Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Acetylacetone Oxidation At Room Temperature: A Multiplexed Photoionization Mass Spectrometric Investigation, Study Of The Russell Intermediates In Gas Phase Reactions, And The Investigation Of Oxidation Reaction Products Of Ethanol At Room Temperature, Sara Gallarati

Master's Theses

This thesis presents the combustion study of acetyl acetone using synchrotron radiation coupled with multiplexed photoionization mass spectrometry at 298 K. The experiments were performed at the Chemical Dynamics Beamline 9.0.2 at the Advanced Light Source of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The reaction of acetyl acetone with chlorine (Cl) radicals was analyzed based on their photoionization spectra and reaction kinetic profiles.

Additionally, a study of the Russell intermediate has been performed. Previous to experimentation at the Advanced Light Source, computational analysis has been investigated to evaluate compounds that could possibly lead to the formation of a stable species. The …

Evaluating Equity In Transportation Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Strategies In Local Climate Action Planning In Oakland, California, Eliza J. Kane

Master's Projects and Capstones

Emissions from California’s transportation sector contribute to global climate change and impact local air quality and public health. Forty-one percent of California’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2019 were from transportation. Transportation emissions are also a source of many health-harming air pollutants such as carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, and particulate matter. Disadvantaged communities in California experience disproportionate impacts from transportation emissions and suffer worse health effects, including higher incidences of asthma, cardiovascular disease, and premature death. Cities have led the way in policymaking to mitigate and adapt to climate change, including creating Climate Action Plans (CAPs) to propose strategies to …

Analyzing The Effects Of Climate Impacts In El Salvador And How They Influence Pollution, Ecosystems And Communities, Veronica Norio-Tomasino

Master's Projects and Capstones

Due to projections of rising temperatures and increased frequency and severity of extreme weather events, the rate at which climate change is impacting nations is devastating. However, developing countries and vulnerable communities are not the primary contributors to climate change, but they are at a greater risk for climate impacts by industrialized nations. As a result of increased human activity, developing nations such as El Salvador are particularly susceptible to climate-related events. Deforestation, water pollution, and human health risks are some activities that have contributed to El Salvador's vulnerability to climate change, drastically affecting rural communities suffering from multidimensional poverty. …

Recommendations For Sustainable Tourism In Patagonia: An Exploratory Analysis Of Sustainable Tourism In Costa Rica, The Nordic Region, And Thailand’S Communities, Julia K. Lowery

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis explores different levels of governance and its role towards actualizing sustainable tourism in Patagonia. With the growing threat of climate change, international destinations such as Patagonia are looking to continue building their tourism industries in a sustainable way. Through analyzing case studies of national governance in Costa Rica, multi-national governance in the Nordic region, and community-based tourism in Thailand, we can better understand how each form of governance has the potential to create a sustainable tourism industry. With this understanding of successful governance in my case studies, as well as understanding the historical and political forces that have …

Formal And Informal Styles Of Clothing In The Assessment Of Female Political Candidates, Erma Kurtovic

Master's Theses

Abstract: This study will research the importance of dress code of female candidates on the confidence in leadership.The research question is: How Important is the Formality of Dress Code in the Assessment of Leadership of Female Political Candidates? It is addressed by using an experimental design carried out in India and the United States, using Qualtrics and Amazon Mechanical Turk. This research gathered 400 responses, 200 from each country. Primary data collection was used, with the implementation of two experiments. The experimental design of the two experiments consisted of two conditions, one in which the main political candidate is dressed …

Understanding The Effects Of Temperature On Electrostatic Dna Denaturation, Jeffrey Taylor

Master's Theses

In this work, the electrostatic denaturation of 18-bp DNA duplexes was investigated via Square Wave Voltammetry (SWV) to determine the extent of melting (∆) and rate of melting (𝝉). Electrostatic denaturation was observed over the temperature range of 20-50 °C, and purely electrostatic melting was defined from 27.5°C. In contrast, electrostatic denaturation for 30 °C was defined as a mixture of thermal melting thiol desorption + electrostatic melting. Electrostatic denaturation is a temperature-dependent process, and the amount of melting of the dsDNA increased with temperature. It was also observed that the ∆ and 𝝉 values increase with temperature further …

Groundwater Monitoring Analysis And Management Recommendations In California: Cuyama And Santa Cruz Mid-County, Kayla M. Souza

