Earth Sciences Commons^™

Mapping Amis Mill In Rogersville, Tennessee In The 1780s Using Geophysical Methods And Remote Sensing, Amy Collins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Geophysics and remote sensing were used at the Amis Mill and Homesite to determine the location of structures during the 1780s. Areas of interest were surveyed using shallow geophysical and remote sensing techniques including the orchard, horse pasture, original kitchen on the east side of the house, the west side of the house, plowed field, store site, and cemetery. After analyzing the results of the geophysical surveys and remote sensing, 22 sites were chosen to test inside and outside potential features. A large rectangular feature, possibly a tavern with a cellar, was discovered. Four other features were identified, three of …

Impact Of Weather Systems On Uav Parameters Using Computational Fluid Dynamics, Saif Aljuhaishi, Yaseen K. Al-Timimi, Basim I. Wahab

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Since drones cannot fly in any kind of weather, they are not safe for time-sensitive activities. The study examines how the passage of weather systems in Iraq leads to the ban on drone flights, and how these weather conditions impact the aerodynamic forces of the drone. Hourly climate data for the study area were obtained from ECMWF ERA5 and CAMS in NetCDF format for four climate stations (Erbil, Baghdad, Rutbah, and Basrah). A ScanEagle drone was chosen for this study. The Python programming language was used to perform mathematical operations to calculate the ban on drone flights. ArcGIS 10.8 was …

Effects Of Longitudinal Training Walls On Two-Dimensional Flow Structure, Sediment Transport, And Bed Aggredation Using Numerical Methods And Sediment Core Analyses In Grand River, Michigan, Sumaiya Tul Siddique

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Longitudinal training walls (LTWs) are structures oriented parallelly with the main flow and separate the channel into two sub-channels. One channel acts as the main navigational channel and the other is considered a secondary side channel. The long-term effects of the LTWs on morphodynamics and deposition remain poorly understood. This study investigated the long-term effects of the LTWs on flow, sediment transport and long-term deposition of the Grand River using numerical approaches and sediment core analysis. The effects of LTWs on 2D flow dynamics and sediment transport were investigated by using numerical approaches. The long-term deposition under the influence of …

Enhanced Lithological Mapping In Arid Crystalline Regions Using Explainable Ai And Multi-Spectral Remote Sensing Data, Hesham Morgan, Ali Elgendy, Amir Said, Mostafa Hashem, Wenzhao Li, Surendra Maharjan, Hesham El-Askary

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Lithological classification is essential for understanding the spatial distribution of rocks, especially in arid crystalline areas. Artificial intelligence (AI) recent advancements with multi-spectral satellite imagery have been utilized to enhance lithological mapping in these areas. Here we employed different AI models namely, Support Vector Machine (SVM), Random Forest Classification (RFC), Logistic Regression, XGBoost, and K-nearest neighbors (KNN) for lithological mapping. This was followed by the application of explainable AI (XAI) for lithological discrimination (LD) which is still not widely explored. Based on the highest accuracy and F1 score of the previously mentioned models, RFC model outperformed all of them, and …

Challenges Of Using More Precise Temporal And Spatial Resolution Of Remote Sensing Data For Surface Water Quality Monitoring, Ivan Rykin

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

Monitoring river suspended sediment concentration (SSC) is critical for environmental challenges such as understanding the fate of thawed permafrost sediment and its impact on global carbon cycling. However, traditional SSC monitoring using Landsat imagery is limited by spatial and temporal constraints, particularly for narrow rivers in cloudy and/or snowy regions.

This study investigates the use of higher spatial (3 m) and temporal (daily) resolution satellite imagery from the PlanetScope constellation to estimate SSC in remote rivers such as those in the Arctic. I compare the performance of PlanetScope’s spectral resolution (4 and 8 bands) with Landsat 7. Merging data from …

An Automated Machine Learning Approach To The Retrieval Of Daily Soil Moisture In South Korea Using Satellite Images, Meteorological Data, And Digital Elevation Model, Nari Kim, Soo-Jin Lee, Eunha Sohn, Mija Kim, Seonkyeong Seong, Seung Hee Kim, Yangwon Lee

Institute for ECHO Articles and Research

Soil moisture is a critical parameter that significantly impacts the global energy balance, including the hydrologic cycle, land–atmosphere interactions, soil evaporation, and plant growth. Currently, soil moisture is typically measured by installing sensors in the ground or through satellite remote sensing, with data retrieval facilitated by reanalysis models such as the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Reanalysis 5 (ERA5) and the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS). However, the suitability of these methods for capturing local-scale variabilities is insufficiently validated, particularly in regions like South Korea, where land surfaces are highly complex and heterogeneous. In contrast, artificial intelligence …

