Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Reducing Food Scarcity: The Benefits Of Urban Farming, S.A. Claudell, Emilio Mejia

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Urban farming can enhance the lives of communities and help reduce food scarcity. This paper presents a conceptual prototype of an efficient urban farming community that can be scaled for a single apartment building or an entire community across all global geoeconomics regions, including densely populated cities and rural, developing towns and communities. When deployed in coordination with smart crop choices, local farm support, and efficient transportation then the result isn’t just sustainability, but also increasing fresh produce accessibility, optimizing nutritional value, eliminating the use of ‘forever chemicals’, reducing transportation costs, and fostering global environmental benefits.

Imagine Doris, who is …

Understanding The Wind-Dominated Landforms Of Saturn’S Moon Titan Through Earth Analogues, Jani Radebaugh, Eric Christiansen, Shannon Tass

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The largest moon of Saturn, Titan, has a thick atmosphere of nitrogen and a pressure similar to that of Earth at the surface. There are winds, strong enough to have produced two wind-dominated landforms similar to those on Earth – vast fields of sand dunes and smaller collections of wind-carved ridges, or yardangs. We seek to understand the relationships between the observed landforms and the winds and surface materials required to form them, both on Earth and Titan. This study of the shapes of winddominated landforms, dunes and yardangs, will help answer key questions about the surface of Titan at …

Microbes And Metals: Purifying The Water Of Lake Titicaca, Sara Ludlow, Dr. Gregory T. Carling

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Pollution of Lake Titicaca has become a major threat to the health and lifestyle of the Uru people who use the lake water for their daily needs. Cities along the coast dump untreated sewage directly into the lake introducing dangerous microbial levels of Escherichia coli. Runoff from nearby mines increases the risk of toxic levels of lead, arsenic, and other heavy metals. Previous members of the ongoing Global Engineering Outreach (GEO) program identified biosand filtration as a viable option for mitigating these risks. As such, they implemented single stage biosand filters in the community, but they were never able to …

Using Aviris And Machine Learning To Map And Discriminate Bull Kelp And Giant Kelp Along The Pacific Coast Of The United States, Tanner Thompson, Dr. Ryan Jensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Kelp forests provide food and shelter for many organisms, and they are an important part of coastal ecosystems throughout the world. Along the Pacific coast of the United States, kelp forests are made up of two species of kelp: bull kelp (Nereocystis Leutkana) and giant kelp (Macrocystis Pyrifera). While similar, these two species are physiologically and structurally different.

The Relationship Between Urban Tree Lai And Urban Heat, Amanda Sheepherd, Dr. Ryan Jensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

It is well known that urban areas are warmer than the surrounding rural areas, with various negative (though sometimes not immediately perceived) consequences for urban residents and the environment. As the world’s human population becomes increasingly urban, methods of mitigating urban heat become more imperative to explore. Though not nearly as abundant as in many natural environments, trees are fairly common in urban areas and can be utilized to offset urban heat. Studying the cooling effects of trees on the surrounding areas can further our understanding of the relationship between trees and temperature. Leaf Area Index (LAI) is a specific …

Patterns Of The Past: Mountain Hemlock And Pacific Northwest Climate, Aaron Snow, Dr. Matthew Bekker

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In July, 2016, I had the opportunity to attend the North American Dendroecological Fieldweek (NADEF) at Mount Rainier National Park, Washington. NADEF organizes the attendees into five different groups to undergo specific research projects all having to do with tree rings. My group, the intro group, hiked to the southern side of the park, assembled a chronology of mountain hemlock trees (Tsuga mertensiana), and observed notable attributes of the collected data. Because the fieldweek lasted only seven days, our research was minimal, which was why I applied for an ORCA grant in order to take the research to …

Characterizing Great Salt Lake Dust Relative Other Regional Dust Sources, Colin Hale, Carling Greg

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Dust storms occur frequently along the Wasatch Front. These dust events may have negative effects on human health and agriculture. To help understand dust events along the Wasatch Front, this study focuses on analyzing dust deposition to better locate dust emission sources. Understanding the source of dust events is important. This is important because Great Salt Lake water levels are dropping exposing lakebed. This newly expose lakebed may result in increased frequency and intensity of dust events. To understand if this lakebed is affecting the Wasatch Front and acting as an emission source.

Trace Element Analysis Of Quartz Grains In The Wah Wah Springs Tuff And Granodiorite Intrusion, Joel Barker, Dr. Eric Christiansen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The Wah Wah Springs tuff and cogenetic granodiorite were part of the creation of the Indian Peak-Caliente Caldera Complex, which lies on the Nevada-Utah border (Skidmore, 2013). The complex formed during the middle Cenozoic (36-18 Ma) during an episode of explosive silicic activity (Best et al., 2013). Rollback of the subducting lithosphere likely caused the silicic activity, evidenced by the migration of magmatism southward (Best et al., 2013). The dehydration of the subducting oceanic lithosphere caused mafic magmas high in water to rise and fractionate in continental crust before eruption (Skidmore, 2013). Over twenty-four different ignimbrites have been found in …

Seeing The World Through New Eyes: Implementing Map-Based Mobile Apps In Field Trips And Research, Mariah Chambers, Ron Harris

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Mobile apps are a resource that can aid in field trip instruction and enhance students’ learning. Because the specific location of the field trip is often an important element in overall understanding, map-based learning materials can be used to integrate information with the place, providing context for the concepts that will be learned on the field trip. The purpose of this project was twofold. One purpose was to provide professors with information and instructions for using map-based mobile apps to prepare students for, and provide resources during, field trips and study abroad experiences. A second purpose was to implement the …

Mentoring Environment Grant Final Report, Greg Carling

Journal of Undergraduate Research

1. Evaluation of Academic Objectives

The purpose of this project is to evaluate the chemistry of proglacial streams in the Wind River Range of Wyoming to develop baseline criteria of mercury and other trace metal concentrations in glacial meltwater. Specific objectives include: 1) quantify fluxes of mercury and other trace elements in glacier melt and 2) evaluate relative contributions of trace elements from glacier melt, groundwater, snowmelt, and water-rock interactions.

