Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

A Remote Sensing And Machine Learning-Based Approach To Forecast The Onset Of Harmful Algal Bloom (Red Tides), Moein Izadi

Dissertations

In the last few decades, harmful algal blooms (HABs, also known as “red tides”) have become one of the most detrimental natural phenomena all around the world especially in Florida’s coastal areas due to local environmental factors and global warming in a larger scale. Karenia brevis produces toxins that have harmful effects on humans, fisheries, and ecosystems. In this study, I developed and compared the efficiency of state-of-the-art machine learning models (e.g., XGBoost, Random Forest, and Support Vector Machine) in predicting the occurrence of HABs. In the proposed models, the K. brevis abundance is used as the target, and 10 …

"Not In My Town": A Community's Response To Water And Soil Pollution, Karolina Staros

Dissertations

At the core of this dissertation is the acknowledgment that social movements are complex networks of people who face many obstacles in their efforts to achieve social change. One critique of social movements is that their goals and mission are limited to short term ideas and not long-term, systemic transformation. The lack of long term, systemic change can be observed when social movement groups mobilize for the same cause over and over again with what appears to be little progress over a period of time. The exact blueprint for a social movement’s success does not exist, but it is posited …

Institutional Changes In Western Michigan University For Incorporation Of Education For Sustainability, Saman Khan

Dissertations

Higher Education institutions (HEIs) have the potential to be significant contributors in the pursuit of a sustainable world through the incorporation of Education for Sustainability (EFS). However, HEIs are entrenched with structures and values that are often resistant to change. The literature reveals that instructors’ beliefs and institutional contexts are the two main factors that impact the implementation of institutional change for sustainability education. Western Michigan University (WMU) has created new required curriculum “WMU Essential Studies” (WES) for undergraduate students and they have targeted sustainability as an essential learning outcome, by integrating and applying it in content courses. Using a …

An Integrated Approach For The Assessment And Monitoring Of Land Deformation In The Riyadh City And Its Surroundings For Identifying The Controlling Factors, Abdulaziz Ibrahim Aljammaz

Dissertations

An integrated approach (remote sensing, field, geodesy, geology, and hydrogeology) was conducted to assess and monitor land deformation at Riyadh city and its surroundings. Two settings were investigated. The first, Jinadriyah area (1.5 km²), an urban area located east of Riyadh city, was selected to assess deformation associated with urbanization over desert lands. The second location was Al Kharj area (19,790 km²) to the south of Riyadh city, a reclaimed desert land that was selected to assess the deformation associated with agricultural groundwater extraction from fossil aquifers. My investigations revealed high subsidence rates (up to -30 …

Monitoring Salt Diapir Related Land Deformation And Distribution: A Geophysical And Remote Sensing Approach Jazan Province, Saudi Arabia, Hannah G. Pankratz

Dissertations

Salt diapirs are rarely preserved on the surface and seldom considered as environmental hazards. The Jazan city diapir (JZD) is located in southwest Saudi Arabia along the Red Sea coastal plain and outcrops in the middle of a rapidly growing port city. The intrusion of the diapir (~ 2 km²) into the overburden sediments continues to cause uneven surfaces, compromises building foundations and infrastructure, caused dissolution sinkholes, and limits the expansion of the city along the coastline. This research aims to better understand the distribution and deformation associated with salt diapirs in arid environments.

Using integrated Interferometric Synthetic …

The Assessment Of Co2 Exposures, Workload Demands, And Musculoskeletal Disorder Risk On Heart Rate For Select Craft Brewery Job Tasks, David L. Huizen

Dissertations

Americans have embraced craft beer, and the ensuing demand has resulted in an ever-increasing number of craft breweries opening over the past 20 years. Craft brewers are generally small employers and, as such, lack the resources necessary to address the safety and health of their employees adequately. Brewers face many safety and health hazards in their work environment. These hazards include exposures to carbon dioxide (CO₂), workload demand, and MSD risk. It is essential to evaluate these hazards in craft breweries as they handle carbon dioxide (CO₂) differently than large breweries by having the CO_{2 …}

