Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Potential Of Water Hyacinth Infestation On Lake Tana, Ethiopia: A Prediction Using A Gis-Based Multi-Criteria Technique, Minychl G. Desseh, Aron A. Kibret, Seifu A. Tilahun, Abeyou W. Worqlul, Mamaru A. Moges, Dessalegn C. Dagnew, Wubneh B. Abebe, Assefa M. Melesse

Department of Earth and Environment

Water hyacinth is a well-known invasive weed in lakes across the world and harms the aquatic environment. Since 2011, the weed has invaded Lake Tana substantially posing a challenge to the ecosystem services of the lake. The major factors which affect the growth of the weed are phosphorus, nitrogen, temperature, pH, salinity, and lake depth. Understanding and investigating the hotspot areas is vital to predict the areas for proper planning of interventions. The main objective of this study is therefore to predict the hotspot areas of the water hyacinth over the surface of the lake using the geographical information system …

Effect Of Salinity Stress And Microbial Inoculations On Glomalin Production And Plant Growth Parameters Of Snap Bean (Phaseolus Vulgaris), Claudia Lyl Garcia, Sanku Dattamudi, Saoli Chanda, Krish Jayachandran

Department of Earth and Environment

Salinity is a major abiotic stress that can adversely affect plant growth, yield, other physiological parameters, and soil health. Salinity stress on biomass production of salt-sensitive crops, like snap bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), is a serious problem, and specifically in South Florida, USA, where saline soils can be found in major agricultural lands. Research studies focused on the ‘snap bean–Rhizobium–arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF)’ relationship under salinity stress are limited, and fewer studies have evaluated how this tripartite symbiosis affects glomalin production (GRSP), a glycoprotein released by AMF. A shade house experiment was conducted to elucidate the effects of three microbial inoculations …

Sevucas: A Novel Gis-Based Machine Learning Software For Seismic Vulnerability Assessment, Saro Lee, Mahdi Panahi, Hamid Reza Pourghasemi, Himan Shahabi, Mohsen Alizadeh, Ataollah Shirzadi, Khabat Khosravi, Assefa M. Melesse, Mohamad Yekrangnia, Fatemeh Rezaie, Hamindreza Moeini, Binh Thai Pham, Baharin Bin Ahmad

Department of Earth and Environment

Since it is not possible to determine the exact time of a natural disaster’s occurrence and the amount of physical and financial damage on humans or the environment resulting from their event, decision-makers need to identify areas with potential vulnerability in order to reduce future losses. In this paper, a GIS-based open source software entitled Seismic-Related Vulnerability Calculation Software (SEVUCAS), based on the Step-wise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA) method and geographic information system, has been developed to assess seismic vulnerability by considering four groups of criteria (i.e., geotechnical, structural, socio-economic, and physical distance to needed facilities and away from …

Satellite Estimation Of Chlorophyll-A Using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (Modis) Sensor In Shallow Coastal Water Bodies: Validation And Improvement, Mohd Manzar Abbas, Assefa M. Melesse, Leanord J. Scinto, J S. Rehage

Department of Earth and Environment

The size and distribution of Phytoplankton populations are indicators of the ecological status of a water body. The chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentration is estimated as a proxy for the distribution of phytoplankton biomass. Remote sensing is the only practical method for the synoptic assessment of Chl-a at large spatial and temporal scales. Long-term records of ocean color data from the MODIS Aqua Sensor have proven inadequate to assess Chl-a due to the lack of a robust ocean color algorithm. Chl-a estimation in shallow and coastal water bodies has been a challenge and existing operational algorithms are only suitable for deeper water …

Landslide Susceptibility Mapping Using Different Gis-Based Bivariate Models, Ebrahim Nohani, Meisam Moharrami, Samira Sharafi, Khabat Khosravi, Biswajeet Pradhan, Binh Thai Pham, Saro Lee, Assefa M. Melesse

