In this report, three studies are presented that utilize computations to predict transformations, identities, and properties of environmental organic molecules. Each study shows how computations can lead to models of chemical behavior. The importance of this research is rooted in the need for understanding how human behavior and health intersect...
The consumption of seafood in the United States has increased rapidly in recent years due to high quality protein and health benefits of seafood. Seafood can be a carrier for bacteria normally distributed in the marine environment and, in some cases, can be contaminated by human pathogens. Therefore, there is...
The testes of the gray-tailed vole (Microtus canicaudus Miller) exhibited a high affinity for selenium relative to other selected tissues. Uptake of selenium-75 in the testis-epididymis complex was delayed relative to uptake by the whole body, kidney, and liver. This pattern of uptake suggested that selenium was metabolically incorporated into...
Sediment cores were retrieved from a landslide-dammed lake, recording events back to the 5th century AD in a forested, mountainous catchment. These cores provide an opportunity to compare the impacts of known recent perturbations, including floods and timber harvesting with those of the early period of the core, flood, fire,...
Underwater robots beneath ocean waves can benefit from feedforward control to reduce position error. This thesis proposes a method using Model Predictive Control (MPC) to predict and counteract future disturbances from an ocean wave field. The MPC state estimator employs a Linear Wave Theory (LWT) solver to approximate the component...
Southern pine and Douglas fir veneer samples were dried in air
under the following conditions: air temperatures were 350, 600, and
750°F; air velocities were 50, 100, and 150 feet per second, and
angles of impingement of air against the veneer surfaces were 0°,
45°, and 90°. The resulting drying...
The Cretaceous Merín aborted-rift basin of eastern Uruguay is composed of sub-alkaline Paraná-Etendeka province basaltic flows and shallow intrusives (~133 to 131 Ma), rhyolitic ignimbrites (~130 to 128 Ma) and associated mildly alkaline to alkaline intrusions and volcanic rocks (~128 to 127 Ma). Four intrusive complexes from 20 to >30...
Diffusion coefficients for isopropyl alcohol-air, isopropyl
alcohol-argon, isopropyl alcohol-mixture of argon 1
: air 1, isopropyl
alcohol-mixture of argon 1
: air 2, and carbon tetrachloride-air system were determined, using an Arnold cell technique.
The measured
carbon tetrachloride-air system diffusion coefficient was compared
with previously measured values to verify the...
Carter Lake, a freshwater, coastal dune-margin lake,
was sampled at the beginning and end of the summer of 1986
to determine the sediment characteristics and benthic
macroinvertebrate abundance, biomass, variety, and
diversity. The distributions of major benthic habitats were
estimated by snorkeling in June and July, 1986. Water
temperature and...