Master's Projects and Capstones

Groundwater is an essential water resource, accounting for about 40 percent of supply in California and 80 percent in the Central Coast hydrologic region, but significant monitoring data gaps have limited sustainable management efforts. Twenty-four basins within the Central Coast hydrologic region were identified as critically overdrafted in 2014. For this study, two basins were chosen based on differing sustainability concerns so that a comparative analysis could be performed on the groundwater monitoring methods. I obtained original groundwater elevation data reported (2000-2020) from the various groundwater monitoring organization wells to the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) within the Cuyama …

How Environmental Change Will Impact Mosquito-Borne Diseases, Arsal Khan

Master's Projects and Capstones

Mosquitos, the most lethal species throughout human history, are the most prevalent source of vector-borne diseases and therefore a major global health burden. Mosquito-borne disease incidence is expected to shift with environmental change. These changes can be predicted using species distribution models. With the wide variety of methods used for models, consensus for improving accuracy and comparability is needed. A comparative analysis of three recent modeling approaches revealed that integrating modeling techniques compensates for trade-offs associated with a singular approach. An area that represents a critical gap in our ability to predict mosquito behavior in response to changing climate factors, …

Corporate Social Responsibility In The Information Technology Industry, Natalie Louise Calhoun

Master's Projects and Capstones

Information technology companies contribute to greenhouse gas emissions via data servers, office administrative operations, and manufacturing of hardware components. Corporate Social Responsibility programs are a voluntary method of tracking and reducing negative environmental impacts. The 2019 Corporate Social Responsibility data from four Bay Area (California, USA) information technology companies (Adobe, Cisco, Salesforce, and Nvidia) all listed in sustainable index funds were compared to determine best reporting standards. The data analysis also allowed for research into how carbon emissions are categorized and reported on, and which emissions companies pay attention to through Corporate Social Responsibility projects. The physical ownership responsibility for …

Vulnerability Assessment Of The Gulf Of Maine Eastern Oyster Aquaculture Industry To The Projected Impacts Of Ocean And Coastal Acidification, Julia L. Neumann

Master's Projects and Capstones

Ocean acidification is an emerging global environmental issue with known impacts on calcifying marine and estuarine organisms, including oysters. Anthropogenic climate change increases ocean uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide, which decreases seawater pH and the availability of crucial calcium carbonate minerals, namely calcite and aragonite. Acidification poses a major threat to the Eastern oyster aquaculture industry in the Gulf of Maine (GOM), which is highly susceptible to acidification and highly economically dependent on the industry’s economic contributions. In this report, I evaluated overall vulnerability of the GOM Eastern oyster aquaculture industry by assessing ecological exposure, social sensitivity, and adaptive capacity …

Improving Salmon Population Restoration Efforts In California's Central Valley Region, Long Kim Doan

Master's Projects and Capstones

Historically, the rivers draining into California’s Central Valley Region (CCVR) were abundant with Chinook salmon, migrating in four distinct runs throughout every year, including the Sacramento River winter-run & the Central Valley spring-run. Since the advent of the Central Valley Project in the 1930’s, and its 20 federal high rim dams, these salmon runs have become increasingly threatened. Using a comparative analysis research methodology, this Project critically reviews the existing literature to address the research question: how can current practices of Fish Passage Designs (FPDs) and collection-and-transport operations (CTOs) be improved to mitigate impacts created by dams in CCVR? After …

Assessing The Efficacy Of California’S Wildfire And Forest Resilience Action Plan, Chloe Nelson

Master's Projects and Capstones

California’s wildfire threat eclipses current forestry management and wildfire mitigation strategies in place to protect people, infrastructure, and the natural environment. Climate change escalates wildfire risks with declining water supply coupled with hotter, drier conditions. California’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan attempts to integrate and build upon previously successful wildfire resilience plans to amplify the scale and pace of the state’s land management and community protections. This research assesses the plan’s efficacy to respond to the growing wildfire threat. This study investigates if there is equitable planning for the needs of high-wildfire risk groups living in the WUI and …

A Circular Economy Approach To Improve E-Waste Recycling In California: Economic Potential And Policy Options, Kripa Shah

Master's Projects and Capstones

The higher consumption rates of electronic devices along with their short life cycles and few repair options poses a huge challenge for E-waste industries to manage them effectively. E-waste comprises of hazardous materials and toxic constituents that can affect the environment and public health through improper disposal. However, they also contain few valuable materials that, if recovered, can reduce the dependence on virgin raw materials. Circular economy has the potential to utilize these valuable materials and gain environment and socio-economic benefits. The research explains how the adoption of a circular economy approach can help improve the E-waste recycling in California …