Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Electron Densities In The Lower Thermosphere From Guvi 135.6 Nm Tomographic Inversions In Support Of Spreadfex, F. Kamalabadi, J. Comberiate, Michael J. Taylor, Pierre-Dominique Pautet

All Physics Faculty Publications

The SpreadFEx campaign was conducted with the goal of investigating potential neutral atmospheric dynamics influences in seeding plasma instabilities and bubbles extending to higher altitudes from September to November 2005, with primary measurements in Brazil. In this paper, we present the results of space-based UV and ground-based optical observations in support of this campaign. Specifically, we present multi-dimensional electron density images obtained tomographically from the 135.6 nm emissions measured by the GUVI instrument aboard the TIMED satellite that result from radiative recombination of O+ and compare those with the corresponding 630.0 nm OI images recorded in the Brazilian sector. The …

Simultaneous Observations Of Equatorial F-Region Plasma Depletions Over Brazil During The Spread-F Experiment (Spreadfex), Pierre-Dominique Pautet, Michael J. Taylor, N. P. Chapagain, H. Takahashi, A. F. Medeiros, F. T. São Sabbas, D. C. Fritts

All Physics Faculty Publications

From September to November 2005, the NASA Living with a Star program supported the Spread-F Experiment campaign (SpreadFEx) in Brazil to study the effects of convectively generated gravity waves on the ionosphere and their role in seeding Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities, and associated equatorial plasma bubbles. Several US and Brazilian institutes deployed a broad range of instruments (all-sky imagers, digisondes, photometers, meteor/VHF radars, GPS receivers) covering a large area of Brazil. The campaign was divided in two observational phases centered on the September and October new moon periods. During these periods, an Utah State University (USU) all-sky CCD imager operated at S˜ao …

Impact Of The Intraseasonal Variability Of Large-Scale Circulation Over The Western North Pacific On The Characteristics Of Tropical Cyclone Track, T. C. Chen, Shih-Yu (Simon) Wang, M. C. Yen, A. J. Clark

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

The life cycle of the Southeast Asian–western North Pacific monsoon circulation is established by the northward migrations of the monsoon trough and the western Pacific subtropical anticyclone, and is reflected by the intraseasonal variations of mo nsoon westerlies and trad e easterlies in the form of an east–west seesaw oscillation. In this paper, an effort is made to disclose the influence of this monsoon circulation on tropical cyclone tracks during its different ph ases using composite charts of large-scale circulation for certain types of tracks. A majority of straight-moving (recurving) tropical cyclones appear during weak (strong) monsoon west- erlies and …

The Spread-F Experiment (Spreadfex): Program Overview And First Results, David C. Fritts, M. A. Abdu, B. R. Batista, I. S. Batista, P. P. Batista, R. Buriti, B. R. Clemesha, T. Dautermann, E. De Paula, B. J. Fechine, Bela Fejer, D. Gobbi, J. Haase, F. Kamalabadi, B. Laughman, L. M. Lima, H. L. Liu, A. Medeiros, Pierre-Dominique Pautet, D. M. Riggin, F. São Sabbas, J. H. A. Sobral, P. Stamus, H. Takahashi, Michael J. Taylor, Sharon L. Vadas, C. M. Wrasse

Publications

We performed an extensive experimental campaign (the spread F Experiment, or SpreadFEx) from September to November 2005 to attempt to define the role of neutral atmosphere dynamics, specifically wave motions propagating upward from the lower atmosphere, in seeding equatorial spread F and plasma bubbles extending to higher altitudes. Campaign measurements focused on the Brazilian sector and included ground-based optical, radar, digisonde, and GPS measurements at a number of fixed and temporary sites. Related data on convection and plasma bubble structures were also collected by GOES 12 and the GUVI instrument aboard the TIMED satellite. Initial results of our analyses of …

The Effectiveness Of Institutional Intervention At Minimizing Demographic Inertia And Improving The Representation Of Women Faculty In Higher Education, Amanda V. Bakian

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Across all science and engineering disciplines, women currently receive 46% of the doctoral degrees granted annually. Despite gains in doctoral degrees earned by women over the past 30 years, they remain under-represented among full time tenured /tenure-track science and engineering faculty compared to their presence among degree recipients. The inequality gap is widest among full professors at 4 year research universities where women account for a mere 16% of all S&E full time full professors. Multiple hypothesis have been proposed to account for women's under-representation relative to men including those based on human capital/economic theory, feminist theory, innate biological gender …

