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Articles 1 - 19 of 19
Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Storm Water Damage Risk Assessment Along The South Carolina Heritage Trail, Charles Pellett
Storm Water Damage Risk Assessment Along The South Carolina Heritage Trail, Charles Pellett
All Theses
This study was conducted to better predict and assess damage to high-value small-spatial scale landscapes from storm water. Storm water damage in the form of rill formation across the South Carolina Botanic Gardens (SCBG) Natural Heritage Garden Trail has been modelled as a function of contributing area using D8 and D-infinity flow direction algorithms on a preprocessed LiDAR-derived elevation raster. D8 and D-infinity algorithms were also applied over a set of stochastic Monte Carlo simulations (n=1,000) representing elevation error. The contributing area was calculated using each of the four methods for each 5'x5' cell along the trail. The output was …
Transformation Of Uranium In A Geological Environment, Derrell Hood
Transformation Of Uranium In A Geological Environment, Derrell Hood
All Theses
Incorporation of uranium into iron oxide minerals is a promising mechanism for the environmental immobilization of U(VI). In this study, synthesized hematite was doped with uranium and analyzed with SEM-EDS, TEM, XRD, and ICP-MS. The results of this analysis strongly indicate uranium incorporation into the mineral, as well as the possible presence of a co-precipitated uranium mineral clarkeite. Preliminary results also shows an increase in the amount of uranium associated with the hematite particles as a function of mineral aging. Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) was used to induce and characterize electrochemical changes of uranium in the doped hematite system; these changes …
Comparison Of Bacterial Inactivation Efficiency And Disinfection Byproduct Formation From Different Disinfection Processes, Binbin Li
All Theses
Formation of disinfection byproducts (DBPs) during Escherichia coli K12 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 inactivation under four disinfection processes, including chlorination, chloramination, photo-Fenton reaction, and TiO2/UV photocatalytic inactivation were examined. Factors of pH (5 or 8) and different disinfectant dosages were also investigated in order to balance the risks of DBP formation and bacterial cell viability in the four treatment processes. Chlorination had the fastest bacterial inactivation whereas chloramination, photo-Fenton, and TiO2/UV requiring longer contact times to achieve the same inactivation efficiency. In spite of the lag phase in the treatment processes, both photo-Fenton and TiO2/UV achieved 100% bacteria reduction after …
An Examination Of Radionuclide Transport In The Vadose Zone Using Field Lysimeters, Michael Witmer
An Examination Of Radionuclide Transport In The Vadose Zone Using Field Lysimeters, Michael Witmer
All Theses
Understanding how radionuclides interact in the subsurface is important for the remediation of contaminated sites, assessment of risk due to radioactive waste disposal, and designing new radioactive waste management strategies. The current understanding of the geochemical behavior of radionuclides in the subsurface and more specifically the vadose zone has been developed through reactive transport modeling supplemented by laboratory experiments. Interactions between radionuclides with the mineral particles and organic matter in the vadose zone can be very complex and while laboratory experiments produce valuable data, few controlled, intermediate scale transport studies have been performed. In order to accurately predict vadose zone …
Responses Of Target And Non-Target Species To Algaecide Exposures, Alyssa Calomeni
Responses Of Target And Non-Target Species To Algaecide Exposures, Alyssa Calomeni
All Theses
Laboratory experiments are often used to predict the responses of target and non-target species to chemical exposures in the field. In the first two experiments of this thesis, a rigorous evaluation of six algal viability measures was conducted. A definitive evaluation of the algal response measures was conducted using heat treatment to create known live: dead cell suspensions. Results from the response measures were compared to the known viability of the cell suspensions to determine their variance and accuracy. Copper-based algaecides were then used as a more realistic exposure to test the algal viability measures. When algal viability measures had …
Spatial And Temporal Analysis Of Land Cover Change, Sedimentation And Water Quality In The Lake Issaqueena Watershed, South Carolina, Cassie Pilgrim
Spatial And Temporal Analysis Of Land Cover Change, Sedimentation And Water Quality In The Lake Issaqueena Watershed, South Carolina, Cassie Pilgrim
All Theses
Soil erosion and increased sediment yields within a watershed lead to impaired water quality, decreased availability of wildlife habitat and reduced recreational opportunities. While some sedimentation occurs naturally within a water system, most erosion processes are the result of anthropogenic activities across a landscape, namely changes in land use and land cover (LULC). This study was conducted to determine temporal and spatial sedimentation trends in the Lake Issaquena watershed using sonar logging equipment, geographic information systems (GIS) and limited hydrologic data from the Soil Conservation Service (1941 and 1949). Sediment deposition was analyzed in relation to several key factors that …
Use Of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Uav) For Urban Tree Inventories, Brian Ritter
Use Of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Uav) For Urban Tree Inventories, Brian Ritter
All Theses
