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Articles 1 - 18 of 18
Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Burn Severity And Whitebark Pine (Pinus Albicaulis) Regeneration In The North Cascades, Stephanie A. (Stephanie Annie) Mcdowell
Burn Severity And Whitebark Pine (Pinus Albicaulis) Regeneration In The North Cascades, Stephanie A. (Stephanie Annie) Mcdowell
WWU Graduate School Collection
Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis, Engelm.) is a long-lived and slow-growing high elevation tree and a key part of subalpine communities in the North Cascades, Washington State. Whitebark pine populations in Washington are declining because of an exotic fungus, white pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola), and successional replacement due to fire exclusion. An increase in whitebark pine seedling density could help restore populations and accelerate the process of natural selection towards rust resistance. Where whitebark pine is firedependent, fire exclusion has impeded whitebark pine regeneration. The relationship between whitebark pine regeneration and burn severity was studied in the subalpine and timberline …
Evaluation Of High-Latitude Boreal Forest Growth Using Satellite-Derived Vegetation Indices, Logan T. Berner
Evaluation Of High-Latitude Boreal Forest Growth Using Satellite-Derived Vegetation Indices, Logan T. Berner
WWU Graduate School Collection
Vegetation in northern high-latitudes plays an important role in energy exchange and carbon dynamics, thereby influencing regional and global climate. Vegetation indices derived from the space-borne Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometers (AVHRR) have suggested decreased photosynthetic activity during recent decades within some continental regions of the pan-arctic boreal forests. The purpose of this research was to determine associations between the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), as derived by both AVHRR and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometers (MODIS), and inter-annual variations in radial stem growth in high-latitude coniferous forests. During 2008 and 2009, tree core samples were collected at 12 sites in …
Kink Band Development In The Darrington Phyllite On Samish Island, Northwestern Washington, Rachel E. (Rachel Eliades) Dunham
Kink Band Development In The Darrington Phyllite On Samish Island, Northwestern Washington, Rachel E. (Rachel Eliades) Dunham
WWU Graduate School Collection
Kink bands are sharp-hinged monoclinal folds that are common contractional deformation features in fine-grained, foliated rocks. Two competing geometric models of kink band formation are mobile-hinge kinking, where a kink band grows by lateral expansion of kink band hinges, and fixed-hinge kinking, where a kink band initiates at a given width and rotates to accommodate shortening. This study investigates previously identified but poorly characterized kink bands in the Darrington Phyllite on Samish Island, northwestern Washington, in order to evaluate the applicability of each model and to characterize the complex geometries of kink bands in plan view. Two sets of kink …
Naturally Occurring Aqueous Arsenic And Seawater Intrusion On Lummi Island, Wa, Erica Martell
Naturally Occurring Aqueous Arsenic And Seawater Intrusion On Lummi Island, Wa, Erica Martell
WWU Graduate School Collection
Two different types of groundwater contamination may be present in the aquifers on northern Lummi Island, Washington: naturally occurring arsenic and seawater intrusion. Freshwater on northern Lummi Island is stored in bedrock and unconsolidated glacial sediments. The naturally occurring arsenic, sourced from an undetermined stratigraphic layer, varies spatially throughout the island. Additionally, seawater may be intruding into the groundwater supply, which is the primary source of drinking water for the residents of the island. The process of mobilization of the naturally occurring arsenic and the extent of the seawater intrusion has not been fully explored. The purpose of my study …
Activation And Inhibition Of Gtpase Translation Factors On The Prokaryotic Ribosome, Justin D. Walter
Activation And Inhibition Of Gtpase Translation Factors On The Prokaryotic Ribosome, Justin D. Walter
WWU Graduate School Collection
