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Summary: Arsenic is a known carcinogen, but is persistent in the environment, remaining a popular pesticide. It represents a particular hazard to humans when it stays resident in shallow soils and groundwater. This study of contaminant hydrogeology examined conditions at a former golf course in Florida with known arsenic contamination, and included a detailed examination of existing assessment data for the study area, an experimental pumping test with groundwater sampling, examination of sediment cores, and a preliminary geophysical investigation. The primary purpose was to determine what the existing controls are on As mobility. The primary findings were that redox conditions did have an effect on As concentrations. Groundwater in the study area is generally reducing, but during the pumping test was generally oxidizing. No potential As sources were definitively identified, and the most likely source remains anthropogenic, but interactive conditions with Fe, Mn, NO3-N, and S remain nebulous., 2020, Includes bibliography., Degree granted: Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2020., Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Water treatment facilities across the United States are known for providing high-quality drinking water to their residents. However, differences in treatment methods, aging infrastructure, and outdated household plumbing may affect the quality of drinking water by the time it reaches the consumer’s tap. Palm Beach County, Florida, is an area with large socioeconomic contrasts where some families live in dilapidated structures and others reside in luxurious, gated communities. This research highlights the variation of household water quality by determining metal concentrations in tap water samples in communities of different socioeconomic status. In addition, interviews were conducted with personnel from five different Water Treatment Plants (WTPs) in the study area to understand the relationship between customers and their water utility. Results indicate that effective communication strategies are needed to boost public trust and fill critical information gaps about the water treatment process. Ninety-six tap water samples were collected from households throughout eastern Palm Beach County and analyzed for different metals using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry. Surveys were also administered at the same households where tap water samples were collected. Residents were asked about their perceptions of tap water and social and economic questions regarding their household characteristics. A Socioeconomic Status (SES) index was created using Principal Components Analysis (PCA) to understand how perceptions of tap water quality and concentrations of metals in household tap water vary based on SES. Results provide evidence that those living in the lowest-ranking SES neighborhoods are the least satisfied with their tap water quality and consume less tap water than those living in higher SES neighborhoods. Water quality results highlighted large variations in concentrations of aluminum (Al) and thus, analyses focused specifically on how Al concentra, 2019, Includes bibliography., Degree granted: Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2019., Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Summary: Evaluating trends of historical rainfall on a weekly and seasonal basis is needed for optimizing the design and implementation of lawn water conservation strategies like outdoor water restrictions. While “day of the week” water restrictions are a typical strategy to limit the frequency and duration of urban lawn water use, they may not necessarily result in more conservative behaviors from end-users. Because weekly rainfall and local climate variables are seldom taken into account in water restriction strategies, they are not connected to actual lawn water demand. However, since lawn water demand is directly related to weekly rainfall totals, not to a particular number of watering days per week, water restriction schedules have the potential to unintentionally promote overwatering. This study investigated the weekly patterns of average seasonal rainfall and evapotranspiration in South Florida to determine the typical variability of weekly net irrigation needs and found that typical wet season weekly rainfall often provides a significant amount of water to meet the demand of residential lawns and landscapes. This finding underscores opportunity to reduce supplemental overwatering in residential landscapes if watering guidelines were modified to recognize seasonal average weekly rainfall in this region This study also tested a rainfall-based water conservation strategy to determine if providing residents with information about how local rainfall could promote more effective lawn watering behavior than just water restrictions alone. Experimental households reduced lawn water use by up to 61% compared to the control group by the end of the study. These results demonstrate that the neighborhood “rain-watered lawn” signs helped experimental study group households become more aware of rainfall as the primary input of water to their lawns. This study also investigated the role that lawn irrigation from self-supplied sources plays in the urban lawn water demand and, 2016, Includes bibliography., Degree granted: Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016., Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Summary: In recent decades, ecohydrology has received renewed attention because of the impacts of groundwater withdrawal on ecosystems. Growing population and urban expansion in Palm Beach County, FL. place pressure to eradicate natural areas, such as Florida scrub habitats, and increase groundwater withdrawal. This study presents preliminary results of soil and hydrological characterization of an ecological preserve surrounded by changing land use. Soil moisture and water levels were monitored to assess the effects of precipitation as influenced by plants and soil analysis determined the suitability of current soil conditions for hosting native vegetation habitats. Hydrologic and soil conditions on the preserve fall within values expected for native Florida scrub habitats. Hydrologic response to precipitation varied due to factors including antecedent conditions and vegetation types. These results provide a better understanding of the interactions between soil proper ties, hydrologic cycle, and plants, and assist with establishing a baseline to monitor changes over time., 2015, Includes bibliography., Degree granted: Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015., Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