Random Motion And The Diffusion Of Brine Shrimp: A Project Based Learning Unit, Rebecca Atkins

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Over the years, there have been several trends, philosophies, and ideas about how mathematics should be taught. These have included progressive movements, essentialist movements, drill and practice, teacher-centered methodologies, student-centered methodologies, and others. However, despite these various instructional trends, research has found that mathematics teachers have basically taught the same way for years, with little or no variation with respect to the changing trends (Ward, 2001). For many students, the traditional teaching method employed in their mathematics classes is typically centered on the teacher and includes lecture in which the teacher provides the necessary definitions and notations and does several …

Using Real-World Data As A Basis For Problem-Based Learning: Investigating Preservation Biases Of Fish In Fossil Butte National Monument, Blair Larsen

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This project examined the design and development of an online problem-based learning module to teach earth-system science to K-12 educators. The module revolved around identifying earth sphere (lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and atmosphere) interactions needed to produce mass fish mortality layers found in the Green River Formation at Fossil Butte National Monument. Students investigated the unique earth sphere combinations needed to produce mass fish mortality layers, reflected on the formation of such deposits, and examined the impact of these earth spheres on the earth system. As a supplement to the course, the students also analyzed data on fossils collected from a …

Investigations Into Mapping Lava Flows In The Snake River Plain, Idaho, Vinita Ruth Hobson-Broko

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The origin of the Snake River plain continues to be debated, but the plume model is most popular at the current time. Some theories, such as meteorite impact, have been excluded, but the remaining theories require more scrutiny.

Various methods of examining phenomena in the Snake River Plain were employed. Unsupervised classification of Landsat ETM data indicates that spectra can be used to differentiate between flows. However, photographs of flows at Craters of the Moon National Monument show wide variations in texture and color within a single flow. Vegetation grows preferentially on the smoother pahoehoe slabs and significantly impacting the …

Nitrogen Transport, Transformation And Cycling Through A Mountain Lake, Bull Trout Lake, Idaho, Usa, Ryan Settle Lockwood

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The effects of a mountain lake on nitrogen dynamics in a sub-alpine watershed were examined via watershed monitoring, mesocosm experiments, microcosm experiments, and enzymatic assays during spring and summer of a single year. Our study addressed the questions: (1) How does hydrologic transport through the lake affect the net fluxes of dissolved nitrogen (N) species? (2) What are the net effects of the littoral zone biota on dissolved N fluxes? (3) What are the seston and benthic uptake rates of nitrate? (4) What is the magnitude of N retention in littoral zone sediments? (5) What role does microbial hydrolysis of …

Soil Organic Carbon And Site Characteristics In Aspen And Evaluation Of The Potential Effects Of Conifer Encroachment On Soil Properties In Northern Utah, Mical K. Woldeselassie

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In the Intermountain West, aspen (Populus tremuloides) has declined mainly due to a combination of successional processes, fire suppression and long-term use of ungulates which has led to replacement by conifers, sagebrush or other shrub communities. Conifer encroachment is believed to cause critical changes in the ecosystem properties. In order to understand the impacts of conifer encroachment on soil properties such as soil organic carbon (SOC) storage, soil morphology, and soil chemical properties, and the implications of such changes, it is very important to assess the soil properties under the two vegetation types. The objectives of this study …

Measurement And Modeling Of Reduced-Gravity Fluid Distribution And Transport In Unsaturated Porous Plant-Growth Media, Robert Heinse

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The effect of reduced gravity on the balanced management of liquid, gaseous and ionic fluxes in unsaturated porous media remains a central challenge for plant-based bio-regenerative life support systems needed for long-duration space missions. This research investigated how shifting capillary and gravitational forces alter the sample-scale transport and distribution of fluids in mm-sized porous ceramic aggregates. Measurements in variably saturated media conducted on the International Space Station in microgravity (~1⋅10^-3 g_earth) and measurements during parabolic flight in variable gravity encompassing microgravity, terrestrial gravity and hypergravity (~1.8g_earth) were supported by numerical modeling based on fundamental, …

