The purpose of this thesis is to engage in a linguistic-conceptual inquiry into what it
proposes might for analytical purposes be conceived—and which it hence stipulatively
defines—as Applied Value Words. After constructing the conceptual framework through
which to identify, and within which to characterize Applied Value Words, this thesis then...
Policy makers in the United States (US), following recommendations made by the international scientific community, have drafted national emissions reduction legislation in hopes of minimizing the harmful effects of global climate change. Included in this legislation is a national cap-and-trade system with provisions for carbon offsets. Specific provisions for forest...
Over the last two decades, satisfiability and satisfiability-modulo theory (SAT/SMT) solvers have grown powerful enough to be general purpose reasoning engines throughout software engineering and computer science. However, most practical use cases of SAT/SMT solvers require not just solving a single SAT/SMT problem, but solving sets of related SAT/SMT problems....
The Eastern California Shear Zone (ECSZ) is a broad zone of dextral shear inboard of the North American - Pacific plate boundary. Despite decades of study, the significance of a mismatch between geodetic velocities and geologic fault slip rates across the ECSZ remains incompletely understood. Geodetically determined interseismic strain across...
A modeling study is undertaken to better understand the physics of katabatic flows. This study is divided into three topics; a comparison between a large eddy simulation (LES) and a mesoscale model of katabatic flows, a sensitivity study of katabatic flows to various physical parameters, and an investigation into the...
The nature of upper plate deformation along the Cascadia subduction zone (CSZ) is poorly understood. Systematic covariation among topographic relief, geodetically determined uplift rates, decadal to millennial erosion rates, and the frequency of episodic tremor and slip (ETS) along the Cascadia forearc suggest a genetic association between forearc topography and...
The Panamint Valley fault zone (PVFZ) is an active, dextral-oblique normal fault that partially accommodates dextral shear across the Eastern California Shear Zone (ECSZ). The fault system has a complex geometry, characterized by a relatively high-angle dextral oblique normal fault in the south and a low-angle detachment system that accommodates...
Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) have an extensive history of harvest in the United States. The Pacific Northwest is well-reputed as a major source of floral greens for international markets. One NTFP in particular, beargrass (Xerophyllum tenax), has been repeatedly identified as a prominent, high-value species in the floral greens industry...