Throughout all domains of life, each protein in a cell is synthesized by a remarkable biomolecular machine called the ribosome, in a process referred to as translation. This process is regulated by proteins called translation factors, several of which belong to the GTPase superfamily of enzymes which require the binding and subsequent hydrolysis of guanosine 5'-triphosphate (GTP) to execute their function. In contrast to the regulatory role of translation factors, protein biosynthesis is inhibited by several naturally occurring antibiotics. While our understanding of translation has been revolutionized by the recent elucidation of atomic-resolution x-ray crystal structures of the ribosome trapped …
Habitat Modeling Using Path Analysis: Delineating Mountain Goat Habitat In The Washington Cascades, Tana Beus
Habitat Modeling Using Path Analysis: Delineating Mountain Goat Habitat In The Washington Cascades, Tana Beus
WWU Graduate School Collection
A 70-90% decline in mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus) populations in Washington State over the past few decades has spurred the need for an improved understanding of seasonal goat-habitat relationships. Habitat use data have been collected from 46 radio-collared mountain goats across their native range in Washington State. Using Geographical Information Systems (GIS), I explored relationships between use and availability of habitat. To overcome issues of autocorrelation, I compared actual mountain goat paths with available paths of matched identical spatial topology and used multi-scale path analysis to explore various ecologically informed relationships between landscape structure and the movements of mountain goats …
Ambient Pressure Organic Semiconductor Thin Film Growth By Ambient Axisymmetric Spray, Kevin A. (Kevin Anthony) Bufkin
Ambient Pressure Organic Semiconductor Thin Film Growth By Ambient Axisymmetric Spray, Kevin A. (Kevin Anthony) Bufkin
WWU Graduate School Collection
Interest in using organic semiconductors in applications such as large area displays, photovoltaic devices, and radio frequency identification tags stems in part from their prospects for enabling significantly reduced manufacturing costs compared to traditional inorganic semiconductors. However many of the best performing prototype devices produced so far have involved expensive or time-consuming fabrication methods, such as the use of single crystals or thin films deposited under high vacuum conditions. This thesis examines a new approach for growing low molecular weight organic crystalline films at ambient conditions based on an organic vapor-liquid-solid growth (OVLS) mechanism using thermotropic nematic liquid crystal (LC) …
Magmatic Processes In The Jurassic Bonanza Arc: Insights From The Alberni Region Of Vancouver Island, Canada, Benjamin D. (Benjamin David) Paulson
Magmatic Processes In The Jurassic Bonanza Arc: Insights From The Alberni Region Of Vancouver Island, Canada, Benjamin D. (Benjamin David) Paulson
WWU Graduate School Collection
The Early to Middle Jurassic Bonanza island arc on Vancouver Island, Canada, exposes the middle and upper crust of an ancient arc crustal section. The arc is exposed for a length of ~500 km along the west coast of Vancouver Island. The three components of the Bonanza arc represent different crustal levels of magmatism. The deepest level of magmatism is represented by the Westcoast Crystalline Complex, the intermediate level is represented by the Island Intrusions Suite, and the surficial level is the represented by Bonanza Group volcanics. Samples of the volcanic section were collected in the Pemberton Hills region of …
The Structural And Tectonic History Of The Mt. Formidable Region, North Cascades, Washington, Julia E. (Julia Eileen) Labadie
The Structural And Tectonic History Of The Mt. Formidable Region, North Cascades, Washington, Julia E. (Julia Eileen) Labadie
WWU Graduate School Collection
Deformation events associated with crustal thickening are preserved in the Mt. Formidable region of the North Cascades, a Cretaceous orogen and continental arc at the southern end of the Coast Plutonic Complex. The kinematics and timing of deformation in this area during burial, magmatism and metamorphism are the focus of this study. Rocks in the Mt. Formidable region span from at least the Late Triassic to the Early Cretaceous and include supracrustal units and associated metaplutonic rocks that have been interpreted as an island arc sequence. Rocks within the study region include the sub-arc Marblemount Meta-Quartz Diorite, the supra-arc metaclastic …
