Earth Sciences Commons^™

Advances In Research On The In Situ Co2 Mineral Trapping In Buried Volcanoes, He Yanxin, Tian Wei, Xian Benzhong, Liu Pingping, Wei Mingcong, Wei Qiwen, Deng Xuanyu, Liu Jianping, Gu Jiapeng

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objective and Methods Driven by the goal of carbon neutrality, geologic CO₂ storage has become a critical national priority in China. Compared to conventional reservoirs in sedimentary basins, such as saline aquifers, depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs, and unmineable coal seams, basaltic formations offer more significant advantages in geologic CO₂ storage. Specifically, basaltic formations can form stable carbonates through reactions between CO₂ and rock minerals while also exhibiting extensive distribution, considerable potential for CO₂ storage, and low risk of CO₂ leakage. The engineering feasibility of geologic CO₂ storage in basaltic formations has been validated by the …

Advances In Research On Geochemistry Of Co2 Storage In Basalts: Microscopic Mechanisms And Reaction Pathways, Ma Shijia, Xia Changyou, Gao Zhihao, Rui Zhenhua, Liang Xi

Coal Geology & Exploration

Objective and Method The urgent need to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions has driven the development of CO₂ mineral trapping in basalts. To gain further insights into the microscopic mechanisms and reaction pathways of the mineral trapping, this study systematically reviews the geochemical reaction mechanisms involved, with a particular focus on the differences in reaction pathways between supercritical and dissolved CO₂ injection, the coupling between mineral dissolution and carbonate precipitation, and the key factors influencing these reactions. Advances In the case of supercritical CO₂ injection, CO₂ mineral trapping is achieved through multi-step coupling reactions in nanoscale …

Long-Term Changes In Relative Humidity And Soil Wetness: Implications On Agriculture And Environmental Sustainability In Western Himalaya, Ashwani Ashwani, Pankaj Kumar

Journal of Environmental Science and Sustainable Development

Long-term climate changes in humidity and soil wetness in the cold deserts of the Western Himalaya are still not well researched. Understanding the long-term trends of relative humidity (RH) and soil moisture is crucial in high-altitude, cold desert regions for effective agricultural management and environmental sustainability. The study was conducted in a part of the western Himalaya, which is an ecologically fragile zone with a highly sensitive agricultural region that is vulnerable to climatic variations. A comprehensive study was conducted to evaluate the spatiotemporal variability of RH and soil wetness by means four techniques: Mann-Kendall, Modified Mann-Kendall, Sen’s slope estimator, …

Forest Aboveground Biomass In The Southwestern U.S. From Misr And Gedi: Assessment With Nasa Carbon Monitoring System Data, Mark J. Chopping, Zhousen Wang, Crystal B. Schaaf, Michael Bull

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Forest aboveground biomass (AGB) density mapping initiatives generally use one of three remote sensing approaches: lidar, radar, or near-nadir multispectral imaging leveraging machine learning methods, or a combination thereof. However, the active instrument record is limited and near-nadir multispectral imaging data are relatively insensitive to canopy physical structure. Multiangle imaging enables annual wall-to-wall mapping with a global record that extends back to 2000 as these data are highly sensitive to forest AGB. This paper describes work to validate estimates in a published annual, wall-to-wall record of forest AGB on a 250 m grid, derived using 672 nm imagery from the …

Assessing The Impact Of Visitors On Airborne Particle Deposition In The Giant Gypsum Geode Of Pulpí (Se Spain), Ana Camila Mendoza, Ángel Fernández-Cortés, Fernando Gázquez, Jesús Morilla, Milagros Carretero, Jose Maria Calaforra, David Benavente

International Journal of Speleology

The Giant Geode of Pulpí is a unique mineralogical phenomenon worldwide, remarkable for its large selenite gypsum crystals. Its recent development as a tourist site and inclusion on UNESCO’s Tentative World Heritage List, highlight the need to assess the impact of visits on its conservation. This study investigates airborne particle dynamics inside the Geode, focusing on tourist activity and natural ventilation. We measured deposition rates and composition of airborne particles using passive traps and a continuous laser-optical particle counter. Microenvironmental variables linked to ventilation, such as temperature and radon gas concentration (²²²Rn), were simultaneously monitored. Results show a predominance of …

Interactive Effects Of Hyposalinity And Nitrate Loading On Growth, Physiology, And Nitrogen Status Of The Seagrass, Halodule Wrightii, Joseph L. Kowalski, Hudson R. Deyoe, Kirk Cammarata, Kristina P. Vatcheva