Department of Earth and Environment

Landslides are the most frequent phenomenon in the northern part of Iran, which cause considerable financial and life damages every year. One of the most widely used approaches to reduce these damages is preparing a landslide susceptibility map (LSM) using suitable methods and selecting the proper conditioning factors. The current study is aimed at comparing four bivariate models, namely the frequency ratio (FR), Shannon entropy (SE), weights of evidence (WoE), and evidential belief function (EBF), for a LSM of Klijanrestagh Watershed, Iran. Firstly, 109 locations of landslides were obtained from field surveys and interpretation of aerial photographs. Then, the locations …

Flood Spatial Modeling In Northern Iran Using Remote Sensing And Gis: A Comparison Between Evidential Belief Functions And Its Ensemble With A Multivariate Logistic Regression Model, Duie Tien Bui, Khabat Khosravi, Himan Shahabi, Prasad Daggupati, Jan F. Adamowski, Assefa M. Melesse, Binh Thai Pham, Hamid Reza Pourghasemi, Mehrnoosh Mahmoudi, Sepideh Bahrami, Biswajeet Pradhan, Ataollah Shirzadi, Kamran Chapi, Saro Lee

Department of Earth and Environment

Floods are some of the most dangerous and most frequent natural disasters occurring in the northern region of Iran. Flooding in this area frequently leads to major urban, financial, anthropogenic, and environmental impacts. Therefore, the development of flood susceptibility maps used to identify flood zones in the catchment is necessary for improved flood management and decision making. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of an Evidential Belief Function (EBF) model, both as an individual model and in combination with Logistic Regression (LR) methods, in preparing flood susceptibility maps for the Haraz Catchment in the Mazandaran …

Generating Alternatives: The Possible Energy Transitions For France And Germany After The Paris Accord, Anna Fache

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Following the Paris Accord of 2015, multiple countries, including France and Germany, promised to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in order to slow down climate change. Current energy production and consumption patterns do not allow for such targets. Meeting these emission reduction goals requires a transition in energy production. Energy transitions can be inefficient and costly if not planned properly, and multiple constraints need to be taken into account when putting such a process in place. The model proposed in the present study aims to find the most cost-effective energy portfolios for France and Germany, two highly industrialized nations in …

Essays On Economic Valuation Of Water Resources, Christina Estela Brown

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Increased potential of flooding caused by heavy precipitation events and sea level rise, as well as growing risk of drought that are likely changes in the frequency and spatial distribution of climatic conditions, pose particular challenges to water management in coastal areas. Extreme events are expected to increase the complexity of managing scarce water resources for competing water users. South Florida, which is characterized by a mosaic of urban settlements, agricultural areas and natural areas, is served by a highly human-engineered water management system grappling to meet multiple objectives, including urban and agricultural water supply, flood control, and environmental restoration. …

Teleconnection Of Regional Drought To Enso, Pdo, And Amo: Southern Florida And The Everglades, Anteneh Z. Abiy, Assefa M. Melesse, Wozzenu Abtew

Department of Earth and Environment

Drought variability is associated with global oceanic and atmospheric teleconnections driven by, among others, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), and El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Climate teleconnections with a region’s rainfall, with drought and flooding implications, should be part of short- and long-term water management planning and operations. In this study, the link between drought and climatic drivers was assessed by using historical data from 110 years of regional rainfall in southern Florida and the Everglades. The objective was to evaluate historical drought and its link with global oceanic and atmospheric teleconnections. The Standardized Precipitation Index …

Using Social Network Analysis To Develop Relational Expertise For An Instructional Change Initiative, Kathleen Quardokus Fisher, Ann Sitomer, Jana Bouwma-Gearheart, Milo Koretsky

Department of Earth and Environment

Background

Change leaders (faculty, administrators, and/or external stakeholders) need to develop relational expertise, recognizing the perspectives of others, to enable emergent, systemic change. We describe how change leaders of a grant-funded instructional change initiative developed relational expertise by analyzing faculty relationships and social subgroups to identify who was involved in discussions about teaching and learning and what specific topics were discussed.

