Search Results

Modeling of Land Use Change Effects on Storm Water Quantity and Quality in the City of Carrollton and the North Texas Area

Description: Development and population are rapidly increasing in urbanizing areas of North Texas and so is the need to understand changes in storm water runoff flow and its contamination by nutrients, sediment, pesticides and other toxicants. This study contributes to this understanding and has two primary components: first, development of a graphical user interface for a geographic information system and storm water management database, and second, performing a two-scale hydrological modeling approach (th… more
Access: Restricted to UNT Community Members. Login required if off-campus.
Date: December 2003
Creator: Duncan, Phillip Brent
open access

Modeling the Effects of Chronic Toxicity of Pharmaceutical Chemicals on the Life History Strategies of Ceriodaphnia Dubia: a Multigenerational Study

Description: Trace quantities of pharmaceuticals (including carbamazepine and sertraline) are continuously discharged into the environment, which causes concern among scientists and regulators regarding their potential long-term impacts on aquatic ecosystems. These compounds and their metabolites are continuously interacting with the orgranisms in various life stages, and may differentially influence development of embryo, larvae, juvenile, and adult stages. To fully understand the potential ecological risk… more
Date: December 2013
Creator: Lamichhane, Kiran

On-Road Remote Sensing of Motor Vehicle Emissions: Associations between Exhaust Pollutant Levels and Vehicle Parameters for Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Texas, and Utah

Description: On-road remote sensing has the ability to operate in real-time, and under real world conditions, making it an ideal candidate for detecting gross polluters on major freeways and thoroughfares. In this study, remote sensing was employed to detect carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC), and nitrogen oxide (NO). On-road remote sensing data taken from measurements performed in six states, (Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Texas, and Utah) were cleaned and analyzed. Data mining and explorat… more
Access: Restricted to the UNT Community Members at a UNT Libraries Location.
Date: May 2003
Creator: Dohanich, Francis Albert
open access

Optimizing Scientific and Social Attributes of Pharmaceutical Take Back Programs to Improve Public and Environmental Health

Description: Research continues to show that pharmaceutical environmental contamination has caused adverse environmental effects, with one of the most studied effects being feminization of fish exposed to pharmaceutical endocrine disruptors. Additionally, there are also public health risks associated with pharmaceuticals because in-home reserves of medications provide opportunities for accidental poisoning and intentional medication abuse. Pharmaceutical take back programs have been seen as a remedy to th… more
Date: August 2012
Creator: Stoddard, Kati Ireland
open access

Organic carbon dynamics of the Neches River and its floodplain.

Description: A large river system typically derives the majority of its biomass from production within the floodplain. The Neches River in the Big Thicket National Preserve is a large blackwater river that has an extensive forested floodplain. Organic carbon was analyzed within the floodplain waters and the river (upstream and downstream of the floodplain) to determine the amount of organic carbon from the floodplain that is contributing to the nutrient dynamics in the river. Dissolved organic carbon was… more
Date: December 2007
Creator: Stamatis, Allison Davis

Ozone Pollution Monitoring and Population Vulnerability in Dallas-Ft. Worth: A Decision Support Approach

Description: In urban environments, ozone air pollution, poses significant risks to respiratory health. Fixed site monitoring is the primary method of measuring ozone concentrations for health advisories and pollutant reduction, but the spatial scale may not reflect the current population distribution or its future growth. Moreover, formal methods for the placement of ozone monitoring sites within populations potentially omit important spatial criteria, producing monitoring locations that could unintention… more
Date: August 2021
Creator: Northeim, Kari M.
open access

A paleozoological perspective on predator extermination and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus Boddaert) overabundance in central Texas.

Description: Archaeological and paleontological datasets are used in conservation to add time-depth to ecology. In central Texas several top carnivores including prehistoric Native American hunters have been extirpated or have had their historic ranges restricted, which has resulted in pest-level white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus texana) populations in some areas. Predator extermination has dramatically reduced the average body size of members of the extant predator guild, and large carnivores most … more
Date: May 2007
Creator: Wolverton, Steven J.

Phosphorus Retention and Fractionation in Masonry Sand and Light Weight Expanded Shale Used as Substrate in a Subsurface Flow Wetland

Description: Constructed wetlands are considered an inefficient technology for long-term phosphorus (P) removal. The P retention effectiveness of subsurface wetlands can be improved by using appropriate substrates. The objectives of this study were to: (i) use sorption isotherms to estimate the P sorption capacity of the two materials, masonry sand and light weight expanded shale; (ii) describe dissolved P removal in small (2.7 m3) subsurface flow wetlands; (iii) quantify the forms of P retained by the sub… more
Access: Restricted to UNT Community Members. Login required if off-campus.
Date: August 2002
Creator: Forbes, Margaret G.
open access