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

The study goal was to examine the interactive physiological effects of two freshwater inflow stressors, nitrate pulses coupled with salinity decrease, on the seagrass Halodule wrightii. A microcosm experiment was designed to approximate an observed freshwater inflow event. Over a 13-day period plants were subjected to three sequential salinity drops (S35→ S23→ S15→ S5) with nitrate-nitrogen added simultaneously at 0, 30 or 60 µM. For comparisons, the Control was no salinity change and no nitrate added denoted by S35/No N. Measurements of H. wrightii shoot production, photosynthesis, respiration, quantum efficiency, %N, C:N ratios and δ¹⁵N …

Synthesis Study Of Evapotranspiration Evolution In The Mekong Delta Induced By Land Use And Land Cover Changes In The Decades Of 1990–2020, Emiliana Valentini, Serena Sapio, Son V. Nghiem, Seung Hee Kim, Sara Liburdi, Andrea Taramelli

Institute for ECHO Articles and Research

Evapotranspiration (ET) plays a key role in the water cycle and balance, and its estimation is of paramount importance in hydrological studies. This variable is also strongly influenced by the land use and land cover (LULC). This study use a synthesis approach to analyse the relationship between ET variation and LULC transformation in the period 1990–2020. The study area represents a major agricultural region in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam between the Mekong and Bassac rivers. The multivariate dataset was ingested into the hydrological model Soil and Water Assessment Tool to examine the multidecadal ET evolution across the study region. …

Coupling Liquid Chromatography To Orbitrap Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry: Overcoming Isotope Effects Of Chromatography And Amount-Dependency By Peak Homogenization, Aoife Canavan, Leonhard Prechtl, Habib Al-Ghoul, Nils Kuhlbusch, Andrea M. Erhardt, Martin Elsner

Earth and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications

Electrospray ionization Orbitrap mass spectrometry (ESI-Orbitrap-MS) has recently proven to be a powerful tool for compound- and position-specific stable isotope analysis, targeting isotopologues of multiple elements (H, C, N, O, S) in polar analytes. However, studies have so far mainly focused on pure analyte solutions via direct infusion. Here, we present the online coupling of liquid chromatography (LC) to ESI-Orbitrap-MS for stable isotope analysis of sulfamethoxazole (SMX), a synthetic antimicrobial, used as a model compound. Our study explored the fidelity of isotope values with two strategies for capturing and broadening chromatographic peaks after LC. When capturing the target analyte in …

Micronutrients (Trace Elements) For High Rainfall Pastures In Western Australia, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Natural resources factsheets

Micronutrient deficiencies can result from removal of agricultural products over many years, changes in soil acidity, or from large increases in plant biomass production and export. This page is specific to high rainfall pastures (more than 600mm average annual rainfall) in the south-west of Western Australia.

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development recommends tissue testing to check plant micronutrient nutrient needs.

Co2 Enhanced Oil Recovery In The Dickinson Lodgepole Mounds, University Of North Dakota. Energy And Environmental Research Center

EERC Brochures and Fact Sheets

Fact sheet about CO₂ enhanced oil recovery (EOR) in the Dickinson Lodgepole Mounds of Stark County, North Dakota. Includes geological information and how stored CO₂ increases local oil production.

Preliminary Investigation Of The Carbon Storage Potential In The Fort Worth Basin: Reservoir Characterization And Modeling Of The Lower Atoka Grant South Sand In Tarrant County, Texas, Mary Ann M. Moody

Earth & Environmental Sciences Theses

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is crucial for mitigating atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions that rise from industrial activities. Paleozoic sedimentary basins in Texas are significant reservoirs for hydrocarbon production, and when depleted, show promise for CCS. Long-term reservoir storage suitability requires a multifaceted approach, including site screening and ranking, as well as reservoir characterization, modeling, and simulation. This project first evaluates the CCS potential for the Fort Worth Basin in North Central Texas, then focuses on reservoir characterization of the Lower Atoka Grant South (STH) Sand in Tarrant County and finally assesses the sand’s CO₂ storage …

Modeling Landslide-Generated Tsunami For Hazard Analysis: A Case-Study Of Grewingk, Ak, Cassidy J. Deer