In contrast to standard aerial imagery, unmanned aerial systems (UAS) utilize recent technological advances to provide an affordable alternative for imagery acquisition. Increased value can be realized through clarity and detail providing higher resolution (2-5 cm) over traditional products. Many natural resource disciplines such as urban forestry will benefit from UAS. Tree inventories for risk assessment, biodiversity, planning, and design can be efficiently achieved with the UAS. Recent advances in photogrammetric processing have proved automated methods for three dimensional rendering of aerial imagery. Point clouds can be generated from images providing additional benefits. Association of spatial locational information within the …
Development And Evaluation Of An Enrichment Culture For Reductive Dechlorination Of Tetrachloroethene Under Low Ph Conditions, Rui Xiao
All Theses
Perchloroethene (PCE) is a pollutant of major environmental concern at hazardous waste sites worldwide. PCE and trichloroethene (TCE) are suspected carcinogens and are ranked 16th and 31st, respectively, on the Environmental Protection Agency's priority list for hazardous substances, developed under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. As a consequence of the widespread use of chlorinated solvents (including PCE and TCE) for dry cleaning, chemical feedstocks, metal degreasing and other purposes, chloroethenes are widely distributed in the environment. Many soils and groundwater throughout the world are contaminated by chloroethenes. Therefore, further improvements are needed in clean-up methods. Bioaugmentation has …
Anaerobic And Aerobic Biodegradation Of The Oil Dispersant Components 1,2-Propanediol And 2-Butoxyethanol In Seawater, Benjamin Rhiner
Anaerobic And Aerobic Biodegradation Of The Oil Dispersant Components 1,2-Propanediol And 2-Butoxyethanol In Seawater, Benjamin Rhiner
All Theses
Oil spills are a recurring issue associated with fossil fuel consumption. The largest accidental oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry was the Deepwater Horizon explosion and seafloor well blowout, where the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and sank, allowing the well to gush uncontrolled from April 20, 2010, until it was capped on July 15, 2010, releasing an estimated 210,000,000 gallons of oil. Oil dispersants were used in unprecedented quantities during the cleanup response to the spill with a total of 1,840,000 gallons of the dispersant COREXIT being applied. The goal of this research was to evaluate …
Effects Of Creosote-Contaminated Sediment Extracts On Mouse Macrophage Physiology And Function, Rayna Silva
Effects Of Creosote-Contaminated Sediment Extracts On Mouse Macrophage Physiology And Function, Rayna Silva
All Theses
The southern branch of the Elizabeth River, at Portsmouth Virginia is one of the most polluted systems in North America. This harbor estuary system is also home to the Atlantic Wood Superfund site, which is heavily contaminated with creosote from the Atlantic Wood (AW) preservative company that ceased production in the later 1990s. Creosote is a mixture of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), metals, and numerous aliphatic hydrocarbons, and well known to be carcinogenic. The toxicity of sediments and pore waters from the AW site has been studied extensively using Fundulus heteroclitus, also known as the mummichog, or Atlantic killifish. Most adult …
Phenological Relationships Of Nesting Barn Swallows In A Swallow-Fly-Cattle System And Their Potential Role In Suppression Of Pest Flies In A Warming Climate, Claire Stuyck
All Theses
Conservation efforts for birds that provide ecosystem services in agricultural systems require management approaches that cross disciplines. This information is communicated through a variety of outlets but rarely in ways that interface effectively with normal management approaches. The disconnect between agriculture and wildlife conservation reduces the likelihood that ecosystem service benefits will be realized. One understudied ecosystem service provided by birds such as barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) is their role in suppression of flies that are pests to livestock. Climate change, however, may differentially affect flies that respond largely to temperature, and swallows that migrate and respond to photoperiod and …
Characterizing The Chronic Toxicity Of Ion Mixtures To Ceriodaphnia Dubia Using Two Experimental Designs, Katherine Johnson
Characterizing The Chronic Toxicity Of Ion Mixtures To Ceriodaphnia Dubia Using Two Experimental Designs, Katherine Johnson
All Theses
Total Dissolved Solids, commonly referred to as TDS, is a measure of all organic and inorganic substances that pass through a 2-um filter and are naturally found in aquatic environments. Anthropogenic activities such as agricultural irrigation, road salt runoff, hydraulic fracturing, and coal-fired power plant effluents can increase TDS concentrations of freshwater ecosystems ultimately increasing salinity. Aquatic organisms actively manage the ion balance between their external and internal environments. Freshwater organisms use energy to pump sodium in from the environment, while losing it through passive diffusion. If the external ion concentration changes significantly, these organisms must allocate more energy towards …
Persistence Of A Vulnerable Semi-Aquatic Turtle In An Intensively-Managed Forest Landscape, Christopher O'Bryan
Persistence Of A Vulnerable Semi-Aquatic Turtle In An Intensively-Managed Forest Landscape, Christopher O'Bryan
All Theses
