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Articles 1 - 30 of 55
Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Quantifying The Carbon Stored And Sequestered By The Trees On Pomona College’S Campus, Paola A. Giron-Carson
Quantifying The Carbon Stored And Sequestered By The Trees On Pomona College’S Campus, Paola A. Giron-Carson
Scripps Senior Theses
We are experiencing a climate crisis that must be confronted with strategic mitigation. Pomona College contributes to the climate crisis through its emissions for which there is a baseline record. However there is no baseline record of the climate mitigation currently performed by the trees on Pomona’s campus through carbon storage. This study seeks to determine a current baseline quantity of carbon stored and sequestrated by Pomona’s trees as well as possible courses of climate mitigation for Pomona College to take. Initial information gathering was conducted through interviews with several stakeholders. This study was conducted using data collected prior to …
Breakwater: Anti-Blackness In Geoscience Lessons From Long Beach, Ca, Christina Marsh
Breakwater: Anti-Blackness In Geoscience Lessons From Long Beach, Ca, Christina Marsh
Pomona Senior Theses
Breakwaters are more than just physical structures that protect against storm surges and in the context of Long Beach, CA, my hometown, they are actualizations of economic, social, environmental, geologic, and policy challenges. Inspired by Trace: Memory, History, Race, and the American Landscape by Lauret Savoy, and Teaching to Transgress by bell hooks, I use an extended metaphor and autoethnographic approach to connect a chronology of my educational life to the physical structure of a breakwater. Where the breakwater also acts as a signifier of my personal experiences of seeing it, questioning its purpose, and not always finding an answer. …
Examining Soil Microbial Diversity In Transition Zones Between Corn Fields And Restored Prairie In The Upper Midwest, Anna M. Burns
Examining Soil Microbial Diversity In Transition Zones Between Corn Fields And Restored Prairie In The Upper Midwest, Anna M. Burns
Scripps Senior Theses
Prairies were once the largest ecosystem in North America, but agriculture and settlement has destroyed up to 99% of their pre-colonization extent. Prairie restorations are a strategy to recover the biodiversity and carbon sequestration functions of these grasslands, but typically occur in isolated strips between agricultural fields. My thesis analyzes how effective prairie restorations in the Liberty Prairie (northeastern Illinois) are at recovering the diversity of the prairie soil microbiome, focusing on verrucomicrobia abundance, alpha diversity, and soil physical characteristics.
Power In Numbers: An Abundance Of Small Corals Responsible For Storing Over Half Of The Carbon Stored By All Alaskan Primnoa Pacifica Deep-Sea Corals, Sylvie Alexander
Power In Numbers: An Abundance Of Small Corals Responsible For Storing Over Half Of The Carbon Stored By All Alaskan Primnoa Pacifica Deep-Sea Corals, Sylvie Alexander
Scripps Senior Theses
Gorgonian deep-sea corals (DSCs) are biologically linked to ocean carbon cycling converting ocean carbon to gorgonin and calcite in their skeletons. As such, gorgonian DSCs likely accumulate and store carbon in their skeleton throughout their lifespans, acting as carbon sinks on historic timescales. Yet, DSC carbon storage hasn’t been investigated to date. This study evaluates gorgonian DSC carbon storage capacity through an evaluation of the carbon stored by Alaskan Primnoa pacifica corals. The development of a model relating coral height to biomass in specimens with this data available was used to determine biomass values in a suite of Alaskan P. …
Spatial Geochemical Changes In Central And East Texas Soils Over Time Resulting From Human Decomposition, Isabela Marisol Overturf
Spatial Geochemical Changes In Central And East Texas Soils Over Time Resulting From Human Decomposition, Isabela Marisol Overturf
CMC Senior Theses
Human decomposition is studied to aid forensic investigations and better understand the impact of cemeteries on urban resources like soil and groundwater. The purpose of this study was to identify changes in soil geochemistry at and around a human grave to search for lateral nutrient movement and possibly identify new patterns in elemental concentrations that could be used in estimating post-mortem intervals (PMIs). At the Forensic Anthropology Research Facility (FARF) at Texas State San Marcos, soil samples were collected from a shallow grave over the course of 54 days to conduct analysis for organic matter content, texture, pH, and bulk …