All Master's Theses

Landslide-generated tsunamis pose an increasing hazard in glacial and paraglacial environments, where glacial retreat results in slope instability and the potential for mass movement events into a body of water. This thesis analyzes a landslide–generated tsunami at Grewingk Lake in October 1967 by integrating numerical simulations from the D-Claw and GeoClaw models, which are both derived from the Clawpack framework for solving hyperbolic conservation laws. By modeling landslide dynamics and wave propagation in a coupled manner, this study seeks to improve understanding of the hazard, risks and spatial impact at Grewingk. The D-Claw and GeoClaw modeling approaches complement each other …

Forecasting Precipitation In Cuba Using Graph Based Deep Learning, Taufiqul Islam

Earth & Environmental Sciences Theses

Daily precipitation forecasting remained a challenging problem in regions characterized by strong spatial heterogeneity, nonlinear atmospheric dynamics, and intermittent rainfall behavior. Cuba represented a particularly complex case due to the combined influence of tropical cyclones, easterly waves, mesoscale convective systems, and orographic effects, which produced highly variable rainfall patterns in both space and time. Conventional statistical and machine-learning models typically treated stations independently and therefore overlooked spatial dependencies that strongly influenced rainfall variability across the island.

This study developed a spatiotemporal deep-learning framework for daily precipitation forecasting across 40 spatial nodes in Cuba using data from 1979 to 2023. The …

Constraining The Tectono-Climatic Evolution Of The Northern Rocky Mountains: Insights From Volcanic Glass, Leaf Water, And Leaf Wax Hydrogen Isotopes, Rijumon Nandy

Earth & Environmental Sciences Dissertations

The Eocene-Oligocene period in the North American Cordillera represents a period of great intrigue with complex interactions among tectonics, climate, and surface processes. Although this period is generally associated with synorogenic extension associated with gravitational collapse of the Cordillera, the paleotopographic history remains debated. Existing studies offer conflicting interpretations, suggesting either sustained elevations or modest uplift during this time. Notably, recent reconstructions based on volcanic glass δD values have proposed renewed uplift during the early Oligocene, which needs to be tested with a more extensive and robust dataset. Concurrently, global cooling and aridification during this interval may have been amplified …

Preliminary Analysis Of The Spatial Distribution Of Microplastics Along The Cuyahoga River, Northeast, Ohio, Ella Pitz

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Plastics are nearly ubiquitous throughout modern society, and when left in the natural environment, they degrade into microplastics. Microplastics are particles that range in diameter from 5 millimeters down to nanometers, and microplastics pose many potential environmental and health risks due to their small size and ease of ingestion. While the study of microplastics in the environment has become more common over the past ten years, microplastic concentrations remain unexplored in many regions throughout the country. Here I present a method for separating microplastics from organic matter and clastic sediment as well as preliminary measurements of microplastic concentrations in sediment …

Hydrogeochemical And Redox Controls On Nitrate And Arsenic Co-Occurrence In The Western Kansas High Plains Aquifer (Usa): A Composite Health Risk Assessment And The Case For Risk-Informed Private Well Governance, Jonathan Kuffour Owusu

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

Fifty-one private domestic wells across western Kansas were sampled to quantify nitrate and arsenic occurrence, identify geochemical controls, and evaluate carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risks for adult and child receptors in a region where groundwater serves as the primary drinking water source with no routine regulatory oversight. Samples were analyzed for major ions, nutrients, and trace elements by ICP-MS, ion chromatography, and UV-Vis spectrophotometry. Shapiro-Wilk testing confirmed non-normal distributions for both contaminants; inter-county comparisons were therefore conducted using Kruskal-Wallis tests with Dunn's post-hoc correction. Health risk was quantified via chronic daily intake (CDI), hazard quotient (HQ), HQ-based Water Quality Index …

Using Remote Sensing Technology To Develop A Framework For Improving Hydrologic Models, Marissa Cook

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

With increased storm intensity due to climate change and urbanization, flash flooding has become an increasingly significant issue globally and regionally. Although the factors influencing urban flash flooding are well-known, there is a growing need for technology to accurately and remotely predict the chance of a flash flood occurring from any given rain event to give people time to prepare. This study aims to use multispectral satellite imagery to provide a framework for improving near real-time flood predictions in an urban area of a high gradient, fourth order stream impacted by flooding. Specifically, we utilize satellite imagery to create the …

The Geomorphology And Hydrogeology Of Pre-Restoration West Fork Teanaway River, Wa, Usa, Shana M. Egan