Predicting The Growth Potential Of A Shallow, Warm-Water Sport Fishery: A Spatially Explicit Bioenergetics Approach, Samuel Kirk Dahle

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Capturing the range of fish consumption and growth potential of large, heterogeneous lentic systems can be challenging due to strong gradients in productivity, the diversity of habits types present, and in some cases, site-specific water quality issues. Cutler Reservoir (Utah, USA) displays a high degree of spatial and temporal variation in physical conditions and potential water quality limitations for fish, including high summertime water temperature and large, diel fluctuations in dissolved oxygen concentrations. The combination of bioenergetics modeling and GIS spatial analysis offers a promising interface for quantifying the fish consumptive and growth potential across a spatially and temporally heterogeneous …

Predicting Rna Secondary Structures By Folding Simulation: Software And Experiments, Joel Omni Gillespie

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

We present a new method for predicting the secondary structure of RNA sequences. Using our method, each RNA nucleotide of an RNA Sequence is represented as a point on a 3D triangular lattice. Using the Simulated Annealing technique, we manipulate the location of the points on the lattice. We explore various scoring functions for judging the relative quality of the structures created by these manipulations. After near optimal configurations on the lattice have been found, we describe how the lattice locations of the nucleotides can be used to predict a secondary structure for the sequence. This prediction can be further …

Correlation, Paleogeography, And Provenance Of The Neoproterozoic Eastern Uinta Mountain Group, Goslin Mountain Area, Northeastern Utah, Daniel J. Rybczynski

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Geologic mapping, facies analysis, sedimentary petrography, and detrital zircon analyses of undivided eastern Uinta Mountain Group stratigraphy are presented to better understand the depositional environments and tectonic setting of the Uinta Mountain Group basin. Subdivided units have been modified and correlated from previous work and include the Red Pine Shale, Hades Pass, Crouse Canyon, Outlaw Trail, and Diamond Breaks formations. Three lower-order maximum flooding surfaces associated with the lower Outlaw Trail formation, lower Hades Pass formation, and Red Pine Shale are interpreted. The relative magnitude of each lower-order transgression increases up section along with increasing diversity of palynomorph assemblages found …

Optimal Candidate Generation In Spatial Co-Location Mining, Zhongshan Lin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Existing spatial co-location algorithms based on levels suffer from generating extra, nonclique candidate instances. Thus, they require cliqueness checking at every level. In this thesis, a novel, spatial co-location mining algorithm that automatically generates co-located spatial features without generating any nonclique candidates at any level is proposed. Subsequently, this algorithm generates fewer candidates than other existing level-wise, co-location algorithms without losing any pertinent information. The benefits of this algorithm have been clearly observed at early stages in the mining process.

A River Transformed: Historic Geomorphic Changes Of The Lower Rio Grande In The Big Bend Region Of Texas, Chihuahua, And Coahuila, David James Dean

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Over the last century, the construction and management of large dams and stream-flow diversions, and periodic drought have resulted in significant declines in stream flow of the lower Rio Grande in the Big Bend region. Reductions in mean annual flow and peak discharge have resulted in channel narrowing by the formation of vertically accreting inset floodplains. Narrowing has been temporarily interrupted by infrequent large dam releases greater than 1000 m³/s that have temporarily widened the channel; however, after each of these events, narrowing has resumed. Prior to 1942, floods of this magnitude occurred approximately once every 4 years …

Exploring The Spawning Dynamics And Identifying Limitations To The Early Life-History Survival Of An Important, Endemic Fish Species, Sara Elizabeth Seidel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

For many native, imperiled salmonid species, the prioritization of recovery and conservation efforts hinges upon the identification of a species most limiting life stage. The early life-history stage can be a limiting life stage for fish, and given the importance of the reproductive stage to overall persistence, there is a need to better understand the spawning ecology and early life history of many salmonids. The Logan River, in northern Utah, contains one of the largest metapopulations of imperiled Bonneville cutthroat trout (BCT) throughout the Bonneville Basin. Little research has evaluated the temporal and spatial distribution of BCT spawning nor quantified …

Simulation, Kriging, And Visualization Of Circular-Spatial Data, William James Morphet

