Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Using Repeat Photography To Document The Effects Of Climate Change On Glaciers In Iceland Change On Glaciers In Iceland, Madeleine Gassin

Environmental Studies Honors Papers

Climate change is a worldwide, multifaceted phenomenon that impacts our world today and will continue to impact our world in the future with even greater severity. Although climate change can sometimes be considered an abstract topic due to its being somewhat intangible, one direct way of observing the effects of climate change is by studying glaciers. This study combines a literature review with repeat photography in order to demonstrate the tangible effects of climate change on glaciers in Iceland and explore the secondary impacts on sea level elevation (SEL), water availability and distribution, hydropower, natural hazards, and tourism in Iceland. …

The Chemical Characterization Of Microplastic Polymer Composition From Various Littoral Environments On Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Leah Kosovsky

Chemistry Honors Papers

The increasing abundance of microplastic pollution in marine environments is a rising concern, and it has the potential to negatively affect the health and sustainability of marine organisms and ecosystems. Microplastics can harm organisms through a variety of chemical, biological, and physical mechanisms. The extent to which they are harmful varies greatly and is significantly dependent on the chemical and physical makeup of the plastic polymer. Due to this variability, it is important to characterize microplastic samples in various environments to better understand the risks associated with the debris in certain areas. Through field research, a spatial analysis of the …

Temperature Trends In The Northeastern United States From 1950-2018, Emanuel Eagle

Environmental Studies Honors Papers

No abstract provided.

A Comparative Analysis Of The Andes And The Himalayas: How Climate Change Effects The Health Of Glaciers And The Social Impacts This Has On Surrounding Communities, Jacqueline Mountford

Environmental Studies Honors Papers

The glacial ice in both the Andean and Himalayan Mountain ranges act as water towers for the billions of people that live within their watersheds. Throughout the year, these communities rely on the glacial meltwater to increase the flow of rivers, but this meltwater is the most impactful during the dry season when there is less precipitation. Communities in both the Andes and Himalayas use this glacial meltwater for human and animal consumption, agricultural purposes, and harnessing hydroelectric power as a clean energy source. One of the biggest worries for scientists and people around the world is how climate change …

Arboretum Annual Report 2016-2017, Glenn Dreyer

Annual Reports

No abstract provided.

Hyporheic Flow Possibilities Within Lamprey (Petromyzon Marinus) Redds On The Blackledge River In Marlborough Connecticut, Samuel Fixler

Environmental Studies Honors Papers

The fluvial geomorphic process of hyporheic flow provides critical nutrients and dissolved oxygen to macroinvertebrates and eggs within riverbeds through hyporheic exchange. Hyporheic flow may operate at similar scales within sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) redds. Limited documentation exists on the hyporheic processes within lamprey redds. This study attempts to measure hyporheic flow using a saline injection syringe and salinity probe to record salinity-time curves. The method was applied to several redds on the Blackledge River, Marlborough, Connecticut. The second aspect of this study examined the hydraulic properties of lamprey redds within a controlled environment in a 0.5 m …

The City Where The Storks Fly: Sustainable Agriculture And Species Reintroduction In Toyooka City, Japan, Nako Kobayashi

Anthropology Department Honors Papers

In 1971, the Oriental White Stork went locally extinct in Toyooka, Japan. Today, around 80 of the birds fly free throughout the city. Toyooka uses the Stork Reintroduction Project and the promotion of “Stork-Friendly” agriculture to help combat the difficulties faced as a rural Japanese municipality including population decline, increased farmland abandonment, and falling rice prices. This thesis investigates how Toyooka City uses a pragmatic approach to achieve holistic sustainability that works within the framework of our current globalized cultural, political, social and economic landscape. By drawing on the fieldwork I conducted in Toyooka as well as the informal and …

Arboretum Annual Report 2015-2016, Glenn Dreyer

Annual Reports

No abstract provided.

Bulletin No. 42: The Mamacoke Conservation Area, Glenn Dreyer, Robert Askins, Scott Peterson

Bulletins

No abstract provided.

Effective Establishment Of Native Grasses On Roadsides In New England, Yulia Kuzovkina, John Campanelli, Cristian Schulthess, Robert Ricard, Glenn Dreyer

Other Publications and Reports

No abstract provided.

Arboretum Annual Report 2014-2015, Glenn Dreyer

Annual Reports

No abstract provided.

