Environmental Sciences Commons^™

Meet Me In The Middle: A Scoping Review On Understanding Adolescent Needs In Climate Communication, Gwendolyn Monica Hoff Anderson

Master's Projects and Capstones

The greatest effects of climate change are likely to be felt by youth. Young people are disproportionately affected by climate change due to their critical developmental stage and lack of power, and they experience both higher severity and prevalence of mental health issues related to climate change. Strong emotions have long been recognized as potential catalysts for action, or they may lead to paralyzing feelings of being overwhelmed. Climate communication is a critical tool to spark climate concern and encourage action. Activism, in turn, may help youth manage their anxiety about climate change. This scoping review examines emerging evidence on …

Subterraneans: A Regional Earth Dwelling For Comfort And Beauty, Isaak Benchoff

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

Subterraneans is a study of an affordable, self-sufficient, sustainable, and dignified housing prototype for the region of Northwest Arkansas. It is a design process investigation based on the ideas of turning a local, sustainable material into affordable homes that can be built within a community of people sharing land and resources. The homes would utilize as many natural materials as possible to minimize the impact on the Earth and the cost to the owners.

Research looked at many different vernacular building precedents as well as the work done by contemporary design firms in the area of economical, low-impact, and passively …

Evidence Of Sea Level Rise At The Peruvian Coast (1942-2019), Bismarck Jigena-Antelo, Carol Estrada-Ludeña, Stephan Howden, Wilmer Rey, Jorge Paz-Acosta, Patricia Lopez-García, Eric Salazar-Rodriguez, Nieves Endrina, Juan J. Muñoz-Pérez

Faculty Publications

The present work aims to analyze the variability of the sea level of the Peruvian coast with time series over a long observation period (Seventy-eight years, from 1942 to 2019). Data came from the Talara, Callao and Matarani tide gauge stations located at the north, center and south of the coast. Variations of sea level as well as air and seawater surface temperature were analyzed. Among the different scenarios studied, a sea level rise of 6.79, 4.21 and 5.16 mm/year for Talara, Callao and Matarani, respectively was found during the 1979–1997 nodal cycle. However, these results decreased significantly during the …

An Overview Of State Funding For Outdoor Recreation And Tourism In Utah, Jordan W. Smith, Casey Trout

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

The state of Utah supports outdoor recreation and tourism through a variety of legislative appropriations, revenue generating mechanisms, taxes, and federal programs that are administered by the state. This review provides an overview of the various programs and funding mechanisms that currently exist within Utah, describes how and to what extent they are funded, outlines how they support outdoor recreation and tourism, and highlights opportunities where the state can strategically capitalize on existing programs.

Hitting Two Birds With One Emissions-Based Maintenance Stone – A Literature Review On Improving Overall Productivity Of Underground Diesel Fleets, Johannes Deon Swanepoel, Jennifer Hines, Vinod Gopaldasani, Brian Davies

Journal of Sustainable Mining

Many industries regard occupational health and safety as a core value and an integral component to maintaining high productivity, and, thus, shareholder value. Diesel fleets’ engine maintenance is instrumental in ensuring affected workplaces meet production requirements while controlling health and safety hazards that these fleets introduce to the workplace. This systematic literature review focuses on production and occupational health and safety advantages associated with the implementation and adherence to an emissions-based maintenance (EBM) program. The literature review was conducted across eight databases relevant to workplace health and engineering. To be eligible for inclusion, the publication had to contain maintenance interventions …

Research On Vibration-Based Early Diagnostic System For Excavator Motor Bearing Using 1-D Cnn, Dorjsuren Yandagsuren, Tatsuki Kurauchi, Hisatoshi Toriya, Hajime Ikeda, Tsuyoshi Adachi, Youhei Kawamura

Journal of Sustainable Mining

In mining, super-large machines such as rope excavators are used to perform the main mining operations. A rope excavator is equipped with motors that drive mechanisms. Motors are easily damaged as a result of harsh mining conditions. Bearings are important parts in a motor; bearing failure accounts for approximately half of all motor failures. Failure reduces work efficiency and increases maintenance costs. In practice, reactive, preventive, and predictive maintenance are used to minimize failures. Predictive maintenance can prevent failures and is more effective than other maintenance. For effective predictive maintenance, a good diagnosis is required to accurately determine motor-bearing health. …

Microplastics And Tire Wear Particles In South Carolina Coastal Waters: Sources, Pathways, And Toxicity, John E. Weinstein

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

The Future Of Pandemics: Land Use Controls As Means Of Preventing Zoonotic Disease, Bailey Andree

Pace International Law Review

Zoonotic diseases are increasing in frequency as climate change worsens around the world, with the recent COVID-19 pandemic highlighting the inadequate mechanisms in place to counteract disease spread. This article reviews various zoonotic diseases and their patterns of spread, highlighting land use change as the key driver of disease to demonstrate the need for legal intervention. International land use law is a little-developed subsect of environmental law that holds the key to combating this disease spread, and this article proposes solutions through this legal lens. Land use techniques which may be used to combat disease spread include conservation laws, setback …

