SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
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Evaluating F. Franklin Moon Library using the Tool for Evaluation of Academic Library Spaces
Get PDFThe traditional role of the F. Franklin Moon Library as the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry was to house collections and provide reading space; that model does not fit emerging needs and expectations of the campus population. To plan strategically for the future of the space, and to better meet the need of current and future learners, Moon Library is implementing an ongoing assessment model to, among other things, help determine if the space works and to identify the right balance of spaces for a variety of users. Assessment began during Spring semester 2019 by assessing user satisfaction with the aesthetics and function of the library entryway and assessing satisfaction with environmental comfort and sustainability of the library
Exploring Microbial Ecology of Activated Sludge and Aeration Control Strategy in Low Dissolved Oxygen Simultaneous Nitrification and Denitrification Process
No full textAeration accounts for approximately 50% of total energy used in the conventional activated sludge wastewater treatment process. Increasingly stringent wastewater discharge limits on nitrogen and higher costs of energy drive the search for new technologies and process control strategies that can be employed to treat wastewater with lower energy inputs while still producing high-quality effluent. The application of low dissolved oxygen simultaneous nitrification and denitrification operation in wastewater treatment plants for enhanced nitrogen removal is gaining popularity. The complexity of microbial ecology for biological nitrogen removal includes ammonia-oxidizing archaea, ammonia-oxidizing bacteria, complete ammonia oxidizers, nitrite-oxidizing bacteria, anaerobic ammonia oxidizing bacteria, and anaerobic and aerobic heterotrophic denitrifiers. Our current understanding of kinetics and microbial ecology cannot fully explain how total nitrogen is efficiently removed in biological nitrogen removal plants under low dissolved oxygen conditions. Therefore, it is necessary to study the mechanisms and associated processes for biological nitrogen removal using novel microorganisms to drive improvements for process optimization and energy savings. This study investigated the kinetics of biological nitrogen removal under low dissolved oxygen conditions, examined microbial communities and structure in the low dissolved oxygen process, and developed a process model and an aeration control strategy to achieve a stable low dissolved oxygen operation with reduced energy usage. The kinetic study found that microorganisms with high oxygen affinity were developed for nitrogen removal. The 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing results showed that Nitrospira were the only autotropic nitrifying bacteria discovered in five wastewater treatment plants while a diverse group of microorganisms were identified for simultaneous nitrification and denitrification in low dissolved oxygen operations. A feedback ammonia-based aeration control strategy remarkably reduced energy consumption without compromising treatment performance of a stable low dissolved oxygen operation. This study provided an understanding of microbial ecology and insights into process control and optimization for wastewater treatment plants operated under low dissolved oxygen simultaneous nitrification and denitrification conditions
ASSESSING THE NEED FOR ACCURATE FLOOD DAMAGE PREDICTION BASED ON FUTURE CHANGES IN PEAK FLOW OF RIVERINE SYSTEMS: IS THERE MORE UNCERTAINTY IN THE HYDROLOGY OR THE DEGREE OF DAMAGE?
Get PDFIn most riverine systems, the impact of future climate change on flooding remains uncertain. However, the majority of studies that evaluate future flood risk focus on discharge alone, with little assessment of the degree to which damages (the actual impact due to floods) relates to discharge. This study assesses flood-frequency, stage-discharge, and stage-damage relationships to evaluate how uncertainty in future hydroclimatological drivers of flooding may translate into uncertainty in future damages within a flood plain. The areas of interest for this study were the Onondaga Creek, Syracuse, NY and Susquehanna River, Binghamton, NY watersheds. The results of this study were that flood damages were found to be highly sensitive to the uncertainty in the hydrology of both study areas. In the Onondaga Creek watershed, damage sensitivity was amplified 3.0 times, while in the Susquehanna River basin the amplification was 3.1 to 3.6 times the uncertainty in the hydrology. The uncertainty findings indicated that hydrology plays a large role in flood damage estimations for both watersheds. Each watershed displayed the same response to different future climate change scenarios whereby future flood risk increased as a result of an increase in the magnitude of precipitation events and either remained the same or declined minimally for decreased snowmelt events. The methodology and findings of this study can aid policy and decision makers, flood risk managers, and research scientists in more accurately predicting flood risk areas and potential damages from different flood events by emphasizing a focus on more accurate hydrologic prediction and the incorporation of uncertainty analysis to better predict flood risk and allocate resources for communities in flood prone areas
INVESTIGATION OF LAKE TROUT (SALVELINUS NAMAYCUSH) ABUNDANCE, EGG DEPOSITION, MOVEMENT, AND SPAWNING HABITAT QUALITY IN EASTERN LAKE ONTARIO
Get PDFWe explored changes in Lake Trout adult abundance, wild juvenile capture, egg deposition, and habitat quality in the eastern basin of Lake Ontario, with a focus on Stony Island reef (SIR). These findings highlight changes that have occurred at a historically important spawning location, particularly the degradation of cobble habitat. In an acoustic telemetry study of hatchery-raised juvenile Lake Trout movements at a stocking location near SIR, we discovered residency around the stocking site is likely related to bottom water temperature, that emigration of juveniles matches what is observed in adult catch data, and that the estimated mortality was within the range indicated by previous studies. This research on Lake Trout in Lake Ontario may help managers and researchers to better understand possible factors related to poor reproductive success in thein the eastern basin
Place Name Restoration in Haudenosaunee Territory: Frameworks for Language and Landscape