The Critical Importance Of Large Expanses Of Continuous Forest For Bird Conservation, Robert A. Askins

Biology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Health Risks Of Chemicals In Personal Care Products And Their Fate In The Environment, Lisa Paulsen

Chemistry Honors Papers

Personal care products are everyday consumer products used to cleanse, enhance, or alter the appearance of the body, including, but not limited to, shampoos, body washes, lotions, and cosmetics. The regulations and safety information surrounding personal care products are severely lacking. The laws regulating the environmental fate of these chemicals and the harmful effects they can have on environmental ecosystems or organisms that are exposed to them are even more limited. However, studies have shown that the chemicals can have a dizzying array of health risks, including diseases on the rise in human populations such as diabetes, obesity, autism, ADHD, …

Mercury Speciation, Retention, And Abundance Of Genes Involved With Mercury Methylation In Fertilized Salt Marsh Sediments, Caroline Collins

Biology Honors Papers

Mercury (Hg) is a global pollutant which exists in both aquatic and terrestrial systems in three main forms including elemental Hg, ionic mercury, and methyl mercury, (MeHg), and Hg cycling plays an important role in ecosystems. Great Sippewisset Marsh, (GSM) in Falmouth MA has been chronically treated with fertilizer that contains heavy metals such as Hg in varying concentrations since the early 1970s and provides for an excellent location to study Hg contamination. The overall goal of this study is to analyze the key geochemical and microbial conditions that lead to MeHg production in the presence of the applied fertilizer. …

Bulletin No. 40: Salt Marsh Plants Of Long Island Sound, R. Scott Warren, Juliana Barrett, Margaret Van Patten

Bulletins

No abstract provided.

Explorations In The Gray Morality Of Conservation, Avery Whitlock

Art Honors Papers

I am interested in the areas of gray morality associated with conservation science. This science focuses on the protection of biological diversity primarily through the protection of species and their environments, and the management of human impact upon these.

This interest was sparked by personal explorations in scientific illustration and the field of conservation. The scientific observations and dynamic illustrations of John James Audubon led to my focus specifically on birds.

Similarly vital in realizing this interest were initial studies of motion I created through animation. Animated studies of motion, as fabrications of life, evolved into an interest of how …

Cultivating Sustainable Cities: A Comparative Study Of Urban Agriculture In Mumbai, India And New York City, Usa, Kristina Satterlee

Environmental Studies Honors Papers

Urban agriculture has the potential to be a source of great social and environmental good within a city. This study couples in-depth interviews with urban farmers with secondary research to provide a holistic understanding of the urban agriculture movement in Mumbai, Maharastra, India and New York City, New York, USA. Through this resource, it became apparent that the two movements vary drastically in terms of size, scope, resource availability, and movement goals. Despite these differences, the research points to one striking similarity. In both cities, farms and gardens in lower income areas have access to a far smaller body of …

The Greenhouse Effect At The Molecular Level, Michael Monce

Physics, Astronomy and Geophysics Faculty Publications

The greenhouse effect is generally modeled on a macro scale by designating energy balance for the planetary system. This involves the incoming solar radiation, reflected solar energy, absorbed solar energy at the ground, and subsequent re-radiation at longer wavelengths from the ground. The reradiated energy is then either transmitted out of the system or absorbed by the greenhouse gases and thus changing the overall energy balance.

However, the entire notion of the effects of so-called greenhouse gases hinges on the absorption and reemission of radiation at the individual molecular level. This paper presents an evaluation of that process by utilizing …

Concept And Technique: How Traditional Japanese Architecture Can Contribute To Contemporary Sustainable Design Practices, Courtney Angen

Environmental Studies Honors Papers

No abstract provided.

Beijing’S Water Crisis: A Historical Analysis Of Beijing’S Waterways Using Geographic Information Systems, Rebecca Tisherman

Environmental Studies Honors Papers

Beijing has a complex system of waterways inside the city of 20 million people, while the rivers just outside of the city run dry most of the year. Geographic Information Systems was used to analyze the historical changes of the waterways, geo-cover, precipitation, and other factors that have affected the water supply to the city. The manmade canals in the city expanded with urbanization until 1983 when there were canals in every corner of the city. The water became too polluted for human use, so canals were slowly converted to culverts. Groundwater was depleted over time as well, so the …

Contents And Sustainability Of ‘Environmentally Friendly’ Cutleries, Paper Plates, And Plastic Cups, Caroline Jacobsen, Lauren Poscillico