Planetary Health Learning Objectives: Foundational Knowledge For Global Health Education In An Era Of Climate Change, Kathryn H. Jacobsen, Caryl E. Waggett, Pamela Berenbaum, Brett R. Bayles, Gail L. Carlson, René English, Carlos A Faerron Guzmán, Meredith L. Gartin, Liz Grant, Thomas L. Henshaw, Lora L. Iannotti, Philip J. Landrigan, Nina Lansbury, Hao Li, Maureen Y. Lichtveld, Ketrell Mcwhorter, Jessica E. Rettig, Cecilia J. Sorensen, Eric J. Wetzel, Dawn Michele Whitehead, Peter J. Winch, Keith Martin

Earth and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications

Planetary health is an emerging field that emphasises that humans depend on a healthy Earth for survival and, conversely, that the sustainability of Earth systems is dependent on human behaviours. In response to member demands for resources to support teaching and learning related to planetary health, the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH) convened a working group to develop a set of planetary health learning objectives (PHLOs) that would complement the existing ten CUGH global health learning objectives. The eight PHLOs feature Earth system changes, planetary boundaries, and climate change science; ecological systems and One Health; human health outcomes; …

Enhancing Community Flood Resilience By Incorporating Landscape Hydrological Sensitivity And Connectivity, Wenlong Feng

Dissertations

Rapid urban expansion and dramatic climate change have significantly increased the intensity and frequency of floods worldwide. With rising flood risks, conventional flood defense strategies that rely on structural measures become ineffective. The present designations for flood-prone areas, such as FEMA's flood maps, are becoming unreliable. Flood risk management is shifting toward enhancing community flood resilience, highlighting the importance of non-structural approaches. Landscape resilience has become a foundation of community flood resilience. However, past urban development typically undermined natural hydro-ecological functions and landscape resilience because of poor recognition of landscapes' ecological role, hydrological sensitivity, and hydrological connections. This study aims …

Unveiling Environmental Justice In Two Us Cities Through Greenspace Accessibility And Visible Greenness Exposure, Md Shahinoor Rahman, Mahbubur Meenar, S. M. Labib, Ted Howell, Deepti Adlakha, Ben Woodward

School of Public Health Faculty Publications

Uneven access to greenspaces or visible greenness is an environmental justice (EJ) issue. In this paper, we use a social equity lens to develop geospatial models that measure convenient walking access to urban greenspaces such as parks and street-level green exposure en route to greenspaces. We utilized earth science, geospatial, and demographic datasets to develop two models—Greenspace Accessibility and Visible Greenness Exposure—and applied them in Camden and Jersey City, USA, two communities experiencing environmental injustices. Modeling results show that greenspace accessibility is a concern in both cities, with Jersey City experiencing more prominent disparities. We observed significant positive relationships in …

Groundwater Modeling Of The Ogallala Aquifer: Use Of Machine Learning For Model Parameterization And Sustainability Assessment, Tewodros Aboret Tilahun

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Addressing groundwater depletion problems in heterogeneous aquifer systems is a challenge. The heterogeneous Ogallala Aquifer, a critical source of groundwater in the central United States, has undergone decades of decline in water levels due to pumping. This project aims to build a robust groundwater model to evaluate optimal scenarios for sustainable use of the groundwater resource within a section of the Ogallala aquifer located in the Middle Republican Natural Resources District (MRNRD). This study follows a comprehensive approach involving parameterization, construction, and optimization. The model is parametrized using hydraulic conductivity and recharge values obtained from a random forest-based machine learning …

A ‘Nuclear Bomb’ Or Just ‘A Joke’? Groundwater Models May Help Communicate Nuanced Risks To The Great Salt Lake, Matthew D. Laplante, Piyush Dahal, Shih-Yu Simon Wang, Kirsti Hakala, Avik Mukherjee

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

The Great Salt Lake entered the zeitgeist of environmental concern in 2022 when a coalition of scientists and activists warned in a highly publicized report that the lake might be just five years away from complete desiccation, a possibility one state official warned was tantamount to an “environmental nuclear bomb”. Shortly thereafter, an unpredicted and unprecedented pluvial winter resulted in an increase in inflow, temporarily halting the lake’s decline and prompting Utah’s governor to mock the dire prediction as “a joke”, an outcome that speaks to the tension between agenda-setting and trust-building that researchers face when sharing worst-case warnings, particularly …

Applying Circuit Theory To Describe Changes In Structural Landscape Connectivity In Response To Wildfire, Christian Ross Nielsen