Results

Faculty discussions focused on daily classroom needs. Faculty who were in different departments or schools were mostly disconnected from each other, and faculty within these units often had subdivisions among them.

Conclusions

Faculty lacked opportunities to discuss …

Using Social Network Analysis To Develop Relational Expertise For An Instructional Change Initiative, Kathleen Quardokus Fisher, Ann Sitomer, Jana Bouwma-Gearhart, Milo Koretsky

Department of Earth and Environment

Background

Change leaders (faculty, administrators, and/or external stakeholders) need to develop relational expertise, recognizing the perspectives of others, to enable emergent, systemic change. We describe how change leaders of a grant-funded instructional change initiative developed relational expertise by analyzing faculty relationships and social subgroups to identify who was involved in discussions about teaching and learning and what specific topics were discussed.

Results

Faculty discussions focused on daily classroom needs. Faculty who were in different departments or schools were mostly disconnected from each other, and faculty within these units often had subdivisions among them.

Conclusions

Faculty lacked opportunities to discuss …

Trait‐Based Community Assembly Pattern Along A Forest Succession Gradient In A Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest, Suresh C. Subedi, Michael S. Ross, Jay P. Sah, Jed Redwine, Christopher Baraloto

Department of Earth and Environment

We aimed to determine the important functional dimensions that may drive forest succession and community assembly patterns in dry tropical forests. We investigated whether there were patterns in specific functional strategies during succession in the dry tropical forests of the Florida Keys, whose unique physical setting includes nutrient‐stressed, salt‐stressed, and water‐limited environments. The study, which focused on ten traits, determined the leading trait dimensions by which species differentiate from one another in the study area. The general patterns of trait covariation at individual sites and among species were analyzed using principal component analysis. Trait niche overlap indices were calculated for …

Comparison Of Tandem-X Dem With Lidar Data For Accuracy Assessment In A Coastal Urban Area, Keqi Zhang, Daniel Gann, Michael S. Ross, Yuepeng Li, Jamie Rhome

Department of Earth and Environment

The TanDEM-X (TDX) mission launched by the German Aerospace Center delivers unprecedented global coverage of a high-quality digital elevation model (DEM) with a pixel spacing of 12 m. To examine the relationships of terrain, vegetation, and building elevations with hydrologic, geologic, geomorphologic, or ecologic factors, quantification of TDX DEM errors at a local scale is necessary. We estimated the errors of TDX data for open ground, forested, and built areas in a coastal urban environment by comparing the TDX DEM with LiDAR data for the same areas, using a series of error measures including root mean square error (RMSE) and …

Effects Of Flooding And Soil- Applied Solid Oxygen Fertilizers On Physiology And Growth Of Papaya Plants, Stephanie Torres

Undergraduate Research at FIU (URFIU) Conference

Papaya is grown exclusively in South Florida. Over ninety percent of the papaya production is in Miami-Dade County. The remaining acreage is primarily located in counties adjacent to Miami-Dade County. Average yield can approach 25,000 pounds per acre. With a pack-out of 85 percent and a price of $0.30 per pound, income from an acre of papaya would have been worth approximately $6,375. Papaya thrives under warm conditions with abundant rainfall or irrigation. It cannot tolerate strong winds, flooding, or frosts, and it recuperates very slowly if it has sustained considerable leaf or root injury. Soils should be well drained, …

A Seismically Induced Onshore Surge Deposit At The Kpg Boundary, North Dakota, Robert A. Depalma