If one merely counts countries becoming democratic, progress in the international system looks impressive. However, more relevant for future stability is whether countries—whether democratic or not—are fragile, having ineffective and/or illegitimate governments. Moreover, the size of fragile countries, not merely their number, will be important for the future. Recent data shows that fertility has stalled at very high levels in many fragile states, including several of the largest, creating a situation in which almost all the growth in the world’s future labor force in coming decades will occur in fragile states. Indeed, the world seems likely to go from a situation in which two-thirds of workers are employed in stable states to the reverse, in which the majority of the global working-age population is found in fragile states with a weak ability to provide education, investment and jobs to ensure their productivity. Unless this trend can be reversed, both global economic growth and regional political stability will be at risk because projected global population growth is overwhelmingly concentrated in fragile states. © The Author(s) 2014.

If one merely counts countries becoming democratic, progress in the international system looks impressive. However, more relevant for future stability is whether countries—whether democratic or not—are fragile, having ineffective and/or illegitimate governments. Moreover, the size of fragile countries, not merely their number, will be important for the future. Recent data shows that fertility has stalled at very high levels in many fragile states, including several of the largest, creating a situation in which almost all the growth in the world’s future labor force in coming decades will occur in fragile states. Indeed, the world seems likely to go from a situation in which two-thirds of workers are employed in stable states to the reverse, in which the majority of the global working-age population is found in fragile states with a weak ability to provide education, investment and jobs to ensure their productivity. Unless this trend can be reversed, both global economic growth and regional political stability will be at risk because projected global population growth is overwhelmingly concentrated in fragile states. © The Author(s) 2014.

Summary: In southeastern Florida, the majority of drinking water comes from the Biscayne aquifer. This aquifer is comprised of heterogeneous limestones, sandstones, sand, shell and clayey sand with zones of very high permeability. Visualizing the spatial variations in lithology, porosity and permeability of heterogeneous aquifers, like the Biscayne, can be difficult using traditional methods of investigation. Using the Roxar IRAP RMS software multi-layered 3D conceptual geomodels of the lithology, cyclostratigraphy and porosity were created in a portion of the Biscayne aquifer. The models were built using published data from borehole geophysical measurements, core samples, and thin sections. Spatial relations between lithology, cyclostratigraphy, porosity, and preferential flow zones were compared and contrasted to better understand how these geologic features were inter-related. The models show local areas of differing porosity within and cross-cutting different cycles and lithologies. Porosity in the Biscayne aquifer study area follows a hierarchy attributed to lithofacies with a pattern of increasing porosity for the high frequency cycles. This modeling improves understanding of the distribution and interconnectedness of preferential flow zones, and is thus an invaluable tool for future studies of groundwater flow and groundwater contamination in the Biscayne aquifer., 2014, Includes bibliography., Degree granted: Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014., Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

If one merely counts countries becoming democratic, progress in the international system looks impressive. However, more relevant for future stability is whether countries—whether democratic or not—are fragile, having ineffective and/or illegitimate governments. Moreover, the size of fragile countries, not merely their number, will be important for the future. Recent data shows that fertility has stalled at very high levels in many fragile states, including several of the largest, creating a situation in which almost all the growth in the world’s future labor force in coming decades will occur in fragile states. Indeed, the world seems likely to go from a situation in which two-thirds of workers are employed in stable states to the reverse, in which the majority of the global working-age population is found in fragile states with a weak ability to provide education, investment and jobs to ensure their productivity. Unless this trend can be reversed, both global economic growth and regional political stability will be at risk because projected global population growth is overwhelmingly concentrated in fragile states. © The Author(s) 2014.

This paper points out that virtually all growth in the global labor force in the coming decades will occur in countries that rank poorly in governance criteria. These countries are likely to face extremely large youth cohorts, but lack the ability to provide the education and attract the investment they need to provide productive work. They thus face high risks of political instability.

This paper points out that virtually all growth in the global labor force in the coming decades will occur in countries that rank poorly in governance criteria. These countries are likely to face extremely large youth cohorts, but lack the ability to provide the education and attract the investment they need to provide productive work. They thus face high risks of political instability.

