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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Investigating The Effects Of Suspended Algal Content, Dissolved Oxygen, And Temperature On A High-Frequency Acoustic Attenuation System In A Controlled Laboratory Environment, Noah Watson May 2024

Investigating The Effects Of Suspended Algal Content, Dissolved Oxygen, And Temperature On A High-Frequency Acoustic Attenuation System In A Controlled Laboratory Environment, Noah Watson

Honors Theses

The Single Frequency Acoustic Attenuation System (SFAAS) has been developed at the National Center for Physical Acoustics (NCPA). This system uses acoustic methods to monitor fine suspended sediment concentration in streams. Site-specific calibrations are necessary for this system, and previous research has indicated that algal concentration or dissolved oxygen concentration of water may affect collected data. Temperature, dissolved oxygen concentration, and fluorescence, used as a proxy for algal concentration, were monitored during this system’s use, and calibrations were derived to account for the effect of each of these variables on acoustic measurements. It has been shown that temperature has a …


Climate Change In Mississippi: A Journalistic Exploration Of Education And Activism, Kala Nance May 2024

Climate Change In Mississippi: A Journalistic Exploration Of Education And Activism, Kala Nance

Honors Theses

Climate Change in Mississippi: A Journalistic Exploration of Education and Activism takes an investigative, journalistic approach toward climate change in Mississippi. Specifically, how education and awareness have a direct impact on Mississippi industries, people and legislation. The project explored the level of acknowledgement of climate change across the state, and how certain individuals used advocacy to encourage education about climate change to raise awareness of the severity of the situation. This project includes interviews with university professors and researchers, non-profit organizations, educational groups and working individuals in some of Mississippi’s largest areas of employment. Additionally, this project draws on research …


Effects Of Urbanization On Eutrophication Parameters In Three Tidal Creeks, Ella Swantek May 2024

Effects Of Urbanization On Eutrophication Parameters In Three Tidal Creeks, Ella Swantek

Honors Theses

Marshes and swashes are vital environments as a controlling barrier between land affected by various pollutants and the ocean. Eutrophication and the effects of this process can be detrimental for the areas experiencing it. I am interested in ways areas that have little contact with human interactions compare to areas that are heavily urbanized, and whether either of these locations is at a higher risk for eutrophication. Using spectrophotometry and fluorometry, I analyzed samples collected from the relatively undeveloped and restricted-access locations of Waities Island Beach and Dunn Sound monthly for dissolved nutrients, and chlorophyll. At the time of sampling, …


Impacts Of Hurricane Idalia’S Surge On Coastal Sand Biogeochemistry, Wendy "Cor" Mchone May 2024

Impacts Of Hurricane Idalia’S Surge On Coastal Sand Biogeochemistry, Wendy "Cor" Mchone

Honors Theses

Beaches are heavily influenced by extreme events, such as hurricanes. Biological and chemical processes, such as primary production and diagenesis are often interrupted by these events. To examine the effects of hurricanes on coastal biogeochemistry, this study used sand and porewater samples from Waties Island, SC, which were collected before and after Hurricane Idalia. The samples were analyzed for macronutrient concentrations, organic content, and chlorophyll concentrations. Macronutrient pore water concentration changes were not uniform. The inventory of nitrite decreased significantly after the storm, which was reflected in slight increases in the inventories of nitrate and ammonium. Concentrations of nitrate, which …


Sedimentary Conditions At A Tidal Creek That Exhibits Seasonal Pelagic-Benthic Variations, Jack B. Corbin May 2024

Sedimentary Conditions At A Tidal Creek That Exhibits Seasonal Pelagic-Benthic Variations, Jack B. Corbin

Honors Theses

Tidal creeks in the Grand Strand of South Carolina are small but numerous connectors between land and ocean. One of these creeks, White Point Swash, exhibits a seasonal switch between planktonic and benthic photosynthesizers. As plankton become less abundant in fall, benthic macroalgae bloom, aided by lower water levels due to fall-winter dredging of the main channel, until late Spring. This study builds on previous findings and examines sedimentary conditions at this site further. Sedimentary chlorophyll a (in microphytobenthos) and pore water nutrient concentrations are confirmed to be higher than water-column concentrations. Sedimentary nutrient fluxes to the sediment-water interface, calculated …


An Analysis Of Pollution In Liverpool, Uk, Luke W. Lawson Apr 2024

An Analysis Of Pollution In Liverpool, Uk, Luke W. Lawson

Honors Theses

Within this experiment the different levels of pollution in areas around Liverpool were tested. These areas were Stanley Park, Lunt Meadows, and Woolton Road. At Stanley Park one of two transects had a geochemical analysis as well as magnetic measurements run to investigate source attribution within the urban environment resulting in data showing high variability in soil properties among the transect. With data supporting evidence of diamagnetic, paramagnetic, and ferromagnetic properties in soil along the same transect. At Lunt Meadows, through the use of XRF for soil samples and nitrate and phosphate testing for water samples, it was found that …


A Petrological Characterization Of The Iutzi Member Of Lucas Formation, Michigan Basin, Moira Burns Apr 2024

A Petrological Characterization Of The Iutzi Member Of Lucas Formation, Michigan Basin, Moira Burns

Honors Theses

It is thought that most Phanerozoic dolomites form via the replacement of precursor calcium carbonate [CaCO3] with dolomite [CaMg(CO3)2] through a dissolution-precipitation reaction with a Mg-bearing fluid. Although this may be widely accepted, the timing, conditions, settings, and mechanisms associated with the dolomitization process are still strongly debated, resulting in the proposal of various dolomitization models. The association between evaporite minerals and dolomite in the rock record is common and has led many to propose a model genetically associating evaporative fluids and dolomitization. The evaporative model posits as marine fluids evaporate and become more …


Evaluating Field Evidence Of Fine-Grained Sediment Abrasion In Gravel-Bedded Rivers: A Case Study Of The Lillooet And Suiattle Rivers In The Cascade Volcanic Arc (British Columbia, Canada, And Washington, Usa), Devin T. Johnson Jan 2024

Evaluating Field Evidence Of Fine-Grained Sediment Abrasion In Gravel-Bedded Rivers: A Case Study Of The Lillooet And Suiattle Rivers In The Cascade Volcanic Arc (British Columbia, Canada, And Washington, Usa), Devin T. Johnson

Honors Theses

Steep, gravel-bedded rivers are important sites for studying gravel abrasion, where material transported as bed load experiences size reduction and rounding due to grain-to-grain collisions. Studying fine sediment (diameter) abrasion and grain shape changes in fluvial systems is more challenging due to difficulties in quantifying sediment shape at this scale, but it is assumed that fine particles traveling in suspension do not experience abrasion. Improvements in particle characterization technology now allow for the accurate, rapid quantification of particle shape for sediments as fine as 0.8 μm through dynamic image analysis. Here we use the Camsizer X2 (CX2) to test the …