Department of Earth and Environment

The most immediate effects of the terminal-Cretaceous Chicxulub impact, essential to understanding the global-scale environmental and biotic collapses that mark the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction, are poorly resolved despite extensive previous work. Here, we help to resolve this by describing a rapidly emplaced, high-energy onshore surge deposit from the terrestrial Hell Creek Formation in Montana. Associated ejecta and a cap of iridium-rich impactite reveal that its emplacement coincided with the Chicxulub event. Acipenseriform fish, densely packed in the deposit, contain ejecta spherules in their gills and were buried by an inland-directed surge that inundated a deeply incised river channel before accretion of …

Estimating The Sediment Flux And Budget For A Data Limited Rift Valley Lake In Ethiopia, Alemu O. Aga, Assefa M. Melesse

Department of Earth and Environment

Information on sediment concentration in rivers is important for the design and management of reservoirs. In this paper, river sediment flux and siltation rate of a rift valley lake basin (Lake Ziway, Ethiopia) was modeled using suspended sediment concentration (SSC) samples from four rivers and lake outlet stations. Both linear and non-linear least squares log–log regression methods were used to develop the model. The best-fit model was tested and evaluated qualitatively by time-series plots, quantitatively by using watershed model evaluation statistics, and validated by calculating the prediction error. Sediment yield (SY) of ungauged rivers were assessed by developing and using …

Cultural Politics Of Community-Based Conservation In The Buffer Zone Of Chitwan National Park, Nepal, Yogesh Dongol

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The dissertation research examines the socio-economic and political effects of community-based conservation initiatives within the Bagmara buffer zone community forests of Chitwan National Park, Nepal. In particular, the study investigates the role of buffer zones creation in structuring the way rural property rights have been defined, negotiated, and contested, in reinforcing or reducing patterns of ethnic dominance and exclusion, and in influencing how cultural identities are constituted and renegotiated. Using a political ecology framework with a specific focus on theoretical concepts of environmentality and territorialization, I conducted 12 months ethnographic and quantitative survey field research in the buffer zone communities …

Design Of Low Impact Development And Green Infrastructure At Flood Prone Areas In The City Of Miami Beach, Florida, Usa, Noura Alsarawi

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the effectiveness of Low Impact Development Infrastructure (LIDI) and Green Infrastructure (GI) in reducing flooding resulting from heavy rainfall events and sea-level rise, and in improving stormwater quality in the City of Miami Beach (CMB). InfoSWMM was used to simulate the 5, 10, and 100-year, 24-hour storm events, total suspended solids (TSS), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), and chemical oxygen demand (COD) loadings, and in evaluating the potential of selected LIDI and GI solutions in North Shore neighborhood.

Post-development results revealed a decrease of 48%, 46%, and 39% in runoff, a decrease of 57%, 60%, and 62% in …

The Effect Of Microbial Growth On The Spectral Induced Polarization Response In Hanford Vadose Zone Sediment In The Presence Of Autunite, Alejandro Garcia

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Uranium contamination of the subsurface remains a significant problem at the Department of Energy Hanford site. A series of column experiments were conducted on Hanford sediment saturated with simulated groundwater to study the effects of aqueous bicarbonate and microbial growth on the mobility of Uranium. Spectral induced polarization (SIP) measurements in the columns were conducted concurrently with pore water sampling in order to monitor changes occurring inside the sediment after the initiation of microbial growth induced by glucose injection. The microbial growth caused significant increases in the real component of the complex conductivity and is the result of ion release …

Developing Ocean Color Algorithm Using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (Modis) Sensor For Shallow Coastal Water Bodies, Mohd Manzar Abbas

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study analyses the spatial and temporal variability of chlorophyll-a in Chesapeake Bay; assesses the performance of Ocean Color 3M (OC3M) algorithm; and develops a novel algorithm to estimate chlorophyll-a for coastal shallow water. The OC3M algorithm yields an accurate estimate of chlorophyll-a concentration for deep ocean water (RMSE=0.016), but it failed to perform well in the coastal water system (RMSE=23.17) of Chesapeake Bay. A novel algorithm was developed which utilizes green and red bands of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor. The novel algorithm derived the chlorophyll-a concentration more accurately in Chesapeake Bay (RMSE=4.20) than the OC3M algorithm. …