Understanding spatial and population ecology of organisms allows land managers to predict how changes in distribution and composition of landscape features influence persistence. Our goal was to investigate body size, sex ratios, survival, individual movements, and habitat selection of a vulnerable freshwater turtle species, the spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata), in an intensively-managed forest landscape in eastern North Carolina, USA. Spotted turtles naturally occur in wetland-dominated landscapes, but this system is heavily-altered, with >222,000 hectares of pine plantations and >10,000 km of ditches managed by Weyerhaeuser Company. During 2012-2013, we captured and individually marked 280 turtles, and used radio-telemetry (n = …
Adsorption Of Synthetic Organic Chemicals: A Comparison Of Superfine Powdered Activated Carbon With Powdered Activated Carbon, Semra Bakkaloglu
Adsorption Of Synthetic Organic Chemicals: A Comparison Of Superfine Powdered Activated Carbon With Powdered Activated Carbon, Semra Bakkaloglu
All Theses
In literature, manufacturer-supplied powdered activated carbon has been ground to produce submicron particles with mean diameter lower than 1µm for use as an adsorbent during water treatment. Superfine powdered activated carbon (SPAC) can be used for removal of natural organic matter as well as synthetic organic chemicals (SOCs) from water. It has been suggested that SPAC has higher adsorption capacity than powdered activated carbon (PAC) due to larger external surface area and mesopore volume. Another advantage of SPAC over PAC is the faster uptake rate for both NOM and SOC during adsorption owing to small particle size. Therefore, understanding SPAC …
Gis-Based Suitability Modeling And Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis For Utility Scale Solar Plants In Four States In The Southeast Us, Kata Tisza
All Theses
Photovoltaic (PV) development shows significantly smaller growth in the Southeast U.S., than in the Southwest; which is mainly due to the low cost of fossil-fuel based energy production in the region and the lack of solar incentives. However, the Southeast has appropriate insolation conditions (4.0-6.0 KWh/m2/day) for photovoltaic deployment and in the past decade the region has experienced the highest population growth for the entire country. These factors, combined with new renewable energy portfolio policies, could create an opportunity for PV to provide some of the energy that will be required to sustain this growth. The goal of the study …
Design Of A High Temperature Subsurface Thermal Energy Storage System, Qi Zheng
Design Of A High Temperature Subsurface Thermal Energy Storage System, Qi Zheng
All Theses
Solar thermal energy is taking up increasing proportions of future power generation worldwide. Thermal energy storage technology is a key method for compensating for the inherent intermittency of solar resources and solving the time mismatch between solar energy supply and electricity demand. However, there is currently no cost-effective high-capacity compact storage technology available (Bakker et al., 2008). The goal of this work is to propose a high temperature subsurface thermal energy storage (HSTES) technology and demonstrate its potential energy storage capability by developing a solar-HSTES-electricity generation system. In this work, main elements of the proposed system and their related state-of-art …
Characterizing The Effect Of Suspended Carbon Nanotubes On The Bioavailablility Of Adsorbed Fluoranthene To P. Promelas, Erica N. Linard
Characterizing The Effect Of Suspended Carbon Nanotubes On The Bioavailablility Of Adsorbed Fluoranthene To P. Promelas, Erica N. Linard
All Theses
The introduction of carbon nanomaterials into the environment has increased exponentially in the last decade, causing environmental as well as health concerns. One concern is the interaction that such nanomaterials have with the biota in the aquatic ecosystem and the direct and indirect toxic effects that may result. Previous research has documented a positive influence of natural organic matter (NOM) on the stability of carbon nanotube (CNTs) suspensions in surface waters. Further, research has quantified the ability of these carbon nanomaterials to adsorb aquatic contaminants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Though both CNTs and PAHs can co-occur in wastewater …
Assessing The Response Of Small Mammal Functional Guilds To A Simulated Pathogen Attack In A Deciduous Forest Ecosystem, Katie Keck
All Theses
Oak trees (Quercus species) are a foundation species that influence the population dynamics of other organisms by stabilizing ecosystem processes. Globally, oak-dominated forests have experienced widespread mortality due to the fungal pathogen, Phytophthora ramorum, which causes the disease Sudden Oak Death (SOD). I investigated the impact of a simulated pathogen attack such as SOD on the small mammal assemblage of an oak forest in Cornwall, New York. Specifically, I tested the hypothesis that specialist species are most impacted by the loss of foundation species and that they would decline in abundance because of changes in food and habitat resources. In …
Improved Oxidative Stability In Biodiesel Via Commercially-Viable Processing Strategies, Gregory Lepak
Improved Oxidative Stability In Biodiesel Via Commercially-Viable Processing Strategies, Gregory Lepak
All Theses
Biodiesel made from waste cooking oil (WCO) frequently requires antioxidants to meet oxidation stability specifications set forth in ASTM D6751 or EN 14214. In contrast, unrefined cottonseed oil (CSO), containing tocopherols and high concentrations of gossypol, a toxic polyphenolic antioxidant, is unique for biodiesel processing because it produces biodiesel resulting in higher oxidation stability. During biodiesel production, however, only a portion of these endogenous natural antioxidants are suspected to be retained. Because the economics of biodiesel manufacturing rely upon inexpensive sources of triglycerides, emphasis was placed upon developing improved alternative commercially-viable processing strategies where WCO is the main source of …