Environmental Controls On The Spatial Distribution Of Greenfin Darters And Biodiversity In The Blue Ridge Mountains, Dri Tattersfield
Environmental Controls On The Spatial Distribution Of Greenfin Darters And Biodiversity In The Blue Ridge Mountains, Dri Tattersfield
CMC Senior Theses
Disproportionate concentrations of biodiversity in mountains worldwide suggest linkages between geologic processes and biodiversity that are not yet well understood. The Tennessee River Basin in the Blue Ridge Mountains of the southeastern U.S. is a global hotspot for freshwater fish biodiversity. To investigate drivers of biodiversity in the Tennessee River Basin, and explore links to geologic processes, I study the Greenfin Darter (Nothonotus chlorobranchius), a small fish endemic to the upper Tennessee River Basin. I use generalized linear models (GLMs) to evaluate the influence of topography, lithology, climate and land use on the distribution of the Greenfin Darter, …
Influence Of Iceberg-Discharge Events On The Climate And Circulation Of The Central North Atlantic Ocean During The Last Glaciation, Ava Mcilvaine
Influence Of Iceberg-Discharge Events On The Climate And Circulation Of The Central North Atlantic Ocean During The Last Glaciation, Ava Mcilvaine
Scripps Senior Theses
The repeated occurrence of episodic iceberg-discharge events and abrupt climate change in the North Atlantic Ocean is well-documented for the late Quaternary period. However, much of the evidence for these periods known as Heinrich Events comes from the subpolar region, where deposition can be dominated by ice-rafted debris (IRD) and overwhelm other oceanographic and climatic indicators. Thus, the following analysis of coarse sediment from Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Core Site U1313 (41°0.0'N, 32°57.42'W) evaluated ocean cooling related to ice-rafting, water mass migration, and climate change over the approximate last 100,000 years. Site U1313 is located near the North Atlantic …
Evolution Of Island, Dominique Kongsli
Evolution Of Island, Dominique Kongsli
The STEAM Journal
Evolution of Island emerged from the depths of an ocean of blue paint. My process involves observation of nature: I remember scuba diving in Thailand in the Andaman Sea and having a spiritual experience underwater while observing Christmas-tree worms pop in and out of the coral.
Island Invasion: The Silent Crisis In Hawaii, Sophia Janssen
Island Invasion: The Silent Crisis In Hawaii, Sophia Janssen
Pomona Senior Theses
Keeping out invasive species may, upon first review, seem like a trivial environmental cry from ecologists and deep environmentalists; a belated wish to return to an undeveloped world where nature was pristine. However invasive species create problems that impact all of us and can have far more severe consequences than changing a stunning landscape. These problems are heightened in islands like Hawaii, where the fragile ecosystems have developed over centuries of evolution and adaptation. The introduction of a disease-carrying mosquito can put the people of Hawaii at risk to many vector-born illnesses and create an epidemic, taking human life. The …
Stormwater Capture In The Built Watershed: Fostering Public Awareness Of Water Conservation Through A Parcel-Level Approach To Stormwater Management, Benjamin Rigby
Pitzer Senior Theses
As California contends with climate change and more extreme cycles of drought and deluge, water management agencies and conservation groups are looking towards solutions to the decreasing reliability of imported water supplies. Stormwater has historically been perceived as a threat to development but when captured properly, it presents a resource that can augment local water supplies. Solutions to water supply issues in California have traditionally employed technical and centrally controlled methods for importing water, but there is a growing understanding that parcel-level capture through vegetated swales presents an opportunity for reducing the impact that development has on California’s hydrology. Vegetated …
Outer Space: A Steam Voyage, Jancy Mcphee
Outer Space: A Steam Voyage, Jancy Mcphee
The STEAM Journal
SciArt Exchange offers multi-disciplinary art contests, artwork events, consulting, training and community resources to support science and technology education, collaboration, and innovation. Using a science-integrated- with-art approach, SciArt Exchange supports, prepares, and convenes people of all ages, backgrounds and affiliations to discuss and potentially solve space, science, and technology challenges. This field note shares the Humans in Space Art Program and the Project Mars Competition.
