Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Development Of A Large-Scale Storm Surge And High-Resolution Sub-Grid Inundation Model For Coastal Flooding Applications: A Case Study During Hurricane Sandy, Jon Derek Loftis

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Coastal inundation initiated via storm surge by hurricanes and nor'easters along the U.S. East Coast is a substantial threat to residential properties, community infrastructure, and human life. During and after the storm, compounding with heavy precipitation and upland drainage, inundation can be caused by the combination of storm surge and river-induced inland flooding in various locations throughout the coastal plain. Thus, coastal inundation can be expanded from the open coast upstream into the tributaries of the New York Bay including the Hudson and East River systems. Given the cross-disciplinary nature of the dynamics (encompassing hydraulics, oceanography, and hydrology), and the …

Effects Of Saltwater Intrusion On Vegetation Dynamics And Nutrient Pools In Low-Salinity Tidal Marshes, Pamunkey River (Virginia, Usa), Lori A. Sutter

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

This study investigated vegetation changes in a former tidal freshwater marsh (TFM) to determine the role that salinity intrusion plays in vegetation dynamics. Field observations along a narrow salinity gradient in the Pamunkey River revealed that vegetation is shifting to fewer dominants with increasing salinity. Two remaining dominants, Peltandra virginica and Zizania aquatica (hereafter Peltandra and Zizania, respectively), had variable net CO2 assimilation throughout the growing season. Peltandra net CO2 assimilation declined both over the growing season and in marshes with higher salinity; whereas, Zizania generally increased over the growing season peaking in late summer. The same species' tissue nutrients …

Factors Influencing Year-Class Strength And Growth Of Young-Of-The-Year Summer Flounder (Paralichthyidae: Paralichthys Dentatus), Lauren N. Nys

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Physiological Stress And Post-Release Mortality Of White Marlin (Kajikia Albida) Caught In The U.S Recreational Fishery, Lela Sylvia Schlenker

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

White Marlin (Kajikia albida) is a highly migratory species that occurs throughout temperate and tropical regions of the Atlantic Ocean and is the basis of a large sport fishery along the United States Atlantic coast. The single, Atlantic-wide stock is considered to be overfished, with less than one-third the spawning biomass estimated to be necessary for maximum sustainable yield. Billfish management measures adopted by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) and implemented in the U.S. by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), as well as increasing angler awareness of conservation, have resulted in the vast majority …

An Evaluation Of A Reduced Bar Spacing Turtle Excluder Device In The U.S Gulf Of Mexico Offshore Shrimp Trawl Fishery, Michel Anthony Nalovic

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Shrimp are the most economically valuable internationally-traded seafood commodity, and wild-caught, trawled shrimp make up almost half of the ~6.6 million metric tons of annual global production. Shrimp trawling is responsible for one-third of the world’s total fisheries bycatch, leading many to consider shrimp trawling to be the single most destructive fishing practice in the world. Though the bycatch of large marine animals can be significantly reduced by use of turtle excluder devices (TEDs) on shrimp trawls, current TED designs are ineffective at reducing the capture of smaller organisms which represent a large portion of the total bycatch. To further …

The Roles Of Dispersal And Predation In Determining The Seedling Recruitment Patterns Of A Zostera Marina System, Stephen R. Manley

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Seed dispersal and seed predation are two important processes in the early life history of plants. The interaction between these two processes influences the population recruitment from a parent plant. These mechanisms have been studied extensively in terrestrial plants and have resulted in various models to describe plant recruitment (e.g. Janzen-Connell, Hubbell, McCanny). However, seed dispersal and predation may also influence the population recruitment of marine angiosperms, such as Zostera marina (eelgrass). The objectives of this study were to determine: 1.) the patterns of seed dispersal as a function of distance from the seed source, 2.) the predation pressure on …

Sediment Deposition And Reworking: A Modeling Study Using Isotopically Tagged Sediment Classes, Justin J. Birchler

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

A sediment transport model within the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) was used to examine how repeated cycles of deposition, erosion, and bioturbation influence flood and storm event bed character offshore of a significant fluvial source. Short-lived radioisotopes Beryllium-7 (7Be) and Thorium-234 (234Th) can be used as tracers of deposition and reworking on the continental shelf, and modeled profiles of these radioisotopes, along with simulated profiles of sediment bed grain size distributions, were analyzed for various model runs.The presence of an atmospherically derived radionuclide,7Be, in seafloor sedimentindicates terrestrial (riverine derived) sediment deposition offshore of a fluvial source.In contrast,234Th naturally occurs …

High-Resolution Sediment Records Of Seismicity And Seasonal Sedimentation From Prince William Sound, Alaska, Using Xrf Core Scanning, Eric J. Miller

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The southern coast of Alaska is a climatically sensitive and tectonically active region, however due to its remoteness and harsh climate there are limited long-term historical records of environmental conditions such as storm frequency, river discharge, and earthquakes. In order to determine the potential for Prince William Sound sediments to contain high-resolution paleorecords of these conditions, a suite of 11 gravity cores was collected within the Sound in order to determine the modern day sediment depositional trends and to develop elemental proxies for earthquakes and seasonal sedimentation. 210Pb/137Cs-derived sedimentation rates and grain size trends indicate that there are two distinct …

