Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Impacts Of Environmental Conditions On Fleas In Black-Tailed Prairie Dog Burrows, Julia E. Poje, Tonie Rocke, Michael D. Samuel

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Sylvatic plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis and transmitted by fleas, occurs in prairie dogs of the western United States. Outbreaks can devastate prairie dog communities, often causing nearly 100% mortality. Three competent flea vectors, prairie dog specialists Oropsylla hirsuta and O. tuberculata, and generalist Pulex simulans, are found on prairie dogs and in their burrows. Fleas are affected by climate, which varies across the range of black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus), but these effects may be ameliorated somewhat due to the burrowing habits of prairie dogs. Our goal was to assess how temperature and precipitation …

The Future Environmental And Health Impacts Of Coal, Robert B. Finkelman, Amy L. Wolfe, Michael S. Hendryx

Faculty, Staff, and Affiliated Publications--KGS

In the United States, coal consumption in the last 12 years has declined from 1,045,140 million short tons in 2007 to 539,420 million short tons in 2019, a decrease of almost 50%. During that period the number of electric power coal generators has declined from 1,470 to 738 accounting for 21% of capacity. An even more dramatic decrease in coal use has occurred in Western Europe. This significant reduction in coal use and the concomitant closure of coal mines and coal-burning power plants will result in substantially cleaner air, reductions in respiratory problems such as asthma, less heart disease, fewer …

Are Electric Cars The Future?, Nick Gable

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

My paper is about switching to electric cars for transportation. The end of fossil fuels is soon, and we must preserve them. We must cut down on fossil fuel use to save the environment from pollution. I use statistics on emissions and pollution from conventional cars and explain why we need to switch to electric cars sooner rather than later. I argue that there should be stipulations by the government regarding electric cars and conventional cars on the lot. I also say that we should start producing lots of electric cars as soon as possible.

How Wendy Red Star Decolonizes The Museum With Humor And Play, Salma Monani, Nicole Seymour

Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

Museums play a prominent role in crafting racial narratives in the United States, and as evidenced by recent social uprisings, these institutions have come under scrutiny. Take, for example, the statue outside the American Museum of Natural History in New York, which depicts U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt on horseback flanked by a Black man and an American Indian, both unnamed. As National Public Radio reported in June 2020, “The statue was intended to pay homage to Roosevelt as a ‘devoted naturalist and author of works on natural history,’” but, in calling for its removal, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office affirmed …

Nested Ecology And Emergence In Pandemics, Aaron Jenkins, Stacy D. Jupiter, Anthony Capon, Pierre Horwitz, Joel Negin

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

No abstract provided.

Plastic Rain In Protected Areas Of The United States, Janice Brahney, Margaret Hallerud, Eric Heim, Maura Hahnenberger, Suja Sukumaran

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Eleven billion metric tons of plastic are projected to accumulate in the environment by 2025. Because plastics are persistent, they fragment into pieces that are susceptible to wind entrainment. Using high-resolution spatial and temporal data, we tested whether plastics deposited in wet versus dry conditions have distinct atmospheric life histories. Further, we report on the rates and sources of deposition to remote U.S. conservation areas. We show that urban centers and resuspension from soils or water are principal sources for wet-deposited plastics. By contrast, plastics deposited under dry conditions were smaller in size, and the rates of deposition were related …

Presence Of Electron Donor/Acceptor Radiographic Contrast Media In Unusual Photosynthesis Environment Of Fresh Plant Cells: Near-Infrared And X-Ray Characterization, Tetiana Soloviova, Subhendra Sarkar, Amina Shahbaz, Aldona Gjoni

Publications and Research

Photosynthesis is a chemical process through which light energy is used to convert inorganic material (water and carbon dioxide) into organic molecules. Anaerobic photosynthesis, also known as anoxygenic photosynthesis, is the process by which certain bacteria use light energy to create organic compounds but do not adequately involve oxygen. In this experiment we are trying to influence photosynthesis (light and dark reactions: PS-I and PS-II by electron rich gadolinium/iodine complexes like Eovist and Isovue. We also performed X-ray and NIR reflection spectroscopy (NIRS) to measure Gd difusivity and PS-I/II infrared response. The results for X-ray (45kvp and 5 Mas ) …

Year Long Water Quality Analysis Of White Horn Brook, Kevin Dyer

Senior Honors Projects

KEVIN DYER (Marine Biology)

Year-long Analysis of the Water Quality of White Horn Brook

Sponsor: Thomas Boving (Geological Sciences)

Water is the foundation for all life on earth and is the most vital resource on this planet. Despite this, oceans and waterways all over the world are being polluted and exploited in ways detrimental to their fundamental hydrologic functions. For instance, excess nitrate levels can lead to eutrophication which gives rise to harmful algae blooms. Low pH can cause the breakdown of CaCO3 exoskeletons of organisms, such mollusks. High temperature variations are major stressors to living things and can cause …

An Assessment Of Renewable Energy Technology Implementation In Storrs, Connecticut: Emissions Reduction And Feasibility Of A Microgrid System At Uconn, Sophie Macdonald