Cataloging Wonder: The Art And Science Of The Collection, Christine Metzger
Cataloging Wonder: The Art And Science Of The Collection, Christine Metzger
The STEAM Journal
The Exploring Science in the Studio National Science Foundation grant funded three initiatives at California College of the Arts, a private four-year art and design college in the San Francisco Bay Area. The grant sponsored annual Science-in-the-Studio which embedded scientists into the art and design studio curriculum, the creation of Mobile Units for Scientific Exploration (MUSE) and a new collection of science materials, equipment, and natural specimens, and a national symposium on integrating science into the art and design studio curriculum. Approximately 30 SitS classes have been offered since 2010, and the Exploring Science in the Studio symposium was convened …
Climate Change Adaptation For Southern California Groundwater Managers: A Case Study Of The Six Basins Aquifer, Frank Lyles
Climate Change Adaptation For Southern California Groundwater Managers: A Case Study Of The Six Basins Aquifer, Frank Lyles
Pomona Senior Theses
Groundwater has been very important to the economic development of Southern California, and will continue to be a crucial resource in the 21st century. However, Climate Change threatens to disrupt many of the physical and economic processes that control the flow of water in and out of aquifers. One groundwater manager, the Six Basins Watermaster in eastern Los Angeles and western San Bernardino Counties, has developed a long-term planning document called the Strategic Plan that mostly fails to address the implications of Climate Change, especially for local water supplies. This thesis presents an in-depth analysis of the Six Basin Watermaster’s …
Soil Erosion Risk Factors And The Impacts Of Diversification On Organic Strawberry Farms Along California’S Central Coast, Kay Sterner
Pomona Senior Theses
Soil erosion is a major issue that threatens to undermine our current system of agriculture. Due to the fact that this system is in turn the number one cause of erosion, agricultural practices in the United States need to be rethought. This study explores how traditional ideas of erosion risks are related to observed erosion on organic strawberry farms along California’s Central Coast. In addition, diversified farming systems are addressed as a possible solution for the current unsustainability of our farming practices. The data from this research suggest that diversity of crops on farms could be linked to less soil …
Fire – The Enigma That Continues To Blaze, Sara Kapadia
Fire – The Enigma That Continues To Blaze, Sara Kapadia
The STEAM Journal
How did humans first discover fire? What stories do we pass down to explain the discovery of fire?
Teleconnections In Steam: Antarctic Field-Camp Art, Craig Stevens, Gabby O'Connor
Teleconnections In Steam: Antarctic Field-Camp Art, Craig Stevens, Gabby O'Connor
The STEAM Journal
We describe a component of a multi-element STEAM collaboration looking to explore ideas around the life cycle of Antarctic sea ice. One of the intermediate phases of the work involved the scientist deploying partially pre-made art components. Results were modulated by weather and operational constraints and generated a sequence of images and recordings as well as greater understanding of the creative collaboration process.
A New Radiometric Date And Assessment Of The Last Glacial Megafauna Of Dream Cave, Derbyshire, Uk, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Joyce Lundberg, Guy Van Rentergem, Eliza Howlett, Chris Stimpson
A New Radiometric Date And Assessment Of The Last Glacial Megafauna Of Dream Cave, Derbyshire, Uk, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Joyce Lundberg, Guy Van Rentergem, Eliza Howlett, Chris Stimpson
KGI Faculty Publications and Research
The extinct fauna of Dream Cave, Derbyshire, has played a significant role in the history of British cave paleontology, a near-complete woolly rhinoceros from the cave having been famously illustrated in 1823. The fauna was not subsequently re-studied until 2000, with the publication of an indirect radiometric date by uranium-series disequilibrium dating of a presumed-overlying flowstone. Here we present a direct radiocarbon date of 43,330 +/- 1800 rcyBP, 45083 - 48613 calBP (1 σ) on a representative Bos/Bison bone, with additional comments on the fauna and the taphonomy of the site.