Copper-Catalyzed Diboration Of Ketones: Facile Synthesis Of Tertiary A-Hydroxyboronate Esters, Melissa Mcintosh
Copper-Catalyzed Diboration Of Ketones: Facile Synthesis Of Tertiary A-Hydroxyboronate Esters, Melissa Mcintosh
WWU Graduate School Collection
The versatility of the C-B bond in organic synthesis has led to extensive development of new methods for the selective incorporation of boron into organic substrates. The incorporation of boron substituents alpha to heteroatoms provides direct entry into substrates analogous to those formed and utilized in the Matteson homologation reaction. Our group has explored the diboration of various ketones using the (ICy)CuOt-Bu catalyst developed by Sadighi and co-workers. We found that (ICy)CuOt-Bu could be generated in situ using 3 mol % (ICy)CuCl and 5 mol% NaOt-Bu (Scheme 1). This catalyst system was shown to cleanly afford the diboration of various …
Elwha River Sediments: Phosphorus Dynamics Under Diverse Environmental Conditions, Emily Cavaliere
Elwha River Sediments: Phosphorus Dynamics Under Diverse Environmental Conditions, Emily Cavaliere
WWU Graduate School Collection
Two large dams on the Elwha River, on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, are scheduled for removal in 2011. Removing the Glines Canyon Dam will release up to 10.6 million cubic meters of sediment from Lake Mills. The sediments will be exposed to new physical and chemical conditions and be redistributed throughout the ecosystem. In the summer of 2008, sediment samples were taken from the above-water delta and the submerged lake bottom of Lake Mills to identify initial physical and chemical characteristics relating to the variable status of phosphorus in the sediments. The sediments were analyzed for different forms …
Origin And Geochemical Evolution Of Mafic Magmas From Mount Baker In The Northern Cascade Arc, Washington: Probes Into The Mantle And Crustal Processes, Nicole E. Moore
Origin And Geochemical Evolution Of Mafic Magmas From Mount Baker In The Northern Cascade Arc, Washington: Probes Into The Mantle And Crustal Processes, Nicole E. Moore
WWU Graduate School Collection
Five mafic lava flows located on the southern flank of Mount Baker are among the most primitive in the volcanic field. A comprehensive whole rock and mineral chemistry dataset (including major, trace, REE and isotopic abundances as well as petrography and mineral chemistry) reveals the diversity between these mafic lavas, which come from distinct sources and have been variably affected by ascent through the crust. Disequilibrium textures present in all of the lavas indicate that crustal processes have affected the magmas. Despite this evidence, mantle source characteristics have been retained, demonstrated by a lack of variation in the most highly …
Seed Rain And Selected Species Germination And Growth Trials: Implications For Natural And Augmented Revegetation Of Post-Dam Elwha River Floodplain And Reservoir Sediments, James T. Michel
WWU Graduate School Collection
The removal of Glines Canyon and Elwha dams from the Elwha River in Olympic National Park, Washington State is scheduled to begin in 2011. This undertaking is among the largest planned dam removals and ecosystem restoration projects in the world. One of the challenges associated with this restoration will be to understand processes influencing revegetation and invasive species colonization on the sediments exposed by dam removal. To help characterize post-dam vegetation succession within the Elwha River floodplain and dewatered reservoirs, we undertook field collections of reservoir sediments and seed rain during summer 2008. We then conducted two greenhouse experiments 1) …
Development Of A New Method For Measuring Metamorphic Kinetics, Jennifer B. (Jennifer Bernadette) Wright
Development Of A New Method For Measuring Metamorphic Kinetics, Jennifer B. (Jennifer Bernadette) Wright
WWU Graduate School Collection