Quantification Of Nursery Habitats For Blue Crabs In Chesapeake Bay, Gina M. Ralph

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The blue crab is an iconic species in Chesapeake Bay, supporting important commercial and recreational fisheries and functioning as a critical link in the food web. Structurally complex habitats are often cited as nurseries for the blue crab, and other commercially important fish and crustacean species, by providing enhanced growth and survival for juveniles. I quantified the value of shallow habitats as nurseries for blue crabs through field studies and a demographic model. In Chapter 2, I utilized a two-year juvenile survey in vegetated habitats of the lower Bay to examine the effect of habitat complexity on the density of …

Towards Secure, Power-Efficient And Location-Aware Mobile Computing, Hao Han

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

In the post-PC era, mobile devices will replace desktops and become the main personal computer for many people. People rely on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets for everything in their daily lives. A common requirement for mobile computing is wireless communication. It allows mobile devices to fetch remote resources easily. Unfortunately, the increasing demand of the mobility brings many new wireless management challenges such as security, energy-saving and location-awareness. These challenges have already impeded the advancement of mobile systems. In this dissertation we attempt to discover the guidelines of how to mitigate these problems through three general communication …

Superconducting Thin Films For Srf Cavity Applications: A Route To Higher Field Gradient Linacs, Wiliam Michael Roach

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Many linear accelerator (linac) applications rely on the use of superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities. In order to overcome the current field gradient limits imposed by the use of bulk niobium, a model involving the deposition of alternating superconducting-insulating-superconducting (SIS) thin films onto the interior surface of SRF cavities has been proposed. Since SRF performance is a surface phenomenon, the critical surface of these cavities is less than 1 micron thick, thus enabling the use of thin films. Before such approach can successfully be implemented fundamental studies correlating the microstructure and superconducting properties of thin films are needed. to this …

Nonlinear Optical Studies Of Photoelastic Effect And Magneto-Plasmonics, Wei Zheng

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Nonlinear optical (NLO) processes are optical phenomena involving a nonlinear response to an applied light field. Two kinds of nonlinearities are studied in this dissertation: magnetic-induced second-harmonic generation (MSHG) interacting with surface plasmon, called "nonlinear magnetoplasmonics" (NMP), and the nonlinear index induced by a strong pump beam in Titanium doped sapphire crystal, referred to as population-induced nonlinear index effect.;The fundamentals of the major effects involved are discussed, which include: surface plasmon and its field enhancement effect, MSHG technique and phenomenological calculations, the contrast ratio of magnetic switching, the calculation of lensing effects, population induced strain, and photoelastic effect. Furthermore, the …

Impact Of Mercury Exposure On Birds And The Effect Of Molt On Mercury Depuration In Songbirds, Margaret Crossley Whitney

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Anthropogenic Modifications Of Connectivity At The Aquatic-Terrestrial Ecotone In The Chesapeake Bay, Robert Earl Isdell

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Using A Sonic Net To Deter Pest Bird Species: Excluding European Starlings From Food Sources By Disrupting Their Acoustic Environment, Ghazi Mahjoub

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Sub Lethal Methylmercury Exposure On Pigment Coloration In A Model Songbird, Jessica Lynn Spickler

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Exploring A Novel Approach To Technical Nuclear Forensics Utilizing Atomic Force Microscopy, Richard Scot Peeke

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Medium On The Uv-Induced Photodegradation Of Rhodamine B Dye, Carolyn Louise Carta

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Sediment And Organic Carbon Burial In Englebright Lake, Ca Over The Last Century, Christina Rose Pondell

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The proliferation of dams has impacted over 67% of the world's largest rivers, degrading ecosystems, severing river-watershed connectivity, and reducing water, sediment, and carbon supply from rivers to the coastal ocean by 20 to 100%. Many studies have focused on the downstream impacts of dams, but few have quantified the amounts and quality of organic matter stored within impoundments. This study examined organic carbon (OC) sources and accumulation in a reservoir in northern California to characterize the organic matter retained in terrestrial systems by these man-made structures and relate the amounts and quality of OC to mining, damming and flood …

A Biogeochemical Data Assimilative Modeling Study In The Mid-Atlantic Bight, Yongjin Xiao

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Continental shelves are generally believed to play a critical role in ocean biogeochemical cycling, however this has raised the question as to the relative importance of various nitrogen flux terms such as denitrification, burial, net community production and advective fluxes. Quantifying these fluxes on an annual area-integrated basis using traditional observational means is often difficult, due to the fact that these fluxes rapidly change on relatively small spatial scales, making inadequate data resolution a significant problem. Satellite remote sensing data and numerical modeling provide alternative ways to fill the data gaps, and hence have the potential to generate quantitative estimates …

Matching Non-Uniformity For Program Optimizations On Heterogeneous Many-Core Systems, Bo Wu