Utilizing Hydrology And Geomorphology Relationships To Estimate Streamflow Conditions On Maui And O‘Ahu, Hawai‘I, Brytne Okuhata
Utilizing Hydrology And Geomorphology Relationships To Estimate Streamflow Conditions On Maui And O‘Ahu, Hawai‘I, Brytne Okuhata
Scripps Senior Theses
As the population on the island of Maui drastically increases, water resource demands continue to rise. In order to match water demands and to manage water resources, it is important to understand streamflow and drainage basin interactions. If relationships between a drainage basin’s hydrologic and geomorphologic characteristics can be quantified, then streamflow conditions of ungaged streams can potentially be estimated. The baseflow recession constant is an important variable to analyze for water management, yet until this study, recession constants were not calculated for the island of Maui, or Hawai‘i as a whole. Recession constants of currently gaged streams on Maui …
Spreading The Char: The Importance Of Local Compatibility In The Diffusion Of Biochar Systems To The Smallholder Agriculture Community Context, Laura C. V. Munoz
Spreading The Char: The Importance Of Local Compatibility In The Diffusion Of Biochar Systems To The Smallholder Agriculture Community Context, Laura C. V. Munoz
Pomona Senior Theses
This thesis enters the context of smallholder agriculture communities in the developing world. It explores the potentials of biochar and what biochar systems could bring to the smallholder communities while simultaneously bringing environmental benefits. It then acknowledges the challenges of diffusion –the spreading of an unfamiliar innovation. It seeks to answer the question of what will make diffusion of biochar systems more successful in the smallholder context, fixating on the characteristic of compatibility as well as the role local community members can play in making a new biochar system more visible to the rest of the communities.
Geology – Future Continent, Joy Wulke
Geology – Future Continent, Joy Wulke
The STEAM Journal
Terra Mirabila, a multi-media presentation illustrating the geological story of Stony Creek Granite back through complex sequence of geological events that spanned some 600 million years of early history.
Metamorphism Of Cretaceous Standstones By Natural Coal-Fires, San Rafael Swell, Utah, Alexa R. Zilberfarb
Metamorphism Of Cretaceous Standstones By Natural Coal-Fires, San Rafael Swell, Utah, Alexa R. Zilberfarb
Scripps Senior Theses
Underground coal fires commonly metamorphose or melt surrounding rocks at temperatures exceeding 1000°C. Numerous “baked” sandstone clinker deposits occur in the Cretaceous sedimentary rocks exposed in the San Rafael Swell, UT. This study examines clinker in three main localities: 1) East Carbon, UT, 2) Helper, UT, and 3) Emery, UT. The extent of pyrometamorphism in these areas is variably developed, but reached high enough temperature in Helper, UT to initiate melting and the production of paralavas. These paralavas were examined compositionally and mineralogically to determine melting conditions, peak temperatures, and mobility of different metals as a result of pyrometamorphism. X-ray …
Wetlands And Greenhouse Gas Fluxes: Causes And Effects Of Climate Change – A Meta-Analysis, Robert E. Ventura
Wetlands And Greenhouse Gas Fluxes: Causes And Effects Of Climate Change – A Meta-Analysis, Robert E. Ventura
Pomona Senior Theses
Climate change is one of the largest problems facing this generation. Anthropogenically caused increases of greenhouse gas emissions is a significant culprit to this problem. Although the obvious problems such as cars, industry, and urbanism garnish a significant amount of the criticism, natural sources such as wetlands are also beginning to contribute to this issue. This is becoming increasingly significant as wetlands shift from being sinks of greenhouse gases to becoming sources as various anthropogenic impacts, including global warming itself, begin to affect the health of the wetlands. The aim of this project is to look at four common types …
