Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Numerical Analysis Of Groundwater Flow And Potential In Parts Of A Crystalline Aquifer System In Northern Ghana, Sandow Mark Yidana, Clement Alo, M. O. Addai, O. F. Fynn, S. K. Essel

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The groundwater flow system in a crystalline aquifer system in parts of Northern Ghana was simulated and calibrated under steady-state conditions. The objective was to estimate the regional distribution of a key aquifer hydraulic parameter (the hydraulic conductivity) and recharge and also to predict possible effects of different abstraction and groundwater recharge scenarios on the sustainability of groundwater resources in the area. The study finds that the hydraulic conductivity field is quite homogeneous and has values ranging between 1.70 and 2.24 m/day. There is an apparent dominance of regional groundwater flow systems compared to local flow systems. This is probably …

Global Warming And The End-Permian Extinction Event: Proxy And Modeling Perspectives, Ying Cui, Lee R. Kump

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The mass extinction event that occurred at the close of the Permian Period (~252million years ago) represents the most severe biodiversity loss in the ocean of the Phanerozoic. The links between the global carbon cycle, climate change and mass extinction are complex and involve a whole range of often inter-related geochemical, biological, ecologic and climatic factors. It has become widely accepted that the end-Permian mass extinction was associated with a global warming event, because the age of the Siberian Trap eruption, a potentially massive source of carbon dioxide, coincides within error with the extinction event. However, geologic data that are …

Threshold Behavior Of A Marine‐Based Sector Of The East Antarctic Ice Sheet In Response To Early Pliocene Ocean Warming, Melissa A. Hansen, Sandra Passchier, Boo‐Keun Khim, Buhan Song, Trevor Williams

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

We investigate the stability of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) on the Wilkes Land continental margin, Antarctica, utilizing a high‐resolution record of ice‐rafted debris (IRD) mass accumulation rates (MAR) from Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Site U1359. The relationship between orbital variations in the IRD record and climate drivers was evaluated to capture changes in the dynamics of a marine‐based ice sheet in response to early Pliocene warming. Three IRD MAR excursions were observed and confirmed via scanning electron microscope microtextural analysis of sand grains. Time series analysis of the IRD MAR reveals obliquity‐paced expansions of the ice sheet to …

Anthropogenic Controls On Overwash Deposition: Evidence And Consequences, Laura Rogers, Laura Moore, Evan Goldstein, Christopher Hein, Jorge Lorenzo Trueba, Andrew Ashton

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Accelerated sea level rise and the potential for an increase in frequency of the most intense hurricanes due to climate change threaten the vitality and habitability of barrier islands by lowering their relative elevation and altering frequency of overwash. High-density development may further increase island vulnerability by restricting delivery of overwash to the subaerial island. We analyzed pre-Hurricane Sandy and post-Hurricane Sandy (2012) lidar surveys of the New Jersey coast to assess human influence on barrier overwash, comparing natural environments to two developed environments (commercial and residential) using shore-perpendicular topographic profiles. The volumes of overwash delivered to residential and commercial …

Magnetic Mineral Diagenesis In The River‐Dominated Inner Shelf Of The East China Sea, China, Can Ge, Weiguo Zhang, Chenyin Dong, Yan Dong, Jinyan Liu, Nguyen Thi Thu Hien, Huan Feng, Lizhong Yu

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The inner shelf of the East China Sea is a river-dominated margin characterized by fine-grained mud deposits and a rapid sedimentation rate. Three short sediment cores (similar to 2.7m in length) were examined to characterize spatial variations in magnetic mineral diagenesis. The sediment cores were analyzed for sedimentation rates, magnetic properties, particle size distribution, organic carbon, and total sulfur content. The two more proximal cores with higher sedimentation rates (similar to 2.2cm/yr and similar to 0.96cm/yr) do not exhibit obvious effects of reductive dissolution of magnetite with increasing depth, which is consistent with their lower total sulfur content. The offshore …

Analytical Pyrolysis Principles And Applications To Environmental Science, Michael A. Kruge

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Over the past half century, analytical pyrolysis has proven itself to be an effective means for the semiquantitative characterization of complex macromolecular organic substances. It has been demonstrated that instruments such as Py-FID, Py-MS, and in particular, Py-GC/MS can provide valuable geochemical insights when applied to a wide variety of problems in environmental science. The more widespread use of analytical pyrolysis methods in the evaluation of environmental pollution is recommended, because of their relatively low cost and information-rich results.

Pyrolysis is the heating of organic substances in an inert, oxygen-free atmosphere, thereby avoiding combustion. When performed on a large scale, …

Geology In Environmental Management, Michael A. Kruge

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

From the geological perspective, the two overriding environmental management concerns are the destructive impact of hazardous natural events on human health and property and the deleterious impact of human activity on the natural environment. The knowledge derived from the geological sciences serves as the basis for a more enlightened approach to the reduction of unnecessary risk involved in the siting and construction of buildings and transportation networks, as well as the extraction of natural resources and waste management. Armed with such knowledge along with political sensitivity, environmental managers will have opportunities for positive social impact in negotiating the challenges as …

Pyrolysis-Gc-Ms For The Rapid Environmental Forensic Screening Of Contaminated Brownfield Soil, Azucena Lara-Gonzalo, Michael A. Kruge, I Lores, B Gutiérrez, José Luis Gallego

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

An abandoned chemical plant in Asturias (Spain) was studied using a multi-faceted molecular fingerprinting approach, demonstrating that it is possible to: (1) carefully unravel tangled evidence resulting from multiple pollution sources, and (2) recognize major contaminants largely ignored by conventional analyses. This methodology employed a battery of GC-MS analyses of liquid chromatographic fractions of soil extracts, plus the pyrolysis products of the soil extract's asphaltene fraction and the whole soil itself. In this example, coal tar distillation and the subsequent production of naphthalene, phenols and polymer resins are responsible for most of the soil contamination. Styrene, naphthalene, indene, and their …