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The circular dataimage is defined by displaying direction as the color at the same direction in a color wheel composed of a sequence of two-color gradients with color continuity between gradients. The resulting image of circular-spatial data is continuous with high resolution. Examples include ocean wind direction, Earth's main magnetic field, and rocket nozzle internal combustion flow. The cosineogram is defined as the mean cosine of the angle between random components of direction as a function of distance between observation locations. It expresses the spatial correlation of circular-spatial data. A circular kriging solution is developed based on a model fitted …

Evolution Of The Lower Cretaceous Chifeng Half-Graben Basins, Inner Mongolia, China, Scott Joshua Friedman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

As a result of complex extensional tectonics in northeast China and southern portions of Mongolia, some workers have interpreted the Cretaceous Maanshan Uplift and associated Chifeng basins as metamorphic core complex. Previous work has relied solely upon kinematic indicators to determine the structural origin of these basins. To fully understand the creation of these basins, the sedimentiological record was analyzed in this study. The early Cretaceous sedimentary fill of these basins was analyzed to determine if it is synextensional in nature, and if so what manner of extension was in progress during that deposition.

The Chifeng basins are filled with …

Teaching Probability Through Use Of An Applet, Melissa Gregory Jackson

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The use of technology in the classroom is an ongoing debate by educators. Many teachers consider it to be a valuable teaching tool. Despite the many advantages, there are also drawbacks in using technology. A Java applet is a particular kind of multimedia technology proven to be useful in education. Because of students' struggles with learning basic probability in Statistics 1040, I have created a probability applet to reinforce the concept of probability. The applet was tested with two Statistics 1040 classes. The majority of students agreed that they learned more about probability from using the applet. Several of the …

Electrostatic Discharge In Spacecraft Materials, Jennifer Roth, Jr Dennison, Ryan C. Hoffman, David Peak

Senior Theses and Projects

Understanding the characteristics of electron beam bombardment that induce electrostatic discharge (ESD) of insulating materials is crucial to constructing an electrically stable spacecraft. A measurement system has been designed to determine the beam energy and charge flux densities at which typical spacecraft materials intended for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) undergo ESD. Because discharge events occur over time intervals ranging from nanoseconds to minutes, multiple detection methods were employed as charge was accumulated on a sample surface; these methods included monitoring of sample current and optical emissions from the sample surface. Each sample was also examined with optical microscopy …

The Pliocene/Pleistocene Evolution Of The Western Snake River Plain Near Grand View Idaho, Meagan R. Deraps

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The Western Snake River Plain provides us with a unique opportunity to study the evolution of basaltic volcanism. In addition to studying the horizontal variation at the surface of the plain, erosion by the Snake River also allows the study of the vertical variation. With the aid of a USGS EDMAP grant we mapped the Dorsey Butte quadrangle and southern half of the Little Joe Butte quadrangle at a scale of 1 :24,000. The quadrangles are located within both the Ada and Elmore counties of southwestern Idaho, approximately 30 km west of Mountain Home and 2 km north of Grand …

Polar Mesospheric Clouds: A Satellite And Ground-Based Comparison, Jodie Barker-Tvedtnes

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Polar Mesospheric Clouds (PMCs) are tenuous ice clouds that form near the cold (<150K) summer mesopause region (80-85 km). From the ground, these clouds are seen during twilight hours as Noctilucent or “night shining” Clouds (NLCs) and are typically seen from latitudes from 50° to 65°. Observations by the Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SBUV) instruments on the NOAA satellites have shown that the occurrence and brightness of NLCs have been increasing over the last three decades prompting speculation concerning their possible role in climate change. Recently the Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) satellite was launched (April 2007) and is the first satellite dedicated to the study of NLCs. In this report, we compare SBUV and AIM PMC observations with ground-based image data collected during two campaigns from Edmonton, Canada (June 30-July 17, 2007) and Delta Junction, Alaska (July 29-August 17, 2007). Four nights of data are discussed where coincident measurements were obtained by AIM, SBUV/2 and ground-based imagers. The results show good spatial or temporal agreement, but rarely both, and illustrate the importance of coordinated measurements for better understanding the geographic and local time variability of PMCs. Initial studies using data from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on the AURA satellite are also presented.

