Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Assessing The Morphological And Physiological Traits Of Smooth Brome Pastures Under Long Term Grazing And Nutrient Enrichment In Eastern Nebraska, Hassan Shehab

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

Climate change together with the increase in demands for food, feed, fuel, and fiber are becoming a threat to sustainability and resilience of agriculture and pasture lands. Bromus inermis (smooth bromegrass) dominates pastures for cattle grazing in Eastern Nebraska, US, where it is planted in monocultures, and is considered high quality forage because of its palatability and high nutritional value for cattle, especially under intensive management practices. Sustainable management of these pastures is key to long-term resilience. This study aims to assess the performance of smooth bromegrass pastures to the combined effects of long-term management practices (since 2005) of fertilization …

Human Dimensions Of Woody Encroachment Management In Nebraska, Emily Rowen

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

Woody plant encroachment (WPE) is a social-ecological problem that will challenge conservation professionals and agricultural producers to adapt their management strategies. This research first examined WPE from the perspective of individual conservation professionals through an online survey. Conservation professionals’ attitudes about adaptation to vegetation transitions, such as WPE, were of interest because these attitudes are one measure of how prepared this group is to respond to WPE. Hypothesized predictors of adaptation attitude were tested through linear regression modeling. These predictors included ecological change, observation of WPE, or risk perception. It was found that risk perception was the strongest predictor of …

The Essential Role Of Fossil Fuels In Combating Climate Change, Ivye Meyer

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

Fossil fuels have been essential to the living standards enjoyed by the industrialized and developed world. Since the Industrial Revolution, non-renewable sources, including coal, oil, and natural gas, have been our first choice in energy generation. Fossil fuels have also become appealing to developing nations, as they require inexpensive sources of energy to increase their standards of living. These factors contribute to fossil fuels comprising over 80 percent of the current global primary energy demand, undeniably making them a vital part of our daily lives. The necessity for upcoming change in energy production does not require the exclusion of fossil …

Navigating The Green Skies: Why Saf Is The Wrong Path To Take, Cameron Cannon

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

With its promise of a significant decrease in greenhouse gas emissions, sustainable aviation fuels, or SAFs, have been hailed as an environmentally friendly substitute for conventional aviation fuels. SAFs are made from sustainable resources such as plant biomass, waste oils, or agricultural wastes and are intended to mitigate environmental issues. On closer examination, though, this solution's intricacy becomes clear. Grab your mental compass and journey with me as we discover why SAFs would lead us the wrong way.

Stream Restoration Effectiveness In Mullins Creek In Fayetteville, Arkansas, Amadeo Scott

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Lotic waterways are vital for habitat, food, water, and flood protection, but urbanization poses a major threat to their integrity. Runoff from urban surfaces leads to pollution, flashiness, loss of biodiversity, and other symptoms, also known as Urban Stream Syndrome (USS). To combat USS, streams can be restored, but most restorations are not monitored so their long-term effectiveness is unknown. This study quantitatively evaluated a decade-old stream restoration in Fayetteville, Arkansas, to assess its effectiveness in combating USS and achieving set restoration goals, and to gain insights for future restoration projects. Restoration goals included decreasing erosion and sedimentation, increasing pool …

Determination Of Alteration Zones Applying Fractal Modeling And Spectral Feature Fitting (Sff) Method In Saryazd Porphyry Copper System, Central Iran, Behzad Behbahani, Hamid Harati, Peyman Afzal, Mohammad Lotfi

Bulletin of the Mineral Research and Exploration

The target of this research is recognition of the alteration zones utilizing concentration-area fractal methodology according to the reflection of the main minerals of each alteration zone that enhanced by Spectral Feature Fitting (SFF) Method due to Advanced Space-borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) satellite images in Saryazd porphyry system, central Iran. The alterations and mineralization are developed in Eocene volcanics. Remote sensing results achieved by the SFF method and Concentration-Area (C-A) fractal modeling represent different parts of propylitic, argillic and phyllic alteration zones due to their intensity and pixel values. In addition, the results reveal that there is …

Estimating The Recurrence Of Earthquakes With Statistical Methods In The City Of Bingöl, Eastern Turkey: A District-Based Approach, Sadık Alashan, Kenan Akbayram, Ömer Faruk Nemutlu