A Metaevaluation Of Energy Efficiency Evaluations, Brandy Brown

Dissertations

This study systematically reviews the methodological characteristics of energy efficiency evaluations and uses metaevaluation to assess its quality. Metaevaluation is used to systematically assess the quality of evaluation products, confirm that evaluations deliver sound findings and conclusions, are useful to the client, are credible, are ethically conducted, and are done as cost-effective as possible. The results of this study show that the ability to accurately assess evaluation for methodological quality using evaluations reports as a primary data source depends on the presence of detailed descriptions of evaluation methods. Furthermore, the study suggests that methodological variations of energy efficiency evaluations coalesce …

Low-Level Pharmaceuticals And Personal Care Products In The Waters Of Michigan, Lisa M. Anderson

Dissertations

The results of this research are the product of a two year study funded by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality with monies from the Clean Michigan Initiative. Low-level (part per billion range) pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in the waters of Michigan were investigated. Five rivers in the State were sampled; including the Clinton, Grand, Kalamazoo, Muskegon, and Saginaw. Groundwater samples were obtained from two shallow municipal water wells also; one on the Grand River and one on the Kalamazoo River. The wells were sampled to determine if PPCPs in the river water were being drawn in by …

The Tragedy Of The Rivers: Building Authority Over The British Water Environment, Kevin B. Vichcales

Dissertations

"The Tragedy of the Rivers: Building Authority over the British Water Environment" examines the problem of rivers as common public resources in modern Britain. Viewed historically, the enduring problem of environmental pollution control in Britain has been the establishment of regulating authority over aspects of nature that are regarded simultaneously as economic resources, public utilities, and public amenities. Legislators, subject to pressure from industrial polluters, political parties, and advocates for environmental quality, sought at different times to locate authority at local, regional, national and extra-national levels. Each effort failed to resolve the issue of authority over the environment, because administrative …

Hydrogeology And Stable Isotope Investigations Of A Landfill Impacted Site In Southwest Michigan, Eliot Anong Atekwana

Dissertations

The Cork Street landfill in the City of Kalamazoo is unlined and constructed in glacial drift material. Although water quality in some of the landfill monitoring wells is poor, the degree of the landfill’s influence to groundwater, wetlands and Davis Creek located downgradient of the landfill is unknown. The objective of this study is to evaluate the degree of the landfill’s impact in this region through hydrologic and stable isotope analysis.

Site characterization using geophysical surveys and specific conductance measurements indicates highly conductive shallow groundwater probably attributable to groundwater contamination. Hydrologic evaluation of this region shows that groundwater flows towards …

The Effects Of Acid Precipitation On Two Lakes In Southwestern Michigan, Fardin Olyaei

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which acid precipitation contributes acidity and heavy metals to lake environments. Asylum and Bonnie Castle Lakes, both located in the western portion of Kalamazoo County, served as the study sites. Precipitation samples were also taken at a site close to both lakes. Using the Hach Colorimeter, a preliminary study was undertaken to determine concentrations of the major cations (H('+), NH(,4)('+), K('+) and Ca('2+)), and major anions (NO(,3)('-), SO(,4)('2-), and PO(,4)('3-)). The main study dealt with the metal concentrations (Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, and Pb) in rain/snow water, lakewaters, sediment, …

Storm-Sewer Input Of Heavy Metals Into An Urban Lake Environment, George A. Duba

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to measure the concentration of lead, cadmium, zinc and copper in runoff entering an urban lake ecosystem and to measure the distribution of these metals in selected tropic levels of the lake.

Fisk Lake was chosen as the study site and is located in East Grand Rapids, Michigan. Samples were collected of stormwater, rainwater and lakewater together with substrate, aquatic macrophytes Peltandra virginica, chironomid larvae, Chironomidae, snails Physa, and eight species of fish, Ictalurus nebulosus, Esox lucius, Lepomis gibbosus, L. macrochirus, Pomoxis nigromaculatus, Micropterus salmoides, Catostomus commersoni, and Perca flavescens. All samples were collected …