Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 7 of 7
Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Quantifying Impacts Of Grazing And Poor Land Management Strategies On Erosion Through A Semi-Automated Change Detection Workflow In Ka’Amola, Molokai, L. Kalai Ellis, Richard A. Gill
Quantifying Impacts Of Grazing And Poor Land Management Strategies On Erosion Through A Semi-Automated Change Detection Workflow In Ka’Amola, Molokai, L. Kalai Ellis, Richard A. Gill
Utah Space Grant Consortium
A challenge faced by those working in a system plagued by non-native vegetation invasion and disturbance from ungulates is the ability to collect landscape-level information about land cover change and the mass movement of soils associated pulsed rainfall events. Our goal was to conduct high-precision change detection of land cover and surface features during a two-year period that included several mass sediment flux events associated with tropical storms. We present here preliminary results of the development and testing of a rule set based classification algorithm used to classify imagery from 2019 and 2021 of a single watershed in Molokai to …
Biophysical Factors Control Invasive Grass Hot Spots In The Mojave Desert, Tanner C. Smith, Tara B. B. Bishop, Michael C. Duniway, Ryan R. Jensen, Richard A. Gill
Biophysical Factors Control Invasive Grass Hot Spots In The Mojave Desert, Tanner C. Smith, Tara B. B. Bishop, Michael C. Duniway, Ryan R. Jensen, Richard A. Gill
Utah Space Grant Consortium
Invasive annual grasses are a nuisance in the American Southwest through promotion of the grass-fire cycle. Annual grasses such as Bromus rubens, Bromus tectorum, Schismus barbatus, and Schismus arabicus have invaded the Mojave Desert and increased fire occurrence, thus it is important to identify and characterize the areas where persistent invasion has occurred and subsequently fire risk is increased by understanding the distribution of these invasive grasses. Here we use a remote sensing framework to map persistent and productive populations of invasive annual grass, called hot spots, in the entire Mojave Desert ecoregion over 12 years, identify …
Progress Report: Covid-19 Hotspot Detection In University Campus Settings, Garrett Duncan, William F. Christensen, Camilla Handley
Progress Report: Covid-19 Hotspot Detection In University Campus Settings, Garrett Duncan, William F. Christensen, Camilla Handley
Utah Space Grant Consortium
The COVID-19 pandemic caused a lot of disruption in the academic world. Many schools and universities shut down entirely and transitioned to online learning. As BYU made the transition back to in-person learning, the administration needed to know if there was in-class transmission happening on campus in order to regulate restrictions and keep students and faculty safe. Using demographic information about the students, we built an XGBoost model that produces an estimated probability of testing positive for each student. We incorporated engineered variables from the demographic information as well. We evaluated model fit using metrics such as AUC. Using a …
Exploration Of An Electrochemical Sensor For Continuous Monitoring Of Estradiol In Application To Fertility Tracking, Julia S. Dominesey, Shad J. Roundy
Exploration Of An Electrochemical Sensor For Continuous Monitoring Of Estradiol In Application To Fertility Tracking, Julia S. Dominesey, Shad J. Roundy
Utah Space Grant Consortium
Estradiol is one of three estrogens, the primary female sex hormone; it fluctuates diurnally, and monthly, dictating the menstrual cycle. We developed a bench-top electrochemical sensor to detect estradiol with the intention of future realization into an implantable, continuously sampling sensor to be used as an aid for fertility health. The electrochemical sensor is comprised of a three electrode system which utilizes a gold working electrode, platinum counter electrode, and Ag/AgCl reference electrode to perform cyclic voltammetry. A monolayer of estradiol aptamers and mercaptohexanethiol coat the working electrode surface. The monolayer was exposed to 10ng/mL, 100n/mL and 1,000ng/mL of estradiol. …
Microbial Diversity At Rozel Point Tar Seeps, Great Salt Lake, Utah, Cayla Martin, Jaimi Butler, Bonnie K. Baxter
Microbial Diversity At Rozel Point Tar Seeps, Great Salt Lake, Utah, Cayla Martin, Jaimi Butler, Bonnie K. Baxter
Utah Space Grant Consortium
Naturally occurring tar seeps, located at Rozel Point at the north arm of Great Salt Lake, provide an opportunity to study a petroleum-rich environment adjacent to this unique hypersaline ecosystem. These seeps result from high molecular weight hydrocarbons migrating through cracks and fissures along fault lines. During high lake levels, the seeping petroleum directly enters the salty brine, but during low lake levels, it spreads along the surface of the dry lakebed forming tar seeps that are numerous and vary in size. Bacteria have been cultured previously from oil reservoirs, yet little is known about microorganisms that live in natural …
Life Will Find A Way: Investigating Entombed Microorganisms In Gypsum At Great Salt Lake As A Model For Studies Of Gypsum On Mars, Paulina Martinez-Koury, Bonnie K. Baxter
Life Will Find A Way: Investigating Entombed Microorganisms In Gypsum At Great Salt Lake As A Model For Studies Of Gypsum On Mars, Paulina Martinez-Koury, Bonnie K. Baxter
Utah Space Grant Consortium
Great Salt Lake (GSL) is the second saltiest lake in the world, whose hypersaline geochemistry, high UV irradiation and volatile climate coalesce into a fascinating and extreme environment. The genetic diversity of the microbial community of GSL is primarily comprised of “salt-loving” halophiles ranging from archaea, bacteria and fungi. These organisms have the ability to live in high osmolarity brines, survive the high UV radiation and high salinity. Halophiles have “superpowers” including lifestyle flexibility that allows a state of dormancy when trapped within tiny inclusions such as small pockets of fluid or clay, in gypsum or halite minerals. The entombment …
Spatial Exploration Of Microbial Biodiversity Of Great Salt Lake, Alvin Sihapanya, Paulina Martinez-Koury, Bonnie K. Baxter
Spatial Exploration Of Microbial Biodiversity Of Great Salt Lake, Alvin Sihapanya, Paulina Martinez-Koury, Bonnie K. Baxter
Utah Space Grant Consortium
Our research focused on the collection of water, microbialites, gypsum, and halite samples to analyze and compare the biodiversity found in each arm of the lake. Each was analyzed using various microscopy and cultivation techniques, and molecular methods to assess genetic diversity. This survey serves the purpose of seeking combinatorial methods to elucidate microbial diversity. Future work will further examine gaps in data, especially searching for overlooked fungi, protists, and cyanobacteria. How does the population of microorganisms vary among the distinct micro-environments at Great Salt Lake?