Bulletin of the Mineral Research and Exploration

This study discusses the temporal distribution of earthquake magnitudes in the city of Bingöl, near Karlıova Triple Junction. We determine the probability distributions and return periods of earthquakes for all districts of Bingöl. Bingöl has eight districts; namely Adaklı, Central, Genç, Karlıova, Kiğı, Solhan, Yayladere, and Yedisu. In six of them, active faults were mapped previously (Adaklı, Central, Genç, Karlıova, Solhan, and Yedisu). We consider 5 time-dependent probability distributions for analysis. Using the annual maximum earthquake magnitudes, the best fit arises from the Gumbel distribution for Central, Karlıova, and Adaklı Districts. For the Genç District, where the least maximum earthquake …

Noise Attenuation Of A 3d Marine Seismic Reflection Dataset - A Case Study In The Southwest Black Sea Region, Hamza Bi̇ri̇nci̇, Kürşat Ergün, Aslı Zeynep Yavuzoğlu, Korhan Köse, Güniz Büşra Yalçin, Mustafa Berkay Doğan, Fatma Betül Karci, Murat Evren, Ayşe Güngör, Bahri Serkan Aydemi̇r

Bulletin of the Mineral Research and Exploration

Noises in marine seismic data are one of the biggest obstacles in seismic imaging. The most significant step in seismic data processing is the removal of seismic noise, which can be classified as instrument and background noise. Noise attenuation usually results in improved seismic interpretation by increasing the signal-to-noise ratio. In this study, we will focus on attenuating these seismic noises with several data processing techniques. A number of denoising examples describing swell, strumming/tugging, and cavitation, which are background-type noises, and streamer-mounted device noise (Nautilus), which is an instrument-type noise, were illustrated by analysing a marine 3D seismic dataset recorded …

Groundwater Potential Mapping Using The Integration Of Ahp Method, Gis And Remote Sensing: A Case Study Of The Tabelbala Region, Algeria, Ahmed Bennia, Ibrahim Zeroual, Abdelkrim Talhi, Lahcen Wahib Kebir

Bulletin of the Mineral Research and Exploration

Recently, groundwater resources are assessed and evaluated using Geographic Information System (GIS) and remote sensing technologies due to their effectiveness and wide spatial coverage. This work aims to identify groundwater potential areas in the Tabelbala region which lies in the Algerian desert in order to help for the solution of water resources shortages. GIS and remote sensing are employed in the preparation of the controlling factors such as lithology, lineaments, drainage network, slope, land use/land cover, topographic wetness index, and elevation. Statistical Analysis, as well as interpretation of remote sensing data, allow the extraction of important features about the study …

Caves In Clastic Rocks (Muğla, Sw Türkiye), Mutlu Zeybek, Murat Gül, Fikret Kaçaroğlu, Ergun Karacan, Ahmet Özbek

Bulletin of the Mineral Research and Exploration

Caves evolution is controlled by lithological properties, discontinuities, water, climate, and physicomechanical properties of soluble rocks, vegetation and human impact. This study investigates the cave formation in Upper Miocene-Pliocene clastic rock in Menteşe town of Muğla. The lithology, physico-mechanical properties and hydrogeologic factors of host rocks and morphology of the caves in Asar Hill and Damlam Stream valley were examined. The caves are 1.47-9.71 m long, 2.24-19.36 m wide and 1.38-27 m high. Four joint sets and bedding planes affect the clastics in the Asar Hill area. Mudstones (low plasticity clay, sandy clay) are in soft-very soft rock, while conglomerate …

Tübi̇tak 1mv Accelerator Mass Spectrometer Designed For 14c, 10be, 26al, 41ca, 129i, Turhan Doğan, Erhan İlkmen, Furkan Kulak

Bulletin of the Mineral Research and Exploration

A 1 MV Accelerator Mass Spectrometer (AMS) was installed at TÜBİTAK, MRC Türkiye in December 2015. The 1MV TÜBİTAK AMS system is based on a Pelletron tandem accelerator, operating up to 1.1MV. Built by National Electrostatics Corporation (NEC), its design was unique during production time. The TÜBİTAK 1MV AMS is based on the design of an XCAMS 0.5MV AMS also produced by NEC, but with a higher energy tandem accelerator. The higher energy accelerator features better precision (1% or less) for 10Be measurements. This new AMS also has larger magnets than the XCAMS. Larger magnets make it possible to measure …

Supplemental Skeleton Revision Of Pseudorbitoididae M.G. Rutten, 1935 From Mainly Tethyan And Partly American Provinces, Ercüment Si̇rel, Ali Deveci̇ler