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Understanding and conserving ecological connectivity is critical to the preservation of vulnerable landscapes. Circuit theory, in which landscapes are imagined as circuit boards with varying resistances to the flow of current, is being increasingly used to model spatially explicit connectivity of landscapes and to inform land management and conservation decision-making. Utilizing continuous, quantitative estimates of percent cover by five land cover functional groups to create a conductance surface, this study expanded upon an established application of circuit theory that used the open-source software Circuitscape to model species-agnostic, omnidirectional connectivity. This model was automated using Python to create time-series connectivity maps …

Analysis Of Drought-Flood Abrupt Alternation Events And Their Impacts In Kenya, Betty Makena

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Drought-Flood Abrupt Alternation (DFAA) is a compound disaster event that refers to the abrupt shift of extreme drought events to extreme floods resulting in exacerbated impacts on already vulnerable communities and hindering their coping abilities. This study aimed to analyze drought-flood abrupt alternation events and their impacts in Kenya. The first chapter aimed to understand historical drought events in the Greater Horn of Africa and their impacts, while drawing comparisons with the recent 2020-2022 drought period, referred to as the ‘triple dip La Niña’. Datasets used in this study include the Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station (CHIRPS), Normalized …

Remotely Sensed Early Warning Of Algal Blooms In An Eastern Nebraska Reservoir: A Comparison Of Temporal And Spatial Indicators, Mercy Kipenda

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (CyanoHABs) detrimentally affect human, animal, and ecosystem health. Remotely sensed early warning systems for cyanoHABs in inland lakes could contribute to more proactive water quality monitoring and help mitigate negative impacts. Advances in freely available remote sensing imagery, with finer spatial, temporal, and spectral resolutions, present new opportunities for the development and comparative analysis of methods to detect sudden deterioration in lake water quality. In this thesis, I compared and tested for temporal and spatial early warning signals of cyanoHABs in field-based and remotely sensed datasets from 2019 to 2023 in Pawnee Lake in southeast Nebraska, …

Assessing, Restoring, And Centering Social–Ecological Relationships For Advancing Social–Ecological Resilience In The Northern Great Plains Grasslands, Katia Pilar Carranza Bernal

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The Northern Great Plains grasslands are social-ecological systems that were shaped by evolutionary and Indigenous social-ecological relationships. European colonization disrupted many of these interactions, including the coupling of fire and grazing, and degraded social-ecological resilience, shifting these grasslands to a new state. For those reasons, my research focused on assessing, restoring, and centering evolutionary and Indigenous social-ecological relationships for advancing social-ecological resilience in the Northern Great Plains grasslands. I first performed a study in the Nebraska Sandhillls assessing the potential of patch-burn grazing to support grassland resilience by comparing its effects to those of rotational grazing. Through vegetation and bird …

Sensitivity Of Present And Future Seasonal Precipitation Over Central United States To The Representation Of Rocky Mountain Topography, Ranasinghe Disanayakalage Sherly Shelton Ranathunga

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Precipitation change across the Central United States (USA) is of great interest to the research community. Studies using global climate simulations suggest that the “100^th-Meridian”, which separates the “dry west” from the “moist east” will shift to the east as the climate responds to future emissions pathways. However, these simulations are run at relatively coarse resolutions, which do not accurately represent topography. Here, we perform regional simulations using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to explore the sensitivity of present and future precipitation patterns across the central USA to the representation of the Rocky Mountains (RM). We …

Staying Fresh: Unconventional Approaches Towards Advancing Energy Sustainability, Water Resources, And Community Resiliency In The Southwestern United States, Judith Hoyt

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation addresses critical challenges in urban heat management, sustainable energy resource utilization, and water quality communication through three studies. Study 1 investigates the impact of roof color on urban heat islands in Tucson, Arizona where approximately 70% of roofs display high albedo (i.e., light) colors. Energy consumption simulations conducted indicate that converting dark- to light-colored roofs could save Tucson approximately $1,400,000 annually in energy costs, highlighting the potential of cool roofs for energy savings and improved thermal comfort. Study 2 assesses the sources of lithium in subsurface waters in West Texas and South Central New Mexico. Water chemistry data …

Chemical And Morphological Characterization Of Airborne Particulate Matter At The Jackpile-Paguate Mine, Pueblo Of Laguna, New Mexico: Implications For Potential Metals Exposure, Andreanna C. Roros