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

As computing enters an era of heterogeneity and massive parallelism, it exhibits a distinct feature: the deepening non-uniform relations among the computing elements in both hardware and software. Besides traditional non-uniform memory accesses, much deeper non-uniformity shows in a processor, runtime, and application, exemplified by the asymmetric cache sharing, memory coalescing, and thread divergences on multicore and many-core processors. Being oblivious to the non-uniformity, current applications fail to tap into the full potential of modern computing devices.;My research presents a systematic exploration into the emerging property. It examines the existence of such a property in modern computing, its influence on …

Synthesis And Fluorescence Studies Of Ph-Responsive Rhodamine B Derivatives, William Lawrence Czaplyski

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Investigations Of The Life Cycle Of The Peritrich Ciliate Zoothamnium Intermedium In Chesapeake Bay, Sikai Peng

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Epibiosis is a common phenomenon in aquatic environments. The chitinous exoskeletons of crustaceans provide stable surfaces for attachment and growth of epibiotic microorganisms. Epibiont ciliate colonization on copepods is commonly recorded but has rarely been studied in Chesapeake Bay; also, little is known about the life cycles of epibiont ciliates in the bay.

The present work focuses on the life cycle of Zoothamnium intermedium in Chesapeake Bay. A peritrich ciliate belonging to the genus Zoothamnium was found as an epibiont on the calanoid copepods Acartia tonsa and Pseudodiaptomus pelagicus during the summer in the York River, a tributary of the …

The Development Of Ecological Functions In Created Forested Wetlands, Sean P. Charles

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Wetland mitigation has become a 2.4 billion dollar per year industry in the U.S. and in Virginia it leads to the replacement of 77 ha of palustrine forested wetlands (PFWs) per year with mitigation wetlands, including created forested wetlands (CFWs). Mitigation hinges on the idea that compensation wetlands lead to “no net loss of wetland function” when compared to impacted wetlands. We assessed the functions of provision of habitat and biogeochemical functions associated with production of biomass, the retention and removal of nutrients and the accumulation of soil C over 8 years in seven CFWs of approximately 11 and 20 …

Application Of Acoustics And Optics For The Characterization Of Suspended Particulate Matter Within An Estuarine Observing System, Grace M. Cartwright

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

As part of this dissertation work, a long term observing station at Clay Bank on the York River in Virginia has been established and maintained since 2006, and was used to gain a better understanding of sediment processes in a muddy estuary and in muddy coastal environments in general. While data from this NSF-funded Multi-Disciplinary Benthic Exchange Dynamic (MUDBED) observing system has and will be used by other students for this general purpose, this dissertation focuses specifically on better understanding and interpretation of the data collected by key instrumentation regularly deployed at the observing station, especially the acoustic Doppler velocimeter …

Acoustic And Sedimentological Investigations Of Seabed Conditions And Related Bio-Geological Parameters In A Tidally Energetic, Fine-Grained Environment: York River Estuary, Virginia, Lindsey M. Kraatz

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The transport and fate of fine-grained sediments is a critical factor affecting the physical, chemical, and biological health of estuaries, coastal embayments, riverine, lacustrine, and continental shelf environments. A geophysical and sedimentological study of the York River as a part of the NSF Multi-disciplinary Benthic Exchange Dynamics (MUDBED) project was conducted to determine: 1) the primary drivers of sediment erodibility within a fine-grained system, 2) if these drivers can be accurately measured through sedimentological and acoustic information, and 3) the spatial and seasonal variability of erosion within the estuary. Previous studies indicate that increased erodibility within the York River Estuary …

Electroless Gold Deposition With Self-Assembled Monolayers For Gas Chromatography Stationary Phases, Jessica Lynn Belton

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Habitat And Fish Population Dynamics: Advancing Stock Assessments Of Highly Migratory Species, Patrick D. Lynch

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Fisheries sustainability is inherently linked to an understanding of the population-level effects of fishing. With an accurate characterization of historical fish and fishery dynamics, management agencies are more equipped to create regulations that sustain fishery resources over the long term. The overarching goal of this dissertation is to contribute to the advancement of fisheries stock assessment and promote resource sustainability. My research focused on highly migratory species (HMS), particularly fishes that reside in the open ocean. These species constitute some of the highest valued global fisheries; however, numerous factors compromise HMS stock assessment and management. These challenges are fully described …

Surface Modifications For Gas Chromatography Micro Columns, Daniel Andre Hirtenstein

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Distribution And Impacts Of Invasive Bivalve Corbicula Fluminea In Tidal Freshwater York River Tributaries, Matthew Ryan Freedman

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The Asian clam, Corbicula fluminea, is one of the most invasive bivalves in the world but there is limited research on its presence in tidal freshwater systems. Despite its introduction into Chesapeake Bay tributaries in the 1970s, the initial colonization and subsequent development of populations of C. fluminea in the Mattaponi and Pamunkey sub-tributaries of the York River, Virginia, is mostly undocumented. This study assessed the spatial distribution and population structure of C. fluminea in tidal freshwater sections of these rivers (~45km) with benthic surveys during summer 2011 – 2012. Benthic grabs (2.4L, 0.023m2) taken at 40 sites in each …