Bulletin of the Mineral Research and Exploration

The nine genera here described from the Tethyan and four genera from the American and Caribbean provinces have previously been placed within different families of Foraminifera by various authors, namely, Arnaudiella DOUVILLÉ, Sirtina BRÖNNIMANN and WIRZ, Vanderbeekia BRÖNNIMANN and WIRZ, Helicorbitoides MacGILLAVRY, Dizerina MERİÇ, Sirelella ÖZGENERDEM and Cideina SİREL were shown in Lepidorbitoitidae VAUGHAN; Postorbitokathina SİREL and Orbitokathina HOTTINGER in Rotaliidae EHRENBERG; Helicolepidina TOBLER, Helicosteginopsis CAUDRI, Eulinderina BARKER and GRIMSDALE and Helicostegina BARKER and GRIMSDALE in Lepidocyclinidae SCHEFFEN, in spite of the fact that all of them have characteristics of both rotaliid early and orbitoidal adult stages. Thus the growth …

Neotectonics Of The Sarıköy-İnova And Çan-Bayramiç-Ezine Fault Zones: Basin Formation, Age And Slip Rates, Nw Anatolia-Türkiye, Ali Koçyi̇ği̇t

Bulletin of the Mineral Research and Exploration

The Sarıköy-İnova and the Çan-Bayramiç-Ezine fault zones (SIFZ, ÇBEFZ) comprise the southern strand of the North Anatolian Fault System in the Biga Peninsula. They are located in the area between Sarıköy to northeast and the Dalyan settlement around Bozcaada in the North Aegean Sea to southwest. Both of the fault zones are active. This is evidenced by the 6 March 1737 (Ms =7.0) İnova, 1st February 1809 Hurma (Ms = 6.1), and the 8 February 1826 Güllüce (Ms = 6.2) historical earthquakes resulted from these fault zones. Maximum lengths of fault segments comprising the SIFZ and the ÇBEFZ are 14 …

First Mammuthus (Elephantidae) Findings From Samsun District (Türkiye), Ebru Albayrak

Bulletin of the Mineral Research and Exploration

Located between Africa, Asia and Europe, Anatolia is a crossroads for the migration of many mammals such as elephantids. For this reason, important fossils belonging to different species of elephantids were found from various localities. In this study, mammoth molars found in Samsun- Ladik were examined. As a result of the examination, M. meridionalis and M. trogontherii were identified for the first time from this region. Although the number of fossils examined is very small, the results obtained are very important as Mammuthus was identified for the first time from Samsun. When considered together with the Mammuthus species identified from …

Erratum: Paleoecological Investigation Of The Miocene (23.03-5.33 Mya) Rodents (Mammalia: Rodentia) In Anatolia, Hasan Vural, Şakir Önder Bozkurt

Bulletin of the Mineral Research and Exploration

Erratum: In the article of Vural, H., Özkurt, Ş. Ö. 2023. Paleoecological investigation of the Miocene (23.03-5.33 mya) rodents (Mammalia: Rodentia) in Anatolia. Bulletin of the Mineral Research and Exploration 170, 15-30 (doi: https://doi.org/10.19111/ bulletinofmre.1139009), there are several uncited or quoted passages. For this, the authors apologise to the readers. In this paper, additional explanations are reported and necessary corrections are made in defective parts of the article.

A History Of Complex Simple Lie Algebras, Avrila Frazier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 1869, prompted by his work in differential equations, Sophus Lie wondered about categorizing what he called “closed systems of commutative transformations,” while around the same time, Wilhelm Killing’s work on non-Euclidean geometry encountered related topics. As mathematicians recognized this as a division of abstract algebra, the area became known as “continuous transformation groups," but we now refer to them as Lie groups.

Patterns and structures emerged from their work, such as describing Lie groups in connection with their associated Lie algebras, which can be categorized in many important ways. In this paper, we focus on Lie algebras over the …

Towards A Model Of The Mapping Between English And Spanish Prosody, Jonathan Avila

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Current speech-to-speech translation systems face challenges in effectively translating the nuances of prosody, which plays a pivotal role in conveying speaker intent and stance in dialog. This limitation restricts cross-lingual communication, especially in situations demanding deeper interpersonal understanding. To address this, this research delves into the relationships between prosody and its pragmatic functions, in English and Spanish. First, I discuss a data collection protocol in which bilingual speakers re-enact utterances from an earlier conversation in their other language, then describe an English-Spanish corpus, consisting of 3816 matched utterance pairs. Second, I describe a prosodic dissimilarity metric based on Euclidean distance …

Southern Rio Grande Rift Kinematics And Geochronology, Big Bend Fold Geometry, And The Use Of Real Data In Geoscience Education: Contributions To The Understanding Of Big Bend Geology And To Public Geoscientific Literacy, Jessica Kelsch