All Master's Theses

The West Fork Teanaway (WFT) River in Kittitas County, WA is an entrenched bedrock river channel with disturbed floodplain geomorphology and degraded riparian ecology. Two stream restoration approaches, “stage 0” valley bottom reset and engineered logjam installation, will be installed at the WFT in summer 2026 by collaborators at the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife and Mid-Columbia Fisheries Enhancement Group. The objective of this study was to constrain the pre-restoration geomorphic and hydrologic conditions of the WFT. The WFT has an unconsolidated floodplain aquifer of predominantly coarse-grained fluvial deposits. Monitoring of groundwater and surface water levels began in …

Tracking Co2 Illinois Ccs Monitoring Wells, University Of North Dakota. Energy And Environmental Research Center

EERC Brochures and Fact Sheets

Fact sheet about the Illinois carbon capture and storage (CCS) project. Includes information on the project's CO₂ monitoring system.

Deep Crustal Boundaries As Fluid Conduits: A Geochemical Investigation Of Mvt Mineralization In Kentucky And Beyond, Dairian Boddy M. Boddy

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

Critical minerals are vital to the United States economy and national security, yet their supply chains are at risk. Common minerals in Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) deposits, such as sphalerite, galena, fluorite, and barite, host critical metals such as barium, gallium, germanium, and zinc, which are essential for energy technologies. An investigation of three MVT mineral districts in Kentucky elucidated previously unrecognized systematics, genetic relationships, and sources of ore components using stable and radiogenic isotope geochemistry, particularly from galena, sphalerite, barite, and gangue minerals (e.g., carbonates). The localization and dominant type of mineralization in each district are potentially influenced by deep …

Comparing Unet And Hrnet For Geomorphic Feature Extraction From Digital Terrain Model-Derived Land Surface Parameters, Behnam Solouki

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Automated extraction of geomorphic features from high spatial resolution terrain data is important for environmental monitoring, geohazard assessment, and landscape change analysis. This study compares two convolutional neural network architectures, UNet and High-Resolution Network (HRNet), for semantic segmentation of mine benches and sinkholes from lidar-derived digital terrain models and land surface parameters. Mine benches represent anthropogenic, elongated, stepped landforms associated with historic surface mining, whereas sinkholes are natural, compact depressions common in karst terrain. Three terrain-derived input layers were used: square-root-transformed slope, broad-scale topographic position index, and fine-scale annulus topographic position index. Models were trained using five training sample sizes, …

Data-Driven Methodologies For Mapping Cultural Heritage: The Case Of The National Coal Heritage Area, West Virginia, Usa, Hossain Mohammad Nahyan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The objective of this dissertation was to develop a comprehensive, data-driven spatial framework for characterizing the complex cultural landscape of the National Coal Heritage Area (NCHA) in West Virginia. By transitioning away from traditional, heuristic spatial mapping, this research integrates advanced spatial statistics, machine learning, and GIS-based methodologies to objectively quantify the physical, visual, and cultural dimensions of the post-mining environment. The research is structured around three interconnected empirical studies, each addressing a specific scale of the Landscape Character Assessment (LCA) framework to support heritage conservation and sustainable spatial planning. The first paper focused on landform classification, developing an automated …

Supporting Data – T-3 Stream Stage And Streambed Well Data, Mclean County, Il, April 12, 2025 To November 1, 2025, Eric Wade Peterson, Eric Brunner

Faculty Publications - Geography, Geology, and the Environment

Between April 12, 2025, and November 1, 2025, observation wells at the T-3 site in central Illinois were monitored at an upstream and downstream site along the stream. A conductivity, depth, and pressure (CTD) sensor inside each well collected continuous in-situ measurements for the water column height (mm), the water temperature (°C), and the water conductance (mS/cm). The available dataset provides in-situ readings every 15-minutes from seven (7) locations: upstream stream, streambed, and shallow aquifer, downstream stream, streambed, and shallow aquifer, and Well 12, and provides the air temperature.