Dual Ionic Liquid-Functionalized Cellulosic Materials: Thermal, Mechanical And Conductive Properties, Elizabeth Mcgrew, Kevin M. Miller Phd

Posters-at-the-Capitol

Cellulose, an inexpensive and renewable biomacromolecule, represents an intriguing synthetic foundation for new materials with task-specific properties. Here, we wish to report a synthetic route for functionalizing cellulose with a side chain containing two ionic liquid functional groups using azide-alkyne ‘click’ cyclization strategy, followed by quaternization of the two resulting heterocycles (1,2,3-triazole and imidazole). Through this functionalization strategy, the resulting cellulosic materials exhibited significant softening, with several glass transition (T_g) values observed below room temperature, indicating the amorphous nature of the materials, with the T_g dependent on both the length of the side chain and the …

Cop 15 - Can We Meet Biodiversity Goals & Targets?, Andrew N. Rowan, Kathleen Rowan

WellBeing News

The 15^th Conference of Parties (COP15) for the UN Convention on Biological Diversity was held in two parts (in Kunming, China, in October 2021 and in Montreal, Canada, in December 2022). One primary goal for COP15 was the development of a Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) covering the coming decade (from 2023 through 2030). The GBF produced by the participating countries at COP15 included four long-term global goals for 2050 linked to the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity, along with 23 global targets for immediate action and completed by 2030. One outcome of the negotiations was the identification of the need …

Measuring Biodiversity And Biodiversity Trends, Andrew N. Rowan

WellBeing News

The 15^th Conference of Parties (COP15) for the UN Convention on Biological Diversity was held in two parts (in Kunming, China, in October 2021 and in Montreal, Canada, in December 2022). One primary goal for COP15 was the development of a Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) covering the coming decade (from 2023 through 2030). The GBF produced by the participating countries at COP15 included four long-term global goals for 2050 linked to the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity, along with 23 global targets for immediate action and completed by 2030. One outcome of the negotiations was the identification of the need …

Balancing Renewable Energy And River Resources By Moving From Individual Assessments Of Hydropower Projects To Energy System Planning, Jeffrey J. Opperman, Juan Pablo Carvallo, Rafael Kelman, Rafael J. P. Schmitt, Rafael M. Almeida, Emily Chapin, Alexander Flecker, Marc Goichot, Guenther Guenther Grill, Julien J. Harou

Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

As governments and non-state actors strive to minimize global warming, a primary strategy is the decarbonization of power systems which will require a massive increase in renewable electricity generation. Leading energy agencies forecast a doubling of global hydropower capacity as part of that necessary expansion of renewables. While hydropower provides generally low-carbon generation and can integrate variable renewables, such as wind and solar, into electrical grids, hydropower dams are one of the primary reasons that only one-third of the world’s major rivers remain free-flowing. This loss of free-flowing rivers has contributed to dramatic declines of migratory fish and sediment delivery …

Predicting Young’S Modulus Of Indian Coal Measure Rock Using Multiple Regression And Artificial Neutral Network, Sayantan Chakraborty, Rohan Bisai, Rohit Roy, Sathish Kumar Palaniappan, Samir Kumar Pal, Karanam Uma Maheshwar Rao

Journal of Sustainable Mining

Accurate information on Young’s modulus (E) is required for simulating rock deformation in mines; on the other hand, it is very cumbersome to obtain in the laboratory and collecting drilled cores in sufficient amounts, especially in the case of soft rocks, is quite impossible. Empirical equations were deducted for E from easily determinable rock properties, and the final model was selected through different statistical strength parameter tests. The generalization of the equation was verified through the normal distribution tests of residues of the equation. R2 came to be 0.609 and was validated using an artificial neural network with an improved …

Gravity And Electrostatic Separation Of Unburned Coal From A Selected Fly Ash, Krzysztof Wierzchowski, Agnieszka Klupa, Barbara Białecka, Joanna Całus Moszko

Journal of Sustainable Mining

Unburned coal grains make it difficult to use fly ash economically, which causes energy losses in the fuel. The article presents the possibilities of separating unburned coal from selected fly ash. In order to assess the possibility of separation of unburned carbon, the analysis of grain density and ash composition was used. Unburned coal was separated by four methods – one wet gravity and three dry methods. It has been found that despite very fine ash grains, the quality and quantity of separation products are significantly dependent on the separation method used and the separated grains’ qualitative characteristics. The analysis …

Exploring The Characterization, Liberation And Flotation Response Of A Nigerian Low-Grade Copper Ore, Willie Nheta, Omoyemi O. Ola-Omole