The Cyclodextrin-Perfluorinated Surfactant Host-Guest Complex: Fundamental Studies For Potential Environmental Remediation And Therapeutic Applications, Mary J. Errico

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are contaminants of emerging concern, and have been detected in drinking water, wildlife, humans, and the environment. Cyclodextrins (CDs), cyclic sugars composed of glucose monomers, are proposed as a potential remediation strategy. CDs can form host-guest complexes with hydrophobic molecules; this complexation could be capitalized on for PFAS removal and sequestration. These dissertation projects aim to study the fundamental host-guest interactions between a variety of PFASs and CDs for eventual applications in environmental and biological remediation. 1D and 2D Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic methods were employed to determine the strength, dynamics, and structure of the CD:PFAS …

Educando Hacia La Sustentabilidad, Maria F. Guida

ICOT 18 - International Conference on Thinking - Cultivating Mindsets for Global Citizens

Las escuelas y los sistemas educativos fueron creados para responder a los desafíos emergentes de un determinado período histórico. A medida que avanzamos en la historia de la educación observamos que se utilizaron distintos modelos según los factores políticos y socioeconómicos del momento.

El modelo actual de la escuela todavía responde a inquietudes del siglo pasado. Nuestro mundo atraviesa realidades totalmente distintas y nuestro futuro es cambiante y desconocido.

Problemáticas mundiales como el Calentamiento Global y Cambio Climático constituyen grandes ejemplos de esta nueva etapa que atraviesa nuestro planeta. Debemos preparar a nuestros alumnos a manejarse ante estos continuos cambios …

Trash To Treasure, Kim Rizio, Brooke Fatima Yubero, Defne Timurkan, Corey Gildersleeve

ICOT 18 - International Conference on Thinking - Cultivating Mindsets for Global Citizens

Based on research of the “Children Are Citizens” initiative from Project Zero at Harvard University, the Trash to Treasure project will engage and capacitate our preschoolers and lower elementary students to be agents of change in our local community. This interdisciplinary project will bring attention to an important environmental issue within our community. Plastic pollution will be transformed into an interactive exhibit and lead our students from bystanders to advocates. Community-wide beach clean-ups will provide students with the trash to create an original multi-media piece that incorporates movement to engage and communicate our message. The installation of the piece in …

Assessment Of Hydrologic Connectivity In An Ungauged Wetland With Insar Observations, Fernando Jaramillo, Ian Brown, Pascal Castellazzi, Luisa Espinosa, Alice Guittard, Sang-Hoon Hong, Victor H. Rivera-Monroy, Shimon Wdowinski

Department of Earth and Environment

The Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta (CGSM) is one of the world's most productive tropical wetlands and one that has witnessed some of the greatest recorded dieback of mangroves. Human-driven loss of hydrologic connectivity by roads, artificial channels and water flow regulation appears to be the reason behind mangrove mortality in this ungauged wetland. In this study, we determined the CGSM's current state of hydrologic connectivity by combining a remote sensing technique, termed as Wetland Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR), with a hydrologic study of river water discharge. For this research, we processed 29 ALOS-PALSAR acquisitions taken during the period …

Simplifying Sample Preparation Using Fabric Phase Sorptive Extraction: Analysis Of Trace Targeted Pollutant Residues In Environmental, Biological And Food Samples, Rodolfo Mesa

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sample preparation is an essential component of analytical methods in chemistry. It is not only necessary but also presents an opportunity to increase the effectiveness of the method significantly. There are various commercially available technologies for sample preparation, including numerous variations of LLE, SPE, and SPME. However, these technologies all present significant deficiencies, including the inability to extract directly from complex samples such as whole milk. Instrumental analysis has been improved greatly in the last two decades but still is not applicable to complex samples without sample preparation.

