Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Tenvr: Matlab-Based Toolbox For Environmental Research, Aleksandar I. Goranov, Rachel L. Sleighter, Dobromir A. Yordanov, Patrick G. Hatcher

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

With the advancements in science and technology, datasets become larger and more multivariate, which warrants the need for programming tools for fast data processing and multivariate statistical analysis. Here, the MATLAB-based Toolbox for Environmental Research "TEnvR" (pronounced "ten-ver") is introduced. This novel toolbox includes 44 open-source codes for automated data analysis from a multitude of techniques, such as ultraviolet-visible, fluorescence, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopies, as well as from ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry. Provided are codes for processing data (e.g., spectral corrections, formula assignment), visualization of figures, calculation of metrics, multivariate statistics, and automated work-up of large datasets. TEnvR allows …

A Study On Global Reef Deterioration: Exploring Coral Bleaching, Emily Fernandez

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis is a study on coral bleaching and coral mortality, studying the relationship between variables such as depth, exposure, distance to shore, and temperature for percent bleaching. All of the analyses were made using two different data sets, that contain information about bleaching events in specific regions, and dates, and provide information factors such as depth, temperature, and exposure. Models were created for different relationships of variables for eco-regions, recent data, and countries. I attempted to find relationships between variables such as depth, temperature, exposure, and distance to shore, and how they affect coral bleaching. Unfortunately, I did not …

A Review Of Energy-For-Water Data In Energy-Water Nexus Publications, Christopher M. Chini, Lauren E. Excell, Ashlynn S. Stillwell

Faculty Publications

Published literature on the energy-water nexus continues to increase, yet much of the supporting data, particularly regarding energy-for-water, remains obscure or inaccessible. We perform a systematic review of literature that describes the primary energy and electricity demands for drinking water and wastewater systems in urban environments. This review provides an analysis of the underlying data and other properties of over 170 published studies by systematically creating metadata on each study. Over 45% of the evaluated studies utilized primary data sources (data collected directly from utilities), potentially enabling large-scale data sharing and a more comprehensive understanding of global water-related energy demand. …

Analysis Of Surface Temperature Trends Of Global Lakes Using Satellite Remote Sensing And In Situ Observations, Christal Jean Soverall, Zahida Yasmin, Mahoutin Godnou, Wen Yong Huang, Ryan Chen, Abdou Bah, Hamidreza Norouzi, Reginald Blake

Publications and Research

Even though lakes make up a small percentage of the water bodies on the global land surface, lakes provide critically important ecosystem services. Unfortunately, however, several lake surface areas around the globe have been changing with many of them drastically decreasing due to climate variability and local mismanagement at the basin-scale level. Lake Surface Water Temperature (LSWT) is recognized as a critical indicator of climate change in lakes. The changes in water and the surrounding land temperatures may be an indicator of climate variability if there is consistency between changes in both temperatures. This project focuses on the application of …

Extracting Signal From The Noisy Environment Of An Ecosystem, Emily Wefelmeyer, Pranita Pramod Patil, Sridhar Reddy Ravula, Kevin M. Purcell, Ziyuan Huang, Igor Pilja

Other Student Works

The collection and storage of environmental and ecological data by researchers, government agencies and stewardship groups over the last decade has been remarkable. The proportional challenge to this data accretion lies in capitalizing on these resources for significant gain for both stewards and stakeholders. These trends highlight the role of data science as a critical component to the future of data-driven environmental management. Most critical are models of how data scientists can collaborate with policy makers and stewards to offer tools that leverage data and facilitate decisions. Our project aims to show how a successful collaboration between a management group, …

Understanding Water Consumption And Energy Trends In New York City, Wen Yong Huang, Johann Thiel

Publications and Research

In this study, we will be using the NYC Open Data website to examine publicly available data sets on water and energy consumption in New York City. In particular, we will use various scientific programming and machine learning modules in Python to analyze and visualize trends in water and energy usage within the five boroughs.

Introductory R For Water Resources - Fall 2019 - University Of North Carolina At Chapel Hill, David Gorelick, Gregory Characklis

All ECSTATIC Materials

This is all course material for R for Researchers, a one-credit course taught at UNC Chapel Hill in Fall 2019 to introduce upperclassmen and graduate students to the R programming language and apply learned skills in basic water resources applications, as well as other (semi-related) topics of interest to students.

Lecture notes were distributed before (as a subset of full lecture notes) and after lectures, and lectures involved collaborative coding exercises with students in class without any powerpoint material. Course material here includes:

Syllabus: rough schedule and description of lectures

Lectures: pdf lecture notes with embedded code, including …

Estimation Of Depth-Area Relationships Using Radar-Rainfall Data, S. Rocky Durrans, Lesley T. Julian, Michael Yekta

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Depth-area relationships, such as those published by the National Weather Service in TP 40 and the NOAA Atlas 2, enable conversion of point rainfall depths to areal average depths for the same storm duration and recurrence interval. This problem of conversion is most germane to hydrologic analyses for moderate to large drainage basins, where point rainfall depths are not representative of the spatial distribution of a storm event. Historically, depth-area relationships have been developed on the basis of data from dense networks of recording gauges. However, with the ongoing accumulation of radar-rainfall records, radar-rainfall data represent an alternative to gauging …

Presentation Of Verified Algal Taxa As Reference Sources - Phase Ii, Richard L. Meyer

Technical Reports

The focus of this research project was to continue the development of a photographic system which would record living organisms using various forms of light microscopy with correct color and with arrested movement. These demands dictate the use of an electronic flash source with metering and control system located in a position following the passage of the light through the optical train. The system developed uses off-the-shelf components with a modified flashtube holder which positions the tube in the axis of the light beam between the field and iris diaphragm. The light is measured off-the-film so that light from the …

Diminishing Views: Air Quality In Western National Parks, Christine L. Shaver

Air Quality Protection in the West (November 27-28)

17 pages.

Contains references.

Presentation Of Verified Algal Taxa As Reference Sources, Richard L. Meyer

Technical Reports

A data base of the algae of Arkansas ecoregions has been established to describe the numerous taxa that occur within the aquatic ecosystems included in these regions. The organisms were identified with the aid of diverse literature from throughout the world. These sources are written in multiple languages and the living organisms had to be compared with outline or silhouette drawings. These illustrations may include shading, but none present the true color of the organism but only the characteristics of the descriptive source. Primary characteristics used to identify algae is based upon pigmentation of the plastid and the number and …

Research For The Development Of Guidelines For Conducting And Analyzing An Environmental Water Quality Study To Determine Statistically Meaningful Results, Melvin D. Springer

Technical Reports

This report presents and discusses the basic statistical models and methods which are useful to researchers in the field of water resources research, as well as in other fields. These models and methods are presented from the standpoint of type (parametric and nonparametric - or distribution free) and purpose (e.g., simultaneous comparison of several means, comparison of two or more variances, establishment of a difference between two means with a specified confidence, etc.). The material is presented with emphasis primarily upon methodology, including the necessary assumptions upon which each model is based. No derivations or proofs are given, since these …