Photo-induced Toxicity of Deepwater Horizon Spill Oil to Four Native Gulf of Mexico Species

Description: The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill resulted in the accidental release of millions of barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). Photo-induced toxicity following co-exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation is one mechanism by which polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from oil spills may exert toxicity. Blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) are an important commercial and ecological resource in the Gulf of Mexico and their largely transparent larvae may make them sensitive to PAH photo-ind… more
Date: December 2015
Creator: Alloy, Matthew Michael
open access

Population Dynamics of Zebra Mussels (Dreissena Polymorpha) in a North Texas Reservoir: Implications for Invasions in the Southern United States

Description: This dissertation has two main objectives: first, quantify the effects of environmental conditions on spatio-temporal spawning and larval dynamics of zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha [Pallas 1771]) in Lake Texoma, and second, quantify the effects of environmental conditions on survival, growth, and reproduction of young of the year (YOY) juvenile zebra mussels. These biological responses directly influence population establishment success and invasive spread dynamics. Reproductive output of … more
Date: December 2013
Creator: Churchill, Christopher J.
open access

Quantifying Forest Vertical Structure to Determine Bird Habitat Quality in the Greenbelt Corridor, Denton, Tx

Description: This study presents the integration of light detection and range (LiDAR) and hyperspectral remote sensing to create a three-dimensional bird habitat map in the Greenbelt Corridor of the Elm Fork of the Trinity River. This map permits to examine the relationship between forest stand structure, landscape heterogeneity, and bird community composition. A biannual bird census was conducted at this site during the breeding seasons of 2009 and 2010. Census data combined with the three-dimensional map … more
Date: August 2013
Creator: Matsubayashi, Shiho

Removal of selected water disinfection byproducts, and MTBE in batch and continuous flow systems using alternative sorbents.

Description: A study was conducted to evaluate the sorption characteristics of six disinfection byproducts (DBPs) on four sorbents. To investigate sorption of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), specially designed experimental batch and continuous flow modules were developed. The investigated compounds included: chloroform, 1,2-dichloroethane (DCE), trichloroethylene (TCE), bromodichloromethane (BDCM), methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), bromate and bromide ions. Sorbents used included light weight aggregate… more
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Date: December 2002
Creator: Kadry, Ahmed Y.
open access

Reproductive and Growth Responses of the Fathead Minnow (Pimephales Promelas) and Japanese Medaka (Oryzias Latipes) to the Synthetic Progestin, Norethindrone

Description: A commonly prescribed contraceptive, the synthetic progestin norethindrone (NET) inhibits ovulation in humans. However, ecotoxicological data are lacking. Preliminary tests produced an LC50 for NET of > 1.0 mg/L (96-hour, fathead minnow (FHM) and medaka) and a NOEC of 242.0 µg/L, a LOEC of 485.0 µg/L (7-day, growth for FHM and medaka). Reproductive testing revealed a LOEC for fecundity of 24.1 ng/L (21 days, medaka). Further testing confirmed the LOEC of 24.1 ng/L while defining a NOEC of 4.7 n… more
Date: May 2011
Creator: Paulos, Peter M.
open access

Residential Grid-Connected Photovoltaics Adoption in North Central Texas: Lessons from the Solarize Plano Project

Description: Residential Grid-Connected Photovoltaics (GPV) systems hold remarkable promise in their potential to reduce energy use, air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and energy costs to consumers, while also providing grid efficiency and demand-side management benefits to utilities. Broader adoption of customer-sited GPV also has the potential to transform the traditional model of electricity generation and delivery. Interest and activity has grown in recent years to promote GPV in north central Tex… more
Date: August 2016
Creator: Jack, Katherine G.
open access

Revisiting Aldo Leopold's "Perfect" Land Health: Conservation and Development in Mexico's Rio Gavilan

Description: The Rio Gavilan watershed, located in Mexico 's northern Sierra Madre Occidental , has significance in conservation history. Upon visiting the remote, largely un­developed watershed during two hunting trips in the 1930s, renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold thought it was the best picture of land health he had seen. His main indicators of healthy land were slow water runoff rates regulating erosion and historical predator-prey relationships. The visits confirmed Leopold's concept of land h… more
Date: December 2004
Creator: Forbes, William

Riparian Forest Width and the Avian Community in a Greenbelt Corridor Setting

Description: The forest avian community of the Ray Roberts Greenbelt (Denton Co., Texas) was characterized for two years using point count station sampling, from fall 1998 to summer 2000. Richness data for both breeding seasons were correlated with two-spatial metrics: width of the riparian forest and distance to the nearest edge. There were significant correlations between forest interior species richness and both spatial metrics, for both breeding seasons. Based on these data, a minimum riparian forest wi… more
Access: Restricted to UNT Community Members. Login required if off-campus.
Date: May 2001
Creator: Hoffman, Karl W.
open access