Examining The Impact Of Pau Jacaré (Piptadenia Gonoacantha) Growth On Soil Fertility In The Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest, Aleksandra Ponomareva
Examining The Impact Of Pau Jacaré (Piptadenia Gonoacantha) Growth On Soil Fertility In The Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest, Aleksandra Ponomareva
Environmental Analysis Program Mellon Student Summer Research Reports
The Atlantic Rainforest of Brazil is an area of astounding diversity in both flora and fauna, taking its place among the top five “biodiversity hotspots” in the world. However, in the past 40 or 50 years the area has been increasingly threatened by the presence of humans – approximately 93% of the Rainforest has disappeared as a result of exploitation (Turner 2004). Unsustainable farming practices, as well as logging, cattle ranching and mining activities have caused soil infertility, water depletion, erosion and destruction of ecosystems. This project examines the effects of the Pau Jacaré, Piptadenia gonoacantha, tree on soil health …
Trace Element Soil Contamination At Urban Community Gardens In Washington, Dc, Adam J. Long
Trace Element Soil Contamination At Urban Community Gardens In Washington, Dc, Adam J. Long
Environmental Analysis Program Mellon Student Summer Research Reports
In recent years, urban gardening has become a popular form of environmental, food, and social justice. Urban community gardens such as those in Washington, DC can reduce the environmental footprint of food production, provide access to healthy produce in “food deserts,” and provide other social, educational, and even financial benefits. However, the rising popularity of urban gardening has put many people in close contact with urban soils, which are likely to contain various contaminants due to concentrated human activity over extended periods of time. This study investigates heavy metal soil contaminants found in community gardens located in Washington, DC. 45 …
Using Structural Analysis To Assess Possible Formation Mechanisms Of The Gneiss Domes Of The Harvey Cardiff Domain, Eastern Ontario, Callie Sendek
Using Structural Analysis To Assess Possible Formation Mechanisms Of The Gneiss Domes Of The Harvey Cardiff Domain, Eastern Ontario, Callie Sendek
Scripps Senior Theses
Gneiss domes are structural features associated with orogens worldwide. This study provides a structural analysis of the domes of the Harvey Cardiff Domain, associated with the Grenville Orogeny. Structural data and oriented samples were collected during field work in the summer of 2012. These were used in combination with published and unpublished foliation and lineation data to analyze structural patterns and determine a mechanism of formation for the domes. The end member scenarios for dome formation were taken from the gneiss dome classification scheme devised by Yin (2004). Most of these mechanisms were eliminated based on a lack of necessary …
Post-Speleogenetic Biogenic Modification Of Gomantong Caves, Sabah, Borneo, Joyce Lundberg, Donald A. Mcfarlane
Post-Speleogenetic Biogenic Modification Of Gomantong Caves, Sabah, Borneo, Joyce Lundberg, Donald A. Mcfarlane
WM Keck Science Faculty Papers
The Gomantong cave system of eastern Sabah, Malaysia, is well-known as an important site for harvesting edible bird-nests and, more recently, as a tourist attraction. Although the biology of the Gomantong system has been repeatedly studied, very little attention has been given to the geomorphology. Here, we report on the impact of geobiological modification in the development of the modern aspect of the cave, an important but little recognized feature of tropical caves. Basic modeling of the metabolic outputs from bats and birds (CO2, H2O, heat) reveals that post-speleogenetic biogenic corrosion can erode bedrock by between …
Subaerial Freshwater Stromatolites In Deer Cave, Sarawak – A Unique Geobiological Cave Formation, Joyce Lundberg, Donald A. Mcfarlane
Subaerial Freshwater Stromatolites In Deer Cave, Sarawak – A Unique Geobiological Cave Formation, Joyce Lundberg, Donald A. Mcfarlane
