This thesis will cover my work relating to the developing field of terahertz (THz) science and technology. It will present experimental and theoretical studies investigating the optical and electrical properties of various material systems using novel THz imaging and spectroscopy techniques. Due to its low photon energy, THz imaging and...
The rapid decline of marine ecosystems worldwide and the failure of traditional single species management pushed for the development of ecosystem-based conservation measures such as marine protected areas (MPA) to slow the loss of marine biodiversity. One approach to MPA creation advocates targeting marine megafauna (e.g., marine mammals, seabirds, sharks,...
Earth’s mantle extends to nearly 3000 km depth, comprises >80 % of Earth’s total volume, and has the largest influence on the primordial and radiogenic heat budget. Despite its importance, the structure and composition of the mantle is still debated. There are three primary models for Earth’s mantle structure that...
Recognizing human actions in videos is a long-standing problem in computer vision with a wide range of applications including video surveillance, content retrieval, and sports analysis. This thesis focuses on addressing efficiency and robustness of video classification in unconstrained real-world settings. The thesis work can be broadly divided into four...
This dissertation combines volcanological research of three convergent continental margins. Chapters
1 and 5 are general introductions and conclusions, respectively. Chapter 2 examines the spatiotemporal
development of the Altiplano-Puna volcanic complex in the Lípez region of southwest Bolivia, a locus of a
major Neogene ignimbrite flare- up, yet the least...
During the eighteenth century, diagrams increasingly became an important aspect of scientific inquiry. Diagrams employed simplification as a strategy for representing complex information, played a role in standardizing scientific language, and served as instruments of reason to think through and communicate problems and findings in mathematics, physics, chemistry, astronomy, natural...
The ongoing worldwide loss of biodiversity has been described as a "biodiversity crisis," "the Anthropocene defaunation," and alternatively "an extinction spasm." More recently, many scientists have come to the conclusion that we are witnesses to Earth's sixth major mass extinction event, which has the potential to fundamentally alter basic ecological...
Biodiversity losses in terrestrial, freshwater, and marine systems are accelerating at a global scale and the most threatened vertebrate taxa are those associated with freshwater habitats. The causes of biodiversity losses are often complex and include synergistic effects of natural and human-induced stressors, such as habitat loss and fragmentation, urbanization,...
Heavy metals, such as copper, zinc, and cadmium, are ubiquitous in stormwater and potentially toxic to aquatic organisms at low concentrations. Removal of heavy metals contamination by conventional treatment is expensive and does not always reduce metals concentrations low enough to ensure safety of all aquatic species. This research seeks...