Role of N-Acylethanolamines in Plant Defense Responses: Modulation by Pathogens and Commercial Antimicrobial Stressors

Description: N-acyl ethanolamines (NAEs) are a class of lipids recently recognized as signaling molecules which are controlled, in part, by their degradation by fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH). On the basis of previous studies indicating increased NAE levels in a tobacco cell suspension-xylanase elicitor exposure system and the availability of FAAH mutants, overexpressor and knockout (OE and KO) genotypes in Arabidopsis thaliana, further roles of NAEs in A. thaliana plant defense was investigated. The com… more
Date: August 2010
Creator: Vadapalli, Vatsala
open access

Simulation of physical and chemical processes in reservoirs: Two case studies.

Description: Managing water quality aspects requires the use of integrative tools that allow a holistic approach to this problem. Water quality models coupled to hydrodynamic models are these tools. This study presents the application of the water quality model WASP coupled to the hydrodynamic model DYNHYD for two distinct reservoirs: Lake Texoma and Tocoma Reservoir. Modeling the former included simulations of water velocities, water level, and four chemical and physical compounds: chlorides, dissolved oxy… more
Date: December 2005
Creator: García Iturbe, Selma L.
open access

Soil and Forest Variation by Topography and Succession Stages in the Greenbelt Corridor, Floodplain of the Elm Fork of the Trinity River, North Texas.

Description: The Greenbelt Corridor (GBC), located in a floodplain of the Elm Fork of the Trinity River, contains patches of bottomland forest and serves as part of Lake Lewisville’s flood control backwaters. This study examines forest structure and composition in relation to topographic position and forest stage in the GBC. Thirty two plots were surveyed within various stage classes, topographic positions, and USDA soil types. Trees were identified and measured for height and DBH. Density, basal area, and … more
Date: August 2011
Creator: Rijal, Rajan
open access

Spatially Explicit Modeling of West Nile Virus Risk Using Environmental Data

Description: West Nile virus (WNV) is an emerging infectious disease that has widespread implications for public health practitioners across the world. Within a few years of its arrival in the United States the virus had spread across the North American continent. This research focuses on the development of a spatially explicit GIS-based predictive epidemiological model based on suitable environmental factors. We examined eleven commonly mapped environmental factors using both ordinary least squares regress… more
Date: December 2015
Creator: Kala, Abhishek K.
open access

Storm Water System Monitoring for the Small Municipality Under Phase II of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System

Description: Storm water quality can have a significant impact on receiving water bodies. The chief recipients of these impacts are aquatic life in the receiving water body and downstream water users. Over the last few decades, legislation, regulations, institutions and facilities have evolved to recognize the impact of urban storm water on receiving streams. This increased emphasis has caused contaminants in storm water to be identified as a major concern. This developing concern has generated an increased… more
Date: August 2003
Creator: Peacock, Steven
open access

Thresholds in avian communities at multiple scales: Relationships between birds, forests, habitats, and landscapes in the Ray Roberts greenbelt, Denton

Description: Environmental management agencies make efforts to reduce pollution loading in streams and rivers by promoting vegetated buffer zones between human activity and water. Most of these efforts do not mesh water quality-based buffer zone width requirements with conservation and wildlife values, specifically, the use of these riparian forest corridors for wildlife dispersal between habitats in highly fragmented landscapes. Forest interior birds are of the most concern to management in riparian forest… more
Date: December 2000
Creator: Barry, Dwight
open access

Use of geographic information systems for assessing ground water pollution potential by pesticides in central Thailand

Description: This study employed geographic information systems (GIS) technology to evaluate the vulnerability of groundwater to pesticide pollution. The study area included three provinces (namely, Kanchana Buri, Ratcha Buri, and Suphan Buri) located in the western part of central Thailand. Factors used for this purpose were soil texture, percent slope, primary land use, well depth, and monthly variance of rainfall. These factors were reclassified to a common scale showing potential to cause groundwater co… more
Date: August 2002
Creator: Thapinta, Anat
open access

Water Quality Aspects of an Intermittent Stream and Backwaters in an Urban North Texas Watershed

Description: Pecan Creek flows southeast through the City of Denton, Texas. Characterized as an urban watershed, the basin covers approximately 63.5 km2. Pecan Creek is an intermittent stream that receives nonpoint runoff from urban landuses, and the City of Denton's wastewater treatment plant, Pecan Creek Water Reclamation Plant, discharges effluent to the stream. Downstream from the City of Denton and the wastewater treatment plant, Pecan Creek flows about 6,000 m through agricultural, pasture, and for… more
Date: August 2002
Creator: Taylor, Ritchie Don
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