This work presents the theory of FPSE, including the synthesis of sol-gel …

Linking Organic Matter Dynamics To Management, Restoration, And Climate In The Florida Everglades, Peter Regier

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Florida Everglades is a massive and highly managed subtropical wetland ecosystem, strongly influenced by anthropogenic control of freshwater distribution and highly susceptible to a changing climate, including rising sea-level and changes in temperature and rainfall. Shifting hydrologic regimes impact ecosystem function and biogeochemistry, which in turn control the sources, fate, and transport of organic matter. As a master environmental variable, it is essential to understand how organic matter dynamics will respond to changes in the balance between freshwater and saltwater associated with landscape-scale Everglades restoration efforts and climate change. The research comprising this dissertation improves current understanding of the …

Investigation Of The Properties Of Acid- Contaminated Sediment And Its Effect On Contaminant Mobility, Awmna K. Rana

Undergraduate Research at FIU (URFIU) Conference

The Savannah River Site (SRS), is a hazardous waste management facility responsible for nuclear storage and remediation of contaminated soil and groundwater. Underground vitrified clay pipes were used to transport acid radioactive effluents to the basins and allowed to evaporate and seep into the underlying soil. Over time the acidic nature of the basin influent caused mobilization of metals and radionuclides resulting in localized groundwater contaminant plumes. The main objective of this study is to assess the impact of prolonged contact between soil and the acidic waste stream and more specifically, the change in specific surface area and pore distribution …

Capture And Densification Of Floating Hydrophobic Liquids By Natural Granular Materials, Daria Boglaienko

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Densification and submergence of floating crude oil is proposed as a novel oil spills treatment method. Surface application of dry granular materials (e.g., quartz sand, limestone) on top of a floating oil layer increases the density of the floating oil phase/granule mixture and leads to formation of relatively large and stable aggregates with significant amounts of captured oil. The aggregates separate from the floating hydrophobic phase and settle by gravity. Implementation of this method will reduce the impact radius of a spill and its mobility, preventing direct contamination of beaches, coastal flora and fauna.

The major objective of this research …

Back To The Future: The Persistence Of Horse Skidding In Large Scale Industrial Community Forests In Chihuahua, Mexico, David Barton Bray, Elvira Duran, Javier Hernández-Salas, Concepción Luján-Alvarez, Miguel Olivas-García, Iván Grijalva-Martínez

Department of Earth and Environment

Horse skidding for extracting logwood is characterized as a niche activity in small-scale forestry, limited to small tracts and low volumes, where environmental impacts and aesthetics are concerned, and to operations with no wood-processing facilities. This article documents and analyzes the widespread persistence, current magnitude, and multiple advantages of horse skidding in large-scale industrial community forest enterprises in Chihuahua, Mexico. We extracted data from the logging permit files of 59 communities in the Sierra Tarahumara and conducted semi-structured interviews with community leaders and foresters in 18 communities, 17 random selections, and one purposefully selected case. There are nine communities that …

Developing Benthic Class Specific, Chlorophyll-A Retrieving Algorithms For Optically-Shallowwater Using Seawifs, Tara Blakey, Assefa M. Melesse, Michael C. Sukop, Georgio Tachiev, Dean Whitman, Fernando Miralles-Wilhelm

Department of Earth and Environment

This study evaluated the ability to improve Sea-Viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS) chl-a retrieval from optically shallow coastal waters by applying algorithms specific to the pixels’ benthic class. The form of the Ocean Color (OC) algorithm was assumed for this study. The operational atmospheric correction producing Level 2 SeaWiFS data was retained since the focus of this study was on establishing the benefit from the alternative specification of the bio-optical algorithm. Benthic class was determined through satellite image-based classification methods. Accuracy of the chl-a algorithms evaluated was determined through comparison with coincident in situ measurements of chl-a. The regionally-tuned …