Electrostatic Discharge In Spacecraft Materials, Jennifer Albretsen Roth

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Understanding the characteristics of electron beam bombardment that induce electrostatic discharge (ESD) of insulating materials is crucial to constructing an electrically stable spacecraft. A measurement system has been designed to determine the beam energy and charge flux densities at which typical spacecraft materials intended for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) undergo ESD. Because discharge events occur over time intervals ranging from nanoseconds to minutes, multiple detection methods were employed as charge was accumulated on a sample surface; these methods included monitoring of sample current and optical emissions from the sample surface. Each sample was also examined with optical microscopy …

Carbohydrate Derivatives In Antibiotics Research, Yi Liang

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In this study, we investigated the potential applications of carbohydrates in the development of new antibiotics. To tackle the problem of multidrug-resistant variants of M. tuberculosis (MDR-TB), we investigated the biosynthesis pathways of trehalose, which has contributed to significant drug resistance. Some new methods were developed for the synthesis of potential inhibitors (6-azido-trehalose and 6,6'-diazido-trehalose) that have been designed to imitate the intermediate molecule (trehalose 6-phosphate, TPP) of OtsA-OtsB pathway. At the same time, some new antibacterial agents based on trehalose have been synthesized. Members of the 1,2,3-triazole family have shown interesting biological properties. Steroid derivatives have been developed in …

Detecting Organic Molecules On The Surface Of Inorganic Dust Particles Using Aerosol Mass Spectrometry, Sileola B. Akinsiku

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Detection of organic molecules present on the surface of dust particles is important in homeland security, agriculture, and several other applications. The research presented reports the ability of the aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) to detect molecules on the surface of dust particles without detecting the particle core.

Experiments were carried out to detect semi-volatile organic compounds adsorbed onto the surface of particulates without interference from the dust particle core. Methyl salicylate, oleic acid, and organophosphorus pesticides such as Malathion were detected on the surface of particles representative of dust-type materials. Zeolite powders were used as aerosol support, representative of a …

Testing And Estimation For Functional Data With Applications To Magnetometer Records, Inga Maslova

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The functional linear model, Y_n = ψX_n + ε_n, with functional response and explanatory variables is considered. A simple test of the nullity of ψ based on the principal component decomposition is proposed. The test statistic has asymptotic chi-squared distribution, which is also an excellent approximation in finite samples. The methodology is applied to data from terrestrial magnetic observatories.

In recent years, the interaction of the auroral substorms with the equatorial and mid-latitude currents has been the subject of extensive research. We introduce a new statistical technique that allows us to test at a specified …

Covert Botnet Implementation And Defense Against Covert Botnets, Lokesh Babu Ramesh Babu

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The advent of the Internet and its benevolent use has benefited mankind in private and business use alike. However, like any other technology, the Internet is often used for malevolent purposes. One such malevolent purpose is to attack computers using botnets. Botnets are stealthy, and the victims are typically unaware of the malicious activities and the resultant havoc they can cause. Computer security experts seek to combat the botnet menace. However, attackers come up with new botnet designs that exploit the weaknesses in existing defense mechanisms and, thus, continue to evade detection.

Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the weaknesses …

Analysis Of Total Electron Content (Tec) Variations In The Low- And Middle-Latitude Ionosphere, Ja Soon Shim

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Detailed study of the spatial correlations of day-to-day ionospheric TEC variations on a global scale was performed for four 30-day-long periods in 2004 (January, March/April, June/July, September/October) using observations from more than 1000 ground-based GPS receivers. In order to obtain the spatial correlations, initially, the day-to-day variability was calculated by first mapping the observed slant TEC values for each 5-minute GPS ground receiver-satellite pair to the vertical and then differencing it with its corresponding value from the previous day. This resulted in more than 150 million values of day-to-day change in TEC (delta TEC). Next, statistics were performed on the …

Synthetic Studies Of Laulimalide Analogues, Ian Addison Mcalexander

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Chapter 1 provides some background information on the disease area of cancer and current modes of treatment. Chemotherapy treatment is discussed with a focus on the major cellular targets for these drugs: DNA and microtubules. For each target, classes of active compounds are described along with their mode of action. The microtubule stabilizing agent laulimalide is introduced and a case is made for analogue synthesis.

Chapter 2 describes our first generation efforts toward synthesis of des-methyl laulimalide. The target compound is divided into a northern and southern fragment with the synthesis of each fragment described. The preparation of landmark intermediates …