivision of the Permian Basin and a northern extension of the Chihuahuan Desert. The major evaporite unit within the Delaware Basin is the Castile Formation, which consists of gypsum/anhydrite and is highly susceptible to dissolution and karsting. Manifestations of karst within the Castile outcrop are abundant and include sinkholes, subsidence features and caves, both epigene and hypogene in origin.

Land reconnaissance surveys conducted during the summer of 2015 documented abundant karst landforms in close proximity to a major thoroughfare, RM 652, in Culberson County, Texas. 2D …

Calcium Carbonate Formation In Energy-Related Subsurface Environments And Engineered Systems, Qingyun Li

McKelvey School of Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Geologic CO2 sequestration (GCS) in subsurface saline aquifers is a promising strategy to mitigate climate change caused by increasing anthropogenic CO2 emissions from energy production. At GCS sites, interactions between fluids and geomedia are important because they can affect CO2 trapping efficiency and the safety of CO2 storage. These interactions include the dissolution and precipitation of minerals. One of the most important minerals is calcium carbonate, because it can permanently trap CO2.

In this work, Portland cement was used as a model geomedium to investigate the chemical reactions, mechanical alterations, transport of reactive fluids, and the interplay of all these …

Bathymetric Survey For Lakes Azuei And Enriquillo, Hispaniola, Michael Piasecki, Mahrokh Moknatian, Fred Moshary, Joseph Cleto, Yolanda Leon, Jorge Gonzalez, Daniel Comarazamy

Publications and Research

The two largest lakes on the Caribbean Island of Hispaniola, Lake Azuei in Haiti and Lake Enriquillo in the Dominican Republic, have experienced dramatic growth and surface area expansion over the past few years leading to severe flooding and loss of arable land around the lake perimeters. In order to better understand the reasons for this unprecedented rate of expansion and the resulting consequences a multi-disciplinary team comprised of researchers from Haiti, the DR, and the US have embarked on an extensive data collecting and hydrologic and climatological modeling campaign. While the sensor deployment entails stations that measure climatological data …

Phytoforensics Tools: The Degradation And Detection Of Chlorinated Solvents In Integrated Systems, Tommy J. Goodwin Jr.

Masters Theses

"Due to decades of mismanaged pollutants entering groundwater, subsurface pollution of various compounds has become a widespread challenge. Chlorinated solvents are the most common groundwater contaminants that persist in aquifers, and remediation of these wide-spread plumes is difficult. Bioremediation, permeable reactive barriers, and phytoremediation are remedial technologies that have been developed and applied to chlorinated solvents in groundwater systems. This study integrates these technologies in different combinations to demonstrate the remediation potential of this approach. Zerovalent iron (ZVI) and bioaugmentation with a Dehalococcoides sp. (DHC) culture were applied separately and in combination for degradation of perchloroethene (PCE). Salix pentandra were …

Imaging Reinforced Concrete: A Comparative Study Of Ground Penetration Radar And Rebarscope, Abhishek Kodi

Masters Theses

"Geophysical techniques have been playing a very vital role in subsurface imaging in the recent past. Technology has been making it both reliable and convenient to utilize non-destructive geophysics techniques like Ground Penetration Radar, Induction current based Rebarscope, Seismic methods, ERT, etc. The applications range from shallow subsurface investigation of Bridge decks to old tunnels, mapping of rabars in a pre-existing construction and analyzing the concrete strength.

The thesis constitutes of a comparative study and analysis of a Ground Penetration Radar system and a Rebarscope. Individual parameters obtained directly from the study and obtained indirectly from the study shall be …

Tracer Studies Conducted Nearly Two Decades Apart Elucidate Groundwater Movement Through A Karst Aquifer In The Frederick Valley Of Maryland, Keith A. White, Michael K. Cobb, Thomas Aley, Ethan Weikel

Sinkhole Conference 2015

A pair of groundwater tracer studies at a single karst test site were completed 18 years apart. The results of these studies have provided evidence of both relatively rapid advective transport via conduits and an extreme capacity for dye storage and retardation. The tracer results, coupled with other subsurface investigation data, are used to develop a conceptual model for groundwater movement through this karst aquifer in the Frederick Valley of Maryland, as well as identify implications for remediation. Three fluorescent tracer dyes used in the initial study were detected in several background monitoring locations established for the second study conducted …

Integration And Delivery Of Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar [Insar] Data Into Stormwater Planning Within Karst Terranes, Brian Bruckno, Andrea Vaccari, Edward Hoppe, Scott Acton, Elizabeth Campbell