Get PDFIn place name restoration, especially in indigenous territory, layers of place and language are actively complex; as place names survive, evolve, and resist forces of colonialist erasure, violence, and distortion, elements of place name restoration become critically obscured. By engaging with existing literatures and contextual knowledges, it is possible to understand place name restoration as a reparative act. This thesis explores place name restoration within the Haudenosaunee territory of upstate New York and the surrounding landscape; the thesis works to explore the terrain of place restoration in this territory, and to understand the positioning of researcher within this terrain. This work argues for the importance of holistic and reflexive place name restoration: to resist forces of settler colonialist suppression, and to [re]imagine place. This research proposes an innovative theoretical framework that clarifies elements of place name restoration and charts their possible relationships, for geolinguistic projects on large and continuing scales
Lignin Thermoplastic Blends: Biorefinery Willow Lignin and Poly(lactic acid)
Get PDFUtilization of lignin for higher-value applications, rather than for energy, is essential in making future lignocellulosic biorefineries economical. This research will focus on derivatization of biorefinery lignin for use in thermoplastic blends with biorenewable polylactic acid, PLA. Lignin was incorporated in PLA blends to improve PLA’s stability and functionality. Biorefinery lignin recovered from the hot-water extract of shrub willow was subjected to acetylation (C2) and acylation with lauroyl chloride, a fatty acid chloride (C12). The resulting lignin esters were synthesized to improve lignin’s compatibility with PLA. Hexane extraction was proposed to purify the lignin laurate. Lignin esters were characterized and blended with PLA (1- 12% w/w) via lab-scale melt extrusion. The physicochemical properties of lignin-PLA blends were evaluated. Lignin-PLA blends exhibited an increase in UV absorbance that may be leveraged in packaging to protect against decomposition of its contents and may also reduce photodegradation of PLA in numerous applications
TRADITIONAL INDICATORS OF RAINFALL IN THE SELVA LACANDONA, CHIAPAS, MEXICO
Get PDFMany indigenous cultures use observations of the natural world to forecast the weather. This traditional system is important for reliable agricultural decision making. In Lacanja Chansayab, Chiapas, Mexico, the traditional system of rainfall forecasting is potentially threatened by the impacts of climate change. This research involved quantitative data collection on 20 indicators of rainfall in the farm fields and rainforests around an indigenous community and qualitative interviews with knowledgeable Lacandón Maya farmers. This study revealed several indicators are driven by environmental factors such as humidity and temperature, and that people often rely on information generated from multiple indicators to make weather-related decisions. Therefore, if climate change affects local temperature and humidity regimes, it is expected that this system of rainfall forecasting will remain useful
Modeling Biogas Production Generated from the Anaerobic Digestion of Cow Manure and Water Hyacinth Mixtures
No full textBiogas is an alternative, renewable fuel produced from the anaerobic digestion (AD) of organic matter. There were three objectives to this study: (i) determine the biogas production and organic matter consumed during the anaerobic digestion of cow manure (CM), water hyacinths (WH), and their mixtures, (ii) fit the Time-Lag and Modified Gompertz models to the results and assess their fits, (iii) compare the yields to those predicted by the Buswell, Mueller, and Boyle stoichiometric formula. The average biogas production for the CM monodigestion tests, WH monodigestion tests, and CM and WH co-digestion tests were 193.72 ± 51.98 mL biogas/g VS, 49.99 ± 22.28 mL biogas/g VS, and 169.70 ± 82.57 mL biogas/g VS, respectively. The Modified Gompertz model tended to fit the biogas production results better than the Time-Lag model but the uncertainty in the fits were also large. The average theoretical yield for all tests was 25.91 ± 30.11%
ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY OF STILBENES IN IN VITRO BIOASSAYS; AND STILBENE QUANTIFICATION AND BLIGHT RESISTANCE ASSAYS OF TRANSGENIC AMERICAN CHESTNUT OVEREXPRESSING THE STILBENE SYNTHASE GENE
No full textResveratrol belongs to the stilbenes family which is commonly found in grapes, blueberries, peanut, willow, and other plants. It acts as a natural polyphenol phytoalexin that responds and helps mitigate microbial attacks within grape plants. A methylated form of resveratrol, pterostilbene, shows 6-fold higher inhibition on fungal growth. Our hypothesis is that increased production of stilbenes in transgenic American chestnut will enhance resistance to the chestnut blight. This research first evaluated the effects of resveratrol and pterostilbene in growth medium plate experiments. At concentrations ranging from 2.5mM to 20mM resveratrol significantly reduced mycelium growth of Cryphonectria parasitica by 22% to 90%, respectively, and resulted in significant morphological changes to the hyphae. The concentration of 2.5mM pterostilbene decreased the mycelial growth by 92%, supporting its more potent inhibitory effect. In minimum inhibition concentration assays, concentrations of 10mM of resveratrol and 2.5mM of pterostilbene, both significantly inhibited the germination of conidia (asexual spores of C. parasitica). RTqPCR showed American chestnut plants transformed with the stilbene synthase (EC 2.3.1.95) gene, Vst1, overexpressed their transcripts in both tissue culture plants and greenhouse plants. Direct fungal inoculation tests, such as leaf assays, micro stem assays, and small stem assays showed the plants overexpressing the Vst1 gene had intermediate levels of pathogen resistance, which is significantly higher than the resistance of the wild type American chestnut (blight-susceptible control) but significantly lower than the resistance of the Chinese chestnut (blight-resistance control). We also detected the accumulation of stilbenes in the transgenic American chestnut through HPLC-MS, the concentration of resveratrol ranging from 0.11μg/g to 26.93μg/g of plant tissue, similar to amounts used in medium plate assays. Therefore, over expression of the Vst1 gene can enhance pathogen resistance, but will likely need to be used in combination with other resistance-enhancing genes to develop fully blight resistant American chestnut trees