Petrologic Comparison Of The Beaver Dam And Mineral Mountains Metamorphic Complexes, Scott Zylstra, Jake Voorhees, Dr. Ron Harris

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Utah’s rocks, though incredibly complete in later eons, hold very little information about what was occurring in that area before 700 million years ago. In Southern Utah, only two relatively small exposures of these ancient Precambrian exist, in the west of the Beaver Dam Mountains west of St. George and the west of the Mineral Mountains west of Beaver. Therefore, it is vitally important to study these exposures, as they constitute the only clues to what was happening in Utah 1.7 billion years ago.

Trace Element Analysis Of Quartz Grains In The Wah Wah Springs Tuff And Granodiorite Intrusion, Michael Jensen, Dr. Eric Christiansen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The Wah Wah Springs Tuff and the Wah Wah Springs Intrusive Granodiorite are both part of the Indian Peak caldera complex in southwest Utah, an area of intense volcanic activity 30 million years ago. This time period is known for explosive silicic activity due to the subduction of the Farallon Plate along North America’s western edge. In the eruption connected with the Wah Wah Springs an estimated 5,900 km³ of magma came out of the Earth, making it one of the largest known explosive eruptions in our planet’s history. This massive eruption was partially dependent upon the changing temperatures …

The Impact Of Snake Creek On The Provo River Watershed Chemistry, Tucker Chapman, Greg Carling

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Snake Creek is a tributary to the Provo River, which is an important water source for over two million people along the Wasatch Front. Arsenic concentrations in Snake Creek exceed the EPA limit of 10 μg/L and mixing water in the Provo River exceed the EPA (recommended level) of 1 μg/L. Snake creek contributes about 20% to the overall flow of the Provo River. This study focused on the probable source of arsenic in snake creek. Hot springs and faults are probable causes for high trace element contamination are were the focus of this study.

Tempestites Of The Entrada Sandstone: Mapping And Reservoir Characterization, Jeffery Valenza, Dr. Tom Morris

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Tempestites are sedimentary deposits traditionally thought to be formed by high-energy storm events. Typically, water depth for tempestites has been interpreted to be between fair weather and storm wave base. Tempestites are primarily identified in the rock record by hummocky cross-stratification (HCS). HCS is a typical indicator of oscillatory flow in subaqueous settings, where strong wave action can scour and redeposit sediment. Tempestites may also contain sole marks and various forms of ripples. Some work has been done on tempestites in lower shoreface and carbonate ramp settings, but little research has been done on tempestites in very shallow water to …

Digital Outcrop Model And Paleoecology Of The Eight-Foot Rapid Algal Field (Middle Pennsylvanian Lower Ismay Sequence), Paradox Basin, Utah, Colton Goodrich, Scott Ritter

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Although phylloid algal mounds have been studied for 50 year, much remains to be determined concerning the ecology and sedimentology of these Late Paleozoic carbonate buildups. Herein we perform a digital outcrop study of the well-known Middle Pennsylvanian Lower Ismay mound interval in the Paradox Basin because 1) the concept of phylloid algae was established in this interval and 2) outcropping mounds along the San Juan River are cited as outcrop analogs of reservoir carbonates in the Paradox Basin oil province of Utah and adjacent states. The principal field area is the Eight Foot algal field located at river mile …

A Tectonic Origin For Mountains On Saturn’S Moon Titan, Jani Radebaugh

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In this proposal, we proposed to: (1) undertake a global study of peak heights and slopes of mountains on Titan to determine the relative importance of tectonism and erosion, and thereby gain a better understanding of the timing of mountain formation and subsequent evolution by erosion. We also proposed to: (2) complete general global and detailed regional structure maps to investigate the orientation of forces required to build the selected mountains. We will investigate the role of liquids in the lithosphere in fault propagation and mountain formation, similar to Critical Wedge Theory, explored extensively on Earth. Finally, we planned to: …

Functional Anatomy Of The Forelimb Of A New Drepanosaur: Testing Behavioral Models For Extinct Species, Austin Andrus, Dr. Brooks Britt

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Introduction: I recently discovered a new genus of reptile from the Triassic period (roughly 225 million years ago). Reptiles like it are called “drepanosaurs,” and share many unique features such as large claws, unusual, humped shoulder blades, opposable fingers, and prehensile tails. Many of these structures appear to be well-suited for climbing, and the scientific community generally considers drepanosaurs to be arboreal. My new specimen, however, is more complete than previous discoveries have been, and it includes skeletal features that could indicate a digging lifestyle. Digging and climbing are on opposite ends of the behavioral spectrum, so my study seeks …