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

As part of two USDOT-funded studies focused on the development of satellite-based Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) technology, the researchers integrated InSAR-derived point cloud data into the transportation design process to optimize the location of a stormwater management system in a karst terrane. After initial validation, the InSAR data (over 1.67 million data points comprising various “scatterers”) were brought into a GIS dataframe and georeferenced to locations of known sinkholes. This dataset was then used to evaluate karst hazard within a 40x40km data frame located in the Valley and Ridge Province of Virginia. The group identified systematic kinematic differences in …

Feasibility Study: The Evaluation Of Polymer Coatings To Prevent Weathering Of Weak Rocks, Lauren Distler

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The weathering and erosion of weak rocks along roadways can cause dangerous and potentially fatal rockfalls.   Various slope stabilization methods exist, but each presents a set of challenges and trade-offs.   The focus of the project is to understand the feasibility of utilizing of a polymerbased slope stabilization technique. Rock samples were collected along US Route 33 in Virginia and West Virginia, and preliminary tests were conducted to evaluate the absorption of water (% mass) and durability. The study evaluates three polymer options in regard to the following criteria: adhesion to rock, layer thickness, semi-permeability, insolubility, and non-toxicity. The polymer selection …

On The Influence Of Ionic Strength On Radium And Strontium Sorption To Sandy Loam Soils, Brian A. Powell, Todd Miller, Daniel I. Kaplan

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

Models which can estimate environmental transport of radioactive contaminants in natural and engineered systems are required to 1) deploy effective remediation strategies for contaminated sites, 2) design waste repositories for future waste streams, and 3) ensure protection of human and environmental health in all cases. These models require accurate transport parameters in order to correctly predict how these contaminants will move in the subsurface. This work aimed to determine more accurately the distribution coefficients for radium and strontium sorption to Savannah River Site (SRS) soils. Radium and strontium sorption to the soils was found to be highly dependent upon ionic …

Hydrogeological And Thermal Sustainability Of Geothermal Borehole Heat Exchangers, S. Emad Dehkordi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Assessment of the current approach taken by guidelines and design methods of vertical closed loop heat exchangers shows that often groundwater flow is either disregarded or is not methodically incorporated. The state of scientific research in this arena reveals that overlooking the groundwater flow in the design procedure may not always be a correct assumption. The significance of advective heat transport compared to conduction is defined by the groundwater flux or Darcy velocity which heavily depends on the hydraulic conductivity of the ground, followed by the hydraulic gradient which has a relatively limited range. A sensitivity analysis on ground and …

Predicting Landslides In Real Time, Michael J. Olsen

TREC Project Briefs

The Oregon Department of Transportation, or ODOT, has an ongoing struggle to maintain public highways against earth movements such as erosion, earthquakes and landslides. An earthquake or landslide can close down a road for days, while highway workers fight to keep supply lines open and repair the damage. Particularly along Oregon’s coastal roads with high sea cliffs, these natural processes are a constant threat to transportation infrastructure. The damage caused by gradual erosion is typically not detectable until there is a landslide or other disaster, costing the state considerable time and money to repair. New technology has the potential to …

Real-Time Change And Damage Detection Of Landslides And Other Earth Movements Threatening Public Infrastructure, Michael J. Olsen, Shawn Butcher, Evon P. Silvia

TREC Final Reports

Geologic hazards such as coastal erosion, landslides, seismic loading, etc. constantly threaten public highway construction and maintenance. Repeat surveys using terrestrial laser scanning (TLS, ground-based LiDAR) enable rapid 3D data acquisition to map, see, analyze, and understand the processes generating such problems. Previously, change detection and analysis between scan surveys was conducted during post-processing upon return to the office, instead of while collecting data in the field. Change detection in the field improves the effectiveness and efficiency of the field investigation. We have developed a new algorithm that quickly geo-references scans upon field acquisition and simultaneously performs change detection by …

The Reduction Of Storm Surge By Vegetation Canopies: Three-Dimensional Simulations, Y. Peter Sheng, Andrew Lapetina, Gangfeng Ma

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Significant buffering of storm surges by vegetation canopies has been suggested by limited observations and simple numerical studies, particularly following recent Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. Here we simulate storm surge and inundation over idealized topographies using a three-dimensional vegetation-resolving storm surge model coupled to a shallow water wave model and show that a sufficiently wide and tall vegetation canopy reduces inundation on land by 5 to 40 percent, depending upon various storm and canopy parameters. Effectiveness of the vegetation in dissipating storm surge and inundation depends on the intensity and forward speed of the hurricane, as well as the …