Other Student Research in Physics, Astronomy, and Geophysics

To determine the sustainability, and the level of environmental-friendliness of each of these brands of cutlery, plates and cups, we first used the PIXE technology to determine the inorganic contents of the main cutlery pieces and compare this content to that which is found in potatoes or corn, depending on what the brand claimed to use for manufacturing. We also used corn and potato starch to make our own homemade plastics, which we used for further comparison. As an additional side study, we left samples of some of the plastics outside, to determine how much each would degrade under sustained …

Recognizing Environmental Justice In History: Resistance And Agency In The Cross Bronx Expressway And The Memphis Sanitation Workers’ Strike, Sarah Berkley

History Honors Papers

The term environmental justice did not become a part of academic discourse until the 1970s; however, the facts of environmental injustice predate the concept. Minority and low-income communities have historically born a disproportionate burden of the environmental harm associated with economic progress while reaping few of the benefits. The history of the building of the Cross Bronx Expressway from 1948 to 1972 and the Memphis Sanitation Workers’ Strike of 1968 both involve what today can be labeled an environmental justice struggle in response to environmental injustices. Under the radar of the mainly white environmental movement, African Americans and others made …

An Analysis Of Wind Resources And The Feasibility Of Wind-Energy Generation On The Connecticut College Campus, Michael Marshall

Physics, Astronomy and Geophysics Honors Papers

A wind-resource analysis was undertaken on the Connecticut College campus to augment the preliminary wind-power feasibility study conducted by Global Energy Concepts (GEC) in 2006. Based largely on modeled wind speeds, this earlier study concluded that wind resources at the college were insufficient to generate large amounts of electrical energy given the small-scale turbine believed to be suited to the campus's available land. In the current wind-resource analysis, rather than using modeled values, on-site wind measurements were made over the course of a year and extrapolated to the hub heights of various turbines. These extrapolations suggest that the mean annual …

Pollution And Public Health In A Shrinking World: Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations As A Paradigm For Emergent Needs In Environmental And Public Health Policy, Leland Stillman

Self-Designed Majors Honors Papers

Environmental factors play a major part in human health. Environmental pollutants are often as poisonous to humans as the environment. Presently, much time and energy is dedicated to keeping pollution apart from human society, with varying success. But as global population densities rise, current levels of pollution will become inviable due to public health concerns. An emergent example of this is in the concentration of livestock operations. Recent changes in the structure of U.S. hog farming have resulted in an industry-wide shift from small or medium production farms to high capacity, “concentrated animal feeding operations” (CAFO). These operations have become …

Of Ethics And Ecosystems: A Bifocal Perspective On Biodiversity Conservation, Charles Van Rees

Environmental Studies Honors Papers

No abstract provided.

Seedlings’ Substrate Preferences In A Minnesota Old Growth Thuja-Betula Forest, Stephen C. Rossiter

Environmental Studies Honors Papers

Northeastern Minnesota’s logging history has altered the forests enough to cause concern about the reproduction of Thuja occidentalis and Betula alleghaniensis. I studied a rare old growth example of an already rare mesic Thuja-Betula forest and asked how well those species were regenerating in that mostly unaltered ecosystem. In managed forests, a lack of suitable substrate is thought to be limiting their seedling establishment so I asked which substrates the seedlings preferred in the old forest. To answer both questions, I measured the seedling densities of all canopy tree species across height classes and substrate types within twenty 100m2 plots. …

Seasons, Storms And Seawalls: A Comparison Of Constrained And Unconstrained Beaches In Groton, Connecticut, Katherine A. Serafin

Environmental Studies Honors Papers

A study was done in order to evaluate the impact of a seawall on a beach in Groton, Connecticut. Literature predicts beaches containing seawalls will inhibit functioning as a normal beach and lead to increased erosion. Groton Long Point is developed and backed by a seawall while Bluff Point is located on a state park and receives much less human usage. Profiles were measured to study the effect of storms, seasonality and time on these two barrier beaches. Two transects at each beach were used to determine changes in profiles throughout the year. Profiles were then compared to previous research …

Greening Connecticut Cities And Towns, Managing Public Trees And Community Forests, Glenn D. Dreyer, Robert M. Ricard

Other Publications and Reports

No abstract provided.

Bulletin No. 37: Living Resources And Habitats Of The Lower Connecticut River, Glenn D. Dreyer, Marcianna Caplis

Bulletins

No abstract provided.

Bulletin No. 34: Tidal Marshes Of Long Island Sound: Ecology, History And Restoration, Glenn D. Dreyer, William A. Niering

Bulletins

No abstract provided.