Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Quantifying Surface Water Capture By Municipal Pumping Wells In An Urban Watershed Impacted By Road Salt, Austen York

Masters Theses

The Spring Valley sub-watershed is located within the Kalamazoo Township contains Spring Valley Lake, a man-made impoundment that ultimately discharges into the Kalamazoo River. Elevated chloride levels in pumped water from the Kalamazoo Station 14 municipal wellfield, located along the shoreline of Spring Valley Lake, has resulted in less than ideal corrosivity values for the water distribution system. Specific project objectives include: (1) identifying the cause of elevated chloride, (2) assessing surface water capture by the Station 14 wellfield, and (3) characterizing of water quality in Spring Valley Lake. Monitoring along a series of sampling transects spanning the sub-watershed, focused …

Per- And Polyfluorinated Alkyl Substances (Pfas) Cycling Within Michigan: Connections Between Contaminated Sites, Landfills, And Wastewater Treatment Plants, Ross W. Helmer

Masters Theses

The disposal and treatment of Per- and Polyfluorinated Alkyl Substances (PFAS) contaminated solid and liquid wastes, and associated cycling within the natural and engineered environment is a complex topic. PFAS data on contaminated sites, landfill leachates, the influent, effluent, and biosolids from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) within Michigan were compiled from publicly available and private sources. Most of the datasets are based on a 28-analyte suite generated using a modified form of the US EPA 537 analytical method, with a subset of data from the 18-analyte ASTM D7979-19 method. Approximately 70% of the 171 contaminated sites in Michigan have maximum …

An Integrated Approach For The Assessment And Monitoring Of Land Deformation In The Riyadh City And Its Surroundings For Identifying The Controlling Factors, Abdulaziz Ibrahim Aljammaz

Dissertations

An integrated approach (remote sensing, field, geodesy, geology, and hydrogeology) was conducted to assess and monitor land deformation at Riyadh city and its surroundings. Two settings were investigated. The first, Jinadriyah area (1.5 km²), an urban area located east of Riyadh city, was selected to assess deformation associated with urbanization over desert lands. The second location was Al Kharj area (19,790 km²) to the south of Riyadh city, a reclaimed desert land that was selected to assess the deformation associated with agricultural groundwater extraction from fossil aquifers. My investigations revealed high subsidence rates (up to -30 …

Monitoring Salt Diapir Related Land Deformation And Distribution: A Geophysical And Remote Sensing Approach Jazan Province, Saudi Arabia, Hannah G. Pankratz

Dissertations

Salt diapirs are rarely preserved on the surface and seldom considered as environmental hazards. The Jazan city diapir (JZD) is located in southwest Saudi Arabia along the Red Sea coastal plain and outcrops in the middle of a rapidly growing port city. The intrusion of the diapir (~ 2 km²) into the overburden sediments continues to cause uneven surfaces, compromises building foundations and infrastructure, caused dissolution sinkholes, and limits the expansion of the city along the coastline. This research aims to better understand the distribution and deformation associated with salt diapirs in arid environments.

Using integrated Interferometric Synthetic …

The Assessment Of Co2 Exposures, Workload Demands, And Musculoskeletal Disorder Risk On Heart Rate For Select Craft Brewery Job Tasks, David L. Huizen

Dissertations

Americans have embraced craft beer, and the ensuing demand has resulted in an ever-increasing number of craft breweries opening over the past 20 years. Craft brewers are generally small employers and, as such, lack the resources necessary to address the safety and health of their employees adequately. Brewers face many safety and health hazards in their work environment. These hazards include exposures to carbon dioxide (CO₂), workload demand, and MSD risk. It is essential to evaluate these hazards in craft breweries as they handle carbon dioxide (CO₂) differently than large breweries by having the CO_{2 …}

Rain Gardens: The Return Of Ecosystem Services, Katie Dehaan

Honors Theses

In the modern world impervious surfaces, especially in urban areas, abound. These include roads, highways, sidewalks, parking lots, and roofs that have replaced permeable surfaces, mainly open land, forests, and wetlands. Rainwater runs off of these surfaces collecting pollutants on its way to permeable areas. Rain gardens collect and process rainwater. Native plants with deep root systems process large volumes of rainwater and the microorganisms living in the soils and roots can process pollutants. The purpose of my research was to find out what variables affect species presence or absence in rain gardens. Species presence or absence at the time …

Air Quality And Environmental Justice: An Analysis Of County-Level Data In The United States, Alyssa Tittle

Honors Theses

This paper analyzes the relationship between air pollution and poverty and race/ethnicity at the county level in the United States. Using air pollution data from the Environmental Protection Agency and population characteristics data from the Census Bureau to model relationships in RStudio, results show that race/ethnicity, population, and median value of owner-occupied housing units are the most statistically significant variables associated with air quality.

Assessing Land Deformation And Sea Encroachment In The Nile Delta, Egypt, Esayas Gebremichael

Research and Creative Activities Poster Day

Persistent scatterer interferometric analyses were conducted on a stack of 84 Envisat ASAR scenes spanning 7 years (2004 to 2010) over the entire Nile Delta of Egypt and surroundings to monitor the ongoing spatial and temporal land deformation, identify the factors controlling the deformation, and model the interplay between sea level rise and land subsidence to identify areas and populations threatened by sea encroachment by the end of the 21st century. Findings include: (1) general patterns of subsidence in the northern delta, near-steady (none) subsidence in the southern delta, separated by a previously mapped flexure zone undergoing uplift; (2) high …

Biodiversity Of Larval And Adult Dragonflies And Damselflies (Odonata) Of Interdunal Wetlands At Saugatuck Harbor Natural Area, Devon Volz

Honors Theses

The effects of climate change on insects in the United States have yet to be fully understood. Research on the insect populations of Lake Michigan’s interdunal wetlands has been particularly limited. As these vibrant habitats are already at risk of destruction due to increased development, it is vital to have a working knowledge of the species that are living in the habitat. However, to date, there have been no studies on assemblages of interdunal wetlands in Michigan. Examining community compositions is critical to understanding the ecological problems that could occur in the future. This study is the first to look …