Because garnet strongly fractionates Mn, spessartine (XSps) content can be treated as a rock-wide proxy for time. By using Sm-Nd isotopic dating to discretely date cores and rims of garnet crystals, I associated an age with a XSps content, and used this association to indirectly date a set of garnets in a subvolume from the specimen, a Grt-Chl-Pg-Bt-Ms schist from the Pinney Hollow Formation collected at Townshend Dam, VT. Using high-resolution X-ray computed tomographic data, two garnets were selected based on size and accessibility for Sm-Nd dating. These garnets yielded rim ages of 372.8±5.7 Ma and 372.8±4.0 Ma (2σ); EPMA …
Modeling The Effects Of Climate Change Forecasts On Streamflow In The Nooksack River Basin, Susan E. Dickerson
Modeling The Effects Of Climate Change Forecasts On Streamflow In The Nooksack River Basin, Susan E. Dickerson
WWU Graduate School Collection
The Nooksack River has its headwaters in the North Cascade Mountains and drains an approximately 2300 km2 watershed in northwestern Washington State. The timing and magnitude of streamflow in a high relief, snow-dominated drainage basin such as the Nooksack River basin is strongly influenced by temperature and precipitation. Forecasts of future climate made by general circulation models (GCMs) predict increases in temperature and variable changes to precipitation in western Washington, which will affect streamflow, snowpack, and glaciers in the Nooksack River basin. Anticipating the response of the river to climate change is crucial for water resources planning because municipalities, tribes, …
Viability Of Coho Salmon Oncorhynchus Kisutch In Relation To Streamflow Regulation In Terrell Creek, Washington, Ryan S. Vasak
Viability Of Coho Salmon Oncorhynchus Kisutch In Relation To Streamflow Regulation In Terrell Creek, Washington, Ryan S. Vasak
WWU Graduate School Collection
As salmon and trout populations decline in the Pacific Northwest, emphasis should be placed on restoration of any stream capable of producing salmon and trout. Terrell Creek is a small, dam regulated, independent drainage that historically produced at least four species of salmon and trout. Streamflow, regulated at the Lake Terrell dam, has typically been close to zero during the summer low flow period and probably affected salmon and trout population levels in the Creek. This study was designed to characterize the current fish assemblage in Terrell Creek, estimate coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) smolt production levels, identify factors that limit …
Structural Characterization Of Cytoskeleton Regulating Protein Villin And Its C-Terminal Modular Domains, Danielle A. Pfaff
Structural Characterization Of Cytoskeleton Regulating Protein Villin And Its C-Terminal Modular Domains, Danielle A. Pfaff
WWU Graduate School Collection
Villin is a modular protein that regulates F-actin bundles in the microvilli of absorptive epithelial cells in the intestine. At low (10-100 nM) calcium levels, Villin is an F-actin bundling agent supporting the specialized brush border membrane of the absorptive epithelium. At intermediate micromolar calcium levels, Villin nucleates and caps the barbed ends of F-actin and in high (> 100 μM) calcium Villin is an F-actin severing agent (Bretsher & Weber, 1980; Glenney et al., 1980, 1981; Mooseker et al. 1980). The amino acid sequence of Villin has seven modular domains. The first six Villin domains (D1-D6) form a "core" …
Paleomagnetism And Rock Magnetism Of Remagnetized Carbonate Rocks From The Helena Salient, Southwest Montana, Benjamin F. (Benjamin Franklin) Baugh
Paleomagnetism And Rock Magnetism Of Remagnetized Carbonate Rocks From The Helena Salient, Southwest Montana, Benjamin F. (Benjamin Franklin) Baugh
WWU Graduate School Collection
The Helena salient is an arcuate curve in the southwest Montana fold and thrust belt, characterized by thin-skinned folding and thrusting. Ages from volcanic sills imply that deformation in the region began 77 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous (Harlan et al., 2008). This study investigates the nature of curvature associated with this salient using paleomagnetic techniques. Carbonate rocks of the Mississippian Madison Group were sampled from 24 sites across three folds: the Devil's Fence anticline, the Three Forks anticline and the Turner anticline (near Townsend, MT). Results from 16 sites have well defined, but very weak, magnetizations. At …