This paper points out that virtually all growth in the global labor force in the coming decades will occur in countries that rank poorly in governance criteria. These countries are likely to face extremely large youth cohorts, but lack the ability to provide the education and attract the investment they need to provide productive work. They thus face high risks of political instability.

Non-PR, IFPRI1; PSSP, DSGD, The form and function of many cities are increasingly marred by congestion, sprawl and socioeconomic segregation, preventing them from experiencing expected productivity gains associated with urbanization. We operationalize these insights by creating a stylized agent-based model of a theoretical city, inspired by social complexity theory and the new urban literature.

Managed relocation is defined as the movement of species, populations, or genotypes to places outside the areas of their historical distributions to maintain biological diversity or ecosystem functioning with changing climate. It has been claimed that a major extinction event is under way and that climate change is increasing its severity. Projections indicating that climate change may drive substantial losses of biodiversity have compelled some scientists to suggest that traditional management strategies are insufficient. The managed relocation of species is a controversial management response to climate change. The published literature has emphasized biological concerns over difficult ethical, legal, and policy issues. Furthermore, ongoing managed relocation actions lack scientific and societal engagement. Our interdisciplinary team considered ethics, law, policy, ecology, and natural resources management in order to identify the key issues of managed relocation relevant for developing sound policies that support decisions for resource management. We recommend that government agencies develop and adopt best practices for managed relocation. © 2012 by American Institute of Biological Sciences. All rights reserved.

Managed relocation (MR) has rapidly emerged as a potential intervention strategy in the toolbox of biodiversity management under climate change. Previous authors have suggested that MR (also referred to as assisted colonization, assisted migration, or assisted translocation) could be a last-alternative option after interrogating a linear decision tree. We argue that numerous interacting and value-laden considerations demand a more inclusive strategy for evaluating MR. The pace of modern climate change demands decision making with imperfect information, and tools that elucidate this uncertainty and integrate scientific information and social values are urgently needed. We present a heuristic tool that incorporates both ecological and social criteria in a multidimensional decision-making framework. For visualization purposes, we collapse these criteria into 4 classes that can be depicted in graphical 2-D space. This framework offers a pragmatic approach for summarizing key dimensions of MR: capturing uncertainty in the evaluation criteria, creating transparency in the evaluation process, and recognizing the inherent tradeoffs that different stakeholders bring to evaluation of MR and its alternatives.

Long-term data recorded before regional temperatures were greatly affected by human emissions of greenhouse gasesprovide an historical baseline with which to compare modernand future trends. Long-term ecological data needed to investigate the influence of temperature on the time of songbird breeding are rare. Significant amounts of data exist in collector descriptions of bird eggs taken in the wild from mid-1800s to mid-1900s. The researchers draw on these data from three museums, and finds that seven of 21 species examined had significant trends in laying date, with some species laying eggs earlier and others later. The largest change was in the Oak Titmouse with an average shift of 20 days later per decade and Phainopepla with the largest earlier shift of 8 daysearlier per decade. The associations between the average California temperatures a month or two before laying and times of breeding were strong for six out of the nine resident California songbirds. For migrating species, only two of nine had a strong association between laying date and mean California temperature. These findings provide a baseline to which modern and future phenological shifts may be compared and calibrated. The researcher team offers suggestions for future studies and recommendations for the state of California.

Long-term data recorded before regional temperatures were greatly affected by human emissions of greenhouse gasesprovide an historical baseline with which to compare modernand future trends. Long-term ecological data needed to investigate the influence of temperature on the time of songbird breeding are rare. Significant amounts of data exist in collector descriptions of bird eggs taken in the wild from mid-1800s to mid-1900s. The researchers draw on these data from three museums, and finds that seven of 21 species examined had significant trends in laying date, with some species laying eggs earlier and others later. The largest change was in the Oak Titmouse with an average shift of 20 days later per decade and Phainopepla with the largest earlier shift of 8 daysearlier per decade. The associations between the average California temperatures a month or two before laying and times of breeding were strong for six out of the nine resident California songbirds. For migrating species, only two of nine had a strong association between laying date and mean California temperature. These findings provide a baseline to which modern and future phenological shifts may be compared and calibrated. The researcher team offers suggestions for future studies and recommendations for the state of California.