Analyzing A Benchtop Model Of Combined Heat Power To An Industrial Scale, Chase Steven Carlton, Ashley Leach, Andrew Martin-Biggs, Tessa Wilker

UNH URC Open (2026 and after)

Analyzing a Benchtop Model of Combined Heat Power to an Industrial Scale

High-Resolution Mapping Of Soil Moisture Variation Using Uas Thermal And Multispectral Imagery, Jackline Amma Timah

Theses and Dissertations

In agricultural landscapes, soil moisture regulates hydrologic partitioning, nutrient transport and water quality, land-atmosphere energy exchange that shapes local climate, and ecosystem resilience. However, traditional monitoring approaches, such as in-situ sensors and satellite imagery, often lack the spatial resolution required to capture fine-scale soil moisture variability. This study evaluated whether unmanned aerial system (UAS)-derived thermal, multispectral, and terrain variables can capture fine-scale spatial variability in volumetric water content (VWC) within an SRB in central Illinois.

High-resolution imagery was collected and paired with 50 field-measured VWC observations. Land surface temperature (LST), vegetation indices (NDVI and NDRE), spectral bands, and slope were …

Characterizing A Low-Gradient Stream In Central Illinois As Gaining Or Losing And Observing Seasonal Changes In This Behavior, Eric Timothy Brunner

Theses and Dissertations

While the seasonal behaviors of low-gradient streams have been studied, the behavior of surface water and groundwater interactions within low-gradient streams in glaciated terrain is not fully understood. A third order, low-gradient glacial stream with a saturated riparian buffer in central Illinois was studied to determine the direction of flow between the surface water and groundwater. The goals of this study were to determine 1) whether the stream was gaining or losing water, and 2) whether the gaining or losing nature of the stream-aquifer system changes seasonally. At both an upgradient and downgradient location, two wells were installed: one in …

Assessing Glacial Mass Change And Its Impact On Water Resources In Parts Of The Himalayas Using Satellite Remote Sensing, Kriti Panta

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates long-term changes in terrestrial water storage and their impact on hydrological processes in glacier-fed regions of Nepal. The study focuses on the central to eastern Himalayan region, including major river basins within the Koshi system. Multiple datasets, including the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and GRACE follow-on (GRACE-FO) missions satellite data, the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) products, and in situ streamflow data, were used for the period 2002–2019. Terrestrial Water Storage Anomaly (TWSA) derived from GRACE data shows a strong decreasing trend over time, indicating significant water storage loss across the study area. Soil …

Modeling The Impact Of Projected Water Demand On Groundwater Flow And Transport In The Mahomet Aquifer, Christabel Chinonye Abugu

Theses and Dissertations

The Mahomet Aquifer is a vital groundwater resource in east-central Illinois, supporting municipal, agricultural, and industrial water use. With projected changes in water demand driven by population growth and future socioeconomic conditions, assessing the long-term response of the aquifer is critical for sustainable groundwater management. Increased pumping to meet future demand may contribute to groundwater-level decline, intensified cones of depression, and altered groundwater-flow paths relevant to contaminant migration. This study addressed two research questions: (1) how projected changes in groundwater demand affect groundwater levels in the Mahomet Aquifer, and (2) how projected demand influences groundwater-flow paths relevant to contaminant migration. …

A Preliminary Investigation Of Research Collaboration Through Scientific Paper Co-Authorship In The Gulf Of Mexico, Juliet Vallejo, Evelyn Roozee, Dongkyu Kim, Andrew M. Song, Christopher A. Gabler, Jasper R. De Vries, Antonia Sohns, Gordon M. Hickey, Owen Temby

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

It is well known that publications with collaborators from external institutions increase citations. This effect scales with spatial distance. There are also many barriers to long-distance collaborations, including linguistic differences, funding constraints, and the incremental costs of remote collaboration. This paper uses the Gulf of Mexico as a case study to examine long-distance research collaboration because it consists of three countries with diverse development levels and two prominent diplomatic languages, within a singular regional ecosystem of tremendous natural and economic value. This paper uses bibliometric network analysis to examine scientific research article co-authorship in the Gulf of Mexico from 2000 …

Histochemical Alteration, Protein Nitration, And Antioxidant Expression In Oysters As Early Warning Indicators For Microplastic Contamination In The Texas Gulf Coast, Rebecca Muñiz, Md Faisal Amin, Md. Saydur Rahman

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Microplastics are widely distributed in aquatic environments and have been detected in numerous organisms. Marine bivalves are among the most affected aquatic organisms by microplastics due to their filter-feeding behavior. In this study, 60 oysters were collected from two sites along the Texas Gulf Coast. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and Nile red staining were used to detect microplastics in oyster (Crassostrea virginica) tissues. We compared field and laboratory samples collected after a two-week depuration period to identify differences in the shape and size of microplastics in oyster tissues. Results from the field sites showed a large number of microplastics, …