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Big Bend region of Trans-Pecos Texas preserves a rich record of Rio Grande rifting and Laramide-age contraction that provide intrigue to national and state park visitors and field trips for undergraduate geology students. Despite its well-exposed geologic record, the Big Bend region remains an underutilized natural laboratory for studying these two tectonic events. This dissertation combines structural studies of Rio Grande rift and Laramide structures with public outreach and geoscience education studies focused on the Big Bend region. In Chapter 2, existing extensional-kinematic studies from parts of this region are compiled with new fault kinematic and U-Pb geochronologic data …

Leveraging Agile Software Methodologies Within Software Development To Introduce A Novel Educational Software Methodology, Montserrat Guadalupe Molina

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Agile Software Development has been growing increasingly popular in the software engineering industry as a way to produce working software in a quick and people-centered manner. Agile methodologies require practitioners to have strong technical and non-technical skills, such as teamwork, project management, and communication skills. Students graduating from the software engineering discipline have been found to be lacking in these areas, leading to many difficulties faced by recent graduates as they begin their professional careers. Given that Agile Software Development is the most popular software development lifecycle currently used by practitioners in industry, it is important to expose students to …

Sterically Encumbering Ligands For The Synthesis And Stabilization Of Iron Nitride And Iron Oxo Compounds, Asiel Mena

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The study of iron-nitrides has been found to be very attractive due to their potential role in processes like Haber-Bosch and nitrogen fixation by nitrogenase. The role of iron-nitrides in these processes is yet not well understood, and the fact that only handful of terminal iron-nitrides have been isolated or spectroscopically detected motivates us to study this type of systems, since much remains to be learned about the electronic and structural factors that affect the chemistry of the Feâ?¡N bond. Recently in our group, by using a super-bulky guanidinate ligand (LAr*), the obtention of an iron-nitride ([LAr*]FeN(py) (LAr* = (Ar*N)2C(NCtBu2), …

Enhancing Our Understanding Of Ancient Oceans Through The Investigation Of Molybdenum Behavior Under Sulfidic Conditions, Rachel Faye Phillips

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The most abundant trace metal in the ocean today, molybdenum (Mo), exhibits distinct behavior in oxygenated water, where it remains predominantly dissolved, compared to euxinic (i.e., oxygen-free and sulfidic) water, in which it is sequestered into the sediment. This dissimilar behavior allows us to use Mo concentrations and isotopic compositions in sediment to reconstruct marine oxygenation conditions throughout geologic history. However, Mo sequestration mechanisms under euxinic conditions remain unresolved, which limits the accuracy and precision of reconstructions made using Mo signatures in the rock record. For my doctoral research, I experimentally investigated abiotic and biotic Mo sequestration mechanisms under various …

Combinatorial Problems Related To Optimal Transport And Parking Functions, Jan Kretschmann

Theses and Dissertations

In the first part of this work, we provide contributions to optimal transport through work on the discrete Earth Mover's Distance (EMD).We provide a new formula for the mean EMD by computing three different formulas for the sum of width-one matrices: the first two formulas apply the theory of abstract simplicial complexes and result from a shelling of the order complex, whereas the last formula uses Young tableaux. Subsequently, we employ this result to compute the EMD under different cost matrices satisfying the Monge property. Additionally, we use linear programming to compute the EMD under non-Monge cost matrices, giving an …

Metrics For Comparison Of Complex Networks, Clarissa Reyes

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Heuristic network statistics are used as a preliminary approach to identify change across networks. In networks where there is known node correspondence (KNC), conventional network comparison methods include taking a norm of the difference matrix, or calculating dissimilarity measures like DeltaCon and cut distance. Since different KNC measures provide varying insight to the network comparison problem, we propose employing Rank Score Characteristic Functions (RSCFs) and the rank-score process as a method for reaching a consensus when ranking quantified change across multiple pairs of networks â?? which is particularly useful for ranking change across subpopulations or subgraphs. Additionally, we propose a …

Alteration And Mineralization Of The Deep Extension Of The Giant Chuquicamata Porphyry Copper Deposit, Northern Chile, Claudio Andres Araya Torres

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Porphyry copper deposits are the major source of copper and molybdenum in the world. The deposits consist of large volumes of rock altered by hydrothermal fluids released by shallow, intermediate composition magma chambers, with metallic mineralization present in veins, breccias, and disseminations; ore grades are typically 0.3-1.0 wt.% Cu. The subject of this study, the Chuquicamata porphyry copper deposit in northern Chile, is one of the most productive such deposits in the world, with over 45 million tons of Cu produced since large scale, open pit mining started early in the XXth century. Current production at Chuquicamata is from an …