Journal of Sustainable Mining

This study explores the characterization, liberation and flotation response of low-grade copper ore from Anka area, Zamfara state Nigeria. The ore was crushed, milled and sieved in accordance with BS 410 standard. It was characterized with XRD, XRF, SEM-EDS and AAS. Froth flotation was carried out with varying %solids, pH, retention time and collector dosages using SEX and sodium oleate. Particle size distribution of the ore shows its economic liberation between -150 and +106 µm while 80% passing corresponds to 175.7 µm using the Gaudin Schuhmann equation. However, according to metallurgical balance calculation, 63 µm proved to have the highest …

Production Management System In A Modern Coal And Coke Company Based On The Demand And Quality Of The Exploited Raw Material In The Aspect Of Building A Service-Oriented Architecture, Artur Dyczko

Journal of Sustainable Mining

The paper deals with the implementation of the JSW Capital Group’s (Poland) Demand and Quality Driven Production Management System (SPPJ – System Zarządzania Produkcją oparty na Popycie i Jakości) using a service-oriented architecture (SOA). The main components of the SPPJ architecture have been characterized, and the scope of their integration has been defined. The individual parts in the first area, i.e. quality management, have been described in detail. Due to the extensive nature of the issue, components in other areas, i.e. planning and scheduling, coal extraction and processing, coke production, as well as sales and logistics, have only been signalled. …

Blue Carbon Science, Management And Policy Across A Tropical Urban Landscape, Daniel A. Friess, Yasmine M. Gatt, Tze Kwan Fung, Jahson B. Alemu I, Natasha Bhatia, Rebecca Case, Siew Chin Chua, Danwei Huang, Valerie Kwan, Kiah Eng Lim, Yudhishthra Nathan, Yan Xiang Ow, Daniel Saavedra-Hortua, Taylor M. Sloey, Erik S. Yando, Hassan Ibrahim, Lian Pin Koh, Jun Yu Puah, Serena Lay-Ming Teo, Karenne Tun, Lynn Wei Wong, Siti Maryam Yaakub

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The ability of vegetated coastal ecosystems to sequester high rates of “blue” carbon over millennial time scales has attracted the interest of national and international policy makers as a tool for climate change mitigation. Whereas focus on blue carbon conservation has been mostly on threatened rural seascapes, there is scope to consider blue carbon dynamics along highly fragmented and developed urban coastlines. The tropical city state of Singapore is used as a case study of urban blue carbon knowledge generation, how blue carbon changes over time with urban development, and how such knowledge can be integrated into urban planning alongside …

Sediment Metagenomics Reveals The Impacts Of Poultry Industry Wastewater On Antibiotic Resistance And Nitrogen Cycling Genes In Tidal Creek Ecosystems, Miguel Semedo, Bongkeun Song

VIMS Articles

The intensification of the poultry industry may lead to the increased spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the environment. However, the impacts of wastewater discharge from poultry processing plants on the sediment resistome are relatively unexplored. Furthermore, its relationships with important biogeochemical pathways, such as the N cycle, are virtually unknown. The overall objective of this study was to examine the abundance and diversity of antibiotic resistance and N cycling genes in sediment microbial communities impacted by poultry industry wastewater. We performed a metagenomic investigation of sediments in an impacted and a reference tidal creek. We also quantified the …

Orb-Web Spider Argiope (Araneidae) As Indigenous Arrow Poison Of G/Ui And G//Ana San Hunters In The Kalahari, Tharina L. Bird, Smith Moeti, Robert K. Hitchcock, Melinda C. Kelly, Lefang L. Chobolo, Nonofo Gotcha, Kgosi K. Moatlhodi, Leungo D. Mukoka, Emmanuel K. Sekopo, Caroline Simmrita Chaboo

Publications of UNSM Staff and Affiliates

Hunting has been crucial in early human evolution. Some San (Bushmen) of southern Africa still practice their indigenous hunting. The use of poisons is one remarkable aspect of their bow-and-arrow hunting but the sources, taxonomic identifications of species used, and recipes, are not well documented. This study reports on fieldwork to investigate recent indigenous hunting practices of G/ui and G//ana San communities in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR), Botswana. Here we discuss their use of spider poison. The hunters use the contents of the opisthosoma (‘abdomen’) of a spider as sole ingredient of the arrow poison and discard the …

From Field To Shore: Policy Improvements To Better Protect Ecosystem And Human Health From Poultry Wastes In Virginia, Rachael A. King

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Commercial poultry production is a large industry with economic importance in Virginia. However, mismanagement of manures and wastes generated from the poultry industry can be a serious threat to ecosystem and human health. Primarily, there is a concern about nutrient pollution related to runoff and infiltration of poultry wastes. High nutrient loading can cause groundwater contamination, eutrophication, and harmful algal blooms (HABs). Additional concerns include metals, antibiotics, and pesticides that can be found in poultry wastes. To determine existing threats to ecosystem and human health from the poultry industry, Virginia policies regulating the industry are reviewed and their strengths and …