Honors Scholar Theses

The purpose of this project is to design a clean energy-sourced microgrid for UConn’s main campus that would reduce the university’s energy emissions while remaining within the geographic boundaries of viable UConn-owned land. Economic cost was not considered in this analysis; instead, emissions and space constraints were the optimized measures of value and feasibility. Sources of energy that were considered include photovoltaics (PV), wind turbines, hydrokinetic systems, and fuel cells. Energy storage capacity was included in the analysis as well. The overall system was optimized first by ignoring space constraints and for a minimum of 10% reduction from the current …

Promoting The Sustainable Utilization Of Groundwater Resources In Ethiopia Using The Integrated Groundwater Footprint Index, Xinyu Lin

Honors Scholar Theses

The country of Ethiopia is highly vulnerable to human-caused climate change and is already suffering from the effects. The predominately rural population relies heavily on small-scale agriculture, with 78% of households having at least one member engaged in the field, yet staple crops are highly susceptible to droughts and other weather shocks. Total and agricultural GDP growth in the country have been strongly linked to inter-annual rainfall variability, of which Ethiopia has among the highest in sub-Saharan Africa. A decrease in rainfall since the 1970s has been one of the primary causes of low crop yields, and stresses the immediate …

Environmental Activism, Ellen Dexter, Lydia Dexter

Honors Expanded Learning Clubs

An after school book club that follows Greta Thunberg's book of speeches No One is Too Small to Make a Difference , as well as uses hands-on activities to teach the importance of environmental activism.

Strategies For Determining Electron Yield Material Parameters For Spacecraft Charge Modeling, Phil Lundgreen, John R. Dennison

All Physics Faculty Publications

Accurate modeling of spacecraft charging is essential to mitigate well‐known and all‐too‐common deleterious and costly effects on spacecraft resulting from charging induced by interactions with the space plasma environment. This paper addresses how limited availability of electron emission and transport properties of spacecraft materials—in particular, secondary electron yields—and the wide ranges measured for such properties pose a critical issue for modeling spacecraft charging. It describes a materials charging database for electron emission properties under development, which facilitates more accurate spacecraft charge modeling when used in concert with the strategies outlined herein. These data and techniques provide tools for more accurate …

One Month, One Class, No Bags, Amy George, Mikayla Jacoby, Danielle O'Brien, Belem Oseguera, Lucas Troncoso

2020 Honors Council of the Illinois Region

According to the website, theworldcounts.com, we consume about 5 trillion plastic bags per year. This translates to roughly 160,000 bags per second. This rapidly increasing consumption of plastics has led to the harming of natural ecosystems and the endangerment of many species. At the College of DuPage, our Honors English Composition class decided to address this issue and propose a solution at the local level. As a class, we broke up into several research groups, each tackling a different section of research related to plastic bags: its history, nationwide legislation, counterarguments, and connection to Illinois’ plastic bag legislation. The groups …

Spider's Guide To Sustainable Living, Office For Sustainability

Guides

Thank you for checking out this guide to caring for our future and ourselves. We're glad you did, because we need you. From the climate emergency to emerging health crises to social unrest, the need for change is all around us. The UR Sustainability Plan envisions "a future where sustainability is woven into the fabric of the University" in which we cultivate a culture of caring for people and the natural world. Consider this your invitation to join the movement to make this vision a reality.

Throughout the Spiders Guide to Sustainable Living, we will point out actions you can …

The Influence Of Isolated Thunderstorms And The Low-Level Wind Field On Nocturnally Migrating Birds In Central North America, Matthew V.D. Broeke, Timothy J. Gunkel

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Seasonal bird migration occurs on large spatial scales and is influenced by many factors including weather conditions. Weather can include thunderstorms, which may force migrants to land or cause them to reroute a migration path. In this study, a sample of isolated thunderstorms was analyzed from the domains of three weather radars in the central United States to test hypotheses regarding the influence of thunderstorms on the distribution of migrants. Migrating bird density was often reduced in the wake of storms, and this wake reduction was typically more pronounced for larger, more intense and faster- moving storms, particularly in eastern …

Why Massachusetts’ Drought Management Task Force Should Be In Statute: Drought Management Across The United States, Thomas G. Coughlin, Gabby Queenan

Student Showcase

This report explores structures and statutory authorities of Drought Management Task Forces across the United States, and particularly how different states have approached the issue of managing their respective Task Forces. There is growing interest in drought planning in the United States and worldwide.

As Massachusetts considers how to best respond to a new climate norm of short-term extreme droughts, one aspect of drought planning that is undergoing additional review is the role of the Massachusetts Drought Management Task Force, the state entity responsible for analyzing and reporting on drought conditions to the Secretary of Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Affairs …

The Influence Of Isolated Thunderstorms And The Low-Level Wind Field On Nocturnally Migrating Birds In Central North America, Matthew S. Van Den Broeke, Timothy J. Gunkel

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Seasonal bird migration occurs on large spatial scales and is influenced by many factors including weather conditions. Weather can include thunderstorms, which may force migrants to land or cause them to reroute a migration path. In this study, a sample of isolated thunderstorms was analyzed from the domains of three weather radars in the central United States to test hypotheses regarding the influence of thunderstorms on the distribution of migrants. Migrating bird density was often reduced in the wake of storms, and this wake reduction was typically more pronounced for larger, more intense and faster- moving storms, particularly in eastern …