WM Keck Science Faculty Papers
A suite of distinctive freshwater subaerial phosphatic stromatolites is developed close to the northeastern entrance of Deer Cave, Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak, Borneo, in conditions of very low light but ample supply of nutrients from guano. These stromatolites are not particulate; they are composed of alternating layers of more porous and more dense amorphous hydroxylapatite. This biomineralization occurs as moulds of coccoid (the majority) and filamentous (less abundant) cyanobacteria. Mineralization occurs at a pH of ~ 7.0 in the extracellular sheaths and in micro-domains of varying carbonate content in the surrounding mucus of the biofilm. The most recent surfaces …
Geologic Map Of The Ganiki Planitia Quadrangle (V–14), Venus, Eric B. Grosfils, Sylvan M. Long, Elizabeth M. Venechuk, Debra M. Hurwitz, Joseph W. Richards, Brian Kastl, Dorothy E. Drury, Johanna S. Hardin
Geologic Map Of The Ganiki Planitia Quadrangle (V–14), Venus, Eric B. Grosfils, Sylvan M. Long, Elizabeth M. Venechuk, Debra M. Hurwitz, Joseph W. Richards, Brian Kastl, Dorothy E. Drury, Johanna S. Hardin
Pomona Faculty Publications and Research
Our current research focuses on addressing four specific questions. Has the dominant style of volcanic expression within the quadrangle varied in a systematic fashion over time? Does the tectonic deformation within the quadrangle record significant regional patterns that vary spatially or temporally, and if so what are the scales, orientations and sources of the stress fields driving this deformation? If mantle upwelling and downwelling have played a significant role in the formation of Atla Regio and Atalanta Planitia as has been proposed, does the geology of Ganiki Planitia record evidence of northwest-directed lateral mantle flow connecting the two sites? Finally, …
An Extraordinary Example Of Photokarren In A Sandstone Cave, Cueva Charles Brewer, Chimantá Plateau, Venezuela: Biogeomorphology On A Small Scale, Joyce Lundberg, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Charles Brewer-Carias
An Extraordinary Example Of Photokarren In A Sandstone Cave, Cueva Charles Brewer, Chimantá Plateau, Venezuela: Biogeomorphology On A Small Scale, Joyce Lundberg, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Charles Brewer-Carias
WM Keck Science Faculty Papers
A distinctive suite of small-scale erosional forms that are oriented towards the light occur close to the entrance of Cueva Charles Brewer, a large cave in a sandstone tepui, in SE Venezuela. These are the third example of photokarren ever studied in the world, the other two being from Borneo and Ireland. They are the only photokarren ever described from sandstone, and the only example from a non-carbonate environment. The host rock is a poorly-lithified unit of the Precambrian quartz arenite of the Roraima Supergroup. The forms are all oriented towards the light at 30° regardless of rock surface orientation. …
A Unique Population Of Cave Bears (Carnivora: Ursidae) From The Middle Pleistocene Of Kents Cavern, England, Based On Dental Morphometrics, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Martin Sabol, Joyce Lundberg
A Unique Population Of Cave Bears (Carnivora: Ursidae) From The Middle Pleistocene Of Kents Cavern, England, Based On Dental Morphometrics, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Martin Sabol, Joyce Lundberg
WM Keck Science Faculty Papers
The ‘breccia’ stratum from Kents (we follow local tradition in using the form ‘Kents’, without an apostrophe) Cavern, England, has been well known for its rich yield of cave-bear material since excavations began in the mid-19th century. Recent work has established that the bears are of latest MIS 12 or earliest MIS 11 age. A life table based on a collection of 67 molariform teeth is consistent with the use of the cave as a hibernaculum. Univariate and morphological assessment of the teeth shows an unusual range of primitive and more derived characters. Multivariate morphometric analysis of cave-bear teeth from …