Activity Patterns Of Whiptail Lizards (Aspidoscelis) Found In The Northern Chihuahuan Desert, Guillermo Alvarez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Traditional lizard pitfall traps were modified to allow organisms to escape, while collecting valuable ecological data. Modified camera traps were capable of detecting the same species as traditional traps in a semi-arid environment, without posing the associated mortality risks. Pitfall-camera traps were used to sample the activity of the Side-blotched Lizard (Uta stansburiana) and the Southwestern Fence Lizard (Sceloporus cowlesi) in an urban wetland during four continuous years. Evaluations on activity pattern and the activity overlap between the two species revealed extensive overlap, with minor but significant seasonal shifts mediating coexistence. Traps were also effective at detecting other reptiles, invertebrates, …

Investigating Seismicity And Structure Of The Pecos, Texas Region Of The Delaware Basin Using A Temporary Nodal Network, Jenna Lynn Faith

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

With increasing earthquakes in the Delaware Basin since 2009, earthquake studies, including accurate hypocenters, are critically needed in the Delaware Basin to identify the structures producing earthquakes, and to determine if they are related to unconventional petroleum development and production. In 2018, with funding from the Texas Seismological Network (TexNet), the University of Texas at El Paso deployed and maintained a nodal network of 25 Magseis Fairfield Z-Land Generation 2 5-Hz seismic nodes in the Pecos, Texas region of the Delaware Basin, known as The Pecos Array. The network was deployed from November 2018 until the beginning of January 2020, …

Computation-Assisted Molecular Discovery For Biomedical Applications: Seeking Small Molecules And Dna Sequences With High Affinity Target Binding, Payam Kelich

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Binding affinity between two molecules is an essential property in drug and sensor discovery. Several computational and experimental methods exist to find molecules with high binding affinities to desired target molecules. These methods are often complementary, where fast computational methods can be used for the initial screening of molecules, and experimental methods can then screen and determine the molecules of interest and sometimes define the structures of bound complexes. After these steps, computational methods, like molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, can provide detailed insights into atomic interactions and binding, and machine learning approaches can analyze experiment-derived data to discern patterns and …

Hydrothermal Synthesis Of First-Row Transition Metal Polyanions Towards The Design Of Frustrated Magnetic Materials, Megan Smart

All Dissertations

Novel modern materials are constantly being discovered as humanity seeks constantly better improvement to the optics and electronics around us, from lasers used in medical therapies to the magnets and supercomputing chips in our phones. Inorganic oxides commonly draw inspiration from naturally occurring minerals to template new discoveries through substitution of similarly behaving elements with the goal of inducing certain desired properties, such as ferroelectricity or creating the elusive quantum spin liquid. While many minerals are silicates, its periodic table neighbor germanium(IV) has a rich and under-explored crystal chemistry that could contain many new structures and magnetic materials. Another common …

An Investigation Of The Accretion Processes In T Tauri And Herbig Ae/Be Systems Using High Resolution Optical And Near-Infrared Spectroscopy, Joshua Kern

All Dissertations

Star and planet formation is intimately tied to the accretion of material from the environments in which they form. During the formation process, disks of gas and dust develop in young stellar objects through which material is facilitated to the star and forming planets. Theoretical models of these accretion processes invoke viscous spreading via hydrodynamics, as well as more complex interactions with magnetic fields be it from the stellar component or the formation environment in order to catalyze these mass flows. These accretion models predict various scenarios including magnetospheric accretion as well as supersonic accretion flows in the disk atmosphere …

Damage Detection With An Integrated Smart Composite Using A Magnetostriction-Based Nondestructive Evaluation Method: Integrating Machine Learning For Prediction, Christopher Nelon

All Dissertations

The development of composite materials for structural components necessitates methods for evaluating and characterizing their damage states after encountering loading conditions. Laminates fabricated from carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRPs) are lightweight alternatives to metallic plates; thus, their usage has increased in performance industries such as aerospace and automotive. Additive manufacturing (AM) has experienced a similar growth as composite material inclusion because of its advantages over traditional manufacturing methods. Fabrication with composite laminates and additive manufacturing, specifically fused filament fabrication (fused deposition modeling), requires material to be placed layer-by-layer. If adjacent plies/layers lose adhesion during fabrication or operational usage, the strength …