Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

How Does Climate Change Affect Coral Reefs?, Rachel Goff

Honors Theses

Climate change is a very real phenomenon that currently affects many of the ecosystems on Earth. Climate change occurs on a global scale and can be very detrimental to different environments. This occurrence can cause ocean warming, sea level rise, ocean acidification, and increased storm intensity. According to the EPA, the ocean's temperature has increased 1.4°F over the past century, and sea levels have risen 3.2 millimeters through the past 20 years. These changes to the oceans can greatly affect many of the ecosystems that reside in them. One of the main ecosystems that are being affected by climate change …

Assessing Growth Response To Climate Controls In A Great Basin Artemisia Tridentata Plant Community, Lorenzo F. Apodaca

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

An assessment of the growth response of key vegetative species to climatic variability is vital to identifying possible local impacts on ecosystems faced with imminent climate change. With current climate projections in Nevada predicting a shift to an even more arid climate with greater year-to-year variability, the imperative exists to identify the effects of specific climatic controls on plant growth and to research methods to assess large-scale vegetative changes, especially in more remote areas where readily available data sets may be lacking. This study utilized annual growth ring indices constructed from big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentatassp.tridentata) stems collected in Spring Valley, …

Impacts Of Climate Changes On The Spatiotemporal Distribution Of Precipitation In The Western United States, Peng Jiang

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Precipitation in the Intermountain West is characterized by its great variability in both spatial and temporal distributions. Moreover, the spatiotemporal distribution of the precipitation is changing due to the climate changes. In this dissertation, three studies are conducted to investigate the multi-scale temporal variability of precipitation, the performance of current climate models on this variability, the influence of large-scale ocean oscillations on heavy precipitation, and the impact of human induced global warming on storm properties.

The first study is to examine the performance of current climate models on the simulation of the multi-scale temporal variability determined from the observed station …

Quantifying Crop Yield, Bioenergy Production And Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Cropland And Marginal Land Using A Model-Data Fusion Approach, Zhangcai Qin

Open Access Dissertations

Bioenergy is becoming increasingly attractive to many countries, but has sparked an intensive debate regarding energy, economy, society and environment. Biofuels provide alternative energy to conventional fossil fuels. However, the environmental impact of producing and using biofuel is a major concern to our society. This study is dedicated to quantifying and evaluating biofuel production and potential climate change mitigation due to potential large-scale bioenergy expansion in the conterminous United States, using model-data fusion approaches.

Biofuel made from conventional (e.g., maize (Zea mays L.)) and cellulosic crops (e.g., switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) and Miscanthus (Miscanthus × giganteus)) …

Uncertainty In Climatic Change Impacts On Multiscale Watershed Systems, Olga V. Tsvetkova

Open Access Dissertations

Uncertainty in climate change plays a major role in watershed systems. The increase in variability and intensity in temperature and precipitation affects hydrologic cycle in spatial and temporal dimensions. Predicting uncertainty in climate change impacts on watershed systems can help to understand future climate-induced risk on watershed systems and is essential for designing policies for mitigation and adaptation. Modeling the temporal patterns of uncertainties is assessed in the New England region for temperature and precipitation patterns over a long term. The regional uncertainty is modeled using Python scripting and GIS to analyze spatial patterns of climate change uncertainties over space …

Colorado River Cutthroat Trout Habitat Resistance And Resilience To Climate Change, Kate H. Olsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Government agencies and private organizations spend large amounts of public money attempting to return ecosystems to a more natural state, which have often been harmed or even destroyed as a result of modern development. Colorado River cutthroat trout, Oncorhyncus clarki pleuriticus, are a subspecies of cutthroat trout. Cutthroat trout live in the Rocky Mountains of the western United States. The population of this particular subspecies has been severely reduced by human actions, and currently only 12% of its historic populations still exist. To improve the condition of cutthroat trout, fisheries professionals and biologists are working to restore natural populations. …

The Consciousness Of Water: Narrative Flows, Environmental Change, And The Voice Of Yemen, Tricia Nellessen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Icebergs are melting in the Arctic. The Gulf of Mexico is warming and producing hurricanes such as Katrina. The delta of the southern United States is drying. And, Yemen will be the first country in modern history to experience a lack of accessible ground water, as soon as 2017 possibly. Yemen's situation has been tracked by scholars and governments since the 1960s. Despite this fact, cities have expanded in Yemen and the population has increased its use of water while little has been invested in desalination or infrastructure to offset growth. Climate change has affected humans for thousands of years; …

The Periglacial Landscape Of Utopia Planitia; Geologic Evidence For Recent Climate Change On Mars., Mary C. Kerrigan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The northern plains of Utopia Planitia, Mars, hosts an abundance of potential periglacial landforms including scalloped depressions, gullies, and polygon networks. This research was undertaken to investigate the distribution and stratigraphy of scalloped depressions in Utopia Planitia and to reconstruct the past environment in which this periglacial landscape formed. To that end, a revised geologic map of the region has been produced. We define, for the first time, a new Periglacial Unit, the youngest geologic unit in Utopia Planitia. We have also developed a model for the formation and evolution of the periglacial landscape examined by assessing the use of …

Changes In Net Ecosystem Production Over The Past 40 Years In Arctic Tundra Ponds Near Barrow, Alaska: Application Of Historic And Modern Techniques, Nickole Ann Miller

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Arctic environments have gained interest recently due to their sensitivity to climate change. As warming has created longer growing seasons, extended ice-free periods as well as permafrost thaw, the production in freshwater ecosystems has the potential to be greatly impacted. It is hypothesized that as climate change and warming occurs, increases in primary production will occur and ponds will become carbon sinks. Net ecosystem production (NEP) was determined using phytoplankton and periphyton samples collected weekly during the growing season (June - August) from arctic tundra ponds near Barrow, Alaska. Enrichment with 14C was used to determine both weekly photosynthetic rates …

Rock Glaciers In The Eastern Cascades, Washington, Mark Weidenaar

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The eastern portion of Washington State's Cascade Range is a place not previously examined for rock glaciers, due to proximity to the Pacific Ocean and its associated marine-influenced climate. The objectives of this study were to determine spatial, activity, and genesis patterns, and paleoclimatic implications of Eastern Cascade rock glaciers. Using Google Earth, I found 103 rock glaciers in the study area. Rock glaciers are more common further east of the Cascade crest and more north in latitude, with the largest concentrations occurring east of Lake Chelan (22) and in the Pasayten Wilderness (28) in the North Cascades. None were …