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The inhalation of windblown particulate matter (PM) derived from abandoned uranium mines (AUMs) is a potential environmental health risk to Native American communities that live in proximity to these sites. However, the aeolian transport of metal-bearing PM from AUMs, as a potential exposure pathway, has not been investigated in any detail. In this study, we sampled airborne particulate matter within the Jackpile Mine located on the lands of the Pueblo of Laguna, New Mexico using passive sampling methods to understand the characteristics of dust within the mine site. The objective was to determine the elemental concentrations, mineralogy, and morphology of …

Study The Global Earthquake Patterns That Follow The St. Patrick’S Day Geomagnetic Storms Of 2013 And 2015, Dimitar Ouzounov, Galina Khachikyan

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

A response of global seismic activity to the geomagnetic storms of St. Patrick’s Day (March 17) in 2013 and 2015 is investigated. These two storms occurred during nearly identical storm sudden commencement times and similar solar flux levels. We have revealed a rather similar pattern of the most substantial earthquakes that have occurred since these storms. Two major crust continental earthquakes, in Iran (M = 7.7), 16 April 2013, and in Nepal (M = 7.8), 25 April 2015, have occurred with a time delay of ~30 and ~39 days after geomagnetic storm onsets in 2013 and 2015, respectively. After that, …

Design And Evaluation Of An Esa-Based Method Of Ensemble Subsetting For A Wofs (Warn On Forecast-Like System), Daniel J. Butler

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Forecasting severe thunderstorm environments in the southeastern United States can be challenging due to mesoscale heterogeneities such as shortwave troughs, pre-existing airmass boundaries, cold fronts aloft, low-level jets, dry air intrusions, and mesoscale lows. To combat these challenges, ensemble sensitivity analysis (ESA) may be applied to a Warn-on-Forecast (WOF)-like ensemble to improve forecasts of severe convection through ensemble weighting and subsetting. Ensemble-based weighting and subsetting uses ensemble members that most accurately represent the thunderstorm environment in areas of mesoscale heterogeneity. This study creates and evaluates the ensemble-based weighting and subsetting in four cases of severe thunderstorm occurrence. The open parameter …

Exploring Producers' Willingness To Pay For Ecosystem Services: Three Essays On Soil Health, Location Preferences, And Cover Crop Adoption, Kaouter Essakkat

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This dissertation comprises three essays: one assessing Midwest producers' willingness-to-pay (WTP) for soil health-enhancing ecosystem services (ES), another examining the impact of policy implementation locations on WTP, and a third identifying factors influencing producers' adoption of cover crops (CC).

The first essay pioneers the understanding of agricultural producers’ valuation of soil health-associated ES amid growing concerns of soil degradation due to agricultural intensification. Using a discrete choice experiment, this study assesses producers’ WTP for a policy that incentivizes ES provision, specifically improved water quality, carbon sequestration, and enhanced crop yield. Surveying producers across Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska, our results show …

Assessing Soil Properties For Optimized Irrigation Development In Sudan, Northern Africa, Suhib Hamid, Derek M. Heeren, Aaron R. Mittelstet, Saleh Taghvaeian, Randall S. Ritzema

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Presentations and White Papers

Sustainable irrigation methods maximize agricultural productivity in Northern African countries like Sudan. This project evaluates soil properties to develop optimized irrigation strategies for Sudan's arid and semi-arid climate. Assessing soil characteristics such as texture, infiltration rates, and nutrient content informs the selection of modern irrigation systems. Data from 3,192 locations, collected using GPS and ring infiltrometers for infiltration rates, alongside laboratory analyses for soil properties, were employed. A ranking system determined suitable irrigation systems for specific soil classes, considering factors like slope, wind, crop tolerance, available water capacity (AWC), drainage, germination, capital cost, labor cost, maintenance, and evapotranspiration (ET). The …

The Application Of Multi-Isotope Analysis To Assist In Geoprofiling Unidentified Decedents Within Florida, Liotta D. Noche-Dowdy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The biochemistry of human tissues can provide information for geoprofiling (geographic birthplace or migration patterns) of an unidentified decedent. Utilizing isotope analyses (both stable and radiogenic) from teeth, bone, nails, and/or hair reveals specific isotopic information that correlates to diverse geographic regions reflecting an individual’s birthplace and migration patterns. Isotope analysis of enamel and bone has been employed in bioarchaeology for decades to reconstruct the diet, health, and migration patterns of past populations. Isotope ratios measured from enamel can then be compared to isotope ratios measured from bone of the individual to track patterns of migration. The enamel from the …

Risk Of Climate Damage In The Mountain West, 2024, Taylor Volk, Isabelle G. Graham, Ivan Sun, Zachary Billot, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Environment

This fact sheet examines 2024 data on the estimated annual cost per person of damage to infrastructure, agriculture, and population from climate related disasters for the five Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The original report, “States at Greatest Risk of Climate Damage - 2024 Study,” by Jaclyn DeJohn and published by SmartAsset, includes data on climate disaster risk for all 50 states.