Summary: This thesis evaluates the water chemistry and hydrology of an urban environmental preserve in advance of wetland construction. Pondhawk Natural Area (PNA) is located in densely populated Palm Beach County, Florida and was acquired through the County's Environmentally Sensitive Lands Acquisition Program as a protected natural area. In an effort to restore the natural area to pre-development conditions Palm Beach County will construct a wetland in the area where hydric conditions persisted prior to the extensive canal construction that lowered groundwater levels. Results of this study wi II provide initial characterization of hydrology and water quality of PNA before wetland construction and lay the groundwork for future monitoring and improvements., 2008, Includes bibliography., Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2008., Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Summary: Trinidad is highly dependent on surface water as a source for domestic water supply. Due to lack of infrastructure some areas have limited access to potable/reliable source of water. Increases in industrialization and population are putting more pressure on water resources, exacerbating the problem. Part of this study looks at how, and from where people in different geographic regions in northern Trinidad collect and store water. Results indicate that urban areas rely on public water as a water source. The urban fringe relies on a public water supply as well as self-supplied sources. Rural regions depend solely on a selfsupply source. Also, I look at how nitrate and nitrite concentrations in drinking water vary with geographic location. Results indicate water quality varies with source and collection method. Further research is needed to confirm this., 2007, Includes bibliography., Degree granted: Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2007., Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

The stereospecificity of oxidation of several polyols and substituted polyols by the enzyme galactose oxidase was studied. An enzymatic method involving aldehyde dehydrogenase, D- and L-lactate dehydrogenase, and alcohol dehydrogenase, for the determination of optical purity of the oxidation product was used. Polyols and substituted polyols of three, four, five, and six carbons were tested as substrated using a horseradish peroxidase-chromagen coupled assay. A minimum structure required for polyol substrates of galactose oxidase was developed. Galactose oxidase was used in an attempt to synthesize D-threose, L-xylose, L-galactose, and L-glucose. Reasons for poor yields in three of four syntheses were discussed., Master's thesis.

This study examined statistical concepts underlying Army testing practices, with a view toward extracting high confidence based on generally fewer tests. (Author)

The estimation of parameters for a rather general class of nonlinear, time-varying, causal, bounded memory systems is discussed. A model for such systems is established using the concept that the system variation is unknown, but bounded between observation times. A recursive estimation algorithm is developed for the model, and both upper and lower bounds are found for the guaranteed error of estimation., Presented at the Annual Allerton Conference on Circuit and System Theory (9th), Illinois Univ., Oct 74.

In these lectures a class of models for input-output systems, suitable for use in identification is discussed. These models are appropriate in particular when the prior information is in nonparametric form. The models can be used to represent a rather large variety of systems, nonlinear as well as linear, but they are somewhat restricted in their application because noise is allowed only in the observation of the system output. The greater part of the discussion is intuitive and nonrigorous, but a brief section is included giving reference to the supporting mathematical theory.

This report is a brief summary of research accomplishments by the author and his associates resulting from their research in mathematical modelling and identification theory. It discusses their exposition of the basic theory of pseudo-inverses for linear operators in Hilbert space, including an extension to the case of closed linear operators that are not necessarily bounded or have closed range; related observations on a Gause-Markov theorem for Hilbert space and its application to identification using Volterra polynomials as a system model; and several other new results. It also discusses a new self-contained, consistent treatment of least squares and linear unbiased minimum-variance estimation and the initial results obtained on identification of time-varying systems, with emphasis on the slowly-varying class. (Modified author abstract)

The estimation of an unknown vector-valued parameter in a linear model with additive noise is treated. The least-squares theory is given for the case both parameter and observation are elements of Hilbert space, and the solution is put in recursive form. A Gauss-Markov type theorem for linear unbiased minimum variance estimation is proved, again for the case both parameter and observation are elements of Hilbert space, and the solution is put in recursive form for the finite-dimensional case only. A modification of the linear unbiased minimum variance estimate which accounts for some prior information is given. (Author)

A new method for finding solutions to the problems of (1) detecting a known signal in Gaussian noise, (2) detecting a Guassian signal in Gaussian noise, and (3) the problem of finding the best linear estimate of signals in noise. It is shown that all three problems can be reduced to the problem of solving a generalized integral equation. The main result is a new method for solving such equations. The method is general in that it is applicable to any ordinary integral equation with a positive definite kernel. (Author)

Recommendation letter (dated May 1, 1860) from George L. Root, written on behalf of George F. Davis. 1 page.