The Ecosystem As Super-Organ/Ism, Revisited: Scaling Hydraulics To Forests Under Climate Change, Jeffrey D. Wood, Matteo Detto, Marvin Browne, Nathan J.B. Kraft, Alexandra G. Konings, Joshua B. Fisher, Gregory R. Quetin, Anna T. Trugman, Troy S. Magney, Camila D. Medeiros, Nidhi Vinod, Thomas N. Buckley, Lawren Sack

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Classic debates in community ecology focused on the complexities of considering an ecosystem as a super-organ or organism. New consideration of such perspectives could clarify mechanisms underlying the dynamics of forest carbon dioxide (CO₂) uptake and water vapor loss, important for predicting and managing the future of Earth's ecosystems and climate system. Here, we provide a rubric for considering ecosystem traits as aggregated, systemic, or emergent, i.e., representing the ecosystem as an aggregate of its individuals, or as a metaphorical or literal super-organ or organism. We review recent approaches to scaling-up plant water relations (hydraulics) concepts developed for …

Using Historic Glacial Data And Gis To Predict Mount Rainier National Park’S Glacial Future, Daniel Kincaid

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Will Washington state have glaciers 100 years from now (year 2124)? Due to generally warmer weather glaciers are largely in retreat globally, including the glaciers in Washington state. In Washington state summer glacial meltwater plays a vital role in the survival of wildlife and is needed for human purposes that include recreation, power generation, drinking, agricultural, and industrial. This project looked at the most resilient glaciers in Washington state, the glaciers at Mount Rainier National Park. Historic measurements were used in an exponential growth calculation to project the amount in acres each glacier at Mount Rainer will advance or retreat …

The Use Of Laja In Construction In Ancient Mesoamerica: A View From The Southern Gulf Lowlands Of Veracruz, Mexico, Lauren E. Smith

Steeplechase: An ORCA Student Journal

The archaeology of the southern Gulf lowlands of Veracruz, Mexico is notable for its research pertaining to the Olmec culture (Jaime-Riveron 2016; Loughlin 2012; Pool 2006). The region was home to the Colossal Olmec Heads: large, easily identifiable sculptures crafted from the volcanic rock of the Tuxtlas Volcanic Field. The use of volcanic resources in such grand presentations may instill a bias in the research of some archaeologists, but it is important to consider how these and other volcanic resources might have been used in everyday life (e.g., Jaime-Riveron 2016: 86). The consolidated volcanic ash in this region is referred …

Fluid Futures: The Revitalization Of Yangzhou Through Its Historical Waterways, Feiyang Wu

Masters Theses

In China, cities such as Yangzhou, which in pre-modern times played central roles in the political, cultural, and economic functioning of the country based on their geographic location, proximity to water-based trade routes, and connections to the imperial court, are today facing uncertain futures due to waterways no longer being critical to trade, and government-driven development being focused on first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou. With this, the working-age population migrates from smaller cities toward these urban giants, leaving behind aging relatives, a less robust and diversified economic base, and few attributes other than cultural tourism that …

Generating Channel Morphology Data Through Arcgis Pro, Ethan Manigbas

Symposium of Student Scholars

River cross-sections are often extracted using field surveys at measured intervals. This field-oriented approach allows for a tangible relationship between the data and its collector but at the expense of finance, time, labor, and potentially the environment. With the advancement of geospatial tools, such data can be found online, extracted, and even analyzed with contemporary Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in a completely virtual setting, transcending the need for fieldwork in select project topics. We tested this approach with the help of ArcGIS Pro software on the Vishnu Springs headwater stream located in the Western Illinois region of the Upper Mississippi …

Settler Colonialism And Ecosystem Change: How Ideology Has Shaped Minnesota’S Environments, Sarah E. Hobby

History Honors Projects

The formation of a uniquely American land ethic—defined by European political history and Christian biblical doctrine and forged through systems of dispossession—is central to the creation of environments within the United States today. Using Minnesota as a microcosm to understand how settler colonial interactions played out all across the United States, this paper analyzes connections between violent dispossession of Indigenous people and the degradation of environments. By understanding how Ojibwe and Dakota people think about and have shaped Minnesotan lands throughout their history and comparing Indigenous land-ethics to the Euro-American-settler land ethic, this paper evaluates the role that ideology and …